The Way-Making God of Revival.

Introduction

Scripture

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much, that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

Context

In last week’s text, we saw that Nehemiah (the king's cupbearer) had received word about how his people (the Isrealites) were doing in Jerusalem, and needless to say, it was very bad. The holy city, a city that was to be the place that God called His people to come and worship Him openly and freely, was in disgrace and ruins. Yes, the temple had been rebuilt, but the people living in the town were frequently in danger as the wall and buildings that would have protected them were burned and rubble.

The news of this troubled Nehemiah greatly, the text tells us exactly what he did in response to this. He stopped, He prayed to God, He offered repentance from sin (confessing both he and his entire family had acted wickedly before God), and he asked God not only to forgive him, but also to use him for the rebuild and be a piece of the revival of the city. So, he asked God specifically that he would find favor in the King's eyes, so that the king would allow the city to be rebuilt.

These actions that Nehemiah took: turning back to God, confessing and repenting of sins, and prayer are steps that we see happen in the times of great revival in the Bible, and historically ever since the closing (the ending) of the Biblical Canon (that is, all the inspired Word of God that is to be included inside our Bibles). These are actions that if a person wants to experience a personal revival/renwal to God, they will do, actions that if a church want’s churchwide revival/renwal to God will do, the same is true for towns, states, nations, and peoples. Once you, or church, or your people, or what have you have done this, that isn’t the end of it though. Afterwards, there will be a natural set of actions and steps that God will reveal to you that must take place, if revival/renewal is truly taking place. What I'm saying is that, In Revival/Restoration God calls believers to both rely on Him and to go about the work. So, let’s see that in action from the text this week where, I want you to see, understand, and do these actions as God Makes the way for Revival and Restoration.

Message

The first action to see, understand, and do is to: Look to God for Revival 1-10

2 During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, 2 so the king said to me, “Why do you look so sad, when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.”I was overwhelmed with fear 3 and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I[a] not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”4 Then the king asked me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of the heavens 5 and answered the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor with you, send me to Judah and to the city where my ancestors are buried,[b] so that I may rebuild it.”6 The king, with the queen seated beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So I gave him a definite time, and it pleased the king to send me.7 I also said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let me have letters written to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates River, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah. 8 And let me have a letter written to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to rebuild the gates of the temple’s fortress, the city wall, and the home where I will live.”[c] The king granted my requests, for the gracious hand of my God was on me.9 I went to the governors of the region west of the Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent officers of the infantry and cavalry with me. 10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard that someone had come to pursue the prosperity of the Israelites, they were greatly displeased.

So, some 3-4 months after Nehemiah had first heard the bad news about Jerusalem and the people there, we find Nehemiah doing his job of serving the cup to the king. However, something was wrong, now Nehemiah’s grief he was unable to hide and keep back anymore, and he appeared deeply sad in front of the king. It’s worth noting, that the simple act of looking sad in the king’s presence could lead to a person’s execution at the time, so this was a serious situation that Nehemiah found himself in, he was either about to die……., or the king was about to be gracious to Him. Upon being asked, In a quick second, Nehemiah silently utters a prayer to God for help, and that is exactly what happened. God had heard his request in the past, and then as well, and Nehemiah found favor with both the king and the queen. Nehemiah asked to go and rebuild the town (using his words wisely, as afterall, the king had before ordered that the town not be restored). This was granted, along with letters of safe passage, material and lumber for the rebuild, and even a military escort. This was all done with the king's blessing, but there were some, particularly governors and rulers of areas surrounding Israel that did not approve.

The word revival, in and of itself, needs to be defined and explained. First, it is also either very closely tied to or is interchangeable with words like renewal or restoration. I’ll give 2 definitions for you, which are essentially the same, but the first is long and the second is short. The long one is that revival is: “The visitation of the Holy Spirit that causes a church (or person or people) to experience the power, purity and presence of Christ in such a way that the church is renewed, empowered and purified for more effective use in ministry and mission (Ross, 2006).” A second and the shorter is from one of today’s most foremost Theologians, pastors, and teacher, and he says in a 2017 recording that revival is: “a fresh outpouring of God’s life-giving Spirit on his people.” What you see in both of these, and any good definition of revival, is that God outpouring Himself is required, it is the key ingrediant. Sometimes, He may choose too, sometimes, he may not, sometimes (and this is very often the case) He is working on something much much bigger than whatever it was we had in mind or had vision for.

One thing is clear from this, and from Nehemiah’s example. If God ain’t in it, it’s not happening. Many many many people have tried (some of which were well meaning) to force revival, but it never happened, because God’s presence wasn’t the driving force. So then, how do you get into God’s presence? Well, just like Nehemiah did, he turned away from sin, he had a deep and honest desire to return to God, and he wanted to do his part (and asked for God’s help) to achieve God’s will in the situation. He put away sin, had faith and asked for empowerment, and desired to act upon what God had shown. In Revival/Restoration God calls believers to both rely on Him and to go about the work. So, are you ready church? Are you ready Christian? Are you ready to see mountains move, chains break, addiction destroyed, fear put away? Are you ready to see more of God’s presence? Love Him More? Are you ready to be a disciple that Loves God More, Loves People More, and Make More Disciples? Then look to God for revival. Take those steps and actions we have already seen done in the last week’s text and also—-

See, understand, and do our next action which is to: Focus on what God has shown 11-20

11 After I arrived in Jerusalem and had been there three days, 12 I got up at night and took a few men with me. I didn’t tell anyone what my God had laid on my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took[d] was the one I was riding. 13 I went out at night through the Valley Gate toward the Serpent’s[e] Well and the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14 I went on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but farther down it became too narrow for my animal to go through. 15 So I went up at night by way of the valley and inspected the wall. Then heading back, I entered through the Valley Gate and returned. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, for I had not yet told the Jews, priests, nobles, officials, or the rest of those who would be doing the work. 17 So I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned. Come, let’s rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.” 18 I told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me, and what the king had said to me.They said, “Let’s start rebuilding,” and their hands were strengthened[f] to do this good work.19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”20 I gave them this reply, “The God of the heavens is the one who will grant us success. We, his servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”

We can easily see by his actions that Nehemiah was a very wise and perceptive man that was perfectly equipped by God to do the job that he was now assigned to. After the long trip to Jerusalem, which would have taken nearly 4 months, he took some time to stop, refresh himself, and catch his bearings.Then, one night, not having told anyone before what was going on, he took a few men with him. By the cover of night, he went around and inspected the walls and gates of the town. We can easily figure out that he was inspecting the problem so that he could make a plan and then tell it to the people. When he was ready, he came before them. He said it plainly, “You see the trouble we are in.” Everything is in ruins and the protective walls are no longer meeting their design and function, that is, they are useless in the state that they are in. Let’s rebuild the wall together, so that we can be protected and no longer treated as a disgrace in the area. He also gave them testimony, about what God has done and how He has used the king (who had previously been an enemy of the Isrealites for his stopping of the rebuild) to bring this about. They all agreed in unison, strengthened themselves and went about the good work. The enemy though, was right around the corner, with Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, who mocked them and belittled them, insulting them and trying to tear their high spirits down. They even tried to invoke fear and wrath against them, accusing them of rebelling against the king, which was the claim that had been made against the Isrealites before that made them stop rebuilding.

Instead of rebutting with correct, “this isn’t so, look I have the king’s blessing and even some of his military here to help me” he instead pointed to God. He said, in essence, you can try to bring us down, but the God of Heaven has given us a purpose and a vision and He will give us success, so we are going to start rebuilding; so get out of our way and stop trying to assert yourself into this situation, you have no claim or authority here.

In Revival/Restoration God calls believers to both rely on Him and to go about the work. This is exactly what Nehemiah was doing here, showing that He was going to place his bets on God (over the fear that the enemies gave) and go about the work that God had placed upon him. So, how about you? How about me? How about us, we? Are we, are you, am I ready to truly rely on God? It’s so easy for us to rely on ourselves, and believe that it was God. But, was God really in it? Or was your persistence and inability to say no what was in it? Now, on their own, that’s not a bad thing, but it is if it leads you to in some way not rely on God and point to Him more. Do these, rely and on Him, point to Him More, and He will then give vision and purpose, which you can then dial in on and focus on. So, once God has shown you the “What.” Focus on it, and focus on making it a work and action of worship that will ultimately point others towards Him and call more people into God’s presence.

Let’s move onto another actions to see, remember, and do is to: Go about the revealed work Chapter 3

For the sake of time, i’m going on under the assumption that you read this chapter on your own this week. Let me sum it up for you. The people got to work rebuilding the city walls! God had given them a leader, and that leader had been given a vision of what to do and fulfill, so the people set out to do this work that God had called them to. So, each person was divided into a work group and area that made sense to them. The priests were placed at and worked in areas that were important for the operation of worship, the people were placed in areas and wall that were near their homes, specialist and merchants were placed into areas and jobs that involved and affected their trade, everyone helped and did their part, except for the nobles (who saw themselves as to important for the task), though under their leadership and direction it had gotten to this place. Nonetheless, the people by and large rallied and got about the revealed work!

Tell me, what good do you think it would do, for God to tell you to do something, and then you don’t? To ignore God, is that God honoring? Is a lack of submission to Jesus’ Lordship something you think God will bless and prosper? Absolutely not! Just think about Jonah. God gave him a clear mission and work, to go to Nineveh and preach repentance. What did he do? He went the other way. Did God bless that? Nope! God got ahold of him, and he was stuck within the belly of great fish for 3 days on top of all the hardship he had along the way! Then, God still showed him more about himself along the way to Nineveh, because Jonah wanted to hold onto what HE wanted and not what God wanted.

In that time, Jonah learned this truth: In Revival/Restoration God calls believers to both rely on Him and to go about the work. Just in our church body alone, we are right now, in the process of going through a very big work in our painting project; and we are very blessed to have help from sister churches coming to help us do the big work. This however, isn’t the end all and be all of the work that God has called us to. No, it’s just a step along the way. God has called us all to Love God, Love People, and Make Disciples. This is merely a step along the way. So, it’s time even now, even though we aren’t done, to be thinking about what’s next. And no, I don’t mean necessarily building projects or refurbishments. Rather, I mean, now that things will be different and new (a novelty of sorts), what are we going to do about it and how will we use it for God? I invite you all to go ahead to be in pray about that. A few ideas that people have approached and told me about are: holding a homecoming day/service, having revival/renewal service, holding some kind of special event where we can invite people in, and finding a way to serve the community in this space. All of this of course, has the main objective that we have access to people, the ability to share the love of God with them, share the gospel with them, see people come be disciples of Jesus, and then train up those disciples to be the kind of disciples that Love God, Love People, and Make disciples themselves. So, once we are all sure and unified in the cause, let’s all come together and go about the work God has revealed to us!

Conclusion

Beloved, even right now in this town, is a town that is in mourning from the end of an era becoming apparent and wonders about hopelessly lost without God. Everywhere we turn around, we see folks within a very small distance destroyed and turning everywhere but God to fill the God sized holes in their hearts. We, LaFayette Baptist Church, You, Member of LaFayette Baptist Church are called to this place right now, for just this time. No doubt about that. We are uniquely placed here, in this town, in this county, in this state, in this nation, in this world to a God ordained work that no one else can do as well as we can together. So, to prepare for that work, let us all rely on God (and not ourselves) and go about the work as He shows, because He is The Way-Making God of Revival.

With all of that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God, though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do is accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

With that, Let’s conclude. Brothers and Sisters, I love you all. During our last song together, if you need prayer, or want to talk more about Jesus, or have something you want to talk about, I’ll be here, don’t be afraid to come on down. Let’s pray. Father God, we thank You for who You are and what You are doing to us here in this place. May whatever it is that You are doing in each heart here, continue as we leave to go out into the world this week. Change us, mold us, make us, re-arrange us, that we can be both better lovers of You and better proclaimers of You. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.