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The Book's Purpose
- Capture the hearts and minds of men and women so that
their lives might be lived to the glory of God
- Demonstrate that everything in existence indicates an
intelligent maker
- Illustrate the majesty of God
- Emphasize the need to accept Jesus Christ as Savior
- Stress the eternal importance of the choice each of us
must make regarding Christ
- Inspire us through the realization that God is, indeed,
love
The Book's Message
Whether in Japan, China, Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, India,
England, Scotland, or at home in Chicago, Reuben Archer Torrey
preached of God’s love. There was, and there is, no greater love
than God’s provision of a sacrifice for a fallen world~His own Son.
Revival Addresses is a collection of Torrey’s sermons, published
upon the request of those who had been eternally influenced by his
message.
A Great and Holy God
Psalm 14:1: “The fool hath said in
his heart there is no God.”
God has given me a very short text
upon which to focus tonight. This text occurs hundreds of times in the Bible. Open your Bible to almost any page
and you will find this text, for my text tonight is God~”a word the height
and depth and length and breadth of whose meaning no philosopher has
ever fully apprehended.”
I. God Is
The first thing we are told in the Bible is that God is. These are two
short words, but there are no other words~long or short~that have greater
significance. For if these two words become reality in your heart and mind,
they will change your life forever.
“It will determine your science, it will determine
your philosophy, it will determine your daily life,
it will determine your eternity. “God is.”
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“Everywhere you see order, symmetry, law, intelligence, design,
all proving an intelligent Creator of the material universe in
which we live. Suppose I show you my watch, and ask, ‘Do you
believe it had a maker?’ You would say, ‘Certainly.’ ‘But why?
Did you see it made?’ ‘No.’ ‘Did you ever see a watch made?’
‘No!’ ‘Why, then, do you believe it had a maker?’ ‘Because everything
about it indicates an intelligent maker~hands, figures
upon the face, case, winding apparatus, everything about the
watch proclaims that it had an intelligent maker. Suppose I
replied, ‘You are mistaken; the watch had no intelligent maker;
the watch came to be by accident; by a fortuitous concurrence
of atoms dancing around through endless ages, until at last, in
the age in which you find it, they danced into the present form;
thus the watch came to be.’ Your remark would be, ‘That man
may think he is highly educated, but he talks like a fool;’ and
you would be right.”
Consider this: even though the
mechanism of a watch is so complex,
there is nothing in it that
even approximates the complexity
seen in creation. Even so, many
men dare to say that this incredible
universe in which we live came into
existence through a fortuitous
dance of atoms that simply by
chance ended up in their present
form. “I formerly believed that the
doctrine of evolution was true, but
gave up the belief, not from theological
but from scientific reasons,
because it was absolutely unproven;
there is not a single proof of the
hypothesis of evolution.”
There are people who speak of
“the missing link.” But the truth
is that all the links are missing, because
not a one has been found.
There is no example anywhere of
one species turning into another;
of the evolution of a species of
higher intelligence from one of
lower intelligence. It is simply a
guess based upon nothing but imagination.
However, pretend for
a moment that evolution were true.
Even then, it would not for a second
offer any proof against the
argument for design.
“If there were originally
some unorganized
protoplasm that developed
into all the forms of life and
beauty as we see them
today, it would be a still
more remarkable
illustration, in one way,
of the wisdom and power
of the Creator, for the
question would arise, Who
put into the primordial
protoplasm the power of
developing into the universe
as we see it today? It would
take a more wonderful man
to make a watch hand which
would develop into a watch
than it would to make
a watch outright.” |
History also proves that there is a God. When considering the history
of centuries, it is clear that there is an all-encompassing Providence. But
even more important is the one special history of Jesus Christ, recorded by
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Great efforts have been made for thousands
of years to disprove His history. “Scholars,” such as David Strauss and Renan,
have made every effort to disprove His history, only to fall flat.
“It is absolutely impossible for a man to sit down before the four gospels
with an unbiased and honest mind, determined to find out the truth, and
come to any other conclusion than that this four gospel record of the life and
words and works of Jesus is substantially accurate history.” Genesis 1 reads,
“In the beginning, God …” God is truly the beginning of everything~nature,
science, history, individual experience. “That is the supreme fact; and he who
denies it merely because he does not want to believe it is the supreme fool.”
II. God is Great
Oh, how majestic God is! From the first verse to the last, the Bible exclaims
His greatness. This whole universe is His creation. The Bible clearly
illustrates an infinite God and infinitesimal man. Yet, modern culture portrays
man as infinite and God as infinitesimal~man is great and God is small.
Consider this: there are over a billion people on earth. You are just one of
those billion. The earth is just a small part of the universe; one million four
hundred thousand earths could fit inside the sun. Our sun is only one of
many suns. Our solar system is just a small part of the universe … not very
big, are we? God made it all … not very small, is He? Yet, knowing all of
this, we sometimes venture to say how God should act. Never is a man more
a fool than when he tries to dictate how God should act.
III. God Is Holy
Every page of the Bible declares that God is holy; we see it expressed
beautifully in I John 1:5: “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”
IV. We Must All Meet God
Someday you and I will meet our Holy God. Amos announces, “Prepare
to meet thy God!” (Amos 4:12) Are you ready? If not, get ready! There is
only one way by which we sinners can come face-to-face with God~through
the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. Each one of us, no matter how wretched
and vile, can meet the Holy God, in fact, any one of us can approach the Holy of Holies boldly on the
grounds of the shed blood of Christ.
The only act necessary is the acceptance
of Jesus Christ. If it be His
will, I am ready to meet God face-to-face tonight! You ask, “Have
you never sinned?” Oh yes, I have
sinned, but when Jesus was nailed
to the cross, my sin debt was paid
in full. I have accepted the sacrifice~
Jesus’ death on the cross~ that God
provided. And, so must you! If it
be His will, are you ready to meet
God tonight?
“Let me sum it up.
There is a God.
God is great. God
is holy. You and I
must meet Him.
There is only
one adequate
preparation~the
acceptance of Christ
as our Sin-Bearer,
our Saviour,
Deliverer from the
power of sin.
Will you accept
Christ tonight?” |
The Greatest Sentence Ever Written—God is Love
If the Bible had to be summed up in one sentence, it would be this:
God is Love. The Bible is a love story inspired by a Holy God for a sinful
world. There is nothing more amazing than a holy and majestic God, who
loves this sinful world and the people in it. What could be more awe inspiring
than this perfect God who loves sinful you and sinful me!
It is true. He does. He loves you.
“There is mighty power
in that one short
sentence, power to break
the hardest heart, power
to reach individual men
and women who are
sunk down in sin, and
to lift them up until they
are fit for a place beside
the Lord Jesus Christ
upon the Throne.” |
Listen to and meditate upon the Word of the Lord:
Isaiah 4:7: “Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man
his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord and He will have mercy
upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
God tells us that He is willing to forgive any man, no matter how far
into the depths of depravity he has sunk, if only he will repent of his sin
and turn to Him. God cannot forgive the man who holds onto his sin.
He cannot do so and retain His moral character. But, if even the wickedest
man in existence would turn from sin and turn to God, He would blot
out every sin the man ever committed.
Hebrews 12:6: “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and
scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.”
God shows His love by punishing sin. God is Love and He therefore,
a result of that love, must punish sin just as any good father, out of
love, punishes his child for the child’s own good. God suffers with us
when we are punished. God loves us so much that when we are punished
He administers the punishment Himself.
“Are you in sorrow? It is because God loves you. Are there some here
resisting the entreaties of God’s mercy and grace? I beseech you to repent.
tremble for some men and women, for those who know the way of life,
with whom God is striving by His Holy Spirit, but who will not come to
Him.”
Isaiah 93:9: “In all their affliction He was afflicted.”
God shows His love by sympathizing with us. When you go through
troubled time in your life, it may seem that no one understands the
depth of your agony, but Someone does understand. Not only does He
understand, but He sympathizes with your pain. There are some who
cannot even whisper their struggles to another human ear. No one could
possibly sympathize with the depth of your sorrow. Yes, One will~God
will accept you and sympathize with all you are going through.
I John 3:1–2: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed
upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.”
God shows His love through His gifts. What greater gift could there
be than to be called His own! “Oh, that wondrous gift that God bestowed
upon you and me, that men and women like us should be called children
God! Oh, what love!”
I John 3:16: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son.”
God shows His love through His sacrifice. People may tell you they
love you but when a time comes when they are asked to sacrifice for you,
they are nowhere to be found. But there is One who sacrificed everything
out of love for you. “God so loved … He gave His only begotten Son.”
Jesus died on a cruel cross. He gave His own life so that you might live.
God provided His own Son to die in your place. That is the most amazing
thing in the Bible.
“You and I sometimes
dwell upon the love of
Christ, to give up Heaven
for us. We look at Him in
the courtyard of Pilate,
fastened to the whipping
post, with His bare back
exposed to the lash of the
Roman soldier. We look at
Him as the lash cuts into
His back again and again,
and again, till it is all torn
and bleeding. Oh, how He
loves us! But looking down
from yon throne in heaven
was God; and every lash
that cut the back of Christ
cut the heart of God. We
see the soldiers with the
crown of thorns, pressing
it on His brow, and we see
the blood flowing down.
Oh, how he loved us! But
every thorn that pierces His
brow pierced also the heart
of God. Through the dark
of that awful day we see
Him on the cross. We hear
the last cry, ‘My God, My
God, why hast thou
forsaken Me?’ We see how
He loved us. But yonder,
looking down from the
throne of light and glory,
was God; and every nail
that pierced His hands and
feet pierced the heart of
God, because He loved you,
and you, and you, every one
of you. ‘God so loved the
world that He gave His
only begotten Son.’”
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God’s sacrifice is done. The
price has been paid. Now it is up
to you. What will you do with this
incredible love? Accept it? Reject
it? It is your choice to make. Accept
the love sacrifice that was given for
your sins~accept Jesus now!
The Judgment Day
Acts 17:30–31 says, “God
now commandeth all men everywhere
to repent; because He
hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man
whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance
unto all men, in that He hath raised him from the dead.”
With absolute certainty, we know of two events that are coming~first,
Jesus is coming again to receive His people unto Himself; second, Jesus
is coming to judge the world. It is upon that Judgment Day that we will
focus, and it is that day about which we will carefully consider five things.
First, the certainty of it; secondly, the universality of it; thirdly, the basis
of it; fourthly, the administrator of it; and, lastly, the issues if it.
Acts 17: 31: “God hath appointed a day in which He will judge the
world in righteousness.”
“It is absolutely certain that there is to be a judgment day for
the world. God has given us a special guarantee of the judgment
day, and that special guarantee is the resurrection of Christ from
the dead.”
Jesus Christ said, “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed
all judgment unto the Son; that all men should honor the Son, even as
they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the son honoreth not the
Father which hath sent Him” (John 5:22–23). He declared that there
was a Judgment Day coming and that He would be the Judge. He was
hated for saying such things and was put to death for it. Then on the
third day, “God, but the resurrection of Christ, set his seal to Christ’s
claims and said in accents that cannot be mistaken and that are a message
to all ages, ‘There is a judgment day coming.’
Acts 17: 31 “God hath appointed a day in which He will judge the
world.”
The judgment will be universal. Every person on earth will face the
Judge that day. All Christians will have already met Christ in the air, but
all who are left behind will stand before the Judge.
“There will be no escaping that day. Men often escape human courts.
There is many a thief that has never been arrested, there is many a murderer
that remains unhung; but when God sends forth His officers to
gather the people for that judgment day, they will have to come, and they
will have to stay right there until their case is settled.”
II Corinthians 5:10: “For we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”
- The deeds done in the body will
be one basis of the coming judgment.
If you are one who knows
the truth but does not heed it because
to do so might hurt you in
business or politics, you will answer
for it. You will one day be held accountable.
- Secret things will also be a basis
for the judgment. All will be brought
to light that day; things done in
the dark, under cover of night,
behind closed doors~things done
that no one saw but God.
Matthew 12:36: “But I say unto
you that every idle word that men
shall speak, they shall give account
thereof in the day of judgment.”
Judgment will be based upon our
words.
- John 3:18–19: “He that believeth
in him is not condemned; but he
that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed
in the name of the only begotten
Son of God.”
All of the prior factors are the
basis for judgment, but the most
damning of all will be the rejection
of Jesus Christ as Saviour. Christ
is God in flesh and to reject Him
proves a wicked heart. The most
important question that will be
asked on the day of judgment will
be, “What did you do with Jesus
Christ?” Jesus Christ, the One
whom some of you are rejecting,
will on that day be your Judge!
But it does not need to be a
dark day for you. Here, now,
accept Jesus Christ as Lord!
“That same Christ whose
divinity you are denying,
not that you have any
reason for denying it, but
simply you don’t want to
have to believe it and
want comfort in your
sin~that same Christ
whom you are trampling
under foot will sit as
Judge in that day.
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The issues of Judgment Day will be eternal. You will either spend
eternity in joy, life, and glory, or in death, darkness, despair, and
shame.
Christ will be sitting on the throne, and His face will be shining, even
brighter than the noonday sun. And you will stand before that throne
as His eyes, like flames of fire, seem to pierce right through you. Your
whole life will be laid bare in that moment as your secret thoughts are
revealed. With this in mind, then, repent, men and women. Today is the
day of salvation! Repent.
Three Fires
Matthew 3:11: “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance,
but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not
worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.”
I. The Baptism with Fire
We are generally familiar with baptism with water. It is commonly
done in most churches one way or another. But what is baptism with
fire? What does this mean? To understand it we must ask ourselves two
questions:
1. What does the Bible say concerning the function of fire?
2. At Pentecost, what does the Bible say happened to the apostles when
they were baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire?
What the Bible Says About Fire
I Corinthians 3:13: “Every man’s work shall be made manifest; for
the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire!”
First, according to the Bible, fire reveals who we really are~it shows
us to ourselves as God sees us. Our best and worst characteristics are uncovered,
whether they be honesty and humbleness or pride and vanity.
Though awful humiliation may ensue, it is far better to face the revelation
now of whom we truly are than to be shamed before the judgment seat
of Christ!
Second, the Bible uses fire to refine or purify. Water does not, cannot,
purify as fire does. Take gold for example. If there is dirt on the surface,
we can wash it with water; but what of the dirt on the inside? Water cannot
reach that. There is only one way~throw it into the fire! In the same
way, you and I can be washed clean on the outside using the water of
the Word, but what of the filth on the inside? Only the fire of the Holy
Ghost can reach those innermost places of our being to burn and cleanse
them.
Thirdly, we see in the Bible that fire consumes. Ezekiel 24:11–13
tells us of the consuming power of fire and of the judgment fire that will
consume the wretchedness and filth of Jerusalem.
“And the baptism
of fire consumes~in
fact it cleanses by
consuming; it burns
up all dross, all
vanity, all selfrighteousness,
all
personal ambition,
all ungovernable
temper.”
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Fourth, fire illuminates. This
place is filled with professing Christians,
yet there are some among us
who would rather read anything
other than the Bible. You may read
it but only because you know you
should, and you gain nothing from
it. To you, it is just empty words.
What you need is the baptism of
the Holy Ghost and fire! Once that
is upon you, you will see the Bible
as a new book and glory will shine
from every page!
Fifth, fire is warm and causes
a glow. “You have in your hand
a bar of iron; it is cold, and black,
and forbidding, and there is no
beauty in it. But you take that
cold, dark, forbidding bar of iron,
and you open the furnace door and
thrust it into the glowing fire. Soon
it is warm, then it becomes red hot
and glows with marvelous beauty,
and you have the cold bar of iron
glowing with fire.”
Both you and I are so cold! Jesus
Christ takes us and plunges us into
that fire of His, the Holy Spirit.
Then we start to grow warm, and
before long, we begin to glow with
love for God, for Christ, for the
truth of His Word, and for perishing
souls.
What we need today are men
and women on fire. In the pulpit,
we need ministers on fire. Most
of us preach truth with force and
beauty in rhetoric. Some of us are
even exceptionally eloquent in our
presentation, and our audience
admires our preaching, but they do not repent of their sins! Why? Because we are not on fire for the
Lord. Oh, we are more than able to appeal to their intellect, but we fail
to melt their hearts. But, when you put a minister who is on fire in the
pulpit~ministers such as Wesley, Whitefield, and Finney~hearts will melt,
and lives will change.
“Oh, men and women… [what we need] more than anything
else tonight is a baptism with fire on the minister, a baptism
with fire on the elders, a baptism with fire on the deacons a
baptism with fire, on the choir, a baptism with fire on the
Sunday school teachers, a baptism with fire on the personal
workers and a baptism with fire upon the men and women in
the congregation.” |
Sixth, the Bible shows that fire imparts energy. Scientists assert that
every form of energy can be changed into fire and that with fire you can
generate any force or energy. Similarly, when the baptism with fire comes
upon you, so does power!
We have many churches today~marvelous organizations housed in
beautiful architectural structures, with eloquent preaching and heavenly
singing, and yet, not one thing within it is moving for God. Why? There
is no fire! We need fire to do great things for God and, praise be to Him,
He promises that “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire.”
Seventh, the last characteristic of fire to consider tonight~it spreads.
May God baptize us with fire now, that we may spread His fire to the
ends of the earth!
What Happened at Pentecost
This is exactly what we saw in the Pentecost. The fire of God fell
upon the people who had gathered in that upper room, and they were
empowered to spread the truth about what they had seen and experienced.
They walked out of the upper room and 3,000 people were converted!
Also, on the day of Pentecost, the apostles were refined beyond anything
they had experienced before that day. Right up to the Last Supper
they had been self-centered and self-seeking. During the Last Supper
they actually argued over who among them would be first in the Kingdom
of Heaven.
“How weak and cowardly they had been right up to the
crucifixion! They all forsook Him and fled, and Peter
denied Him, at the accusation of a servant maid, with
oaths and curses. But after the day of Pentecost, that time
Peter cursed and swore and denied Christ when the servant
maid accused him of being a follower of Jesus, Peter faced
the very council that condemned Him, and said, ‘If we
this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent
man, by what means he is made whole, be it known unto
you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom
God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man
stand here before you whole.’ Ah, friends, cleansing is a
very slow process by ordinary methods, but a baptism with
fire does marvels in a moment.” |
II. The Fire of Judgment
That Will Try the
Believer’s Works
I Corinthians 3:13–15: “Every
man’s work shall be made manifest:
for the day shall declare it, because
it shall be revealed by fire; and the
fire shall try every man’s work of
what sort it is. If any man’s work
shall be burned, he shall suffer loss:
but he himself shall be saved; yet
so as by fire.”
The second biblical fire is the
fire of judgment. This fire will test
our works before the judgment
seat of Christ. This is not the judgment
of salvation. This judgment
involves those who have passed
that test, those who have accepted
the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in their
place.
“All the work we do for Christ
is to be put to the test, is to be put
to the severest kind of test, the fire
test; and, friends, there is a great
deal the Church of Christ is doing
professedly for Christ, and a great
deal individual Christians are
doing, that will never stand the
fire test.”
Do you think that such events
as church fairs and church bazaars
and other types of tomfoolery will
stand the test of fire on that day?
Why should believers waste their
time on these things? They are all
going to go up in smoke! The Bible
says that there will be those who
will be saved but who will lose their
reward. Not all work done in His
name, even though it is good work,
is done for God’s glory. Whether
the work be a wonderful, well-received
sermon, or a beautifully sung
solo, or a seemingly selfless gift of
philanthropy, if it is done out of
self-ambition, it will never stand
the test of fire. On the contrary,
it will go up in smoke.
Look within yourself. You may
do good work for a good purpose,
but if it is done by your strength
rather than by the power of the
Holy Ghost, it will not stand up
to the test of fire.
III. The Fire of Eternal Doom
II Thessalonians 1: 7–9: “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
Heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on
them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.”
The third fire is that of eternal doom. Each one of us will meet God
in fire at some point. May few or none of you who hear these words,
meet Him in the fire of eternal doom!
“Men and women, every one of us must meet
God in fire. Oh, tonight do you not want to meet
Him in the glorious fire of the Holy Ghost, refining
you from sin, cleansing the dross and filth,
illuminating you with God’s glorious truth,
warming the cold heart until it glows with holy
love, energizing you with the power of God, and
spreading wherever it goes? Or do you wish to
meet God in fire at that judgment day, that will
try your work as to character, motive, the power
that wrought it, and send all your works up in
smoke, and leave you there stripped, saved ‘so as
by fire?’ Or will you meet God in that awful fire
of eternal doom, when the day comes that the
same Christ whom you have rejected and trampled
under foot comes back again in the glory of the
Father, with His mighty angels, ‘rendering vengeance
to them that know not God and obey not
the Gospel?’ ” |
Let us tonight meet God in the fire of baptism with the Holy Ghost!
May the fire of the Holy Ghost indwell us and, by His power, may we
spread His gospel to the ends of the earth for His Glory.
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