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The Need for Genuine Revival
Introduction:
A history of God’s people reveals that their love for Him is
high for a while and then it slacks off. They will repent,
seek the Lord, and then experience a revival.
The passage for this lesson describes one of the greatest
revivals recorded. Israel had drifted far away from God and
was worshipping pagan idols. They were living in spiritual
darkness and needed genuine revival. This revival was led
by a king named Josiah.
Text:
II Kings 22-23
Body:
I.
Revival Involves Rededication
(II
Kings 22:8-13)
·
The temple had been neglected and was greatly in need of
repair. (II
Kings 22:4-6)
Also, the Word of God had been neglected for a long time and
was eventually lost due to lack of use. After the book of
the Law was discovered and read, Josiah realized that they
had not obeyed God’s Word and that God was angry with them.
So he rededicated himself to keeping the commands of God.
·
Any genuine revival of God’s people must begin with a
rededication to following the Word of God. The Bible is the
final authority for God’s people and must be honored as
such. (Psalm
119:161)
(Isaiah
66:2)
“trembles at My Word”
·
God’s Word is the standard against which all that we believe
and practice must be compared. (Amos
7:7-9)
·
God’s Word is the source book for everything we need for
this life. (II
Timothy 3:16-17)
II.
Revival Involves Repentance
(II
Kings 23:1-3)
·
The king and the people made a covenant before the Lord with
all their heart and soul.
·
Repentance is an ugly word for many today, both inside and
outside the church. The Greek word means “to change one’s
mind.” Josiah realized they had done something wrong and
they felt sorrow and grief because of it. (II
Corinthians 7:9-10)
These Israelites “changed their mind” and decided to follow
the ways of God.
·
Repentance involves being ‘convicted’ of sin as those on
Pentecost were. (Acts
2:37-38)
·
When we compare our lives with God’s Word and find a
discrepancy, we need to change our minds because God is not
going to change His Word! (Psalm
119:89)
III.
Revival Involves Reformation
(II
Kings 23:4-20,24)
·
After the people repented, many changes took
place. (II
Kings 23:4-7)
They cleaned out the temple and surrounding area because it
had become a place of pagan idol worship. They removed
everything that wasn’t supposed to be there.
(II
Kings 23:8-20)
They destroyed all the pagan altars and places of worship.
(II
Kings 23:224)
Those who practiced the occult were put away.
·
From this example, when there is genuine revival, there is a
clear move toward holiness and godly living. A reformation
will take place. (Luke
3:3,7-14)
Conclusion:
There was a church in the 1st Century that needed
a revival. Ephesus (Revelation
2:4-5)
Remember, repent, and do!
Bobby
Stafford
January 12, 2014
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