What Does Revival Look Like | Pr Gloria Paul

You're listening to a message to go from acts church.

We hope this message will light up your day.

Okay, So we're gonna learn and unpack about what revival is.

How can we be part of what God is going

to do in our nation? Yeah, and to not miss

out because as we journey with what God has for

us as a as a country, the revival first starts

in us. Right. We can't talk about great things if

we can't first work on the daily decisions that we

make as an individual as a family. Yeah. And so

for today we're going to be unpacking just to understand

what is revival? Okay, because we use this word a lot, right,

especially in a Christian context. If you've been to church

you for a while now, you've always heard, oh, there'll

be revival. You know, you've heard revival stories that has

happened over the years. Right, But what does revival truly mean?

And how does it look like? Okay, so we're going

to look at a couple of scriptures and understand that. Yeah.

So let's just firstly unpeck what is revival? Okay? It

comes from this word. Thank you, Tyrol for helping the slights. Okay,

the word revival here combines. It comes from Latin vivar.

It means life, yeah, to be able to leave and

then re meaning again Okay, So meaning you're being able

to leave again. That is what revival is. Okay, So

you've been alive, right, but when a revival happens, you

are living once again. Okay, not just the whole way

of living, but a new life. Yeah. So it's redbird reawakening. Yeah.

And of course you look at the Christian context spiritual context,

it just means when the Holy Spirit moves freely among believers,

setting their hearts on fire to the lot, right, that

is when revival happens. Yeah. So when we look at

the Bible, we can see there are many examples of

how revival took place. And when we can see the

Book of X okay X chapter two, when the gift

of the Holy Spirit the Pentecosts took place, what happened

to the church, what reviv Yes, okay, people started praying

in tongues right, in different languages, and what happened to

the church. They started to be added. Okay, there were

so many people that started coming into church. And this

was right after Jesus ascended. Okay, Matthew Mark, Luke John.

As you read, you will learn about what Jesus did

on earth, and then when he resurrected and ascended to heaven,

he sent the Holy Spirit as our helper. Right. And

so in the Book of X we see the disciples

when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, when they

caught the vision of how Jesus was preparing them. Right,

he was preparing the disciples. Then you can see the

great wonders that took place in the Book of X.

So though Jesus was not there with them physically, they

were reminded of what He has taught them and moving

with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Yeah, so that

was revival back then. Okay. And just to remind all

of us, it's the same God that we serve. When

Pentecosts happened, we are serving the same God, meaning it

can happen to our church as well. Yeah, and so

revival can look very different. Okay, it's not just in

the context of a four wall building, right, it's the

way we respond. It is when someone chooses to forgive,

that is revival. Right. We know that forgiving someone is

not the easiest, but if you're able to do that

it's because God has worked something in your heart that

you're saying, yes, I can choose to let go, I

can choose to forgive. Yeah, that is revival when someone

can actually say, yes, I want to serve the lot

despite it being very hot. You know, I have a

lot of commitments. You know, I just don't seem to

be able to see myself doing it. But no, I'm

going to trust the Lord and do it. That is

revival in our hearts. Yeah. Or when you see a

young person saying yes and bringing their Bible to church

and responding, that is revival. Right. So revival can look

very different. But when all of that combined together, that

is when the church experiences revival. Yeah, when everyone catches

the fire, we bring that out to others and then

many more will be drawn to the church. Ye. So

we can see, you know, different revival stories in the Bible.

Just to draw some context, I'm sure most of you

would have heard of some of these stories, okay before

we go into the Book of Second Kings. Yeah, so

we can see this in the Book of Exodus, the

first story, and you wan't familiar with the story. What

did the people do? What was what happened with Moses, yeah, right,

and then what happened to the people? Yes, okay, So

they couldn't wait any longer. They lost patients, so they

created their own idel. Okay. And then what how did

Moses feel when he came back and he saw that? Yes,

he was angry, right, he was so upset of the people.

You know, Yeah, I am going and seeking God right

and the ten commandments, right, he was coming with that,

and then you see the people. I mean, it can

be so frustrating, right. Imagine you go for missions, you know,

go and do God's work, and when you come back

to your people, to your flock, and then you realize

everyone is doing their own thing, you're building your own idel. Yeah,

that was how Moses was feeling. Yeah, But in that moment,

what happened was when Moses asked the Lord for mercy

over the people. Right. And so that's the thing about

this Israelite They went far away from the law. They

kept forgetting, they kept doubting, but because of God's mercy,

God gave damage second chance, okay, and that is revival. Right.

So it's not just in the midst of everything when

it's perfect, but when people turn their ways turn their

eyes and say, God, forgive us, we need your grace,

we need your mercy. Yeah, and that is what Moses

had to do as a leader at that point, to

ask for mercy and repentance. Yeah. And so this was

a turning point for the people. Yeah. And then we

have the story of Jonah. You're familiar with the story

of Jonah. The children would know in you know, in

ex kise, what happened to Jonah? Here? What eaten? By

the way? Okay, so was it swallowed? Yes? And then

what happened did he come back? And what did you

do after that? Yes? He started preaching dances out here. Yeah,

he started preaching God's word. Yeah. And so sometimes certain

things has to happen to kind of get human to

like wake up right, Like, yeah, you need to be

swallowed by a whale to realize a cop nana us

get to that plaza to be swallowed and then realize, oh,

I need to do God's work. Yeah. So Jonah had

to go through that. He was trying to run away

because the people of Nnewe was not an easy group

of people. Yeah, they were insin, they had their doubts

and struggles. So he had to use Jonah. But Jonah

was trying to run, but yet God had his way

of bringing him back. So you can imagine after whatever

Jonah went through and when he came out of it,

how much more revive he was. And that is why

he went back to the group of people and he

started preaching the gospel. Yeah, so that's a form of

revival as well. Yeah, going through you could have straight gone,

but you had to go through a utn't and then

come back. Yeah, but it's those encounters that would have

given Jonah more faith, more stories to share to the

people of who God is. Yeah. So that is one example. Yeah.

And of course then if you look at the New Testament,

we have another revival that took place when John the

Baptist was chosen right to preach the gospel and to

prepare the way for Jesus. Okay, and true that we

saw many revival took place when Jesus came and build disciples.

People became to know who God is, right, and then

the story began. Yeah, many people chose to believe as

John being the chosen one, right, but he still chose

to direct back. No, it's not me, I am just

a messenger, right, but the one is Jesus. Yeah. So

revival could also mean when someone is chosen to make

a difference or to pave the way. Yeah, and it's

back to us whether we want to choose to answer

the call or we don't. Right. So that is what

John did. Yeah. So there are many other examples in

the Bible. I'm sure you can name some if you've

read the scriptures of how revival took place. Yeah, in

the scriptures. So what we're going to do now is

now that we have understood a little bit about what

is revival, and that is not just evident to big things.

It is when God uses you and me, the ordinary people. Yeah.

He uses human to decide to say yes or no

to penny calls. Right, or he uses sometimes difficult situations

like swallowed by a whale or anger like what Moses

said to go through and then a change takes place. Yeah,

So that is what or how revival takes place. Yeah.

In Zacharier okay four ten, it says, yeah, for who

has despised the day of small things for this seven,

rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubabel.

They are the eyes of the Lord which scan to

and fro throughout the whole earth. And this scripture shows

us that it's not to God does not despise small things, right,

God looks at the hearts of people. God looks at

the way we respond when life happens, right, that is

what matters to him. Yeah, so revival here. You know,

we can call it either awakening, some say it's renewal, right,

reformation or the word revival here. Yeah, but what we've

got to firstly understand is that revival starts first on

the ordinary days. Yeah, meaning when we go back to

work on a Monday. The traffic is so bad, right,

you know, traffic was really bad the past one week, right,

but it was in those it is in those small

ordinary days. I wouldn't say small, but in those ordinary

days is when God uses to cause a stirring business. Yeah,

when you're walking into the office and you're facing a

client or you're speaking to your boss and got me

from something in your heart, and whatever you choose to

say might change the whole situation. That is revival. Yeah,

you're going for Chinese Year, you're celebrating with friends, You're

meeting pre believer family and friends. Maybe those who have

not known God yet and then and they're asking you

about life and you're telling them your stories and testimonies

that God has given to you. That is revival. Yeah,

that is revival. Or when a young person goes to

campus in and out, goes to lectures, that's your assignments.

And when you're meeting with your friends, you know, and

everyone is trying to make decisions, and you are here saying, no,

I choose to keep my Sunday for God. I choose

to go to church despite having exams and assignments because

I want to put Him first. That's revival. No one

can force you to do that, but it comes from

your own conviction. It comes because you have tasted and

see that the Lord is good and I want to

do that. Yeah. And if you can just imagine that,

if there's if all Christians actually do that, that is

when a revival happens in a church or even in

a community. And that is how the Book of XB

See the church grew because it's not just Paul or

the disciples, but it was everyone because the leaders who

caught it first, and then they started spreading it out

and many artists caught it. Yeah, So it happens to

each one of us. It can happen to any one

of us in our ordinary days. So never just take

your Monday as just another Monday, because God can use

it for great things as well. Amen are following so far? Yeah,

all right, So now we're gonna go through the Book

of Kings, Second Kings to just draw, to dive in

deeper and draw a couple of pointers to help us

see what revival looks like. Okay, there's gonna be two

parts to this sermon. I try to cover what we

can for today and then will continue next week. Yeah. So,

if you have your Bibles, could you turn with me

to the Book of Second Kings, chapter twenty one? Right,

how many have you actually read the Book of Kings,

First Kings, Second Kings. Yeah. I know it's a very

long book to read, but I would encourage you to

make it a goal for you this year again to

read it because you will see in the Book of

Kings here the fall and the rise of different leaders,

and you'll say that this story is it's actually not

much different to what we encounter now as well with

our government, with our leaders of the world, it's pretty

much the same thing. Okay. Times may have changed, but

people and the way people decisions, it's human, it's human land,

and of the day it's the same thing, you realize. Yeah,

So just to give you a bit of context. Second

Kings here, you'll see when you read it there are

different names of kings that are highlighted, okay, and I

would say most of the kings ruled in a very

evil way. Okay. They made decisions that they shouldn't have made.

They prayed to idols, and remember this was the It

started off with King David. King David was after God's heart, right,

But yet down the line there were these kings who

came up and tried doing their own thing, okay, or

they were just distracted by the ways of the world. Okay,

when they were just distracted by materials, possessions, riches, you know,

they became wealthy, they had everything, and therefore they forgot

to honor God and his word. Yeah, and so then

there was such and because of these kings and lead,

there was such an impact on the people as well,

which God became very angry. Yeah. You can see in

the Bible, especially you read the Book of Kings, right,

I mean we talk about Jesus, God being so merciful

and all he is, but he's also a god who

is a jealous god, especially when his people start worshiping

idols and not him. Yeah. So that's where we'll see

in the scriptures. Yeah, so when we can see this

a difference when King Josiah started ruling. Okay, before that,

we had King Manassei, King Azakayah. Yeah, you'll see all

this name when you read it in the second Kings.

But what happened was that when King Josiah came up,

he started to see things differently. Yeah, and it's very

interesting because you will see that the king before him

and the king after him were ruling with such evil. Yeah,

they did all the bad things, but yet King Josiah

was something someone very different again, and that is what

caught my interest, because you know, we speak about revival,

sometimes you may be in a position or in a

place where you're the minority, and I think it's even

tougher to speak about revival in those times because when

you have fellow believers and everyone will say yes, amen,

it's easier to like, okay, come, let's do this. But

here we have King Josiah who's ruling in a time

and age when things were not going all right. Yeah,

people were just having their own agenda, their own idols.

So it took even more faith for King Josiah to

stand up and say I want to do what is right. Yeah.

So let's try to learn about King Josiah. What did

he do that warned God's heart right and helped the

country to go through revival? Yeah, So let's just read

a couple of scriptures here, Second Kings. Let's start with

was a chapter twenty one. Okay, I'm just gonna I'm

gonna read the whole chapter, but we'll just pick a

couple of verses, right, So I'm going to start with

verses one on word Second Kings, Chapter twenty two. Verses one,

it says Josiah was eight years old when he became king.

Anyone can imagine being a king eight years old? There

he was right. He reigned thirty thirty one years in Jerusalem.

His mother's name was j jededia the daughter of Adiah

of Boskat. And he did what was right in the

side of the Lord, and walked in all the ways

of his father David. He did not turn aside to

the right hand or to the left. So this was

this is how the scriptures introduced Josiah. Yeah, but if

you go back to you know, chapter twenty one or

chapter twenty, you'll see that the name of the king

is introduced, and then it will be mentioned that he

worshiped idols or he did evil. Yeah, but just Siah

is the only one that's different. Okay. Now let's look

at versus twenty. In the same chapter. Okay, Versus twenty,

it says, here, surely, therefore, I will gather you to

your father's and you shall be gathered to your grave

in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the

calamity which I will bring on this place. So they

brought back word to the king. Now this is what

God says. Yeah, because you have honored me, because you've

done what is right, I will make sure that you

won't see the judgment. Yeah, you'll not go through the calamity.

So this is the promise of God because he chose

to do what is right. Yeah. And so we can

see that throughout this book Second King. Right, if you

actually read it chapter by chapter, it will seem like, ayo,

what's happening? You feel like there's no hope. It really

looks like that, you know, you have read as a

novel or a movie, a watch and you're like, hey,

what is going on? When is the good that's going

to happen? It can feel that way, and that is

how it was with the people. Yeah, because of the

poor choices that the leaders made, the people were suffering. Yeah,

that was how it looked like. But when you go

to chapter twenty two, you'll see that there's a sense

of hope, right, and you'll see that God, with all

his sovereignty, has a way of restoring his people, and

that is usually by choosing ordinary people, and he's chosen

one here is Josiah. Yeah, so let's just try to

understand what did Josiah do, right, Okay, what is the

first choice that he made? Yeah? The first one of

how or what a revival looks like is when there's

a rediscovery of the word of God. Yeah, rediscovery of

the word of God. This is how Israel went true

a revival. Yeah. Let's look at scriptures. Yeah, let's look

at versus eight. Like in the same chapters and King

twenty two, verses eight. Then Hilka the high priest said

to Chaffan the scribe, I have found the book of

the Law in the house of the Lord, and Ilka

gave the book to Chaffan, and he read it. So

Chaffan the scribe went to the king, bring the king words, saying,

your servants have gathered the money that was found in

the house and have delivered it into the hand of

those who do the work who oversee the house of

the Lord versus ten. Then Chaffan the scribe showed the king,

saying he cared. The priest has given me a book,

and Chaffan read it before the king. Now it happened

when the king heard the words of the Book of

the Law that he tore his clothes. Then the King

commanded it here the priests, the son of Chaffan the

word the names are really hard. Yr Eggbor, the son

of Misha, servant of the kings, saying, go was a

thirteener go inquiry of the Lord for me, for the people,

and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book

that has been found. For great is the wrath of

the Lord that is aroused against us because our fathers

have not obeyed the words of this book to do

according to all that is written concerning us. Can you

follow the story? Yeah, So it's like if you can

imagine many years down the road. Okay, we have who's

our youngest here in Jerus, Maybe Adelia, Eugene's daughter. Adelia

grows up as a little girl, and then she runs

after maybe Tridan, our teen Tridan. We found this book.

We found this book, and I or these are the

laws of God, and then Triden will be a We've

not seen this book for so long? What are we

going to do? And that was how Josiah felt. It's

not like the Book of Law was new or it

just appeared out of nowhere, but it was because of

generations of kings that has forgotten the law, that has

forgotten that there is such a thing as the word

of God. And so you can imagine the anguish that

Josiah was feeling because he was a man who as

the fear of God. And then he realized, Hey, what

has been going on? This explains why our country has

been going through so much because God has been angry.

People have forgotten to keep his word, to keep to

his commandments. Okay, and I hope and pray that Odelia

wouldn't have to tell that, because we teach her how

to hold a Bible again to show her what a

Bible looks like. And that is why we keep encouraging

our church to bring and own a Bible, because that

will come to a point of time when our younger

generation might forget what a Bible looks like if we

are not passing it on to them. Does it make sense,

right if we don't talk about it enough, If we

forget what the goodness of a Bible looks like, how

do we expect the generation before us to know what

it is? Right? If you talk to a teenager of

how an old mobile phone looks like, with the Ariel

and all that, I don't think that any of them

can relate to it because it's a long time ago

of a technology and people are just so used to

what we have today, and the same thing it is

with the Word of God. If we don't keep speaking

about it, if we don't keep believing it out, it'll

be sad to say that we may become a generation

that forget the Word of God. And do not be surprised.

We are already becoming a generation like that. If you

read the news, yeah, if you read the things that

people are trying to twist and make the Word of

God sound like, how it may make people happy, right,

we're watering the word of God. But it shouldn't be

that way. Yeah, and so it's not something new that

only you know, the modern generation might be facing, but

it started back then. Yeah. And so that's why the

scripture says that when Josiah heard that, he tore his

clothes because he was just so upset. He was just

so frustrated. Rather that that was how they expressed like

those days, none of us they out closes these days, right, Yeah,

but that's how he was so upset. And then he says,

we want to get back to the word of God. Yeah,

we want to get back to the commandments and do

what is right in the eyes of God. Yeah. So

that's the first thing about revival. It's the most basic thing.

I mean, if you talk about Christians, we know that

next thing is the Bible. But yet it can be

such a difficult thing to do if we don't choose

to make it a priority in life, or if we

don't choose to put it as the first thing that

I look for or the first thing that I choose

to to start my day with right, or when I

make decisions, do I go back to the word of God? Look,

at his promises. Right. So it is an easy it's

it's the most basic thing. But yet it can be

the most forgotten thing. And it is that is it

with life? Right, It's always the simplest thing that we

when we miss it out we go through different most circumstance,

I mean situations and impact. Right, And so that is

why God is reminding us to go back to the scriptures. Yeah,

how many of us can be bold enough or be

confident enough to say that I know the word of

God in and out. I remember scriptures, I memorize it, right,

so that when life hits you know that this is

not from God, is from the enemy, right, because I

know what the word of God tells me. It's not

the voice that I hear. Yeah. Sometimes you know we

can go through when you go, especially when you go

through tough moments, there can be two voices that keeps lingering, Right,

you're good for nothing or you can't do this. But

you know that those kind of words can never come

from God. What does his word tell us that He

is our good shepherd? Right? Is a God is our

refuge and strength. So if we know God's word, we

will not fall to the words of the enemy. Yeah,

and that is exactly what Josiah was trying to revive.

So I put in a couple of points scriptures here.

You can take your time and do your own study

as well. Yeah, so be ready. There's nine verses thirteen. Okay,

again just reading it, it says, go in quiry of

the Lord for me and for the people. Yeah, concerning

the words of the book that has been found. For

great is the wrot of the Lord that skindled against

us because our fathers, referring to all the kings before that,

have not obeyed the words of this word to do

according to all that is written concerning us.

Yeah.

And then when we look at verses twenty four to

twenty five, we can see how Josiah starts putting things

in place. He puts things in the right way according

to the word of God. Yeah. So true revival is

will take place if when and we put the word

of God as a priority. Yeah. And you know, this

is I think very important even for parents, you know,

spending time with the word of God with the children,

right speaking the word of God into their lives, declaring

it to them. That is why we do ex kids,

we take it very seriously, if you have not seen

our ex kids lessons, it's not just any fun and

game only.

Right.

We teach them the Word, We teach them scriptures, We

get them to memorize why. They've got to learn this

at a young age so that as they grow they

have the foundation. So just to encourage you church that

let this be our desire for this year to step

deeper with the Word of God. Yeah, when you have

conversations out there, remember revival is about your ordinary days. Right,

if you're having lunch with a body, if you're going

out with a friend, you know, let's talk about the

Word of God. It doesn't have to be preaching about

the Word of God like worse by worse, but using

it as an encouragement. When someone goes through a tough time.

You can say the a, this is what in my faith,

this is what my God is toil this. Right, you

are bringing God's word and that is when I would

say true revival has happened because we're not just talking

about everything that's happening around the world, but will be

the ones that is different because you're speaking the truth

and not just what everyone else is doing. Yeah, you know,

parents will start instructing your children with the word of God.

That is revival. Right, They're not just you're using our

human wisdom, but we're using God's word to direct this.

So this is what true revival looks like, being renewed

and knowing that we can walk with confidence because we

have the Bible with this amen. Yeah. So the first

thing is own a Bible, make it yours. Yeah, learn

go deeper. I mean, there's so many ways to study

the Word of God. If you're new in the faith,

right and you are thinking, how can I do this?

We have classes for you. Yeah, we have apps classes

where you can be actually teach you how to study

the Word. Right, How do you understand the Bible? Because

even the Bible has its own contexts, Right, If you

just jump into a book like Second Kings as a

new Christian, you're going to be wondering what's happening? Right,

But there's a way to learn again and you'll be

able to guide you as a church. Yeah. Right, So

that's the first pointer. Revival means there's an awakening, you know,

with the scriptures and the word of the Lord. Yeah. Now,

the second thing that we can learn from Josiah and

his ruling was that when he came back to rule, right,

there was a restored sense of the fear of God.

I mean when the you know, when the guy came

to him and said, oh, I found this book the law,

I found this word of God.

Right.

I mean Josiah could have chosen to ignore it, right,

or maybe not make the decision to change things around

in the way he led the people. But he could,

you know, tear his clothes, right, say, to his clothes.

He was so upset. Why he did that was because

he had the fear of God. First, he realized that

this is wrong. Right, we need to honor God, we

need to put him first. And because of that fear

of God, he chose to honor God. Yeah, we see

this in verses thirteen. Yeah, the rod of God is

kindled against us and rightly so he will not look

on sin lightly. And our sins have been very great.

We have provoked his anger. So Josiah was shaken to

the core. Right, he was really upset about it. When

it was the last time that you're upset when something

right was not done. And sometimes you know, when justice

is you know, you read the news and you realize, hey,

how can they do this to good people, to innocent people. Right,

that is the kind of anger Josiah felt. Yeah, you

felt that it's not right, and yet it is done. Yeah,

And Josiah felt that. In Dusonomy seventeen eighteen to nineteen Yeah,

Liutronomy seventeen eighteen to nineteen. Okay, it says, here and

he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall

write for himself in a book a copy of this

law approved by the levityical priests, and it shall be

with him, and he shall really, in all the days

of his life, that he may learn to fear the

Lord He's God, by keeping all the words of the

law of his tatus and doing them. Yeah. Deutronomy four

twenty three to twenty four, it says, take care at

least you forget the covenant of the Lord your God,

which he made with you and made a calf image

the form of anything that the Lord your God has

forbidden you. The Lord your God is a consuming fire,

a jealous God. Yeah, that is what the scripture tells about.

God is a jealous God. If we don't, if we

worship idols and not him, Yeah, and so what comes

with you know, respecting the Book of Law or the

scriptures is the fear of God, and that is when

a change of heart takes place. So someone can be

so good in the scriptures, right, they can know every word,

they can know what comes after every scripture. But yet

if there's no change in the herd, then nothing is

going to happen. So that is why the Bible is

not just a hate knowledge book. Sometimes, you know, we've

got to be very careful that as Christians, we don't

be caught up in that kind of a place. Yeah.

Sometimes you know, when I counsel or talk with other

believers when they have gone through different crossroads in life, right,

you can begin starting to question yourself and the scriptures

if we have not read God's word with faith or

with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Yeah, so that

is why it's not a book that is meant to

just read it and not doing it with prayer. That's

why reading the Word of God and prayer comes together. Yeah,

it shouldn't be just because we can all be very

good philosophers, right, and debates of this of the Bible,

but we may not have to faith to live it out. Yeah,

And what we see in Josiah here is that he

could obey the law and bring a big transformation. We're

not talking but just a small change, right, A three

hundred sixty degrees changed for the country because he knew

what the word of God means. He had the fear

of God in his life. So Josiah took God's words

seriously because he took God seriously. Yeah, he took God seriously.

He understood that the fear of the lawn is the

beginning of wisdom. That is what the Bible tells us

as well. Yea. So when revival comes, God draws near,

and the nearness of His presence produces profound reverence and awe.

That is how the church should be, especially in the

time and age that we're living in. I think we

have to be very cautious, not to say cautious, but

I think we've got to be very mindful of being

of having the awe and their respect for who God is. Yeah,

and that is why the reverence that we give to

the word of God God, the time that we make

for God just shows how much of a priority is

God in our lives. Right, how much of a priority

is God in our lives that it's not just a religion,

but it's a lifestyle that we are living as well. Yeah,

that is who God is to us. So if you

can just you know, if you're trying to talk about

your life and your journey with God right over the years,

I think a good good way of like assessing, right,

A good way of like asking yourself with how deep

am I growing? Is to ask yourself if ever I

come to a place of reverence and awe when I

think about God, Because I would say that if you've

reached that, it just means you've come deeper. That it's

not just a word of Bible that I'm taking to

church because everyone else is doing, or it's not just

a religion right for the sake of it because I

need to, But you're stepping deeper. I honor God's word.

The fear of God is the reason why I come

to church. The fear of God is why I self Him.

And because of that I've developed Because of God's presence

in my life, I've developed such an honest or reverence

to Him right so that even if my world shakes,

I'm still going to hold on to Him because I've

experienced the presence of the Lord to the fullness. Yeah,

so ask ourselves this question, because if you have not

reached that, then let that be our hope and desire

this year that we will come back to that place,

especially if you are struggling to do our quiet time.

I would say sometimes it's good to to you know

what I mean, God will never put us in the

place of condemnation. Don't feel bad because you know God

would not want that for you. But at the same time,

I think it's good to ask ourselves whether am I

doing my quiet time because I have reverence for him, right,

because it's just so important that I'm going to make

time no matter what. But it's in the morning or

at night. So then it doesn't just become like a

you know, like a or worldly habit that we're trying

to develop. Yeah, but it comes out of the abundance

of the art. Right. If you love someone, they are

your child or your parent, you don't just do it

because you have to write, but you do it because

you love them, and no matter what the cost could be,

I will just show up for them no matter how

difficult they make you feel, right, being stubborn or whatever

it is. As a parent, You're still going to love

them because that is what love does. Yeah. And the

same thing is with the love that we have forgot

right that we will do it no matter how difficult

it is. We will show up, no matter how you know,

demanding life could be. But because it has such reverence

and awe of the Lord. Yeah, and it comes out

of experiencing God's presence. Yeah, God's presence. And I've experienced

God's presence just sometimes in the quiet times. You know,

you're in the car all by yourself and when you're

just praying and thinking of God's words and you just

feel a touch from the Lord. That is presence, right,

Or when we're worshiping together in the church and we're

singing songs or praises and you just feel such a

liberty within you, such a peace, that is God's presence. Yeah.

So that is why the word of the Lord says,

taste and see that the Lord is good. You've got

to taste it for yourself. Then you will know what

it feels like to have such reverence for the Lord. Amen. Yeah,

So that is what Josiah did because he had such

a sense of fear for the Lord. Yeah. And so

every time will listen to the word of God. Yeah,

it's always good for us to ask ourself, where am

I at in this place? How much of the sense

of the fear of God do I have in my life?

And how is it even impacting the decisions I make

in it every day? Right? Because it's very hard to

match it if we say that I have the fear

of God, but I'm making decisions that is not pleasing him.

It doesn't go that way, right. It has to have

an effect, an impact when we have the fear of

God in our lives a man. And then I'm gonna

end with this last point. Okay, when we read the

Book of Kings here we can see in verses eighteen

to twenty. Second King is twenty two, right, eighteen to twenty.

But as for the King of Judah, who sent you

to inquire of the Lord in this manner, you shall

speak to him, that says the Lord God of Israel,

concerning 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 would become a dissolution and a curse.

And you tore your clothes and wept before me. I

also have heard you, says the Lord. Surely, therefore I

will gather you to your father's and you shall be

gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall

not see all the calamity which I will bring on

this place. So they brought back word to the king.

So God saw how Judah responded. Right. God saw the

kind of frustration that he had when he tore his clothes.

That's what he said, right, the Lord, And because of that,

I will spare you right. And because of that, you

will not go through whatever that's you know has happened here.

And this is because revival also means that you can

return to God through confession and repentance. That is revival. Yeah,

a revival will not first happen if we have not

come to a place of confession or a place of

true repentance. Yeah, a broken heart, like the scripture says,

a broken heart and a contride spirit, God will not despise. Yeah,

it's not as simple as just saying I'm sorry, But

it's coming to a place and saying God, I truly

come down to my knees, I ask for forgiveness, and

that is all When we pray for our nation, Malaysia.

We always will say God on behalf of a country.

We ask for forgiveness, right because sometimes there are things

that has been done that is beyond what we know

of that doesn't please God. Right. But to see a

revival happen is to first come in repentance, and that

is what Josiah had to do, right. And because Josiah

did it, it impacted the country. The country experienced goodness. Yeah,

And that is why each one of us it's a

very big responsibility. If you're a head of the family,

you're a parent, you know, and the decisions that you

choose to make, whether you're asking repentance or you're you're

standing in the gap for your family, it's not just

gonna impact you, but your kids and your generation. And

that is why we saw Josiah couldn't take that step

because he did what David did, and David OneD God

and therefore Josiah did that as well. Can you see

the impact? Yeah, Or if it's just you trying to

you're going into your company and you realize that are

things they're not doing right. But you can be that

one believer who are saying God, could you please have

mercy on us. I ask forgiveness on behalf of our

bosses or whoever it is because of you, God's mercy

is shown in that place that you're at. Yeah, So

what I'm trying to teach us this morning is that

the choices we make is not just for us, but

it's for our generation. Yeah, it's for our surrounding. The

prayers that we say, it's not just for my benefit,

but it's for our people, for our church. So that

is what Josiah was wise enough to realize. Why was

he wise because he had the fear of God, and

therefore he could come to a place of repentance. Yeah.

True confession is standing before Holy God, humble, you know

you're ashamed, saying with David, I am the man. Repentance

means crying out with the heart, my God, my God,

why have you not accepted me? This is exactly what

David prayed in the Book of Sums, And therefore Josiah

could also recognize that, Ye, when the spirit of God

falls upon people, people's consciousness sprick and convicted sinners confess

their sins, and that is when revival can happen in

our country as well. Right, and so every time you

hear something that is just not just, that is just

not right, instead of getting into that negative conversation, why

don't you just step behind and just say, God, I

ask for forgiveness on our country, for our country. Of

course there are consequences to be paid, right, but if

you can just say that prayer, it makes a whole

big difference to the people that are around us. Yeah,

that is revival. Mark one fifteen says, the time is

fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent

and believe in the gospel. Right, repent and believe in

the gospel, and I pray that we'll be believer. Us

will be a church that will that will always put

our eyes on what matters, like we're saying the song

earlier right, putting our eyes on heaven towards eternity. Right,

Because if we keep fix our eyes in such a way,

it also influences the way we live our lives. The

more energy we spend on the earthly things white people

say like that or you know, material, I mean, those

things keeps us going. We do what we can with

what all that God has given to us. But our energy,

of our focus has to be about God, Eternity, Heaven, right,

Because if that's going to be a focus, whatever happens

on earth, it's not going to be affecting you that

much because you know there's going to be a life

that we're waiting the second coming of the lot, right,

and there would be such an urgency for you to

even pray and intercede on behalf of your family. We

have not known God yet of our country, right, and

that changes everything, right, and that changes every thing. So

let's just not be caught up with life when I

say live, meaning everything that life involves. Yeah, but let's

still sometimes take a step back and ask ourselves what matters?

Which is to please God?

Right?

What's important for me? What's my priority in life? How

can I leave differently so that I can experience the

revival in my lives as well? Yeap? Which leads me

to a final question that I wants to think about, right,

what steps could you take today to experience revival? Because

it's not just so much about what you know people

around me does or what my pastor does, right. I

mean God has given ex church a direction or a

team right that this year is going to be a

year of revival. But as individuals. We have our part

to play as well. The daily steps, the daily decisions

that you take. Maybe there's something that you've got to

say no to so that you can make room for

the lot that is revival. Right, and maybe it's sometimes

choosing the people that you spend time with, the people

that speaks life into you. Right, it may not be

all good sometimes, you know, and God is telling you,

why don't you spend time with people that can bring

life right? Or you spending time with others who need

that encouragement. So what steps could you take? You know,

we have seen the story from the Bible about a

leader or a king and his impact to an entire

generation in a country. And the same person that God

chose like Josiah, you are God's chosen ones as well, right,

you are his sons and daughters, so meaning you can

cause a revival to happen as well, just like what

Josiah did. Yeah, and it goes back to the steps

that we would choose to do differently. And so you

and start with Chinese near if you're going back meeting

your friends and family, the things that we speak about

over the table over reunion, right, let's speak live, you know,

and someone is also negative and saying you cannot love Malaysia.

We can't stay anymore, We have to leave. Why don't

you choose to say something else and say, hey, don't

say like that. That still hope. Right, let's pray, let's

believe for the best. Maybe there's a friend that you're

meeting and you say, let me pray with you. Right,

it's those steps that will bring us to that revival. Yeah,

so invite extreme. I hope you caught something today church,

in this whole topic on revival, Revival starts with us. Yeah,

revival starts with you and me. If only we can

take that step to step out of our own world

and focus on what matters and the eyes of the Lord, right, eternity,

the coming of the Lord, that is what God wants

us to focus on. And even if it could just

just invite you to stand as weveen surrendered his time

to the Lord in whatever way that you know the

Word of God would have spoken to you. Maybe the

Holy Spirit has convicted your heart to do something differently

this week. Maybe he has reminded you and assure you

of the things that you have done in the past

and saying hey, well done. For forgiving that person because

you're a free person now and you can encourage others

to do the same thing. Yeah, whatever it could be.

Or don't you just you know, surrender to the Lord

and say God, I want to be part of this revival.

I want to do what matters to you, just like

what Josiah did. Sometimes I could be the only one

in my family. I could be the only one in

my community that is believer or is who has the

fear of God. And you know, it may seem difficult

to do it sometimes, but a lot may be saying

just do it anyway. Just be that different person, because

the choice that you're taking is a revival by itself.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

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this week is going to be a good week.

I hit for you.

God bless