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  A HEARTFELT PRAYER FOR REVIVAL
  by George Verwer
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Summary: This sermon delves into Acts chapter 12, focusing on Peter's
miraculous escape from prison through the power of prayer and God's
intervention. It emphasizes the importance of fervent prayer, revival,
and the need for consistent prayer gatherings in churches. The speaker
highlights the messy reality of revival, the challenges faced in
missions, and the significance of standing firm on the Word of God
amidst cultural shifts and reinterpretations. The message underscores
the power of God's grace in weakness, the necessity of discipleship, and
the call to pray for nations and missionaries worldwide.

Duration: 27:12

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DESCRIPTION
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This sermon delves into Acts chapter 12, focusing on Peter's miraculous
escape from prison through the power of prayer and God's intervention.
It emphasizes the importance of fervent prayer, revival, and the need
for consistent prayer gatherings in churches. The speaker highlights the
messy reality of revival, the challenges faced in missions, and the
significance of standing firm on the Word of God amidst cultural shifts
and reinterpretations. The message underscores the power of God's grace
in weakness, the necessity of discipleship, and the call to pray for
nations and missionaries worldwide.

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CONTENT
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Turn with me and your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 12. We're going
to look at a number of scriptures That are burning on my heart But we'll
start with Acts chapter 12. I'd encourage you to read the book of Acts
as often as possible I've just in a Video series that's going to go out
on television in the UK of 11 Messages from the book of Acts together
with two other men pray that God may use that to bring people into
revival and reality Acts chapter 12 we have Peter in prison.

You remember that? Sure, you've read it many times Peter was in prison
verse 5 This is a modern translation. So Peter was kept in jail, but the
church prayed earnestly To God for him That night when Herod was to
bring him to trial Peter was sleeping between two soldiers bound with
two chains Other soldiers were guarding the door of the jail. This is an
impossible situation, right? Suddenly an angel the Lord stood there a
light shined in the cell the angel struck Peter on the side Woke him up
hurry get up and the angel said the chains fell off Peter hand The angel
told him to get dressed put on your sandals Peter did the angel Said put
on your coat and follow me and Peter followed him a great jailbreak
organized by the Living God Why and how did it happen? We've already
seen that God's people the church was praying without ceasing and he
goes To the house verse 12 look at it When he considered this he went to
the home of Mary the mother of John Mark many people were gathered there
praying the prayer meeting The prayer gathering it's biblical And yet a
high percentage of our churches now in America in Canada in England
where I live Hardly have a prayer meeting if they have one hardly
anyone's there.

I hope your church I hope you are the exception It's easy to talk about
prayer We got a new book about prayer almost every month, but to
actually get people praying get people on their face Seeking God's face
praying for revival praying against The subtle attacks of the enemy is
one of the greatest challenges and by God's grace When I was a teenager
and experienced deep reality in Christ Seeking his face in days of
prayer in nights of prayer. He burned into my life This habit Billy
Graham says life my spiritual father life is filled with habits And if
you're not willing to change your habits, you'll never walk with God
It'll just be meetings and talk and conferences and books and
conventions and by God's grace There's the influence of godly people in
his Holy Spirit I started this practice of every day and then every week
getting involved in prayer meetings Sometimes three or four hours long
sometimes only 20 minutes, and I believe it's one of the reasons by
God's grace I've lived in personal reality and revival every single day
since my conversion in a Billy Graham meeting and The devil has got a
lot of propaganda out and one of his biggest Propaganda trips is
everybody has to backslide. Everybody has to lose their first love.

That's why we need revival, right? Because so many are backslidden so
many have lost their first love Even people who were once in great
movements of the Holy Spirit and great revival movements today They're
in the desert. They lost their first love. I meet him everywhere in the
world.

I've had a hundred and fifty thousand people Stand up in my meetings or
come forward Repenting because they were in the wilderness even
Christian leaders even evangelists and Bible teachers But I want to
share with you what you probably already know. There's another way You
believe on Jesus you put your hands on the plow You let his love fill
your heart you let the power of the Holy Spirit fill your heart and you
never no matter what? You never never turn back If I had preached this
and I did as a teenager it wouldn't meet much When I preached it in my
20s people were still pretty skeptical And here I am praise God a
grandfather like my friend Wesley I only have five Aren't grandchildren
wonderful any any of you have grandchildren most of you look so young.
Yeah Tony Campala says grandchildren is God's prize to you for not
killing off your own kids Of course, I'm sure that never entered your
head But I just want to testify to the grace of God to the reality of
this book to the reality of Jesus That this needy Person, I'm still a
needy person.

His strength is made perfect in weakness. His grace is sufficient.
What's that all about? I Want to just share Every single day since that
night March 3rd 1955 Madison Square Garden, I've known this reality this
Power of his grace of his Holy Spirit One of the first things I ever
preached on I guess I was 17 was 7 2nd Chronicles 714 I got it from a
Billy Graham tract if my people will humble themselves and pray and seek
his face He will hear their prayer and he will hear the heal their land
I used to be able to quote it perfectly the memories starting on a
downhill run But I know, you know that great first and I hope you never
lose your passion to pray for that kind of reality verse turn quickly to
chapter 13 Chapter 13 we find a picture one of the greatest pictures of
the church.

I hope it's a picture of your church They were gathered together in
prayer fasting and worship Pick up the story and verse 2 I'm trouble
pronouncing the names in verse 1 verse 2 they were all worshiping the
Lord and Fasting for a certain time during this time. Whoa, the Holy
Spirit said to them Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul to the special
work for which I have chosen him So after they fasted and prayed they
laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them out And one of the
reasons I I sense it's such a privilege to be with you I've tried to
follow your great diversity of ministry in different parts of the world
Is because I don't believe we can ever separate global missions from
personal revival and Other other kinds of revival And we see these men
experiencing a touch from God a direct Statement by the Holy Spirit and
then we see the Holy Spirit Sending them out into missions The human
tendency is to put everything in boxes our seminaries our theological
colleges They love to put everything in boxes a lot of them don't by the
way even have a revival box But they they often have a missions box.
It's three doors down turn left there's the man in charge of missions as
if Missions was a special category for a special group of people when
the Lord Jesus himself Said just before ascending into heaven acts 1a
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you You shall be my witnesses
Jerusalem Judea Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth And my great
prayer is that there will always be a marriage of the great streams of
truth from the Word of God This great emphasis we have for revival for
repentance for brokenness for the cross for seeking the face of God
Together with Sharing our faith reaching out to the nations of the world
There are 40 nations This is 2,000 years since the Lord gave us this
task There are 40 nations that have less than one-tenth of one Percent
of what we have in this country in terms of witness in terms of even
good churches I know we got a lot of bad churches a lot of dysfunctional
churches We've got probably a pastor every day in the United States
falling into adultery from Maine to California we don't want to get into
all the bad news, but we also have a lot of churches that are still
faithful to the Word of God and Pastored by men of God men of God and
women of God who have been touched in revival who have experienced the
cross They're not perfect Yet as we look out across this planet 40
nations With less than one-tenth of one percent.

I won't give you the top 40. We don't have time. I'll just give you my
top 10 North Korea, Tibet Afghanistan Iran Iraq Saudi Arabia Yemen
including seculture where there's not a single non-believer almost no
missionary Tunisia Libya and Turkmenistan There are 10 other nations
trying to push into the top 10 There's so impossible Somalia is one of
them the Maldive Islands is another how can this be? when I was a baby
Christian and God was moving in my life and I started to hear about the
nations of the world millions that have never heard of Jesus Places
where the church did not even exist I think I was 18 at the time the
next year.

I went to Mexico God completely turned me upside down and inside out and
Caused me to recommit my life firstly to him, but also to the people of
the world Don't allow Missions to be put in a separate box don't think
well until we get everything sorted out here until we get greater
revival We can't really do much about missions if you are understanding
that way you are living in deception That is not the way God's work I
feasted on the Word of God and church history for 54 years God's
greatest work is often in the midst of a mess Even after the Welsh
revival the mess came in I've studied in depth the life of Evan Rogers
Jesse Penn Lewis what happened at Keswick the book war on the Saints how
Satan counter-attacked that revival Men fell back into drunkenness
Immorality invaded the churches, but in the midst of the mess in the
hundred years after the Welsh revival Thousands of workers went out into
the harvest field bringing millions to Jesus and revival spread to
Brazil It's spread to Korea. It's spread to many other parts of the
world Let's not be intimidated when there's a mess I've written about
eight books. They don't sell well So pick them up free take some for
your friends even for your enemies, but if I write one more book, it's
going to be Messy ology not Missy ology we've got a hundred Missy ology
books some of them contradicting one another But my final book will be
messy ology because in visiting 90 nations of the world Ministering
22,000 times living among God's people I've seen so often God works in a
mess and Let me tell you those of us praying for revival when it comes
When it comes Fasten your Holy Ghost seatbelt Because it will be more
messy It especially gets messy when people start getting saved The
reason it's so tidy in some churches is because nobody's been saved
there for several months or even years but if people are getting saved
like is happening right now in Nigeria where I've been not long ago or
Brazil where I've just come from a few months ago or Zambia where I was
this summer where so many these smaller kinds of revivals are breaking
out and People are coming by the thousands to Christ in repentance and
brokenness as It comes the mess gets greater It's a mystery, isn't it?
But if we don't believe this mess theology will never understand God Do
you think God is working in doubt for do you pray for doubt for one of
the greatest genocides in our lifetime? It's still it's it's slowed down
praise God I just read yesterday hardly any have been killed in death
for in the last weeks But in the previous years, I think 70,000 dead a
million homeless But we've begun to see a little work in doubt for you
remember, Algeria Algeria 30 years ago hardly had any believers Charles
Marsh a man who lived in the power of the Holy Spirit and revival
Labored there with almost no fruit I remember him coming like a tornado
out of heaven into the OM Conferences and shaking us up and stirring us
up for revival and prayer and the Muslim world And he died and never saw
the fruit but in the last 20 years thousands Thousands of Berber Muslims
have been coming to Jesus not just decisions but disciples new churches
and Revival has hit the Berber people not the Arabs the Berbers and the
Arabs don't get on and these are mainly Kabil Berbers a specialist
people group many of them originally from the mountains probably one of
the greatest breakthroughs in the history of missions among Muslims
Isn't it amazing? But guess what among the Berbers in Algeria right now?
It is very very messy And they're trying to close churches and the
government's attacking Christians in the press Some of you've been
praying for Yemen One of the most unreached nations in the world.

It's in my top ten and just a few months ago Nine people in Yemen were
kidnapped. Did you read about it? Do you take an interest in what's
going on around the globe or do you just live in your little in your
little world? Three of those people were dead within a few weeks and
Satan trying to use that for the greatest assault against the church in
Germany that has ever hit the press The secular press the humanistic
press of Germany because two of the girls killed were Germans Launched a
nationwide attack against Christians making us all look I just went to
Germany right after that like we were some kind of extreme nutcases
Going to these nations trying to frost let eyes these people and leaving
young girls laying dead because of our stupidity It's the war, isn't it?
the other six Kidnapped have never been seen. I want to ask you Are you
praying for the nations of the world? Do you have the heart of Jesus for
the nations of the world? I? Believe probably I'm speaking to the choir
And you already pray for the nations and you know what's going on in
Yemen and you're asking for missionaries to be strengthened missionaries
get away from Jesus One of the ministries God has given me and I'm
Unworthy is to go around the world and preach this message of the cross
and give away free copies of this book Literally now hundreds of
thousands to see discouraged beaten-down missionaries who haven't seen
fruit Sometimes their own marriages are about to break to see them come
back to the cross to see them embrace Galatians 2 20 perhaps my favorite
verse in the Word of God I am crucified with Christ level and
nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth within me and what a
tremendous thing it is when revival hits a group of missionaries when
revival hits one of our ships where 350 people are living together and
as you pray for our ships to loss out there in Asia Logos hope in the
Caribbean pray that there may be continued revival.

We always have some we're growing cold We have sometimes personality
complexities people in the midst of the heat and the hard work get
discouraged and One of the reasons I'm here is to bring this Macedonian
call that those of us in missions I've been 49 years overseas without a
furlough. We need your prayers The enemy is increasing his efforts,
especially with the chaos and the confusion Concerning Islam we have 800
people working among Muslims some of them are discouraged Some of them
have worked for years in countries where there's almost no fruit. We
need to see in a sense the Holy Spirit tentacles of Revival from our own
hearts from whatever small group you're meeting with and praying with we
need to see that spread out To these other parts of the world Where
there are many that have never even heard the gospel my final passage of
Scripture is From 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 if we can just try to wind
up by looking at this passage Which has been one of the most important
passages in my life, it's when Paul is Crying out to be set free From
this thorn in the flesh.

I'm in 1st Corinthians chapter 12 by mistake. It's 2nd Corinthians
chapter 12 and Paul is praying that this thorn in the flesh Somehow
would go away. That's his that's his desire and As he prays it doesn't
go let me read this interesting modern translation that I've only been
using for a few weeks and Probably won't use it much longer like to try
different things verse 7 chapter 12 so that I would not become too proud
of the wonderful things that were shown to me isn't this amazing a
Painful physical problem was given to me this problem was a messenger
from Satan Sent to beat me and keep me from being too proud.

I Begged the Lord three times to take this problem away from me But he
said to me my grace is enough for you when you're weak. My power is made
perfect in you So I am very happy to brag about my weaknesses then
Christ's power can live in me for this reason I'm happy when I have
weaknesses insults hard times suffering all kinds of troubles for Christ
Because when I'm weak Then I am truly strong. I just thank God for this
great passage and other similar passages I try to share about it in some
of my books because When I think of some of the people that have blessed
me and influenced me godly people I could give you a hundred names.

I Feel so unworthy To even tie their shoelace I've been so privileged to
sit at the feet men like Leonard Ravenhill Men like Ian Thomas men like
Alan Redpath men like George Duncan men like Bucksingh of India who
swept Tens of thousands into the kingdom when at his funeral a few years
ago almost 400,000 people came from every part of India because this man
who lived in continual revival had touched their lives I'd sat at the
feet of men like Ralph Shalas who was involved with revival among North
Africans and I just feel so weak so unworthy and I just thank God for
passages like this. His strength is made perfect in weakness His grace
is sufficient That's why as we pray as we long for greater things as we
long for spiritual breakthroughs We have to constantly go back to God's
Word You know, we're very involved in distributing books But some of the
books out there today They're doing more harm than good They're doing
more harm than good And so in the end more than ever in our generation
with so many books so much confusion So many voices so many people
telling us we have to reinterpret everything If you don't hear that
going on you're not reading much that is a major thing in America today
By some very gifted godly people, but I will tell you we need to be very
careful when we start Reinterpreting what's in this book? Not that there
are not lessons to learn not that there are not changes to make on how
we do things That I believe the Bible is under assault in North America
And it's spreading to Europe and I want to be among those who stand firm
People especially are trying to tell us that we really can't believe
anymore that everyone is lost. This is too narrow This is bigotry Surely
God has different ways and when we need to be more inclusive We can't
make people feel left out the Muslims and the Hindus and the in the
atheists And I would urge you to stand firm to the Word of God Jesus
said I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh to the father But
by me if there's some great special second chance for those who are lost
I've not read about it here, so I really don't want to get involved I
might dream about it will probably become a nightmare, so I don't think
I'll do that either This is God's Word Part of it is really rough I'm
sure many of you have is your favorite verse I'd buffet my body and
bring it into subjection Lest after preaching to others I become a
reprobate and one of the reasons we're seeing literally thousands of
Christian workers in North America Wiped out through adultery much of it
We don't hear about that's still a tiny percentage in a land with a
church this size But one of the reasons is we're not preaching the cross
We're not practicing the cross and we certainly don't go around talking
about buffeting your body Bringing it into subjection Lest after
preaching to others you become a castaway praise God when there's a
special outpouring Praise God when there's a touch of revival whether
it's big or small as we've seen in different parts of the world But if
that crisis is not followed by God's process of discipleship commitment
the cross Discipline yes buffeting the body bring it into this objection
It will become one more abscess, and that's tearing my heart out Across
the world to meet men and women who once were in meetings like this who
were strong in God And somehow the enemy got in the marriage is broken.

They're off track Another one poured out his heart just two days ago an
outstanding missionary living in the power of God in the Soviet Union
and the enemy got Scott got in through weakness in the area of morality
his ministry was over and The nightmare that he shared with me in an
hour and a half non-stop pouring out his heart I will never forget it
doesn't have to be that way We can put our hands on the plow every day
Follow him in brokenness in reality Not in the absence of struggles and
failures and doubt yet sometimes sin But in the midst of it as we deal
with it Biblically as we repent as we walk in the light with one another
and go back to the cross and if a needy struggling son of a Dutch
atheist my grandfather Atheists from New Jersey with lots of struggles
and problems and doubts can walk in the power of Jesus every day nobody
has an excuse and as long as God gives me breath whether it's 80,000 in
a stadium in Korea or 12 people in a home somewhere I want to shout
about Jesus about his power about his grace And I pray that God will
fill all of us in these days of fresh with this Holy Spirit Let us pray
Lord. We thank you for your word. We thank you for the power of your
Holy Spirit To invade our lives at the moment of conversion and Lord I
pray if there's anyone here that's lost their first love Anyone here in
which the fire has grown down and lukewarmness has come in that they
would deal with that before they ever leave this conference and that
Lord the Nation and the nations of the world will feel the impact of
what your Holy Spirit is doing here in these precious days For we ask it
in Jesus name Amen, amen

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Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/CgwpzUj03jU.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/george-verwer/a-heartfelt-prayer-for-revival/
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