Seize the Moment – Day 884
Cry out for Revival!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, August 18.
Are we a nation experiencing God’s judgment? Whether or not we are, and I’ve heard it both ways, I believe our response is the same! We must come together as the people of God and cry out for revival in our nation. When the Spirit of God awakens His people to the need for revival, then the active presence of the Holy Spirit saturates every sector of our lives – personal, family, work, and community life. This can only happen through prayer!
Josiah, the last good king of Judah, renewed the covenant between himself and Yahweh in 2 Kings 23:3:
The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people entered into the covenant.
The people followed the king’s example, and the reforms began. Verses 4-27 tell the story of a nation-wide revival, including a celebration of Passover that had not been seen in Israel since the time of Judges (21-23; cf. 2 Chronicles 35:1-19). God’s people were experiencing a culture-wide reform of their worship practices, and that was impacting every part of their community life.
Was this revival enough to turn God’s wrath away from Judah? Sadly, the reforms did not extend beyond the life of King Josiah, as the next kings did evil and broke the covenant (28-37). The nation was too far gone! God’s judgment, through the Babylonian Empire, was quickly approaching, as 2 Kings 23:26 declares, “However, the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him.”
Seize the moment and cry out to God for revival. Trust that God will use all means necessary to bring His people back to Himself, including bringing a nation under judgment.