Let's be the spark of revival.
Text: 2 Chronicles 29:1-18
Let's be the spark of revival.
This text is a record of the Reformation movement of King Hezekiah. The Reformation of King Hezekiah became the spark for the revival of the Israelite church. The Lord's church has physiological vitality, so a normal church is supposed to revive. The word “revival” means “to come to life” or “to be alive”. If you look at the history of all churches, the work of revival started with small numbers. This is the purpose of this morning's homily. Realizing that "I am the spark of revival of the Seongsan Church", the sermon is meaningful in that it becomes the spark of revival. I hope that each and every one of you will become the spark of revival of Seongsan Church, I bless you in the name of the Lord once again. What should I do to become the spark for the revival of the Seongsan Church?
I. I alone must turn from the evil way (6-7, 2 Chron 7:14).
This verse means that the revival of the church begins with the repentance of one person. Then what do we need to repent of? In verses 6-7 of the text
We must repent of four things.
1) We must repent of what is evil in God's sight.
A good God cannot help those who do evil. Our God is a God of good judgment and evil. Deuteronomy 5:9-10 It is said that God pays for the sins of those who hate him, passing from father to son to the third and fourth generations, and showing grace to those who keep God's commandments up to 1000 generations. What does God hate here? Proverbs 8:13 says, "...the evil that God hates is pride, arrogance, evil conduct, and perverse lips." We must repent of pride, arrogance, evil deeds, and perverse lips. In Job 22:21, “You shall be reconciled to God and be in peace, and blessings will come to me.” Verse 27 If you forsake your sins, your prayers will be answered, verse 28 will make your business and your path shine like the noonday light. Hallelujah! !
2) We must repent of our sin of forsaking God.
We must repent of the sin of not believing in God and not acknowledging God. In Proverbs 3:6 it says, "In everything you must acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths." You must repent of the sins that God has forsaken to receive blessings.
3) You must repent of turning your back on the sanctuary.
The sin of neglecting to enter the temple, the sin of not attending well, we must repent. You must know that it is a blessing to be able to attend and worship at Seongsan Church, the temple of God, every Sunday. But do you know that it is a common practice to skip Sunday worship services? In Isaiah 58:13-14, He promised that if you keep the Lord's Day, you will be blessed with Jacob's work. If you keep Sundays properly, you will receive blessings and a great revival will occur in Seongsan Church.
4) We must repent of the sins of our worship life.
Verses 7-8, “And because the door of the chamber was shut, and the lamps were put out, and no incense was offered in the sanctuary, and no burnt offerings were offered to the God of Israel, the LORD was angry with Judah and Jerusalem and threw it away to become a cause for fear, astonishment, and ridicule. We must close the door of the room that says, “You see clearly”, turn off the lamps, and repent of the sin of not offering incense in the sanctuary. What does it mean to close the door of the chamber, turn off the lamps, and not burn incense in the sanctuary? In today's terms, the evening service and the morning service were not held. The result is fear, surprise, and ridicule. If you repent for neglecting to worship, your relationship with God will be restored.
II. Each of us must be humble (James 4:6).
In James 4:6, it is said, “...God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.” Yes, God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. , a revival movement started in Seongsan Church as a spark of revival.
III. I alone must pray (Hab 3:2).
The revival of the church begins with the prayer of one person. Where we pray, the work of revival takes place. There is a book published in the market under the title “Sunday School Revival is Only Prayer”. If you introduce the contents of this book a little at the beginning, a female teacher started to pray for others for the high school where the attendance rate does not move, and each person prayed for 3 minutes each, starting from the first week of October. Therefore, we tentatively decided to pray until the end of December, and the total attendance Sunday in December was successfully completed.
Prayer is the key to revival. As the prophet Habakkuk prayed in Habakkuk 3:2, “O LORD, I was astonished to hear of you. Let us pray for revival too. I believe that the history of revival will happen.
IV. I alone must lead a life of devotion.
The fire of revival will be kindled through the devotees of the church. Devotion and church revival are directly related. The devotion of me alone becomes the spark for the revival of the Seongsan Church. John Knox, the founder of the Presbyterian Church, prayed, ‘Give me Scotland,’ and John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, cried out and prayed, ‘The world is my parish. A church can never revive without a dedicated person. I hope that our Seongsan family will become faithful workers who are devoted to the Lord, in the name of the Lord, I bless you.