Revival In The Land
2 Kings 18:3-8
• Today, more than ever we need revival in our land.
• Just consider for a moment the attitudes and actions that are seen in our day:
1. Abortion -
From 1973 through 2000, more than 39 million legal abortions occurred.
Today, an estimated 46 million abortions occur worldwide. Of these, 20 million procedures are obtained illegally.
Each year, 2 out of every 100 women aged 15–44 have an abortion… 48% of them have had at least one previous abortion.
An estimated 43% of women will have at least one abortion by the time they are 45 years old.
2. Same Sex marriage -
New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and New Hampshire & DC has legalized gay marriage.
Across the country more states are fighting to legalize Gay marriage
3. Crime Is Out Of Control
Just turn on the TV or Internet, or open a newspaper and you will hear of wickedness & crime.
Mothers killing their children.
Fathers molesting their children.
People drinking & driving
Drug & alcohol abuse
Domestic Violence
Mass shootings
Burglary
Rape
Murder
4.. Churches & Baptisms Declining-
Southern Baptists reported 5% fewer baptisms in 2010 than in 2009
Total membership was counted at 16,136,044, a drop of 0.15 percent and the fourth straight year of membership losses.
The SBC baptisms were the lowest reported since the 1950’s
George Barna reported that 3500 to 4500 protestant churches close their doors every year in America.
5. Pastors Quitting and Failing Morally -
It is reported that 1500 ministers leave the ministry every month..
An overwhelming majority say that they would quit if they could make a living in the secular world.
Countless clergymen are involved in extramarital affairs and pornography.
6. Divorce Rate -
All Adults - 33%
Atheist or Agnostic - 30%
Professing Christians - 32%
7. Controversy & Conflict in the Church -
There are churches all across this country that have more scandals than Congress.
Just recently there was a pastor in our state who punched a deacon during a business meeting.
Staff members are embezzling money from the church treasury.
Then there are the petty things that church people argue about:
The types of music or translation of the bible to use.
Whether I get to sing a solo or if the preacher shook my hand.
I heard of a church that almost split because someone moved a chair off of the stage!
Things are bad and they seem to be getting worse.
We cannot blame the condition of our country on the lost, we have been promised by God that if HIS PEOPLE will repent He will hear, forgive & heal!! - 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
The things we have seen are not to be blamed on Political parties or leaders, or the lost world. Nor can they be changed by them!
We must own up to our own issues and take a long hard look in the mirror.
- Edmond Burke said that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
- Vance Havner said “Today there is anarchy in the world, apostasy in the church and apathy in the pew.
(Apathy is defined as a Lack of emotion, lack of interest; Indifference)
- Someone said that a Christian is, “someone who feels repentance on Sunday for what he did on Saturday and is going to do again on Monday.” - Truly, we need REVIVAL IN OUR LAND!
Many will say that “I don’t believe that we will ever see another great revival” What they are really saying is “I don’t believe that God is powerful enough to send another great revival”
The answer is not found in a political party ...It is not going to be found in a televangelist, it will not even be seen in a series of church meetings that we call revival. If songs and sermons could bring revival we would have seen revival a long time ago! Revival will begin when God’s people (as individuals) get right with Him! It starts with the Christian, then spreads to the church, to the community, to the town, to the state, to the country and across the world.
Evangelist Gypsy Smith was known to draw a circle around himself with a piece of white chalk and pray, "Lord, send a revival, and let it begin inside this circle."
In our selected text we find an example of a man who had a desire to do what was right in the Lord’s sight. - v3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD…. If we will do what Hezekiah did, I believe it could spark a revival. Let’s look at his story and consider the thought “Revival In The Land”
There are 3 things that are seen in this text that could bring “Revival In The Land”
1. Remove The Distractions
2. Refuse To Depart
3. Resolve To Depend
II Kings 18:1 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2 Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. 3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did.
Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz. Ahaz was one of the worst kings in Judah’s history. Hezekiah was one of the best. Hezekiah inherited a mess. The people were superstitious and because of his father they were idolatrous. He did not complain about everything and blame the mess on his predecessor; he immediately began to change things. The first thing that Hezekiah did to please the Lord was to Remove The Distractions
I. Remove The Distractions - v4 He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.
The images and the groves and high places were idolatrous, he broke and destroyed them. These things were introduced by his Father and were sacred but not to Hezekiah. He made sure that any remnant of his father’s idolatry was destroyed. Even the brazen serpent that Moses had made was broken into pieces. The people had ignored that God had created it and began to worship it in a pagan manner by burning incense to it. There were some obstacles that Hezekiah encountered that had to be confronted.
A. Devotion Can Be A Distraction
The following things, though Good can be a distraction from your relationship with God:
o Your Spouse
o Your Family
o Your Friends
o Your Job
o Your Church
If any of these things come before your devotion to God, like the people of Judah you are practicing a form of idolatry.
Jesus said in - Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
How many times do you let other things interrupt your: - Prayer life, Study time, Worship of the Lord, Service of the Lord. Hezekiah ignored the devotion to his father and destroyed the idols that he has set in place. Will you remove the distraction of misplaced devotion form your life today? Not only can Devotion be a distraction, Reputations can be a distraction.
B. Reputations Can Be A Distraction
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Hezekiah was not only taking a stand against the idols that his father had set up he was also going against the will of the people. The people of Judah were very much involved in the practices of idol worship – v4 He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.
What if Hezekiah had compromised as he tried to be a Godly servant? What if he had allowed the idol worship to remain? He would have failed miserably!
Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.
What good is a good reputation with man if it causes you to be out of the will of God? Hezekiah was willing to remove the distraction of reputation! Are you?
Devotion, Reputation can be a distraction, likewise Traditions can be a distraction.
C. Tradition Can Be A Distraction - v4b and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.
God commanded Moses to make this brazen serpent. Notice: Numbers 21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
The people had preserved this serpent but had strayed from the original intent. Instead of remembering what God had done and glorifying Him, they began to burn incense and worship it as an idol. Hezekiah “broke the brazen serpent into pieces and called it Nehushtan” (nothing more than brass)
There are some who are more focused on the church building than they are Christ! You have the people who have the people who have a little brass plaque on a church pew or a Sunday school room or a stained glass window, or those who have their name on a sticker in a hymnal who say THAT IS MY PEW! THAT IS MY WINDOW! THAT IS MY SUNDAY SCHOOL ROOM! Or THAT IS MY SONG BOOK!! I am sorry but you are wrong! IT IS ALL GOD”S!! It was His money that paid for it and it is in His house!!
I heard of a church that almost split because the pastor wanted to remove the S.S report board from the front of the church to the foyer. Someone threw a fit because “it had always been there”
This is merely a building. Without God’s presence it is no different than an old barn. It is the people that make up the church. Not the brick and wood. But some people worship the building instead of the Lord.
If you more focused on the building and the things that are done in it then church is your idol!Are you distracted by your Devotion, Reputation or Traditions? If so, then it is time for you to remove your idols and serve God today!
Not only was Hezekiah willing to remove the idolatry that was set in place by his father, He knew that as he began the task of cleansing the Kingdom he would have to remain committed to The Lord. If we are going to see revival in the land, not only must we Remove The Distractions, we must:
II. Refuse To Depart - v5 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. 6 For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.
In these 2 verses we see four areas in which he refused to depart.
A. Refuse To Depart From Your Confidence In The Lord - v5 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
We can assume that there was a great deal of opposition to his actions. Why? Because he made changes and people always seem to have a problem with change. When Hezekiah inherited the kingdom he found his kingdom compassed with enemies, but he did not seek help from allies, he simply trusted in the God of Israel to be the keeper of Israel.
If we are going to make a difference, if we are going to change things, we must trust God to do it!
Remember what David said to Goliath - 1 Samuel 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands.
The odds may be against us, but God is more powerful than the odds.Concerning the reformation in Judah, the odds were against Hezekiah, BUT GOD WAS WITH HIM!
B. Refuse To Depart From Your Commitment To The Lord - 6 For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him,
When you are headed into battle against the enemy… CLING TO THE LORD!
If Hezekiah had left God and attempted to change things on his own, he would have been consumed by the enemy
Many today have done just that and have found themselves overtaken and consumed!
There was consistency in this man’s life! - Verse 5 says “there was none like him” He had his mind made up and he departed not from following him,
C. Refuse To Depart From Your Compliance To The Lord - but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.
Kept – {H} (shâmar - shaw-mar') – To guard or protect, attend to, observe, preserve, regard, reserve. This has the idea of building a hedge around something.
Do we look at the Lord’s commands as something to be kept and guarded, do we look at them as something precious or do we ignore the importance of His Word?
Jesus said in - John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
This really needs no explanation. If we truly want to see “Revival in the Land” then we must obey The Father’s will!
James says in - James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2,000. Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn't afford the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: He would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door. After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned. Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail. The Haitian pastor's conclusion: "If we leave the Devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ's habitation." (Dale A. Hays, Leadership, Vol. X, No. 3 (Summer, 1989), p. 35.)
If we are going to be the Christians that God wants us to be, if we are ever going to see Revival In The Land, we must “Resolve To Depend”
Let’s look to Hezekiah for a great example of how we must depend on The Lord.
III. Resolve To Depend v7-8
A. Depend On The Source Of Your Security
We have much assurance in our Lord. We can trust in Him to protect us, lead us, teach us, provide for us, etc. We see in the story of Hezekiah a couple of areas we can be secure in the Lord.
1) We Can Be Secure In The Presence Of The Lord - - v7a And the LORD was with him;
Hezekiah did not seek help from family, friends or servants in the kingdom. He trusted the Lord. 2 Kings 18:5 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. 6 For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses.
Hezekiah was secure in all that he did; the Lord was present with him!
Has the Lord not proven that He is with His people?
He was with Noah in the Ark
He was with Abraham on Mt. Moriah
He was Moses as he lead His people
He was with the Children of Israel in the wilderness
He was with David as he fought Goliath
He was with Elijah on Mt Carmel
He was with Daniel in the loins den
He was with the 3 Hebrew Children in the fiery furnace
He was with the Apostles as they faced persecution
He was with Paul in prison
He was with John on Patmos
He is with us today!
2) We Can Be Secure In The Provisions Of The Lord - and he prospered whithersoever he went forth:
Prospered - (śâkal - saw-kal') - To have skill or wisdom, to make to understand, - This has the idea of being successful.
Read the next few chapters of II Kings. You will see that Hezekiah was a successful King. Why?> BECAUSE HE HAD THE LORD ON HIS SIDE!
B. Depend On The Source Of Your Strength - v7b and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not. 8 He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
The name “Hezekiah” literally means “whom Jehovah has strengthened” - We have seen that the Lord is “present” and will “provide”. One of the things that He will provide is strength. (Mental, physical and spiritual)
Hezekiah experienced this in his life - he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.Ahaz, his father had submitted to the King of Assyria - After he had thrown out the idolatry of the nation he then rebelled against oppression. He began with an attack upon the Philistines - v8 He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
1. It is not possible to “Remove The Distractions” if you don’t “Resolve To Depend”
2. You will not be able to “Refuse To Depart” if you do not “Resolve To Depend”
3. We can’t “Do What Is Right In The Lord’s Sight” until we “Resolve To Depend”
During the 1930s, 250 men were holding the ropes to a dirigible (an airship similar to a blimp) to keep it from floating away. Suddenly a gust of wind caught one end of the dirigible, lifting it high off the ground. Some of the men immediately let go of their ropes and fell safely to the ground. Others panicked, clinging firmly to the end of their ropes as the nose of the dirigible arose to greater heights. Several men who couldn’t keep holding on fell and were seriously injured. One man, however, continued to dangle high in the air for forty-five minutes until he was rescued. Reporters later asked him how he was able to hold on to the rope for so long.” I didn’t hold on to the rope,” he replied. “I just tied it around my waist, and the rope held on to me.” Instead of trying to hold on to God, let God hold on to you. - (Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 138)
Are you any different than your lost friends and family?
Do you refuse to go certain places or partake in certain actions?
Do you live as though you are one who is changed by the blood of Jesus?
Have you came out from the world and become separate or are you simply living like the world while participating in church activities?
Once again I say we cannot blame the condition of our country on the lost, we have been promised by God that if we will repent He will hear, forgive & heal!!
The things we have seen are not to be blamed on Political parties or leaders, nor the lost world. We must own up to our own issues and take a long hard look in the mirror.
I am not saying that we can make this a perfect world. I am not saying that we can cure sin. BUT WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
How can we make a difference: - Humble Yourself!! …Pray!! …Seek God’s Face!! …Turn From Your Wicked Ways!! And trust God to bring “Revival in The Land”
