1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:05,540 I believe a door can have much significance 2 00:00:05,540 --> 00:00:06,520 to it. 3 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,840 The front door of your house often says 4 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:12,280 a lot about what's on the inside. 5 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,720 I remember a castle-like house whose front 6 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:20,260 door was imported iron from Spain and it 7 00:00:20,260 --> 00:00:23,660 weighed well over a hundred pounds and cost 8 00:00:23,660 --> 00:00:27,100 over five thousand dollars just for the front 9 00:00:27,100 --> 00:00:30,260 door of that magnificent house. 10 00:00:31,159 --> 00:00:35,080 A door also carries the significance of a 11 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:35,880 reality. 12 00:00:36,660 --> 00:00:38,960 A door is one of two things. 13 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:41,820 It's either closed or open. 14 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:45,180 You are either shut outside it or let 15 00:00:45,180 --> 00:00:49,320 inside by it depending on how well you 16 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:50,360 know the owner. 17 00:00:51,060 --> 00:00:53,640 And I look around today at the moral 18 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:58,120 chaos in our society and the spiritual declension 19 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:01,940 in the church and I see very plainly 20 00:01:01,940 --> 00:01:04,480 a large closed door. 21 00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:09,360 We operate today in the church in the 22 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:12,260 west beneath a closed heaven. 23 00:01:13,180 --> 00:01:17,600 We haven't seen real genuine revival in America 24 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,500 in over 160 years. 25 00:01:21,130 --> 00:01:24,700 God has shut the door, removed his presence 26 00:01:24,700 --> 00:01:29,540 from amongst us because the churches in America 27 00:01:29,540 --> 00:01:33,120 used to run on the power of prayer 28 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:35,120 and by God's spirit. 29 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,160 But we figured out a long time ago 30 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:40,780 it was quicker to get the job done 31 00:01:40,780 --> 00:01:43,520 by money and manpower. 32 00:01:43,820 --> 00:01:49,680 So we became a self-reliant church and 33 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,340 God has left us to our own devices 34 00:01:53,340 --> 00:01:56,020 and you can see where that has gotten 35 00:01:56,020 --> 00:01:56,540 us. 36 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,440 The title of my message today friends is 37 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,180 the four doors of revival and I think 38 00:02:04,180 --> 00:02:07,020 it's one of the most important messages I've 39 00:02:07,020 --> 00:02:07,979 ever preached. 40 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:12,120 I've been on the battlefront for God for 41 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:14,800 many years now and I know what it's 42 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:19,380 like to experience the power of God in 43 00:02:19,380 --> 00:02:19,940 a meeting. 44 00:02:20,300 --> 00:02:24,800 I've seen the faces of a congregation before 45 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:30,520 me so altered with solemnity and conviction and 46 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:34,600 alarm that it looked just like a cannonball 47 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,040 had been shot down the center aisle of 48 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:37,900 that church. 49 00:02:38,180 --> 00:02:41,320 I've seen God show up in his manifest 50 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:45,380 presence and alter not only the life of 51 00:02:45,380 --> 00:02:48,040 a church but the life of a community. 52 00:02:48,580 --> 00:02:51,660 But I long for a national revival. 53 00:02:52,260 --> 00:02:56,120 I've been in church for over 60 years 54 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:00,140 and I've seen the sad spiritual decline fall 55 00:03:00,140 --> 00:03:04,040 over our churches like a thick black plague. 56 00:03:04,980 --> 00:03:08,240 I want to talk about the path to 57 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:12,660 revival because friends if we don't see a 58 00:03:12,660 --> 00:03:16,160 national awakening in this land we won't have 59 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:17,840 a nation to live in. 60 00:03:18,500 --> 00:03:21,780 America will be regulated to the ash heap 61 00:03:21,780 --> 00:03:25,620 of history just like ancient Rome and ancient 62 00:03:25,620 --> 00:03:29,620 Greece who were both titans of their times, 63 00:03:30,100 --> 00:03:34,420 titans of their civilizations and who both imploded 64 00:03:34,420 --> 00:03:38,220 upon themselves in utter annihilation. 65 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,560 I'm going to read you a familiar passage 66 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,340 of scripture and please do not allow your 67 00:03:46,340 --> 00:03:50,320 familiarity with it to deaden you to it. 68 00:03:50,820 --> 00:03:55,520 God makes a declaration in 2 Chronicles 7 69 00:03:55,520 --> 00:04:00,980 13 where he says if I shut up 70 00:04:00,980 --> 00:04:05,980 heaven that there be no rain or if 71 00:04:05,980 --> 00:04:10,100 I command the locusts to devour the land 72 00:04:10,100 --> 00:04:16,480 or if I send pestilence among my people. 73 00:04:17,180 --> 00:04:20,160 Let me pause here friends to ask a 74 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:21,520 couple of questions. 75 00:04:22,060 --> 00:04:26,400 In our churches today are we living beneath 76 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:31,080 a closed heaven and the withdrawn presence of 77 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:31,640 God? 78 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,880 Is there a pestilence among the people today 79 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:37,980 that just won't go away? 80 00:04:38,660 --> 00:04:42,480 Now you can answer those two questions any 81 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,460 way you want to and come out with 82 00:04:45,460 --> 00:04:48,140 an opinion on the state of things in 83 00:04:48,140 --> 00:04:49,160 this country. 84 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,940 I've learned that almighty God never places his 85 00:04:53,940 --> 00:04:57,520 people in a jam without a divine purpose 86 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:00,980 behind it and he has a way to 87 00:05:00,980 --> 00:05:03,000 lead them out of that trouble. 88 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:06,440 I'm going to list the four doors to 89 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:09,460 revival and you can listen to me or 90 00:05:09,460 --> 00:05:11,160 not listen to me. 91 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,260 You can agree with me or not agree 92 00:05:14,260 --> 00:05:14,920 with me. 93 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:17,700 I'm not here to gain your approval. 94 00:05:18,180 --> 00:05:20,440 I'm here to wake you out of your 95 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:21,880 spiritual stupor. 96 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:25,640 I'm going to read our text for today 97 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:28,840 and then like we say in the south 98 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:32,220 I'm going to give you the oil straight 99 00:05:32,220 --> 00:05:33,180 from the can. 100 00:05:33,820 --> 00:05:37,080 Here now is the word of God and 101 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,700 may the spirit of the Lord attend the 102 00:05:39,700 --> 00:05:42,620 reading of his holy word. 103 00:05:44,350 --> 00:05:48,690 If my people which are called by my 104 00:05:48,690 --> 00:05:55,150 name shall humble themselves and pray and seek 105 00:05:55,150 --> 00:06:00,610 my face and turn from their wicked ways 106 00:06:01,100 --> 00:06:06,810 then will I hear from heaven and will 107 00:06:06,810 --> 00:06:13,010 forgive their sin and will heal their land. 108 00:06:13,810 --> 00:06:17,150 Well first we have to make some assumptions 109 00:06:17,150 --> 00:06:17,770 here. 110 00:06:18,430 --> 00:06:21,830 God is saying if we do some things 111 00:06:21,830 --> 00:06:25,230 then he will do some things but if 112 00:06:25,230 --> 00:06:28,270 we fail or choose not to do those 113 00:06:28,270 --> 00:06:30,850 things then he won't do a thing. 114 00:06:31,650 --> 00:06:34,530 He won't even hear us much less heal 115 00:06:34,530 --> 00:06:34,970 us. 116 00:06:35,630 --> 00:06:37,990 Do you hear what I'm talking about friends? 117 00:06:38,690 --> 00:06:42,190 Let me ask you friend does our land 118 00:06:42,190 --> 00:06:43,490 need healing? 119 00:06:44,170 --> 00:06:48,150 Do our churches need the presence of God? 120 00:06:48,740 --> 00:06:53,390 This passage speaks of four closed doors that 121 00:06:53,390 --> 00:06:56,670 the stiff-necked people of God are unwilling 122 00:06:56,670 --> 00:06:58,050 to pass through. 123 00:06:58,530 --> 00:07:02,010 For whatever reason they just won't do it. 124 00:07:02,570 --> 00:07:06,190 I think things have gotten so desperate, so 125 00:07:06,190 --> 00:07:13,130 deplorable, so disgusting, so disturbing, so degenerate that 126 00:07:13,130 --> 00:07:16,770 it's time we did the stated things or 127 00:07:16,770 --> 00:07:20,750 we will implode as a nation just like 128 00:07:20,750 --> 00:07:25,370 corrupt ancient Rome and perverted ancient Greece. 129 00:07:25,630 --> 00:07:28,450 We will join them on the ash heap 130 00:07:28,450 --> 00:07:29,270 of history. 131 00:07:30,630 --> 00:07:34,110 I don't even see where America is mentioned 132 00:07:34,110 --> 00:07:36,710 in my Bible in the end times. 133 00:07:37,050 --> 00:07:40,970 I see Gog and Magog, China and Russia. 134 00:07:41,490 --> 00:07:42,850 What happened to us? 135 00:07:43,330 --> 00:07:46,990 Well let's examine these four closed doors one 136 00:07:46,990 --> 00:07:48,010 at a time. 137 00:07:48,910 --> 00:07:53,190 Door number one is humble themselves. 138 00:07:54,010 --> 00:07:57,490 The first thing the church refuses to do 139 00:07:57,490 --> 00:07:59,470 is to humble herself. 140 00:08:00,110 --> 00:08:00,630 Why? 141 00:08:01,270 --> 00:08:04,530 A self-reliant church is a church out 142 00:08:04,530 --> 00:08:05,770 of step with God. 143 00:08:06,430 --> 00:08:09,970 In Amos we read, can two walk together 144 00:08:09,970 --> 00:08:11,890 except they be agreed? 145 00:08:12,530 --> 00:08:13,930 The answer is no. 146 00:08:14,430 --> 00:08:18,450 God hates pride and lists it with witchcraft. 147 00:08:18,990 --> 00:08:22,670 Our spiritual pride won't allow us to pass 148 00:08:22,670 --> 00:08:25,430 through door number one and we have to 149 00:08:25,430 --> 00:08:27,910 go through this door if we have any 150 00:08:27,910 --> 00:08:31,510 hope of gaining entrance to the other three. 151 00:08:32,150 --> 00:08:35,010 Years ago I was sitting in a hotel 152 00:08:35,010 --> 00:08:38,630 room with Richard Owen Roberts and I said 153 00:08:38,630 --> 00:08:41,690 to him, do you know what mystifies me? 154 00:08:41,990 --> 00:08:44,950 And he said, what mystifies you? 155 00:08:45,370 --> 00:08:49,210 And I said, what mystifies me is the 156 00:08:49,210 --> 00:08:53,550 sleepy headed pastor who refuses to get his 157 00:08:53,550 --> 00:08:57,470 people assembled in the sanctuary of God for 158 00:08:57,470 --> 00:09:01,090 nights of desperation and humility and prayer. 159 00:09:01,630 --> 00:09:04,890 And Richard Owen Roberts said that mystified him 160 00:09:04,890 --> 00:09:06,030 as well. 161 00:09:07,330 --> 00:09:10,930 Does a nuclear bomb have to annihilate one 162 00:09:10,930 --> 00:09:13,830 of our major cities before the people of 163 00:09:13,830 --> 00:09:17,910 God humble themselves before God in nights of 164 00:09:17,910 --> 00:09:19,610 desperation and prayer? 165 00:09:20,670 --> 00:09:24,210 Door number two that the church refuses to 166 00:09:24,210 --> 00:09:26,530 pass through is pray. 167 00:09:27,050 --> 00:09:30,550 When the churches in America killed off the 168 00:09:30,550 --> 00:09:33,590 weekly prayer meeting, they turned off the only 169 00:09:33,590 --> 00:09:36,730 engine they had to operate the church. 170 00:09:37,150 --> 00:09:39,850 That's why so many churches are out of 171 00:09:39,850 --> 00:09:40,550 gas today. 172 00:09:41,190 --> 00:09:44,150 They don't have a clue what corporate prayer 173 00:09:44,150 --> 00:09:45,510 really is. 174 00:09:45,790 --> 00:09:49,330 They think it's a three minute exercise where 175 00:09:49,330 --> 00:09:51,830 you tip your head to God and that's 176 00:09:51,830 --> 00:09:52,770 the end of it. 177 00:09:52,950 --> 00:09:56,570 Rather than laying hold of God and entire 178 00:09:56,570 --> 00:10:01,190 nights of desperation to see answers to prayer, 179 00:10:01,670 --> 00:10:05,270 intercession is a lost art today in our 180 00:10:05,270 --> 00:10:05,770 churches. 181 00:10:06,530 --> 00:10:09,030 We refuse to pray the way God wants 182 00:10:09,030 --> 00:10:12,590 us to because to pray that way means 183 00:10:12,590 --> 00:10:14,990 we just can't have the time. 184 00:10:15,130 --> 00:10:16,990 We just don't have the time. 185 00:10:17,450 --> 00:10:18,370 We're too busy. 186 00:10:18,890 --> 00:10:22,310 But what costs counts and what counts costs 187 00:10:22,310 --> 00:10:25,670 and real intercessory prayer costs something. 188 00:10:26,470 --> 00:10:29,910 The third door the church refused to pass 189 00:10:29,910 --> 00:10:32,350 through is seek my face. 190 00:10:32,610 --> 00:10:34,710 I believe we can have as much of 191 00:10:34,710 --> 00:10:37,610 the Holy Spirit as we want so long 192 00:10:37,610 --> 00:10:40,470 as the Holy Spirit can have as much 193 00:10:40,470 --> 00:10:42,090 of us as he wants. 194 00:10:42,570 --> 00:10:45,790 But the church refuses to pass through this 195 00:10:45,790 --> 00:10:49,350 third door because of the bright light on 196 00:10:49,350 --> 00:10:50,470 the other side. 197 00:10:50,910 --> 00:10:54,270 Imagine you're in a dark room and you 198 00:10:54,270 --> 00:10:57,430 grope for the doorknob and you finally find 199 00:10:57,430 --> 00:10:59,390 it and you open the door. 200 00:10:59,910 --> 00:11:03,410 Suddenly the room is filled with light because 201 00:11:03,410 --> 00:11:05,690 all the bright light on the other side 202 00:11:05,690 --> 00:11:07,870 has passed into the room. 203 00:11:08,370 --> 00:11:11,850 The church refuses to pass through the door 204 00:11:11,850 --> 00:11:15,670 of seeking God because we don't want the 205 00:11:15,670 --> 00:11:19,950 spotlight of the Holy Spirit to expose us 206 00:11:19,950 --> 00:11:23,030 to shine upon our sinful lives. 207 00:11:23,190 --> 00:11:25,590 We just don't want that kind of scrutiny. 208 00:11:26,430 --> 00:11:29,470 We like our little pet sins and want 209 00:11:29,470 --> 00:11:31,090 to keep it that way. 210 00:11:31,430 --> 00:11:33,310 Keep them close to our bosom. 211 00:11:33,950 --> 00:11:36,190 And that leads us directly to the fourth 212 00:11:36,190 --> 00:11:39,270 and final door that the church refuses to 213 00:11:39,270 --> 00:11:42,030 pass through and this is the door of 214 00:11:42,030 --> 00:11:42,950 repentance. 215 00:11:44,790 --> 00:11:47,350 Turn from their wicked ways. 216 00:11:47,770 --> 00:11:51,310 Jesus had a last word to his churches 217 00:11:51,310 --> 00:11:54,610 in the book of Revelation and if you 218 00:11:54,610 --> 00:11:56,910 read it you will see what that word 219 00:11:56,910 --> 00:11:59,850 is and that word is repent. 220 00:12:00,870 --> 00:12:05,450 The proud sin-laden church of today refuses 221 00:12:05,450 --> 00:12:08,930 to admit any wrongdoing a sin because it 222 00:12:08,930 --> 00:12:11,770 feels it has no need to repent. 223 00:12:12,490 --> 00:12:15,650 It just doesn't feel its need and if 224 00:12:15,650 --> 00:12:18,090 you're not going to the doctor for treatment 225 00:12:18,090 --> 00:12:21,830 in a remedy for an illness you won't 226 00:12:21,830 --> 00:12:24,570 go if you don't think you are sick 227 00:12:24,570 --> 00:12:29,590 because thou sayest I am rich and increased 228 00:12:29,590 --> 00:12:33,390 with goods and have need of nothing and 229 00:12:33,390 --> 00:12:38,930 knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable 230 00:12:38,930 --> 00:12:44,510 and poor and blind and naked.