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- Created: 12 March 2018 12 March 2018
A huge difference between God's people today and when I became a Southern Baptist pastor sixty-five years ago (1953) is the absence of a burden for the unsaved (even family members and close friends). I have long maintained that it is impossible for a church to have renewal/revival with a dry-eyed conversation. I have learned by experience in twenty-seven years as a local church pastor and in even more years leading revivals/evangelistic crusades the value of tears. When a nation was in trouble long ago, God gave this directive, "Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congegation, assemble to elders, gather the children and nursing babes; let the bridegroowm go out from his chamber, and the bride from her dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, 'Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, where is their God?'" (Joel 2:15-17). In the beginning of every series of revival sermons I used during evangelistic/revival meetings, there was a message based on Psalm 126:5-6: "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy; he who goes forth seeping, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him." Further, God keeps a record of our tears, "Thou tellest my wanderings, put Thou my tears in Thy bottle, are they not in Thy book?"