This is a picture our day, time, and of you and me. The true church world has never been this bad. Has it? Yes. This scripture is what people did when spiritual times were bad. Quit trying to figure out how to bring revival. Ask God to do the preparing. When we consider revival more than a series of meetings we can have it. It is a lasting return of the hand of God in our lives. It’s the result of seeking God again. We cannot bring it to each other. God brings it. If there is a scarcity of revival it’s because people do not seek the Lord. If a person gets up the morning after revival and is the same person, there has been no revival.
II Chronicles 29: 35 “And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order.
36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.”
You might look at this scripture and wonder what it has to do with revival. Something is required of us. Revival is turning things over to God and trusting him with them. Don’t say this church needs revival as if it’s the building. These walls don’t determine revival; it’s by who comes in order that there may be revival. The presence of two is required, you and the Lord, me and the Lord. We can’t choose how to have it. We can’t choose it when it’s comfortable or with little sacrifice and expect God to work.
Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king over Israel. He had watched his father King Ahaz, do many things unpleasing to the Lord. Chapter 28:24-25 says “And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem. And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers.”
Ahaz closed the house of the Lord, sealed it shut. He led the people in serving other gods. Altars were built all over the holy city of Jerusalem , to every other god, while the altar of God was made unavailable. God intervened and took Ahaz out of the way. With great consternation, Hezekiah looked at it all. Everything was a mess. What could he do? How? He decided to turn it over to the Lord. Revival is like salvation. It’s a desire of the heart. Nothing can stop us when we turn it over to the Lord.
Have we shut God’s door in our life? Have we let serving God go? Have we laid aside our duties and responsibilities? Then we need revival. Hezekiah looked around and saw almost nothing left. We need revival while there is still something left. Verses 6-8 say “For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs. Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.” Hezekiah saw those who should have been in God’s house, and they were not there. Don’t profess Christianity and worship any other thing. Is the light still shining? Are the doors shut? Get the dust off the altar.
Hezekiah told the Lord it was too much to fix. Have you ever looked at your dirty house and don’t know where to start to clean it up? Hezekiah didn’t know where to start. Sometimes our spiritual house gets this way. We have dust and dirt, spiders and cobwebs. God’s house in Israel had been closed for years. The walls, ceiling, and floor were buckling. The vessels of God crumbled. The veil was ragged. He couldn’t even get the doors open without pushing and pushing. Do your doors need opening again? Can you do it? Yes. You can. In our position as God’s child, we need to open our heart and soul to him.
Verse 3 says “He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them.” In the first month of his reign, Hezekiah prepared the people for revival. The first thing that had to be done was open the doors. In verse 4 and 5 ” he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, and said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.” The Levites were responsible for the house of God. They had to face the real shape it was in. Are we willing to face what we must to cleanse and correct ourselves? Do we want it enough to ask God what to do? Hezekiah’s eyes were prepared to see what needed to be done.
We need to ask God to open our eyes. We see what needs to be done, but how can we fix it? There are no excuses. “I can’t do it” or “there is too much to learn” and “I don’t have time” won’t get it done. There is nothing that can be left undone. To clean the house you need a broom, mop, or vacuum cleaner. Ask God to show you how to sweep out your spiritual house and get rid of all the spiders and cobwebs. Don’t look at any of it and try to keep it. Hezekiah told the Levites to get to work. The Lord will give us direction; he’ll show us how and give us the material to do it. The priests cleaned it up. The house of God was repaired and cleaned up. It was opened.
Back to the end of the chapter listed above. “And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order. And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.” Maybe it’s time we re-learned some things. Maybe it’s not about asking God what he can do for us but what we can offer him. The doors were opened, and the people began to make their offerings unto God again. They offered in abundance.
Verse 11 tells us not to be negligent. Don’t think about it and wonder about it. You’ll talk yourself out of it. The end of the chapter says “it was done suddenly.” Don’t deliberate it, for in your procrastination you will talk yourself out of it. Be deliberate, be diligent in asking for and seeking revival. Our prayer should be that our eyes will be opened and we’ll see what needs to be done. Help us to prepare our hands to do it again and show us where to begin. Then stay in there to get done what God wants to be done.
Be like Hezekiah. Things happen when we let God prepare.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 