“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?”
- It comes through the repentance, prayer, & hard work of God’s people – 2 Chron 7:14
o “The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, & prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks our religion, but trembles when we pray.” (Samuel Chadwick)
- It comes in spite of opposition – And it WILL come! If the revival efforts are of man, they will be stopped dead in their tracks every time. But if the revival is of God, then NOTHING can stop it!
o Sanballat, Tobiah, & all the other enemies couldn’t stop what GOD was doing!
- It comes in a way that causes even those who don’t know God to notice.
o Love what Vance Havner once said: “You never have to advertise a fire. Everyone comes running when there’s a fire. Likewise, if your church is on fire you won’t have to advertise it. The community will already know it.”
- It comes always for the glory of God – It always points to Him, & not to us.
- It comes to make us more like Jesus!
THE DIFFERENCES – Revival changes you! It makes you different! We see things differently. We live our lives differently. We spend our time & our money differently. We see others differently. It brings a renewed passion to our lives! That passion will be seen in these differences:
- Renewed passion for worship
o Our corporate worship will be filled w/ the presence & power of the Spirit like we’ve never experienced before.
o You won’t want to miss Church! Can’t wait to see what God is going to do each week!
- Renewed passion for the Word
o Sermon next week: “The Power of the Word of God”
o When God moves in our lives, He doesn’t do it outside of the truths of His Word. He does it just the way He says He will do it in His Word. When we see the truth of the Word come to life, our passion for the Word will skyrocket!
o Ps. 119:93 – “I will never forget your Word for by it you have given me new life” (NLV).
- Renewed passion for God & for others
o God doesn’t revive us just to make a difference in our lives – He revives us so that we will then go & make a difference in others lives.
o Our renewed passion for Him will move us to have a renewed passion for those who are lost – Spiritual awakening will happen among the lost.
- Renewed passion to serve God
o Revival comes to the Church, the people of God. We have a fresh understanding of the beauty of the Body of Christ, & a fresh desire to serve God through serving the Church.
o “What can I do? Where can I help? Who is in need? Where do you need me to serve?”
- Renewed passion to sacrifice for the Gospel
o Sacrifice our time, our money, our lives so that the Gospel can go forth.
- Renewed passion to make the most of the time we have
o We have a new understanding of the brevity of our lives & the urgency of the times.
o No time to waste!
- Renewed passion for JESUS!
CONCLUSION – Kneel down. Draw chalk circle around yourself & pray, “Lord, send revival & let it begin inside this circle!”
