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We are in the Evangelism Awakening Revival Institutes,

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and if you'll turn in your handouts to

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the Fulton Street Revival, this revival is also

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known as the Businessman's Revival, the Layman's Prayer

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Revival, the Revival of 1857 to 1858, and

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some have even referred to it as the

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Third Great Awakening.

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However you refer to it, this remarkable move

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of grace began with a prayer meeting at

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the Old North Dutch Church in Fulton Street,

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New York.

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In 1857, a layman by the name of

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Jeremiah Calvin Lamphere joined the church, and in

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July of that year, he began his work

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as a in New York City.

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He began his labors in the lower wards,

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the more neglected portions of the city.

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He handed out gospel tracts and stopped people

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on the street to pray with them and

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share the gospel, and he recorded in his

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diary on July 1st, 1757, Going my rounds

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in the performance of my duty one day,

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as I was walking along the streets, the

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idea was suggested to my mind that an

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hour of prayer from 12 to 1 o

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'clock would be beneficial to businessmen, who usually,

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in great numbers, take that hour for rest

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and refreshment.

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But the idea was to have singing, prayer,

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exhortation, relation of religious experience, as the case

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might be, that none should be required to

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stay the whole hour, but that all should

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come and go as their engagements should allow

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or require.

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While arrangements were made, and at 12 o

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'clock noon on the 23rd day of September,

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the door of the third story lecture room

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was thrown open, at half-past twelve, the

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step of a solitary individual was heard upon

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the stairs, shortly after another, and another, then

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another, and last of all another, until six

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made up the whole company.

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They had a good meeting, Lamphere recorded.

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The Lord was with us to bless us.

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So ends that diary entry of Jeremiah Lamphere,

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a sign attached to a lamppost at the

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church, simply read, daily prayer meeting from 12

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to 1 o'clock, stop five, ten, or

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twenty minutes, or the whole hour, as your

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time admits.

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It is important to give you friends the

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backdrop of New York City at this time.

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The autumn of 1857 saw New York in

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the midst of financial failure, which ruined many

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of its one million people, but there was

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a pall of mourning over every house.

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The panic of 1857, as it was called,

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began with the stock market decline.

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It started when the big flour and grain

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company failed and caused a panic on the

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heels of that was the failure of the

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Ohio Life Insurance Company, and this caused a

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market sell-off.

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More than 5,000 American businesses failed within

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a year, putting thousands into unemployment, and this

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financial crisis was the backdrop of the emotional

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attitudes of the citizens of New York who

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passed by the old Dutch Reformed Church and

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saw that sign advertising a meeting for prayer,

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but people were hurting and looking for answers.

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It wasn't long that the Fulton Street prayer

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meeting grew in size day by day.

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As people began to throng the meeting, searching

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for answers, a sign posted inside the meeting

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announced the rules of the time for prayer.

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Prayers and exhortations, not to exceed five minutes,

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in order to give all opportunity, no controverted

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points discussed, or the atmosphere of the meetings

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was one of uncommon fervency and prayer, of

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deep humility and self-abasement and great desire

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that God would glorify Himself in the outpouring

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of His Spirit upon them.

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The meetings grew and grew until larger rooms

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had to be provided to accommodate the people.

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One month from the date of the first

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noonday prayer meeting, the religious papers began to

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report on the increased interest in the meetings.

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The revival was in full swing.

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Soon, churches in other communities like Brooklyn began

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to host similar prayer meetings, and meetings sprung

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up in other parts of the United States

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throughout the country.

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It seemed at times as if the entire

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nation was consumed with prayer.

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Many were brought to Christ, and reports of

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conversions were numerous.

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Jeremiah Lanphier wrote one day in his diary,

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at the noonday prayer meeting, a young man,

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one out of a great number, told what

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the Lord had done for his soul, which

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sent a thrill through every Christian heart, and

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which will be remembered with joy.

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Well, soon the same scenes were reported all

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over the nation from coast to coast.

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There were noonday prayer meetings popping up in

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California, to Florida, and throughout the Midwest and

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the South.

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It was stated that by April 1858, 10

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,000 businessmen were gathering daily for prayer in

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New York.

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By May of 1858, it was reported there

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were 50,000 converts, as the revival continued

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to gain momentum and spread like a prairie

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fire, until every city, village, and school was

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impacted.

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It was said that by 1860, a million

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converts had been added to the American churches.

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Well, putting this revival in perspective is recognizing

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the hand of God and the salvation of

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souls right before the commencement of the Civil

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War, which would last four years, and where

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750,000 soldiers would die, not including civilian

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casualties, putting the number closer to one million

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loss of life.

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God, in his sovereignty, sent a powerful move

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of grace and a national awakening, because the

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country would soon be immersed in a slaughterhouse.

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The Fulton Street Revival is worthy of our

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study, and a wonderful book written by an

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eyewitness of the revival is the book entitled

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The Power of Prayer, the New York Revival

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of 1858, written by Samuel Prime.

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It is published by the Banner of True

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Trust, and it's significant because this rare title

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was the last which Dr. Morton Lloyd-Jones

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urged for republication before his death.

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Well, this concludes our session for today.

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We will prepare for session 13.