Introduction
Hattie May Wiatt lived near a church where the Sunday School was very crowded, one day the pastor, Russel Conwell found her crying outside the building because there was no room inside and he told her that one day when they had raised enough money they would have buildings big enough to allow every one to attend who wanted to. Not long after that Hattie May became sick and died. Rev. Conwell was asked to do the funeral and the girl’s mother told him that Hattie May had been saving money to help build a bigger church and gave him the little purse in which she had saved 57 cents. This was in 1886 when 57 cents was no small savings account for a little girl from a poor family. Rev. Conwell had the 57 cents turned into 57 pennies, told the congregation the story of little Hattie May and sold the pennies for a return of about $250. In addition, 54 of the original 57 pennies were returned to Rev. Conwell and he later put them up on display. Some of the members of the church formed what they called the Wiatt Mite Society which was dedicated to making Hattie May’s 57 cents grow as much as possible and to buy the property for the Primary Department of the Sunday school. A house nearby was purchased with the $250 that Hattie May’s 57 cents had produced. The first classes of Temple College, later Temple University, were held in that house. It was later sold to allow Temple College to move and the growth of Temple, along with the founding of the Good Samaritan Hospital (Now the Temple University Hospital) along with the 3500 seat auditorium of Temple Baptist Church serve as powerful testimonies to the leadership of a a little girl named Hattie May. (Truthorfiction.com)
It’s easy when you’re young to suppose that making a big impact in the world is something for those who are older. That if the Lord did happen to have big plans for your life, that those plans are on hold waiting for adulthood.
But, throughout the pages of Scripture some of the Lord’s greatest victories are led by the young. The young man Joseph in spite of imprisonment and slavery saved both his family and the rest of the world from starvation. Samuel heard the Lord call his name when he was still a child. Only a boy named David defeated the Philistine champion Goliath. History’s Messiah was delivered to us by a girl named Mary who yielded herself to God’s plan and named her baby Jesus.
And here at the end of 2 Chronicles we read about a boy named Josiah who led his nation Judah in it’s last great revival.
Proposition: I believe it is and always has been God’s plan to use young people to forcefully move forward his plan.
Even in my own experience I have seen the young people of a church get on fire for God and lead the church into revival.
Interrogative: The question is how can young people and older people alike make a difference for the Lord?
Transition: I think that a key or a pattern is found in the life of Josiah. I’d like to look at three things Josiah did which I believe led to revival. The first thing is that Josiah...
I. Sought the Lord
v. 3a In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David.
At a certain point in time Josiah made a decision to seek the God of his fathers, perhaps it was a decision that had been brewing for awhile, but the text makes note that it was when he was 16 years old he began to seek the Lord. He began to be dissatisfied with the status quo. He was unwilling to let things stay the way that they were.
Somewhere inside of him the way things were didn’t seem right, somewhere inside of him he longed for truth. He began to recognize that God shaped hole in his heart and he determined to fill it. Whether in the young or in the old revival always begins when individuals recognize the interior call of God and that longing gives way to an earnest seeking.
In the book of Jeremiah the Lord tells his people that a time is coming when everything comfortable will be stripped away and that in that time they will seek the Lord and that they will find him when they seek Him with all of their hearts. I believe Josiah found himself in just such a time, and I believe that he did seek the Lord with all of his heart and that God was there waiting to be found.
You see it’s not God who hides from us, but we who hide from God. But when our heart recognizes his gentle call he rejoices to see us seeking him.
This inward stirring that leeds to outward seeking is one of the first steps to revival. Josiah sought the Lord and when he had found the Lord he...
II. Started the Process
v. 3b In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved idols and cast images.
In his seeking of the Lord Josiah began to understand that his life and his kingdom wasn’t measuring up to God’s expectations and so he decided to do something about it.
Of course we know that outward obedience is not God’s primary desire from us, what he desires is that we trust in Him, and for us today, since Christ has died for our sins, The Lord wants us to trust him for salvation first and foremost, but with that trusting comes a changed heart and a changed attitude that desires to please God--Not to earn his favor but out of gratitude for his love. I think this is the change that we see in Josiah as he begins to purge the kingdom of Idol worship.
Now think about it, this couldn’t have been an easy decision, Josiah had significant obstacles to overcome.
First his Age. I’m sure there were those around who questioned such a bold stand by such a young man, there were probably those who laughed it off as the folly of youth--a little guy with a big plan that would soon be gathering dust like so many unfinished projects in a teenager’s closet. But Josiah had heard the Lord’s voice and he carried on regardless of what anyone said.
Secondly there was the obstacle of his Background. Both his father and grandfather had been known as wicked kings. He hadn’t been raised in a godly home. Young person and old person alike, even if you don’t have Christian parents or relatives, you can still be used mightily by God.
Thirdly there was the obstacle of the Crowd. The nation of Judah was thouroughly ungodly. Josiah was swimming upstream in a big way. But he had had a vision of God and of God’s plan and he didn’t need the encouragement of the crowd to do what was right. He was willing to stand alone and he started the process of putting the vision into practice regardless of what the crowd said or thought or did.
The last thing that Josiah did to bring on revival was that he...
III. Smashed the Idols
The thing I’m getting at here is the thoroughness of Josiah’s housecleaning. Listen as I read the passage and see if you don’t think that the Scripture is trying to make a point here.
In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved idols and cast images. 4 Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and _smashed the Asherah poles_, the idols and the images. These he broke to pieces and _scattered over the graves_ of those who had sacrificed to them. 5He _burned the bones_ of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. 6In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, 7he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and _crushed the idols to powder_ and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
You know, maybe it’s just me, but I think burning the bones of the priests and crushing the idols to powder is a pretty extreme response. It’s a graphic illustration of the act of repentance--turning away from sin and forcefully rooting out every root and reminder of it’s presence
Where are the folks who got the brownies? Do you know why those brownies were so good? They were my secret recipe brownies. You just add one cup of dog poop to the mix? You’re looking at me funny--how would you feel about a half cup of dog poop? A Tablespoon? A Teaspoon? Well exactly how much dog poop is acceptable in brownies?
The point is that there are some things that there is no acceptable level of. Sin is one of those things.
Josiah recognized that he not only needed to close down the pagan altars but that every reminder of their presence needed to be utterly destroyed.
It’s not OK to have just a little bit of sin for extra spice in your life. In any quantity sin that we willingly allow in our lives gives the enemy of our souls a foothold.
We squirm at the thought of eating my special recipie brownies, but willingly ingest the putrid filth of the world that is far more dangereous to us. Jesus said to the pharisees who were so concerned about hand washing but who spewed hateful conversation from their mouths: "What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ’unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him’unclean.’" (Matthew 15:11)
If we genuinely long to make a difference in the world, or in our church, we like Josiah must not be content to simply pull down the Asherah poles but we must smash the idols to powder.
CONCLUSION:
Hattie May Wiatt made a difference because she caught sight of a vision and she decided to take action.
What about you Do you have a vision of what God can do in and through you?
Have you begun to Seek the Lord with all of your heart?
Have you followed through with the decision to begin the process? Have you gotten the ball rolling with a bold stand for Jesus Christ?
Are you willing to Smash the idols and empty your life of every stronghold of the enemy?
