"It Is Time to Seek the Lord . . . " (e)
Hosea 10:12-13
Nehemiah 1:1-11James R. Davis
There is a great need for a Spiritual renewal among all of God's people today. There is a need for a vibrant flourishing church to make God's presence felt in a world that has lost its way. It will take much more than the wisdom of this world to build the kingdom of God. There are no artificial means that will be effective in building the kingdom of God. It takes more than human ingenuity. We must think realistically about building a firm foundation for tomorrow's church by establishing a firm foundation for our personal lives.
Zephaniah spoke in a day of impending doom upon Israel. He consistently spoke of "The day of the Lord." God was coming in judgment and Zephaniah warned. "Gather together, gather together, O shameful nation, before the appointed time arrives and that day sweeps on like chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the LORD's wrath comes upon you. Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD's anger." (Zephaniah 2:1-3)
Even before Zephaniah was on the scene Hosea said, "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12-13)
A Revival Requires the Power of God
I believe God's people are seeking a revival in many quarters today. But the reason that the church is finding renewal to be difficult may be because there is no recognition of God as a necessary part of the process! We have this illusion that we don't need God to do what we need to do or want to do. We feel this enlightened age makes it possible to live quite well without him. We all have a tendency to depend upon ourselves to get things done and ignore the need of God in the process. A renewal can only happen as we allow the power of God through his Spirit to bring revival to each of us. Hosea condemned Israel for trying to build themselves by the power of their own hands: "But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors . . .," Hosea says, " . . . It is time to seek the Lord."
Psalms 127:1
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.There are many things seeking to lead us today. Things like human ingenuity, wishful thinking, fear, obsessional neurosis, schizophrenia, hormones, hormonal imbalance, depression, side effects of medication, and Satan. I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that said, "I do whatever the voices in my head tell me." I had a science professor that said he charted his moods with the changing of the moon. He said that he was surprised how he could begin to see that there was a pattern established between the changes of moon and his mood swings. In fact it became too predictable and he gave it up. As we are being led or urged on in one direction or another, we have an urgent need to know what or who is leading us. We cannot just sit back and rest assured that it is always God's Spirit that is leading us in what we are seeking to do. To just follow impressions no matter how bound up they are with holy concerns is not the way to lead a Spirit led life.
Amos 5:8
Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:Only God's Spirit can bring renewal.
2 Corinthians 3:2-8
You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-- not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?Romans 8:9-14
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation-- but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.We know that God's Spirit lives in us, the Bible itself makes that abundantly clear. Paul said, "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." Paul also says that it is the Spirit of God that makes us alive in Christ. God's Spirit makes us alive as we allow the Spirit of God to put to death the misdeeds of the body. I understand by this that if I am going to be regenerated it will be the work of God's Spirit that will bring about that new life.
This lesson is not designed to teach us how the Spirit dwells in each of us. To me that is sort of like trying to explain how the soul and body are connected to give us physical life. James tells us death takes place when the spirit leaves the body. (James 2:26) Many have tried to detect the spirit leaving at death but it is imperceptible. The only perception we have of the soul leaving the body is that the body ceases to live.
Jesus indicates that the seed of the kingdom is the word of God. (Luke 8:11) Jesus said, "The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." (John 6:63) I had a professor in college that compared the work of the Spirit to a seed of corn. He pointed out that you can take a seed of corn and plant it and it grows. But you cannot detect what makes it geminate. You can't explain what is going on inside that seed to make it grow and produce a crop. You just know it does. The seed can be dissected and placed under a microscope but there is nothing there that tells you why it grows. There is nothing that tells how the spirit of life dwells in that seed. You just know it does, because it is alive.
Spiritual growth is as mysterious as the coming and going of the wind. Jesus told Nicodemus, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3:3-8) Jesus said, only God's Spirit could give birth to the spirit of man.
James tells us, if we need wisdom, we must ask God for he gives wisdom to all liberally. (James 1:5) The only condition on this is that we must believe that God will do it.
The key to spiritual growth is that when the Spirit of God endeavors to lead us we must not quench it or grieve it. (Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Ephesians 4:30) We grieve and quench the Spirit when we refuse to follow its leading. It is one thing to seek the Lord and not know exactly the next step to be taken, it is quite another to see the next step that should be taken and refuse to take it.
Paul tells us that it is God who makes the seed grow. "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor." (1 Corinthians 3:6-8) In this context Paul happens to be talking about the church specifically. He says that there are many things we can do. We can cultivate the soil, plant the seed, we can water the soil but only God can make it grow. Hosea said to those relying on their own strength, "They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up. (Hosea 8:7)
If it isn't God's Spirit leading us, we are as good as dead. Paul wrote, "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so." (Romans 8:6-7)
This power can only come as we allow the word to take root in our hearts. And it is only the Spirit of God that can cause it to take root and grow. We may want to adhere to some pre-made formula expecting the doing of it to regenerate life. Adhering to the formula may stop us from doing things that are wrong but does it give us a new life in Christ? Does it have the power to resurrect our spiritual lives? Is it only an effort to regenerate life on our own strength? We will have a form of godliness but deny the power of God. (2 Timothy 3:5) Only God's Spirit can give life. Paul says, " . . . but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live . . . "
Nehemiah's Spiritual Revival
Over 500 years before Jesus came Nehemiah led one of the biggest revivals of God's people of all time. The Israelites had lived profane lives and were judged by God and punished by the Babylonians. They had been exiled for a whole generation. As Nehemiah serves Artaxerxes as cupbearer he is deeply concerned about his brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 1:1-4
The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.These people were disgraced, they needed a revival in the worst way. The walls were broken down. The gates were burned with fire and no longer usable. Nehemiah is personally concerned. It is not one of those "Don't worry be happy moments" in life. We must honestly face our ruin, whatever it may be, and, without blaming or attempting to involve somebody else we must pour it out before God. In Nehemiah life has tumbled in and has continued tumbling in for a whole generation. It was a moment that they realized their deep need of restoration.
We must have a clear recognition of why we are where we are. Nehemiah said we are we are because, "We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. "Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations . . . " (Nehemiah 1:7-9)
Christianity is more than a self-help course. When it merely becomes a self help course it usually leaves our hearts virtually unchanged. It is not difficult to understand that I am supposed to turn the other cheek. The difficulty comes in understanding how to apply it. Do I just rigidly let someone slap me in the face as I turn to God and say, "Well, I did what you told me, now you owe me one? I dread the day I have to do that again." The real test of Christianity is where do I find the power to want to live this way? Where do I find the power to change my attitude so that I can think this way? I need the power to want to live this way!
It is very important for each of us to understand the reason that we are standing where we are today. Jesus says of the prodigal son "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! (Luke 15:17) We must come to our senses and realize what brought to where we are.
Churches must understand this. If churches as a whole refuse to listen and heed the call for renewal then listening to God's call for renewal can save a remnant. Individual Christian's must understand this.
When we understand our condition then we can prepare to receive the implanted word, which is able to save our souls. (James 1:18-25)
Christianity is much more than knowing what is wrong with the world. We can spend our lives pointing out the errors of others, the errors of the group we belong to. This might make each of us feel pretty good. But what each of us must do is strive to put to death the misdeeds of the body,, by the power of the Spirit of God. It doesn't what is wrong with you, it is what is wrong with me that will bring revival to my life.
When we seek revival we must also remember the character of God. Nehemiah reminded himself and God of the promises that were made through Moses.
Then Nehemiah said: "O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations . . . but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.'" (Nehemiah 1:5-9)
When there is a deep realization of the need for renewal and revival, we must bring ourselves to believe that God is willing to give us the power to make it happen. Moses gave them the hope that if they did sin and God scattered them that God would bring them back from the farthest horizon.
Isaiah 55:6-7
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.We must have the courage to make specific requests of God. Reminding ourselves of God's promises gives us the courage to make specific request. Failure hounds us and convinces us that we are not deserving. One thing that will help is reminding ourselves of what God has always done for those caught in the trap of sin. As Nehemiah thought about their condition he prayed, "Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand." (Nehemiah 1:10) He was reminding himself of what God had done in the past. That is always the biggest clue to what he will do in the present.
Nehemiah 1:11
O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man." I was cupbearer to the king.Nehemiah was about to ask the king for permission for a leave of absence, he wanted to go back and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He knew that if it was to be, it would be up to God. So he prayed, "O Lord, I pray, please . . . let your servant prosper this day . . . grant him mercy in the sight of this man." Nehemiah knew, if he were to be successful, he would have to depend upon God.
We must expect to reap what we sow. If we expect to reap anything different than what we have been getting, then we must start sowing different seed. "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:7-9) "Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you."
Conclusion:
We must seek revival for our personal lives. Nehemiah began by confessing his own sins. He began by realizing what he would have to do personally. He didn't look around and expect the revival to start with someone else. We must experience God's power in our individual lives whether anyone ever decides to be revived or not. In fact, the Lord is ready right now to bless us personally if we will meet His conditions. When British evangelist Gypsy Smith was asked how to start a revival, he said, "Go home, lock yourself in your room, kneel down in the middle of your floor. Draw a chalk mark all around yourself and ask God to start the revival inside that chalk mark. When He has answered your prayer, the revival will be on."
What the church needs more than anything today is for the hand of the Lord to be with us. The following verses are an indication of what God did in the first century. They are an indication of his power and presence that can and must be utilized today.
Amos 5:15
Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.Acts 11:21
And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.Acts 14:27
And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.Acts 21:19
And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.1 Cor 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.John 15:5-6
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.