REVIVAL
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2 Kings 22:3-13 ; 19
2Ch 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. (AV)
If my people, which are called by my name, (us – the church)
shall humble themselves, (abandon pride and self-sufficiency)
and pray, (call on Him to act)
and seek my face, (seek His will – not our own – draw close)
and turn from their wicked ways; (repent)
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land
2 Kings 22
3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of
Meshullam, to the temple of the LORD. He said:
4 "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and make him get ready the money that has been brought into the
temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.
5 Make them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And make these men
pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD--
6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also make them purchase timber and dressed stone to
repair the temple.
7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully."
Josiah became king of Judah when he was 8 years old. The nation was backslidden – fallen away from
God. Sixty years before Josiah became king, King Manassah had led the nation away from God and
into idolatry. They wor-shipped idols instead of the living God.
Twenty years before that, the 10 tribes of Israel had been taken into captivity and their nation destroyed
because of their idolatry. Josiah could look back through recent history and see the writing on the wall.
It was time to get back to God.
Josiah gave orders to have the temple repaired. It had been neglected and had fallen into disrepair. It
was time to revive the faith of the people and the temple was a symbol of that faith and the center of
worship.
When it is time to turn back to God – the time is NOW. The work of repair must begin immediately.
Revival must come now – not later. Later may be too late. Why wait?
While working in the temple, a startling discovery was made:
8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple
of the LORD." He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.
9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: "Your officials have paid out the
money that was in the temple of the LORD and have en-trusted it to the workers and supervisors at the
temple."
10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And
Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
God’s Word had been forgotten. They didn’t even realize it was missing.
Let me tell you a story to illustrate what had happened. A man climbed into a small boat and pushed
away from the shore. Then he laid back in his boat and relaxed as the motion of the water lulled him to
sleep. He slept for hours, not realizing the motion of the water was taking him away from the shore.
When he finally woke up, he had drifted so far away he could no longer see the shore. He had no idea
which way to go to get back home.
That can happen in our spiritual lives. The fact is, the farther you drift from God – from the close
relationship – the less you realize that you have drifted and the less you realize how far you have
drifted. Often, we think that because we have not entered into some terrible sin that we are okay with
God. But sometimes we can just drift away in subtle ways and think that we are fine.
11. When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.
When the king realized how far they had fallen from God, he reacted in grief and mourning.
Then he acted immediately to make things right with God.
12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan
the secretary and Asaiah the king's attendant:
13 "Go and enquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in
this book that has been found. Great is the LORD's an-ger that burns against us because our fathers
have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there
concerning us."
14 Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophetess Huldah, who
was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in
Jerusalem, in the Second District.
15 She said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me,
16 `This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to
everything written in the book the king of Judah has read.
17 Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and pro-voked me to anger by
all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.'
18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the LORD, `This is what the LORD, the God of
Israel, says concerning the words you heard:
19 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard
what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste,
and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD.
Please hear me, this church was born out of the prayers of people who carried a burden for this nation
through many years of repression. It was born in the excitement of reli-gious freedom. It was born
because people were hungry for God.
But as it happens with churches and religious movements so often, the fires of excitement and spiritual
fervor die down – the hunger subsides – and the Spirit of God is grieved away. The church loses its
edge and ceases to be effective.
If we lose the passion – if we lose the hunger for God – if we forget to pray – if we lose the commitment
to pray – then we will cease to be a relevant witness to this na-tion, and the nation will be lost.
Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our
salvation nearer than when we believed.
Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: …
2Ti 1:6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying
on of my hands. (NIV)
Who will join us?
We need you to come and pray with us on Friday mornings and Saturdays on the Square.
We need you to come on Wednesday nights for our studies. We need every person to get involved with
the work of the Lord in Albania.
2Ch 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. (AV)
If my people, which are called by my name, (us – the church)
shall humble themselves, (abandon pride and self-sufficiency)
and pray, (call on Him to act)
and seek my face, (seek His will – not our own – draw close)
and turn from their wicked ways; (repent)
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land
2 Kings 22
3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of
Meshullam, to the temple of the LORD. He said:
4 "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and make him get ready the money that has been brought into the
temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.
5 Make them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And make these men
pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD--
6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also make them purchase timber and dressed stone to
repair the temple.
7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully."
Josiah became king of Judah when he was 8 years old. The nation was backslidden – fallen away from
God. Sixty years before Josiah became king, King Manassah had led the nation away from God and
into idolatry. They wor-shipped idols instead of the living God.
Twenty years before that, the 10 tribes of Israel had been taken into captivity and their nation destroyed
because of their idolatry. Josiah could look back through recent history and see the writing on the wall.
It was time to get back to God.
Josiah gave orders to have the temple repaired. It had been neglected and had fallen into disrepair. It
was time to revive the faith of the people and the temple was a symbol of that faith and the center of
worship.
When it is time to turn back to God – the time is NOW. The work of repair must begin immediately.
Revival must come now – not later. Later may be too late. Why wait?
While working in the temple, a startling discovery was made:
8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple
of the LORD." He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.
9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: "Your officials have paid out the
money that was in the temple of the LORD and have en-trusted it to the workers and supervisors at the
temple."
10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And
Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
God’s Word had been forgotten. They didn’t even realize it was missing.
Let me tell you a story to illustrate what had happened. A man climbed into a small boat and pushed
away from the shore. Then he laid back in his boat and relaxed as the motion of the water lulled him to
sleep. He slept for hours, not realizing the motion of the water was taking him away from the shore.
When he finally woke up, he had drifted so far away he could no longer see the shore. He had no idea
which way to go to get back home.
That can happen in our spiritual lives. The fact is, the farther you drift from God – from the close
relationship – the less you realize that you have drifted and the less you realize how far you have
drifted. Often, we think that because we have not entered into some terrible sin that we are okay with
God. But sometimes we can just drift away in subtle ways and think that we are fine.
11. When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.
When the king realized how far they had fallen from God, he reacted in grief and mourning.
Then he acted immediately to make things right with God.
12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan
the secretary and Asaiah the king's attendant:
13 "Go and enquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in
this book that has been found. Great is the LORD's an-ger that burns against us because our fathers
have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there
concerning us."
14 Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophetess Huldah, who
was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in
Jerusalem, in the Second District.
15 She said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me,
16 `This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to
everything written in the book the king of Judah has read.
17 Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and pro-voked me to anger by
all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.'
18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the LORD, `This is what the LORD, the God of
Israel, says concerning the words you heard:
19 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard
what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste,
and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD.
Please hear me, this church was born out of the prayers of people who carried a burden for this nation
through many years of repression. It was born in the excitement of reli-gious freedom. It was born
because people were hungry for God.
But as it happens with churches and religious movements so often, the fires of excitement and spiritual
fervor die down – the hunger subsides – and the Spirit of God is grieved away. The church loses its
edge and ceases to be effective.
If we lose the passion – if we lose the hunger for God – if we forget to pray – if we lose the commitment
to pray – then we will cease to be a relevant witness to this na-tion, and the nation will be lost.
Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our
salvation nearer than when we believed.
Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: …
2Ti 1:6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying
on of my hands. (NIV)
Who will join us?
We need you to come and pray with us on Friday mornings and Saturdays on the Square.
We need you to come on Wednesday nights for our studies. We need every person to get involved with
the work of the Lord in Albania.