1.1 the Word of God and Revival — Colin Peckham

Five morning conventions. The theme is to be aspects of revival, so I think that's very exciting. I can hardly wait this morning. And here with us to lead us in all five of our studies, we welcome back to Keswick and Bucke, the Reverend Colin Beckham.

We, just like the other speakers, Colin was here before, if you remember, 18 months ago with his wife Mary, and we were greatly blessed then by their respective ministries. So we welcome you back, Colin.

Look forward to what you have to say to us in a few moments. We know that we're going to be greatly blessed this week with this particular theme. A lot of people have been so excited about it, and we just know there's going to be great blessing here, and we trust that Colin too will be greatly blessed as he brings God's word to us this morning.

The psalmist said, I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving, and all you who seek the Lord, let your hearts revive. So let's do that then as we sing together from mission praise number 631,.

Tell out my soul the greatness of the Lord. Mission praise number 631. Just before Colin.

Comes to minister to us, we're going to pray together. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this gathering together of your people here this morning from different backgrounds, different churches, yet realizing that we are all one in Christ Jesus the Lord.

We approach you with humble and repentant hearts, dear Lord, as we seek further guidance and instruction today from your precious word. We come also with hungry hearts, our Father, for only in you can we be filled and find true satisfaction in our lives.

You remind us from scripture to listen to your words, to incline our ear to your sayings, and not to let them depart from us, but rather to keep them in the midst of our hearts for their life to all who find them.

Father, we know that your word has power to change our thinking and to renew our minds, so we ask, dear Lord, that we may truly hear and understand and indeed be challenged and changed by your word to us today and during the week that lies ahead.

Be with your servant now, dear Lord, as he brings your word of reviving power and grace to your people at this time. Bless him, guide him, direct and empower him, both now during the week and in the days that lie ahead in Jesus' precious name we pray and for his greater glory.

Amen.

The Word of God as the Beginning of Revival

We read this morning from Nehemiah chapter 8. Our subject this morning is the word of God and revival. The word of God and revival. I'm taking the Ezra's great revival in the days when the children of Israel came out of the Babylonian captivity and began with the word of God.

We read from Ezra, Nehemiah chapter 8, and all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.

And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women and all that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday before the men and women and those that could understand and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.

And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood which they made for the purpose. And beside him stood Matatiah and Shema and Aniah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Messiah on his right hand. And on his left hand, Pedaiah, Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashim, and Hashbadanah, and Zechariah, and Meshurim.

I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, those gentlemen are long dead and they wouldn't mind how I interpreted their names and explain them. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of the people for he was above all the people.

And when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, amen, amen, with lifting up of their hands. They bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

And Jeshua and Barney and Sherabiah and Jamin and Jacob and Shebathiah and Judijah and Messiah and Calatah and Azariah and Zodwak and Zanon and Pelikiah and the Levites caused the people to understand the law.

And the people stood in their place. So they read in the book of the law distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading. Nehemiah, which is the Teshatha, and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people said unto the people, this day is holy unto the Lord your God, more not nor weep, for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

Just so far, may God bless his word to our hearts. Just a word of prayer. Dear Father, we thank thee that thy word is very precious and we pray that thou wouldst speak it to all our hearts as we wait in thy presence now.

Israel’s Division into Northern and Southern Kingdoms

In Jesus' name, amen. Perhaps we need to review a little bit of the history of Israel, bring us up to date. Here, you will remember that Saul was the first king of Israel and then David followed him and Solomon followed him.

And then Solomon died and Solomon had put the people to work three months at a time away in the woods and bringing back the materials and all that. And they had endured hardship. And when Rehoboam, his son, took over, the young men said, don't slacken, just tell them that you're going to do exactly the same as your father.

And so Rehoboam said, my father whipped you with whips, I will whip you with scorpions. And Rehoboam said, to your tent, so Israel. And he broke away with ten tribes, ten northern tribes, and formed the nation of Israel.

The distinction had come, the split had come, the division had come. The nation of Judah in the south and the tribes of the north which formed the nation of Israel. That took place after Solomon had died.

And then in 722, because they, the northern tribes and those who settled on the east of the Jordan, Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, they followed other gods. They followed the gods of the heathen.

So God sent them, the Assyrians, to take them away into oblivion. And the Assyrians came. First of all, they took the tribes on the east away. And then they came and took Samaria and the rest of them.

And the ten tribes disappeared. It's not what the British Israelites say, but probably that was the case. They just disappeared into oblivion. And they mixed themselves with the nations. They replaced those with other peoples.

And they mixed themselves with those Jews who had remained, the tribe of Israel. They formed the Samaritan nation who recognized only the first five books of the Bible, the books of Moses, and nothing else.

They were people of mixed blood, mixed religion, and the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. In fact, they would cross, go down from Jerusalem and cross the river Jordan and go up on the east side and then cross above the water between the waters of Merom and the Sea of Galilee.

They would cross again to get to Galilee to avoid going through Samaria because they had no dealings with the Samaritans. So now, 722, they were taken away captive. And then about 150 years later, the Babylonians came and took Judah away captive.

Babylonian Captivity and the Return Under Zerubbabel

The northern kingdom was now obliterated. The southern kingdom was still there. And now the Babylonians came and carried them away to Babylon. And there they were for 70 years. And then eventually the policies were such that they said, well, look, we must make the people happy.

We can't enforce things upon them that will only cause rebellion. So the policy of the then Artaxerxes and others, Cyrus and all those, they said, well, let's send them back to their own countries and let's promote their own religions generally, and Israel was one of those, so that they could make them happy and keep them happy.

And then they would be in good relations with those nations which they had conquered. So they sent them back. And they came back under Zerubbabel in 538 BC. So 722, obliteration of the north. 606, the capture of those of Judah, 606 and 597 and 586, those three times they took them away.

And now 536, 538, they came back with Zerubbabel, 42 ,350. My word, that's pretty exact. They all came back now to establish themselves there. Then came Haggai and the prophet Zechariah and they urged them to build the church of God.

They built an altar and the prophet said, come on now, build the church of God. How can you live in your sealed houses and the church of God is in ruins? Build the church. They built the temple of God.

And 60 years after that came Ezra. Now, you get the picture? They've been in Babylon. They've mixed themselves among the nations that are there in the north. They are of no consequence of the Galilee of the Gentiles.

Ezra’s Discovery of an Impoverished and Syncretistic People

But here in Judah, they've come back with Zerubbabel. For 60 years, they've now had the temple. For 60 years, they've been together. Now comes Ezra. And what Ezra finds is an impoverished, sinful people who have mixed themselves amongst the nations and who are serving the gods of the nations.

That is the situation that Ezra found. And we read there in Ezra chapter 8 that we find he finds these people in such terrible situation. Ezra chapter 9, he says in chapter 9 verse 1, they have not separated themselves from the people of the lands.

When I heard this thing, verse 3 of chapter 9 of Ezra, I rent my garments and my mantle and plucked off their hair.