"Revival That Lasts" (If You Build It, He Will Come - Nehemiah Series, Part 4) Nehemiah, 8:1-3, 5-6 Revive Us AgainWhat comes to mind when you think of the word revival? Does it take you back to your childhood when churches would hold services every night of the week in an attempt to recapture the love of Christ again? There's absolutely nothing wrong with a church attempting to grow closer to God through a week of services to seek His face but real, lasting revival begins in an individual's heart, then spreads to his or her family and then spreads to the church, then the community and then quite possibly the nation. Taken from the root word revive, it quite literally means to bring back to life, to become active, to flourish again. Our nation and our world are in a state of decay. The more that God is removed from a society, the more that society descends into depravity, filth, moral decay and chaos. We are living in a time where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. Absolute truth is becoming unacceptable and intolerable, especially the Word of God. The Truth of Scripture has even become intolerable in many churches. The Truth of God's Word has been exchanged for a lie. Many churches are lukewarm at best, many more are dead altogether. But Christian, all is not lost. This Sunday we will finish our 4-week sermon series in Nehemiah with Nehemiah Part 4: Revival That Lasts. God used Nehemiah to bring about revival in Jerusalem. The Lord began by placing a burden in Nehemiah’s heart for the Jewish people and for the city of Jerusalem. Then Nehemiah, as cupbearer to the king, moved forward in faith by asking King Artaxerxes of Persia to not only let him travel to Jerusalem but to fund the rebuilding of the wall. Then Nehemiah inspired and rallied the Jewish people to accomplish the impossible, to rebuild 2 ½ miles of completely destroyed and burned walls and gates surrounding the city of Jerusalem and with God’s help, they did it in just 52 days! In this final sermon, we will learn how God used both Nehemiah and Ezra to not only bring about revival for the Lord, but revival that would last. Ezra read the forgotten Word of God to the Jewish people and they responded with confession of sin and a returning to God. Beloved, our God is a God of mercy, his heart is always longing for forgiveness, restoration and revival. I believe we witnessed the beginning of a revival in this country 3 years ago, February 8th, 2023 on the campus of Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. No famous theologians, no big-name worship leaders or musicians...just a group of students who were hungry for an encounter with God. They humbly confessed their sins and shortcomings and simply poured out their hearts to Jesus. That revival spread to many other college campuses around the country and it’s still burning today.Christian, do you long for revival? God is always ready! If you'll completely and humbly confess your sins and surrender your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, then you are positioned for revival to break out in your own heart, and in the hearts of your family members and then who knows, perhaps then in your church, your community, the nation and the world. All things are indeed possible with our great God!Revive us again Lord, I pray! I love y'all...Your brother in Christ Jesus our Lorddoug 2 Chronicles 7:14If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
