Transcript: Christian Revival Sermons with Rev Fred Proctor

Hello, this is Reverend Fred Proctor Sr., pastor of brighterdaybaptistchurch.com, which is an online virtual church. and I want to take this opportunity to welcome you to our online church and to tell them the story of Jesus. That's what we're called to do. I was saved when I was 16 years of age. I announced to my home church that God had called me into the ministry when I was 21, and I preached my first sermon when I was 21. And God has used me down through the years. Started preaching in 1962 and still preaching. and if I live to see my next birthday I shall be blessed to be 81 years of age and I'm glad that God has given me the strength to continue preaching to present the gospel of Jesus Christ there is no time to quit God didn't call us to quit It's like onward Christian soldiers marching as to war. There's so many people that still need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that's what we do. You can visit friterdaybaptistchurch.com and we have preaching every Sunday morning at 11 o'clock. You can go online and visit with us. If you have a prayer request or whatever, you can make it known. Plus, we are on many, many, I don't know, probably, all together, the different podcasts, social media and everything, close to maybe 50 channels. And I thank God for that. You say, well, you're just boasting. No, I'm not. I'm praising God that he has opened up so many doors. And if we don't go in them, then it is our fault. So, I welcome you. I'm going to read from the book of 2 Chronicles. And most people that read the Bible, know anything about the Bible, they're going to find that this is a very familiar passage of Scripture. 2 Chronicles 7, verse 14, God is saying, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I thank you for this opportunity and privilege once again to stand behind this pulpit and to preach the word of God. I pray through the power of the Holy Spirit that you will help me to deliver this message and that people will be touched and many, many souls will be saved and people will accept you and we'll have a great and mighty revival. I pray for it. And thank you for every blessing of life. Thank you for this Christmas that's coming up. Thank you for the true meaning of it. It is that our Savior has been born. Thank you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen and amen. Alright, we know, and I will not spend much time telling you what a mass our country is in. We know that. If you want to watch the news, you can watch it on TV. I'm not here to present the news. I'm simply here to say we know that the United States of America is in a terrible situation. A lot of chaos. All of this pandemic and stuff that's hit and COVID and other variants and different. They say now there's another one and another one. And it's arguing, well, you need to do this. You need to do that. and just so many things that's coming upon the world. But let's look at America. Let's look at America. Many churches, even before COVID hit, many churches had closed up and went out of business. I know churches. I've pastored, I don't know, seven or eight churches. One I pastored for 20 years. But I know churches that have been established and been going for, some of them for over 100 years. And it is pitiful to see if you go to that church. And I've been there and I've different churches, many different churches. And I went, I was invited, I preached, I preached revivals. and to go to a church, a well-established Baptist church that's been around for a long time and for Sunday school you have seven people in attendance. I know of several big churches right in our area that many years ago, and I remember it, I was probably 28 or 30 years of age, and these churches were thriving, and had 300 or 400 for Sunday school, and several of them have just closed up. Closed up. and I was reading that in the United Kingdom and in England, many churches, great, big, huge, large churches have just closed up and went out of business. And they say it's one of the hardest places in all the world to serve as a missionary is in England. Because if you go and you go to witness to someone or to talk to them about Jesus and they said, this is what you will hear. Been there, done that, don't want it. Not interested. Over and over, over and over, and I'm afraid, and I'm not a prophet, I'm a preacher, and I'm not a preacher of doom, but the judgment hand of God is coming upon America. So, what can we do? What can we do? I just read, and I'm not going to read all this verse, but I'll give you this. It's the 2 Chronicles 7, verse 14. If my people, my people, he's talking about us, that are born again Christians. They were first called Christians at so and so. I think it was Antioch, maybe. when they were first called Christians. If my people, which are called by my name, what? Christ? Christians? Yes. Called by my name shall humble themselves. That's the first thing. There's five or six different things listed here. If they will do this, if they'll do this, if they'll do this. but the first one, everything else means nothing until you do number one. If my people, Christian people, will humble themselves, get down humble. Get down humble If our nation will turn back to God it will be because Christians have turned back and humbled ourselves. Don't look for Satan to do it, but he's talking about us. He's talking to us as Christians. If our nation will ever turn back to God, it will be because us as Christians have humbled ourselves. Sorry about that. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and he said I will hear if you'll remember yourself revival is for the believer but the salvation of the lost should be the result of revival what is revival well here you have you've passed out you're laying in the floor you're passed out and then someone puts some oxygen on your mouth or whatever, however you get the oxygen and then and you're revived up that's revival you were way down here low and then you are revived back up and so it is with us today in the church. In the church. I love the church. I love the church. I don't love everything that's going on in churches, but I love the church. The Bible said Jesus Christ loved the church and gave himself far ahead. I love the church because it was in the church. We were taken to church, not sent. We grew up. We walked to church. About the first 12 years of my life, we walked to church. And then we left that church and went to another one. And we couldn't walk. It was too far. But it was in church. And it was in church. for I heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. My first pastor that I remember, Reverend Ray Long, pastor of Westport Street Baptist Church, preached the gospel. I knew that I should go up to the altar and ask Jesus to forgive me of my sins. Now I'm going to tell you, someone mentioned to me this week, They said, I love to hear people tell how they were saved. What a fact. So I heard the gospel that Sunday night. And the Holy Spirit spoke to me, was speaking. You say, well, I'm out of here. Listen. I didn't say I heard an audible voice. I didn't. I heard it. I heard him. He's not an it. He's him. The Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit. I heard him right here speaking into me. And saying, Fred, you need to go. You need to get on your knees. You need to ask. If you don't, you'll die and go to hell. Oh my. So we went home that night. I was 16. and I went to bed and I was afraid to close my eyes. I was afraid that if I were to sleep and die, I'd wake up in hell. And this went on for several hours, quite a few hours. And I finally just couldn't take it anymore. So I got out of the bed, got on my knees and said, Oh, Lord Jesus, please come into my life. Save me and forgive me. I don't want to go down to hell. I want to be up there with you. Please forgive me of all of my sins. And he did. And I slept in the basement. You had to come out. You didn't go upstairs. You had to come out the door and walk around. And I went up. And I, to the main door, or not one of the doors, where my dad and mother, that was their bedroom. They were asleep because it was about 2.30 in the morning. And I was knocking on the door and crying and shouting and praising God. And my mother come to the door and said, What's the matter? And I just said, Oh, hallelujah. I just got saved a while ago. Jesus Christ, come into my life and save my soul. And my mother said, you don't know how long we've been praying that you would accept Jesus Christ as Savior. So I love the church because I heard the gospel in the church. I love the church because I was baptized and baptized and don't send you to heaven, but I believe in it. I believe we ought to do it. The Bible teaches it. It was through a church. I was baptized into the church after I was born again. and it was in the church, the church where I met my wife. And we were married 58 and a half years. She died just four months ago. Just like that. Just boop. And she was gone. She's in heaven. Let me say, there's no such thing as sleeping in the grave. The Bible does not teach that. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So it was in the church that I met my wife. It was in the church where I married my wife. It was in the church where I announced my call to the ministry because I knew, I knew that the Holy Spirit was calling me and saying, you're to preach. Someone said, how long had you known it? I said, I think I knew it. All of my life. I think I knew it. All of my life. My mother told me, and I had been preaching 25 or 30 years. I did not know this. She said, I had just learned to walk. I was out in the yard. I don't know how old I was. and learning to walk and learning to talk. So I guess I was two and a half, maybe three years old. She said, I was out in the yard walking around a little and I came up to her and said, God called me to preach. And she never said that. She probably mentioned it or told my dad, but she never mentioned it. I've had a lot of young men come to me and say, how will I know if I'm called to preach? Well, that's a question that all of us, I guess, asked older preachers and pastors, how will I know? They gave a good answer. If you can do anything else and be happy and satisfied, God didn't call you to preach. So it's in here. And the Bible says that that calling is without repentance. God will not change His mind. He calls. Why did He call me? I don't know. None of my business. It's God's business. I just know that He called me. and it was in the church that I preached my first sermon. It was in a church where I was licensed and then it was in a church where I was ordained to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So I'm saying my life has been totally intertwined in the church. In the church. Thank God for the church. And the church needs to be revived The church is almost in the state of where the church is passed out so to speak Like I said, you're lying there on the floor and you need to be revived. Get up! Stand up! And the way to do it is to bow down. if my people will humble themselves. Humble themselves. Listen, I'm going to give you some illustrations. A bunch of newspaper men from London went to see firsthand the marvelous happenings of the great Welsh revival at the turn of the century. I've read about that many, many times. Oh, it just blessed my heart. To read about it. And to read. And see how God. God the Holy Spirit. Worked. So now listen. They went to see. First hand. About. Excuse me. Well, this will be, that segment will have to be edited out. So, let me give you this illustration. A newspaper man from London went to see firsthand the marvelous happenings of the great Welch revival at the turn of the century. On their arrival in Wales, one of them asked a policeman where the Welsh revival was. Drawing himself to his full height, he laid his hand over his heart and proudly proclaimed, Gentlemen, the Welsh revival is inside this uniform. He had caught the holy fire. Charles G. Finney defined revival as nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God. Just as in the case of a converted sinner, the first step is a deep repellence, a breaking down of heart, a getting down in the dust before God. Remember he said, if my people shall humble themselves, getting down into the dust before God with deep humility and a forsaking of sin. Evangelist Gypsy Smith, I've heard about him, read some of his books. Evangelist Gypsy Smith was once asked how to start a revival. He answered, go home, walk yourself in your room, kneel down in the middle of your floor, draw a chalk mark all around yourself and ask God to start the revival inside that chalk mark. When he has answered your prayer, the revival will be on. R.A. Torrey he was assistant to Moody and later became head of the Moody Bible Institute R.A. Torrey gave a prescription for revival he said I can give a prescription that will bring a revival to any church or community or any city on earth first He said that a few Christians, they need not be many, get thoroughly right with God themselves. This is the prime essential. If this is not done, the rest that I am to say will come to nothing. Then he said secondly, let them bind themselves together in a prayer group to pray for revival until God opens the heavens and comes down. Third, let them put themselves at the disposal of God for him to use as he sees fit in running others to Christ. and he says that is all this is sure to bring a revival to any church or community and he says I have given this prescription around the world it has been taken by many churches and many communities and in no instance has it ever failed and it cannot fail revival must begin with me And revival must begin with you as Christians. Revival is talking to us as Christians, not sinners. They can't be revived. The only thing they can do is to pray and ask Jesus to save them. He's talking to us about pride and humbling ourselves. Humble ourselves before God. so revival must begin with me and it must begin with you if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves I'm going to give you one more illustration and then we will stop and do a second part too. But Harry Morehouse, while still a young man, was conducting evangelistic services in a certain city in the United States. but there was no revival. In this particular city it was as though he were beating against a stone wall. Day and night he was on his knees searching his heart and crying out Oh God, why is there no revival? One day he was walking along the street and the Holy Spirit showed him a large placard, you know, like a billboard, on which appeared these words. Harry Morehouse, the most famous of all British preachers. And he said at once, he said to himself, that is why there is no revival. He went to the campaign committee and said, Brethren, now I know why there is no revival. See how you have advertised me as the greatest of this and the greatest of that? No wonder. The Holy Spirit will not work. He is grieved and quenched because you haven't magnified the Lord Jesus. He is the wonderful one and we must humble ourselves before him. He said, continuing, I'm just a poor, simple, humble servant preaching the glorious gospel and saying, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. First step for revival. And revival is personal. It starts with one person. It doesn't... Normally, you don't see thousands of people or the church get revived. It starts in the heart of the Christian. My people. You've got to humble. Humble yourself. Humble yourself. And come to the realization I'm nothing. I am nothing. I am a sinner saved by the marvelous grace of God. Oh, listen. I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak to your heart and you will be obedient And just get on your knees Humble yourself Humble your heart before God. And understand and know and certainly be willing to say, I'm nothing without God. I'm nothing. What can I do? oh I'm afraid that too many people in America Christians have put such a high value on themselves and God will not honor that matter of fact it will bring judgment but to humble let's humble ourselves first step in revival just bow bow your heart bow your head and so God forgive me forgive me there's a song something like this I can't even walk without you holding my hand I'm nothing and I know it I admit it I'm nothing but oh God here I am take me and use me according to your perfect will. Humble yourself and come to this and know this. Understand this. There's nothing good in me. There's nothing good in me. if you want to touch the heart of God, humble yourself. And if you are watching this program, and you're a sinner, and you've never asked Jesus Christ to come into your life and to save your soul, I want to point you to the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible said, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But the Bible also said, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And I pray that the Holy Spirit will touch your heart and deal with you until you humble yourself before God and say, Oh God, I confess my sins. Please forgive me. Please save me. Because I don't want to die and go to hell. I know that is a subject which most people don't want to hear about. They don't want to hear about hell. But Jesus preached more about hell than he did heaven. because he does not want anyone to go to hell. As a matter of fact, the Bible said hell was created for the devil and his angels. But man sinned. And there are people that just refuse and say, well, I won't go. I won't accept Jesus Christ. I'll go in my own way. Well, then I'm going to, I don't do it sarcastic, but I don't have any problems speaking straight. And I say it in love, if you don't accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, when you leave this world, you're going to hell. I'll close with this I hadn't planned on using this but I remember don't remember exactly what year it was but I was going to Bible college online I went to a Bible college but then later on I went for 8 years to 3 or 4 different Bible colleges to learn to study and to learn and I remember this professor gave such a great illustration he said that he went on vacation and went to Carlsbad Caverns out in New Mexico and he said that place goes it's for miles tunnels you know it's limestone and it's weathered down but he said they had a person a guide and said he took us I guess I don't know maybe they walked could have been an elevator I can't remember but anyhow he said He took us 750 feet straight down. And the guide told everybody, get back from the edge and sit down because we're going to turn the lights out in Carlsbad Caverns for just a couple of minutes. And so they turned the lights out. And this professor said, something like five seconds had gone by and people began to scream, turn them on! Turn the lights back on! Oh, turn the lights back on! I can't handle it. I can't deal with it. And this professor said, it was so dark, he couldn't even feel his hand. If he tried to touch his body, he couldn't feel it. I don't know. I've never been in that situation. I've been in some mining tunnels and stuff, but not 750 feet down. And it's total darkness. Darkness. And the guide told the group that if an adult, not a child, but an adult, if an adult stayed right there in that situation, the lights turned off for seven days. He said after seven days, they'd be total insane, total crazy. And I remember making the remark, it wouldn't take seven days for me. I think I'd go crazy before. Think about that. Darkness. Cut off. Cut off from God. Fire. We don't understand how there's fire, yet it's dark. But the Bible said in hell there's fire and brimstone. And brimstone is sulfur. And it gives off smoke. And when you breathe it, it chokes you. Oh, oh, oh, oh. You can't get any breath. And listen, sinner, listen to me, please. I'm pleading because I don't want anybody to go to hell. But the thing about it is that it never, never, never ends. It's forever. And I can't handle that. It shakes me up so much. it never ends. And people cry, oh, let me out, let me out. No, you ain't going to get out. So I say, get in. Get in with the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you will. And again, I invite you to visit online, brighterdaybaptistchurch.com anytime. We're never closed. We're always, there's something going on there all the time. So call us or visit us. And if you have a prayer request, you can make that known. God bless you. And if I don't see you before, I hope you have a very, very Merry Christmas. And put Jesus back in it. Thank you. Thank you.