The Revival We Need Series

“THE REVIVAL WE NEED” Neh. 6:15-16

7/5/20 – FBCF

Jon Daniels

INTRO – In May, 1884, Z.C. Taylor, missionary to Brazil, wrote these words in his journal: “We are now in the midst of a revival…that grows brighter every day.”

- Wouldn’t you love to be able to write those word in your own journal today?

I believe we WILL be able to write those words in our journals. We need REVIVAL! And I believe it’s coming! And we are going to talk about what that means for our lives today.

Sermon series title: “Rebuild – Restore – Revive.” We’ve reached the point in the story where the rebuilding has been completed. But God’s not done yet. He wants to restore & revive HIS people. He’s much more concerned about rebuilding, restoring, & reviving our lives than He is about a wall around a city.

Book of Neh divided into 2 divisions:

- Ch. 1-6 – Rebuilding of the walls

- Ch. 7-13 – Restoring & reviving of the people

The rebuilding of the walls is a wonderful prelude & working picture of what God can & will do in the lives of those who truly want Him to do a restoring & reviving work in their lives.

EXPLANATION – Open Bibles to Neh. 6:15-16.

Timeline:

- Neh got word about the walls

- He prayed & went back to work as cupbearer

- King asked what was wrong

- Neh prayed & told him

- The king granted his leave & provided supplies

- The people went to work

- The enemies opposed them w/ jeers, insults, & death threats

- Neh prayed & set up defense systems

- More opposition – more prayer – the people kept working – more death threats – more prayer – the people kept working

Then we arrive at Neh. 6:15 – “So the wall was finished…” & in only 52 days, a feat so amazing that it caused the enemies to fall into fear. NLT: “When our enemies & surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened & humiliated. They realized that this work had been done w/ the help of our God.”

- “It was a remarkable feat. A full, heavyset wall constructed completely around Jerusalem, replete with fully functioning gates and towers, built by a ragtag group of volunteer laborers…The wall needed to go up around the prone capital and temple as quickly as possible…it was solid, it was fully functioning, it did the job, and it was a miracle.” (https://watchjerusalem.co.il/115-nehemiah-a-man-and-a-momentous-wall)

That’s what we sometimes call a “God-thing!” God had done a work that only He could do. Neh knew it – the people who built the wall knew it - & even the enemies knew it. Love what one writer said: “They [the enemies] said it couldn’t be done. The job was too big, & the problems were too great. But God’s men & women, joined together for special tasks, can solve huge problems & accomplish great goals. Don’t let the size of a task or the length of time needed to accomplish it keep you from doing it. WITH GOD’S HELP, IT CAN BE DONE” (note in NLT Life Application Bible, p. 955).

APPLICATION – You & I can experience a “God-thing” revival in our lives & in our Church today. And this is what it will look like when I happens:

THE DEFINITION – Revival is when God interrupts our lives in a direct way to cause us to return to Him in a deliberate way.

- It’s a time of serious soul-searching – Spiritual inventory

o Where are the walls broken down in my life?

- It’s a time of stretching our faith –

o What’s it going to take to rebuild the walls?

o Am I will to do whatever God requires of me?

- It’s a time of sadness over sin – Godly sorrow –

o Am I truly broken over my sin?

o Or am I just sorry that I got caught?

- It’s a time of seeking God – TRULY seeking God.

o Truly seeking HIM, not just the blessings that come from Him.

o Truly seeking to follow Christ to be more like Him, not just going through the motions of following Him b/c it’s the socially acceptable thing to do in our community.

o Truly seeking to let the Holy Spirit convict us, teach us, guide us, empower us, & transform us

THE DISTINCTIVES – Revival comes in these distinct ways:

- It comes from God’s hand – It’s not something we work up – It’s something that comes down!

o The hand of God was on Neh.

o When the hand of God is upon us, revival will come from HIM!

o Ps. 85:6 says, “Will YOU not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?”, not, “Will you not let US revive ourselves?”