Wanted Alive - Revival

Wanted Alive (Not Dead)

Revival

2 Chronicle 7:11-15

> It was an old TV series entitled “Lost in Space.” I used to watch it when I was a kid. One of my favorite characters was the robot. When the Robinson family was in trouble the robot would wave his will arms and say, “Danger, Will Robinson, danger!”

> As a minister of the gospel and as a believer I almost feel like that robot. It’s like the calling God placed on me is to raise my voice, wave my hands, and let everyone know that danger is lurking. In this country, we are in dark times. If something doesn’t change, we may actually be in the twilight of our country.

> It’s easy to say that “the world is dark” and it is even easier to say that the world is darker today than ever before. However, that doesn’t really seem to be the case.

> A quick walk through the Bible reminds us that this world has been through some very dark days. After God created the world, placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and gave them a beautiful life, sin entered the world. It took only a little time, actually chapter 6 in the book of Genesis, God regretted he had made mankind. The reason for his regret was because man had become so wicked. The result of God’s regret was man’s demise through the flood. Only seven people survived the flood. From those people came the rest of the human race.

> The book of Genesis was not even complete when God again faced rampant wickedness. This time it was in Sodom and Gomorrah. Because Abraham couldn’t find 10 righteous men, God destroyed the land.

> In point of fact, we can spend the rest of the night noting the wickedness of man. It can be seen in our nation’s history. When will remember this 1960’s, we remember assassinations, riots, Supreme Court rulings, and much more which demonstrates the wickedness of man. Then come the seventies, the eighties, and nineties, and we have continued to see the darkness overwhelming us. But the truth is this, it is not that the darkness is so much darker, rather it is the light is not shinning as brightly.

> When this country was first inhabited, people stake their very lives on their beliefs, they were committed to the God of the Bible, and willing to sacrifice for the gospel. If this meant relocating their families, there would do it. If this meant changing jobs, they would do it. If this meant sacrifice, it was done. Is it any wonder that the light of the gospel has gone out when today’s believers won’t even sacrifice a week of vacation or schedule change for the sake of the gospel of Christ.

> Obviously, what is needed today is a great, Holy Ghost, Heaven sent, heart starring, soul changing revival. Revival, by definition, is not an evangelistic meeting. For sure, there will be many people saved during a revival. But the truth of matter is, the only way for a person or a church to be revived is to be restored to a former state. This means, to quote Peter, “It’s time for the judgment of God to begin at the house of God.”

> Turn with me if you will to 2 Chronicles. Let’s set up our study by beginning in chapter 5.

> To have a proper perspective of where we’re headed in chapter 7 and understand the message, let’s gain some historical perspective.

> Most of us remember King David. David was the shepherd boy who defeated the giant Goliath. He was the young man who was chased after by King Saul. David was later crowned King. It was David’s desire and dream to rebuild the temple of God. We know from scripture that God would not allow him to build the temple because David had blood on his hands. Most of the time we forget that David wrote psalms 23, yet will remember David as being the King who was out of place on a rooftop instead of the battlefield, he lusted after bath Sheba, had an affair, committed murder, and then lost a child in death. Additionally, he did not repent until Nathan said, “Thou art the man! “ For all of these reasons God would not allow David to rebuild the temple.

> As a side note, an offspring from Bathsheba and David’s marriage was a son named Solomon. It was Solomon who was given the privilege and the responsibility for the reconstruction of the temple.

> Chapter 5 brings us up to speed about the preparation for the dedication of the temple. There are many things of interest in this passage but for the sake of time noticed verse 11 through the end of the chapter.