I know you by the Holy Ghost.
You see, when you're a young guy, you
want people to recognize your ministry.
And you have to go around begging.
You know, I've been around your way for
a while now, let me see.
Yes, I'm free.
I've got three spare weeks in June.
Let me just fill it up for you,
you know.
Nice to be a beggar for Jesus, isn't
it?
Brother, if you have no ministry, you'll have
to find a place for yourself.
You know what the good book says?
The Bible says that a man's gift will
make room for him.
Now, I've never asked for an opening, and
I never will.
And if God shuts me off, that's fine,
I'll go on the back side of the
desert and pray and weep and seek God.
But I'll never ask anybody to open the
doors to me.
John did no miracle.
But oh, brother, when John preached.
Why, man alive, he had no advertising.
No, no, those stickers, you know, you put
on the backs of...
Well, you say they had no automobiles.
Well, he could have had a little car,
couldn't he?
And stuck it on the camel's tail or
something.
And had the camels going, wagging a little
car.
Here, John Baptist up in Enum, near Salem.
But anyhow, he didn't advertise about his meetings.
I say again, you don't have to advertise
a fire.
The synagogue was empty.
The temple was empty.
The crowds were up there.
Heard the news, what news?
Oh, there's a strange man.
Do you know what they say?
Some people say...
You know, it's kind of sketchy to say
it, but you know what some people say?
Elijah has risen from the dead.
You see, there's only one spirit of the
prophet.
You can identify the prophet right away when
God anoints a man.
And John was doing no miracle.
And he wasn't offering a donkey or a
camel for the one who brought most.
Republicans and sinners and harlots and...
And the big shot had a committee meeting
up in Jerusalem.
Big fat belly priest came and one said,
We've come with authority to...
Well, first of all, what Bible school did
you go to?
And...
I don't see a diploma nailed up on
the tree there.
Do you have a Ph.D. or anything
like that?
What's the distinctive feature of your ministry?
Where did you get your authority?
Who are you?
I like his answer.
He said, I'm a voice.
Most preachers are only echoes.
He said, I'm a voice.
Arthur Pinker, when he left Arthur Pinker and
got on to...
I could tell he put all the bits
together, you know.
But oh brother, that wasn't true when you
heard John Baptist.
Here is a man with a divine revelation.
He preached like nobody on earth because he'd
been living so long in heavenly places.
Under the invasion of Titus.
And we've got to get revival in America
before we're wallowing in blood and bypass the
revival and still wallow in blood anyhow.
John preached in the anointing and it says
they came from...
Any way you measure him, this fellow is
a success.
Socially.
Why?
Because it says that the soldiers came to
hear him.
And it says Republicans came to hear him.
And it says the people came to hear
him.
But oh, they must have felt awfully indignant
when he looked up and he didn't tremble
and he wasn't worried and he didn't say,
well I have to slip home and bring
him.
He stood there and said, I'm a voice.
A voice crying in the wilderness.
You know this man did what no other
man in history has ever done.
More than Isaiah, though he's sort of far
off.
More than anybody else.
He was to introduce Jesus.
And one day Jesus stood in...
Because there were only harlots and...
And Jesus stood there in the spirit.
And John uttered the words that echoed down
the very last chorus.
The Lamb of God had taken away the
sin of the world.
The only reason we have Bible schools is
because we are better at preaching.
Mr. Spurgeon said a hundred years ago that
the Bible suffers more from its exponents than
its opponents.
A witty American said not long ago, sure
the Bible is infallible.
Otherwise how do you think it survived so
much bad preaching?
Oh brother, let's get back and preach the
book.
Preach what God says about it.
About sin, about redemption, about the Holy Ghost,
about His coming, about war, tribulation.
Why this is the most exciting book in
the whole world.
And John preached and while he was preaching,
shooting the arrows of God into...
He said I brought my...
But he got them anyhow.
And John was preaching something we're bypassing.
We offer them a jewel crown.
But brother I'll tell you John didn't preach
that.
Oh we don't preach like these old fellows
used to preach.
Old Nicholson of Ireland, I heard that fellow
preach and the audience would weep and then
they'd laugh.
And then they'd get mad and then they'd
shake.
And you'd think boy if he drops the
net now he's going to get hundreds of
people.
And then all he'd do is stand up
and sing.
Stand up.
Now sing.
God save our gracious King.
You'd think what in the world is the
man doing?
And then he'd say well good night, God
bless you, go home.
Keep your nose clean and eat fish on
Fridays.
That was a benediction.
You say that's ridiculous.
Why does he preach a thing like that?
I'll tell you why.
Because he knew when God had shot an
arrow in the heart of a man he
didn't have to stop there and plead and
say let's sing this.
You could die in an automobile wreck before
you're 16 and nobody...
And he went home and prayed that they'd
have nightmares and they'd be in hell.
A friend of mine preaching with him said
look.
It's a good thing we've only got one
meeting on Sunday night because you've ruined the
whole crusade.
Nicholson said what did you think of my
sermon on hell?
He said it's the most terrifying sermon.
Did you feel that it was real?
He said I could almost smell the sulfur.
Did you feel that God has made a
hell for wicked men as well as the
devil?
Did you feel that there are a million
ways into hell?
That while heaven is eternal life, hell is
eternal death?
That while heaven is eternal life, while in
heaven there is no mourning or sorrow?
And hell is everlasting mourning?
While in heaven they sing the song of
mourning?
My friend Peter Conley, some of you may
know he died just recently.
Dear old Peter Conley said Brother Nicholson you
made hell more real than any man I've
ever...
He said alright son.
I didn't kill the meeting by getting them
to sing the national anthem and my little
bit of fun there.
Keep your nose clean and eat fish on
Friday.
He said I'll tell you if those 1200
people stay in hell till Sunday night they'd
be glad to get out.
And I'll tell you something son he said.
When I make the altar call on Sunday
night there'll be more than 100 people converted.
Peter Conley told me himself.
I preach with him often.
Peter says well I couldn't wait till Sunday
night.
And he said Nicholson came.
Man alive he said he must have been
in eternity was saturated with the Holy Ghost.
He said he stood there and the people
he heard God's touch.
And then he said now come on tonight.
The almighty God shot an arrow in your
heart the other night.
You better obey God.
This may be your last chance.
And they stampeded it to the altar.
They were falling.
They were cursing as they came to the
altar.
But brother you go to Northern Ireland and
go to the government there at Stormont.
And ask them to open the book to
the year 1922.
And there's a great big line across the
state book.
The national book.
And he says we anticipated revolution.
God sent revival through W.P. Nicholson.
That man knew God.
His main theme was repentance.
Repent.
And John said repent.
And while he preached repentance the soldiers with
their breastplates on.
These Roman heathen were so scared stiff it
says that even while he preached the soldiers
began to cry out.
Because he was crying in the spirit they
grew old in the spirit.
And the soldiers said well what shall we
do?
And before they finished crying the publicans over
there began to cry and say what shall
we do?
And before they could finish.
Oh we don't see many heartbroken people come
to the altar.
And they say go before they can get
broken.
We say this promise.
Brother they put their finger on it.
For God's sake don't try and put a
band-aid on their cancer.
Open the cancer.
Probe them.
Send them home terrified.
They'll get to God before the week's over.
Before next year.
Sure sure they will.
Because God as we heard today never begins
a work he does.
And God you can't build a skyscraper on
a desert can you?
I remember in New York there they pulled
a building down and I watched those men
go down and down and down.
I thought good night.
And I said well where are they?
Manhattan is one solid rock.
And they're going to go down till they.
The only reason you can build a building
a hundred stories high is because you go
down dozens of stories and maybe hundreds of
feet to the bedrock.
But once you get to the bedrock.
Oh but we're afraid of going to the
bedrock.
We're afraid to tell people they've got to
repent.
And turn their back on sin and hate
their sin and love their sin.
But John did it.
And not only did he disturb the whole
non-miracle.
Just the miracle of regeneration which is.
Listen.
I believe in miracles.
I've been in meetings that we have had
and afterwards said if they were sick we'd
be happy to pray.
And I've seen God open blind eyes.
I've seen people get up out of chairs
when they were crippled.
I've gone to hospital and prayed for people
who were dying of cancer.
And one woman I prayed for is healthier
than me now and that was thirty odd
years ago.
And I've seen God do that.
But I want to tell you the greatest
miracle that deity can do is to take
an unholy man out of an unholy world
and make that unholy man holy and put
him back in an unholy world and keep
him holy.
Amen.
Praise God.
That's the redemptive work of God in Christ.
We had a woman in town when I
was a pastor.
I went as pastor.
And she was distorted.
And in a healing meeting one night a
preacher touched her and her body just went
straight to six o'clock and she's a
beauty queen.
Oh I thank God for miracles.
God does them.
But again the greatest miracle is that God
can take a putrid heart.
God can take a heart of stone and
make a heart of flesh.
And in my judgment he doesn't put a
heart of flesh at the side of a
dirty old stone eye that I don't go
along with.
You ain't got a record.
I've got the list there.
I gave it our brother with sixty two
tapes.
And one of them is a fantastic record
that every preacher ought to get on Carmel.
He may blow campus crusades but brother he
stands on the word of God I'll tell
you that.
That you can't have the cross of Jesus
in your heart and be as calm as
you were before he came in because that's
nonsense.
You can't be calm and spiritual because to
be calmly mad it is death.
You don't have to have a second blessing
to put off the old man you put
off the old man and become a new
creature in Christ to try to make room
for a saint.
But the agony of Carmel was there only
for one purpose that he might redeem us
from all the problems.
I remind you again friends that Christianity is
not a comparative religion.
It's a superlative religion.
It doesn't compare with any religion in the
world.
It contrasts with every other religion in the
world.
Now can you imagine how the people are
going.
Hey did you hear.
Did you.
And they said do you hear the news.
The first thing God requires is purity.
But remember what God is against is that
thing inside that says you don't do much
for a man when you get him.
Your rights to yourself.
You say I don't understand.
You get up when you want to.
You buy what you want to.
You don't pray and say should I buy
this automobile.
Should I do that.
All this selfishness.
This carnality.
There's something that's there that should not be
there.
Somebody said to a friend of mine.
Well who's Robin said about an unsung man
of the same man.
He said it's for the man.
What's the best answer I know.
You shouldn't be living there anyhow if you
get out of it.
Fire for his energy.
Fire for his power.
Fire for purity.
Let me say one thing.
I quoted this before but it always thrills
me.
I thought about it as I meditated this
morning.
I went to preach in a little town.
A lovely town.
Actually called.
Famous for it's marmalade and famous for it's
Dundee cake.
I went along to preach with a minister.
And I had the privilege of doing a
crusade for him in every church.
I've got to go up in the train
this afternoon.
I've got a meeting.
And I saw his name outside.
And I said well Jimmy.
I said you're only a little fellow.
Fine says Jim.
Back to McCracken.
He's going to preach this afternoon.
I said well who is.
He said you are.
Well I said that's a dirty trick.
We were shivering in the cold.
The river was blocked with ice.
The roads were impassable nearly.
And I said you.
I said well I'm not going to preach.
But he got up and he played his
concertina.
And he sang with his lovely voice.
And then he said.
You're going to stand up and sing.
And then I have an Englishman here.
He's never preached in this town before.
But a man that had revival.
Who died at a ripe old age of
29.
But he shook the city for God.
With all his tuberculosis.
Well I didn't know what to do.
But I stood up and gave what God
had given me.
And I said some of you are strangled
in your spiritual experience.
You're still fettered.
You've still got bondage.
Fear.
Doubt.
Weakness.
Nervousness.
Powerlessness.
You've never made a total commitment.
You've never said look.
Look I said do it this way.
You see here is an altar.
And the altar is only there for one
reason.
In the Old Testament.
What do you know of the hook?
The altar is there for one reason.
But I said if you come and put
your whole personality on the altar.
And let God burn up all that's there.
That isn't any good to him.
And then let him have the ashes.
He'll do more with the ashes.
Than you could do with a whole personality.
Now I said I've got five minutes to
get away.
And catch the train.
But I want to pray for you as
I leave.
And if you.
I'm loveless.
I'm fearless.
And I said how many will do it?
Raise your hand.
If you can put your hands up all
over my counter.
I said there's 10, 11, 12.
Will you bow your heads.
Now as we sing the spirit of the
living God.
As I go after the door.
And they began to get up.
A little woman at the back.
With red hair.
She put her head round like that.
Put her hand up as quick as that.
I said that's number 13.
And it's not unlucky.
No unlucky numbers with the Lord.
Now come on lady.
You get up too.
And she went like that.
And I went.
And that little woman got up.
And she ran.
I'm sure she did 100 yards in less
than 10 seconds.
And I went home and shivered on the
train.
15 years later my dear wife and I
went to a big missionary rally.
A worldwide missionary rally in Manchester, England.
We got in late.
I had to sit at the back.
The speaker had a bad time that afternoon.
Speakers can have them.
I've had them.
And you have.
Nothing seemed to go right.
And finally he sat down.
He even said my that was a terrible
atmosphere wasn't it.
The devil was there.
It wasn't the devil.
It was a janitor that was at fault.
The place was overheated.
There was no ventilation.
It was hard to keep your eyes open.
What's the good of blaming the devil.
He gets blamed for enough anyhow.
The chairman said we've got 10 minutes before
tea is ready.
I wonder would you like to hear a
testimony.
And they said yes.
Tea just come back from Africa.
I didn't speak to them.
I said yeah that's right.
And he said you know when I lived
in Dundee.
I never finished my schooling.
My handwriting was very bad.
I couldn't spell.
My English was hopeless.
I just pushed a broom round the factory
floor and swept up the dirt.
And he said I said this.
And he said you know I couldn't ever
speak.
And you know at night I lived with
myself.
I used to go and shake the door
and make tea all
by myself.
I have a medical test.
There are my other things.
And some nights when I'm in bed I
turn over my head.
You better go on.
I've got on the menu tonight.
And the line goes away.
Until 2 o'clock in the morning.
I've got on such a big one.
No no no.
My feet won't stumble.
Not only that.
But she said I'll tell you how it
all began.
My wife and I were at the back.
And I was behind a lady with one
of those enormous hats that I think are
horrid.
Well I got behind the hat.
And she said I went to hear another
man preach.
And I'm glad he didn't.
And I don't remember much that Mr. Ravenhill
said.
He said you know Jesus took workmen, Peter,
a fisherman.
And he took a man that was a
tax gatherer.
He isn't looking for PhDs.
He's looking for.
Give me the Holy Ghost.
And she said he fell in fire.
And then she said I went to.
I couldn't have been.
I let God.
And she said I'll tell you something.
I'm not very sure about the day I
was saved.