“When Revival Comes” (Neh 7:73b-8:12) - Revive Us Again IV –

“When Revival Comes” (Neh 7:73b-8:12)

- Revive Us Again IV –

The eye of a Typhoon

In every revival in church history, one major thrust has always appeared. There has always been proclamation of the Bible, God’s Word. If we liken revival to a typhoon, the Word of God is the eye of the typhoon. One time I heard the importance of Bible translation from one of my colleagues who works as a missionary at Wycliffe. Wycliffe is a mission organization, whose vision is to translate the Bible in every language. My colleague explained how it works. It basically takes several years, and it also takes team effort. I asked, “Why Bible translation?” She answered, “Because where there is Bible translation, there is a revival. That is why I devote my whole life to this work.” The Word of God is the center of revival.

Revival is a sovereign work of God. We cannot make it happen. But, when the ground is prepared, then revival will be there. Pastor John Barach tells the following illustration. Imagine two men living in a parched area of the world. Rainfall has been scarce. The need for moisture is intense. On the horizon, dark clouds are gathering. Rain seems to be inevitable. Both men are overjoyed at the prospects. One man is busy with preparations for catching the water. The other man does nothing but wait. Suddenly the rain pours down; the ground is soaked. This time, the action of the men is reversed. The man who has done so much preparation now stands in the rain with his face to the sky because he knows that his barrels will be filled. The other man, who had made no preparation, rushes about here and there scooping a handful of water to his mouth -- too frantic to really enjoy the rain. In a little while, the rain is gone, the little streams are dried up. One man was able to drink the handfuls of water, and he is thirsty today. The other man now has plenty to drink. What made the difference? The difference was in the preparation. Yes, Nehemiah’s revival was totally God’s sovereign work. But there was much preparation beforehand. At the heart of Nehemiah’s revival was the exposition of the Scriptures. Today we will explore how God initiates revival and how God’s people respond to it and prepare the groundwork for greater revival.

Come, Listen to the Word (7:73b-8:6)

First, there was the reading of God's Word. The wall reconstruction project had been successfully completed in fifty-two days (6:15) and the people had moved into their own dwellings. At this time there was a spiritual vacuum in the city. Although the people had nice new homes and good jobs and were well protected, there was still something missing on the inside. There was a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man and woman of Israel. Nehemiah sensed this spiritual vacuum. The elderly sensed this spiritual vacuum. The young sensed this spiritual vacuum. This is the first sign of revival. God made his people aware of spiritual hunger and thirst. How did the Israelites respond? They did come and listen to the Word. When the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people gathered as one man in the square. And they asked Ezra to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses. It was not Ezra but the people who called a meeting and wanted to hear God’s word. In the square there were all kinds of people - men and women, young and old. The NLT version translates verse 2 in this way: “The assembly included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand.” There were even many children who were eager to hear God’s Word! When Ezra opened the book, all the people stood up. They could not remain seated because of the overwhelming reverence for God. All the people listened closely to the Scriptures from daybreak till noon, about for 6 hours. And when Ezra praised the Lord, all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” And they bowed down and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. The first groundwork for revival is to come and listen to the Word of God. Do you sense a spiritual vacuum? Come, listen to God’s Word. Come to your prayer closet in the morning and listen to the Word there. Come to small group, come to public worship, and listen to the Word. And you will be amazed how the Word of God can revitalize your heart.

Understand the Word (8:7-12)

The second groundwork for revival is to understand the Word. In today’s scripture God’s Word was explained by the Levites so that all who heard understood. Verse 8 says, “They [the Levites] read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage” (NLT). God prepared one person, Nehemiah, for rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and the nation. And God also prepared one person, Ezra, for rebuilding the spiritual wall of His people. Ezra 7:10 says, “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel” (NASB). Please notice the order of the verses. Ezra did study the Word, obey the Word, and teach the Word. There are many preachers, including myself, who study and teach the Word. Too often they skip the second step. But Ezra taught the Word to his people after he had practiced it first. That was why his teaching was powerful and transforming. I know you do pray for me. When you pray, please pray that I would be God’s faithful servant like Ezra who did study God’s Word seriously, practice it with integrity, and teach it with all his strength. Ezra was an outstanding spiritual leader, but he was not an isolated hero. He had a good number of fellow workers who knew the Bible and were able to teach. So when Ezra read the Scriptures, the Levites explained the meaning and helped the people understand each passage. This is my prayer for you: that each of you will be a Levite at home and at work, who is godly, knowledgeable, and teachable so that many will understand the Word and come back to Christ. John Wesley said, “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth.” Amen to that! Let us pray for each other. Let us pray that God will purify our hearts, prepare us, use us as His divine channels of revival.

Live the Word (8:13-18)

First, there was reading of God’s Word. Second, the Word was expounded so that all who heard understood. And third, the Word was applied. This is the third groundwork for revival. In verse 13, the next day the leaders of the people came to Ezra again to study the Word in greater detail and apply it to their lives. They asked Ezra, “Please teach us more details, that we may live the Word.” They found that it was time to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. What is the Feast of Tabernacles? It is one of the three major Jewish feasts. It lasts for seven days, and during the days of the feast all Israelites built their temporary booths and dwelt in them to remember that God delivered them out of Egypt. Throughout the holiday, day after day, they read the Scriptures and worshiped God the Savior. Verse 17 says, “The whole company that had returned from exile built booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great!” Here we find a very important biblical principle: Applying God’s Word is not a complicated process. Applying God’s Word is to go back to basics. In order to apply God’s Word, the people did go back to basics. They observed the feast of their forefathers as it was written. And there was very great rejoicing. Genesis 26:18-19 says, “Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham… Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.” When Isaac went back to basics, he found a well of fresh water. When the Israelites went to back to basics, they were filled with great joy. Nowadays, many Christians are looking for fresh insight to apply the Word. Many churches are looking for newer and better programs for spiritual growth. However, what we need most today is to go back to the Bible and live the Word as it is written. What we need most today is to go back to basics and dig again the wells of our fathers, and we will find a well of fresh water there.

Domino Chain Reaction

One time I watched a short video clip on youtube, titled “domino chain reaction.” The narrator said, “A domino cannot go over another domino which is one and half times larger.” Then, he put 13 chain of dominos, and each one was one and half larger than the previous one. The smallest domino was 5 mm high and 1 mm thick. 13^th domino, the largest domino, it weighed about 100 pounds and more than a meter tall. Surprisingly, as he knocked down the very first and smallest domino, the largest domino finally fell down. Then, he said, “If we have 29 dominos, the last one will be as tall as empire state building.” In some sense, revival is like domino chain reaction. Revival written in chapter 8 is only a beginning. We see greater surprising work of God and transformation of life in chapter 9 through 13. At that time the enemy built several spiritual strongholds in Israel, particularly three areas of their lives – relationship (marriage issue), time (sabbath-keeping), and money (tithing). Over those three areas the people had no control. But, when revival came, all of the strongholds of their lives fell down flat just like dominos! We too have our own vulnerable areas. The enemy tries hard to build strongholds in those areas of our lives and in the life of the church. And it’s impossible to demolish those strongholds with our own efforts. We desperately need God’s help and intervention. We need revival. So, let us come, listen to the Word humbly. Let us study and understand the Word clearly. Let us apply the Word into our lives faithfully. When the ground is prepared, then revival will be here. Amen.

“Unstoppable” (Nehemiah 6:1-9) - Revive Us Again III -

“Unstoppable” (Nehemiah 6:1-9)

- Revive Us Again III -

The Art of War

There was a man from China named Sun Tzu (544-496 BC), who was a war strategist and author of the Art of War. In his book the following statement is particularly famous and often quoted: “知彼知己 百戰不殆,” which means, “Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.” This art of war applies equally when we fight a spiritual battle. When we are in a spiritual battle, we must know the enemy and know ourselves. But there is more! We must know who God is. If we know these three – the enemy, ourselves and God, we will never be in peril but win every battle.

Know the Enemy

Then, first of all, who is our enemy? In the Bible the enemy is known as the “dragon,” the “ancient serpent,” the “devil” and “Satan” (Rev 20:2). The enemy’s purpose is clear. He comes only to steal and kill and destroy us (John 10:10a). The Apostle Peter says to followers of Christ, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1Pt 5:8). In the book of Nehemiah we learn how the enemy works, particularly throughout chapter four, five and six. First there were words of discouragements (Neh 2:19; 4:1-3). When Nehemiah and his people started rebuilding the wall in earnest, Sanballat and Tobiah mocked and ridiculed. They said, “What are those feeble Jews doing?” “What they are building – if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” The enemy discouraged God’s people with words. Second there were internal problems. The enemy intimidated Judah, the leading tribe, and the people of Judah began to complain out of their fear (4:10-12). Judah had three major points of complaint: The workers are getting tired. There are too many hindrances. The task is impossible. Those complaints are very persuasive and realistic. To make things worse, Nehemiah had to deal with internal dissension between the nobles and the poor among his people (5:1-13). But the enemy was persistent. He never stopped his counter attacks. It’s one thing after another. There was further opposition to the rebuilding – it was slander against Nehemiah (6:1-9). The enemy was not able to compromise Nehemiah’s stand; so now they seek to misrepresent him. He is charged with pride and self-seeking. They spread rumors and gossip. They said to Nehemiah, “Your real purpose is to satisfy yourself. You are rebuilding the wall to revolt and become a king!” Lastly, there was false prophecy. Prophet Shemaiah prophesied that Nehemiah should run into the temple to save his life. We have learned there were four or five different kinds of attacks, but all of them prompted by the enemy’s same motive. The enemy’s purpose is to stop God’s work by deterring Nehemiah and his people through discouragement. We must remember this. Nehemiah was well aware of this. So, in 6:9 Nehemiah prayed, “But now, O God, strengthen my hands!” May that be our prayer today!

Know God

In order to win the battle, we must know the enemy. But that is just a first step. We also must know who our God is. For Nehemiah, God is real and alive. Every time Nehemiah faced opposition, he didn’t directly fight back against the enemy. Instead, he took that challenge up and prayed to the Lord. When he heard the challenging news that the wall was broken down and its gates were burned by fire, he took that challenge up to God. He started praying in this way, “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God!” (1:5a). When the enemy intimidated Nehemiah and his people, he said to God’s people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome!” (4:14a). When Daniel faced a life-threatening crisis, he went to his room and got down on his knees and prayed with thanksgiving. When the early church Christians faced severe persecution, they were gathered together. They got together not to launch a counter attack or retaliate, but to pray together. They did not pray that God would stop the persecution. Instead, they did pray that the word of God would continue to grow and spread. In Acts 4:29-30 they prayed in one spirit, “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus!” Their prayers were answered. The word continued to spread, and there were many new believers day by day (cf. Acts 12:24).

In the middle of the challenge Nehemiah did not pray that God would stop the enemy’s attacks. Instead, he prayed that God would strengthen his and the people’s hands, so that they may continue to work and complete God’s project. His prayers were answered. The more the enemy intensified attacks, the more prosperous Nehemiah’s work became. The enemy mocked and ridiculed; Nehemiah prayed; God unified his people to work in harmony (ch. 3). The enemy was angry and made more effort to discourage Nehemiah and his people; Nehemiah prayed; God intervened and helped. So the whole wall was soon joined together and halfway to its intended height (4:6). The enemy became even more angry and intimated Nehemiah; Nehemiah prayed; God strengthened Nehemiah’s hands, and he completed the wall and not a gap was left in it (6:1). Max Lucado rightly comments, “When we work, we work. When we pray, God works.” Our God is great and awesome. He is Mighty God. He is mighty to strengthen us, help us, uphold us, and he is mighty to complete His great work in our lives and in our church. Do you believe this?

Know Yourself

Now we know the enemy. And we know our God. Along with this, we must know ourselves. Who are we? We are the Church. We are God’s people. We are members of God’s family. Nehemiah had such a strong God’s family identity. In the middle of the project the enemy stirred up dissension and sowed strife among God’s people. Some of Nehemiah’s co-workers were discouraged. The nobles didn’t get involved. The poor complained. Many in Judah were bound by oath to Tobiah, the enemy (6:18). But Nehemiah had never been shaken. He truly believed he and his people (community) were mutually bound together by a common destiny. He was tired of working, and the job seemed to be impossible to complete, but he never dreamed of going home to Babylon by himself. For Nehemiah, if the people perish, he perishes. If the people prosper, he prospers. When he saw that the nobles and officials were exploiting the people, he confronted them and spoke the truth in love. Not only this, but also Nehemiah sacrificed himself. For twelve years he refused to claim the governor’s food allowance, because the people already carried a heavy burden (5:18). After the completion of the wall, Nehemiah and the leaders volunteered to remain in the city of Jerusalem. At that time, the city of Jerusalem was a militarily vulnerable and a dying urban area. So they had to defend the city and carry out the redevelopment at great inconvenience (11:1-24). But again, Nehemiah was willing to sacrifice himself for his people, God’s people.

We, as a church, need this sense of community solidarity that binds all of us in a common destiny. We are members of God’s family. When we get into a family, in other words, when we are born or adopted into it, we don’t have the right to choose our family members. We don’t choose who will be my father or my sister. Among the family members, there might be a difficult uncle, emotionally unhealthy aunt, or immature older brother. But no matter who they are, we are still family. We are still bound together. In the same way, the church is God’s family. We don’t choose who will be my church family members. Once we become a child in the family of God, we’re in! We belong to each other. We are bound together by a common destiny. We are united and will be eternally united by the blood of Christ. The church is “eternal fellowship community.” One of the privileges of being an UMC pastor is to move from appointment to appointment. Every time Joyce and I are appointed to new church, we pray, “Lord, make us become genuine members of the church family.” If the church, the body of Christ, perishes, we perish. If the church prospers, we prosper. We need this Christian identity. When we have the strong Christian identity, the enemy cannot break church unity.

Unstoppable Church

Winston Churchill once delivered the following speech during World War II:

“We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end… We shall defend our island, whatever the cost. We shall fight on the beaches; we shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender.”

I would like to paraphrase his speech to apply today’s message to our hearts:

“We shall not stop or give up. We shall go on to the end. We shall defend our church, whatever the cost. We shall pray in the morning. We shall pray in the night. We shall pray in our prayer closet. We shall pray together in the church. We shall accept each other. We shall build each other up. We shall never stop building up the church.”

Jesus said, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18, ESV). Christ’s church is unstoppable. Would you join me in building up the unstoppable church together here in Houlton? 

“Pray for Next Steps” (Nehemiah 2:11-20) - Revive Us Again II -

“Pray for Next Steps” (Nehemiah 2:11-20)

- Revive Us Again II -

Prayer Is the Greater Work

If God could grant you one wish, what would you ask for? Recently, I had special prayer needs and started fasting and having an extended time of prayer for about a month. I promised God that I would come to God’s house at least once a day and seek his face. Praise God! He answered my prayer on the last day of “10 Days of Prayer” meeting. The other day while I was meditating on today’s scripture, I realized that since my prayers were answered, I stopped coming to God’s house to pray in the closet. Many Christians have a tendency to start off strong, but after a while, especially after their prayers are answered, their passion and zeal diminish. Nehemiah had been praying for four months day and night for granting him favor in the presence of the king. And you see, his prayers were answered! But Nehemiah never stopped praying. Moment by moment he prays spontaneously for his next steps. He constantly seeks God’s guidance with all his heart. In verse 4 the king said to him, “What is it you want?” Then before answering the king, Nehemiah paused for a moment and prayed to the God of heaven. In every moment he was completely dependent on God, and he always sought His guidance, even in the middle of his conversation. Many of us in this room tend to take action first, based on our experience and wisdom, and then pray: “Lord, give me success!” But, Nehemiah was opposite. He always prayed first, and then he took action. What a holy habit to follow! And God directed Nehemiah’s next steps, and His gracious hand was always upon him.

In today’s scripture, Nehemiah finally arrived in Jerusalem. He must have been excited, high-spirited and ready to start rebuilding the wall immediately. But verse 11 begins with Nehemiah’s statement in this way: “I arrived in Jerusalem and remained there for three days” (ISV). Why didn’t he immediately go to work? And what did he do for three days? He didn’t do anything but pray. Again he prayed for his next steps. Oswald Chambers said, “Prayer does not equip us for greater works – prayer is the greater work. Too often we treat prayer as the preparation for the work of the church… do you not see, prayer is the work of the church.” Without prayer, all our Christian service is like building our own castles on sand. Without prayer, it is impossible to keep pace with God and be directed by God. For me, it took 36 years to learn this truth. It was only a few months ago that if I had one-hour free time on Saturday, I spent that time making my sermon more eloquent or searching better sermon illustrations. But now, if have one hour free, I go to the sanctuary and pray, because now I know God works through prayer. For the Israelites, it took 40 years to learn this truth. For them, it took 40 years to learn how to listen to God and how to keep pace with God. When the cloud stayed above the tabernacle, the Israelites remained in camp for two days or a month or a year, and when the cloud lifted, they would set out (Num 9:22). They had to learn a God-dependent life. It took 40 years. Nehemiah also had to learn this. He learned this truth through the things he suffered (cf. Heb 5:8). And now Nehemiah always prays for next steps. God shows him three essential steps and leads him step by step.

Investigation

The first essential step is time of investigation. After praying for three days, led by the Spirit, Nehemiah goes out one gate, circles the city, and returns by the same gate at night. Before beginning to build the walls, before saying to anyone, in solitude he took the time to examine the broken walls of Jerusalem and the gates destroyed by fire. In solitude he took the time to weep over the ruins and count the cost. In solitude he made a night journey. Nehemiah already knew what God had put in his heart to do for Jerusalem. He had God’s vision, God’s big picture, but he didn’t know how to get there. So like Jacob, left alone at Jabbok River, Nehemiah made a night journey and struggled with God all alone. How about us? Before doing our Christian service, before telling visions and plans to anyone, we need to make this night journey in solitude to hear what God wants to put on our hearts. Jesus said, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matt 6:6). Do you have your spiritual closet? There we can truly commune with God. There we can truly examine our spiritual lives. As we make an investigation of our lives, our standard for investigation must be the Word of God, not our past or other’s lives. We cannot say, “Well, I am better than I used to be.” Or we cannot say, “Well, I am better than that other person.” As we come to the Word of God, it becomes a strong searchlight. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. It discloses our secret sins (Heb 4:12-13). Before taking action or telling anyone, go to your prayer closet and hear what God has for you, and you will live.

Cooperation

Nehemiah made that investigation with prayer, and after that, led by the Spirit he went on to seek the cooperation of the people. This is the second essential step. Verse 17 says, “Then I said to them, “…Come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” Rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem was not a new vision at all. Probably, several other Israelites were eager to rebuild it, and they might have wonderful plans, and even some of them might try them. But none of them could make it. The wall and whole city of Jerusalem had been abandoned more than 150 years. Why? It is because those plans were not from God. They were not established and embodied through prayer. But when Nehemiah shared this vision, all the people came out as one man. If we turn to chapter 3, at least 43 different groups of people joined together and did their parts. When we pray for next steps, God raises his servants and unite them around his vision. Prayer is the battle. We cannot fight and win this battle by ourselves. So, God always raises his people to fight the good fight together. Over the year my family and I have had four surprise visits from the previous congregation. The interesting thing is that all of them were my small group members. We used to have a meal together. We shared our prayer requests and experiences. We rejoiced together and mourned together. My prayer is that I may have that kind of spiritual relationship with each of you. [Hodgdon] Now we have a Tuesday Bible study group. And I am planning to start a weekday ongoing small group gathering from next year. [Houlton] Now we have two ongoing small group gatherings – Wednesday Prayer Fellowship and Sunday Bible Reading Club. And I am planning to start a weekday ongoing small group gathering from next year. I exhort you to come to those spiritual gatherings and build up the spiritual wall of the church together!

Determination

With prayer, Nehemiah saw the need for investigation, and he enlisted the people’s cooperation. Then, God prepared him to be determined. As Nehemiah and his people began God’s work in earnest, immediately they faced opposition. Sanballat and Tobiah mocked and ridiculed them. They said, “Are you rebelling against the king?” As we do our Christian service, we have to expect opposition. When the decision was made that I would be appointed to my previous church, immediately six of the church family members officially declared that they would leave the church. Rumors were going around that I didn’t speak English and my ministry would not be successful. Even before starting my ministry there, I had to deal with racism and rumors. My strategy for overcoming them was to run to God’s house every single day and pray for the church. God did make me bold and determined. With God’s help and intervention, those six people decided to stay the church. Within six months my family and the whole church family became one big family in Christ. Our weapon for spiritual opposition is to let God fight for us through prayer. When Sanballat and Tobiah mocked and ridiculed Nehemiah, he invited God into his circumstance. He answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success.” When David fought against Goliath, he invited God to his circumstance by saying, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (1Sam 17:45). From that moment that battle was not between David and Goliath any more. It became the battle between God and Goliath. And we know the result. 

With Assurance of Victory

In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian arrives at Palace Beautiful. But as he enters a narrow passage and sees two lions lying in front of the gate. Christian was so afraid and about to go back. But the gateman, whose name was Watchful, cried out, “Why are you so cowardly? Don’t be afraid of the lions, for they are chained and placed there to test your faith!” So Christian followed the gateman’s directions and safely reached the palace. Like Christian did, we will face the challenge of Christian service. But like Nehemiah did, if we constantly pray for next steps, God will lead us step by step, and we will overcome the challenge with assurance of victory. Yes, on our pilgrim journey we will meet lions. But when we pray, God will open our eyes to see them in chains. Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray without ceasing! Amen.