Real Revival And Real Change Series

REAL REVIVAL… REAL CHANGE

Nehemiah Chapter 8

1 all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel. 2 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

8 They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.

9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, "This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10 Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

13 On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the scribe to give attention to the words of the Law.

18 Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.

Chapter 9 - 1 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. 2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. 3 They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God.

And through Chapter 9 they go through a discourse of all God has done in their history and then in response to His word of law they have been reading… they cut covenant with God and in Chapter 10 they seal it with God… and list all the ways they will now comply with God’s word.

HERE IS THE CHALLENGE AND PROCESS OF REVIVAL IN THIS MOMENT OF NEHEMIAH… one that we will examine in a moment…

TWO MAIN QUESTIONS THAT TIE INTO THE POTENTIAL OF OUR FUTURE:

First question today:

WHAT IS REVIVAL? AND WHY DO WE NEED IT?

REAL REVIVAL

Comes from hearing God’s Word

and experiencing God’s presence

Leads to a Heart Change

Leads to Life Change

Leads to World Change

All for the Glory of God and growing His Kingdom

Revival is an encounter with the living God… As one pastor put it, revival is: “coming to life again. It’s when we go from indifference to making a difference. It’s when we move from being comfortably numb to being passionately committed. It’s when we move from an appetite for the world and self to an appetite for God.”

Real life…. Real Change – that is revival…

We need revival when....

o ... when we do not love God as we once did.

o … when earthly interests and occupations are more important to us than eternal ones.

o …when we would rather watch TV and read secular books and magazines than read the Bible.

o … when our Christianity is joyless and passionless.

o … when we know truth in our heads that we are not practicing in our lives.

o … when we make little effort to witness to the lost.

o …when we have time for sports, recreation, and entertainment, but not for Bible study or prayer.

o . . . when we do not tremble at the power of God.

On the other hand, the characteristics that take place when revival comes are…

... a deepened spiritual hunger

... intense fervent prayer that is enjoyable not dreadful

... repentance

... reckless abandonment and surrender to God

... a fresh fullness of the Holy Spirit

... spontaneous evangelism and soul winning

... restored relationships

... a spirit of thanksgiving and joy

... increased hunger for God’s Word

... a desire to put God/church before entertainment

There are no shortcuts to that process. If we want to experience revival, we have to go through the process. Today, we want everything fast; we want it quick; we want it easy; we want it overnight; we want it pain-free, and the best things just don’t come that way. WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO WAIT UPON THE LORD.