PREPARING REVIVAL
The text for this sermon is 2 Kings chapters 22 & 23.
This is the true story of young King Josiah:
Josiah was raised in an ungodly home. His evil and idolatrous father King Amon was assassinated when Josiah was 8 years old.
So Josiah inherited the throne when he was 8 years old. Do you remember when you were 8 years old? All I can remember was that I was in the 3rd grade and my teacher Mrs. Haily didn’t like me – it seemed like I was always in trouble. If you would have made me President of the United States when I was eight years old, I would have declared that schools could only have recess and nothing else. I would have decreed that from that day forward no kids would have had to eat vegetables (especially that spinach in the lunch-room cafeteria). I would have signed into law (with a large printed signature) that kids did not have to have bed times. I would have decreed that girls had to stay away from boys to avoid koodies. I would have ordered that when the circus came to town it would be a holiday. I would have ordered Christmas to happen 4 times a year. I would have ordered desert to be served in the school cafeterias three times a day. Well you get my point. An 8 year old is in no way ready to be the king of a nation. When I was 8, I couldn’t even remember where I left my bicycle let alone even think about affairs of state. In fact when I was 8 I wasn’t even sure what state I lived in.
So young King Josiah was raised by Hilkiah the High Priest and his family until he was ready to be king. The affairs of state were left to the palace officials while King Josiah grew up.
It was probably because he was adopted by Hilkiah and raised in a priest’s home that he developed a love for God. Josiah was not only a king, but he was also a PK (Priest’s Kid).
The spiritual and moral conditions of Judah continued to decline. Northern Israel had already been carried into captivity by the Assyrians, and God had plainly told Judah that the same would happen to them if they didn’t repent. Yet the Kings and the people of Judah ignored God’s warnings and went on living like the people of Noah’s day.
At age 26 King Josiah ordered that money be collected for the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem. It had fallen into disrepair after years of neglect. During the remodeling project, Hilkiah the High Priest found a copy of the first 5 books of the Bible and immediately sent it to King Josiah. The first 5 books of the Bible known as the Pentateuch or “the Book of the Law” was in essence the Jewish Bible of the time. Unfortunately, no-one had read it for years. They had become like the Catholic Church of the middle-ages who never allowed the Bible to be read in the language of the people. So for the first time in his life this Godly King heard the Word of God read to him.
What was his response? He tore his robes, humbled himself and wept in the presence of the Lord.
He then sent his officials to find a prophet to inquire of the Lord as to what to do. His officials were able to locate a prophetess named Huldah. Her message from the Lord confirmed that God was indeed going to bring disaster on the land and people, but he would give King Josiah peace during his reign because he had a responsive heart when he heard the Word of the Lord read to him.
Read 2 Kings 23:1-3
Revival came and people recommitted their hearts and lives to God.
After this renewal, King Josiah set about ripping down pagan altars, burning occultic shrines, and killing the occultic priests. He removed the vile articles made for Ball and Asherah worship from the Temple grounds. He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes which were located in the Temple of the Lord. King Josiah cleaned house.
The last thing he did was to re-institute the observance of the Passover. Not only had the Bible been neglected, but they even neglected to observe the primary Jewish religious holiday which was the Passover. 2 Kings 23:22 says, “Not since the days of the judges who led Israel, nor throughout the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah, has any such Passover been observed.” It had been 750 years since the Jews had celebrated the Passover. This would be equivalent to the Christian Church not celebrating communion for 750 years.
Josiah was a godly king. It is said of him, “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did – with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.”
Through the acts of one righteous man a nation was given a reprieve from sure destruction at the hands of a fierce and angry God.
There are many examples in history where the acts of one person changed the course of history.
When you realize you can change the world, you’ll never be the same.
Listen, if one righteous man can bring revival to a whole nation, imagine what a whole church full of Spirit filled believers can do to their city, state, nation and the world.
So, what can we learn about revival from King Josiah’s life?
There are 6 principles of revival here:
1. The conditions for a revival must be present.
2. We must rediscover the Word of God.
3. We must fall under conviction for our sin.
4. We must seek after God.
5. We must repent of our sin.
6. We must rediscover our spiritual heritage.
1. The conditions for a revival must be present. Jewish society had sunk to the lowest levels of moral depravity and God was ready to destroy them.
Looking around our society today we are forced to the same conclusion.
This year in the United States approximately 2.2 million people will die. Research suggests that more than 1 million of these people will go to hell. Only 35% of the US adult population believe they will go to heaven when they die because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. That means that nearly two-thirds of the adult population may be headed for eternal damnation. Yet, 9 out of 10 Americans 88% consider themselves to be Christians.
In America, half of all adults who attend Protestant Churches on a typical Sunday morning are not Christians. These people who attend church regularly, yet do not know Jesus as their personal savior have typically been attending church an average of 10 years or longer.
Born again Christians think and behave no differently from non-Christians in our American pagan culture. George Barna’s research group examined 131 different measures of attitudes, behaviors, values, and beliefs and concluded that in the aspects of lifestyle where Christians can have their greatest impact on the lives of non-Christians, there are no statistically significant differences between the two segments. Here are some examples.
Behavior Born Again Non-Christian
Watched MTV in the past week 19% 24%
Have been divorced 27% 23%
Took medication for depression past year 7% 8%
Watched PG-13 or R rated movie
In the past 3 months 76% 87%
Watched an X-rated movie in the past 9% 16%
3 months
61% of Americans say there is no such thing as the Holy Spirit and about the same number say there is no such thing as Satan (and that includes professing Christians).
Now, follow the logic here: Only one out of every four adults – and even fewer teenagers – believe that there is such a thing as absolute moral truth. The Bible is relegated to nothing more than a book of riveting stories and helpful suggestions. Without absolute moral truth, there can be no right and wrong. Without right and wrong, there is no such thing as sin. Without sin, there can be no such thing as judgment and no such thing as condemnation. If there is no condemnation, there is no need for a Savior.
I could go on, but I think you get the picture, America is in spiritual darkness and if ever there was a time for revival, it is now!
2. We must rediscover the Word of God. The Jewish people of King Josiah’s day not only didn’t read the Bible, they had misplaced it. Most everyone here knows exactly where their Bible is. If you don’t know where your Bible is – its been too long since you last read it.
Do you know the average Christian spends more time watching television in one night than he or she spends reading the Bible in an entire week?
When everybody knows where they left their television set, but not everybody knows where they left their Bible – something’s wrong.
Listen, spiritual decline occurs when God’s Word is denied or neglected; revival occurs when His Word is heard, understood and applied. The Bible and spiritual vitality are inseparable.
I want to make something perfectly clear right up front, as your pastor I will move you out of your “comfort zone” from time to time – and that’s a good thing. Soldiers of the Cross can’t afford to get too comfortable otherwise the enemy will catch us off guard in a surprise attack and seriously wound us. So, when you feel me pushing you outside your comfort zone – don’t get mad at me – instead rejoice, because you’re growing and getting stronger in the faith.
The Bible is a powerful tool of revival. As the book of Hebrews declares, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Heb. 4:12-13)
Alright, when we are preparing for a revival we’ve got to get back to the basics and start reading our Bibles again. That’s why I am calling you to read the Bible from cover to cover in one year. (commercial)
3. We must fall under conviction for our sin. What did Josiah do after the Bible was read to him? (He tore his robes, humbled himself and wept) This was an act of true contrition of heart – a true confession of sin. Josiah did what everyone who experiences revival does, he wept over the condition of his wicked soul, and the souls of his people. He fell under conviction of sin even though he was already a godly man.
Look, this revival started when one man encountered the living Word of God. We cannot have a mass revival without first having an individual revival.
Each one of us INDIVIDUALLY must become broken and totally dependent on God’s mercy if we want to see a great revival sweep over us. We must get to the place where we have a broken and contrite heart, for God delights in you when you allow the Holy Spirit to do the work of conviction of sin in your heart.
Every revival throughout history has started with one or a few individuals confessing their sins before the Lord and seeking his forgiveness.
4. We must seek after God. Once King Josiah confessed his sin and the sin of his people, he immediately sent his men to find a prophet of the Lord to inquire of the Lord what to do next. His officials found the prophetess Huldah who prophesied that judgment was coming, but because of King Josiah’s response of contrition, God promised to delay His impending judgement until after King Josiah’s death.
Like King Josiah, we must be God seekers. We need to get hungry for God. We need to become desperate for God and the things of God. We need to fall on our faces before God and seek him.
We need to rediscover the prophetic ministry which has been absent from many of our churches for so long.
Listen my friends, God is near to us right now, in fact the Holy Spirit is hovering over us right now – prepared to meet us – prepared to pour Himself into our lives. Indeed, times of refreshing are upon us.
We need to take to heart the words of the Prophet Isaiah to, “seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while he is near.” (Isa. 55:6)
5. We must repent of our sin. A Sunday School teacher once asked her class if anyone could give her the definition of sin. One little boy stood up and said, “It is an abomination to God and an ever-present help in the time of trouble.”
We, like that boy, somehow want our cake and eat it too. We want to both repent of our sin and hold on to it at the same time. It doesn’t work that way, it can’t work that way. We have to become serious about repentance of our sins.
Repentance means taking action to turn away from your sin. It is making a 160 degree turn away from sin.
When King Josiah realized how serious the sins of his people were he immediately began to do something about it. He called everyone together in Jerusalem, read the Word to them and then had an altar call. He Recommitted his life to God through promising to uphold the covenant and laws of the Lord, and the people did the same.
It would be good for us to say with Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Let’s say it together as a group “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
As part of the repentance King Josiah tore down the pagan altars, killed the leaders of the occult and re-instituted proper worship of God in the Temple at Jerusalem.
In the same way we must be careful to examine our heats and lives to see if there be any hidden sin there. We must ask the Holy Spirit to identify our sins to us – so we can confess, repent and be clean from sin. There is nothing better than to have a pure heart before God.
Like King Josiah, we may need to “clean house”. We may need to physically throw away our “stuff” that causes us to sin.
At a recent revival at a Christian College in Texas, the Spirit of God fell on the students and they began to publicly confess their sins, weep and wail on the altars of the Chapel. This went on for six days, and the speaker told the students to go to their dorm rooms and gather up anything that would cause them to sin. That night they collected 6 lawn and leaf bags full of alcohol, pornography, cigarettes and other paraphernalia of sin. Praise God!
What have you got in your house that needs to go?
.7. We must rediscover our spiritual heritage. For King Josiah and the Jewish people it was the re-institution of the Passover celebration. The Passover celebration is significant because it served as a form of worship that reminded them that God delivered them out of Bondage from Egypt. As they ate the Passover meal together, everything had a symbolic meaning. In fact the Passover meal points to Jesus as the ultimate savior of the world, for He is our Passover Lamb whose blood has been painted on the door-posts of our hearts. Because of his blood we are free from the bondage of death and have life everlasting with Jesus.
Remember it was during the celebration of the Passover meal that Jesus gave the disciples instructions to celebrate communion.
From the time of King Josiah the Passover had been neglected for 750 years. It’s hard to imagine, but even King David did not celebrate the Passover because he apparently didn’t know about it. The Passover had not been celebrated since the time of the Judges.
In the same way the doctrines of the church fall into neglect when they are not practiced.
A missionary from El Salvador told us that until recently 40% of the Assembly of God pastors there had not been baptized with the Holy Spirit. God supernaturally poured out the Holy Spirit on them and now all of them are spirit filled.
So you see, if we neglect the wonderful things from our rich Pentecostal heritage, we will fail to pass them on to the next generation and we run the risk of losing our spiritual heritage all together.
Let’s do everything we can to ensure the blessings of Pentecost continue at Klamath Assembly of God.
Alright, let’s review what we’ve learned about Revival:
1. The conditions for a revival must be present.
2. We must rediscover the Word of God.
3. We must fall under conviction for our sin.
4. We must seek after God.
5. We must repent of our sin.
6. We must rediscover our spiritual heritage.
Read Joel 2:12-17
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.
Gather the people, consecrate the assembly;
Bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.
Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,
weep between the temple porch and the altar.
Let them say, “Save your people, O Lord”
Altar Call: Please bow your heads while I give the invitation.
Are you one of the people who attends church but are not a true Christian?
If you were to die today are you sure you would you go to Heaven?
If you hesitated even a second to answer yes, then you are not absolutely sure of your salvation, and you need to make a real commitment to Jesus today.
Listen, the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart right now – answer the call.
You say, “Pastor, how can I know for sure I’ll go to heaven?”
If that’s you and you want to know for sure that you are born again, then hold up your hand so I can see it.
Wait…………. Anyone else
I want you to pray this prayer along with me.
O God, I recognize that I am a sinner,
that I stand in peril of suffering eternity in hell.
Please forgive me of my sins.
Jesus, come into my heart and be Lord of my life.
I renounce my old way of life and now confess you as my Lord and savior.
Thank you for loving me and dying on the cross for me.
Holy Spirit, please lead and direct my life from now on. Amen
And now I am making a call to commitment for all Christians gathered here today. I caution you not to make this public commitment if you are not sure you can do it or don’t really want to do it. If you feel God is calling you to read the Bible from cover to cover this year I want you to make a public commitment to do so by coming forward. Once you have assembled here in the front around these altars, we will have a prayer that God will strengthen you to stand by your commitment and do it.
