HABAKKUK 3:2 - A Call to Revival

TOPIC: Revival; Rebellion, Repentance, Restoration, Righteousness

TITLE: A CALL FOR REVIVAL
TEXT: HABAKKUK 3:2

O LORD, revive Thy work in the midst of the years!

Dr. James Dobson writes in his book, When God Doesn't Make Sense:

A missionary in Africa returned home to find a huge python loose in his front room. He rushed to his truck and retrieved his .45 pistol. He shot the beast in the crown of its head. The snake thrashed so violently that the missionary was chased from his home for some time. Finally, there was silence. He went inside and found the interior of his home destroyed.

Satan too has received a blow to his head but his death throes are destroying the world.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What should the cry of our hearts be?
CONCISE OUTLINE

I. A CRY FOR VICTORY IN REVIVAL!
II. A CRY FOR A VISION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS!
III. A CRY FOR A VANISHMENT OF REBELLION!

TRUTH CLAIM: The scenery of man's existence today is the same as the scenery of Israel's existence yesterday. The fruit of rebellion for both cultures is the same.

They provoked God and we cannot deny that we are too; the only thing we have to make these last days tolerable is our relationship with God!

America must repent; yet it only will if the people of God get as concerned about righteousness as the prophet Habakkuk.

God is calling out to His people ...

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What should the cry of our hearts be?
EXPANDED OUTLINE
I. A CRY FOR VICTORY IN REVIVAL! (3:2)

Stephan Olford defines revival: "the sovereign act of God, in which He restores His own backsliding people to repentance, faith, and obedience."

"O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years"!

[STEW] Revival is like putting last night's stew on the stove. What you have is something that was real good yesterday! But this was put in the refrigerator, and now it is cold, thick, chunky, and feels too heavy to eat.

The fire under it begins to chase away the chill first. Then it begins to lose its lethargy and begins to thin and warm. Soon with some stirring it becomes a warm, fluid, consistent source of nourishment and strength, as it was intended to be. Churches are like that, the faith is like that.

Once in awhile God needs to put us on the judgment's front burner.

II. A CRY FOR A VISION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS! (1:13)

"Your eyes are too pure to behold evil, and You can not look on wickedness with favor."

Like the revivals of old we need a vision for the righteousness of God ...

The last revival of any consequence in the US was in 1905.

"If My people who are [1] called by My name will [2] humble themselves, and [3] pray and [4] seek My face, and [5] turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

2 Chronicles 7:14

I know this, if I owned a home and a contractor offered to restore my home, free of charge, I'd be a fool to deny him. Why then do we deny God this response?

We are a people without a national vision.

"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Matthew 26:41

III. A CRY FOR A VANISHMENT OF REBELLION! (1:3)

"Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see wickedness?

The prophet was complaining to God about what appeared to be evil loose in the world without restraint. It seemed that God did not care.

Our nation is in the midst of a cultural war of intense proportions. The power of darkness is at the controls of a nation gone nuts.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: The following list of ills is from 1994.]

• Mothers and fathers are put into jail because they have disciplined their children with the rod, their children taken away. But 4,000 unborn children are murdered each day.
• We spend millions in the war on drugs but the very legislators who write the laws are drunken bums who are regularly stopped for drunk driving.
• We spend billions on other nation's poverty and race problems but spend very little to solve the same problems in our own back yard.
• We spend millions to import democracy when our own government continues to pass more and more legislation aimed at limiting our democratic freedoms.
• Our denomination prints millions of pieces of literature on the errors of alcohol and tobacco yet we have churches in the east, the south and in Colorado where the pastor is not free to preach on these evils because church leaders work in those industries.
• We have a war on pornography that our Attorney General refuses to join and an administration which is favorably disposed to the worst kind of pornography, homosexuality.

[Just today (18 October 2007) Disney decided to purge the word "God" from its Radio Disney advertising; in Portland, Maine, the schools are now authorizing birth-control pills for middle schoolers as young as 11; the president of France separated from his second wife; and Robert Roberts, son of Oral Roberts, took leave from his duties as CEO of Oral Roberts University under a huge cloud of alleged improprieties.]

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: When an acquaintance asked what he should do to start revival in America Billy Graham is said to have responded, "Go home, draw a circle around yourself, and begin there."

Friends, in these horribly difficult "last days," that is very good advice!

"Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin's a reproach to any people."

Proverbs 14:34

I remember when I lived in a cabin up in the woods above Santa Cruz, California, and used to take the ash in the fireplace (after being gone all day), stir it up, push some paper on it, and blew a little. Poof, fire!

We're not incapable of catching fire if the Holy Spirit comes our way but we must all recognize the dearth of embers in our hearth.

Christianity, Expository,
Habakkuk, Homiletics, Outlines,
Preaching, Revival, Sermons

EZRA 9:8 - ESCAPE AND SANCTUARY – A Brief moment of grace!

TOPIC: Revival; Deliverance, Discipline, Forgiveness, Sanctuary

TITLE: ESCAPE AND SANCTUARY – A Brief moment of grace!
TEXT: Ezra 9:8 [5-15]

"... now, for a brief moment, grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage."

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: How is “a brief moment of grace” shown here?

TRUTH/CONTEXT: In the midst of a section on the dangers of God’s people commingling their assets with non-believers (i.e., marriage to non-Jews), the prophet Ezra comments on the reality of his little group’s situation. He is well into his confession for the people when he makes his observation.

Three truths are evident in his words –

1. God places ethical and moral demands upon His people
2. God’s righteousness demands punishment for transgressions
3. God is merciful; forgiveness, deliverance, and revival are provisions of His mercy

If it were not so deadly serious, this verse would be somewhat humorous. Here they are, a people who've just been freed from Babylonian captivity only to find themselves apparently in bondage again; needing sustained grace, they get a moments worth; and needing a huge revival, they get a little.

Also apparently, Ezra foresees their freedom as being in their possession only “for a brief moment.”

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: How is “a brief moment of grace” shown here?
EXPANDED OUTLINE

I. THE LORD LEFT THIS GROUP AN ESCAPED REMNANT!

A. Though in the thousands they represented only a fraction of their former self

The ten northern tribes were lost to all until the appointed time in the end times

B. Though in the thousands they were a small group to revive a great nation

II. THE LORD GAVE THEM A PEG IN HIS HOLY PLACE!

A. Two pictures are possible –

1. That of a coat peg in the holy place of God

a) For some reason this one appeals to me
b) Perhaps the Holy Place in the Temple

(1) Implies a place to serve
(2) Great comfort to own place of worship

2. That of a tent peg in Jerusalem

a) This one goes well with a small escaped remnant
b) Perhaps a place of sanctuary (to escape to)
c) Or a place to be hung for safe keeping by owner

B. In either case, the remnant has a God provided place to –

1. Either rest their hat
2. Or rest their head

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: Notice the purpose of this provision – “that our God may”

1. enlighten our eyes and
2. grant us a little reviving in our bondage

In other words, Ezra sees the circumstances of the moment as a classroom experience … not for their punishment but for their discipline (i.e., to revive them and encourage their hearts).

And it matters not that it is for “a little reviving” for any small morsel in the service of God is a filling feast for the soul of man.

The conclusion drawn by the prophet from the reality of their situation is this – since, due to our sins, we deserve no grace at all, a moment of grace and an iota grace is sufficient to cause us to avoid sinning even more.

In the midst of this bounty,

• how ungrateful to offend a God who has been so kind
• how hypocritical to continue mingling with unbelievers
• how unwise to risk God’s displeasure when we are dependent upon Him for what little we have

Our Church is going through a rough period of its history, a kind of captivity if you will. I am here to tell you this is “a brief moment (of grace).” He has both left “us an escaped remnant” and given “us a peg in His holy place.”

For what purpose? For the same purpose as was offered the returned Hebrews – “(to) enlighten out eyes and (to) grant us a little reviving in our bondage.”

We too, being delivered from bondage find ourselves in it again; needing sustained grace, get only sufficient grace; needing a huge revival, get only a little from time to time.

Yet remember, we deserve punishment in Hell forever for our transgressions; we get enlightenment instead.

So leave here today and walk like a man who's received a reprieve from further bondage and death.

Christianity, Deliverance, Expository,
Ezra, Homiletics, Outlines,
Preaching, Revival, Sermons

HABAKKUK: Full Sermons

The following are links to full sermons, preached at FBC La Verne in Southern California or at San Carlos Community Church (SCCC) in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico ...

2:4

RECKONED RIGHTEOUS - Faith is the victory!

3:2

A CALL FOR REVIVAL - A cry of the heart!

quick link to HABAKKUK: Seed Archive

Habakkuk, Homiletics, Preaching,
Sermons, Sermon Series

NEHEMIAH: Full Sermons

The following are links to full sermons, preached at FBC La Verne in Southern California or at San Carlos Community Church (SCCC) in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico ...

2:1ff

CHURCH RENEWAL NEHEMIAH'S WAY - A Cupbearer With National Vision!

Acts, Homiletics, Preaching,
Sermons, Sermon Series

EZRA: Full Sermons

The following are links to full sermons, preached at FBC La Verne in Southern California or at San Carlos Community Church (SCCC) in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico ...

9:8

ESCAPE AND SANCTUARY - A Brief moment of grace!

Ezra, Homiletics, Preaching,
Sermons, Sermon Series

2 Kings 22:1-23:3 - Dust On the Bible!

TOPIC: Scripture; Apostasy, Bible, Consecration, Covenant, Word (of God)
TITLE: DUST ON THE BIBLE: Go Find The Book!

TEXT: 2 Kings 22:1-23:3

(1) Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. (2) And he did right in the sight of the LORD and walked in all the way of his father David [and] he did [not] turn aside to the right or to the left.

CONTEXT: Manasseh’s evil reign had brought Israel to its knees. Though money was everywhere it only flowed in the hands of the rich, the privileged, or the powerful. The poor were considered a necessary evil. The nations’ leaders were self-serving.

Politicians were corrupt to the core, even good politicians lack ethical and moral depth. Religious figures were no better … it was rare that good was done publicly in the name of the Lord. False religions and cults abounded. Right was wrong and wrong was right; black was white and up was down.

When King Josiah, the grandson of Manasseh, was 18 (perhaps as old as 26) he began a project to restore the run-down, cluttered temple that had been abandoned during his father’s horrible reign.

Hilkiah, the High Priest, had done some Temple Spring-cleaning and discovered a hidden copy of the law of Moses. He turned it over to the scribe Shaphan who had been sent by the king to prepare the administration of the Temple for the needed improvements.

Shaphan read the scrolls and reported to the king on what had been found. The king, a righteous man, ask that they be read to him. After they were read he came under conviction for his nation and himself. The result was a mighty revival.

TRUTH CLAIM: There is an old gospel song that has a stanza which says, “Dust on the Bible, Dust on the Holy Word, the words of all the prophets and the sayings of our Lord.” (Kitty Wells)

How is it possible that we allow dust to collect on God’s Holy Word? I continue to be amazed at how little Bible reading goes on among God’s people; I am equally amazed at how often I am asked questions that are fundamental in nature.

And yet right here in Scripture is an example of a prior time when the same thing was taking place.

Now please don’t misunderstand, I would much rather the questions be asked than not asked. It just surprises me that certain questions are asked by solid believers. And I am equally surprised at how few people want to know more about the Bible.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What Does the Story of Israel’s Rediscovery of God’s Word Suggest To You And Me?

EXPANDED OUTLINE:

I. IT SUGGESTS WE SHOULD NEVER NEED TO REDISCOVER GOD'S WORD! (vv. 3-8a)

Now it came about in the eighteenth year of King Josiah that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of the LORD saying, "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest that he may count the money brought in to the house of the LORD which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. And let them deliver it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD, and let them give it to the workmen who are in the house of the LORD to repair the damages of the house, to the carpenters and the builders and the masons and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the house. Only no accounting shall be made with them for the money delivered into their hands, for they deal faith-fully."

(8a) Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD."

What place does the Word of God have in your life? Is it abandoned in your home like it was in Israel in the days of the evil king Manasseh?

[BIBLES] Bibles per capita in the world as a whole is estimated at less than half of a Bible per person. Yet in the USA we average over five bibles per household. An average household is 2.2 people. That’s over two Bibles per person in America.

More Bibles are used as coffee table decorations or bookshelf fillers than are used in Bible study.

God did not ordain the written word in order that we have a record of what He has said, nor as a book of dos and don’ts, nor as a reference work. The Bible is God’s way of reminding us of who He is and that His word is sure and true!

GO FIND THE BOOK! GO FIND THE BOOK!

The old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind!” applies to the Word of God. It was not the cause of Israel’s rebellion, nor the cause of their unrighteousness. Their hardened hearts and stiff necks were the cause of their apostasy.

When the word of God was rediscovered by His people they were reminded of Him, when they were reminded of Him they were reminded of their great apostasy, when they were reminded of their condition they were brought under conviction.

Now just because someone is brought under conviction does not mean they will change, change comes about after a person has broken and pleaded for forgiveness.

GO FIND THE BOOK! GO FIND THE BOOK!

II. IT SUGGESTS WE SHOULD GO READ THE BOOK TO KNOW ITS CONTENTS! (vv.8b-10)

(8b) And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan who read it. And Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought back word to the king and said, "Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD." Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.

GO READ THE BOOK! GO READ THE BOOK!

God’s people not only discovered the word but they uncovered the word. They rolled open the scrolls and read what God had said to His people. They rejoiced to hear from the living God. They came from every corner of the nation to hear form their Lord.

In general they broke as a nation and repented of their errant way of life. The turned from their evil ways and determined to follow after their God.

GO READ THE BOOK! GO READ THE BOOK!

A dusty Bible says it has not been read. A dusty Bible says “I don’t care what God says.” A dusty Bible says “I know everything it says, it can offer me nothing new.” A dusty Bible says, “This book is old fashioned, it doesn’t apply to today, it’s not relevant.

III. IT SUGGESTS WE SHOULD HEAR THE BOOK! (vv. 11-20)

And it came about when the king heard the words of the book of the law, that he tore his clothes.

Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant saying, "Go, inquire of the LORD for me and the people and all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found, for great is the wrath of the LORD that burns against us, because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us."

So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her.

And she said to them, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Tell the man who sent you to me, thus says the LORD, “Behold, I bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath burns against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”

But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD thus shall you say to him, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Regarding the words which you have heard, because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you," declares the LORD. Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, neither shall your eyes see all the evil which I will bring on this place."'" So they brought back word to the king.

GO HEAR THE BOOK! GO HEAR THE BOOK!

The Bible says, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." [Romans 10:17]

GO HEAR THE BOOK! GO HEAR THE BOOK!

IV. IT SUGGESTS WE SHOULD SHARE THE BOOK! (vv. 23:1,2)

Then the king sent, and they gathered to him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up to the house of the LORD and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant, which was found in the house of the LORD.

The Gospel of John begins by identifying the Lord Jesus Christ as the Word, the writer of Hebrews identifies Him as the Living Word!

GO SHARE THE BOOK! GO SHARE THE BOOK!

V. IT SUGGESTS WE SHOULD OBEY THE BOOK! (23:3)

And the king stood by the pillar 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 all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.

We need to heed: “When all else fails, follow instructions.” When we survey the panorama of contemporary American life we must conclude that we have failed. We need to read the instructions and determine where we have gone wrong.

GO KEEP THE BOOK! GO KEEP THE BOOK!

The Bible says,

But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.

James 1:25

GO KEEP THE BOOK! GO KEEP THE BOOK!

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE:

[DAVID AND GOLIATH] The Rev. Frank Morgan reported in a recent issue of Reader’s Digest that …

“My daughter’s boss, Gene, a commercial appraiser of short stature, arrived in court with a bulging briefcase. The lawyer for the other party was a Goliath of a man who, when he caught sight of Gene, cried out across the courtroom, ‘Well, little man, what have you got in that briefcase?’

Without looking up, Gene replied, ‘Five smooth stones.’”

Let me suggest to you that the quickness of this man’s response was a function of his personality and character: his self-esteem was in place, he was confident and he knew his bible.

PRINCIPLES

1. It is possible for God’s people to abandon His word!
2. It is possible for religion to go on without His word!
3. God abandons those who abandon His word! Scripture suggests that God blesses those who humble themselves, pray, fast, repent, and turn from their evil ways!
   
4. Scripture suggests that leaders must be involved in revival and spiritual awakening!
5. Scripture emphasizes the hearing of the Word!
6. The bottom-line is man’s heart!

Notice the godly man’s has a heart for the upkeep of the Lord’s house! The godly man searches widely for the truth in God’s word! The godly man is not only a hearer of the word but an effectual doer as well!

2 Kings, Christianity, Expository, Homiletics,
Preaching, Sermon Outlines, Sermons