Revive Thy Work O Lord

 

COLERAINE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SUNDAY 2 MARCH 2025 – MR KEITH WILSON

Habakkuk 3 verses 1 to 10

I don’t know if some of the more aged members of our congregation if they have ever had the privilege of hearing Duncan Campbell. He preached on the topic of revival and said “Revival is the most misunderstood of all subjects. First of all, when I speak of revival, I am not thinking of high-pressure evangelism. Evangelistic campaigns or special meetings is not revival. In a successful evangelistic campaign there will be hundreds or even thousands of people making decisions for Christ but the community remains untouched and the churches continue much the same as they did before the outreach. In revival God moves in the district suddenly. The community becomes God conscious.” I am sure if you had one soul saved you would rejoice. If you have a thousand souls saved would that mean you had revival? Revival is a move of God. The Spirit of God grips men and women that even work is given up as people give themselves up to wait for the Spirit of God. In the Isle of Lewis the Spirit of God was resting on the surrounding villages. His presence was present among the people. This is revival. The presence of God. In the Hebrides revival 75% of people who were saved were saved before they came to the meeting house or even heard a sermon preached. The power of God. The Spirit of God was moving in operation and the fear of God gripped the souls of men and women. This is revival. God sending revival as different from the respective efforts of evangelism. “Revive thy work in the midst of the years.” We looked at Habakkuk chapter 1 previously and seen his great burden. The Lord put it on my heart not to speak on revival but rather through a daily devotional I realised that I needed to speak on what actually is revival. We have not seen revival since the turn of the twenty first century. Verse 2 “O Lord I have heard thy speech and was afraid, O Lord revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known, in wrath remember mercy.”

 

The prophet started with the words “O Lord I have heard thy speech.” The prophet uses the phrase “O Lord” twice. He is burdened. Back in chapter 1 verse 1 we read that. His prayer was not “Lord remember wee Annie or Jimmy.” Those prayers have their place. But we need a burden that God would send revival. He is burdened and he sighs “O Lord”. There is something on his mind. What was on his mind? Verse 2 “I have heard thy speech and was afraid.” What did he actually hear? He heard that judgment was coming on Judah. Habakkuk prays when he announced this judgment. Chapter 1 verses 2 to 5. What is that work that he will do – verses 6 and 7. Habakkuk is talking in chapter 3 verse 1 of the judgment of God that would sent on the nation because they had turned their backs on God. God is displeased with our nation because our nation has turned its bac on God. Will God send revival to this nation again? We are actually more ripe for judgment before God sends revival. God has been pushed out of society, pushed our of parliament, pushed out of schools, pushed out of hospitals. Habakkuk realised there was violence in the land – stealing, plundering goods, murdering each others, lieing to each other.  He says “Lord I know what you are going to do.” He had to accept the judgment of God but it never hindered him seeking a revival from God. Habakkuk couldn’t believe his ears. Surely God is not going to do this. He was afraid which really means he was in awe of God. I am sure he got on his knees, his heart pounding before God in awe of him. God would judge his nation, send them into captivity but after 70 years God will bring them back from captivity. Do we hear the speech of God? Have we heard what God is going to do? The judgment is coming on the unsaved. There is a time coming on this earth, a tribulation period when all hell will be let loose. The nation of Israel will be in such turmoil. The tribulation period is known as Jacob’s Trouble. The anti-Christ will sign a treaty with Israel. All will be well for that period but then there will be demonic activity work going on. Are we burdened for our lost loved ones? Those going to a horrendous place in hell fire? We are not to be playing about with sin. Here was the nation of Israel playing about with sin. They had turned from God and God brought them into captivity and God judged them as a result. “O Lord I have heard thy speech and was afraid.” He was in awe of what God is going to do. “O Lord revive thy work in the mist of the years.” Have we got a real burden that God will revive and work in the midst of the years? Even though judgement is coming the prophet seeks God for revival. The first time he heard the speech he was in awe of God. Now he is burdened again. This is vital for us to grasp. It is easy to understand it. Many go of in a wrong note. Those 3 words “revive thy work”. God’s work wasn’t the prophet’s work. It was not Judah’s work. It was not Israel’s work. Today it is not the preacher’s work. It is not the denominations work. Going back hundreds of years – it was not Duncan Campbell’s work, nor John Wesley’s work, nor Spurgeon’s work. It is God who revives the soul. Revives his church. It is God who revives a nation. For the coming mission let it be God’s work and let God do what he wants to do. Don’t look to man. Let your prayer be “revive thy work.” I am sure you agree we need revival, personal revival in our churches and in our land. Revival is going to come. Heaven sent revival. It will only come from God. Let’s pray that God will save. If the Chinese next door is not touched with the awe of God it is not revival. We need the Spirit of God to grab our communities. The presence of God to be so real that 75% of people are saved before they come through the doors of this church. Habakkuk prays “revive thy work”. He accepted the judgment of God but prays for the work to be revived. Don’t get focused on denomination, or the preacher, or the singers, fixate on what will happen. Very little happens if anything – why – because many are not looking for God. They are looking for results. It is not about results but it is about God. Habakkuk wanted God to revive his work. He realised it was with God. Habakkuk was burdened for it to happen again. Al of Israel’s kingdom were full of evil kings. Judah had a mixture of good and bad kings. They all had one thing in common – what our churches do not have – they feared God. They wanted God to revive his work. They wanted to take the background. We need not to be used but useable. That means I say “Lord I would like to see this land revived, to see people in my family saved but I want you to revive your work, I want to be where you want me to be.” Habakkuk wants to know power in the midst of the years, that Israel would repent and see God again. He maybe remembered God’s power in delivering them from Egypt, when they crossed the Red Sea. He heard of the waters parting and the enemy coming behind and the waters closing over. He knew the power of God working in the past. “These years” – he wanted it to be now. The motive for prayer for revival is the glory of God. That God will come but not just come, that he will give us a passion to pray “O Lord revive your work in the midst of the years.” He prays for mercy in the time of judgment that was coming upon Judah. God had said judgment would come long before Habakkuk’s time. Joshua had said “choose you this day whom you will serve.” Has something got hold of you that God’s glory is no longer predominant in your life. “In wrath remember mercy.” Martin Lloyd Jones said “the child of God cannot sin successfully because the true child of God will be chastened by God.” Think of the wrath that awaits the ungodly yet we still live in day of grace. Habakkuk was burdened. Twice he prays “O Lord” Remember David in Psalm 51 verse 2 “have mercy on me O God according to your unfailing love, blot out my transgressions." Ephesians 2 “because of his great love for us God who is rich in mercy has made us alive with Christ.” Christ is still to this day offering mercy. We live in a day of grace but God will judge this land. We need to pray “God in wrath remember mercy.” Whenever we come before God like Habakkuk “I have heard your speech, I know what you are about to do, I was afraid.” I was in awe of you. “O Lord revive thy work in the midst of the years.” Make it known. In wrath bring mercy. Let’s pray God will be seen and honoured and men and women, boys and girls would live for the glory of God. That none will be seen save Jesus and him alone.