WEBVTT 00:00:05.828 --> 00:00:08.359 I suppose you can call it revival, 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:10.505 but it was a move of the Spirit anyway. 00:00:10.505 --> 00:00:14.144 It wasn't really any historic revival. 00:00:14.144 --> 00:00:17.499 But as we think of, you know, where cities were 00:00:17.499 --> 00:00:20.667 swept into the Kingdom overnight, 00:00:20.667 --> 00:00:22.296 that type of thing. 00:00:22.296 --> 00:00:25.595 One of the most outstanding things in my mind 00:00:25.595 --> 00:00:30.066 was up there with Keith McCloud for 8 months 00:00:30.066 --> 00:00:31.401 I believe it was, 00:00:31.401 --> 00:00:33.162 and we made it a practice to meet 00:00:33.162 --> 00:00:35.023 for open-ended prayer every day 00:00:35.023 --> 00:00:36.808 if not twice a day. 00:00:36.808 --> 00:00:39.500 And there was about four of us. 00:00:39.500 --> 00:00:41.410 And so it was just sort of a log cabin 00:00:41.410 --> 00:00:44.791 Bible school type of thing. 00:00:44.791 --> 00:00:51.304 It was just a matter of meeting every day 00:00:51.304 --> 00:00:53.091 for preaching and prayer, 00:00:53.091 --> 00:00:54.678 that's all it was. 00:00:54.678 --> 00:00:56.804 So, in the middle of that time, 00:00:56.804 --> 00:00:59.161 Keith had accepted an invitation 00:00:59.161 --> 00:01:00.470 to hold meetings at a big 00:01:00.470 --> 00:01:02.537 evangelical Mennonite church. 00:01:02.537 --> 00:01:04.200 And so we began to pray regularly 00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:06.045 for those meetings that were coming up. 00:01:06.045 --> 00:01:08.126 I suppose we prayed for maybe four months 00:01:08.126 --> 00:01:09.444 every day. 00:01:09.444 --> 00:01:14.242 And the meetings began in Wymark, Saskatchewan. 00:01:14.242 --> 00:01:18.108 God came in power in the very first meeting. 00:01:18.108 --> 00:01:22.190 I mean, the very first meeting 00:01:22.190 --> 00:01:24.345 God was there in power. 00:01:24.345 --> 00:01:27.000 People were weeping, people were coming to the front. 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:28.426 He never gave any altar call; 00:01:28.426 --> 00:01:30.205 he didn't believe in an altar call, 00:01:30.205 --> 00:01:31.680 but people, they couldn't take it, 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:33.508 and they could not keep their seats, 00:01:33.508 --> 00:01:35.992 they got up and they went to the front, 00:01:35.992 --> 00:01:37.953 and they were confessing their sins. 00:01:37.953 --> 00:01:39.684 And every night, as I recall, 00:01:39.684 --> 00:01:41.777 there was probably 20, 30, 40 people 00:01:41.777 --> 00:01:44.069 up front there doing business with God. 00:01:44.069 --> 00:01:45.613 Every night the meetings lasted 00:01:45.613 --> 00:01:46.883 till 1 or 2 or 3 o'clock 00:01:46.883 --> 00:01:48.841 with people asking for help. 00:01:48.841 --> 00:01:50.426 They were in distress of soul. 00:01:50.426 --> 00:01:51.754 I remember one young girl, 00:01:51.754 --> 00:01:53.663 she was about 12 years old. 00:01:53.663 --> 00:01:55.823 It was ten minutes before she could even talk. 00:01:55.823 --> 00:01:57.959 She was under such deep conviction. 00:01:57.959 --> 00:01:59.842 And so we got to bed at like 4 o'clock 00:01:59.842 --> 00:02:01.240 every night. 00:02:01.240 --> 00:02:04.002 And sometimes people couldn't even wait 00:02:04.002 --> 00:02:06.079 until the sermon was over. 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:08.426 They were crying out under 00:02:08.426 --> 00:02:09.931 conviction of sin 00:02:09.931 --> 00:02:11.670 and he would have to stop preaching 00:02:11.670 --> 00:02:13.313 and ask the pastor to take them 00:02:13.313 --> 00:02:14.773 to the basement. 00:02:14.773 --> 00:02:16.827 I remember one fellow, he was under 00:02:16.827 --> 00:02:18.908 such conviction of sin, it was like 00:02:18.908 --> 00:02:21.137 he was just screaming, 00:02:21.137 --> 00:02:25.113 and as the pastor took him to the basement, 00:02:25.113 --> 00:02:26.994 you could hear him crying down there 00:02:26.994 --> 00:02:30.020 like an animal going to the slaughter. 00:02:30.020 --> 00:02:32.490 And so it was a very powerful time. 00:02:32.490 --> 00:02:35.091 People were starting to come from many miles away. 00:02:35.091 --> 00:02:36.725 The report was spreading. 00:02:36.725 --> 00:02:38.717 I know Keith McCloud said if he had any 00:02:38.717 --> 00:02:40.982 regrets at the end of that time, 00:02:40.982 --> 00:02:45.037 it was that he didn't continue the meetings longer. 00:02:45.037 --> 00:02:46.794 And so at the end of the time, 00:02:46.794 --> 00:02:48.827 it was estimated that half of the church; 00:02:48.827 --> 00:02:51.331 there were probably three or four hundred people attending; 00:02:51.331 --> 00:02:53.150 half of the church either had a fresh 00:02:53.150 --> 00:02:55.047 or a new meeting with God. 00:02:55.047 --> 00:02:57.503 Brother McCloud said that 00:02:57.503 --> 00:02:59.901 every night it was like he could hardly wait 00:02:59.901 --> 00:03:01.991 to get into the pulpit. 00:03:01.991 --> 00:03:07.091 He was full of unvented wine. 00:03:07.091 --> 00:03:09.903 God just gave him such authority, 00:03:09.903 --> 00:03:13.878 such clarity, such utterance, 00:03:13.878 --> 00:03:16.959 such an ability to magnify Christ. 00:03:16.959 --> 00:03:20.203 It was like when he was done with his sermon, 00:03:20.203 --> 00:03:22.346 every tree in the forest was chopped down 00:03:22.346 --> 00:03:24.761 except one. Just one was left standing. 00:03:24.761 --> 00:03:26.398 He just cleaned the slate. 00:03:26.398 --> 00:03:27.910 Knocked down every idol. 00:03:27.910 --> 00:03:28.920 Routed every sin. 00:03:28.920 --> 00:03:33.142 Christ alone was left standing. 00:03:33.142 --> 00:03:35.912 I remember one time, one woman, 00:03:35.912 --> 00:03:37.209 right in the middle of the sermon, 00:03:37.209 --> 00:03:38.554 she was under such conviction 00:03:38.554 --> 00:03:40.461 she just stood up and called out 00:03:40.461 --> 00:03:42.114 across the aisle and asked somebody else 00:03:42.114 --> 00:03:46.599 for forgiveness in the middle of the sermon. 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:50.342 It was holy chaos. 00:03:50.342 --> 00:03:53.229 One time, another remarkable thing, 00:03:53.229 --> 00:03:57.252 about a half a year after I was converted, 00:03:57.252 --> 00:04:00.274 and I was converted when I was a member 00:04:00.274 --> 00:04:03.742 of a fraternity at Iowa State. 00:04:03.742 --> 00:04:06.159 So about a half a year after I was converted, 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:07.889 this company that I was working for, 00:04:07.889 --> 00:04:10.378 they were going to have a regional meeting 00:04:10.378 --> 00:04:15.377 back in the town where I had gone to college. 00:04:15.377 --> 00:04:17.995 So I thought maybe this would be an opportunity 00:04:17.995 --> 00:04:22.348 to organize a Gospel meeting for my fraternity brothers. 00:04:22.348 --> 00:04:25.205 This fellow who was friendly with me, 00:04:25.205 --> 00:04:28.530 he set up this meeting for a Gospel meeting 00:04:28.530 --> 00:04:32.505 after the supper in the living room. 00:04:32.505 --> 00:04:36.739 And probably about 40 guys gathered in there. 00:04:36.739 --> 00:04:40.444 And another older Christian by the name of 00:04:40.444 --> 00:04:42.971 Vader Zudtke from Northeast Iowa, 00:04:42.971 --> 00:04:46.233 he came down, and also my brother was there 00:04:46.233 --> 00:04:47.211 and another fellow. 00:04:47.211 --> 00:04:50.185 So anyway, here Vader was sharing the Gospel 00:04:50.185 --> 00:04:52.780 with these fraternity brothers, 00:04:52.780 --> 00:04:56.801 and God began to settle in. 00:04:56.801 --> 00:05:02.333 And what was designed to be a 40 minute meeting 00:05:02.333 --> 00:05:03.798 in that living room floor 00:05:03.798 --> 00:05:05.262 guys sitting around, 00:05:05.262 --> 00:05:07.010 it turned out to be, as I recall, 00:05:07.010 --> 00:05:11.093 about 7 hours before we were done that night. 00:05:11.093 --> 00:05:14.231 One fellow sitting there just came under conviction 00:05:14.231 --> 00:05:16.955 and began to weep and cry out 00:05:16.955 --> 00:05:21.060 in front of all of these fraternity brothers 00:05:21.060 --> 00:05:24.186 calling on the Lord. 00:05:24.186 --> 00:05:27.503 There was conversations going on up in the rooms. 00:05:27.503 --> 00:05:29.102 People would leave - some had to go leave 00:05:29.102 --> 00:05:31.599 for wrestling practice at 8:00 type of thing, 00:05:31.599 --> 00:05:34.223 and here when they got done with 00:05:34.223 --> 00:05:36.298 wrestling practice, they came back in 00:05:36.298 --> 00:05:40.894 and sat down again. 00:05:40.894 --> 00:05:44.106 Couldn't get away. 00:05:44.106 --> 00:05:47.319 One fellow came in and heard what was going on, 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:48.764 and he was pretty huffy, 00:05:48.764 --> 00:05:50.411 you know what's going on in there? 00:05:50.411 --> 00:05:56.270 And he came in blowing smoke, 00:05:56.270 --> 00:05:59.851 and it wasn't about two minutes before Vader had 00:05:59.851 --> 00:06:01.311 had his Bible open and this guy was 00:06:01.311 --> 00:06:05.292 just eating out of his hand. 00:06:05.292 --> 00:06:09.709 Another guy came in, a former roommate of mine, 00:06:09.709 --> 00:06:12.052 I said, "Hey Wayne, come on in the living room here, 00:06:12.052 --> 00:06:13.861 we're having a Gospel meeting." 00:06:13.861 --> 00:06:15.475 And he mocked and said I don't need that 00:06:15.475 --> 00:06:17.572 such and such. 00:06:17.572 --> 00:06:19.920 And you know what, it was about a year later, 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:21.171 and I heard that this guy had 00:06:21.171 --> 00:06:28.966 committed suicide. 00:06:28.966 --> 00:06:30.349 His girlfriend left him, 00:06:30.349 --> 00:06:41.236 and he put the shotgun to the roof of his mouth. 00:06:41.236 --> 00:06:44.151 Maybe a couple years after I was converted, 00:06:44.151 --> 00:06:45.743 I began to see the narrowness 00:06:45.743 --> 00:06:47.562 of the narrow way, 00:06:47.562 --> 00:06:48.646 and I began to wonder, 00:06:48.646 --> 00:06:51.916 Am I really in or not? 00:06:51.916 --> 00:06:57.274 And I was sharing this with an older Christian 00:06:57.274 --> 00:07:01.624 and he began to share some Bible verses with me 00:07:01.624 --> 00:07:04.838 whereby I could evaluate myself, 00:07:04.838 --> 00:07:07.845 and I remember God just deeply whispering 00:07:07.845 --> 00:07:10.812 to my soul: That's enough. 00:07:10.812 --> 00:07:13.109 That's enough, Bob. Don't question it anymore. 00:07:13.109 --> 00:07:14.960 You are Mine. 00:07:14.960 --> 00:07:17.107 And it was not long after that, 00:07:17.107 --> 00:07:20.249 where I was in a meeting one night, 00:07:20.249 --> 00:07:24.826 and a missionary was back from Italy, 00:07:24.826 --> 00:07:27.086 and he was sharing about the Fatherhood of God. 00:07:27.086 --> 00:07:31.271 God's Fatherhood, His tender care as a Father. 00:07:31.271 --> 00:07:32.376 And God settled in. 00:07:32.376 --> 00:07:35.032 I don't know if anybody else felt it like I did. 00:07:35.032 --> 00:07:37.257 But it was, for me, special. 00:07:37.257 --> 00:07:40.333 And I was just being melted, melted, melted, 00:07:40.333 --> 00:07:42.546 as he was talking. 00:07:42.546 --> 00:07:45.216 And after the meeting, probably three fourths 00:07:45.216 --> 00:07:47.425 of the church congregation had left, 00:07:47.425 --> 00:07:48.894 there were just a few of us 00:07:48.894 --> 00:07:51.202 hanging around talking about the things of God, 00:07:51.202 --> 00:07:53.738 and this older saint, he came up to me, 00:07:53.738 --> 00:07:55.934 and shared a truth with me. 00:07:55.934 --> 00:07:59.793 And my heart - I just was flooded 00:07:59.793 --> 00:08:02.050 with the love of God right there. 00:08:02.050 --> 00:08:05.941 This fellow, he says, men, let's gather for prayer. 00:08:05.941 --> 00:08:09.088 We had a time of prayer in the back of that church building. 00:08:09.088 --> 00:08:12.355 And I don't remember anything ever like it 00:08:12.355 --> 00:08:16.589 before or since, where all I could say was 00:08:16.589 --> 00:08:18.050 Abba, Father. 00:08:18.050 --> 00:08:21.438 At the top of my voice. 00:08:21.438 --> 00:08:24.954 It was just the most special time for me 00:08:24.954 --> 00:08:28.955 that I've ever had. 00:08:28.955 --> 00:08:32.172 I think that's the Spirit bearing witness 00:08:32.172 --> 00:08:36.840 with our spirit that we are children.