1 00:00:05,828 --> 00:00:08,359 I suppose you can call it revival, 2 00:00:08,359 --> 00:00:10,505 but it was a move of the Spirit anyway. 3 00:00:10,505 --> 00:00:14,144 It wasn't really any historic revival. 4 00:00:14,144 --> 00:00:17,499 But as we think of, you know, where cities were 5 00:00:17,499 --> 00:00:20,667 swept into the Kingdom overnight, 6 00:00:20,667 --> 00:00:22,296 that type of thing. 7 00:00:22,296 --> 00:00:25,595 One of the most outstanding things in my mind 8 00:00:25,595 --> 00:00:30,066 was up there with Keith McCloud for 8 months 9 00:00:30,066 --> 00:00:31,401 I believe it was, 10 00:00:31,401 --> 00:00:33,162 and we made it a practice to meet 11 00:00:33,162 --> 00:00:35,023 for open-ended prayer every day 12 00:00:35,023 --> 00:00:36,808 if not twice a day. 13 00:00:36,808 --> 00:00:39,500 And there was about four of us. 14 00:00:39,500 --> 00:00:41,410 And so it was just sort of a log cabin 15 00:00:41,410 --> 00:00:44,791 Bible school type of thing. 16 00:00:44,791 --> 00:00:51,304 It was just a matter of meeting every day 17 00:00:51,304 --> 00:00:53,091 for preaching and prayer, 18 00:00:53,091 --> 00:00:54,678 that's all it was. 19 00:00:54,678 --> 00:00:56,804 So, in the middle of that time, 20 00:00:56,804 --> 00:00:59,161 Keith had accepted an invitation 21 00:00:59,161 --> 00:01:00,470 to hold meetings at a big 22 00:01:00,470 --> 00:01:02,537 evangelical Mennonite church. 23 00:01:02,537 --> 00:01:04,200 And so we began to pray regularly 24 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:06,045 for those meetings that were coming up. 25 00:01:06,045 --> 00:01:08,126 I suppose we prayed for maybe four months 26 00:01:08,126 --> 00:01:09,444 every day. 27 00:01:09,444 --> 00:01:14,242 And the meetings began in Wymark, Saskatchewan. 28 00:01:14,242 --> 00:01:18,108 God came in power in the very first meeting. 29 00:01:18,108 --> 00:01:22,190 I mean, the very first meeting 30 00:01:22,190 --> 00:01:24,345 God was there in power. 31 00:01:24,345 --> 00:01:27,000 People were weeping, people were coming to the front. 32 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:28,426 He never gave any altar call; 33 00:01:28,426 --> 00:01:30,205 he didn't believe in an altar call, 34 00:01:30,205 --> 00:01:31,680 but people, they couldn't take it, 35 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:33,508 and they could not keep their seats, 36 00:01:33,508 --> 00:01:35,992 they got up and they went to the front, 37 00:01:35,992 --> 00:01:37,953 and they were confessing their sins. 38 00:01:37,953 --> 00:01:39,684 And every night, as I recall, 39 00:01:39,684 --> 00:01:41,777 there was probably 20, 30, 40 people 40 00:01:41,777 --> 00:01:44,069 up front there doing business with God. 41 00:01:44,069 --> 00:01:45,613 Every night the meetings lasted 42 00:01:45,613 --> 00:01:46,883 till 1 or 2 or 3 o'clock 43 00:01:46,883 --> 00:01:48,841 with people asking for help. 44 00:01:48,841 --> 00:01:50,426 They were in distress of soul. 45 00:01:50,426 --> 00:01:51,754 I remember one young girl, 46 00:01:51,754 --> 00:01:53,663 she was about 12 years old. 47 00:01:53,663 --> 00:01:55,823 It was ten minutes before she could even talk. 48 00:01:55,823 --> 00:01:57,959 She was under such deep conviction. 49 00:01:57,959 --> 00:01:59,842 And so we got to bed at like 4 o'clock 50 00:01:59,842 --> 00:02:01,240 every night. 51 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,002 And sometimes people couldn't even wait 52 00:02:04,002 --> 00:02:06,079 until the sermon was over. 53 00:02:06,079 --> 00:02:08,426 They were crying out under 54 00:02:08,426 --> 00:02:09,931 conviction of sin 55 00:02:09,931 --> 00:02:11,670 and he would have to stop preaching 56 00:02:11,670 --> 00:02:13,313 and ask the pastor to take them 57 00:02:13,313 --> 00:02:14,773 to the basement. 58 00:02:14,773 --> 00:02:16,827 I remember one fellow, he was under 59 00:02:16,827 --> 00:02:18,908 such conviction of sin, it was like 60 00:02:18,908 --> 00:02:21,137 he was just screaming, 61 00:02:21,137 --> 00:02:25,113 and as the pastor took him to the basement, 62 00:02:25,113 --> 00:02:26,994 you could hear him crying down there 63 00:02:26,994 --> 00:02:30,020 like an animal going to the slaughter. 64 00:02:30,020 --> 00:02:32,490 And so it was a very powerful time. 65 00:02:32,490 --> 00:02:35,091 People were starting to come from many miles away. 66 00:02:35,091 --> 00:02:36,725 The report was spreading. 67 00:02:36,725 --> 00:02:38,717 I know Keith McCloud said if he had any 68 00:02:38,717 --> 00:02:40,982 regrets at the end of that time, 69 00:02:40,982 --> 00:02:45,037 it was that he didn't continue the meetings longer. 70 00:02:45,037 --> 00:02:46,794 And so at the end of the time, 71 00:02:46,794 --> 00:02:48,827 it was estimated that half of the church; 72 00:02:48,827 --> 00:02:51,331 there were probably three or four hundred people attending; 73 00:02:51,331 --> 00:02:53,150 half of the church either had a fresh 74 00:02:53,150 --> 00:02:55,047 or a new meeting with God. 75 00:02:55,047 --> 00:02:57,503 Brother McCloud said that 76 00:02:57,503 --> 00:02:59,901 every night it was like he could hardly wait 77 00:02:59,901 --> 00:03:01,991 to get into the pulpit. 78 00:03:01,991 --> 00:03:07,091 He was full of unvented wine. 79 00:03:07,091 --> 00:03:09,903 God just gave him such authority, 80 00:03:09,903 --> 00:03:13,878 such clarity, such utterance, 81 00:03:13,878 --> 00:03:16,959 such an ability to magnify Christ. 82 00:03:16,959 --> 00:03:20,203 It was like when he was done with his sermon, 83 00:03:20,203 --> 00:03:22,346 every tree in the forest was chopped down 84 00:03:22,346 --> 00:03:24,761 except one. Just one was left standing. 85 00:03:24,761 --> 00:03:26,398 He just cleaned the slate. 86 00:03:26,398 --> 00:03:27,910 Knocked down every idol. 87 00:03:27,910 --> 00:03:28,920 Routed every sin. 88 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:33,142 Christ alone was left standing. 89 00:03:33,142 --> 00:03:35,912 I remember one time, one woman, 90 00:03:35,912 --> 00:03:37,209 right in the middle of the sermon, 91 00:03:37,209 --> 00:03:38,554 she was under such conviction 92 00:03:38,554 --> 00:03:40,461 she just stood up and called out 93 00:03:40,461 --> 00:03:42,114 across the aisle and asked somebody else 94 00:03:42,114 --> 00:03:46,599 for forgiveness in the middle of the sermon. 95 00:03:46,599 --> 00:03:50,342 It was holy chaos. 96 00:03:50,342 --> 00:03:53,229 One time, another remarkable thing, 97 00:03:53,229 --> 00:03:57,252 about a half a year after I was converted, 98 00:03:57,252 --> 00:04:00,274 and I was converted when I was a member 99 00:04:00,274 --> 00:04:03,742 of a fraternity at Iowa State. 100 00:04:03,742 --> 00:04:06,159 So about a half a year after I was converted, 101 00:04:06,159 --> 00:04:07,889 this company that I was working for, 102 00:04:07,889 --> 00:04:10,378 they were going to have a regional meeting 103 00:04:10,378 --> 00:04:15,377 back in the town where I had gone to college. 104 00:04:15,377 --> 00:04:17,995 So I thought maybe this would be an opportunity 105 00:04:17,995 --> 00:04:22,348 to organize a Gospel meeting for my fraternity brothers. 106 00:04:22,348 --> 00:04:25,205 This fellow who was friendly with me, 107 00:04:25,205 --> 00:04:28,530 he set up this meeting for a Gospel meeting 108 00:04:28,530 --> 00:04:32,505 after the supper in the living room. 109 00:04:32,505 --> 00:04:36,739 And probably about 40 guys gathered in there. 110 00:04:36,739 --> 00:04:40,444 And another older Christian by the name of 111 00:04:40,444 --> 00:04:42,971 Vader Zudtke from Northeast Iowa, 112 00:04:42,971 --> 00:04:46,233 he came down, and also my brother was there 113 00:04:46,233 --> 00:04:47,211 and another fellow. 114 00:04:47,211 --> 00:04:50,185 So anyway, here Vader was sharing the Gospel 115 00:04:50,185 --> 00:04:52,780 with these fraternity brothers, 116 00:04:52,780 --> 00:04:56,801 and God began to settle in. 117 00:04:56,801 --> 00:05:02,333 And what was designed to be a 40 minute meeting 118 00:05:02,333 --> 00:05:03,798 in that living room floor 119 00:05:03,798 --> 00:05:05,262 guys sitting around, 120 00:05:05,262 --> 00:05:07,010 it turned out to be, as I recall, 121 00:05:07,010 --> 00:05:11,093 about 7 hours before we were done that night. 122 00:05:11,093 --> 00:05:14,231 One fellow sitting there just came under conviction 123 00:05:14,231 --> 00:05:16,955 and began to weep and cry out 124 00:05:16,955 --> 00:05:21,060 in front of all of these fraternity brothers 125 00:05:21,060 --> 00:05:24,186 calling on the Lord. 126 00:05:24,186 --> 00:05:27,503 There was conversations going on up in the rooms. 127 00:05:27,503 --> 00:05:29,102 People would leave - some had to go leave 128 00:05:29,102 --> 00:05:31,599 for wrestling practice at 8:00 type of thing, 129 00:05:31,599 --> 00:05:34,223 and here when they got done with 130 00:05:34,223 --> 00:05:36,298 wrestling practice, they came back in 131 00:05:36,298 --> 00:05:40,894 and sat down again. 132 00:05:40,894 --> 00:05:44,106 Couldn't get away. 133 00:05:44,106 --> 00:05:47,319 One fellow came in and heard what was going on, 134 00:05:47,319 --> 00:05:48,764 and he was pretty huffy, 135 00:05:48,764 --> 00:05:50,411 you know what's going on in there? 136 00:05:50,411 --> 00:05:56,270 And he came in blowing smoke, 137 00:05:56,270 --> 00:05:59,851 and it wasn't about two minutes before Vader had 138 00:05:59,851 --> 00:06:01,311 had his Bible open and this guy was 139 00:06:01,311 --> 00:06:05,292 just eating out of his hand. 140 00:06:05,292 --> 00:06:09,709 Another guy came in, a former roommate of mine, 141 00:06:09,709 --> 00:06:12,052 I said, "Hey Wayne, come on in the living room here, 142 00:06:12,052 --> 00:06:13,861 we're having a Gospel meeting." 143 00:06:13,861 --> 00:06:15,475 And he mocked and said I don't need that 144 00:06:15,475 --> 00:06:17,572 such and such. 145 00:06:17,572 --> 00:06:19,920 And you know what, it was about a year later, 146 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:21,171 and I heard that this guy had 147 00:06:21,171 --> 00:06:28,966 committed suicide. 148 00:06:28,966 --> 00:06:30,349 His girlfriend left him, 149 00:06:30,349 --> 00:06:41,236 and he put the shotgun to the roof of his mouth. 150 00:06:41,236 --> 00:06:44,151 Maybe a couple years after I was converted, 151 00:06:44,151 --> 00:06:45,743 I began to see the narrowness 152 00:06:45,743 --> 00:06:47,562 of the narrow way, 153 00:06:47,562 --> 00:06:48,646 and I began to wonder, 154 00:06:48,646 --> 00:06:51,916 Am I really in or not? 155 00:06:51,916 --> 00:06:57,274 And I was sharing this with an older Christian 156 00:06:57,274 --> 00:07:01,624 and he began to share some Bible verses with me 157 00:07:01,624 --> 00:07:04,838 whereby I could evaluate myself, 158 00:07:04,838 --> 00:07:07,845 and I remember God just deeply whispering 159 00:07:07,845 --> 00:07:10,812 to my soul: That's enough. 160 00:07:10,812 --> 00:07:13,109 That's enough, Bob. Don't question it anymore. 161 00:07:13,109 --> 00:07:14,960 You are Mine. 162 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:17,107 And it was not long after that, 163 00:07:17,107 --> 00:07:20,249 where I was in a meeting one night, 164 00:07:20,249 --> 00:07:24,826 and a missionary was back from Italy, 165 00:07:24,826 --> 00:07:27,086 and he was sharing about the Fatherhood of God. 166 00:07:27,086 --> 00:07:31,271 God's Fatherhood, His tender care as a Father. 167 00:07:31,271 --> 00:07:32,376 And God settled in. 168 00:07:32,376 --> 00:07:35,032 I don't know if anybody else felt it like I did. 169 00:07:35,032 --> 00:07:37,257 But it was, for me, special. 170 00:07:37,257 --> 00:07:40,333 And I was just being melted, melted, melted, 171 00:07:40,333 --> 00:07:42,546 as he was talking. 172 00:07:42,546 --> 00:07:45,216 And after the meeting, probably three fourths 173 00:07:45,216 --> 00:07:47,425 of the church congregation had left, 174 00:07:47,425 --> 00:07:48,894 there were just a few of us 175 00:07:48,894 --> 00:07:51,202 hanging around talking about the things of God, 176 00:07:51,202 --> 00:07:53,738 and this older saint, he came up to me, 177 00:07:53,738 --> 00:07:55,934 and shared a truth with me. 178 00:07:55,934 --> 00:07:59,793 And my heart - I just was flooded 179 00:07:59,793 --> 00:08:02,050 with the love of God right there. 180 00:08:02,050 --> 00:08:05,941 This fellow, he says, men, let's gather for prayer. 181 00:08:05,941 --> 00:08:09,088 We had a time of prayer in the back of that church building. 182 00:08:09,088 --> 00:08:12,355 And I don't remember anything ever like it 183 00:08:12,355 --> 00:08:16,589 before or since, where all I could say was 184 00:08:16,589 --> 00:08:18,050 Abba, Father. 185 00:08:18,050 --> 00:08:21,438 At the top of my voice. 186 00:08:21,438 --> 00:08:24,954 It was just the most special time for me 187 00:08:24,954 --> 00:08:28,955 that I've ever had. 188 00:08:28,955 --> 00:08:32,172 I think that's the Spirit bearing witness 189 00:08:32,172 --> 00:08:36,840 with our spirit that we are children.