A Rally for Revival
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
You can not stop a Revival, any more than you can start it. It is altogether in the hands of God.
Revival, 236
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Our theme for this year is “The Church and me in 2023”. We will be focusing on Church outreach and our involvement in God’s Church.
The Church and Me in 2023
Hebrews 10:24-25 “24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
We are in a series simply titled “Rebuilding”
Through this series we study Nehemiah and his mission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
With this we will see how to apply the techniques and lessons learned in Nehemiah to our lives today.
How to rebuild, restore, and renew our lives, our ministry, our church, and our relationship with Christ.
According to surveys by Thom. Rainer, on average, only 1/3 of the membership roll in church’s today are actually serving biblically.
Church membership is viewed as a service to “me” and not “unto thee”.
Membership is viewed as a rights and privileges and not roles and responsibilities.
No wonder why so many church’s are in dispair or closing their doors today.
As a whole, we (the new testament church) need to do better. We need to be effective, local, ministers to the people around us.
Minister simply means- to attend to the needs of someone.
It might be time we renew the ministry of the local church.
Lets get back into the book of Nehemiah, chapter 2. We are going to start with some of the verses we went over last week, and study were it takes us.
11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12 And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon.
13 And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire.
14 Then I went on to the gate of the fountain, and to the king’s pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass.
15 Then went I up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned.
16 And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
*OPEN PRAYER*
We open up soon after Nehemiah gets into the city of Jerusalem.
Last week we looked at some of the careful planning Nehemiah conducted. We see how he was quiet about his business, and carefully considered when to tell everyone the reason he was there.
We looked at why it is important to not always rush in and attempt to “fix everything”.
We need to be careful to do things in God’s time, not our time.
Today we are going to look at the rally for the people. A revival in Jerusalem.
First lets look at that word Revival
What does Revival mean? Renewal; to make alive again
Revival-
Making something alive again; renew. Also:
Renewal
Its amazing how wise and patient Nehemiah was in determining the proper time to announce the rebuilding project to the people. Remember how passionate he was about this in chapter 1?
Nehemiah knew how to motivate and direct the people and other leaders.
Lets look at verse 17 and 18 again...
17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.
Nehemiah spoke of 4 things;
He identified with the people… “the distress that we are in”...
The seriousness of the situation… “Jerusalem lieth in wast”...
His commitment to taking action. “let us build up the wall”...
His personal testimony… The hand of God being upon him and the king’s blessing.
It is important to be realistic and honest when assessing the facts of the situation as it stands. There was no doubt Jerusalem was in bad shape… There was no use in trying to deny that… The only question was what are we going to do about it?
Especially after getting direction from God...
If we know what needs done, then we must choose to get it done, and by the grace of God it will be done!
We must encourage one another to trust in God by being leaders of faith and action.
Nehemiah issued a call for the people to be revived.
All the elements were in place… God was in it… Now its time for action.
Our mission is accomplished or failed based on the leadership.
Dwight Moody had an interesting thought about revival as it relates to the church.
The best way to revive a church, is to build a fire in the pulpit.
Dwight L. Moody
There is much to learn from Nehemiah about Christian Leadership as well.
Whether your a preacher, teacher, deacon, on a committee, or really any type of leadership position.
However, It may start at the pulpit, but the fire needs to not stop there. We need to be spreading the light and warmth all over the world.
This is where the lesson ties in to our Church’s outreach.
When rebuilding or restoring the ministry of Church, it should start with direction from God (prayer, Biblical study, and conviction of Holy Spirit,), then faithful leaders must answer the call to action, then the Church takes action!
Where many Church’s fail today is they exclude the direction of God.
They may start with him, but somewhere along the way it becomes what we want and not what God wants!
We see Nehemiah did not offer rewards, incentives, or other bonuses for doing the work. Nehemiah simply laid out what needed done.
He showed them there was a job that needed done, and God was leading them to get it done now!
It is now time to “rise up and build”.
Rise-
1. move from a lower position to a higher one; come or go up.
2. to get up from lying, sitting, or kneeling.
There will come a time when we say it is time to rise and get to work! Quit laying around waiting for someone else. Or worse, kneeling before another authority!
Going back to what we talked about last week with fear.... fear is approached as if it is a source of authority.
Too much of the church as it stands today allows fear to be our authority, instead of trusting in the most High, the Alpha and Omega!
Fear stops the work before it ever begins.
FEAR IS NOT THE SOURCE OF OUR AUTHORITY!
Our authority comes from God!
Its important to remember that when your doing the Will of God and you soon find yourself starring into the face of fear....
The what ifs set in...
Worry, regret, confusion all follow.
We need to know, in that hour, in that very moment, who we are serving and what HE wants us to do!
You know we haven’t heard the last of those two trouble makers yet.
Nehemiah said lets get to work… lets read what happens next.
19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? 20 Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
The God of heaven will prosper us!
What an answer!
You want to a leader in Christian service, remember who you serve!
Strong leadership is directly connected with strong faith in God!
You want to effect positive change in your church...
You want to effect positive change in your family...
You want to effect positive change in your community...
You want to effect positive change in your relationship with Christ...
Then quit trying to do so under your power and start trusting God!
There will be people that laugh, mock, and scorn.
Quit focusing on them and focus on your mission that God has tasked you with!
This may sound strange, but when it comes our obedience in our individual ministry its not about other people.... its between us and God.
When it comes to teaching you have heard me say it is not about you… its about them. And what I mean by that is it doesn’t matter what you know, it matters what they receive.
But individual ministry is about your obedience, and should not be effected by other people.
To put it in other words, if you focus on trying to appease the people around you, you lose focus on what God has for you.
If you love and care for the people around you, quit trying to win them over and trust God to do the work!
Ask God to show you what you need to do to reach them, then focus on his direction!
Personal evangelism is nearly dead today because Christians get caught up in the reactions or feelings of other people.
Yes we should try to deliver the Gospel with love and grace, but if that doesn’t get the message across, don’t be afraid to deliver “tough love”.
Stay the course!
Remain obedient to God!
Do you think Jesus regretted telling the religious leaders they are of their father the devil?
No, Jesus always spoke the truth.
It doesn't mean He loved them any less than everyone else, he was not afraid of the aftermath of speaking the truth either!
Nehemiah did not let the the two men halt the work of God!
Revival is beginning to break out among the people.
Today it seems like it only takes 1 or 2 to people to choke out a revival.
Nehemiah did not allow one or two whinny voices deter what God was about to do!
Obedience.... to God
These two may have been citizens of the city, but Nehemiah spoke to them the truth. They are obviously opposed to the will of God. They like things the way they are… they don’t wont to see change.
Nehemiah tells them they have no portion,or right, or memorial in Jerusalem.
Thats the cold truth, and he was not afraid to tell them.
Nehemiah sized up these two quickly.... reference our 3 step plan for success....
Pray
plan
trust
It was apparent the men were speaking from ignorance.... they asked in an accusing manner, if Nehemiah would rebel against the king.
Nehemiah maintained control over the situation. He knew they knew not what they were talking about.
He measured them, and they were found in want.
God shows us this as an example in Daniel 5.
24 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. 25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
God had Belshazzar’s number, it was short.
God weighed him, and he came up light.
God would therefore divide the kingdom
That was the focus. Lets look what happens in chapter 3.
That was the focus. Lets look what happens in chapter 3.
*Have someone pick a number between 1-32. Read that verse to see who is doing what in chapter 3*
There is a whole chapter of people actively engaged in revival!
There are 32 verses, we have about that many people average in attendance here. What if we had our own verse on our ministry for God?
Would there be enough people willingly serving that we could have a whole chapter!
1 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. 2 And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. 3 But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. 4 And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. 5 And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord.
6 Moreover the old gate repaired Jehoiada the son of Paseah, and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, and the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. 7 And next unto them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, unto the throne of the governor on this side the river. 8 Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries, and they fortified Jerusalem unto the broad wall. 9 And next unto them repaired Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem. 10 And next unto them repaired Jedaiah the son of Harumaph, even over against his house. And next unto him repaired Hattush the son of Hashabniah.
11 Malchijah the son of Harim, and Hashub the son of Pahath-moab, repaired the other piece, and the tower of the furnaces. 12 And next unto him repaired Shallum the son of Halohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, he and his daughters. 13 The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate. 14 But the dung gate repaired Malchiah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Beth-haccerem; he built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof. 15 But the gate of the fountain repaired Shallun the son of Col-hozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah; he built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and the wall of the pool of Siloah by the king’s garden, and unto the stairs that go down from the city of David.
16 After him repaired Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Beth-zur, unto the place over against the sepulchres of David, and to the pool that was made, and unto the house of the mighty. 17 After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part. 18 After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah. 19 And next to him repaired Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, another piece over against the going up to the armoury at the turning of the wall. 20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.
21 After him repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib. 22 And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain. 23 After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub over against their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah the son of Ananiah by his house. 24 After him repaired Binnui the son of Henadad another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner. 25 Palal the son of Uzai, over against the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from the king’s high house, that was by the court of the prison. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh.
26 Moreover the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel, unto the place over against the water gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out. 27 After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, over against the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel. 28 From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house. 29 After them repaired Zadok the son of Immer over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate. 30 After him repaired Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah over against his chamber.
31 After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith’s son unto the place of the Nethinims, and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up of the corner. 32 And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.
An entire chapter full of names of people doing God’s work!
Revival had broken out amoung God’s people.
Despite the odds, despite the opposition.
And it began with one man’s conviction.
He turned to prayer.
While doing that, he began to plan.
Then he simply trusted God to carry him through.
A call to revival.
Lets look at that definition again.
Revival-
Making something alive again; renew. Also:
Renewal
Is it time for revival in your life today?
Is it time to renew.
Maybe it is time to quit trusting in your ways, and submit to Jesus.
Let him make you alive.
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
If you have not put your faith in Jesus, would you come to him today.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
*closing prayer*