“One reason we don’t have a revival is because a lot of people don’t want revival.”

Dr. Vance Havner

As you can tell from the title of the message, this morning we are going to talk about revival -- not revival services, but personal and church revival. Many consider a “good” revival to be one in which a “dynamic” pastor from another church comes and preaches “hard” messages. (But we can have revival without that.) The success of a revival effort is usually determined by the number of people that attend, or walk the aisles, etc. But here is the best way to find out if we have really had revival - check back in six months to a year and see if people are still committed and faithfully serving God. The best examples of real revival are in God’s Word. In Judah, prior to Josiah, the nation was not enjoying God's blessisngs because of their idolatry, their immorality, and their broken fellowship with Him. The Lord's churches today can get into a similar condition when they are spiritually weak (we have more than the early churches, and we do less with it.), trying to live for God and the flesh -- Matthew 6:24, or guilty of idolatry -- Colossians 3:5. Just as Judah needed a revival, we need one when we find ourselves back in the “same old rut.” The first twenty verses of our text, and verse 24 tell us of all the reforms Josiah made in Judah, but vv. 25-26 are key to understanding this entire passage in Second Kings. By examining the things Josiah did to try to bring revival to Judah, we can find what we need in order to have a real revival . . . but they must be done with a heart wholly dedicated to God. We must seek true revival not because it is what “the preacher wants.” But we must seek revival because we have recognize our condition and our need for true repentance. In these verses we see:

I. THE CORRECTIONS BY JOSIAH -- 23:1-24.

II. THE CALAMITY OF JERUSALEM - VS. 26.