A LOOK AT REVIVAL
Habakkuk 3:1-2
INTRODUCTION
A. Habakkuk has had a bad day.
1. He has been praying, O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Hab 1:2-3
- Finally God answers – I’m going to judge Israel…..with Babylon!
2. Whoa, wait God, that is not what I wanted to hear!
a. How can you judge us with someone who is worse.
b. God’s answer “Don’t worry I will judge them too.
c. To which he cries out “revive thy work”
3. Now many of us might be tempted to say, I sure am glad we are not in his place – personally or nationally.
4. But I would ask are we not or are we?
B. We might not be as far down the slope as Israel was but I believe we are in great need of a revival: personally, ecclesiastically and nationally.
1. So this is a good passage and time to take A Look at Revival.
2. Hab 3:1-2 states, A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.
3. Revival is what Habakkuk wanted, even as he heard and submitted to God’s word,
4. He had voiced his complaints, the Lord had answered them and now he was content to pray and ask God for their need to be met - revival
5. In this first verse there is an unusual word, A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. According to Shigionoth.
a. It might interest you to know that the word “shi-gi-o-noth” has at its root the meaning of a loud cry in a time of danger or joy – further it gives the idea “to reel to and fro.
b. From that it was given the thought of a song – one to be sung in the worship – so it became a psalm to be sung triumphantly with sudden changes in emotion.
c. It is this idea that sets the tone for Habakkuk 3:2-19
6. In the midst of fear and faith comes this cry – revive your work. O Lord
7. In the midst of his turmoil, reeling to and fro, comes the cry revive your work, O LORD!
8. In the midst of this service we may cry Revive your work, O LORD!
C. Because of this possibility this morning I would like to look at three things concerning revival that are necessary for us to know
1. The Fear Of LORD – The Foundation
2. Revival Is The LORD’S Business – The Understanding
3. The LORD’S Mercy For all – The Plea
D. May God grant the beginning of revival, right here, right now – may His Holy Spirit fan the flames of a Christ based, Holy Ghost driven, scripture fed and God honoring Revival in this place!
PRAY
For this to happen we need to know
I. THE FEAR OF THE LORD – THE FOUNDATION, Hab 3:2, O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid:… There are a number of things that take place at the on set of revival:
A. We Must Acknowledge God as LORD
1. Habakkuk uses the Hebrew word Yahovah (also known as Jehovah or Yahweh) which speaks to God’s eternality – the everlasting God
2. He is the only one who was and is and is to come!
3. There is none greater: eternal power, presence and knowledge are His.
4. It was the psalmist who testified, For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Psalm 86:10
5. Do you believe in the ONE God as revealed in Scripture?
B. We Must Hear His word - I have heard thy speech…
1. Revival cannot come apart from the word of God!
2. No revival in Israel took place without the Word – no revival, since has happened without the clear proclamation of God’s word
3. But more than proclamation of the word, it must be heeded – the Hebrew word is of the Qal stem and means to listen, to give heed.
4. Too many sitting in our American church pews are simply hearing the word but not listening and giving heed – that is why we need revival and that is a necessary part of revival.
5. Do you listen and heed God’s word?
C. Finally, We must fall before God in fear - and was afraid:…
1. The word translated fear has a wide range of meaning, again it is from the Qal stem and can mean: be afraid, stand in awe, honor and reverence
2. I believe it could be all of this in its present context.
- Having heard from God Habakkuk was fearful in judgment, standing is awe of God’s mighty works and reverenced Him as God
3. It is this type of fear we need, for in it we find wisdom as attested to by Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
4. For us, to fear God, would be a great foundation for revival!
The Fear of the Lord is the Foundation to Revival, but we must not think that revival is a matter of putting together a formula and then making it happen. We must know and acknowledge
II. REVIVAL IS LORD’S BUSINESS, O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known;
A. Habakkuk had been praying for revival in the nation of Judah for a number of years – waiting, waiting and waiting
1. His cry, in my personal translation was “Why are you waiting – what are you waiting for?”
2. This could be the cry of every generation who is looking for revival
3. But we must remember – we are not God and God is not a man.
B. We Must Understand Revival Is God’s Work, Not Man’s! O LORD, revive thy work…
1. We cannot bring revival
2. None of us can do the work in the heart of man that needs to be done to revive him to a state of loving reverent consciousness to God
3. Habakkuk could look back and see God’s hand in many different revival’s of the past, but he could not force God’s hand for the present.
4. Should this keep us from asking God for revival? No.
5. David Prior writes in his commentary on Habakkuk, “God may, indeed, never repeat himself, but we can expect him to do in a new way what he is in the habit of doing – bring life.”
C. We Must Understand Revival Comes In God’s Timing not man’s, in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known
1. No doubt Habakkuk would like to have see revival come right then, but he had conversed with God, the eternal one, who knew all things.
a. It was not going to happen in his timing so he phrases his request in this manner, in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known
b. He makes his request but leaves the timing up to God.
2. This would be a good pattern for us: we can’t see the big picture either so we need to be asking God to bring revival, in his timing
3. We may say we desire revival, but God knows our hearts – he knows how to bring us to the place of being open to revival.
As we take a look at revival we have learned we must have The Fear Of LORD as a foundation and Understand Revival Is The LORD’S Business. One last thing I would like to add: our plea should be
III. THE LORD’S MERCY FOR ALL, …in wrath remember mercy.
A. Habakkuk made reference to Judgment as he spoke of wrath.
1. God was going to judge Israel for her sin, he was then going to judge Babylon for her sin
2. The fact that God is a God of wrath is seen though out the Bible, not just in the Old Testament
a. Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
b. John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
3. Because we have broken God’s law were are deserving of nothing but His wrath Rom 4:15 states in part, Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
4. None of us should ever be to high minded, because we all deserve the wrath of God
5. Habakkuk knew God’s wrath was warranted, but he knew something else
B. God was a God of mercy - …in wrath remember mercy.
1. In the biblical sense mercy is the attribute whereby God does not give us what we deserve.
2. As used here, Habakkuk, is asking God to mitigate, or possibly remove it totally in some instances.
3. It is in this sense of the word we should desire mercy for all.
4. Not giving us what we deserve (wrath – for no one could stand before God’s wrath) opens the door to receiving what we do not deserve – grace.
5. In revival, God does not send down his wrath, but because of His mercy He pours out His grace upon His children.
C. Folks the church is to be a vehicle to channel God’s grace
1. We have obtained mercy – Christ took our God ordained wrath for our sin - and He saves us by His grace!
2. Now, I am not a prophet such as those in the days of old, but we need to be very careful – if we do despite to God’s grace, me might just swap mercy for wrath.
3. So our plea ought to be remember mercy!
CONCLUSION
A. Today we can pray – O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy. Hab 3:2 (HCSB)
B. God can renew the work of His Holy Spirit in our life, in our family and even in His church here at FBCM
C. We took a look at revival - let us set our faces to this end:
1. Proclaim Him to be GOD!
2. Diligently heed His Word
3. Fear the Lord
4. Plead for mercy
5. And wait on Him to do a work of revival in our hearts!
6. Do we want revival?
D. One last thing, do you remember where all this began – the first two words of the passage?
1. A prayer
2. From what I understand from church historians, no real revival has ever started without significant passionate and extensive prayer before hand
3. Do we want revival? Begin to pray now!
