The Emergence of Revival

2 Chronicles 29:3-36

Revival! - The Emergence of Revival

Message 3 of 4

Do we have any who like to garden in here? Just a couple of weeks ago, I planted in trays a variety of seeds that we are going to plant in our garden. And I was so excited when I went and checked on them a couple of days ago and found those seeds bursting out as little plants.

You know, in a similar manner, God has planted the seed of revival in our hearts, and friends it is time to let that revival emerge forth from our lives.

You see, revival is about life, it is about growing in our walk with the Lord. Now it is easy to restrain revival from breaking out, but friends God wants us to be faithful and obedient to him and allow revival to emerge in this church tonight.

Now the passage that the Lord has led us to tonight, speaks about the emergence of revival.

(Read Scripture)

You know it is exciting to hear when a church is having a powerful revival. Most recently we heard about the revival that was taking place in Asbury, Kentucky. Where thousands poured in from all over to hear the word of God proclaimed.

And just a couple of years ago we heard about the great revival that was taking place in South Carolina. Where many people came to know Jesus.

These revivals seem to spring out from no where but how do they start? Well friends, it starts with one person who has made up their mind that God matters in their life.

Now in the passage we find that King Hezekiah made up his mind that he was going to serve the Lord, and when he made up his mind, revival broke out among the people.

And friends, if we tonight, would just make up our minds like Hezekiah did, and like Joshua did, and like Josiah did, and like so many others did, we would find that the Lord would move mightily in our lives and in this church, and in this community.

I mean think about it, what if tomorrow night there were thousands of people here ready to worship the Lord. I mean it can happen, but it can only happen if we allow revival to emerge in our lives. Now that is what I want to preach to you tonight, the emergence of revival.

The Emergence of Revival

Point 1 – In the Meeting Area (vs 3)

· Now what does Hezekiah do, here is a man that has made up his mind to live for Jesus, and the first thing we find him doing is opening the doors to the house of the Lord.

· Do you know revival starts with a person walking into the house of the Lord. Are we like Hezekiah opening the doors of this house to those around us?

· Or our doors broke? One of the major reasons why churches are struggling today is the fact that we don’t know how to open the door.

· I mean think about it like this, say you have your hands full of groceries, you are walking to the door, and a family member sees you, but they don’t bother coming to open the door. They just carry on.

· How would that make you feel? Pretty upset. Well friends, let me tell you that has become the mentality of many of us today. We see someone coming to the church, they are burden down with all the things of life, but we don’t open any doors for them.

· We don’t help them. And we wonder why people don’t want to come.

· Listen, for us to have revival, for us to see the outpouring of the Lord on us, we have got to repair the doors of the church.

· Now during Hezekiah’s day, the physical house of the Lord was in disrepair. The people neglected, and it looked bad.

· We have a responsibility to keep the house of the Lord looking good.

· It is a shame when you have some who don’t care about the appearance of the dwelling of God.

· Now friend, listen I’m making this a little more personal, because know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

· Friend, you can be revived if you would open the door of your heart to Jesus. Some of our hearts, look more like an abandon house than a home for Jesus.

· I will tell you, if we allow the Lord to repair these doors, friends revival would burst forth!

Point 2 – In the Message (vs 4-11)

· Now revival needs to emerge in the meeting area, but it also needs to emerge in the message.

· What does Hezekiah do here, he points out what is wrong, and points them to what is right.

· What is the Word of God intended for? 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

· Friends, if revival is going to emerge in our lives, we got to hear the Word of God!

· Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth:…”

· It is the duty of the preacher, to preach the word of God, and that we preach all of the word of God.

· What God wants from us now is powerful, pointed, preaching that speaks to the people.

· But it is not just from the preacher, it is from the people as well.

· You see, we all are preaching a message today. A message that people are hearing and seeing from our lives.

· And what some of us need to proclaim today is that the message of God is still important in our lives and that we are going to turn back to living for the Lord.

· That we aren’t going to live in the past.

· Living in the past is dangerous living. We say, oh how I wish the church was like it was so many years ago.

· Well, listen, we are not called to focus on the past, we are called to look for our future.

· Philippians 3:13 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before”

· Friends, revival will emerge when we quit living in the past, when we start preaching the word, and start focusing on the future.

Point 3 – In the Methods (vs 12-27)

· Now revival needs to emerge in the message but friends it also needs to emerge in the methods.

· You know what the definition of insanity is? Doing the same thing over and expecting different results.

· You know we want our churches to grow, but we refuse to change our methods. We stick to same boring routine and traditions and we just expect it to grow.

· We are insane!

· This world has changed since 1950’s but that is where many of our churches are at. We are sill doing the same service that we did in the 50s.

· Now, I know we don’t like change, we like things that are constant, but things change. And we must learn to change, because if we don’t change then we die.

· Friends, the methods must change in the house.

· Now here the priest were to come and change the condition of the house.

· Now they had to take a deep hard look into the house of the Lord. And they had to get rid of some things that had been there a long time.

· Listen, for the church to get revived, there might be some things in this church that needs to be removed.

· And some new things brought in.

· Now the methods must change in the house but they also must change in our hearts.

· You know nothing would have matter if those priest came and changed the house of the Lord, if they first didn’t change their heart.

· Notice what verse 15 says – they gathered their brethren and sanctified themselves.

· Listen, revival can only occur when we get together as brethren. Not individuals, not as strangers, not as enemies, but as brethren.

· If you are in the method of just coming to church and then leaving without being a part of the brethren, revival isn’t going to happen.

· We must come together as brethren. And allow the Lord to sanctify us.

Point 4 – In the Music (vs 28-30)

· Now we need revival to emerge in the methods, but let me tell you where we need to see revival, we need to see revival in the music.

· Now I know the devil likes to divide the church, and the biggest area that we see the church divided today is in the music department.

· There is a worship war taking place, and people are firmly digging their feet into the ground that they are not going to be moved on the topic.

· Well friends, when it comes to music, we don’t need to be so dogmatic on what kind of style music needs to be played, but that it brought from the heart unto the Lord.

· Songs that reflect the truth of God’s word, and that we believe what we are singing.

· Now I love all sorts of glorifying songs unto the Lord. And I hear some who say they just like hymns and what they fail to realize is that the modern day songs are nothing more than the scripture being sung.

· That’s what the Children of Israel did, they sung scripture, its called the Psalms.

· And then you have some on the other side, and they get bothered by singing the standard four beat style of a hymn, that they too fail to listen to the message the hymn is saying.

· Friends, there needs to be a revival in the music. Now what do we see in verse 27, they played the trumpets and they sang.

· Do you know that the Lord loves to hear you sing?

· I’m sure many of you have children, what if you took your child to sing with a group and while they were standing up there they just refused to sing? How would that make you feel as a parent?

· Well, listen God has placed you in this church to sing to him, and that is what we need to do.

· Friends, when we get over our differences on the music style, and just start singing to the Lord, we will see revival emerge.

Point 5 – In the Members (vs 31-36)

· Now friends we have seen the need for revival to emerge in the meeting area, the message, the methods, the music, but we needs to see revival emerge in the members.

· You know the last few verses, we see members helping one another.

· Oh, what a church can do, when its members all see the need and they want to help.

· The Levites are helping the priest. Let me ask you this question, deacons are you helping your pastor?

· Church family are you helping each other. You see when we actually care about one another we will find revival taking place.

· Notice we don’t find the people murmuring about the priest. What we find is that the people came alongside of the priest to help them.

· Revival is not criticizing and complaining, revival is about caring and cooperating.

Conclusion

· Now we are here, and we want to see revival emerge. Just like that plant bursting forth from the ground, that is what we want to see with revival.

· Well friends, have the conditions been met? You see for a plant to grow, it needs good soil, light and warmth, and it needs water. When it has this, it springs up in life.

· Well in like manner, for revival to emerge in you tonight, you need to get rid of some things, maybe there are some things in your life that are impure, some filth that has accumulated.

· Well, friend what you need to do, is open the doors and allow the Lord to come into your heart and cleanse you from all of this.

· Allow him to change you, where you can worship him and be happy in what he is doing.

· That you give him all areas of your life, and that you don’t keep the door shut on him.

· Friend, you might be here right now, wanting a great moving in your life by Jesus, well friend if you allow him in, he can sanctify you and make you usable again.

· The last verse said that all of this happened suddenly, and friend that is what Christ can do for you right now, he can change you in an instant, if you would allow him in.