REVIVAL BEGINS WITH ME
Opening Song: 292 Jesus I Come
Closing Song: 311 I Would Be Like Jesus
Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 29:1-10
One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior.
The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident. As time went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children.
It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son.
The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans. This is when the problems began.
You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son.
The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting.
As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out hand. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be.
He began to speak and his statement was this: 'My fiancée’s past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?'
The whole church began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters. Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely then it cannot cleanse us completely. If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble. What can wash away my sins?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus! End of case!!!!
'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.' Psalm 55:23
Grape Hall Revival will not come to the church until it’s leadership is revived.
Introduction: Today, we begin the message about the revival that occurred under the leadership of King Hezekiah. This account is the most extensive account of a Biblical revival in the scriptures. And I believe we can learn a lot about revival from this account.
One thing that all revivals in the scripture have in common with each other is this. Every one of them began with the LEADERSHIP. A REVIVED LEADERSHIP WILL LEAD TO REVIVAL AMONG GOD’S PEOPLE. And, Revival will not come to the church until its leadership is revived.
King Hezekiah issued three calls to the leaders of the people that first, lead to their own renewal and refreshing, and then secondly, lead to revival among God’s people. I believe that God wants to issue these same three calls today to every MINISTER, DEACON, PROGRAM LEADER, SABBATH SCHOOL TEACHER AND CHOIR MEMBER here today,
That does not mean that the rest of you can take a nap. Perhaps today, God will challenge you to join these leaders in revival, and in service! I believe some of you may need to consider taking a position of service in this church, or return to a position of service. So pay close attention and let God speak to your hearts.
1Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
2And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.
3He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.
4And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street,
5And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.
6For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs.
7Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.
8Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.
9For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
10Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.
Give background on previous king (Ahaz)
Background:
Ahaz took the throne at the age of 20 years old after his father Jotham
passed away. Not much is said about Jotham except that he was a good man.
He seems to have been personally faithful even though the people of Judah
were becoming more and more violent and corrupt. Ahaz’s reign causes the
people to lose all restraint and to become completely corrupt in idol worship.
Clearly, we can say that Ahaz may know about God, but he doesn’t know
him.
We need to ask 3 Important Questions about Ahaz:
1. What would cause a person to close God’s temple? Ahaz seemed to view
worship as a way of getting something you wanted. Perhaps, God failed to be
at his call? He seems to have become deceitful in his sin and hardened to the
point that he doesn’t want to worship God and doesn’t want anyone else to
either. Some people may worship for the wrong reasons: a desire for power
or to be like others. Ahaz was following the example of the pagan kings
around him instead of his father. One of the early church fathers known as
Augustine once said, “Idolatry is worshiping anything that ought to be used,
or using anything that ought to be worshiped.”
2. What would cause this same person to put an idol on every street corner?
v.24 Perhaps some would say a longing for God or a desire for meaning in
life. For some this is true. Still others see it as a way of getting things. His
motive is clear from v.23 “I’ll sacrifice to them so that they will help me.”
We may have a hard time relating to Ahaz’s desire to worship idols,
until we realize that many things can be an idol. For Israel there was the
Baals. For us there is the gods of Sex, Shekels and Stomach or Pleasure,
Possessions or Position. For some, Football, the Firm and Family are also
good. The list can go on forever.
During this time, Judah is referred to in Isaiah 1:21-23 as a harlot;
murderer; rebellious rulers; companions of thieves; lovers of bribes; chases
rewards; doesn’t defend the cause of the defenseless.
Micah says of the people of Judah; the godly have perish from the land;
lying in wait for bloodshed; loves bribery; the best of them is like a briar and
the most upright like a thorn hedge Micah 7:2-4a
3. What would cause God to allow him to continue being king for 26 years
and to deal so differently with Uzziah? God deals differently with his
children then those of the world. His discipline is proof that we are His.
Heb 12:6-7 He severly disciplines the ones He calls His children. God was
reaching out to Ahaz in his early reign. We see that in Isaiah 7. Ahaz didn’t
know God and God treated him differently. He allowed Ahaz to have a free
will and to walk away from him.
So, what are the results of Ahaz’s actions:
1. The Lord humbles Judah v.5,19 Israel killed 120,000 soliders of Judah
because they had forsaken God v.6 The Lord handed over Ahaz to the King
of Aram. God took the protection he had been giving Judah away. Obed the
prophet in v.9 says “The Lord God of your ancestors handed Judah over to
you in his anger.”
I. A RENEWED CALL TO PURITY (v. 5)
1. Hezekiah recognized the need for revival among God’s people, BUT more importantly, He recognized HIS OWN NEED, and the need of the LEADERS of God’s people.
(1) Elders, if revival is going to happen in this church, it must begin in our hearts first – we need to do some business with God first! You and I need to be cut to the heart.
(2) I believe that is why so many of our churches are stagnant. It is because our leaders have been beaten down, they are tired, they need to be refreshed first!
(3) Church, YOU need to pray for your pastor, and encourage him to take time to be refreshed in his own heart! He needs time to purify himself and to be refreshed.
2. Then Hezekiah challenged the priests and the Levites to purify themselves and then purify the temple of the Lord.
(1) Before they could take on the work of cleansing God’s house, they had to be clean!
(2) DEACONS, PROGRAM LEADERS, SABBATH SCHOOL TEACHERS, CHOIR before you clean up the temple of God, YOU must be clean!!! The responsibility of revival is in your hands! IT BEGINS WITH YOU!
(3) Will you HUMBLE yourselves before God, praying and confessing your sins, seek His face and turn from your sin today??? Will you call out to Him?
II. A RENEWED CALL TO WORSHIP (v. 20)
1. After the priests and levites purified themselves and readied the temple for service, Hezekiah called the leadership to a time of worship.
(1) Anytime there was a dullness of religion amongst God’s people, their worship was the first thing to fall by the wayside!
(2) In every revival recorded in the scripture, a renewed call to real worship was major factor in bringing about change! It started with the leaders!
(3) How can you expect to lead others to worship God, if you yourself are not worshipping???
2. Worship is more than just coming to sit in a room to hear a message and sing a few hymns! Worship doesn’t come from the mind, it comes from the heart!
(1) Scriptural worship always involves sacrifice! In our case, the giving of ourselves totally to God!
(2) “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Rom. 12:1 (act of worship)
(3) The challenge for you today leaders is to come and worship at the footstool of God!
III. A RENEWED CALL TO SERVICE (v. 31)
1. After the dedication ceremony ended, Hezekiah challenged the Leaders to come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the lord.
(1) What we are seeing here is a zealous return to temple service!
(2) After King Ahaz had shut the doors of the temple, apparently the priest and levites had neglected their duties.
(3) Leaders, in all honesty let’s ask ourselves, “Have we been negligent in the responsibility that God has given us?”
2. Did you know that you can come to this church Sabbath after Sabbath and do your “duty” and still be negligent in your responsibility?
(1) If you are not giving your very best in your responsibilities before God, then you are negligent.
(2) Are you serving God to the best of your abilities? Are you giving 110% to the Lord? Or are you just doing enough to get by?
(3) The challenge for us today leaders is rededicate ourselves to the Lord and our position of service. Make a genuine change!
Today, we are going to see how that revival spread from the leadership to the people of God. And how the people responded to this letter that King Hezekiah sent out to the people of Judah to call them to celebrate the Passover, even though they were celebrating it a month late. I believe that God placed the desire in the heart of Hezekiah to celebrate the Passover because God was going to use that time to restore the people.
I want to reiterate and expand on something that I said earlier about revival. We get revival and spiritual awakening mixed up many times. Revival is for the church (for God’s people). Revival is not for the lost. The word revival means: to bring to life AGAIN!
You cannot revive a lost person, because they have never been alive in the first place. Before we come to Christ, the bible says we are all spiritually dead. 1st John 5:12 says “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” In order to revive something, it has to have been alive to begin with. Some people may get saved during a revival, BUT that is not the goal of revival.
The goal is to revive the people of God so that they will go out and win the lost in a spiritual awakening!
In this passage, we find four very real reminders to the people of Judah of God’s promise to revive and restore those who are seeking it with all their hearts. The crux of today’s message is that God revives and restores all who come to Him with a desire for renewal and a repentant heart.
I. THE REASSURANCE OF GOD’S LOVE (vv. 6)
1. God issued a love appeal to His people through King Hezekiah – the appeal is summed up in this one verse – God said to them: “Return to me, and I will return to you!” It is so simple, it’s profound!
(1) Ultimately, God will never leave us nor forsake us, (eternal security) BUT I believe that there are times in which we depart from him – they are like times of dryness – times when the Glory departs in our own lives and in the life of the church.
(2) In spite of Judah’s unfaithfulness to God – Idol worship – God reassured them of His love by pleading with them – “return to me (because I still love you) and I will return to you.”
2. Maybe today you have departed from God to worship other God’s—the gods of this age – maybe you are experiencing dryness – maybe the Glory has departed – God is issuing a love appeal to you today – “return to me (because I still love you) and I will return to you!”
(1) Do we have any Prodigal sons and Daughters here today? (Luke 19:11-32) Illus. Left fathers house went into the far country (out of God’s will) blew all of his inheritance, spent some time with the pigs – when he came to his senses he went back home
(2) Look at the father, the father was waiting for him on the front porch every day – binoculars in his hands – searching the for his son – one day he saw a dot on the horizon – coming closer – realized it was a man – “maybe it’s him?” – he looked again and it was – and the father didn’t wait – he ran to the son – before the son could finish His speech – his father fell on his neck and kissed him.
3. In spite of all of our waywardness, God wants us back! God says come home!
Not because we first loved Him did Christ love us; but "while we were yet sinners" He died for us. He does not treat us according to our desert. Although our sins have merited condemnation, He does not condemn us. Year after year He has borne with our weakness and ignorance, with our ingratitude and waywardness. Notwithstanding our wanderings, our hardness of heart, our neglect of His Holy Word, His hand is stretched out still. {MH 161.1}
The Lord God through Jesus Christ holds out His hand all the daylong in invitation to the sinful and fallen. He will receive all. He welcomes all. It is His glory to pardon the chief of sinners. He will take the prey from the mighty, He will deliver the captive, He will pluck the brand from the burning. He will lower the golden chain of His mercy to the lowest depths of human wretchedness, and lift up the debased soul contaminated with sin.
II. THE REQUIREMENT OF A REPENTANT HEART (vv. 10-15a)
1. Many of God’s people were cut to the heart by God’s appeal to return to Him and they responded in earnest.
(1) They humbled themselves – Pride is a barrier to revival
(2) God gave them singleness of heart to follow the kings command – they agreed that returning to celebrate the Passover was the right thing to do even though it was past the normal time.
(3) v. 14 the first thing they did was to tear down the pagan altars.
2. If our hearts are truly repentant tonight, we will respond in much the same way as they did!
(1) We will be humbled before Almighty Holy God! And admit our need for revival!
(2) We will together recognize that this church, this community need’s revival and it’s the right thing to do.
(3) We will tear down the Pagan altars in our own lives – we will for sake the other gods we have been worshiping!
3. Will you respond today with a repentant heart – will you: “rend your hearts and not your garments!”
III. THE REALITY OF RESTORATION (vv. 17-20)
1. The people celebrated the Passover, brought their sacrifices, and confessed their sins, but there were many in the assembly that had not yet sanctified themselves and so King Hezekiah prayed for them
(1) Prayer: God would provide atonement for their sins – for those who prepared their hearts to seek God
(2) The people may not have known exactly what they needed to do, BUT they had a DESIRE for revival!
(3) v. 20 “and the Lord listened to Hezekiah and healed the people.” God restored them and they were able to keep the Passover!
2. God wants to restore you today!
(1) that is what this revival effort is all about, and all the prayer that has gone into this time – Prayer for restoration!
(2) You may not know exactly what you need to do to be restored, BUT do you have a willing heart? Do you want to be revived and refreshed? God will show you what to do if your heart is willing.
(3) God’s promise is not condemnation, but restoration!!!
3. The possibility of restoration and forgiveness is always a reality with God. Will you respond to it?
Paul wrote to these brethren as "saints in Christ Jesus;" but he was not writing to those who were perfect in character. He wrote to them as men and women who were striving against temptation and who were in danger of falling. He pointed them to "the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep." He assured them that "through the blood of the everlasting covenant" He will "make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ." Hebrews 13:20, 21. {MH 167.2}
IV THE RAPTURE OF RENEWAL (*v. 23)
1. When I say rapture, I don’t mean the rapture of the church, I mean JOY! As a result of God’s love appeal, their repentant hearts, and God’s restoration, the Joy of the Lord returned to their life! There was so much joy they celebrated the Passover another seven days!
2. I see so many of God’s people who have lost their Joy – they look defeated – they look tired – BUT If you return to the Lord, His joy – the Joy of His salvation – will return to you.
3. Will you choose renewal and the Joy of the Lord today?
Conclusion: Warning!!! Not all returned to God… (*v. 10) Some laughed in the face of God’s love appeal. Some were like the elder brother in the story of the prodigal son…they were bitter and refused the father’s appeal…Don’t be like that…Come on to Jesus, all who labor and are heavy burdened and he will rest you!
One day, I decided to quit. I wanted to quit my job, to quit my
relationships, to quit my spirituality; I even wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God. "God", I said, "Can
you give me one good reason not to quit?"
His answer surprised me. "Look around", He said, "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?" "Yes", I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of
them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from
the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor; yet nothing came from the
bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo."
"In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo."
"In the third year there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit."
In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed.
Still, I would not quit."
"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant.
But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to
survive.
I would not give any of my creations a challenge they could not handle," He said to me.
"Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling,
you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo. I will
never quit on you!
Don't compare yourself to others. The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest
beautiful. Your time will come," God said to me. "You will rise high."
"How high should I rise?" I asked.
How high will the bamboo rise?", He asked in return. "As high as it can?", I questioned.
"Yes", He said, "Give Me glory by rising as high as you can. And remember...I will never leave you, nor forsake you. I will never give
up on you. I will never, ever quit on you."
Everyone has days when they want to "quit". When there are struggles...obstacles in life, remember we're just growing roots!! God
has a purpose in mind for each one of us and we need to talk to Him and let Him
help us realize that purpose. Always remember, He'll never leave us, He'll
never forsake us, and He'll never quit on us.
