Introduction; Content, Part 1

The point: Be immunized from chasing man-made fads for revival, which often deflect from the centrality of preaching.

The analogy of reservoirs filling during a drought (either quickly with heavy rains or gradually with normal rainfall) illustrates that divine quickening is an intensification of the Spirit's ordinary work, not a different kind of work, but the same 'water' (Spirit and truth) in greater measure.

and some spillover into a small community, or whether in a larger community and numbers of congregations. Or whether it touches the spiritual. whole segments of entire nations. The work which God does in divine quickening is not qualitatively different from the work that he does in his more ordinary seasons of operation in the hearts of men. Some of you are very much aware that in the East this past year we were troubled with a drought, and we would have daily reports as to the percentile of our reservoirs with respect to total capacity. They are 57 percent full, 53, 72. And when you have part...

2:47 - 3:50 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The Spirit blows where He wills, as seen in the contrasting results of Peter's sermons in Acts 2 and 3. Understanding this principle keeps us from assuming God is bound to means…

The contrasting results of Peter's preaching in Acts 2 (multitudes pricked to the heart) and Acts 3 (no such record) illustrate the sovereignty of the Spirit, showing that even biblical preaching does not guarantee a specific outcome without divine blessing.

The great rule of Scripture is set forth in such texts as John 3, 8. The wind or the Spirit blows where He wills. You hear the sound. You don't know where the wind comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. There is an element of holiness and scrutability, an element of mystery in conjunction with the work of the Spirit in the hearts of men. First Corinthians 3, 7. One waters, one sows, another waters, but God, God gives the increase. And as we were reminded this afternoon, we see that in the record of Acts. In Acts 2, Peter is preaching. He's preaching biblically....

9:59 - 10:48 Read in full sermon

The point: Be kept from notions that God is bound to any particular means to bring a certain end, avoiding 'Phineism'.

The historical anecdote of John Livingston's sermon, where 500 people showed signs of conversion, followed by no other similar experience in his life, illustrates the Spirit's sovereignty and the unpredictable nature of quickening.

is this principle, you see, of the sovereignty of the Spirit in conjunction with the preaching that quickens. We see it throughout the book of the Acts. We see it in reading the history of revivals. Some of you, no doubt, are aware of that amazing movement of the Spirit of God under the ministry of a man by the name of John Livingston, when 500 people showed signs of conversion as a result of that one sermon.

12:30 - 12:59 Read in full sermon

The point: Be kept from notions that God is bound to any particular means to bring a certain end, avoiding 'Phineism'.

The example of Tennant and other men of God who experienced mighty use at certain times but not others, despite consistent piety, further illustrates the sovereignty of the Spirit in quickening.

But there is no proof of that. There is no proof of that. There is no proof of that. There is no other time in the life history of that man when such a movement of the Spirit of God was experienced. We see that likewise in the lives of men such as Tennant and other men who were mightily used of God at certain periods in their lives. And their biographers tell us that there was no indication of a waning piety in the other periods of their lives and ministries when they did not see the 100th part of the blessing that they knew in other times. And we must understand and continually think and pray...

12:59 - 13:57 Read in full sermon

The point: If God blesses your efforts, be on your face lost in wonder, love, and praise, understanding the Spirit's sovereignty.

The account of Peter's preaching to Cornelius's household and the Holy Ghost falling upon them (Acts 11) illustrates how the Jerusalem church glorified God for granting repentance, demonstrating their understanding of the Spirit's sovereignty in conjunction with preaching.

And then the third blessed effect it will have upon us is this, that if God should to any degree bless our efforts, born of the pain and agony of honest inquiry into the Scriptures, born of constant pain and agony of seeking to bring one's preaching, both content and form and manner, into line with the great principles, principles of the Word of God and the principles underscored in the history of revivals, such a man, if he's blessed of God to any degree, if he understands this principle of the sovereignty of the Spirit, he will be a man who will be on his face lost in wonder, love, and prais...

16:38 - 17:53 Read in full sermon

Driving home: They need not only justification, but regeneration.

The analogy of believers having an 'earnest of the Spirit' (a down payment of future glory) is used to explain that the powerful preaching of the law can give sinners a 'preview of the day of judgment,' causing them to tremble and fall as dead men.

Furthermore, such preaching on the strictness and spirituality of the law in seasons of revival has often produced not only this sobering sense of the majesty and holiness of God, but a, a terrifying sense of guilt and of deserved damnation. A terrifying sense of guilt and of in a very real sense of the preaching of the law with power by the Holy Ghost in seasons of revival has produced a preview of the day of judgment. Just as believers have an earnest spirit, the down payment of the glory to come, they've tasted the of the world to come, and something of the sweetness of the beatific vision....

41:13 - 42:36 Read in full sermon

Driving home: They need not only justification, but regeneration.

A quotation from an old writer, stating that God begins the 'chord of grace' in the human heart with the 'bass note' of 'Blessed are the poor in spirit,' illustrates how conviction of sin leads to a sense of spiritual destitution.

And what is the note on which God begins the chord of grace in the heart of sinners? Blessed are the poor in spirit. He's the king of heaven. As one of the old writers said, when God begins to sound the chord of grace in the human heart, he begins with the face note. Blessed are the poor in spirit.

45:53 - 46:25 Read in full sermon

Driving home: They need not only justification, but regeneration.

Jesus' statement, 'She loves much because she's been forgiven much,' is quoted to explain how a deep sense of sin and guilt, brought by the law, leads to an overwhelming appreciation for Christ's work.

An overwhelming sense of the worth of the work of Christ. Jesus stated it so simply when he said of that woman, she loves much because she's been forgiven much. To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. But to whom much is forgiven, the same loveth much.

46:56 - 47:18 Read in full sermon

Driving home: You see, God has established an inseparable connection between those two great mountain peaks of revelation, Sinai and Calvary. And if I may use the imagery, the very subsoil of Mount Calvary is Mount Sinai. Take it away…

The metaphor that 'the very subsoil of Mount Calvary is Mount Sinai' illustrates the inseparable connection between the law and the cross, arguing that without the law revealing sin, the cross loses its foundation and significance.

Lord, I thank you I can say, when I look at the standard of your holy law, that I delight in that law after my inward parts, and I seek by your grace to frame my life by its standard. You see, God has established an inseparable connection between those two great mountain peaks of revelation, Sinai and Calvary. And if I may use the imagery, the very subsoil of Mount Calvary is Mount Sinai. Take it away and the cross will fall.

50:53 - 51:27 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin quotes Sprague's 'Lectures on Revivals' to reinforce that the law is the primary instrument the Spirit uses for conviction of sin, even when other truths are employed…

An extended quotation from Sprague's 'Lectures on Revivals' is used to authoritatively support the argument that the law of God is the primary instrument the Spirit uses to produce conviction of sin, detailing how it reveals sin's extent and guilt.

Thunder it into the ears of the men, and tell men that the wages of sin is death, and tell men that the wages of sin is death, THE SOUL THAT SINNeth ITSELF SHALL DIE! The soul that sinneth it shall die! Now in this context I wouldn't do this in a popular message, but I do want to read from Sprogg's lectures and revivals but I do want to read from Sprogg's lectures and revivals, motivation. The first is the edification I hope you'll receive from the page or so that I want to read. The second is that if you don't possess this book, I trust you'll get it. It's the finest thing I know, and I'm not...

54:13 - 55:30 Read in full sermon