When Revival Came

“And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.” - 2 Chronicles 22:8, 10-11

As humans, we tend to overestimate what we can do for ourselves and we underestimate what God can do with us. It is wrong for us to assume that our gifts, talents and abilities are a substitute for God's mighty touch. Truly, our gifts, talents and abilities are on loan from Him, to be used for His glory. It is tragic when we take God's blessings for granted or use them for selfish reasons.

It may seem impossible for God to use one man to change an entire nation, but God did this with a man named Josiah. Josiah did not grow up in a godly home. In fact, his forefathers were just like everyone else at the time --- pagans. Yet God did something radical through this man. Josiah was used to make a powerful difference in his country.

Josiah became king of Judah at an early age. When he was 26 years old, a turning point occurred in his life and reign. While doing maintenance work to the temple, the high priest found a copy of the law. When the law was read, Josiah rent his clothes in profound concern. This led to a great revival in the land of Judah.

The revival under Josiah occurred as God moved in response to three things:

1. REVELATION

First of all, the Word of God was read. Revival began in Josiah's day when they found and read the book of the law. I feel that the 21st century church has drastically underestimated the power of God's Word. It is true that flashing lights and colorful entertainment will draw a crowd, but it takes the Word of God to change lives. The Word of God is always an important component of revival. If we want to see genuine revival here in America, it will require preachers, deacons and lay members to all return to the Bible. The preaching of the Word needs to be an important part of churches once more. We need to revive Bible reading, Bible study and Scripture memorization in our own lives. We need to return to the Word.

2. REPENTANCE

Secondly, when the law was read, Josiah rent his clothes. This act of repentance marked a time of real change. When Josiah heard the law read, he knew that he and his people were guilty of violating that law. The repercussions of their sin was terrifying. When a person is faced with the guilt of his sin, repentance should be the result. Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of direction. Things were about to change in the land of Judah because of the king's repentance. Today, repentance is needed in America. It needs to begin among those in spiritual leadership. For the most part, a church's spiritual condition mirrors that of its pastor. Pastors need to repent. Deacons need to repent. Sunday School teachers, Christian workers and the average church member needs to practice Biblical repentance. The lukewarmness of our times needs to give way to fiery zeal. We need to be about our Father's business once more. There has never been a genuine revival that did not include repentance. Too many church members are expecting sinners to repent, but refuse to repent themselves.

3. RENEWAL

Finally, Josiah re-instituted worship in Judah once more. They observed the Passover, among other things. They put away their idols and returned to God. They experienced a time of refreshing. Revival had come. The people got back to sincere worship once more. As I write this, our world unsettled because of war in the Ukraine. Here in America, we are suffering from inflation, Covid and uncertainty. We have deep divisions that separate us. Things look rather bleak right now. In the American Church, the situation looks dire. There are too many empty pews in America. Churches have little influence on the culture. There is overt pressure on ministers and ministries to compromise with the world. We need revival right now in America.

God brought revival to Judah through one young man, Josiah. Don't underestimate what God may do with you. It could be that He will use you as a catalyst for revival in your home, church and community --- maybe even the world.

Here's the inescapable fact. God doesn't need us, but we desperately need Him.