Sermon Tone Analysis

Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord

and the king's house; all that Solomon had planned to do

in the house of the Lord and in his own house

he successfully accomplished.

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night

and said to him: I have heard your prayer,

and have chosen this place for myself as a house

of sacrifice.

When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain,

or command the locust to devour the land,

or send pestilence among my people,

if my people who are called by my name

humble themselves, and pray and seek my face,

and turn from their wicked ways,

then I will hear from heaven,

and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:11-14

 

The

What

of Revival

 

Billy Graham says:

 

We need a spiritual revival that will put a new moral fiber into our society... Ever since the end of World War II this country, along with the other English-speaking countries, has been plunging into moral corruption at a rate that is gaining momentum.

Honesty and truthfulness have been thrown out of the window.

The United States of America is on one mad whirl of amusements and pleasure and licentiousness and immorality.

Juvenile delinquency is mounting so rapidly we can't keep pace with the figures.

The drug menace, far from decreasing, is increasing, and claiming new young victims every day.

Some of the identical symptoms that were noticed in Rome during the last days of the Empire are now observed and felt in our society.

Divorce rates are increasing.

Racial tensions are worse, not better.

Inflation is siphoning off the savings of those with lower incomes.

Political issues are dividing us.

Confidence in government has been shaken.

Walk down the streets of our cities and read the names of the latest films on the marquees.

Most of the films deal with sex, crime, and abnormal behavior.

One can only ask, what is the country coming to?

As things are, we are being softened up for the kill.

We will be done for before the Communist troops ever get here.

It is time that we come to the foot of the cross.

When we come to the cross and receive Christ as Savior, he gives us the capacity to love our neighbor.

There is no superior race in God's sight.

God does not look on the outward appearance, he looks on the heart.

God sees our pride.

We will have to come where we can love each other as neighbors and look through the eyes of Jesus at these problems.

One of the biggest dangers to the Western world today, as I see it, is false religion.

The cults are flourishing.

Now, God says you can have all the religion you want.

I'm not even going to watch you, he says.

I'm not going to hear your prayers because you don't mean what you say.

It doesn't come from the heart.

Thousands of people in our churches are serving God with their lips, but their hearts are far from him.

They have never had an encounter with Jesus Christ, have never been born again, have never been converted.

God is looking for real and genuine repentance.

In effect, Billy Graham is echoing the passage in 2 Chronicles which states: "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

In essence, this is the divine philosophy of revival.

It teaches that revival implies a spiritual declension; it also teaches that revival involves spiritual awakening.

It matters not how dark and depressing a spiritual situation may appear to be; if God's people, who are called by His name will humble themselves, and pray and seek His face, and forsake their sins, God will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land.

In other words, this verse gives us the "what" of a heaven-sent revival.

Observe, first of all:

 

The Basis of Revival

"If my people who are called by my name."

Revival is that strange and sovereign work of God in which He visits His own people—restoring, reanimating and releasing them into the fullness of His blessing.

Such a divine intervention will issue in evangelism, though, in the first instance, it is a work of God in the church and among individual believers.

This is made clear from the words of our text in which God is addressing His own people; and while the original message was to the nation of Israel we must not hesitate to apply it to ourselves.

The New Testament reminds us that "whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4).

It is plain, then, that if revival is to visit the church there must be a basic relationship of life.

In our English Bible the word "revive" is almost exclusively an Old Testament term.

It essentially means, "to quicken, recover, or restore," and is always used with reference to God's covenant people.

So the Psalmist prays: "Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee?" (Psalm 85:6).

So when we speak of revival we must not think of the sinner so much as the saint.

The sinner needs regenerating; he is "dead through...trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1).

Nothing but the new birth can bring about a relationship to God.

On the other hand, the saint needs reviving.

He has life in Christ but he needs life more abundantly.

This is why the Lord Jesus said, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly' (John 10:10).

All across our country today we have men and women who claim to be born again.

They have life but their relationship with God is flat and meager, not abundant.

This is why we need revival.

Only when Christians know what it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit will the nation feel the impact of quality Christianity.

The Spirit-filled life is not an optional lifestyle, it is a divine obligation.

When God says, "Be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18), He is not offering a promise, He is issuing a command.

Not to obey that command is disobedience, and disobedience is sin.

The Bible says, "Whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin" (James 4: 17).

Judged by this standard, how many Christians today are living in sin?

This is why the basis of revival is a relationship of life.

Only those who have life can have life more abundantly.

God says, "If my people…turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Notice further that if revival is to visit the church there must be a basic responsibility of love— "If my people who are called by my name."

The emphasis, in the Hebrew, is on those who own, or profess, God's name.

In the language of the church, such people are Christians; they bear the name of Christ.

The term "Christian" is used three times in the New Testament and each occurrence helps us to understand the responsibility God's people have in bearing the precious name of Christ.

When the Apostle Paul confronted Agrippa with the words, "Believest thou the prophets?

I know that thou believest," the king replied, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:27-28).

He understood that being a Christian presupposes a belief in Christ as God's Messiah and the Savior of men.

And this is true for you and me today.

No one can be a Christian with out the exercise of saving faith.

Then we are told that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch (Acts 11:26).

The name was given to them in contempt because they belonged to Christ.

Everybody in Antioch was aware that Christ was alive, and huge crowds were turning to the Lord Jesus as Savior and Master.

The impact of their Christian witness was so extraordinary that Barnabas was sent to investigate what was going on.

"When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose" (Acts 11:23).