Reviving God’s People 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 Hebrews 10:24–25 (NIV) - 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Reviving God’s People 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 2 Kings 18:5–6 (NIV) 5 …trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah…6 He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 2 Chronicles 28:22–25 (NIV) 22 In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD. 23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus… But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel. 24 Ahaz gathered together the furnishings from the temple of God and took them away. He shut the doors of the LORD’s temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem. 25 In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and provoked the LORD, the God of his fathers, to anger. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 1. Celebration of Genuine Worship 2 Chronicles 29:3–5 (NIV) 3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the LORD and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side 5 and said: “Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 1. Celebration of Genuine Worship 2 Chronicles 30:1 (NIV) - Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, inviting them to come to the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover to the LORD, the God of Israel. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 1. Celebration of Genuine Worship 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NIV) 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 1. Celebration of Genuine Worship 2 Chronicles 30:18–20 (NIV) 18 Although most of the many people who came…had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying… Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 1. Celebration of Genuine Worship “May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone 19 who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers— even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.” 20 And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 1. Celebration of Genuine Worship Psalm 51:16–17 (NIV) - You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 1. Celebration of Genuine Worship Romans 12:1 (NIV) - Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 1. Celebration of Genuine Worship Psalm 27:6 (NIV) - Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I SACRIFICE with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 1. Celebration of Genuine Worship 2 Chronicles 30:21,23 (NIV) 21 The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great rejoicing, while the Levites and priests sang to the LORD every day, accompanied by the LORD’s instruments of praise… Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 1. Celebration of Genuine Worship 2 Chronicles 30:21,23 (NIV) 23 The whole assembly then agreed to celebrate the festival seven more days; so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 2. Conviction Leading to Repentance 2 Chronicles 30:26,27 (NIV) 26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 2. Conviction Leading to Repentance 2 Chronicles 31:1 (NIV) - When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 2. Conviction Leading to Repentance The first question we must ask ourselves is this: from whose point of view should I approach my sin? The default point of view for all people born after Sigmond Freud is the personal one. Our culture resoundingly believes that life is to be interpreted from the point of view of how I feel and perceive things. This explains in part why we have become a Christian culture that admits sin rather than confesses it, and doesn’t linger long enough at the cross to know the difference. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, Openness Unhindered Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 2. Conviction Leading to Repentance Psalm 51:3–4 (NIV) - 3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 2. Conviction Leading to Repentance 1 John 1:9 (NIV) - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 2. Conviction Leading to Repentance 1 John 1:9 (NIV) - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 3. Commitment to Generous Giving 2 Chronicles 31:2 (NIV) 2 [the priests and Levites] began to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to minister, to give thanks and to sing praises at the gates of the LORD’s dwelling. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 3. Commitment to Generous Giving 2 Chronicles 31:5 (NIV) 5 As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 3. Commitment to Generous Giving a. Generous Giving 2 Chronicles 31:5 “…the Israelites generously gave… 2 Chronicles 31:4 (NIV) - the people [gave] the portion due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the LORD. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 3. Commitment to Generous Giving a. Generous Giving 1 Corinthians 9:13–14 (NIV) - 13 Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 3. Commitment to Generous Giving a. Generous Giving 2 Corinthians 9:11 (NIV) 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 3. Commitment to Generous Giving b. Priority Giving 2 Chronicles 31:5 (NIV) 5 …the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, oil and honey and all that the fields produced. Reviving God’s People - 2 Kings 18-20; 2 Chronicles 29-31 3. Commitment to Generous Giving b. Priority Giving Proverbs 3:9 – Honor God with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops.