9-12-99........ A Revival of the Word........ II Chron. 34
by Ronald E. George Jr. at the Sand Fork Baptist Church
"The story is told about an old American Indian who attended a church service one Sunday morning. The preacher's message lacked real spiritual food, so he did a lot of shouting and pulpit pounding to cover up his lack of preparation. In fact, as it is sometimes said, he "preached up quite a storm." After the service, someone asked the Indian, who was a Christian, what he thought of the minister's message. Thinking for a moment, he summed up his opinion in six words: "High wind. Big thunder. No rain." Yes, when the Scriptures are neglected, there is "no rain." Only when preaching is based on God's Word are His people blessed and refreshed. "
We need the rain. We need the word of God to find refreshment for our souls.
Why do we continually need revival? The 2nd law of thermodynamics states that things are continuing to decay with time. In other words things continue to get worse and worse. Unless an outside force is exerted upon a closed system the system will not get better. Dirt and dust continues to accumulate in our homes. Our cars need continuing maintenance. We must be revived again and again.
In the scripture text for today's sermon the nation of Judah had gotten worse until an eight year old boy became the King. His name was Josiah. When Josiah reached the age of 26 he commanded that the house of the Lord be repaired. As the repairs were being made and the dirt was being cleaned out, a book was discovered. The book was the Word of God, but more specifically it was the Law of Moses. This was probably the Pentateuch or first five books of the Bible. The house of the Lord was in a mess and the commandments had been forgotten. God had been forgotten by the nation of Judah, but not by the King, Josiah.
Today, we need to rediscover the book of the Lord, the Bible. We need a revival of the Word of the only living God. What does he have to say to us today? Is his word still relevant? Is it still useful? Is it still desirable to know? The answer to these questions lies in the answer to this question, Have you been reading your Bible? Josiah sent Hilkiah to inquire of the Lord from a prophetess by the name of Huldah.
The question today is, What does the Lord have to say? Is it important to you/us to know and to hear the Lord?
Scripture Text: 2Chr 34:22 And Hilkiah, and [they] that the king [had appointed], went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that [effect]. 23 And she answered them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me, 24 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, [even] all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah: 25 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched. 26 And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the LORD, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel [concerning] the words which thou hast heard; 27 Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard [thee] also, saith the LORD. 28 Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again. 29 Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD. 31 And the king stood in his place, 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 his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. 32 And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand [to it]. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
1. A revival of the Word must begin with the Leader/Leaders.
Josiah sent Hilkiah to inquire from Huldah. Huldah wasn't afraid to give the word of the Lord, and Josiah wasn't afraid to hear it. Do we want to hear the word of the Lord today? The Bible says that the time will come when people will not want to hear the sound doctrine of the Lord. Do you want to hear the truth from the living Word of God? Will you ask for it? Will you hear it and listen to what He says? Are you reading your Bible?
2Tim 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. The role of the leadership in a revival is very important. Josiah was eight when he began to take a stand for the Lord. How old are you? Are you ready to stand to listen? Will we heed the warning from Huldah's message in v. 24-25?
"We live in a world of invertebrate theology, jellyfish morality, seesaw religion, India rubber convictions, somersault philosophy, and a psychology that tells us what we already know in words which we do not understand." R. G. Lee, Bread from Bellevue Oven, p. 9.
2. A revival of the Word extends to the eyes, mouth, ears, and hearts of the believers.
3. A revival of the Word results in a rededication to God.
Will you inquire of the Lord? Will you listen to his word? Will you perform his desires for your life? Will we the leaders step out in front to cause others to follow too?