In vv. 24-25 of our text Ahaz is king. The Scripture says he “did not that which was right in the sight of the Lord . . . ” He made images for Baalim, burned his children in the fire, and sacrificed and burned incense in the high places. When God brought chastisement on Judah, Ahaz “did . . . trespass yet more against the Lord.” In vs. 21 he took a portion out of the house of the Lord and gave it to the king of Assyria. In vs. 23 we see that he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus and said “Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me.” But look at God’s footnote to this action in the end of vs. 23: “But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel.” In vs. 27, just like all ungodly and evil rulers, Ahaz dies.  And his son Hezekiah becomes king. See what II Chronicles 29:2 says about Hezekiah -- he “did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.” How could a young man whose father was so evil and so anti-God turn out like Hezekiah did? Well, Hezekiah did not get his godly influence from his father, but from his mother. She was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. Apparently, she was a godly woman who raised her son in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. I am thankful for every mother who raises her children – with or without help from the father -- in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Abijah couldn't know for certain how her son would turn out, but she may have been familiar with Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” She was going to do the best she could to turn her son, Hezekiah, to the Lord. Under the reign of Hezekiah, revival came to Judah. He: 1) Sanctified the house of the Lord; 2) Re-opened the doors of the porch; 3) Re-lit the lamps in the holy place, and more. What is revival? It is more than just a week (or 3 days in our day) of special services in which we get some preacher from another church to come and tell us what our pastor has already told us. And, there is a difference between revival and an evangelistic crusade. “Revival” is an awakening, in a church and in the lives of individual believers, of faithfulness to and service of God. “Revival” is primarily an Old Testament word. The New Testament word is “repent.” It is a return to a faithful service of the Lord. A revival can happen at any time if God’s people will humble themselves, confess their failures of Him, forsake their sins, and seriously commit their lives to Him – II Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.”

I. WHAT IS REVIVAL?

II. WHEN IS REVIVAL NEEDED?

III. WHAT IF WE HAD A REAL REVIVAL?