94-31 Seasons of Refreshing - Acts 3

The reading this morning is from the third chapter of Acts, chapter 3, starting at verse 1. One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.

Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, look at us. So the man gave him his attention, expecting to get something from them.

Then Peter said, silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong.

He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them, men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.

You disowned the holy and righteous one and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.

By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders, but this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ who has been appointed for you, even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people.

You must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people. Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days.

And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, Through your offspring, all peoples on earth will be blessed. When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.

Amen. Let's come to the Word of God again as found in Acts chapter 1 and also Acts chapter 3. Acts 1 and verse 12, or rather verse 13, When they, that is the disciples, the apostles, when they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. The authorized version, they went to the upper room.

We're referring, of course, to the early followers of our Lord, who by now were numbering in Jerusalem at least 120, and there they had business to do with God. They went to the upstairs room. And then when you go to the third chapter of the Acts, an explanation is given as to the incredible abilities that the representatives of the early church had.

Verse 19, Peter preaching his second address, Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. I was suggesting to you last week that perhaps a good designation, a good description of the New Testament church is that it was the church of the upper room. Physically, they went on the day of Pentecost into the upper room and received the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

But there is a sense in which that description befits at a metaphorical level the church of Jesus, not only then but ideally at all time. It's the church of the upper room. It's the church of altitude.

It's the church which knows the empowering of the Spirit and receives a vision from God. The normal level, you get vision when you're high, living at the top of a tower block in London, and you'll get the panorama of the whole of that vast metropolis. Well, Christian people, they have been lifted to heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

That means to say that we have been blessed beyond measure. And Christian people ought to be visionary people. I was arguing a case to the FIEC assembly not just for the priesthood of all believers but for the prophethood of all believers.

All believers are priests unto God. The Church of England's debate is almost a nonstarter in terms of what the priesthood is and whether women can come into the priesthood. The basic definition of the priesthood is every man, every woman born again by the Spirit of God is declared by God a priest, a minister unto him.

There is a sense in which every believer worthy of that name is a prophet, that is that they are visionary, they have an idea as to the future, and they know what God's purposes are as to the present. So you see, Christian people are remarkable people. And as I say, the description people of the upper room well befits them.

These early men and women, they were pious people. But I say here in my notes, piety may be done in private, but its spin-off is always public. Listen to that again.

You see, here are these folk, and they're going up the sidewalk, they're going up the steps, the external steps that lead to the upper room, and they're going to be there for a period of time waiting upon the Lord, doing their acts of piety. Pious acts, prayer, fasting, righteousness, well, very often these are private things. But private acts of piety have as a spin-off a public advantage.

You see these men, these women in the upper room, they come down the steps eventually. They have to, because we're not called to live permanently in the upper room. We retreat to the upper room to be re-empowered, to get our vision focused, and then we go downstairs.

We go into the streets, into the highways, in the byways, and there we live for Jesus. And it's the men and women who've been in the upper room that impact society. That's the absurdity of that notion that you can be so heavenly minded, you have no earthly value.

I tell you, the people who have shifted our earth, who have moved humanity towards God, have always been those spiritual, heavenly minded people who have had the vision in the upper room, and they have come down into the valley, so to speak. And there they've seen the idol that's been smelted. There they have seen the equivalent to the Israelites who are engaged in apostasy.

And they have said like Moses, No, this is wrong. Why was it wrong, Moses? Well, I've been in Sinai. I've been on the top of Sinai.

I've seen something of the greatness and the grandeur of God. I knew His law. It was given to me to pass on to the people.

Here are the people behaving in the way that they have. So what does Moses do? Well, he explodes like a meteorite. He pronounces the terror of God on the people.

You know, that's something we've lost in our pulpits. Preaching on the terror of God. It's a fearful thing to stand or to find yourself in the presence of a living God.

And having terrorized them, having told them of the awful sin that they had committed, then he appeals to the mercy of God and brings them back to their senses. Now I say it's just the same. These men and women in the upper room, they come downstairs.

They go into Jerusalem. They start to preach. You know, along what you discover.

Well, there are those who do not become Christians, but they're frightened of these people. They're frightened of the power that they represent, the authority that they have. And this, I argue, is not just what was meant for apostolic times.

This sort of spin-off of being in the presence of God and the authority and the power that that gives the individual and the church community, that is to be co-extensive with the whole of the Christian dispensation until the Lord comes again. Why? Because, you see, we are prophets. We have seen.

We have a vision. We know what this world is for. We know what its ultimate will be.

And we appreciate that men and women who are living carelessly outside of God need the prophetic word brought to them. And when that word is preached in power and with authority, it brings with it a sense of awe and respect and in the providence of God, compliance. Well, I ask you, how do you describe this sort of condition at its most ideal? I mean, here is the church.

The second chapter is replete with the first address of Peter and the reaction of the folk who interject and interrupt Peter, what must we do to be saved? And here in the third chapter you've got this untrained, uneducated man who would never have got through the screening process of AWM or any other mission society. And he's preaching. And prior to his preaching, without any public advertisement at all that God will perform miracles and come to a miracle campaign and see God like some clown doing tricks, they see this wretched cripple and they pray for him.

And as a result, the crowd come around being aroused in terms of curiosity by this phenomenon, this unheralded spectacular miracle. And what does Peter do? Well, you see, he starts to tell them about the Lord Jesus. I mean, his address is crammed with theology.

His mind is impregnated in the Old Testament Scriptures because that's where Jesus is predicted. That's where you get the blueprint of His life. And these people who listen to Peter, they come.

They come in their droves. They confess the lordship of Christ. They've got no New Testament.

They've got no modern evangelistic helps whatsoever. What's happened? Well, you see, a man filled with the Spirit, empowered by God with a vision, is acting like a human magnet and bringing people under the influence of the gospel. Hey, Peter, how do you describe it? You know, you're a man of the upper church.

You're a man of the upper room, rather. How do you describe this ambience, this atmosphere? And Peter says, well, I can only do it in one way. Times of refreshing.

Times of refreshing. They have come from the Lord. So this is how I describe the church in its atmosphere at its most ideal.

Times of refreshing. What does this expression denote? Let's just do a little run through Scripture to get some context. You've got several words which are linked together in the Hebrew language, in the Greek language, that give us this notion of times of refreshing.

Here's the apostle Paul, and he's writing to his friends at Rome, chapter 15 of this epistle. And he's engaged in a little bit of autobiography. And he talks about the sort of way that they've received him and the way that he hopes to be received again in the future.

Pray, verse 31, chapter 15, Romans, Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. Speaking about physical rest. Here he is writing to Philemon, this wealthy Christian who's given service to the great apostle Paul in times gone by.

And in the epistle to Philemon, which is right at the end of a batch of Pauline epistles, he makes reference to this hospitality that he's received from this affluent Christian. And in the 20th verse, he says, as he's writing a letter, reintroducing Philemon's slave to his master, I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

And the refreshment that Philemon will give is in the reception of this runaway slave. Here is the apostle writing to Timothy in the second epistle of Timothy, just before Philemon, just before Titus, 2 Timothy, chapter 1, in the 16th verse, May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus. Why? Because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.

Now, bring those little incidents together. What does this concept of times of refreshing therefore mean? Well, I think William Barclay helps us here. He gives this little definition.

A time of strength in weakness and a rest in weariness. Strength in weakness? Well, here's Peter. You haven't lost the context? He's preaching.

He's preaching to hundreds of people. Now, he's untrained. The people who listen to him can't really understand, not the professional clergy.

How is it that this man can preach in such a fashion? He hasn't got letters. He hasn't been to the seminaries. He's a weak man.

And Peter says, well, it's these times of refreshing. There the explanation. Strength in weakness.

Rest, I argue, in weariness. You see, again, here is the church. You find this exciting story unfolding in the Acts of the Apostles.

They seem to be all over the place. Going on the streets of Jerusalem. Going to Judea, then to Samaria, to Galilee, and so on.

A restless bunch. And yet, within their activity, though they are harried, they are not hurried. They know what it is.

To rest in the Lord. They know the sovereignty of God. Working its way out in their ministries, in their lifestyle.

Now, this is a church at its best. A church that is unstoppable. A church that is incorruptible.

A church that is insatiable. That is unstoppable by man. These are the people who have turned the world upside down.

That's what's being said in Acts chapter 17, in verse 6 or thereabouts. Incorruptible by the devil. Insatiable.

Because they want the blessings of the Holy Spirit. How does Peter explain what's happening? Well, he says these are times of refreshing. These are times of spiritual renewal.

These are times of making an impact upon society. So, I argue that these times of refreshing are a strength in weakness and a rest in weariness. Well, I put up another question.

From where do they come? Well, here is Peter giving us the answer. Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out. That times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

All spiritual blessing is traceable back to Him. Again, Acts chapter 1 gives you the context, you see. We're not in any controversy here whatsoever in terms of our understanding of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.

Why are these disciples to go to Jerusalem? Well, verse 8, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Now, how does the Holy Spirit come to rest on the disciples? Well, I remind you of our beloved Lord. Here He is in His earthly ministry.

The 7th chapter of John's Gospel and also in the 3rd chapter of John's Gospel. He's making reference to His abilities. I mean, here He is in the 7th.

He talks about the feast of Tabernacles. And at the end of that feast, what happened? Well, one of the priests gets up and makes reference to the blessings of water. And Jesus, He stands up and He says, If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.

Do you remember how the explanation is given as to what He means by the ability to slake thirst that He has? And the Gospel says that He's speaking of the Holy Spirit who has not yet been given so copiously. In other words, here is our Savior anticipating Acts chapter 1 and Acts chapter 2. Here is our Savior indicating what will behind these times of refreshing. It will be as a result of His death, His resurrection, His ascension.

He's lifted up into heaven. Now, does He then cut the artery, the connection between Himself and the church? Not a bit. He's the Lord of the church.

How does He keep in contact with the church? Well, by the Holy Spirit. Here is the Apostle Paul, and he's writing to the Ephesians in the fourth chapter, and he talks about the ascension of our Lord Jesus. From that point on, what happens? He gives gifts to men.

He empowers the church. These times of refreshing, I say, they come from the Lord Jesus Christ. These times of refreshing, they are sent from heaven above.

Why? Because, well, you see, the Lord will always remember His church. He always remembered Peter, didn't He? I mean, you remember yourself the story of Peter and the way in which he grievously let the Lord down. When our Lord has been raised from the dead, what does He do? He says, well, tell my disciples I'm Peter.

See, the Lord Jesus had Peter in mind. I mean, this is the incredible thing about our beloved Savior. He never forgot.

I mean, if anyone had a right to have a grudge against another, it was our Lord over against Peter. Peter says, I'll never deny you when you're in need. I'll be there, and Peter lets Him down.

Jesus is not, of course, surprised. He knew what was in Peter. He knew about his frail condition, his weak personalities.

He knows about you and your frailty, too. And when He's raised from the dead, what does He do? He has Peter in mind. Tell my disciples and Peter.

You see, the Lord of the church never forgets. Not even the straying, stubborn, faithless sheep. He doesn't forget you.

He doesn't forget His church. Times of refreshing. How do you explain this extraordinary change in the psychology, in the temperament of Peter? Well, there's only one explanation.

The Holy Spirit has come upon him, has empowered him. Not made him perfect, but improved him immeasurably to what he was. So that, as I mentioned, the clergy in those days, they can't understand how this man can open the Scriptures and preach so powerfully.

Now, this is my argument. That what was done for Peter shall be done for you and for me. And that when this happens in a block corporately, when it happens in an area, when it happens in a country, well, there you have times of refreshing.

Or if you want another word, you have revival. You see, revival can be a corporate thing. That's unusual.

We'll come to that in a moment. But it can also be a personal thing. And far from that being unusual, you are the one who determines it.

The degree of spirituality you control. You don't control your salvation. You come to the Lord as a result of His grace.

He stopped you on the Damascus Road or something similar. He brought you to Himself. You don't know how.

You don't know why. Why is it that you should choose me, amazing grace? How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. But He did choose you.

He drew you to Himself. You didn't deserve it. But He did it.

And if you understand it, you'll always be amazed. You'll always want to be replying with obedience to the love that God has directed towards you in Christ Jesus. But you see, He leaves the business of spirituality to some degree to yourself.

You can be as saintly as you want to be. As spiritual as you want to be. As effective as you want to be.

And this is how I explain Peter. And when he's asked these questions, or when he anticipates these questions, he puts in the explanation. What's happened? Well, these are seasons of refreshing.

This is what the prophet talked about in the Old Testament. The prophet Isaiah, when he speaks in metaphor of the desert becoming fertile. He talks about the streams of God's river permeating Jewish society and ultimately the society of our world.

From where do these refreshments come? They come from God. And you see, He's prepared to bestow this sort of experience or these experiences on you. I mean, you've got an Old Testament little cameo.

Do you remember that au pair girl, Hagar? Sweet story that. Falls foul of her mistress, Sarah. Who treats her in a despicable fashion.

And Hagar goes back with a child clutching at her breast to her native Egypt. Do you remember the story how she despairs? Leaves the little chappy some distance away so she doesn't see him die. And then suddenly God reveals Himself.

And He shows Hagar that there is water. There are supplies for this undeserving Egyptian lass. Well, don't you see that's you, that's me.

Refreshment there for the like of us at an individual level. As much as you need. If any man, if any woman is thirsty, let him, let her come to me and drink.

And I will give you waters that will satisfy, that will elevate your spirituality. Well, let's think more at a corporal level, at a corporate level, at a communal level. How frequently do these occasions occur? Now, I would like to be positive and say that this happens throughout the whole of church history.

But it doesn't. Here is the Acts of the Apostles, what Lord Jones calls this lyrical book. And what you find in the Acts of the Apostles is, if you like, an illustration of revival.

This is as the church ought to be. This is as the church was. And this is also as the church has been from time to time.

But if I can give you a clumsy word, there is a periodicity about revival. You see, the first three centuries, in one sense, you could describe that, of the expansion of the church in the most romantic and wonderful fashion. These Christians who turned the world upside down.

They impregnated Roman society. The Constantine was converted, the emperor. And the church went on a steady decline.

The bishops arrogated for themselves authority that they didn't really have. Their dress, their vestments, that's when it started. This distinction between the laity and the clergy.

This elevation of religious leaders. It all goes back to that period. The church went on a decline and took us into the Dark Ages.

And you might have thought that the story of Christianity would ultimately be eradicated from the world. But then you see, God in His grace moves out of His mercy, and especially on Europe. And you get such a man as John Wycliffe, the morning star of the Reformation.

You get this cloistered monk, Martin Luther, being brought face to face with the doctrine of justification. You get John Calvin, this French man who eventually goes to Geneva, to Switzerland. And as a result, the combined effort of Luther and Calvin.

The whole of Europe has the blanket of darkness lifted from them. From the countries. And Europe basks in an enlightenment.

The gospel proclaimed. Revival comes. And that's been it, you see.

It's a periodic thing. And not only is it a periodic thing, but sometimes it's a particular thing. What do I mean by that? Well, you see, your problem here in Worthing Tabernacle on the south coast of England is this.

You can only see the church as she is at the moment in this country. And things are in a pretty sad condition. But if you catch a plane and you go to Korea.

Or you go to China. Or you go to some parts of Latin America or Africa. You find the unstoppable nature of the church.

What has happened? Well, you see, in these areas, the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon the church. And in a remarkable fashion, it's almost like the recovery of acts. The church continues to impregnate society.

Times of refreshing. You say, well, it fills you with despair as far as England is concerned. Well, let me help you.

You see, England in the 17th century was in an awful condition. There were more atheists amongst the aristocracy than there were amongst the prostitutes. One Frenchman came over to our country and said that England is a land that has no religion at all.

And if anyone ever speaks about religion in England, by and large, they are laughed at. The theatre was bawdy. The gin shops were crowded.

And the bloody revolution that was going to hit France. It looked as though it would bring death and destruction to our country. But what happened? Well, God in His grace brought Whitefield and the Wesleyan brothers.

And as a result of their combined ministry, England is bathed in a revival. Not just England, but the whole of Great Britain. To whose credit? Well, not to the church's credit.

It's all to do with the mercy of God, the providence of God. The fullness of time has come and God moved upon England. And what we need to be praying, my dear friends, more and more, is for a return of the compassion of God towards this country.

Not because we deserve it, but because there is no other hope. And would to God that the church realize that. You see, this is a great distinction.

The apostles, they knew. The upper room, they had to go there. Why? They needed the empowering of the Spirit.

They needed to be men and women of altitude. They needed to be men and women who were empowered. There is no way they could take the Roman will for Christ, apart from the fulfillment of His promises.

And today, alas, the church does not, generally speaking, believe that. I read the so-called religious editorial of the Guardian yesterday. Don Cupid from Cambridge bathes us more in the ignorance that, alas, covers that man's theological understanding.

I say that with regret and not just with cynicism. What the church needs more than anything else is to go to the upper room, to come before this great God and to pray for our society and to ask that God in His grace will meet us again. You see, there are precursors, however, of revival.

I mean, here is the apostle Peter, and as I indicated, he's an untrained man. What does he do? Before he actually explains what is happening, well, he preaches the gospel. You've got it in a nutshell in the 19th verse.

Repent and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out. What God does expect from the church is consistency in its message. And what is the heart of the message? That men and women must repent.

It's Moses, you see, down from Sinai again. There's the calf, there's the materialism. Here is the sodomy.

Here is the permissiveness. It's the church to react against this and to call a spade a spade. To speak about this God and the way that man, as a craven sinner, when he falls into God's hand in an unredeemed condition, is in an unfortunate situation from which there is no hope.

But you see, the church does not just preach repent. It preaches that God will wipe away all sin. You say you're severe in your doctrine of God.

You don't know how wonderful the doctrine of God is unless you start with the severity of God and then understand in contrast the mercy of God, the terror of God, and the love of God, the awfulness of the law, the magnificence of grace. Isis Peter, God's grace is such that when you get your papyrus and you put ink upon it, and the ink has not been soaked into your papyrus, and you get some damp cloth and you wipe away your original writing, that's what God in grace will do as far as your sins are concerned. But you need to repent.

You need to recognize the exceeding sinfulness of your sin. And here is Peter, you see, setting the theological prescription for the church for forever and a day. And the church is never less than the church than when she fails to appreciate the cutting edge of the gospel, the awesomeness of God and the magnificence of His grace.

And you see, there is something that flows from this. I mean, flows from these times of refreshing. Here is God blessing the ministry of the early preaching of Peter.

And Peter says, repent, turn to God, so your sins be wiped out, that these times of refreshing may constantly be coming from the Lord, and that He may send the Christ who has been appointed for you, even Jesus. You see, this is the great blessing of the gospel, isn't it? That the Holy Son, Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem's manger, can in a sense be born in your heart and life, so that you will know Him not as a theological deduction from a text, but as an experience day by day. There is a sense in which the final revival ushers in the coming of Christ physically.

We're looking for the second advent. And at the end of time, that's what will happen. He will send His Son, Jesus, into this world.

He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as He promised long ago through His holy apostles. But in the meantime, there are these seasons of refreshing. What does it mean to be personally refreshed? It means to have an experience of the reality of Jesus.

You ask me how I know He lives. Because I've read the latest apologetic on the doctrine of the resurrection? Because I heard a preacher preach so winsomely on the logic of the resurrection? No. You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.

What do you know about this God? How do you feel Him? What do you know about Christianity? Oh, you say it's coming to church on a Sunday amongst four or five hundred people? No. It's having an experience of the nearness of Jesus. I spent quite a lot of time researching and putting back into a biblical context the word charismatic, because I think it's misused in the 20th century in some circles.

Have you ever noticed how charismatic the Psalmist was? You see, the whole of the Psalms, this is the reason why they're so attractive. They depict men who know God. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

This poor man cried and the Lord heard him. And the Lord does hear. And throughout the Psalms you've got this idea of the immediacy of God.

Now what I'm saying is this, that the immediacy of God by the power of the Holy Spirit is an experience for us to know time and time again. Thomas Goodwin, one time president of Magdalene College, Oxford, said of the refreshings of the Spirit, there is nothing this side of heaven more precious than that to know the overwhelming of God in your heart, to cry out almost involuntarily, almost as a knee-jerk reaction, Abba, Father, to know that if they incarcerated you in some jail in Beirut, the seasons of refreshing would still be yours at a personal level because of the reality of God. You see, revival, it's within the sovereignty of the Lord and it comes particularly to great nations and to great people's blocks over the years.

But just putting that on one side, although we would ask God for that in our country, I just want to personalize this again as far as you're concerned. Do you know a season of refreshing? You can be as spiritual as you want to be. You can climb the steps to the upper room.

You'll never go by an escalator. I told you that last week. You'll never go by a lift.

There is no technology that will get you there outside of effort. You see, the Holy Spirit is given in fullness to those who obey God. The Holy Spirit is given in fullness to those who do not grieve God.

The Holy Spirit is given in fullness to those who thirst for God. So I ask you, what's a blockage? For some of you, the blockage is finance. You do not deal with what God gives you in a biblical fashion.

You conserve and you preserve. The whole concept of tithing is something that you tip your cap to, but do very little about. One of the attributes of God is his generosity.

He gives and he gives and he gives again and he tests you and asks you to reflect something of his generosity. For some of you, it's a failure to be disciplined in terms of reading this book. For others of you, it's a failure of being consistent in a time of prayer, personally or corporately.

For some of you, it's, hear me, for I do speak, now I believe, with the authority of God in terms of exposing something which I have come increasingly to credit as displeasing God. It is the cavalier approach that Christian people have to the Lord's Day. Sunday is being so eroded by our world that the world is influencing the church.

And some of you, on a day which is set aside as being precious to the Lord, without falling back into a Victorianism which was near Phariseeism, have lost all distinctiveness as far as Sunday is concerned. Come the afternoon, come the evening, what are you doing? Where do you find yourself? One day special for the Lord, not a day of misery, a day in which to enjoy the fellowship of God's people, to come around his word. But you see, Sunday is being eroded.

We've bypassed what the Puritans said. We're bypassing what the word of God clearly teaches. And as a result, we're in trouble.

We don't know these times of refreshing. Now, I'm not finishing on the negative. I'm trying to analyze and help you, and help myself.

God knows I need more times of refreshing. God knows I crave for this church that we may be caught up in a spirit of Pentecostal fervor, not in some sort of emotional sing-along which does not transform our character. I want our church to be a church of the upper room, of the only way to describe what happens here in terms of times of refreshing.

I can't get you there myself on my own. God knows I have enough homework to do. But together we can go for it, as spiritual and as effective as we want to be.

But it needs you. It needs me. It needs our corporate help.

Lord, we remain true to the theology of the gospel. We've never departed from this, from our pulpit. But Lord, we want that regular consistency in discipleship that causes you to pour out your blessing upon us, times of refreshing, so that the upper room can impact Worthing on Monday through to Saturday.

May God imprint upon your mind and give you no rest in areas that I've shared that were from Him this morning, which need to be applied to your soul. May God lead us on into the fullness of blessing, knowing what it is to see our Savior more clearly and to love Him more dearly and to follow Him more nearly all our lives. Amen.

Jesus, Lord, I see, and think of Thee still waiting on the morning still, still waiting on the morning Father, we come to you. We see the pattern, the ideal, and some here approximate to it, in my judgment. But many of us feel, Lord, that we're limping where we should be running, that our vision is blurred where it should be clear.

Some of us know that our lives are an utter contradiction, but we want to sort them out. The days and the months and the years slip by and they bring us nearer and nearer to the time when we stand before the beloved Christ. Lord, on that day, we veer away from the thought that we might be ashamed.

Lord, help us to get our lives in order. The use of our time, especially on the Lord's day, oh, give us a concept to the sacredness of this day. Lord, bless this church.

And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, friendship and fellowship with the Spirit, be with us all. Amen. Good morning.

God bless you.