Seeking Revival In Times of Spiritual Decline

Micah, the last chapter of that book, chapter 7. Micah says, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,! What misery is mine!

I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard. There's no cluster of grapes to eat. None of the early figs that I crave. The godly have been swept from the land.

Not one upright man remains. All men lie in wait to shed blood. Each hunts his brother with a net. Both hands are skilled in doing evil.

The ruler demands gifts. The judge accepts bribes. The powerful dictate what they desire. They all conspire together. The best of them is like a briar.

The most upright, worse than a thorn hedge. The day of your watchman has come. The day God visits you. Now is the time of their confusion.

Do not trust a neighbor. Put no confidence in a friend. Even with her who lies in your embrace. Be careful of your words.

For a son dishonors his father. A daughter rises up against her mother. A daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

A man's enemies are the members of his own household. But as for me. I watch in hope for the Lord. I wait for God my Savior.

My God will hear me. Do not gloat over me my enemy. Though I have fallen. I will rise. Though I sit in darkness.

The Lord will be my light. Because I have sinned against him. I will bear the Lord's wrath. Until he pleads my case. And establishes my right.

He will bring me out into the light. I will see his righteousness. Then my enemy will see it. And will be covered with shame. She who said to me.

Where is the Lord your God? My eyes will see her downfall. Even now she will be trampled underfoot. Like mire in the streets.

The day for building your walls will come. The day for extending your boundaries. In that day people will come to you. From Assyria. And from the cities of Egypt.

Even from Egypt to the Euphrates. And from sea to sea. And from mountain to mountain. The earth will become desolate. Because of its inhabitants.

As the result of their deeds. Shepherd your people with your staff. The flock of your inheritance. Which lives by itself in a forest.

In fertile pasture lands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead. As in days long ago. As in the days when you came out of Egypt. I will show them my wonders.

Nations will see and be ashamed. Deprived of all their power. They will lay their hands on their mouths. And their ears will become death. Death.

They will lick dust like a snake. Like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens. They will turn in fear to the Lord our God.

And will be afraid of you. Who is a God like you. Who pardoned sin. And forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance.

You do not stay angry forever. But delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us. You will tread our sins underfoot.

And hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be true to Jacob. And show mercy to Abraham. As you pledged on oath to our fathers.

In days long ago. If you'll have before you Micah 7. We'll just begin right away.

And we're going to look at the whole chapter. But don't be afraid. Because we're doing. We're going to skim. Most. Do some skimming tonight. The subject is seeking revival.

In times of spiritual decline. I don't know of many passages in the scripture. That seem to me. More incredibly pertinent.

To the western world. And thus to America. In 2012. Than Micah 7. And may the Lord.

Help us to understand its message. There are four things. That we're going to look at. And look at. And the first is. The need for revival.

Let me say it this way. There are times. In the history of the Christian church. Where the enemies. Of the church. Prevail in some measure against us.

We look at verses 1 and 2a. The first part of 2. And. We see that. When this happens. The number of godly people.

Dwelling in a land. Or a country. Dwindle very much. We see here. This image of a fruitless grapevine. And fig trees. What misery is mine.

I'm like one who gathers summer fruit. At the gleaning of the vineyard. There are no cluster of grapes to eat. None of the early figs. That I crave. What does that image mean? And the next phrase shows it.

The godly have been swept from the land. Not one upright man remains. The number of godly dwell. God's looking for fruit. God's looking for godliness.

In the United States of America. And there are times that come. That you look around. And you go. Where are they? Where are the godly? That's the first thing.

The second thing. In the last part of verse 2. And verse. Onto verse 4 really. Is that common grace. Becomes hard to detect. In the lives of believers. You know.

There are times in America. When even non-Christians. Had a certain. Well. Some of them. A fear of God. Or a sense of rightness.

Of morality. But look at what these verses say. I start from the end of verse 2. All men lie in wait. To shed blood. Each man. Each hunts his brother. With a net.

Both are skilled. In doing evil. The ruler demands gifts. The judge accepts bribes. The powerful. Dictate what they desire. Think of our politicians. Think of the rulers.

Think of all the different classes. Think of the inner cities. And the violence. They all conspire together. And look at this. Verse 4. The best of them. Is like a briar.

And the most upright. Worse than a thorn hedge. So you can't say. As in some days. When. God is at work in a country.

The best of non-Christians. Is still a good man. But no. Not any longer. And this is really. What we're beginning to see. More and more. In the United States of America.

Isn't it? If we go on. We see that. In verses 5 and 6. During times of spiritual decline. There's a polarization.

Between believers. And unbelievers. What I mean is that. You know. When there's a lot of common grace. There's a lot of common ground. But. The more. A country declines.

The more. Opposed. The people of God. And. The people. Of ungodliness. Become. They become. More and more different.

More and more opposed. And we see this. In these verses. 5 and 6. He says. Do not. Trust a neighbor. Put no confidence. In a friend.

Even with her. Who lies. In your embrace. Be careful. Of your words. For a son. Dishonors his father. A daughter. Rises up against her mother. A daughter-in-law.

Against her mother-in-law. And a man's enemies. Are the members. Of his own households. There's a polarization. That's terrible. Even human ties. Of family affection. Are not enough.

To keep people. In some sort of harmony. And they're just. No. I don't watch that news channel. I don't think that. I don't agree with you here.

And are you living. In the 21st century. You don't. You believe that. And that's exactly. What we're seeing. When the. Middle-aged people.

Here were growing up. We did not know. Such a polarization. Of America. We have. Two Americas now. And more and more. A terrible.

Schism. Is opening up. Between. Two factions. Of. God-fearing people. And a godless people. Micah.

Could be describing. Our age. Let me tell you. Some news tidbits. And you tell me. When this was in the news. A survey.

At Princeton. Found that there were. Only two. Christians. In the student population. On campus. And only five. Did not belong. To what they're calling. The dirty speech movement.

The president. Of the college. Opened up the bible. Because they still had chapel. And when he opened it up.

A deck of playing cards. Fell out of the middle of it. Because some students. Had cut a hole open. And put playing cards. At Williams college. The students.

Held a mock. Lord's supper. To make fun of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ. Was it. The year 2000.

No. It was in the 1790s. Right before. A great revival. That swept the country. And changed. The face of the land. In this message.

I would like to tell you. A little bit. In an illustrating way. About a revival. That happened. In France. In a county. I'll call it a county. A region called La Drôme. In the 1920s.

Now let me tell you. A little bit. About how spiritual decline. Looked there. There. Was a really pitiful. State in this area. Which had once been. A Protestant area.

A rare thing. A Huguenot area. In France. I'm talking about. Toward 1920. In Volvant.

The town of Volvant. There had been no worship service. For 16 years. The door. Of the Protestant temple. Had been so covered. With brambles. And rubble. That men had to take.

Picks and shovels. To be able to open the door. When the revival came. And they wanted to start. Services again. Many parishers. Had had. No pastor. For years.

No one wanted. To go to church. And it was said. By people in this area. To go to church. That we're talking about. Protestant. In a Protestant area. To go to church. You either have to be. An apostle. Or a lunatic.

That's what people thought. In the 1920s. In the county of the drone. One man who was. In the revival.

Said this. I often heard. Edward Champendal. Who was one of the revivalist. Preachers. Tell what state. His parish. In Vinsobre. Was when he arrived.

Now Vinsobre. Was the name of the town. It literally means. Sober wine. Now explain that to me. Anyway. So.

He arrived fresh from Geneva Seminary. And found out. That the pastor. Who had preceded him. Had been a Catholic priest. Before he became. A Protestant pastor.

This man stayed. Eighteen years. In the parish. And became an alcoholic. And the parishioners. Liked to make him drink. There was no lack of wine. In that area.

And they laughed at him. When he stumbled back. To the pastor's manse. Drunk. And they said this. Our pastor has made. A round trip voyage.

He went from Rome. Because he used to be. A Catholic priest. He went from Rome. To the gospel. And from the gospel. To rum. And that was the state.

Of that parish. And many like it. In the 1920s. So. We see. In this first part. Of Micah. That there can be. Times of great.

Spiritual decline. And it's a terrible thing. Is it? It makes. It makes me afraid. It makes me frankly. Full of fear. To think of the direction.

In which. This country. And the west. Are headed. And how men. Have no sense. Of morality. And of.

The reality. Of God anymore. Well. We'll move to the second point. That was the first point. There are times. When. The enemies of God. Prevail against the church.

But the second point is. That there is a reason. In God. For revival. There is a reason. In God. For revival. Now. What we're going to do.

Is skip to the end. Of the chapter. To find this reason. In God. But so you'll. See where we're going. And I do want to show you. That where I stopped. In verse seven to nine.

The passage. Talks about. A surprising. Response. Of the people of God. Because they. All throughout the chapter. Zion talking. It's the people of God. Talking. And in verses.

Seven to nine. You. If you run your eyes over it. I'm not going to show you. But it's for me. I'll watch and hope. Verse eight. Do not gloat on. Over me. Though I've fallen.

I will rise. And there's a response. It's amazing. Of the church. In this time. Of weakness. And such. But we'll come back to it. And then after that.

There's a description. Of the revival. That God brings. And Micah. Is an eighth century prophet. Eighth century before Jesus. And he's talking about a time. When.

When things are going bad. And the people are going to go off. Into exile. And be punished by God. But God says. I'm going to bring. A reviving time. I'm not going to leave. My people like that. And so.

In the next part. From about. Verse 10. To 17. We see this character. Of revival. If you run. Your eyes over it. For example. In verse 11. The day for building walls.

And extending boundaries. And in that day. People will come to you. From Assyria. And Egypt. And. And they'll become worshipers. And. And great things. Will happen.

But we need to find out. What the reason. Why does this happen. When God's people. Have become so weak. Does God. In history. Bring.

Reviving times. And we see. Micah. Explain it to us. Starting in verse. 18. And he says this. After having described.

This great revival. He. He says. He's got to explain. What. Where did this come from. And he says this. Who. Is a God. Like. You.

Who. Pardons. Sin. And forgives. The transgression. Of the remnant. Of his inheritance. You do not. Stay. Angry. Forever. But delight.

To show mercy. Or as another virgin says. You delight. In steadfast love. And Micah. Explains. The turnaround. Because of something.

In God. You do not. Stay. Angry. Forever. Our God. Is not a God. Who chastises. His people. Forever. Because.

He delights. And steadfast love. And blessing. And blessing. And pouring out. Mercy. Upon his people. That's just. What he's like. Now.

The amazing thing. About these verses. Is that. Well. Let me. Let me just finish them. 19 and 20. You will again. Have compassion. On us. Now.

The revival. Has it come. But Micah knows. He's so sure of it. He just says. It's going to happen. You will again. Have compassion. On us. You will tread. Our sins. Underfoot. And hurl.

Our iniquities. Into the depths. Of the sea. You will be true. To Jacob. And show mercy. To Abraham. As you pledged. On earth. To our fathers. In days long ago. Now.

The interesting thing. Is we have a hymn. Based on this. These verses. And we're going to sing it. At the end of the. At the end of the service. Does anyone know the name of it? Oh yes.

Who said that? You get. You get the prize over there. Great God of wonders. Now. I don't know about you. But perhaps. When we sing that song. We think of God's converting grace. He's a great God of wonders.

In all his ways. And he loves. Who pardons like him. But these verses. Are not talking about. God's pardoning. The pagans. The unbelievers. If you look at it.

He says. In verse 18. Who is a God like you. Who pardons sin. And forgives the transgression. Of the remnant. Of his inheritance. Of God's people. You do not stay angry. Forever. But delight to show mercy.

You will have compassion on us. And tread our sins. Under your foot. It's Zion talking. It's God's people talking. And sometimes. We contribute. To the spiritual decline.

Because of our backsliding ways. Because of our coldness. And I'm not saying. That's necessarily the case. Here in this church. But sometimes.

We are part. Of the problem. And if that's so. There is a reason. In God. That we will not be left. To language.

Under the foot. Of the power. Of ungodliness. Of the children. Now. I don't know. If the children. Still watch. Popeye the sailor man. But when I was growing up.

I love to watch. Popeye the sailor man. And. You know. What would happen. Every time. Brutus. Would get the better of him. For a while.

Wouldn't he. And he would do something like. He would throw. Tree trunks on him. These huge trees. And Popeye would be. Under about. Fifty seven trees.

Just lying there. Still alive. But just. Barely breathing. And fortunately. Those trees would have. Popped the can of spinach. Out of his pocket.

And it was just there. Right. And he'd reach over to it. And he'd squeeze it. And the top would. Burst open. And he would eat that spinach.

Right. Sometimes the church is like. Popeye the sailor man. We are under the power. Of the enemy. And barely breathing.

But. When Popeye would eat that spinach. There would be a. Tremendous power. That would come. Which would reverse. The.

I'm thinking in French. The rapport de force. What do I say in English. That would reverse. The. The power. Between him and Brutus. And it would be completely changed. In an instant.

And this is what. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Is about. That God has mercy. On his people. Languishing. And lying under the foot. Of the enemy.

And he will not let them. Languish. Forever. Now. There's one more thing. To say about this. Reason for revival. Which is in God. Before we go to.

The third point. And that is simply. That. These verses. Tell us. That this is a matter. This reviving power of God. Is a matter of a sworn promise. Look at the end of.

Verse 20. You will be true to Jacob. And show mercy to Abraham. As you. Pledged. Actually. Another verse. Says. As you swore.

As you pledged on. Oath. To our fathers. And days long ago. Now. Micah is sure. That God. Will revive his people. He knows. That it's true.

And the reason he knows. Is Deuteronomy 30. And in Deuteronomy 30. God swears. In the law of Moses. And says. If you were exiled.

And I'm chastising you. And you've been unfaithful to me. And you're far away. I tell you. That the day will come. When I will restore. You to greater prosperity. Than your fathers.

And I will bring you. Back to this land. And I will circumcise. Your heart. And you will love. The Lord your God. God says. In the law of Moses. Even in the old covenant. Which is not as good.

As our covenant. He says. You want to know me. I am a reviving God. To my people. I am a restoring God. To my people. My people. Are not always faithful.

I am a God. Of steadfast faithfulness. And oh yes. I will do more for you. Than you ever thought. It's a wonderful thing.

And so this is a matter. Of God's sworn promise. We go to point two. We finished. Our first two. Point three. We finished our. First two points. There is a need.

For revival. At times. And there is a reason. For revival. In the very character. Of God. In his sworn promise. Now. The character. Of revival. And now. We are really skimming. This is verse.

10. And following. What is revival. Like. Verse 10. Now. I don't need to go into this. Because I told you about Popeye.

But look at this reversal. Of the. Of the. The balance of power. That's what I was looking for. Then my enemy will see it. And will be covered with shame.

She who said to me. Where is the Lord. Your God. My eyes will see her downfall. Even now. She will be trampled underfoot. Like mire in the streets.

You know. At one point. There were people who were saying. Where's your God. And that's exactly. What's happening today. Do you know that. Things are getting so bad. In the western world. There's a thing. That they've had to give a name to.

It's called the new atheism. And if you go on Google. And you Google the right words. You will find a whole spate. Of new books. That have been written. By atheists.

Virulent books. Richard Dawkins. The God Delusion. And many others. And they're coming out. In the most bold. And brash.

And blasphemous terms. And there are passages. In Dawkins book. That you don't even want to read. Of what he says. About the God of the Bible. It is so sacrilegious.

And so blasphemous. And people have risen up. In our country. And said. Where is your God. Where is your God. We don't see any signs. Of this God. This great God.

Of wonders. But you see. When revival comes. All of this changed. And men shut their mouths. Who dared to speak. Against the God of the Bible.

They won't do it anymore. Gardener Spring. Well let me. Go ahead and mention. The next thing. In revival. There's an unprecedented.

Growth of the church. Look at verses. Eleven to thirteen. The day for building. Your walls. Will come. The day for extending. Your boundaries. And that day. People will come to you. From Assyria.

And the cities of Egypt. Even from Egypt. To the Euphrates. And from sea to sea. And from mountain to mountain. Now if you were a Jew. And you were reading that. You would be astounded.

Egypt. And Assyria. Two of our greatest enemies. They're going to come to us. And fall down. Before our God. And worship. Oh yes. They will.

Because this is what God does. In revival. And the outpouring of his spirit. From mountain to mountain. From sea to sea. From place to place. Extend the boundaries. Get into your building projects.

Gardner Springs spoke in 1832. Of his experience of the revival. In that century. He said. From the moment I entered university. In 1800.

Until 1825. There was a series of uninterrupted. Heavenly visitations. Spread throughout different parts of the land. Of America. And during this period of 25 years.

There was not one sole month. Where you could not point to some village. City or theological school. And say. Look what God has wrought. And Edward Giffen.

An American said. In 1799. I could stand at the door of my house. In New Hartford. Connecticut. And count 50 or 60. Contiguous. Congregation.

Spread out in one field. Of divine wonders. Extending the borders. This is what.

Happened. In the drone too. But I'll get to it. Verse 13. Says something. A bit strange. The earth will become desolate. Because of its inhabitants.

As a result of their deeds. It's sort of a way of saying. Anywhere outside of Zion. Is just desolate. When revival comes. The only place. That there's blessing.

And security. Is within the walls. Of the people of God. Comes a great place to be. And in comparison. Everything else. Seems quite desolate. It.

Also. During revival. There's a recovery. Of what's been lost. That really encourages me. Because there's some things. That have been lost. In American society. In French as well. That you go.

Could we ever. Recover that. A view of men. And women. A view of marriage. A view of things. That are sacred to us. And they've been.

So thrown away. And disbelieved. That you go. Can we ever get that. Back. But if we look at these verses. 14 and 15.

We read. Shepherd your people. With your staff. The flock. Of your inheritance. Which lives by itself. In a forest. In fertile pastures. Let them feed. In Boshan. And Gilead.

As in days. Long ago. What does that mean? Well you see. Boshan and Gilead. Were two of the first places. That Israel. Made their own.

When they came into Canaan. And did the conquest. They were. Two of the first places. Where. These are ours. And we let our. That we let our animals roam. And there are pastures. Now. And they were two of the first places.

That they lost. When God began to chastise. The people. As they came near. To the exile. And so he's saying. Give us back. What we lost. As in days of old.

Let us have Gilead again. Like we did. Way back. And Boshan. Like we did back. And God says. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give you back. What you lost. Praise the Lord. We go on.

We find that. In the verses. 16 and 17. That. And when revival comes. There's a sobering effect. On even the unconverted. Even those who don't get converted. As they see what God has done.

Let's read. The end. Verse 16. And on. Nations will see. And be ashamed. And deprived. Of all their power. They will lay their hands.

On their mouths. And their ears. Will become deaf. They will lick dust. Like the snake. Like creatures. That crawl on the ground. They will come trembling. Out of their dens. They will turn in fear.

To the Lord. Our God. And will be afraid. Of you. I don't know. If that means conversion. Or not. Not really clear to me. But.

There's certainly. A great impact. Upon. These people. Jonathan Edwards. Described North Hampton. Connecticut. During the revival days. In the 1740s.

In this way. He said. The town. Seemed to be full. Of the presence of God. A loose. Careless person. Morley. Could scarcely.

Be found. In the whole neighborhood. And if there was. Was anyone. Like this. It was. It would be spoken of. As a strange thing. In fact.

He said. He felt. The observers. That knew the situation. Best. Said that you could have put. Bags of gold. And silver. Out in the middle. Of the street. In North Hampton. And just left them. And nobody would have.

Touched him. So great. Was the fear of God. Upon the converted. And the unconverted. We read. In verse 17.

The last part. Of those verses. That in. In revival. There's a sense. Of the majestic. Greatness. And awesome. Holiness. Of God. That. Turns men.

Or converts them. They'll come. Trembling out of their dens. And turn in fear. To the Lord. Our God. And be afraid. Of you. That's what God does.

Now let's come back. To the drone. And France. The revival. Came where it was. Really least expected. There was a town.

Hidden away. Which had had no pastor. For years. That has a hard name. To say. It's called. La Motte. Chanson. And no pastor. Wanted to go there. So they sent.

An evangelist. Trained by the. Salvation Army. His name was. Victor. Bordigoni. Me. Now he was already old. And.

Got to this place. And when he saw. The broken down condition. Of the parish. He. He organized. A prayer meeting. To pray for revival. Because he knew. That only God. Could do something.

About this situation. And he tells about. The events. In this way. One Saturday night. During the summer. Of 1922. A few people.

Had come together. Having decided. To do so. For a few weeks. To pray for revival. In our parish. We were pleading. For an outpouring. Of the spirit. Knowing that it was.

Not in man's power. To produce a revival. But that it must come. From the power of God. The response. To their prayers. Was not long in coming.

The next day. In a little church. Annexed. In the village. Called. Estable. Which only has. About 20 to 30. Inhabitants today. There was a Sunday. Worship service.

And a woman. Stood up. During the sermon. And made a sign. To the pastor. That she wanted. To say something. And she interrupted. The sermon. She couldn't. Hold on. Trembling.

She turned. Toward the handful. Of people present. And said to them. Timidly. You know me. Up until now. I have lived. For my herd. Of goats.

My farm. And my picodon. Which is a kind of cheese. In France. But now. I've understood. God is not satisfied. With what I am.

From now on. I want to live. For him. The rest. Will have to come. After. And she sat down. Weeping. The pastor.

Was greatly moved. He tried to propose. A hymn. A song. But the emotion. Was too soft. Too strong. No one sang. He called the people. To give themselves.

To God. Several people. Responded. And the revival. Had begun. God. First. Became the motto. Of the revival. And the drone.

And this. Truth. This reality. God. First. Inflamed. The whole mountainous. Region. Of this county. In the weeks. That followed.

Now let me read. A description. Of someone. What someone. Describes. Happening. God. First. Not a God. Of human religion. That you use. To serve you. But a God.

Who demands. To be served. Not a God. Of easiness. Comfort. And easily. Satisfied. With nothing. And thankful. For the little. That we give him. But a great. Sovereign God.

A holy God. To whom we owe all. To whom we give all. Who becomes the very. Reason for being. The center. The passion of life.

A God. Who is God. God. They go on to say. At the heart. Of the revival. Of the drone. Do I need to say it? God. Not man.

Not man. Suffering. That need to be comforted. Not man's anguishes. When faced with death. That need hope. Not man's difficulties. In a life. That call for solution. Or deliverance.

And not even man's needs. For spirituality. Which long for a promise. From on high. Or a source of assurance. No. From the start. It was the sovereignty of God. The greatness of God.

The holiness of God. The demands of God. That gripped the people's hearts. And thoughts. The revival surprised the peasants.

Who lived in this region. It was in the middle of the most harassed time of the year. The lavender harvest. When people had to get up very early. And worked all day.

Because they were rushing and pressing. To get all the harvest in. Because it. Before it was too late. And the peasants realized what was happening. And they began to say. They're abolishing religion. Because the religion that existed.

Was touching rituals. Vague traditions. And formulas. Lying in the vague subconscious. But this. Was different.

It was God. By the revival. They meant God. Coming down. Like an axe. Falling upon their lives. And completely reorienting them.

This God. Who says to the sinner. And even to the saint. I am not satisfied. With what you are. The first powerful wave.

Brought a hundred conversions. In the first five weeks. All over the mountainous area. During the busiest part of time. A place where there were hardly any connections. Between village and village.

Revival just hit. From place to place. Men and women. Weeping over sin. And finding the Lord. And finding the love of Jesus Christ. Mercy. And mercy.

And mercy. For sin multiplied. Super abounding mercy. They found. The blood of Jesus Christ. Sufficient to cleanse them from all sin. And they were finding happiness.

And God. In the temple at Charlonçon. They were working to restore it. And you have to understand what was happening.

They were working all day long. And if it hadn't been the power of God. They wouldn't have had time. Or energy. Or thought. To think about revival. But they were so gripped by it. That when they finished their work.

In the fields. They rushed to the churches. And with their shovels. And their whitewash. And their paint. And they began to restore the churches. That hadn't been used for ages.

And in Charlonçon. They finished. Getting this church building ready. One evening. And a man looked at it.

And he said. Something's missing. And he went over. And got a paint of whitewash. Of white paint. And he wrote up on the wall. Glory to God. In another village.

There was a cafe. With a little plaque on it. That said. Clothes. For reason of conversion. And in another town.

The young people. Who were now meeting together. For prayer. And wrote to the mayor. To ask that the annual youth ball. Be cancelled. And the minutes of the city council meeting. Read this way.

The young people have decided. To no longer dance. Well. That's the character. Of revival. We end with.

The fourth point. How do we seek revival. In times of spiritual decline. Okay. This is where. Perhaps. We need to live.

For a while. In the days to come. Verse seven. The first thing. Is that we need to look to God alone. As our help. In the midst of spiritual decline. Read verse seven.

With me. The text says this. But as for me. As for me. Having described. This terrible situation. Zion then says. But as for me. I watch.

In hope. For the Lord. I wait. For God. My savior. My God. Will hear me. Lying. In darkness. And weakness. The church says.

But as for me. I will look to God. Because man. Made techniques. And strategies. And whatever. It's not going to work. In America. Of 2012. 12. It's not going to work.

Is it? The second point. Is in verse eight. We must respond. In confident. Faith and hope. In God. To the problem. The spiritual decline.

Let's read that verse. Do not gloat over me. My enemy. Says the church. Though I have fallen. I will rise. Though I sit in darkness.

The Lord. Will be my light. This is absolutely astounding. Here you have a church. That is in a situation. Of complete.

Spiritual. Weakness. And decline. Speaking this way. Don't gloat over me. Satan. Though I have fallen. I am going to rise.

Though I am sitting in darkness. I am going to come out. Into the light. You know. We can often have a problem. When things go on and on. In our country.

In the wrong way. In a desperately bad way. And our country seems to be given over. To ungodliness. We can become depressed. Can't we? And discouraged. And lose our hopefulness.

And maybe we are still praying. But you know. Faithless prayers. Faithless repenting. Hopeless repentings. Hopeless prayers. Do nothing.

And we learn. From the scripture. That. We are to take hope in God. We are to speak to the enemy. In a sort. In our hearts.

And say. Don't gloat over me. Don't gloat over me. Because I will rise. Because of my God. Verse 9. Gives us a third idea.

We need to look to God. As our only hope. We need to have a confident. Optimistic attitude. And thirdly. We need to bear. God's chastisements. With meekness and patience. As we wait for revival.

Let's read that verse. Verse 9. Because I have sinned. I will bear the Lord's wrath. Or another version says. I will bear the Lord's indignation. Until.

He pleads my case. And establishes my right. And brings me out into the light. You know. When the church is in decline.

We need to take responsibility. Don't we? And part of our responsibility. Dear people. In this day. In 2012. In the West. Is like Zion of old.

To say. Because we have sinned. We will bear. The indignation of the Lord. Until he pleads our cause. We will not be frustrated.

With our God. That things are so bad. And getting worse. We will take. On our own selves. Our part. Of the responsibility. And we will meekly.

And with patience. Say to God. I will bear your indignation. Because I have sinned against you. Until it pleases you.

To plead my cause. There's no 30 day solution. To revival. How long will we bear. The indignation of the Lord. I don't know.

Someone said that if God doesn't punish America. He's going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. The last.

Thing that we need to do. Is. To lean expecting. Expectantly. On the saving righteousness. Of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As a source of revival. Now look at the last point of. The last part of verse nine. Until he pleads my case. What kind of language is that?

That's legal language isn't it? That's the language of the courts. Until he pleads my case. And establishes my right. Judicial language. He will bring me out into the light.

And I will see his righteousness. I will see his righteousness. Now what does all of this mean?

This is a picture. Of a weak. And chastised church. That is waiting. On someone else. On an advocate.

On a lawyer. That comes and appears. And pleads. Its case. Now do you know what a lawyer does? A real. The way it's supposed to work. An advocate.

An advocate identifies. With his client. And he puts all of his weight. On your side.

Not just a lawyer. Who you don't even know. And meet. But the kind of advocate. That has something. That can throw. The balance. In your favor. And.

We learn here. That the church. Is to wait. On our advocate. I will wait. Until you. Oh Lord. My God. Appear. In the court. Of the God. Who is chastising me.

And Jesus Christ. Our risen Lord. With his wonderful. Saving righteousness. Of which the father says. In you. I have all my pleasure.

That righteousness. That is sprung. Millions. From hell. To heaven. That blood. Of his. That is of such value.

Dear people. That it will. Give to us. An eternity. Of heaven. And all of it. But. And is carried. Just on the wings. Of Jesus. Soul.

Righteousness. Gives us. All of heaven. And an eternity. Of heaven. His righteousness. Is that great. It's a wonder. It's a mystery.

If we could penetrate. Into the value. And the wonder. Of the very perfect. And righteous. And holy life. Of the God man. Thrown on our side.

As an advocate. Yea. God himself. Is righteousness. Thrown over. On my side. And the son of God. Appealing.

With his scars. And saying. Father. Shall it not be time. To lift up. My bride. From the darkness. Shall it not be time.

Oh look at my righteousness. Will you treat her. According to my righteousness now. And give power. And blessing. And prosperity. This is what happens.

In every revival. It comes straight. From the scars. And the blood. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. This I guarantee you. And so.

If we are a godly people. We patiently. Meekly. Admit our sin. And we look to Calvary. And we look to the risen Christ.

And we look to his righteousness. If it can lift you up to heaven. Can't it lift us up. From spiritual decline. Right? Let's be logical.

Isn't heaven. The ultimate state of revival? Isn't there all power. In us. In heaven. And all glory. And all victory. Oh Lord.

Give us just a touch. Of heaven now. Put your weight. Upon our side. So we seek revival. At the foot of the cross.

We don't think it's going to become. Come to us. Because we fasted. Though we may fast. Not because we were so. Intense in our desire for it.

Or this or that. It's coming down. It's not going to come. From up. From underneath. From us. It's coming down. From our Lord. And from what he has done. Glory.

Will be to his name. If he revives the church. In our day. We have a great hope. Don't we? What will happen in heaven.

If the people in Bremen. And all over this land. Who are believers. Begin to plead the righteousness. Of Jesus Christ. For a revival. And say.

Oh God. I will not let you go. Until you bless us. May God help us to do so. Let's pray.

Lord this morning. We saw how rich and free. That grace is. That it's simply faith. That receives. And goes on receiving grace.

From the Lord Jesus. Tonight we've seen just. How. Valuable that. Blood of Jesus is. That it would not only purchase.

The forgiveness of our sins. But even times of refreshing. From the Lord. Upon his church. That it is the reason. For which. All good things.

Come to us. As your people. So tonight. We would. We would own our sins. And. Our failures. Our shortcomings.

As a church. Our. Our fears of men. Our lack of righteousness. And lack of witness. And would ask you to.

To look on Christ. And all of his righteousness. And to pardon us. And to revive us. We thank you for these.

Services together today. For these times. Of meeting with you. We thank you Lord. You. You told us to seek you. And. And that we would find you.

And we. Believe that you have met us today. We thank you for that. We. We thank you for David. And Nikki. And for. What we saw this morning.

Of your grace. In Grenoble. And we give you thanks. And ask now. That you. Strengthen them. And. Revive. And refresh. Their own hearts. And prepare them for that.

Which is. Before. Lord. Revive our. Church here. And may. We see you. Breaking into churches. And. And doing what we have.

Heard. Tonight. All for the glory. Of our savior. Bless them. The time that. Follows. Of fellowship. And of refreshment. And do not let us lose.

What you have. Given to us today. We ask in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.