Hallmarks of Revival As Seen In The Reign of Hezekiah
from Assembly Testimony magazine, www.assemblytestimony.org
Hallmarks of Revival As Seen In The Reign of Hezekiahby David McKinley (Canada)
Paper 1
After the very evil reign of Ahaz we read of the commencement of
Hezekiah’s reign with a sigh of relief and a spirit of thankfulness to
God for granting revival to Judah after such a dark day. We shall
consider some of the hallmarks of a true revival, while noting, with
caution, the dangers that can ensue after a real movement of God’s
grace, as seen in this king’s later years.
ESTEEM FOR GOD’S HOUSE - "He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them" 2 Chr. 29.3.
The devil had triumphed in the reign of Ahaz in having the doors of
God’s house closed up. The place where God’s honour dwelt was a cold,
dark and silent monument to Israel’s sin of turning to other gods. The
place of which God said: "For Mine house shall be called an house of
prayer" Isa. 56.7, now for years had no ascending incense, no offerings
of a sweet smelling savour, no tithes brought into the storehouses of
God’s sanctuary; not even sin offerings were brought, as an admission of
failure and departure! Now Hezekiah comes into responsibility in the
kingdom and his first concern is for God’s glory; for God’s house. No
doubt he had many other pressing matters, but he displays the principle
later set out by the Lord Jesus: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God" Matt. 6.33.
In our day, placing a high value on the "house of God, which is the
church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" 1 Tim. 3.14,
is a hallmark of a revival. This will preserve us from treating the
assembly as if it were just one of a number of evangelical groups, but
as it is indeed, a unique gathering founded by God and maintained by God
for God’s glory, the spiritual development of the saved and for the
blessing of the unsaved around.
excerpt from March-April 2015 issue
