REVIVAL THROUGH GOD’S WORD
Pastor James J. Barker
Text: NEHEMIAH 8:1-12
INTRODUCTION:
- Ezra the scribe was a great man of God and a good Bible teacher.
- He left Babylon and returned to Jerusalem around 458 BC, to assist Nehemiah in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple.
- But as important as that work was, his primary purpose in returning to Jerusalem was to teach his people – the Jews returning from captivity – the Word of God (Ezra 7:6-10).
- Building up God’s people is the best building program.
- The people were not living right, and they were ignorant of God’s Word (Ezra 9:1-4).
- Therefore, his emphasis was on building up the people, not the walls, not the temple. I believe that if we concentrate on building ourselves, and our families up spiritually, then God will see to it that the building program is taken care of.
- I have entitled today’s message, "Revival Through God’s Word." I preached on revival months ago and there was a good response. The Lord laid it on my heart to keep at it. America needs revival. NYC needs revival. Elmont needs revival. And most importantly, Bible Baptist Church needs revival.
- You know there is a lot of talk today about revival, but most of it is contrary to God’s Word.
- Therefore it is not a genuine revival – it is a counterfeit (e.g. "laughing revival"). True revival comes through the preaching of God’s Word.
- THE READING OF GOD’S WORD (Neh.8:1-4)
- Please note that the people were gathered together "and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses" (Neh.8:1).
- True revival comes when God’s people gather together around the Word of God. Notice they asked Ezra "to bring the book" (8:1).
- When you have people who want to hear the Word of God taught and a man of God who wants to teach it, God will bless.
- Notice there was a "congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding…" (8:2). This would include children who were old enough to understand. (Maybe they had a nursery set up for the babies and small children.) Apparently some preparation was made so that those gathered could concentrate on the Bible reading and preaching without being distracted.
- It was the beginning of the civil new year, Rosh Hashana (8:2b). It went on "from the morning until midday" (Neh.8:3). That’s a long preaching service, "and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law" (8:3). I have been reading a book by Evangelist James A. Stewart, entitled Invasion of Wales by the Spirit. During the great Welsh revival the meetings often went on past midnight. That is Biblical (cf. Acts 20:7).
- Today in America, people complain if the preacher goes on too long. Think about it – and they were standing up, not sitting in padded pews or cushioned seats (8:5b).
- This is the only mention of "pulpit" (8:4) in the Bible. It includes the platform. It’s the most important piece of furniture in this building. The preaching of God’s Word is essential. If there is going to be revival it has to be based on God’s Word. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom.10:17).
- The last time I preached on revival, I referred to R.A. Torrey’s three-point prescription for revival.
"First, let a few Christians get thoroughly right with God themselves. This is the prime essential. If this is not done, the rest I am going to say will come to nothing.
Second, let them bind themselves together in prayer groups to pray for revival until God opens the heavens and comes down.
Third, let them put themselves at the disposal of God, for Him to use them as He sees fit in the winning of others to Christ. That is all. This is sure to bring revival to any church or any community. I have given this prescription around the world. It has been taken by many churches and many communities, and in no instance has it ever failed, and it cannot fail."
- I also referred to the great Welsh revival of about 100 years ago. Back in 1904, Evan Roberts taught these four essential tenets of revival.
- Is there any sin in your past that you have not confessed to God? On your knees at once. Your past must be put away and yourself cleansed.
- Is there anything in your life that is doubtful? -- anything you cannot decide whether it is good or evil. Away with it! There must not be a cloud between you and God. Have you forgiven everybody, everybody, EVERYBODY? If not, don’t expect forgiveness for your own sins. You won’t get it.
- Do what the Spirit prompts you to do. Obedience – prompt, implicit, unquestioning obedience to the Spirit.
- A public confession of Christ as your Saviour. There is a vast difference between profession and confession.
- THE RESPONSE OF GOD’S PEOPLE (Neh.8:5-8).
- They all stood up out of respect for God’s Word (8:5). There must have been thousands of people there.
- They worshipped the Lord (8:6). After "Ezra blessed the Lord" (praised the Lord), they answered "Amen, Amen."
- Notice it does not say they were "singing and swaying." Let’s worship the Lord with reverence. As I drove down to Virginia months ago I heard a lot of so-called "Christian radio." Some of the stuff sounded like nightclub music. And the preaching was not any better.
- The Bible says, "They bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground" (8:6).
- They understood the Word as it was being preached by Ezra (8:7,8). "Giving the sense" and "causing the people to understand" means they explained God’s Word clearly (8:8).
- The Jews then present had been brought up in Babylon and could no longer perfectly understand the Hebrew language in which the law of Moses was written. Perhaps Ezra and the other men mentioned in 8:7 helped explain it, maybe translating it if necessary into Aramaic, the language of Babylon.
- This reinforces my conviction that we have to do what we can to make the Bible understood in Spanish, French, Creole, or whatever language is spoken in our neighborhood.
- God’s plan is to have the Bible distributed, taught, explained, preached, read, studied, and memorized as widely as possible. "The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple" (Ps.119:130).
- You want to see revival here? Bring your kids to Sunday School on time. Let them learn the Bible.
- "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matt.28:19).
- William Tyndale was a great man of God who translated the Bible into English. Because of this, he was burnt at the stake by the RCC. He was once involved in a dispute with a RC priest who was highly educated but knew nothing of the Bible. Tyndale said, "If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the Scriptures than thou doest."
- THE REVIVAL OF GOD’S PEOPLE (Neh.8:9-12)
- They wept over their sin – there was genuine repentance (8:9b).
- When was the last time you wept over sin? When you read a story in the newspaper about murder and rape and homosexuality and abortion – does it break your heart and make you cry? Make you want to pray?
- We have some people today that are so hard, we must pray that God breaks their cold, hard hearts (cf. Neh.9:1-4,16,17,26,29,30).
- There must be genuine repentance and genuine conviction of sin. Preaching without repentance will bring shallow results and big problems.
- Worldly people complain when a preacher preaches hard against sin, but those who love God know that we must (cf. Isa.58:1; II Tim.4:1-5).
- I am convinced that most church problems come from unconverted members, and that if we had more preaching against sin, our churches would be stronger. I did not say "larger," I said stronger. And cleaner, and purer, and holier.
- After the priests and Levites confessed their sins before God, they made "a sure covenant" (9:38) with God (10:28-30).
CONCLUSION:
- One of the greatest revivals of all time started right here in NYC. In 1857, a man named Jeremiah C. Lanphier, a member of the Fulton Street Dutch Reformed Church in downtown Manhattan, announced a noontime prayer meeting for Wednesday, September 23rd. Posters were put up and many flyers were handed out but at 12 noon no one showed up but Mr. Lanphier.
- He waited, and at half-past 12, one man arrived. When the meeting closed at 1:00 p.m., six people were present. Twenty people came the following Wednesday, and forty the next. It was then decided to meet every day for prayer.
- Within a few months, the crowds were so huge they had to find a larger place to meet. Prayer meetings started up all over the city. Shopkeepers closed their stores and put signs in their windows: "CLOSED—BE BACK AFTER THE PRAYER MEETING."
- The police and fire departments opened their buildings for prayer meetings, and so did the Music Hall. The churches were overflowing with businessmen praying during their lunch breaks.
- Many souls were saved, and sermons and stories of conversions appeared on the front pages of the daily newspapers. The revival spread to Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, and all the way to Northern Ireland.
- Saloons were closed down and converted into prayer halls. Grocery store owners rolled out their barrels of beer and poured the beer into the gutters. Police departments had to lay off many police men because of reduced crime. It has been estimated that over 1 million souls were saved from 1867-69.
- And it all started when one man had a burden to pray.
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