Revival isn't Accidental Part 2 - The Practical Side of Revival

Introduction

Review the Morning Message: Hold, Hear, Hunger, Humble

Theories and decisions are one thing. Living the truth is a whole different ball game.

D. Revival requires change.

P. Christian when God brings revival in our lives it will not just be a feeling, there will be changes made.

T. In order for revival to bring about REAL change there will be a choice to please God, a cleansing in our life of all that displeases, and a celebration of what God has done.

1. Revival begins with a solemn choice to please God. The people covenant to please God.

2 Kings 23:1–3 “And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.”

Explain

What nation is Josiah leading? The nation of Israel, God’s people. They were to be a light to other nations of their God’s salvation.

Josiah calls all the leaders of the nation to meet with him and all Jerusalem at the Temple.

Elders of Judah and Jerusalem

All the men of Judah and Jerusalem

All the inhabitants of Jerusalem

Priests

Prophets

Small- the nobodies

Great - the bigwigs.

Josiah as their King recognizes that each person no matter how spiritual, or what position they may hold needs to hear the Word of God. No one is exempt from hearing God’s Word.

He reads all the word of the Law to them, not just his favorite parts are the least convicting parts. The entire law is read in their hearing. It may have taken quite a while to get through it all.

Josiah leads by example in first leading in commitment to follow the Lord faithfully.

1 Kings 2:3 “And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:”

The People follow Josiah’s lead and commit themselves to serve the Lord too.

This is what we find happened when Moses gave the covenant of the Law the first time to the nation of Israel.

Exodus 19:8 “And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord.”

This pattern is seen several times throughout the nations history before they entered the promised land with the second giving of the covenant in Deuteronomy,

Argue

After returning from captivity in Babylon the people also needed to hear the Law of God. Nehemiah 8:1–3 “And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.”

When a leader LIKE Josiah leads righteously the people are blessed.

Psalm 33:12 “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; And the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”

Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: But when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.”

Proverbs 28:12 “When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: But when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.”

Story: Esther rescues the nation of Israel from Haman’s destructive plot. Mordecai takes Haman’s place and the city is full of gladness.

Haman - Esther 3:15 “The posts went out, being hastened by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given in Shushan the palace. And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.”

Mordecai - Esther 8:15 “And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad.”

Illustrate:

When those in charge want to do right it makes it much easier for those under them to do right.

Apply

We are a holy nation to God. 1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”

As Pastor I am calling upon us as God’s church to purpose before God to be committed to serve the Lord.

Just like those small and great needed to hear God’s Word. Every Christian needs to be faithful not only to read their Bible and pray, but be faithful to be under the teaching and preaching of God’s Word in a local church setting. The recorded sermons, radio, the TV, and YouTube, or sermon audio you may find some good stuff, but God’s plan is primarily through your local church. While those avenues are good, they shouldn’t be used to the negation of going to your church.

As a pastor I am responsible to lead and model Jesus Christ to the rest of the flock as an under-shepherd of the Great Shepherd, Jesus.

Like Josiah I invite you to renew your solemn choice with me to choose to serve the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind. Let us be committed to follow all that Christ commands us.

As Fathers we are commanded to lead our households to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:25–27 “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

Ephesians 6:4 “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

As mothers we are to lead our children to the Lord.

King Lemuel was taught by his mother about how a young man and king should act. (Proverbs 31:1-9)

As we interact with those in our lives may we be like Josiah challenging them to be committed to the Lord.

We want to bring people to a decision to trust Christ.

Some people will turn and reject Christ.

Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”

2. Revival requires house cleaning of our lives.

2 Kings 23:4–20 “And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el. And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. And he brought out the grove from the house of the Lord, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people. And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the Lord, where the women wove…”

2 Kings 23:24–25 “Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.”

Explain

The reform wasn’t complete it appears when the Law was found.

People had brought paraphernalia that was used to worship false gods into the Lord God’s temple.

Josiah commissions the highpriest, priests of the second order and the keepers of the door to get rid of all the idolatrous relics out of God’s house.

Baal

Things for the grove which were offered to Asherah in the form of a cultic pole, perhaps like a totum pole.

Host of heaven

queen of heaven

Sun God

and others celestial false gods of the planets and stars

The idolatrous objects are removed and burned at the brook Kidron.

He cleanses the temple of it and burns it without trying to save any of the value that was upon these idolatrous objects. The gold and silver was not repurposed, but these images were burnt and ground to powder.

Deuteronomy 7:25 “The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.”

The altars on King Ahaz’s chamber is descrated and Manasseh’s two altars in the courts of the Lord are burnt to powder in thrown in the Brook Kidron which meant very black and full of darkness. It is put in a place that resembles the darkness of the sins they once helped perform.

There is no respect for forefathers’ sins.

There is no historical value to memorialize in this idolatrous past. It needed to be scrubbed and removed from society and temple life.

The powder was spread on the graves of the idolatrous common people.

The houses of Sodomites are torn down.

Male prostitutes who served in the pagan worship had sent up tents in the temple courtyards.

As well as the places where the women wove curtains for the grove/cultic pole Asherah.

Priests of false god’s are removed from all the region of Judea and into Samaria. “From Geba to Beer-sheba” From Northern border to southern border.

Their false places are desecrated.

The priests themselves are killed.

The highplaces at city gates are broken down

Tophet destroyed - the place of the worship of Molech and child sacrifice

Molech was an Ammonite false deity.

This valley was west and south sides of Mount Zion (Modern Wadi er-Rababi). IT runs down through the Judaean wilderness to the Dead Sea. Much as its worshippers were on the path to eternal death.

Josiah destroyed and desecrated the area so no more child sacrifice would ever occur their again.

He destroyed the horses and chariots used to honor the sun God.

Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.”

Deuteronomy 17:16 “But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.”

He destroyed Solomon’s over 300 year old altar on the mount of Corruption for his foreign wives false gods: Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom.

He broke the images in pieces

Cut down the goroves

Filled their places with dead man’s bones.

The centers of idolatrous worship are desecrated in Beth-el, made by Jeroboam’s man made worship.

What we intend to help us keep power for ourselves from God will be our destruction.

Josiah has the ashes of the burnt idols and vessels taken to Bethel

Josiah fulfills a 300 year prophecy.

1 Kings 13:1–2 “And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.”

That man’s grave and another prophets is spared. (1 Kings 13:11)

All the false priests are killed.

Argue

No matter what value you may see in the old sinful stuff of the past you should get rid of it. It isn’t to make money off of it is to burn.

Acts 19:19 “Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.”

Illustrate

Apply

You, O Christian, are the temple of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 6:17–20 “But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

2 Corinthians 6:16 “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

What goes on in your temple, O Christian? Are there hidden areas where there idols of the heart hidden. That you run to when you are stressed or discouraged. In those periods of stress your idols can be revealed. 1 John 5:21 “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”

Are there old things from the sinful past you hold onto as valuable. Destroy them and rid them. And as Ephesus the Word of God will mightily grow in your life. (Acts 19:20)

2 Kings 23:21–23 “And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the Lord your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant. Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the Lord in Jerusalem.”

Explain

The Passover is the celebration of Israel’s redemption from slavery and selection by God to be his people.

It was celebrated greatly as no other king previously had done.

Argue

Illustrate

Apply

When we get a hold of what God has done for us in our redemption their is no greater joy than to celebrate what he has done.

It will flow to others.

What has God saved you from? Recall your salvation? Recall the past and former destination.

Conclusion:

Choose God

Cleanse your life and home of the sinful past.

Celebrate your new life in Jesus Christ.