The Word and Revival

Scripture

Plead my cause and redeem me; REVIVE me according to Your WORD.

~Psalm 119:154, NASB

Quote

The Word of God is  synonymous with power: God spoke and creation came into existence–Jesus spoke and the dead were raised to life.

~Ya’akov

We are getting very close to the end of Psalm 119 which is an acrostic poem. It has 22 stanzas matching the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each stanza begins with one of these 22 symbols. Stanza 20 begins with the letter Resh which would be akin to our letter R. Today, I want us to focus on a word used three times in this stanza and sixteen times in Psalms 119. It is the Hebrew word  chayah {khä·yä’} which as we have pointed out is a lot like the word Jehovah or Yahweh. Yahweh in Hebrew looks like this יְהֹוָה– khä·yä’ in Hebrew looks like this חָיָה. Both words are verbs for being containing two h’s and their pronunciations are really similar. Chayah means to live, to quicken, to revive. The NASB translated it ‘Revive’ ten times in Psalm 119 and three times in this stanza:

  • Revive me according to Your Word [154]
  • Revive me according to Your Ordinances [156]
  • Revive me, O LORD, according to your loving-kindness [159]

As a matter of fact, the Psalmist prayed a similar prayer ten times in Psalm 119:

  • Revive me according to Your Word [17, 107, 154]
  • Revive me according to Your Ordinances [149, 156]
  • Revive me according to Your loving-kindness [88, 159]
  • Revive me according to Your Ways [37]
  • Revive me through Your Righteousness [40]

‘Ways’ in verse 37 is the Hebrew word derek and it means literally–way, road, distance, journey, manner, path, direction or habit. Figuratively, it means ‘course of life’ or ‘moral character.’ Ordinance is the Hebrew ‘mish·pät’ which means a verdict, a ruling, a judgment, a sentence or it can mean justice.

Bottom line: we can not expect REVIVAL a part from the WORD of GOD. You are probably thinking of one aspect of the WORD, namely the Preaching of the WORD but the bible is not a magic wan they Wade can wave in front of us and suddenly we all come to life. O there is life in the WORD and it has supernatural power but for us to be REVIVED according to the WORD, we must obey the word that is preached. Simply hearing another great sermon is not going to revive any individual or congregation. Revival will come when we make the WORD a priority. Our Pastor has said often that our check books don’t lie and I agree. I can look at your checkbook and tell you what your priorities are because we all spend money on our passions, the things we love. The same test is true of the BIBLE. How much time are you spending in the word of God? Do you believe the word of God? Are you making changes in your life because of the word of God? In other words, are you living by the instructions in the word of God or is just a devotional book?

Truth be known: for many of us, there needs to be an act of REPENTANCE because we are not living by the word of God. During the reigns of Manasseh and Amon, the Jews got into such a backslidden state that the WORD OF GOD [book of the Law] was forgotten. Literally, it was misplaced somewhere in the temple. When Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law in the dust of the Temple, he gave it to Shapah the court secretary and he read it to king Josiah. When the king heard what was written in the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes in despair. Immediately, he ordered the priest to have a prayer meeting. He told them to ‘Inquire’ about the words written in the BOOK. Josiah was afraid God’s anger would be poured out on them for not doing what was written in the BOOK. This is the spirit and attitude we need: we have not being living by the BOOK. Ninety five percent of us never attempt to share our faith and eighty percent rob God by withholding tithes and offerings. When you and your spouse make six figures and you are giving less than $5,000 annually to the LORD’s work, that is not even close to a tithe. Our problem is that we are making our own laws and living by them. Instead of obeying God’s word, we reset the standard by making our own rules that comply with our passions and desires. Amen or O’me or both?

  • The Senior Adult men had a good prayer meeting. I love prayer meetings.
  • REVIVAL begins this Sunday morning. Three things each member can do to encourage REVIVAL:
    • ATTEND–Commit to not missing a service.
    • PRAY–Pray for Revival. Pray for Wade. Pray for lost friends. It is not likely that we will get a Revival if we don’t ask for one.
    • INVITE–Begin now thinking about those who have not been attending lately and encourage them to come. Invite some one, a friend, relative, neighbor, etc.
  • Pray for Jenny Hill and family.

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