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A sermon by guest evangelist Nate Bibens –

Exodus is an exciting book—at first. It tells about Israel’s dramatic history as slaves in Egypt and their deliverance by God’s mighty hand. But after the plagues and the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, the nation comes to Mt. Sinai, and the nature of Exodus changes. Instead of an exciting narrative, we find meticulous legal details. We start with the Ten Commandments in chapter 20, and from there, God gives detailed instructions concerning various social and religious issues, a detailed pattern for building the tabernacle and its furniture, and even a lengthy section on the garments God wanted made for and worn by the High Priest in chapter 28.

As New Testament Christians, it is easy to get bored in these sections. We may question their relevance and thus be tempted to skim through them, if not skip over them entirely. But within these laws, we can find meaningful lessons. For instance, the priestly garments may seem like a strange and distant topic. In Exodus 28, God provided the pattern for the garments Aaron and subsequent High Priests would be required to wear while serving in the Temple. The garments consisted of a robe, a coat, a turban, a breast piece, and an ephod. The garment was to be skillfully crafted of fine linen, blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and gold. Certain parts like the should pieces were set with precious jewels and stones, many of which had the names of the tribes of Israel engraved on them. While the outfit may look strange to us now, it must have been and incredible garment for the Israelites who had been freed from slavery! 

But why should we be interested in these priestly garments now? We certainly do not wear such garments. In fact, the role and position of the High Priest no longer exists. But as we read Exodus 28, something interesting occurs as God gives Moses the pattern for the priestly raiment. As He tells Moses how to make them, He also explains the reasons for these intricate garments. As we consider the reasons God gave, we may find surprisingly contemporary truths that apply to our own service and worship as Christians!

For Glory & Beauty

God states the first purpose of the priestly garments in Exodus 28:2 “And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.” When we think of priestly garments, we likely conjure up an image of plain and drab outfits. But that’s not what God designed for the priests of Israel. Moses was instructed to have colorful, golden, jeweled, and finely crafted garments made. These garments were to be glorious and beautiful. These garments remind us that God is a creative being. Not simply in the fact that He creates, but even in the manner that He creates. He could have created something like the sun that provided light and heat, but without the majestic scenes of a sunrise or sunset. He could have created a utilitarian landscape instead of one filled with beauty and wonder. He could have created a simple world instead of a vast universe that mystifies, challenges, and inspires awe. But God has chosen to create beautifully. And God has placed the desire and ability to create beauty within humanity, His crowning creation. And nowhere is beauty richer and fuller than when humanity worships the Creator. 

By God’s own plan and design, He desires beauty when His people worship Him. It’s not a simple matter of pleasing aesthetics; beautiful worship reminds us of God’s glorious nature.

‌Psalm 27:4 declares, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” When Mary of Bethany poured expensive ointment on Jesus’ head and feet, her act of extravagant service was rebuked by Judas and some of the other disciples. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me” (Mk. 14:6). God has created beauty for us but has also enabled us to delight Him with the beauty of humble, sacrificial, and obedient worship.

It is important to accept, however, that for worship to be beautiful to God, it must be offered in accordance with His pattern. What if Moses thought green was more beautiful than blue? What if Aaron wanted all diamonds placed in the breast piece instead of an assortment of gems? If left up to men, the aesthetic design of the priestly garments may have looked very different than God’s pattern. But however beautiful those garments may have been, they would not have glorified God, for they would not have followed God’s pattern. Likewise, today, Christians must be careful to follow God’s ways. Whether it’s the doctrines we teach, the ethics we practice, or the manners in which we worship, we must submit to God’s pattern. Our opinions and inventions will never produce glorified beauty like simple obedience will. 

For Consecration

While the garments were “for beauty and glory” they were also called “holy garments.” This is expounded on in Exodus 28:3-4: “You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. These are the garments that they shall make: a breast-piece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests.” 

The priestly garments were not just pretty clothes. They served a purpose. One important purpose was consecration. Something that is consecrated is holy, sacred, set apart, or dedicated to God. Approaching God is not a common or casual thing—it is sacred and holy. Further, to worship a holy God, we must be holy people. Worship is not something we do to atone for sinful living—worship calls us to holiness. Worship should shape us so that our daily service is consecrated and holy. As Leviticus states multiple times, “Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7; 21:8). As Christians, we are also to be a consecrated people. In the New Testament, this is often expressed in the word “sanctified” or “sanctification.” For example, First Thessalonians 4:3 starts off with a plain enough declaration: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” 

Countless people are frantically searching for God’s will—God’s will for who they should marry, what career they should pursue, what town to live in, and on and on. But God’s will is much simpler and also much deeper—it is for us to be sanctified; to be set apart and dedicated to Him. Such dedication changes much in our lives. As the Apostle Paul expounds on in First Thessalonians 4, sanctification shapes our morality and behavior. But sanctification changes more than just our morals, it changes everything about us. It calls us to be those who serve God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, both in worship and daily living. For the Christian, we don’t wear a particular garment to show our consecration to God—our daily lives should demonstrate that we are set apart for service to the Lord.

For Remembrance

Another function of the High Priestly garments was remembrance. Verse twelve states that the stones on the shoulder pieces and the ephod were set “as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel.” Later, verse 29 says, “Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord.”

True worship should remind God’s people what He has done. Imagine being Aaron and reading the twelve names engraved on those stones; the twelve names of Jacob’s sons. Twelve children may be a big family, but it’s just one family. Then imagine going out and seeing the hundreds of thousands of people those twelve had become. Remembering where Israel came from; remembering God’s promises and God’s actions. Surely that would be a powerful motivator. Throughout the Old Testament, Israel was consistently called to remember the exodus and God’s deliverance. In the New Testament, an aspect of our worship is also remembrance. When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He commanded, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Lk. 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24-25). One of the great benefits of worship is it reminds us who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised. Proper remembrance should then motivate faithfulness and endurance.

But in some way, the priestly garments also seemed to serve as a reminder to God. Now, it isn’t that God is forgetful and needs reminding. But multiple times in the Old Testament, God’s people called on Him to “remember.” For example, at the end of his life, the judge Samson cried to God, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes” (Jg. 16:28). When King Hezekiah was sick, he prayed, “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done good in your sight” (2 Kgs. 20:3). And the Psalmist says, “Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!” (Ps. 74:22). Why do these (and many other individuals in the Old Testament) call on God to “remember?” It wasn’t that God had forgotten, but these prayers and requests were an indication of one’s trust in the covenant with God. When we are faithful to the covenant, we can rest assured that God is faithful. He remembers His promises, and He will fulfill them. Thus faithfulness displays a trust in the enduring faithfulness of God.

For Judgment and Decisions

Another function of the priestly garments is alluded to multiple times. At least three times in Exodus 28 the breast piece is called the “breastpiece of judgment.” But what sort of judgment? Some translations render this as the “breastpiece of/for decisions” (e.g. CSB, NIV, NET). According to Exodus 28:30, the breast piece was supposed to hold the Urim and Thummim. While much is unknown about these items, it seems they were used for making decisions that were guided by God. Seen in this light, we have an interesting and applicable lesson.

God’s will—His patterns and plans—they help us. When we submit to and follow God’s ways, then we have a way to make faithful, God-honoring decisions. As mentioned earlier, God’s will does not pertain to finding a specific spouse, following a specific career path, or buying a specific house. But serving God does impact our decisions. The faithful child of God will use God’s Word as a guide for choosing a spouse, how one works, how money is spent, and many other decisions. So, while the Christian life is not about striving to uncover some secret and elusive “will of God” for all the particulars of life, it is about making God-honoring choices and decisions. As we learn from God, as we grow in God’s grace, and as we worship God, we should grow more and more capable of making godly judgments and decisions.

For Acceptance

In Exodus 28:36-38 we read about the pattern for the turban the High Priest would wear. On the turban there was to be a plate of gold with the engraved phrase, “Holy to the LORD.” Again, to be holy is to be set apart for and dedicated to God. So, in a paraphrastic sense, this was akin to the priest wearing a sign on his head that said, “I belong to the Lord!” The end of verse 38 says, “It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.”

Surely, we all want to be accepted by God. If that is our desire, then we must be dedicated to Him. God has never left humanity in the dark about how to be dedicated and thus acceptable to Him. If we would be accepted, we must trust Him and faithfully obey Him. Cain and Abel provide contrasting pictures of rejection and acceptance. Cain’s sacrifice was not accepted by God, which angered Cain. But in Genesis 4:6-7 God asked Cain, “…Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted?” Later, Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts.” God did not just like Abel more than Cain. He had not arbitrarily or unfairly decided to reject Cain and his offering. Abel had sacrificed faithfully, whereas Cain had chosen to not “do well.”

When Peter met with Cornelius in Acts 10, he exclaimed, “in every nation anyone who fears [God] and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Anyone can be accepted by and acceptable to God. Everyone who is faithful to God will be acceptable to Him. Paul wrote in Romans 12:1, “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” We can be accepted by God, for God has shown us what He will accept. It is merely up to us to faithfully dedicate ourselves to Him and obey His Word.

“So That He Does Not Die”

The final reason for the high priest’s garments may seem startling but is very important. God instructed Moses to line the hem of the robe with an alternating pattern of yarn pomegranates and golden bells. That may sound like a very obscure detail, but I’m sure it was one Aaron appreciated very much. Exodus 28:35 says, “…it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.” It was not that God could be surprised and accidentally break out and kill the high priest. This requirement reminded the priest of just how awesome his activities were. 

To enter the presence of God is no trifling ordeal. Were God not to hold himself back, His glory and presence would kill a mortal! That must have been a frightening thought to Aaron. So once again, we see worshipping and approaching God is no light, casual thing. In fact, worshipping God is not a safe thing. Many Christians have likely never considered worship to be dangerous. Most probably think worship would only be dangerous in a place where violent persecution exists. But even in peaceful environs, worship can be dangerous. If a person approaches God flippantly and carelessly, that is dangerous, for it is possible to do more harm than good through worship, if worship is not reverential and faithful. In 1 Corinthians 11:17, Paul lamented of the Corinthian worship, “…when you come together, it is not for the better but for the worse.” Christians should live each day in a reverent, worshipful manner towards God. And on occasions of assembled worship, Christians should approach that joyously, yet also reverently. 

But this seemingly strange requirement demonstrates something else—God is a life-giving God. Not only has the Lord created life, but He has also worked to protect and save life. He warned Adam and Eve against the tree that would bring death. He instructed Noah concerning an Ark to save himself, his family, and ultimately the world. And for Aaron and subsequent High Priests, God provided a pattern that protected their lives. 

Many people balk at God’s commands, but what they are rejecting is life. The Lord created life, and wants to give life, even to sinners. As John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus said in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” God is a holy God; He is an avenging God; He is a wrathful God toward the impenitent sinner. But He is a merciful, forgiving, and saving God. His instructions are not burdensome, and His laws are not arbitrary. God’s Word is for our benefit so that we might know Him, seek Him, obey Him, and find life in Him.

A Royal Priesthood

Gone are the days of Levites, priests, and high priests. Gone are the days of the Tabernacle and of Temple worship, animal sacrifice, and priestly garments. But now, all God’s children are a part of the royal priesthood, a kingdom of priests. In 1 Peter 2:9 we read, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” In Revelation 1:5 and 6 we read that Jesus has “…made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father…”  

As royal priests of the New Covenant, we will never wear garments like those described in Exodus 28. But do our lives resemble those garments? Can our faith, service, and worship be described in such terms? Do we delight in the beauty of faithful, obedient worship? Does our faithful worship glorify God? Are we consecrated to God, set apart from worldliness and dedicated to Him? Do we remember the Lord’s work and His will? Do we abide by the instructions of the New Covenant, fulfilling God’s work for us and trusting in His promises? What about our decisions, both big and small? Do worship and daily faithfulness guide us toward godly and righteous decisions? Are our lives, worship, and hearts acceptable to God because they align with His Word? And are we standing in the confident hope of eternal life? 

The days of priestly garments may be passed, but the days of glory and beauty are not. And just imagine—if the physical garments of an old law could have been for glory and beauty, what must the faithfulness of those who have put on Christ and become royal priests accomplish?

 

©2023 BibleWay Media. All rights reserved. BibleWay Media grants permission to copy this material for personal use. Permission is also granted to distribute this transcript as long as it is reproduced in its entirety, used solely for its original purpose of spreading the gospel, and attribution is given to the author and Let the Bible Speak.

 

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Good morning to you. It’s good to be with you for our half-hour of bible study time and I’m delighted you’ve joined me to consider the word of God.  You won’t have any trouble finding a preacher or an elder or simply many Christians who will say “we need a revival.”  Such has been a persistent and common theme of the pulpit down through the stream of time. Some suggest the church throughout America needs revival. They might point to their own congregation and say that church is dead and in need of revival. Perhaps, you might say that of your own life or of the life of some nominal church member who seems unmotivated and unconcerned about the things of Christ and the work of the Kingdom. I think it’s safe to say that we do need a revival in many places, in many things, and in many lives today. A revival is a wonderful thing in the eyes of God, and we should rejoice when we see one occur in our own life or in the lives of others. It’s scriptural to pray that revival might take place. 

In the verse I wish to read as our scripture text today, in Psalm 85:6, the writer prays: “Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You?” Revival is not only bible theme, but also it is often needed and necessary. But just what is a revival? Would we know a true revival if one took place? I’m not concerned about the impression something leaves us with or merely the emotions an event may generate. We should be concerned with what God calls a revival and what a revival, according to the word of God looks like. So, today, I would like for us to consider the subject: Recognizing Revival. 

The word ‘revive’ simply means to live or to bring back to life or a state of health. It can mean to awaken. That, of course, would imply that one needs a revival because they are either asleep, sick, or even dead. When a person drifts away from God and their relationship to Him grows distant and strained or even severed, he or she needs to be revived. I think any of us who have been Christians for very long have experienced times in our life when, for one reason or another, our faith needed reviving. We needed to be brought back. Jesus told the Ephesian church in Revelation 2 that they had left their first love and needed to repent and do “the first works”. In other words, they needed a revival of their love and their zeal for Christ. Jesus warned that if such a revival did not take place, they would face His judgment and their candlestick would be removed. Such a cycle has often repeated with God’s people throughout time. 

We read of several “revivals” in the word of God, particularly in the Old Testament, when faith was at a low ebb and the people had neglected the law of God and even turned to the worship of other gods. God would send some prophet to stir them up and call them back and oftentimes, his preaching would spark a revival, bringing about repentance, and at least for a time, reformation. Few people who profess to be Christians today would say they don’t think there is a need for revival. I think most of us would agree that’s the case. We certainly need an awakening to eternal and spiritual matters across the land today. We need a revival of respect for the word of God and a revival of obedience to God in the religious community today. Many a congregation needs a revival of commitment and zeal for the things of Christ and His kingdom. That’s obvious by the empty pews and the struggling churches we see in nearly every community. We need to “strengthen the things that are ready to die”, as Jesus admonished the church at Sardis to do in Revelation 3 as the fires of persecution and difficulty were closing in around them.  And we hear many calls for revival and from time to time see claims that revivals are taking place. I rejoice when anybody begins to pay attention to matters of the soul and turns their attention toward God. But what does an actual revival consist of? What does it result in? What causes a true revival to take place?  If we desire revival; if we pray for revival; if we hope for revival; I believe it’s important that we know how to recognize a revival when it occurs. A revival is not an inexplicable and overwhelming experience. It is not something that mysteriously sweeps over people. A revival is more objectively described by the word of God than that. And we should know what leads to one taking place and what it looks like when it does. 

There have been many times through the ages when there was a great need for people to be awakened or revived. We can read of several revivals in the Old Testament, and each time revival took place, it was needed because of one or more things. Unrepented of sin, of course, always calls for a revival of fidelity of God. There were times when the nation of Israel was lured into idolatry and all its accompanying sins and fleshly indulgences. And it became necessary for God to discipline them, and He would send His prophets to them to warn them of what was to come and to repent and return to Him.  There were times when the people of God who were supposed to be separated and consecrated to the Lord became worldly and like the pagan nations around them. This too called for a revival of holiness and separation from the unbelieving world. Oft times it was ignorance of the law of God that led the people to such a condition that a revival was called for. And then, the people sometimes fell into a state of indifference and began to neglect the worship and service of God. They forsook His holy days and those observances that were commanded by God, and it was the priority of the prophets of God to awaken the people to their duty and bring about a revival of steadfast service. These are the kinds of revivals that were needed all throughout the Old Testament and that sometimes took place, and they’re the kinds of revivals we need today, as well. Let’s look at few examples of such revivals and see if we can learn what a revival consists of. 

First, I want us to look at a period of revival that took place in ancient Judah during her dying days. The glory days of the Davidic and Solomonic empire are long past, the nation has long since been divided into the northern and southern kingdoms and a series of wicked kings in Israel had led to the rejection and destruction of the northern tribes. Only Judah in the south remained to carry out God’s purposes. But Judah went through a troubling and destructive cycle of wicked kings as well. Now, Hezekiah was a good king and followed the Lord and accomplished a great deal of good for Judah but all of that was undone by his wicked son Manasseh, who took the throne when Hezekiah died. Manasseh worshipped numerous idols and led Judah down the path of ultimate destruction. God sent several anonymous prophets to warn them of God’s wrath, but Manasseh continued to do evil in the sight of God. It wasn’t until late in his reign that Manasseh was carried away captive by the Assyrians that he had a change of heart and repented of his sins and tried to clean up the mess he had made. But the damage was done. 

Shortly thereafter, Manasseh’s son Amon became king, and the bible says that Amon forsook the God of his fathers, and he started worshipping the gods of the nations around him. Now, he only reigned for two years and then Josiah became king. Now, Josiah was a good man. He was very young when he became king, as was sometimes the case in those days, but Josiah wanted to be a godly king and he wanted to set Judah’s course aright and he set out to reform the nation and a period of revival took place under his watch. We read about It beginning in 2 Kings chapter 22. In the eighth year of his reign, he began to seek after God, and he launched a revival that quickly gained momentum and resulted in Judah being spared judgment for a little while. What led to that revival and what did it look like when it happened? Well, for one thing, Josiah realized the temple of God was in a state of disrepair and he wanted it restored. He appointed a committee who gathered the money and made sure the much-needed work commenced. So, there was already an awakening to the need for revival. 

But something remarkable happened that led to a great change in the nation. In 2 Kings 22:8-13 we read that some workers were repairing the temple when in one of the rooms Hilkiah found a strange scroll. It was a scroll containing the Law of Moses. It was perhaps, the “book of the law’ that Moses had commanded be kept by the Ark of the Covenant long before, but regardless, it contained the law they were supposed to be worshipping and living by. Hilkiah handed it over to a scribe named Shaphan and he read enough of it to know that it was important and valuable and so he took it to King Josiah and read it to him. What Josiah heard the law read, he was overcome by what he heard. He realized how far the people had drifted away from the word of God and he tore his garments as a sign of his sorrow, and he ordered his people to go through the scroll and to decipher and discern the message within it. When they did, they found they were guilty of breaking the commandments of God and that they were neglecting the rightful observance of the law of God. In verse 13, Josiah orders them: “Go, inquire 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.” Well, they learned that the fires of God’s judgment were smoldering against them but Josiah would be spared the judgment that would eventually come because of what God said to Him in verses 19-20: “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 desolation 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 fathers, 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…”  

Now, this was more than just King Josiah being emotionally moved by the scroll. This was much deeper than a fleeting and momentary awakening of Josiah’s conscience. Starting in chapter 23, we read of all the reforms that Josiah enacted. He called a national assembly and renewed the covenant that they had so grossly sinned against. He ordered the temple to be cleansed of any trace of paganism and false worship. He removed the pagan priests who had found their way into the temple during the dark days of Manasseh. He cleaned up the immorality that was being practiced around the temple. The ark of the covenant was restored to its rightful place in the temple. They began to observe the Passover again which they had long since neglected. You see, this revival centered on the discovery and reading of God’s word and a resolve to obey it. And it resulted in change in the behavior and the worship of Josiah and the people. Now, unfortunately, Josiah’s revival didn’t last very long. God’s judgment was later meted out but because Josiah’s heart was pricked by the reading of the word of God and he repented and changed his ways, God spared him and kept him from seeing judgment. 

Well, the people were eventually carried away to Babylon and the temple and the city of Jerusalem were overrun and destroyed. But after their long exile, God allowed His people to return. And it’s then we read of another revival taking place. This time, it involved Nehemiah and the scribe Ezra. Nehemiah prayed for the restoration of his people and God answered his prayers. If you read his prayers in the first chapters of the Book of Nehemiah, one thing Nehemiah did when he approached God was confess his sins. He included himself when He confessed to the Lord that the people had broken His commandments and had done evil. He wanted to repent and for there to be a restoration of Jerusalem. God heard his prayers and Nehemiah led the charge to rebuild the broken-down and burned walls of Jerusalem. He withstood the opposition from without and within and organized and led the work. 

When the work of rebuilding the walls was complete, I want us to see what happened according to Nehemiah chapter 8. Now, this was a true revival that swept over the land, and I want you to see what caused it and what it led to. The bible says they gathered all the people together in front of the Water Gate on the east side of the city, they constructed a pulpit of wood, and they requested the priest and scribe Ezra to stand up and read the law of God to them. That’s interesting because we haven’t heard anything out of Ezra for many years. They had rejected Ezra and his narrow preaching many years before. But now, they want to hear from him. Notice, they wanted to hear the ancient law of the Lord read to them. 

Now, friend, anytime a revival takes place today, people are going to want to hear the ancient word of God just like they did. You see, revival implies a bringing back and a restoration. Now listen to what happened in Nehemiah 8, beginning in verse 2. It says “So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.” And verse 8 says: “So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense and helped them to understand the reading.” What took place that day caused them to confess and forsake their sins and to renew their resolve to keep their covenant with God. 

You see, my friend, a revival is not an event or meeting (although revival can certainly be sparked by something that is said or done in a meeting). Meetings can be wonderful, but they don’t mean a revival has taken place. A revival is not a rush of emotion (though repentance and renewal of our relationship with God is something to be overjoyed about). Revival runs much deeper than excitement (though the result of revival will include a zeal for the things of God). And friend, revival is not something we wait around for the Holy Spirit to bring. Yes, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life and revival comes from the Spirit of God, but the Spirit of God brings that revival through the Word of God which He inspired and gave us. The Word of God is His instrument of revival. The preaching of that word is what causes revival. And obedience to that word is the result of that revival. 

You see, when we look at revivals in the bible (and there are many others we could cite if we had the time today) they have some things in common. 1) A revival begins and ends with the preaching of the Word of God. The Word is what convicts a person (not an abstract and indescribable move of the Holy Spirit but the Word the Spirit has given). And that conviction brought by the Word leads to a commitment to OBEY that Word. 2) A true revival always involves a frank and honest confession of our sins. 3) A true revival always results in repentance or a turning from sin which results in a change in our conduct. And 4) Revival always results in a return to the Word of God and a restoration of the divine order. That’s the kind of revival we need today. That kind of revival needs to sweep across our hearts and across our churches and across the land today.  

The problem we ofttimes encounter though is that some get caught up in an emotionally soaked experience or perhaps meeting and conclude that revival has taken place. But we don’t test the word of God by experiences; we test experiences by the word of God. Some even equate a biblically based religion as cold and dead. Yes, some treat the bible that way. And seeking bible knowledge just for the sake of knowledge can even be a dangerous thing! But friend, you get into and devote yourself to the Word of God with a sincere, seeking, repenting, submitting spirit, and this book will transform your life. Hebrews 4:12 says this book “is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword…” Get back into the word of God and it will spark a revival of your faith and it will cause you to return to the true worship of God and a life of steadfast and growing faith, and obedience to the will of God. 

 

©2023 BibleWay Media. All rights reserved. BibleWay Media grants permission to copy this material for personal use. Permission is also granted to distribute this transcript as long as it is reproduced in its entirety, used solely for its original purpose of spreading the gospel, and attribution is given to the author and Let the Bible Speak.