Naylor Community Christian Church
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 2 Chronicles 34:19-33
2
Chronicles 34:19-33
New
International Version
19
When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. 20 He gave these
orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the
secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: 21 “Go and inquire of the Lord for
me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book
that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out on us because
those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not
acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”
22
Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him went to speak to the prophet
Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper
of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.
23
She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man
who sent you to me, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring
disaster on this place and its people—all the curses written in the book that
has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. 25 Because they have
forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all that
their hands have made, my anger will be poured out on this place and will not
be quenched.’ 26 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord,
‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard:
27 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when
you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you
humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have
heard you, declares the Lord. 28 Now I will gather you to your ancestors, and
you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going
to bring on this place and on those who live here.’”
So
they took her answer back to the king.
29
Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 He went
up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites—all the people from the least to the
greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,
which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 31 The king stood by his pillar
and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and
keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and
to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.
32
Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the
people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of
their ancestors.
33
Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the
Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God.
As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the Lord, the God of their
ancestors.
-- late in the year 1857, four young
Irishmen began to meet every week at their village school to pray and study God’s
word together -- people began to notice, and others joined their group, and by
the end of 1858, 50 people attended the weekly prayer meeting
-- over time, more prayer meetings began,
with similar results -- and in 1859, with prayer groups springing up throughout
Ireland, a focus on revival became the common theme among the preachers in the
country -- as a result of this time of intense prayer and the study of God’s
word -- of small groups of people seeking God’s face and calling on Him to
revive the nation of Ireland -- over 100,000 people were saved or rededicated
their lives, marking the beginning of what came to be known as the Ulster
Revival of 1859
-- this spiritual awakening was not
just confined to the churches or in the Irish Christian communities, but it affected
the entire country -- By 1860, crime was reduced to the point where judges had
to cancel court because there were no cases to try -- One county in Ireland
reported that their jails were empty because no crimes had been committed that
year
-- the Ulster Revival was the greatest
move of God in the nation of Ireland since the ministry of Saint Patrick --
Services were packed as the people returned to God -- there was an abundance of
prayer meetings -- families began to pray together -- Scripture reading was
unmatched -- Sunday Schools prospered -- people stood firm for their faith --
giving increased -- vice abated -- and crime was reduced significantly
(Illustration modified from original
contributed by Jim Luthy, Sermon Central:
http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/scripture/illustrations-on-2-chronicles-7+14.asp)
-- for the last couple of weeks,
revival has been on my heart -- I think most of you are aware of what has been
going on in Wilmore, Kentucky, at Asbury University -- similar to the revival
that happened there in 1970, God began to move in a Wednesday chapel service on
the campus a couple of weeks ago -- what was scheduled to be a one-hour service
has now been going on non-stop, 24 hours a day, since -- and people’s lives are
being changed through the power of the Holy Spirit that is sweeping through
that place
-- when word of the revival began
spreading, more and more people felt a calling to go -- college groups and
Christians from all over the country felt an urge to go to Asbury and to
experience this move of God
-- the original auditorium where the
revival began reached capacity -- it was standing room only, and those who were
coming couldn’t get in -- so, the university opened up another chapel on campus
and simulcast the revival there -- that chapel quickly reached capacity, too --
so the university opened a third, which has also been filled as the Holy Spirit
moved throughout the people gathered there
-- photos and videos from the event
show groups of people worshiping and praying and studying God’s word on the
steps of the chapels and in the areas around the buildings because there isn’t
room for them to go inside
-- and now, almost two weeks after
the start of this awakening at Asbury, there are reports of similar outpourings
of the Spirit among other campuses and schools throughout the nation
-- where this revival goes -- how long
it lasts -- no one knows -- but this is what we do know -- we are witnessing an
extraordinary movement of God at Asbury University -- and seeing this move of
God should be the catalyst in our lives and in our church to seek the same here
-- for why are we here if not to
seek God’s very presence in our lives and in our churches and in our
communities?
-- for this truth remains -- God is
moving at Asbury right now -- and if He is moving at Asbury in such a mighty
way, He can move like that in our hearts and in our community, too
-- it’s like the story I heard from
a missionary who presented a Bible to a congregation of believers in Africa who
did not have a Bible -- he gave the Bible to the pastor -- and the pastor
proudly held the Bible up and showed it to the church -- and, as everyone began
to praise God because they had a copy of His word in their presence, the
missionary looked on with horror as the pastor began tearing the Bible apart
-- the pastor came down out of the
pulpit and began passing parts of the Bible out to the believers in his church,
so that each of them could have at least part of the word of God in their homes
-- the missionary watched the excitement
of the church growing as parts of the Bible were being passed around -- one man
near him was noticeably excited and jumping up and down and praising the Lord
for the part he got
-- the missionary said, “what
section did you get?” -- and the man replied, “I got a section from Jeremiah”
-- the missionary was like, “Oh, man.
Talk about a depressing book.” and he told the man, “Let me see if I can
get you a better passage -- maybe something from one of the gospels”
-- but the man responded, “No, I don’t
want another part -- look what it says here -- ‘The word of the Lord came to
Jeremiah.’ -- if the word of the Lord can come to Jeremiah, then that means
that the word of the Lord can come to me, too”
-- that is the truth we need to
remember and hold onto -- if the Spirit of God can come to a small chapel
service in Kentucky -- if the Spirit of God can come into a prayer meeting of
four men in Ireland -- then the Spirit of God can come here, too
-- it’s all about preparing our hearts and
our souls to seek God and His presence so that the Spirit is free to move in us
and among us
-- so, for the next several weeks,
we are going to be looking at what the Bible says about seeking God and His
presence so that we might experience a revival and renewal of our faith in our
lives, similar to what happened in Ulster, Ireland, in 1859 and what we see going
on right now in Asbury
II. Scripture Lesson (2 Chronicles 34:19-33)
-- to begin focusing our thoughts on
revival, I wanted to take a look at a revival that occurred in the nation of Judah
under the reign of Josiah
-- Josiah was just eight years old
when he became king -- and even though he didn’t have very good role models --
both his father Amon and his grandfather Manasseh are described in the Bible as
doing evil in the eyes of the Lord -- the Bible tells us that Josiah began
seeking the Lord while he was still young, and that he did what was right in
the eyes of the Lord -- following the example of David, and not his father or
grandfather
-- in the twelfth year of his reign,
Josiah began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of idolatry, removing the high
places, Asherah poles, and the carved images and idols that were prevalent
throughout the country -- and, not only did he seek to purify the land, but he
took steps to restore and purify the temple and to reinstitute the true worship
of Yahweh
-- as the workers repaired and
restored the temple and prepared it for worship again, they discovered the book
of the Law of the Lord -- God’s word -- His holy scriptures -- which had been
hidden in the temple through the long reigns of Judah’s evil kings
-- the priests brought the book to
Josiah and read it out loud in the presence of the king -- which brings us to
verse 19
-- look with me again at this
passage, and let’s note what occurred to bring about the revival of the nation
of Judah under Josiah
-- verse 19-21
19 When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. 20 He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: 21 “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”
-- when Josiah heard the word of the
Lord, he was cut to the heart -- he recognized his sin and the sin of his nation
-- he realized just how far he was from God -- and, in an act of repentance and
sorrow, he tore his robes
-- when you read about the great revivals
and awakenings in history, one commonality can be seen -- they all begin when
people recognize their sin and how far away from God they truly are
-- the first step in revival is to realize
who we are -- to admit that we are sinners -- to see our need for salvation and
cleansing and renewal -- and then to turn to the Lord in repentance, just as Josiah
does here
-- this happens when we start to let
God speak to our hearts -- through prayer, as in the Ulster revival -- through
worship, as in the current revival going on at Asbury -- or through God’s word,
as we see here in this passage
-- when God’s truth is spoken into our
hearts -- when the light of God’s word shines on our lives -- we begin to see ourselves
as we truly are -- we being to see how far we are from God and from who God
created us to be
-- revivals and renewals of heart begin
when we recognize and confess our sin and allow God’s Spirit to begin
transforming us into the people God has called us to be
-- Josiah’s recognition of how far
he and the nation of Judah were from God’s holy standards caused him to dig
deeper -- to seek out further revelation from God’s word about what needed to
be done to heal and revive the nation -- so, he gave orders to Hilkiah, the
priest, to inquire of the Lord to search this information out
-- verse 22-28
22
Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him went to speak to the prophet
Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper
of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.
23
She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man
who sent you to me, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring
disaster on this place and its people—all the curses written in the book that
has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. 25 Because they have
forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all that
their hands have made, my anger will be poured out on this place and will not
be quenched.’ 26 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord,
‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard:
27 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when
you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you
humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have
heard you, declares the Lord. 28 Now I will gather you to your ancestors, and
you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going
to bring on this place and on those who live here.’”
So they took her answer back to the king.
-- and before we move on, I do want
to call your attention to the fact that the priests went to a woman to seek a
message from God -- in our day, a lot of people and a lot of churches teach
that women are not allowed to speak or teach in their congregations -- but
there are many cases in the Bible where God moves and speaks through devout
women, such as Huldah here in this passage, Deborah in the Book of Judges, and
Lydia and Priscilla in the Book of Acts
-- Huldah was a prophetess -- one of
the few in Judah who still heard from God and who could receive and interpret
His word for others
-- she told Hilkiah to let Josiah
know that the Lord was going to punish Judah for its sins -- He was going to
bring disaster on Judah and its people because they had turned away from Him
and worshiped other gods
-- but, God said, because Josiah had
responded to His word in repentance and humility -- tearing his robe and
weeping in his presence -- God was going to withhold His wrath from the nation
during Josiah’s lifetime
-- true repentance and faithful following
of God changes things -- it not only changes our hearts -- it changes the fate
of nations -- the revival in Ulster changed Ireland and led to a historical drop
in crime and violence -- the great awakening that occurred under Wesley and
Whitefield has been credited with saving England from the same violence that
France experienced a few years later --
who knows what fruit this revival in Asbury might result in and what effect it
might have on our country in the days to come
-- but, without a doubt, this truth
remains -- when God’s people humble themselves and seek His face and repent of
their wicked ways, it changes things -- it moves the heart of God -- and the
fate and direction of entire nations change
-- verse 29-33
29
Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 He went
up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites—all the people from the least to the
greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,
which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 31 The king stood by his pillar
and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and
keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and
to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.
-- when Josiah heard the word of the
Lord through Huldah, he realized what needed to happen -- he realized that the
nation needed to change -- that all the people needed to return to the Lord so
that the wrath of God might not fall on them
-- so, Josiah called for a sacred
assembly -- a gathering of all the leaders and all the people of Judah and
Jerusalem -- he called them to the temple, where the word of God was read in
their presence for the first time in decades -- and, in their presence and in
the presence of God, Josiah renewed the nation’s covenant with the Lord --
pledging to follow the Lord and keep His commands and to obey the words of the
covenant that were written in the Book of the Law of the Lord
-- he then called on the people to
do the same -- to repent of their idolatry -- to repent of their sins against
God -- and to pledge to follow only God and to keep His commands from that
point on
-- and, for the rest of his life,
that is exactly what the nation of Judah did as revival and restoration broke
out that day and the nation once again became one nation, under God -- in truth
and in spirit
III. Steps to Revival
-- as I said, for the next several
weeks, we are going to be looking at what the Bible tells us about experiencing
the presence of the Lord as we seek revival and renewal in our lives and our
church and our community like the nation of Judah experienced in this passage
-- one thing I want you to note is
that none of the great revivals in the Bible or in history are the same -- they
are all different, for the Spirit moves differently in different places and in
different times to accomplish His purposes in that place
-- we cannot control when and how
the Spirit moves -- as Jesus told Nicodemus in John Chapter 3, “the wind blows
wherever it pleases -- you hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes
from or where it is going -- so it is with everyone born of the Spirit”
-- God does as God wills -- and if
He chooses to send His Spirit to us in an extraordinary way as He did in Ulster
and at Asbury, we can guarantee that it will not look the same as it did in
those two places -- God knows our hearts and He knows what we need -- and He
will send His Spirit to accomplish His purposes in our lives and in this church
as He knows best
-- sometimes, revivals and renewals
of the heart are personal, intimate affairs -- unnoticed by the world -- but still
result in life-changing transformations as people open themselves up to the
presence and move of the Holy Spirit in their lives
-- one person repenting of their
sins and responding to God in their lives causes heaven to rejoice
-- so, keep in mind that revivals and
spiritual awakenings are always different and they don’t touch people in the
same way
-- years ago, Kim and I went on the
Walk to Emmaus -- a three-day spiritual retreat where you isolate yourself from
the world with others to seek God and hear from Him in the quiet of that place
-- Kim will tell you that the Walk
to Emmaus changed her life and deepened her walk with Christ
-- but it didn’t do the same for me
-- it was a great weekend -- I learned a lot -- I experienced God -- but it
wasn’t as life-changing for me as it was for her
-- for me, my personal awakening and
revival occurred at a Promise Keeper’s event in Tennessee years earlier -- it was
there I rededicated my life to God and committed to studying His word and
following His commands -- and I will testify that that Promise Keeper’s event was
the catalyst that eventually led me into the ministry, for it wouldn’t have happened
otherwise
-- the point is that revivals and
renewals and spiritual awakenings look differently and happen differently and
are experienced differently -- you can’t just follow a formula or say a prayer
in a certain way and expect revival to break out -- it doesn’t work like that
-- however, as we study scripture
and look at how God began moving in other revivals and awakenings, we can
identify some common steps that resulted in a new experience with God -- for
instance, as we looked at this morning in the story of the revival under
Josiah, all revivals and renewals begin with some aspect of repentance,
humility, and a seeking of God, which can be through prayer, through the study
of His word, or in worship
-- in the familiar passage from 2
Chronicles 7:14, God makes the nation of Israel a promise -- and we can assume
that this promise holds for us, too
-- in this verse, God told Solomon, “If
my people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek
my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will
forgive their sin and heal their land.”
-- God promises that He will hear us
and forgive us and heal our land if we will take the first steps to return to
Him
-- these four steps here are the key
to revival and are seen in all the revivals and awakenings in Scripture and
throughout history -- so, we will be going over these in detail over the next
few weeks as we seek a move of God in our own lives and in this church and in our
community
-- the point is that until we truly
begin to seek God in our lives and try to put aside all that is hindering God
from moving and working in us, nothing is going to happen -- so, in a very real
sense, revival begins with us and no one else, because we must respond to God’s
call to repentance and worship before He will move in our lives in any transformational
way
IV.
CLOSING
-- as we close, I want to remind you
of an incident that occurred in Jesus’ ministry that we read about in the New
Testament
-- in John Chapter 5, we read of Jesus
encountering a crippled man beside the pool of Bethsaida -- this man had been
going to this pool for years because anyone who got into the pool after the
angel stirred the water would be healed -- for decades, this man laid right
there next to the pool, wallowing in self-pity because he claimed he couldn't
get in the water fast enough to be healed when the angel stirred the surface of
the water
-- but Jesus knew what his real problem
was -- he was stuck -- he was stagnant -- he was happy being who he was and
receiving the pity of those around him -- so the very first question Jesus
asked him was, "Do you want to be healed? -- do you really want to
be healed? -- are you willing to make a change in your heart and in your life
so you can experience God in a new way?”
-- of course, the man said yes -- who
wouldn’t when asked by Jesus? -- “Do you want to be healed?” -- “Of course, why
do you think I am here?” -- why, indeed?
-- but when the man said yes, Jesus didn't
heal him right away -- Jesus said, "If you really want to be healed, then
get up and get going -- take a step, pick up your mat, and you will be
healed" -- this man had been giving lip-service to God for years, and
nothing changed in his life
-- so, Jesus tells Him that if he wants to
be healed, he has to make a decision to truly respond to God’s word and obey
Jesus’ command to get up and take his mat and walk, or nothing is going to
change -- but if he believes and trusts Jesus at His word, and does what He
says, then he would be healed
-- it's the same with us -- if we want to
be changed -- if we truly desire revival and renewal in our lives -- then we
have to get real with God -- and we have to do what God says in order to free
up the movement of the Spirit in our lives
-- the Bible tells us that we can quench
the Spirit through sin and disobedience and a lack of faith -- and, just like
this crippled man by the pool, healing and renewal and revival will only come
when we turn from our ways and choose to believe God’s word -- to surrender to
Him and allow the Spirit to move in our lives
-- do you want a revival? -- we always say
we do -- sometimes we even put it on the calendar and circle the date and call
in a special speaker -- but that’s all we do
-- we don’t do anything to get ready for
our hearts to be revived and renewed -- we don’t respond to God’s word and turn
from our sins and get up from where we are and let God begin to work
-- we just lie on the side of the pool and
complain as we watch others being revived while nothing happens to us
-- do you want a revival? -- do you really
want God to revive and renew your life with Him?
-- that is the question Jesus is asking us
today -- that’s the question that God asks us as we see Him move in places like
Asbury and Samford and others
-- do you really want a revival? -- do you
really want Me to move in your midst as I am moving in theirs?
-- spend some time this week pondering
that question and deciding if you want to pick up your mat and walk and be
healed or if you just want to stay where you are in your spiritual life
-- let us pray
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