Don Graham Revival Ministries

"IF my people...will...TURN.."

II Chronicles 29

In our last study in The Yoke we saw from the life of Jehoshaphat, God's call to prayer as the absolute ingredient to revival. We turn now to examine God's call to "turn" as it is displayed so prominently in the revival under Hezekiah, II Chronicles 29-32.

The clarion call to revival in II Chronicles 7:14, features three things: First, God's people bear His nature-...my people..., and they bear His name-...called by my name.... Revival is a family experience-unsaved people need regeneration! The people of God need revival! Second, God's people must turn from their pride-...humble themselves...; turn from their prayerlessness-...and pray...; turn from their pathways-...seek my face...; turn from their pollution-...turn from their wicked ways.... Then God's people will experience hearing from heaven-...then will I hear from heaven...; holiness from heaven-...forgive their sin...; and healing from heaven-...heal their land.

A careful study of II Chronicles will reveal that the Holy Spirit devotes one-half of the chapters of this book to a description of revivals that come when these conditions are met. The revival under Hezekiah highlights the verb to turn as one of the four significant steps God's family must take in order to experience genuine revival. Note then the principles that govern revival from the mighty reform led by Hezekiah that prominently featured—

I. THE PURGING OF THE HOUSE OF GOD (II Chronicles 29:1-19)

Coming to the throne at the age of 25, Hezekiah's first order of business was to purge the house of God. The 16 year reign of his father, Ahaz, was marked by the desecration of the house of God resulting in it being filled with the filth of the world. The house of God lay in ruin and neglect so the first day on the job Hezekiah opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. (v.3)

Hezekiah sanctified the Levites and they went in to cleanse the house of the Lord (v.15). They literally had to carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. They cleansed from the inner part of the house (v.16) to the outer edges. Sixteen full working days (v.17) were given to this mammoth undertaking.

Certainly the house of God has been neglected in our day and there is a crying need to remove the rubbish that has defiled God's house too long now. Someone said, I looked for the church and found her in the world. I looked for the world and found her in the church. The church has become so worldly in our generation that we desperately need to hear God saying to us ...whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (James 4:4)

That much needed purging process must, like Hezekiah's approach, begin from the inside (the heart) and move throughout all the life for the cleansing of this temple of God, our bodies, now indwelt by the Holy Spirit. All filth must be uncovered and destroyed. There must be a relentless and ruthless exposure of all the filth of our life until our temple body life has been purged. This is always the first order of business.

II.THE PURIFICATION OF THE WORSHIP OF GOD (II Chronicles 29:20-36)

Sin exposed must now be dealt with! So, Hezekiah the king rose early (v.20) and summoned the people to gather at the cleansed temple for worship. Hezekiah led the worship procession as they offered sacrifices for their sins. By that spilt blood they made reconciliation (v.24). Sin exposed in the life of the believer must drive him to flee to the cross and fall there broken and repentant, confessing sin against holy God. Revival demands a rapid return to Calvary.

A cleansed people become a worshipping people! The singers and musicians were in their place- and when the burnt offering began the song of the Lord began also. (v.27) No praise is acceptable to Him that is not based on the atoning work of Christ and offered by blood-cleansed worshippers!!! Our worship wars could cease

if we would understand this and act upon it. What we need is not a tweaking or a radical shift in our worship and music style but a transformation of the heart of the worshipper. We're attacking the fruit and ignoring the root of the problem. God's people don't need a new approach to worship, they need a radical and revolutionary return to the cross to be purged and forgiven.

A revived church will worship freely and spontaneously; no one will have to prime the pump, urge us to put our hands together, or try to rev up some kind of pseudo-happiness and giddiness. Note this cleansed, revived people sang praises with gladness (v. 30) and brought their offerings to the Lord freely and in such supply that there was an abundance (v.35). Dead worship comes alive, God's people rejoice and sing spontaneously, enjoy bringing their offerings and delight in being in God’s presence with the people of God. The worship atmosphere is electric with the exciting presence of Almighty God and a cleansed people are able to revel in His presence! This worship experience was not something manufactured by man but rather the result of the people of God getting altogether right with God.

The chapter closes by saying, ...for the thing was done suddenly (v.36). What a word! God can do more in a moment of time than we can do in a life-time with our best made plans, programs and propaganda! So I press on believing that around the next curve, over the next hill, perhaps in the next town, at the next stop, suddenly, God will touch down and take over! Till then, pray regularly with the Puritan...

PURIFICATION

Lord Jesus,

I sin--Grant that I may never cease grieving because of it,
never be content with myself,
never think I can reach a point of perfection.
Kill my envy, command my tongue, trample down self.
Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure, peaceable,
to live for Thee and not for self,
to copy Thy words, acts, spirit,
to be transformed into Thy likeness,
to be consecrated wholly to Thee,
to live entirely to Thy glory.
Deliver me from attachment to things unclean,
from wrong associations,
from the predominance of evil passions,
from the sugar of sin as well as its gall,

(To be continued)