Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard,
that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator
of the ends of the earth, fainteth not?
Neither is weary, there is no searching of
His understanding.
He giveth power to the faint, and to
them that have no might He increases strength.
Even the youth shall faint and be weary,
and the young men shall utterly fall.
But they that wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings as eagles,
they shall run and not be weary, and
they shall walk and not faint.
We welcome you too on Eagle's Wings, a
church revival ministry, born out of revival.
Back in 1985, we experienced revival in our
area that went for seven months, where God
purged the church, broke this old bitter pastor,
made me a new man, and dealt with
many other people in similar ways.
And out of that has come this ministry.
Today I'm just going to share a little
bit about myself, not much, you know I
haven't identified myself.
But if you'd like to talk to me
or have me contact you, then you can
just write on Eagle Wings and mail it
to this station.
If you would like to make a contact,
sometime in the future, I don't know when,
I'd like to meet with the pastors of
this area.
I used to go around different parts of
the country and meet with the pastors and
share in churches.
I'd like to just talk with you.
Maybe sometime we can have a breakfast together
somewhere in one of the restaurants.
And I can just share with you a
little bit more of what God's doing, what
He's done, and listen to you and see
what your heart cry is.
We hope this program has been an encouragement
to you.
We hope it will be today.
I'm going to be sharing a little bit
more with you on revival in China.
I'm going to share with you one of
the clearest testimonies, I believe, of what a
real revival is.
So you listen to this.
Call up your pastor.
Ask him to listen.
Call up a friend.
Pray for revival.
Pray that God will use this.
Pray for me.
I'm just a man.
I've been pastoring many years.
And God has told me to step aside
for a while to encourage churches in revival.
I used to travel from my church a
lot.
And it got to be a hard thing
to do, hard for the church, hard for
me.
So I'm just spending some time now to
encourage churches in this area of revival.
The Shantung Revival was recorded by C.L.
Culpepper.
It was taken out of a book by
Crescendo Book Publications in Dallas, Texas.
And it was reprinted by permission of the
publisher in 1985 in the Spirit of Revival
magazine from Life Action Ministries.
And this report, to me, is a clear
demonstration of what revival is and what it
does.
And I thought you'd enjoy hearing this story.
We've been talking about revival in China.
I've given you a testimony from a man,
Chinese man's viewpoint, and then the woman's viewpoint.
And now from a missionary's viewpoint.
Listen as I read the Shantung Revival.
In the Book of Acts, each report of
the coming of the Holy Spirit is followed
by an account of some dynamic result.
This pattern also appears in the reports that
came out of Shantung Providence.
When the Spirit came, things happened, things that
can be classified as permanent results of the
revival.
The first result was the development of living
witnesses for the Master.
Very few churches had been witnessing with effect.
The outstanding result of the Shantung Revival was
that witnessing became spontaneous.
Saved people went everywhere telling everyone what Jesus
had done for them.
The Spirit of Prayer was another outstanding result
of the revival.
I want you to notice as I read
along also how these things that were in
their churches, a lack of witnessing, a lack
of prayer on down the line, the different
ones, a deadness in their services.
When revival hit, there was a wonderful spirit
in their services.
These are the same characteristics that are in
our churches in America.
But he said the Spirit of Prayer was
another outstanding result of the revival.
People love to pray.
Do they love to pray in your church?
Many times prayer meetings lasted two or three
hours.
The prayers were not long and monotonous, but
fervent, sometimes tearful, always as if those praying
were simply talking to the Father with the
confidence that he was listening.
It was beautiful to hear them pray for
each other.
Many parents came to know the Lord through
the prayers of their children, and teachers were
saved because their students prayed for them.
There was no cheap advertising of prayer for
the sick, but in simple childlike faith these
people prayed for the sick, and many were
healed.
During those days we missionaries observed many supernatural
things, but the change in the lives of
sinful men remained for us the greatest miracle
of all.
Although we didn't emphasize healing as a result
of prayer, nevertheless healing in response to prayer
did take place during the Shantung revival.
In these districts, just as it had been
in the New Testament after the disciples went
forth and preached everywhere, the Lord confirmed their
message with signs following.
One report said, I saw a man who
had crawled around like a worm because his
legs had grown together.
God responded immediately to the prayer of faith
as these simple believers waited upon him.
The flesh was separated, the man rose and
walked, and he is now preaching the gospel.
However, throughout the district healing was not stressed.
The emphasis was on repentance and confession of
sin.
The proof of the reality of the revival
was seen in transformed lives, as persons were
being saved continually through the spontaneous testimony of
those who received salvation from Christ's atoning death
on the cross.
Another result of the revival was the continual
singing of the people.
They put songs and other scriptures to music.
Old people who could not read or write
memorized the songs and sang with their eyes
closed, tears of joy running down their cheeks.
God had taken away their sorrow and given
them a new song.
I saw that many old women who could
not carry a tune were filled with the
Spirit singing a melody that seemed to come
from an angel of heaven.
One of the greatest personal blessings which I
received from the revival was the wonderful spirit
in the worship services.
Entire congregations bowed in silent meditation for several
minutes, and the atmosphere became charged with spiritual
power.
Suddenly someone would begin to pray and praise
God as long as an hour would pass
before the speaker could speak.
Conviction became so evident that the preacher would
simply give an opportunity for anyone who wished
to accept Christ to come forward, and there
was always some response, often large groups.
I knew it was the natural result of
a spirit of worship and adoration which followed
revival.
The ordinances also became more meaningful.
One missionary commented, I was never so blessed
in my life as when taking the Lord's
Supper with spiritual Chinese brothers and sisters in
Christ.
It was not unusual to see people in
tears during the observance.
As one young widow told a missionary, my
eyes were streaming tears all the time.
It wasn't that I was sad or glad,
it was simply that I was broken before
the Lord.
Baptism took on new meaning.
Unbelievers witnessing the baptisms often came under deep
conviction.
Invitations were frequently given and conversions resulted.
I realized I had never fully understood the
meaning of worship until I saw the Spirit
of God renewing the hearts of His people.
Another result was the change in the lives
of Christians.
Husbands and wives, children and parents, friends and
neighbors, brothers and sisters repaired relationships with God
and each other.
The change was so pronounced that even the
unsafe people knew something unusual was taking place.
A final impression the Shantung Revival wrote upon
my soul lingers with me even today.
Throughout the breath and death of Shantung Providence,
I visited the hamlets and farms.
Everywhere I went, I discovered signs of revival.
The churches were crowded as never before.
Attendance multiplied.
Church auditoriums had to be enlarged to accommodate
the crowds, sometimes reaching one thousand.
I sensed an increased spiritual vitality among the
Christians.
They testified to the cleansing from sin.
Habits and customs which once dominated their whole
lives were given up, and they developed strong
Christian character.
I discovered the danger and deceit which had
been brought into the church by many of
the members who had never been saved.
Pastors, deacons, and others learned the difference between
profession and possession.
What a sight it was to see them
searching for the genuine experience of regeneration.
Everywhere I went, the Christians had a zeal
to search out the lost and win them
to Christ.
The number of believing church members soon multiplied,
and many of them became concerned that others
know newfound joy and peace.
In years past, it was difficult to get
the interest and attention of the lost people.
Now, under the strong influence of the Spirit
of God that prevailed throughout North China, the
unbelievers, at their own initiative, became inquirers concerning
the way of salvation.
Throughout the Providence, those who had held grudges
against, or had been jealous and envious of
their friends, were restored to fellowship.
Under the influence of the Revival, the Christians
confessed their thoughts openly and prayed for one
another.
Personal and racial problems between the missionaries and
Chinese Christians dissolved.
There was a thorough realization of the heinousness
of sin.
Countless thousands of people gave up their idols.
Even missionaries confessed lies and petty thefts and
other sins which had shadowed their lives and
dogged their tracks for years.
It was also quite apparent that the Revival
reached into the Chinese Christians' pocketbooks.
There was a deep joy and satisfaction in
giving.
It was no longer difficult to get sufficient
funds for the work.
Still today, my heart often returns to Shantung.
My soul is renewed as I recapture the
aura of spiritual ecstasy which epitomized that era
in my life.
Then the reflective glow fades away and I
find myself in the midst of a land,
my land, which needs a second touch for
its impotent churches, hobbled with their lack of
spiritual power.
Unless a great spiritual awakening overtakes our churches,
there is little hope for our nation.
Such a renewal need not take the exact
form of the Shantung Revival, but all the
revivals recorded in Holy Writ followed a general
pattern.
First, there was a degeneration of spiritual power
among God's people.
Then came the realization of desperate need.
Deep conviction of sin and agonizing prayer always
follows.
A final action required turning away from all
wickedness and worldliness.
That's the way it happened in Shantung when
God kept His covenant with His people.
He is waiting for us to let Him
do it again in America.
C.L. Culpepper on the Shantung Revival So
many things in this article remind me of
the revival we experienced in 85.
I have a little booklet that I've written
on that revival, called Revival or Ruin, that
you're welcome to have a copy of.
At this stage of our ministry, I'd like
to say that I could mail you one,
but I'm not going any farther than the
Lord directs me at this point, and I
have some copies here at the station that
you can pick up.
But if you'd like to have one, you
can.
In the future, I'd like to be able
to mail out the booklet to you, and
also I'd like to be able to give
you other revival literature that I've found very
helpful for encouraging us in the area of
revival.
There's different aspects of it, the histories of
revival and praying for revival.
I would also like, in the future, to
bring in some of my friends, different ones
in the revival ministry, and have a meeting
here in this area to pray for revival
and to share with you.
If you're desperate, and you're serious, and you
want to see God work in your life,
in your church, then you be praying about
these things.
As I move out to make more contact
in the public, and come out from under
my disguise of silence and non-identification, it's
only that I want to just go as
far as the Lord wants me to go.
If you're hurting, and you're desperate, my friend,
you can see God do something.
We've seen churches literally turned inside out.
And one of the things mentioned in this
article about the unsaved, we saw that in
our church, too.
We had what I call backdoor revival.
Some of the unsaved left.
It got too real for them.
It was an interesting thing.
And maybe even one time I might read
the article that I wrote.
Next time that we get together, I want
to share with you an interview that I
had with an old godly pastor.
He taught in a seminary for 40 years,
or a little bit more.
And we had him in our church some
weeks ago, and I took time to interview
him with him about the church and revival
in different areas.
We talked about several different areas.
And I just wanted to share that with
you.
It was a real blessing to me to
get to spend some time with Dr. Victor
Matthews.
And I wanted to share this with you
on our broadcast next time.
Well, this article that I've just shared with
you is one of the clearest definitions of
what revival does.
Do you want it?
Would you like to see God working in
your church like this?
You can have it.
I'm not going to give it to you.
Go to God.
Get on your face and start praying.
Do you have trouble praying?
Ask God to wake you up during the
night if you don't have time.
That's what he used to do with me.
Do you need revival?
How desperate are you for it?
You know, many times we feel like we've
got to have something.
We've got to have a new car or
a new truck or a new house or
a new coat or this or that or
remodel our kitchen.
And whatever we want, we go after it.
We think about it.
We plan for it until we get it.
Are you desperate for God to work in
your church, pastor?
Are you desperate for God to cleanse your
life?
Are you tired of the hypocrisy?
You know, the interesting thing is that when
Jesus came, the Orthodox Jews, scribes and Pharisees,
the fundamentalists of the day, the religious leaders
were the ones that were in need of
revival and they didn't even recognize it.
There was a few around.
Nicodemus came to them and the disciples, but
the vast majority of them didn't recognize their
need and they missed it.
They missed it.
All this ministry is to encourage you.
I'd like to meet with you.
I'd like to talk with you sometime in
the future.
I'd like to make contact with you.
I'd like to have a meeting with the
pastors of this area that are hungry for
revival.
Maybe we can have a prayer breakfast somewhere
and meet together and just share.
I'd like to get maybe some of my
other friends, different ones, evangelists or pastors or
workers around that I know in this country
where God has been using these men to
come in and share with you some things.
But first of all, if you'd like to
just make contact with me, you can just
write to this program on Eagle's Wings and
mail it to the station that you're listening
to and they'll see that I get it
and then I'll make contact with you.
I have material.
I'd like to be able to start a
mailing ministry, but right now I can only
go so far.
I have a booklet that I've written on
revival that you're free to have.
I can't mail it out at this time,
maybe in the future, but if you'd like
a copy, you can come by the station
and pick one up out in the lobby.
But let's do something.
Our great land is too wonderful a place
to let slip because of our lethargic, cold,
apathetic churches.
Let's do something.
We have a lot of good Bible preaching
on the radios, a lot of good faithful
pastors.
And if you have one, you encourage him.
You pray for him.
You even go by and see what you
can do for him.
Take care of the kids so him and
his wife can go out and spend some
time alone, take an evening out, even give
him money for the meal.
Tell him to go out to a steakhouse
and eat.
Guard your pastor if he's a godly man,
preaching the word.
Cherish him.
Encourage him.
It's a tough battle.
But we need revival.
We desperately need it.
Now, I've been sharing with you about Moses
a little bit.
I'd like to take a few moments.
I've been talking about his fears.
He had these five fears, five excuses that
he gave to God.
And God told him to go.
And we talked last time about he said,
who am I?
And God said that his presence would be
with him.
And then the second thing that he shared
was that he didn't have any authority.
He said, I'm going to go to him.
And who am I going to tell him's
sending me?
And God said to him, you just tell
him that I am that I am.
That's my name.
I am had sent me unto you.
Well, this second of his five fears or
excuses is in Exodus chapter three.
We're looking at verse 13 on down through
there.
Remember, the book of Exodus is a book
about the way out of Egypt, the way
out of death and into life.
And this is why I like to use
it to illustrate the cross is the way
out of death and into life.
Exodus is a book about resurrection life.
Chapter two, Moses was drawn up out of
the water.
In chapter three, he's drawn up out of
the desert.
He's a resurrection God.
And he'll bring you up out of your
desert too.
He'll raise you up.
Now, Moses is afraid to go in his
own name.
Well, wouldn't you be too?
He says, I don't have any authority, man.
My name's mud back there, back home.
Well, God says, don't go in your name.
You go in my name.
Use my authority.
Now, what did the name mean to Moses?
What did it mean to Israel?
What's his name mean to you?
I believe when God said, I am, he
meant that all that he was, all that
he was, he was for Moses.
All that God is, he is for me.
If he is my savior and if he's
yours.
So what did that name mean to Moses?
Well, Moses came to find out.
He didn't need master card.
He didn't need a visa.
He didn't need any of the credit cards.
All he needed was God's name.
God was all he needed.
God says that I am self-existent.
When he says, I am, I am self
-existent.
Moses, all I am, I am for you.
You need authority, then I am your authority.
Jesus said, all power and authority is given
unto me.
You remember that?
Go ye therefore and teach and baptize.
So if you're a believer, you better be
a going.
You better be a teaching.
You better be seeing that you're a witness
and sharing Christ.
And he says, I'm a resurrection God.
And 15 and 16 of Exodus chapter three,
he said, by the way, you tell him
that I'm the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob.
I'm the resurrection God.
And I'm going to raise them up also
because verse 17 says, and I have said,
I will bring you up out of the
affliction of Egypt.
When he sets you free at the cross
at Calvary, he sets us free completely from
all of our bondages.
But somehow or another, Satan gets in there
to try to keep you from understanding the
power of the cross, that you are really
free.
He wants you to miss out on the
freedom of the cross.
You need freedom to Israel.
He says, then I am your freedom.
And this is what he's saying to Israel.
I am your freedom.
And when I free you from Egypt, he
says, I'm going to grind them to powder.
And actually, when he got done with Egypt,
they were stripped.
They were powerless.
They were destroyed.
What happened to the army?
There was no army anymore.
They were buried in the sea.
So what it meant to Israel was a
resurrection from death to life, a new owner.
They had Egypt.
They had Pharaoh as their old owner.
Now they have a new owner, God, a
new lifestyle, new habits.
Like the scripture says, therefore, if any man
be in Christ, he's a new creature.
Old things have passed away.
Behold, new things have come.
I hope you've experienced that.
It was a wonderful thing in my life
when I experienced that.
I really didn't know what was going on.
All I knew is that I had a
new life when I invited Christ to take
over my life.
Well, what's it mean to us?
Same thing to us.
If all God is, he is for me,
then all I need to live is God.
He's all you need.
Let me put it like this.
Some people say the world needs peace.
Well, listen, if you're troubled, Jesus says, if
you're troubled, then I am peace.
If you're in darkness, he says, I'm light.
If you're hungry, he says, I'm bread.
If you're thirsty, I'm water.
If you need direction, I'm the door.
If you need to make decisions, then I'm
the way.
If you need protection, I'm the shepherd.
I am.
It's like a blank check.
I am to you whatever you need.
Mary and Martha needed a resurrection, so he
showed up and Lazarus rose again.
He says, I am the resurrection and the
life.
By the way, do you need a resurrection?
Are you saved?
Do you need to be saved from yourself,
out of your bondage of sin?
Then come to Jesus.
Ask him to save you.
Are you a struggling Christian?
Let him deliver you.
Let him set you free.
If you have Jesus, you have all you
need.
But if you don't have Jesus, you don't
have anything.
You have some big troubles.
Moses had a need, and God said, I'm
your answer.
I'm your answer.
When I was in the service, I used
to travel around to different countries.
How could I get around to different countries?
Well, I had a passport.
My authority was the United States government, and
I could go into different countries and do
whatever I needed to do on the basis
of my authority.
Well, we're free in Jesus to go about.
I hope that you haven't been recaptured.
You can't lose your soul.
Because of the blood of Christ, the blood
of Christ is sufficient to keep your soul.
But you can sure get recaptured into some
kind of area of sin.
Is there anything in which you have failed
to put God first?
You know, the Bible says, but seek you
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things shall be added unto
you.
But you wouldn't be trying to put God
second place in your life somewhere, would you?
Have your decisions been made after your own
wisdom and desires, rather than by seeking and
following God's will?
Have you been spending time praying about major
decisions or even daily decisions?
Do any of the following things in any
way interfere with your surrender and service to
God?
How about your ambition?
How about your pleasures?
How about your loved ones?
Even your friendships?
How about a desire for recognition?
Money or just your own plans?
Is God really first in your life?
When you wake up in the morning, do
you just say, God, I love you?
My life is yours.
Do with me what you want to today.
Or do you say to me, I wouldn't
dare say that to God.
If you wouldn't say that to God, then,
my friend, you don't know him very well.
You don't love him and trust him.
Why don't you enter into the life of
grace?
If you've been struggling, won't you let him
lift you up on eagles' wings?
He can set you free.
That's why we're here, to encourage you.
Turn to Jesus Christ.
Let him be all you need.
Turn to him.
Let him lift you up.