Seaford Baptist Church Blog

This is a brief note about this study ‘Seeking Him.’  The Lesson 1 study revolves around revival – who needs it.  Below are the verses that we will be studying as listed in our books.  Looking forward to growing in Christ with you.

Memory Verse:
Hosea 10:12 Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. NIV

Deeper Study Verses:
2 Kings 22:8-13 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: 13 “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.” NIV

2 Kings 22:18-20 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 19 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”  So they took her answer back to the king. NIV

Ezra 10:1-12 While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites — men, women and children — gathered around him. They too wept bitterly. 2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. 3 Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. 4 Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.”
5 So Ezra rose up and put the leading priests and Levites and all Israel under oath to do what had been suggested. And they took the oath. 6 Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
7 A proclamation was then issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all the exiles to assemble in Jerusalem. 8 Anyone who failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, in accordance with the decision of the officials and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles.
9 Within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin had gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the square before the house of God, greatly distressed by the occasion and because of the rain. 10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful; you have married foreign women, adding to Israel’s guilt. 11 Now make confession to the Lord, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives.”
12 The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: “You are right! We must do as you say. NIV

Jeremiah 3:19-4:4 “I myself said, “‘How gladly would I treat you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. 20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,”  declares the Lord.
21 A cry is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel, because they have perverted their ways and have forgotten the Lord their God.  22 “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.” “Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God.  23 Surely the [idolatrous] commotion on the hills and mountains is a deception; surely in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.
24 From our youth shameful gods have consumed the fruits of our fathers’ labor — their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.  25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our fathers; from our youth till this day we have not obeyed the Lord our God.”
Chap 4 “If you will return, O Israel, return to me,” declares the Lord. “If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, 2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory.”
3 This is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. 4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done — burn with no one to quench it. NIV

James 4:4-10 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?  6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. NIV

Day 1 Verse:
Psalms 85:6-9 Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? 7 Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. 8 I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints — but let them not return to folly. 9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. NIV

Concept:
Nation of Israel was in bad shape.  Parallel – churches are in bad shape today.

Day 2 Verse:
Hosea 10:12-13 Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. 13 But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors, NIV

Day 3 Verse:
Hosea 11:1-4 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. 3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. 4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them. NIV

Hosea 14:1-4 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! 2 Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. 3 Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.” 4 “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. NIV

Day 4 Verse:
Revelation 2:4-5 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. NIV

Day 5 Verse: (none)

I would think the place to start is answering this question – what is revival? So, what do you think it is? The study we are undertaking defines revival as ‘what happens when God’s people, whether individually or corporately, are restored to a right relationship with Him.’

Looking at that definition, we can see churches, locations, and denominations can experience revival. Keep in mind revival – literally means ‘to bring back to life’. If we take some time to ponder this, the inverse must be true. Churches, locations that Christians live in, and even denominations can be ‘dead’ or seemingly devoid of anything that would give us a clue that they were alive.

I believe that we can mistake – corporately speaking – revival. In fact, I would argue we may easily mistake it for entertainment or turn out (or a combination of these items). I saw an ad for a community of believers that promised to have you rethink how you view church. They just wanted you to come to their service, held at a local venue, where they took the gospel and brought it into today’s technology (using professional audio / visual companies, etc.). Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for taking the timeless message and making it relevant to today’s cultural issues and society’s arena. But when we draw in numbers based on what we offer families (by our facilities) and how we engage folks (better audio / video than some other church) to bring in people (giving us bragging rights to ‘relevance’) – sounds like entertainment to me: that’s NOT revival.

I think we look for crowds to tell us where the action is, where the excitement may be. But wherever there is action and excitement does not equate to where life and truth reside. So corporately, it is difficult to measure revival by terms we could easily recognize and measure. That’s a good reason to know that only God can usher in revival – true revival – in any corporate sense among His people.

Today, we’re going to examine some Scripture from the book of Hosea. And it may be best to give you just a taste of who Hosea is.

Hosea is one of the most unusual prophets of the Old Testament, since he was commanded by God to marry a prostitute (Hos 1:2-9). His wife Gomer eventually returned to her life of sin, but Hosea bought her back from the slave market and restored her as his wife (Hos 3). His unhappy family experience was an object lesson of the sin or “harlotry” of the nation of Israel in rejecting the one true God and serving pagan gods. Although the people deserved to be rejected because they had turned their backs on God, Hosea emphasized that God would continue to love them and use them as His special people.
(from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

What I like about Hosea is – he told the people exactly what the deal was and pulled no punches or riddles. That is what God wanted him to do, and it’s refreshing to review! Let’s read a few passages to get the gest of what is going on.

Hos 10:12-14 Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. 13 But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception. Because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors, 14 the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be devastated — as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children. NIV

Hos 11:1-2 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images. NIV

Hos 13:1-9 When Ephraim (note: Joseph’s son) spoke, men trembled; he was exalted in Israel. But he became guilty of Baal worship and died. 2 Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, “They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calf-idols.” 3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears, like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, like smoke escaping through a window.
4 “But I am the Lord your God, [who brought you] out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. 5 I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. 6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. 7 So I will come upon them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. 8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them; a wild animal will tear them apart.
9 “You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against me, against your helper. NIV

Hos 14:1-4 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! 2 Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. 3 Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount war-horses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
4 “I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them. NIV

I love looking at Hosea where he lets the nation of Israel know exactly what is going on – their sin has come between them and God. They are relying on their own power. Especially in Hosea 13:4-8, God lets them know I brought you up out of Egypt, you will have no other God before me, but once I satisfied your needs, you thought you became self-sufficient. Then God comes upon them like a lion, leopard and bear – He’s going to rip them apart. We often forget (conveniently) about this aspect of a perfect Holy God.

That’s where we can start our second part of revival (since we’ve briefly looked at corporate revival) – individual revival. You know, where we look at ourselves and see where we stand before a loving, Holy and righteous God. This could be the starting point for growth in your life, spiritual growth and maturity! Are you willing to do anything God asks of you? For Hosea, he took a wife who sold her body for a living and married her (because God told him to). Then, when she went back to the ways she had known before marriage, Hosea demonstrated love and forgiveness as he took his wife back in. And Hosea didn’t let this past stop him from being obedient to what God was calling him to – being a prophet that told the nation of Israel about their sin and reason for coming anguish as God would discipline them.

It’s a picture of unselfish love, one that is akin to the prodigal son.

In the coming weeks, we will look at many of the factors God has used throughout our recorded history when revival breaks out. We’ll see that some aspects are areas we have thought of, and perhaps others we have neglected. It is our hope that learning more about revival will prepare our hearts for a positive response to the Lord. Without individual revival, corporately the best we can do is attempt to manufacture something that resembles revival, but is lacking the element we must have – ourselves being brought back to life, or into a right relationship with Jesus Christ. Let’s pray.

Discussion questions:

• Hosea was sent to the nation of Israel because they had turned away from God and replaced Him with other things. What are some ways we (Christians today) replace God with other things?
• Unselfish love (even though the person is not worthy of it). How does that story / song help you understand God’s love for His children that have gone their own way?
• Who really initiates (or starts) revival? Is it a program like this? God? Some other thing?
• If God brings revival to you, would that be a good thing? Would it cramp your style? What if He brought revival to the youth group? Good thing or not so much?

Memory Verse:
Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” NIV

Deeper Study Verses:
Psalms 8:1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! NIV

Proverbs 8:13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. NIV

Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. NIV

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. NIV

Proverbs 29:23 A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor. NIV

Micah 6:6-8 With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. NIV

Luke 18:9-14 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” NIV

John 13:1-17 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”  11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. NIV

Day 1 Verse:
2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. NIV

Concept:
Story of a man who had been less than truthful in a court case from years past, and the conviction he was under to make it right, even with the threat of jail for himself.

Day 2 Verse:
Isaiah 57:15 For this is what the high and lofty One says — he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. NIV

Day 3 Verse:
2 Chronicles 12:1-7 After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord. 2 Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. 3 With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites that came with him from Egypt, 4 he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

5 Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak.’”

6 The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.”

7 When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. NIV

2 Chronicles 14:2-7 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.  4 He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and commands. 5 He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. 6 He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.

7 “Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. NIV

2 Chronicles 16:7-13 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”

10 Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.

11 The events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. 13 Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers. NIV

Day 4 Verse:
Isaiah 6:1-7 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” NIV

Day 5 Verse:
No verses here, but a listing demonstrating the differences between being proud and being humble.  This was adapted from this information: http://www.reviveourhearts.com/pdf/uploads/TheHeartGodRevives.pdf

Humility has never been popular in the eyes of the world.  Let’s face it, if you want to get ahead – the ticket is being self-confident and then self-promoting.  You can see this can take many people far on planet earth, but does it work that way in God’s kingdom?  Not in the process of revival!  To experience revival we need humility and brokenness.  That does not sound like fun to me, and I doubt it does to you either.

You see, the world does not value humility.  Who wants to think little of themselves?  The world says ambition and proud will get you ahead.  But the Bible is clear – humility – meaning recognizing yourself as a sinner before a Holy God – is a key to true revival.  Now take just a moment to think of ‘winners’ in our society.  Perhaps you think of President Obama, some actor or actress, or perhaps some other national figure as a winner.  Are they humble?  Or did they need to excel at self-promotion to get to where they are?

OK, let’s look at another winner – Tiger Woods.  Now no one would dispute this mans mastery of the game of golf.  But if you have read up on Tiger recently, you may get the impression that he is going through the process of being humbled (note – that doesn’t mean this is by his choice).  So I certainly want to draw a distinction – you do not have to be at the top of the heap (whatever heap you are climbing) to experience something that humbles you.  But when it comes to dealing with yourself and God, you need to understand that you are never at the top of the heap!

Let me try to clarify this.  We all want to be our own boss.  We want to call the shots.  We want all the glory and praise for everything we attempt to do – as if we were the one in control of all that is around us.  And to some extent, we exert some amount of control on things (our mouths, our behavior, or our actions).  But when we place any of our accomplishments up against a Hold God, they pale in comparison.  God is always the winner of these battles.

However, we persist in our pride (look what I did, how I performed, what I accomplished).  I’m not saying these are things that are totally bad or evil, but as we continue down the path of me, my and I, God becomes less and less of a factor in anything and everything.  It shows itself in family (my husband / wife / son / daughter would not be where they are without me), in society, and even in church (where would this ministry be without me).

Perhaps we can better see the difference by reviewing some scripture.  This week’s study gave us a picture of two different kings and two different choices.  The first is Rehoboam.  He inherited the throne of Israel from his father (Solomon).  And, as seems to be the case for all leaders of nations, there came a point during his reign that trouble came to the nation.  Let’s read 2 Chronicles 12:1-5.

To this point we can gather that Rehoboam did fine as a king, eventually being a strong king.  Then, he trusted in himself – not the Lord.  God knew what was going on, and the nation followed the leader in abandoning God.  It wasn’t long before things went wrong, and a prophet (Shemaiah) addressed the king and the princess who were making a plan on how to deal with this mess.  Verse 5 makes it clear – they were on their own because they had abandoned God.

It was all about self, which is sin, but leads to more sin.  God wanted the leaders to understand they were being disciplined and sent a prophet.  How would they respond?  Let’s read 2 Chronicles 12:6-7.

The king and princes realized they were not the center of the universe and humbled themselves before God.  Someone had the guts to confront them about their sin, and they responded in a positive way – acknowledge the sin and humble themselves before God.  Notice that this didn’t make all things better – sin has consequences.  However, God did respond in a positive way as well and grant them some level of deliverance.  What a gracious and merciful God we serve!

Now let’s see a different response, one from Rehoboam’s grandson – Asa.  Asa became king of Judah 3 years after Rehoboam’s death.  He had a long and – for the most part – prosperous reign.  We’re going to look at the positive start he had here, the break off into our small groups to see how the reign ended.  Let’s start by looking at the big step of obedience in 2 Chronicles 14:2-7.

Asa did the right things – he tore down the areas that the Canaanites had built during their time in the land with the nation being overtaken by Shishak (and perhaps others before him).  He – as the leader – pointed the nation to God.  And the kingdom experienced rest and prosperity under his leadership.  But trouble did come, and that always tests our faith in God.  The first set of trouble comes in 2 Chronicles 15 where an Ethiopian army came to battle the nation of Judah.  Asa was still trusting in the Lord and cried out for His help, and God honored this by routing this enemy.  The leaders had humility and knew God delivered the victory and the nation grew even deeper in love with God.

That’s where we will leave our story in large group – but understand that a different enemy was approaching several years later.  And things can change over time – Asa looks to his neighbor (the Syrians) for help against this enemy.  Let’s break up and see how Asa’s response to this next threat turns out.

Discussion questions:

• As in the story of Rehoboam, God sends a prophet out to rebuke Asa for his lack of trust.  Read 2 Chronicles 16:7-9 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”
• Why was it wrong for Asa to look to the Syrians for help against his enemies?
• Even when Asa made a ‘mistake’ he had the opportunity to humble himself, acknowledge the error and receive God’s mercy.  Look at 2 Chronicles 16:10-13 Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people. 11 The events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. 13 Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers. What evidence of pride do you see in this account?  How did Asa’s pride affect his responses and his leadership?
• Rehoboam and Asa stand as contrasting illustrations of humility and pride.  Which king began his reign in pride and rebellion?  Which king ended his reign in pride and rebellion? (note: both men sinned, both were confronted with their sin, only one accepted this rebuke as God’s way of cleansing and revival; the other saw it as an assault on his reputation – humility restored Rehoboam; pride ruined Asa)
• How do you typically respond when God uses others to point out areas of sin and failure in your life?  Is your response more like Asa or Rehoboam?

Memory Verse:
Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. NIV

Deeper Study Verses:
Genesis 3:6-13 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” NIV

Proverbs 30:7-9 “Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. NIV

Acts 5:1-11 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”

5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” 9 Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. NIV

Day 1 Verse:
Psalms 15:1-2 Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? 2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart NIV

Psalms 24:3-5 Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. NIV

Concept:
Story of a pastor and wife in the midst of marital struggles.  The pastor needed to learn the truth of what he was doing to wound his wife’s spirit – she was not the issue, he was.  Covering up sin is painful and destructive.

Day 2 Verse:
Psalms 32:1-5 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.  Selah

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” — and you forgave the guilt of my sin.  Selah NIV

Day 3 Verse:
1 John 1:5-9 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. NIV

Day 4 Verse:
Mark 9:33-34 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”  34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. NIV

Genesis 3:8-9 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” NIV

Luke 12:2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. NIV

Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. NIV

Day 5 Verse:
Honesty with God
Psalms 51:6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. NIV

Honesty with Myself
James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. NIV

1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. NIV

Galatians 6:3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. NIV

Honesty with Others
Ephesians 4:25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. NIV

You remember us leaving the first session discussion with the thought of individual, or personal revival.  If that is a goal we have, then we will need to work in the area of honesty.  Specifically, being honest with ourselves.  We are quick to make judgment calls on others, but we are just as quick to justify our actions and not be honest about them, or our motivations for them.

While the study had a story of a pastor and his wife having some marital issues, I thought it may be better to share my story – since it has some similar elements and I can certainly relate to it.  I pastored for 4 years in a neighboring county, and I believe that I was effective and had a good reputation in the community.  The church is still meeting and reaching their community for Christ, so that is a decent sign!  But I recall something a bit closer to home for me.  Before we moved to Newport News, my wife had that ‘let’s get real’ conversation that some couples never look forward to.

You see, during that time of my life, I had been employed over 15 years with the same company, had an hour and fifteen minute commute each way to that job location (so there goes 2.5 hours every week day), had a wonderful wife and young son, a house on 9+ acres of land that we had built for us, was in school to earn my bachelor degree to graduate from Seminary, and was pastor of a church.  Sounds like the world was spinning right!  But my wife asked why I was always available for everyone else but her and my son.  And in my mind, that translated to my wife had some problem.  It wasn’t her having a problem at all – I had the problem.  And I thank God that He gave my wife the courage to confront me with the truth I needed to hear.  Anyone that asked I made time for – and all my family wanted was me.  Something had to give, and God, in His wisdom, grace and mercy opened and closed doors to make it happen.  But I admit it was humbling to realize that when I controlled (well, it seemed like that to me) all aspects of my life I was really missing out on what God wanted me to be a part of – and make a priority – my family.  God knew what was best for me and allowed healing to take place as I had wounded my wife’s spirit.

You know, the Bible has many stories of deception and self delusion, it contains many encounters of people trying to fool themselves and others when hiding their sin.  Today I want to bring one to mind that should shock you – because this encounter features the man God said was after His own heart, David.  You can read it at 2 Samuel 11.  Basically I think of this as the first ‘R’ rated movie recorded in the Bible.  David saw Bathsheba bathing on her rooftop, and as king wanted her.  And the king got what he wanted, then lied to her, her husband (Uriah), his warriors, and lived a lie before his people.  David lied to himself (what I have done wasn’t so bad) as he lived in front of everyone – if he got away with it there would be no major consequences!  But David lied to God as well when he was covering up his sin and refused to acknowledge and confess it.

The consequences show up in 2 Samuel 12, as God sends the prophet Nathan to the king.  Nathan told a heartfelt story of a beloved little ewe lamb that was wrongfully taken – and revealed that this person was the king.  What follows is the realization of sin by the king and the consequences from God.  It’s not a pretty story, and I’d encourage you to read it.  But what I want to focus on is the humility David had to realize and experience before healing took place.  For that, let’s look at Psalm 32.

David, as the king had it all.  Everything he could ever want, but that wasn’t enough.  So he took what he justified as rightfully his (Bathsheba).  He killed her husband.  And had a story for it all – but God wasn’t fooled.  And David had to experience and work through dealing with the reality of his sin – his failures, no one else’s – before we see the joy of experiencing God’s mercy and forgiveness.

David lived with the conviction of this sin for almost a year, and God had a full-court press on his heart.  David refused to confess these sins, and his anguish deepened as this took a toll on him physically, emotionally and spiritually.  And if that happened to David because of his sin – do you think we can experience the same symptoms?  You bet!  Looking at our scripture today you can almost feel the relief coming out of the word David penned.  But he had to let go of his pride, position, and what he thought were his ‘rights’.  Then he had to humble himself and get real with God and others about his sin.

Perhaps some of you are dealing with things that make you feel alone – isolated because you can’t tell others or else…   Perhaps today is the day you get real with yourself, then come clean with God and – if needed – others (remember, revival needs to start with you individually!).  If it worked for a king who was a man after God’s heart – it will work for you as well.  It doesn’t matter if the issue is small or large, why do you keep hiding it?  Let’s break into our small groups.

Discussion questions:

• Look at Psalm 32:3-4 again. 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.  Here we see the torment David describes when he was living a lie before God.  Complete these statements that describe how David suffered because of his sin (put this into your own words):
  • My bones…
  • [God’s] hand…
  • My strength…
• In verse 5, once David was finally willing to uncover or expose his sin, how did God respond?  Does God respond the same way today?  Why or why not?
• We’re born with the uncanny ability to transfer blame for most everything (I didn’t do it, not me!).  Is it hard for you to accept responsibility for your choices (good or bad)?  Do you struggle with saying ‘I’m sorry’ when you are wrong?  Or is it easier to place the blame on someone or something else?
• If it is time for you to get real with God, we would encourage you to do so.  If you need to speak with an adult leader, we encourage that as well.  If revival doesn’t start in you because of a refusal to see and acknowledge your sin before God, what would it take for you to be humbled?  Something on the level of what happened to David?  Or…what?

Memory Verse:
Psalms 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. NIV

Deeper Study Verses:
Psalms 51 For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For 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. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. 14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar. NIV

Ezekiel 18:30-32 “Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! NIV

Luke 15:1-7 Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. NIV

Acts 3:17-20 “Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you — even Jesus. NIV

Day 1 Verse:
Psalms 51:1-6 For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For 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. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. NIV

Psalms 119:59 I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. NIV

Concept:
Story of a wife who was ‘burned out’ after 20+ years of church.  Issue was all her troubles were the fault of her husband (and God gave him to her), but God revealed this folly and offered a new life when she gave up her pride and bitterness.

Day 2 Verse:
2 Corinthians 7:9-11 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. NIV

Day 3 Verse:
Matthew 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.‘ NIV

Romans 12:1-2 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. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. NIV

Matthew 3:8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. NIV

Revelation 2:4-5 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. NIV

Day 4 Verse:
2 Chronicles 26:3-5 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 4 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. NIV

2 Chronicles 26:16-21 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. 18 They confronted him and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”

19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.

21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house – leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land. NIV

Day 5 Verse: (none)

So far we’ve looked at humility and honesty – and I trust we’ve seen that these areas lay the groundwork for true revival.  The next step is responding to the conviction by repentance.  Now we hear this word in church all the time, but what does it mean?  What does the Bible say about it?  Does it give us any ‘how-to’ passages so we know we are doing it right?  Let’s look at a single verse to base our definition off of –

Malachi 3:7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ NIV

Return to the Lord, or leaving (forsaking) known sin and obeying what God says – that is repentance.  I’ve heard it said it’s a 180 degree turn from sin to God, and that’s good.  But if you just are walking towards sin and only turn around to face God (but never step towards Him in obedience), you haven’t experienced or participated in genuine repentance.

Now don’t mishear me – the walk of the Christian is one that may be riddled with potholes of sin.  But the characteristic of the Christian is one of humbly confessing and honestly forsaking sin.  They are trying to grow in Christ, not use freedom in Christ as a license to sin.  You see, we will face temptations as long as we stay on planet Earth.  To know that Christ convicts us of sin (that still small voice) is a measure of God’s love and grace to us as we face choices.  But I will let you in on a secret I have learned over a few more years than most of you listening to me today in our youth group – what if my choices are between something that seems good and something else that seems good?  That is the place I often find areas of growth – I’m not convicted that either way is certainly wrong or improper!  But there is only one way that God would have me go, and He wants me to make the decision.  I have learned more there than the choices between obvious sin and something that is obviously God’s way.  And when I choose the lesser good, I still have consequences and need to look towards repentance if I have failed to meet up with God’s way.

Some other things to keep in mind are we should repent at the moment of conviction.  If something takes place, and God convicts you that you were in the wrong (sinned) – fix it then, don’t wait!  The longer you wait, the harder it gets.  We start to justify our actions and grow more distant from those we sinned against – and more importantly – and apart from God (in fellowship).  Keep in mind that God doesn’t ask you to do anything that He has not provided the strength and grace to accomplish.

Let’s look at a passage of scripture that illustrates a proud heart, one that is not in the ‘humble’ position at all.  This may give us a good review of how NOT to keep our hearts.

2 Chronicles 26:3-5 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 4 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success. NIV

Here we see King Uzziah came to the throne when he was about your age!  He had a good role model in his father (since he followed in his footsteps and did what was right in the sight of God).  He had the council of the prophet Zechariah (who reinforced what he had been taught).  And as long as his mind and hearts posture was on God, God gave him success.  It reminded me of a certain movie I really like.  As a lead in, this movie stars a CG Dragon with the voice of Sean Connery and also has Dennis Quaid in it.  A lad who will become king is being trained to follow the code, to be a better king than his father is.  Unfortunately, he is mortally wounded and in need of healing.  The dragon provides part of his heart to do the trick, and has the promise the code will be followed.  We pick up with the lad leaving from the place of his ‘restoration’…

(Note – here we viewed a DragonHeart clip)

He has already forgotten his ‘savior’ and teacher.  Ah yes, once the king got older, it didn’t get better.  Let’s continue in our scripture today, look what happens.

2 Chronicles 26:16-21 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. 18 They confronted him and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”

19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.

21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house – leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land. NIV

You know – when a huge wave turns to boat you are in over, a good course of action may be to try to right the craft again so you can get back in.  Yes, you’ll need to bail out water, and stuff may be damaged, but you’re afloat again!  And that’s repentance – it is not a restoration to a state of perfection, a way to make all wrongs right again.  But understand it does restore the fellowship with God so that we can again be used for His purposes.  And that certainly is part of personal revival.  Let’s break into our small groups and discuss our scripture lessons more.

Discussion questions:

• God prospered Uzziah because he sought after the Lord.  What changed to cause Uzziah to act unfaithfully to God?
• While in the act of sin (vs. 17-18) Uzziah was given an opportunity to repent.  How did God call Uzziah to repent?
• How did Uzziah respond when confronted with the truth?  What were the consequences?
• What would our community (or church or youth group) look life if we lived as people who repented?  How could this impact our culture?
• How would you explain the concept of repentance to a small child?

Memory Verse:
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. NIV

Deeper Study Verses:
John 1:14-18 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. NIV

Romans 5:12-17 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. NIV

Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. NIV

Day 1 Verse:
Psalms 86:1-7 Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.  3 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. 4 Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 5 You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you. 6 Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. 7 In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me. NIV

Concept:
Story of a man who had hidden sins and journeyed into humility, honesty and repentance.  He experienced restoration with God and his family.

Day 2 Verse:
Ephesians 2:1-9 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. NIV

Day 3 Verse:
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. NIV

Hebrews 4:15-16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. NIV

Romans 6:14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. NIV

Romans 6:1-2 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? NIV

Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, NIV

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. NIV

Day 4 Verse:
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. NIV

1 Peter 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. NIV

Day 5 Verse:
James 4:66 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” NIV

So far we’ve reviewed the need for humility, honesty and repentance as key components in seeking the Lord (and individual revival).  And if you have experienced any conviction up to this point, you might be just a bit overwhelmed.  There is good news – God does not ask you to meet His requirements on your own.  In fact, I would wager you can’t do it by yourself.  And that is where this lesson comes in, the lesson of God’s grace.

This week those studying the facets of grace came across a few areas in the study.

Saving Grace

If a young man is killed through some random act of violence, and his father tracks down the guilty person and kills him, we would call that vengeance.  If, however, the father calls the police and the murderer is arrested, tried, convicted, and executed, we’d call that justice.  If, at the trial, the father pleads for the guilty man’s life to be spared, and the judge and jury consent, we’d call that mercy.

Now imagine this: in addition to pleading for the guilty one to be spared, the father actually appeals to the judge to release the offender into his custody and care.  Miraculously gaining approval, the father takes the young man into his heart and home, adopts him, and raises him and loves him as his own son … that would be grace!  (from Seeking Him, pg. 86)

That’s a pretty good picture of saving grace, and Ephesians 2:1-9 details that out for us as we look at our salvation from sin.  We had no way out of that situation, and we couldn’t improve it – so God had to do it for us.  Grace was not some reward for us when we told God we were sorry for our sin – there is nothing we could do to merit grace (or it wouldn’t be grace).

Sanctifying Grace

Once you were saved by grace, you didn’t become a mature Christian and you certainly were not some spiritual giant!  You didn’t arrive there – and not meaning to burst any bubbles – and you (and all the rest of us) are not there yet!  We need the grace of God everyday and every second of every minute.  We are in the process of being made in the image of Christ, and that is an ongoing process.

This is where we make a terrible mistake.  We get saved by grace, then we try to live for Christ in our own power.  We struggle to be a ‘good Christian’ (whatever that is) without realizing we can’t live any Christian life without God’s grace.  You see, grace is a gift that enables us not to sin – so it is more than just some pardon!  We’re going to focus on this area more today than the first or last one.

Suffering Grace

This is the grace available to us where God provides us a way to endure.  You may find this in traffic jams, troubles with family and others, times of grief – whatever the hardship and trial you may be facing.  In the Bible, 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 give us some insight into Paul suffering some thorn in the flesh and God not granting his prayer to be delivered from it (My grace is sufficient).  The story for this day included a man who had lost his wife to ALS, and how God was graceful so his suffering was not so much that it was mortally wounding to him and his family.  He was left with four children and a broken heart, but found humility through all the pain and suffering.

Now, back to sanctifying grace – I want to make a bold statement.  Where grace is properly taught, it is abused. What I mean is, when you catch on to the truth that God really did die for sin (and that includes all sin), you may be tempted to … sin.  I mean, the price has been paid, and God knows everything already, so why try to be ‘good’ anyway?  I want to specifically deal with this in our questions today and show you that grace is superabounding!

Romans 5:20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, NIV

Rom 5:20 But then Law came in, [only] to expand and increase the trespass [making it more apparent and exciting opposition]. But where sin increased and abounded, grace (God’s unmerited favor) has surpassed it and increased the more and superabounded, AMP

Rom 5:20 The Ten Commandments were given so that all could see the extent of their failure to obey God’s laws. But the more we see our sinfulness, the more we see God’s abounding grace forgiving us. TLB

There is no way you can out-sin God’s grace!  That should be fantastic news to you and I, but knowing to some extent how we as humans think, we take that as a license to sin as much as we possibly can.  Let’s look at verses that deal with believers and the problem of sin, as well as answer the question of why shouldn’t we just sin away!  Let’s pray.

Discussion questions:

What do the following verses tell us about God’s provision when we are tempted to sin?

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. NIV

Hebrews 4:15-16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. NIV

Romans 6:14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. NIV

If God’s grace is extended to us when we confess and report of our sin, does that mean we are free to sin whenever and however we want to?

You and I were not the first to have these thoughts about grace and sin – Paul addressed these same issues in the first century.  Review the following verses and answer this question: How should God’s grace be a restraint, rather than a license to sin?

Romans 6:1-2 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? NIV

Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, NIV

How does God’s grace differ from justice?  From mercy?

How can you extend grace to others?  How have others extended grace to you?