Hezekiah’s Revival

Hezekiah’s Revival
2 Kings 18:1-12
March 5-6, 2022

It's a story of revival in 2 Kings 18, and it takes place in the Southern Kingdom. As you know as you've been studying with us, the Kingdom of Israel is divided north and south. We have been looking at the events happening in the north for several weeks because it was a time of tremendous spiritual darkness as they had gone after the gods of the world. It was so interesting to see how God responded to them going after these gods in the spiritual darkness of their lives. What did God do? He sent the most powerful prophets of the Old Testament, that's what He did. He sent Elijah and Elisha to demonstrate the power of God yet again, and to call them home, to call them back.

This is what God is doing still today. He's calling people to come back to Himself. He's relentless in His pursuit of them. Now in 2 Kings 18, our attention is turned to the south. The king in the south now is a man by the name of Hezekiah. He's 25 years old when he becomes king. We know something about his father and his mother, and that is important in the story. It tells us that Hezekiah did right in the sight of the Lord. He was a good king. It's interesting that it says that he did right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father David had done.

Kings were often compared to David. Did they walk as David? Did they follow after David? David had a heart after God, does this king? Well, interestingly, not only does it say that he walked according to the way of David, but he even got this commendation. That after him there was none like him, and before him there was none like him. In other words, he stood out. There was David, there was Hezekiah. That's how significant of a king and of a leader that he was for Israel.

Therefore, there are life lessons, spiritual applications from his revival and his leadership. Now, also we're going to know a Hebrew word that's going to be very important. I want you to know a Hebrew word that's very important part of the story, and that word is Nehushtan. It's a good word to know. This is one of those words that you could use to make a beautiful plaque for your home. Then when people come to visit and they say Nehushtan, what does that mean? Then you say, "I'm glad you asked," and then you tell them all about 2 Kings 18, because this is one of those stories that's all about Jesus Christ. He is revealed in the story in a very powerful way. Great life lessons.

Let's read it. We're in 2 Kings 18, we begin in verse 1. "Now it came about in the third year of Hoshea, son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiel son of Ahaz became king of Judah in the south." Now, one of the ways that they kind of tracked the timeframes was to compare the times of the north and the south like this. In the third year of Hoshea of the north, Hezekiah became king in the south, and it tells us that his father's name was Ahaz. Very important because it's a very significant part of the story. Ahaz was his father. "He was 25 years old when he became king. He reigned 29 years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Abi."

By the way, in Hebrew, a B and a V are interchangeable, so you could also say Avi. I like the sound of Avi, just very beautiful. She was the daughter of Zechariah. Now, right away if you know some history you might say, "Oh, her father was Zechariah the priest? The wonderful Zechariah, the priest?" Yes, and that's also an important part of the story. Verse 3, "And he did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done." Then it tells us what he did. "He removed the high places. He broke down the sacred pillars. He cut down the Asherah."

The Asherah was the female goddess of fertility, and all the sexuality thereof, that was amongst the nations around them. They, in the north, had gone after Asherah, and so then Hezekiah says, "What? You bring that into Judah? I will have none of it," and he cuts it all down. This is part of his revival. Now, this is where the word Nehushtan comes in. "He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made." Okay, now this goes all the way back in the history of Israel. During the time of Moses, Moses made a bronze serpent, which we're going to hear the story of.

It says that Hezekiah broke it to pieces because the people in those days, the sons of Israel, were burning incense to it. Like what? You're worshiping a bronze serpent? Hezekiah, it says, he called it Nehushtan, which is literally translated, "It's just bronze, people." Okay, I added the people part, but that's the idea. Like, "What are you doing? This is not revival. You're burning incense to a bronze thing?" No, and he broke it to pieces and he called it "it's just bronze." This is Nehushtan. Then it says, "He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him."

You have David and you have Hezekiah, "For he clung to the Lord and did not depart from following Him all his days" - not only did he start well, he finished well - "which the Lord had commanded Moses." He held onto these. "And the Lord was with him." Well now, that's predictable. "Wherever he went he prospered." Life lesson, great life lesson, to honor the Lord in such a way. Wherever he went he prospered. "And he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him." Very important. "He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza." Even today, what we call the Gaza Strip was the area of the Philistines. "He defeated them from watchtower to fortified city."

Now, from verse 9, the next several verses are very, very important in the history of Israel in the north. Monumental. The whole of Israel is impacted by what is going to happen now. This is extremely important. "It came about in the fourth year of King Hekeziah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel in the north, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it." All right, this is the capital in the north. They besiege it. For three years it was besieged. "After three years they captured the city. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea, Samaria was captured."

Then verse 11 is absolutely epic. "The king of Assyria carried Israel away." They are no more. The Kingdom of Israel in the north, they are no more. This is it, they are no more. Only a few remain. They are no more. "He carried them away and he put them in Halah and on the Habor, river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes." Why? Because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God. They transgress His covenant and even all that Moses the servant of God commanded. They would not listen and they would not do it.

I. Revival is Made to be Lived

Now, these are the verses that I'd like us to look at. We'll study the verses around it, of course, at the Wednesday Verse by Verse service, but I want us to look and take hold of such an important time in the history of Israel, and such an important leader. I want us to start with this understanding: that revival is made to be lived. We see this out of the story. It's made to be lived. In other words, revival is not just something that happens in the heart. If it's true revival it will impact how the life has lived.

Jesus said something very similar. "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart will bring forth what is good." In other words, the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. The life is lived from that which fills the heart. If there's true revival in the heart, if the soul is ignited, then it's going to impact the life. This we see in the life of Hezekiah. God used him to bring about a great revival. He cleansed the temple, he restored the priesthood. He kept the commandments which the Lord gave Moses, but here's the amazing thing.

All right, you have David and you have Hezekiah, the two great Kings. Then you look at Hezekiah a little more closely and you realize, "Wait, did you say that his father was Ahaz?" Ahaz was the worst. He was the worst. How is it possible? You go from Ahaz, who was the worst, to Hezekiah, who was one of the greatest other than David. How is that even possible? Because you know the influence of the father is very great. The influence of the father, very great. Many young men struggle in their life because of the things that they took hold of from their fathers.

If your father is an alcoholic, for example, children of alcoholics struggle greatly in their lives because of the influence of that alcoholism of their father. Now, I know all about that. My father was an alcoholic, I know this very well. My mother made sure that we got to church, and made sure that we had an opportunity to hear the truth; to hear the gospel. I'm very thankful for my mother because at a very young age God got a hold of me and I knew right away I cannot be like my father. I cannot do this. It will destroy my life. I cannot do this.

I sensed right away that God was saying to me, "This can end. This generation is the one that is going to end this. You don't have to repeat the sins of your father. This can end." I knew right away this can end and it's going to end with me. If you are here today and you have a father that has brought such influences to you, let you also know that it can end and it can end right here and it can end now, and it can end in your generation. You don't have to repeat the sins of your father because God is still victorious in people's lives. Amen?

[applause]

Let's give Him praise. Even to the point that later on in my life I was able to lead my father to faith in Jesus Christ and baptize him with my own hands. He can turn this thing around-

and He can turn it around in your life. Because we see also, it's interesting, his mother. His mother was Avi. She is the daughter of Zechariah, and he's a very powerful priest. Avi is a mother of influence. A mother has tremendous influence on the children. All you have to do is compare Avi to Jezebel and you know exactly what I'm saying. That woman Jezebel, and all her evil, was seen in her children.

Then you have Avi, daughter of Zechariah. Her name means something in Hebrew that's important. Her name means "my father." Now, that's a beautiful thing. Zechariah did not name her that after himself, he named her that after God. Many Hebrew names were named after or in relation to some aspect of God. What a beautiful thing. It was quite rare in those days to have such an understanding like "God is my father."

Now, also we know that Hezekiah was a powerful prophet who lived during the days of Hezekiah, and she knew him. Could Hezekiah's mother have arranged for Isaiah to mentor him? I don't know. It's an interesting speculation. How did it happen? How do you go from Ahaz, the worst of the kings, to Hezekiah, man of revival, man of renown? Well, it tells us that if revival is made to be lived you see it in Hezekiah's life. It says that he did right. "He did what's right in the sight of the Lord." There's a great application. Do what's right in the sight of the Lord, in contrast to what's right in your own eyes because the two can be in conflict.

A. Do what’s right in the sight of the Lord

What do you do if that which is right in your own eyes is in conflict with what's right in God's eyes? I mean, there are oftentimes where those things are in conflict with one another. What do you do? There are many people who in their hardness and stubbornness say, "I am the master. I will do what I believe is right." Hezekiah was not like this. Hezekiah considered well God's ways, and if there was a conflict he would go with God's way. This is very important. Proverbs 12:15, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but the man who is wise is he who listens to counsel."

Listen very carefully. Consider the wisdom of counsel because the Scripture tells us quite boldly in Isaiah 55 that God's ways are higher than our ways. That God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Therefore if there's a conflict between your ways and God's ways, I suggest to you that going with God's ways is a way of greatest blessing. Proverbs 16:2, "All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives." It's easy for a person to deceive oneself, but one can never deceive God. Proverbs 21:2, "Every man's way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart."

We were just reading verses 9 through 12. It describes the final downfall of the Kingdom of Israel. Why did they fall? Well, because they would not obey the voice of the Lord. They did not obey. Why? Why didn't they obey the voice of the Lord? After all, we do know this about the word of the Lord. 1 John 5:3, we know this. "This is the love of God that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome." This is a great insight. They're not burdensome. They're not heavy. They are to keep you from heavy. They are to keep you from burden. They are to be the delight to bless your lives.

But no, they preferred the gods of Baal and Molech and Ashtoreth and Astarte. Why? What was it about those gods that they found so interesting, so attractive that they were so drawn to them? Well, they were gods that appealed to the flesh; the fleshly nature of man. God's of their own making that allowed their flesh that permission to do whatever it wanted. But God wanted them to see. God wants us to see that if the flesh does whatever it wants it will pay a terrible price. God is trying to spare you from suffering and hardship and misery and emptiness of life.

Here's the thing. The flesh nature of man, it was never meant to be a master. It was never meant to master you, but it wants to. It wants to master. Me want, you give. Me want. The flesh has many things that it wants. It wants to be the master, but I suggest to you that the flesh makes a terrible master. The reason the flesh makes a terrible master is because it does not consider the future. It has not thought about the future. It only is concerned about the moment. But God does consider your future. God is very much concerned about your future. In fact, He wants to bless your future by showing you the way to walk today.

Notice Jeremiah 29:11, "I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare." These are God's plans for you. Welfare means to do good in your life, not for calamity. "To give you a future, to give you a hope." These are the plans that I have for you. I'm very concerned for your future.

I was thinking of an illustration. Many of you know, of course, that we raised five kids, and then now we've adopted our granddaughter, so that makes six. At one time in our lives, we had five teenagers in the home at one time.

I know, and I've been in counseling ever since.

[laughter]

No, I'm just kidding about that. No, I loved it. Actually, I really loved having that many kids, teenagers, the life, the busy, I loved all of it, but there were times when there were struggles over this thing of rules and restrictions and things like this. Of course, I had many conversations with them where I'm trying to help them understand that it's a good thing to have a parent that's willing to say no. That's actually a good thing, but they often would struggle against it. I remember a conversation with one of them, who shall remain nameless, but he said--

[laughter]

He's kind of struggling over the rules, and he said this. He said, "You know, when I'm a parent I'm going let my kids do whatever they want." I said, "Yes, and right there is why you need a parent right now. I'll just tell you right now that when you do become a parent, absolutely you will not say that," because if you love your kids you will not give them everything they want. For if you give them everything they want you will ruin their lives. If you love them you will not do such a thing to your children. How much more is it true of God. I want to bless your life. I want to show you the way of greatest blessing.

B. Look unto Jesus, the true serpent of our sin

All right, back to 2 Kings 18. Now this bronze serpent comes into the story, and it has everything to do with Jesus. Can we capture it this way? Look unto Jesus, the true serpent of our sin. Now, I know that sounds provocative and I don't mean it to be provocative, but Jesus is the one who makes that connection. Jesus is the one who makes the truth understood. Now, as part of Hezekiah's revival, he broke into pieces this bronze serpent that Moses had made because the people were burning incense to it. They're worshiping the bronze serpent itself.

The bronze serpent has an interesting history. We studied this when we were in Numbers 21. This took place while Israel was in the desert those 40 years, and they came to a point of grumbling. They were angry, they were upset. There was not enough water and the food was the manna and they were unhappy. Now, manna every morning, manna at night, manna, and they were angry and discontented and complaining. Although manna was wonderful for them, it's nutritious, it tasted good. It says it tasted like honey with coriander seed. It's like Krispy Kreme donuts but good for you.

[laughter]

They're complaining, they're grumbling, and so God sent fiery serpents among them who bit them, latched onto them. Death entered the camp, and so they cried out to Moses and confessed that they had sinned and so help us. God instructed Moses to make a fiery serpent out of bronze, an image of that which was the death that was latching onto them. "Make a fiery serpent out of bronze." Clearly, it represented them. It represented their sin. "Then take this fiery image, this bronze serpent, lift it up on a standard, on a pole of wood. Lift it up that the people would look unto it." Anyone on whom a serpent had latched on and death had taken hold of them, all they must do is look upon this serpent and they will live.

Jesus then explained it was prophetic of Himself. Now, I want to read to you where Jesus explains that because it comes to us out of one of the most important and famous chapters in the Bible. In fact, it comes to us in that chapter where we get the most famous, I think, of all Bible verses. Most memorized, most recognized, which is John 3:16, "God so loved the world." But the context of it, just before God said those words, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son," just before that He said that that serpent, that bronze serpent lifted up, is prophetic of me. I am that serpent. That's amazing.

Let's read it. If you don't have your Bibles open to it I'll just read you these verses out of John 3. "There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, 'Now Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.' Nicodemus said to Him, 'How can this be? How can a man be born when he's old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?'

Jesus answered, 'Truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'" You're born of water when you're born of your mother. "'For that which is born of flesh is flesh, that which is born of Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I say to you that you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and you do not know where it's going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'

Nicodemus answered and he said to Him, 'How can these things be?' Jesus answered and He said, 'You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand these things? Truly, I say to you. We speak that which we know and bear witness to that which we've seen, but you do not receive our witness. If I tell you earthly things and you do not believe, how shall you believe if I tell you heavenly things? For no one has ascended into heaven but He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man.'" And then He says it. "'For as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him will have eternal, everlasting life.'

For God so loved the world that He who gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, you would not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged. He who does not believe has been judged already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment: that the light has come into the world but men love the darkness rather than light, for their deeds were evil."

All right. These are words that are amazing to take hold of. It has everything to do with eternal life. How a person is born again. How a person is saved. "I am that which is lifted up. Look unto me and you will be saved." And there Paul gives us even more insight. For example, 2 Corinthians 5:21, similarly he says, "He made Him," Jesus, "who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf." That also is provocative. "He made Him who knew no sin," the unblemished lamb of God, "to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

That is an amazing thing. You and me becoming the righteousness of God? We, sinners like we all are, how is that? He says because He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. He took our sins upon Himself that you might become the righteousness of God in Him. So that one day at the end of your life, at the end of the age when you stand before God and give an account of your life, for everyone is going to give an account of his life.

That day, the end of the age when you stand before the living God and give an account of your life, if you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are going to be standing that day before God in the righteousness of God that is found in Christ Jesus. Now that is a gift. How glorious is that? Amen?

Let's give the Lord praise for a wonderful thing that He's done.

[applause]

Let me give you some other verses that correspond to it that are very deep in their understanding. Romans 6:3-5, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we've been buried. We've been buried with Him through baptism into death. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection." You receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are sitting there right now living the resurrected life because you are in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ, and it's no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Oh, what wonderful truth that is. Jesus explains the connection between that serpent lifted up and Him being lifted up on the cross, by which we have been given eternal life. How glorious is that?

II. God Wants Revival Not Relics

Then back to our story of 2 Kings 18. The message of revival is that God wants revival, not relics. He broke in pieces this bronze serpent calling it Nehushtan. It's just a piece of bronze, people, because the bronze serpent is not what caused the people of Israel to live. God caused the people to live, it wasn't the bronze serpent. It was a picture of what God would do through His son Jesus Christ. They're worshiping a piece of bronze rather than having a relationship to Him.

Now, no doubt there would've been people. When Hezekiah broke to pieces this bronze serpent, no doubt there would've been people who complained. Moses made that bronze serpent. That was sacred, that was holy. How could you do such a thing? Moses did that, but holding onto and worshiping a relic is no substitute for authentic real revival. That which must happen in the soul is not replaced by burning incense to a thing.

By the way, if you go to St. Ambrose Cathedral in Milan, Italy, you will see a brass serpent on display. It is said that in AD 941, an envoy from Constantinople brought the pieces of the brass serpent as a gift to the emperor. It was reassembled, set on the column in the nave so that people can come and burn incense to it.

I was thinking of an illustration, and it has to do with the history of Calvary Chapel. Many of you know, I think, that Pastor Chuck Smith was the founder of Calvary Chapel in the days of the hippie movement. A real revival was taking place amongst the hippies. One day Pastor Chuck comes to church early and he notices that somebody has put a sign on the building. The sign read, "No shoes, no service" because these hippies, they would come in with no shoes, and so someone put a sign, "No shoes, no service."

Chuck gets there early, sees the sign, he's like, "What?" Tears down the sign, puts it in his office, and then later calls a meeting of the elders and the leaders. Like, "Who did this?" One of the elders said, "I did." "Why would you do such a thing?" "Because it's hippies. They come in and their feet are dirty, and then they sit on the carpet." They don't sit in chairs; they like to sit on the carpet. "Then they sit there on the carpet, our nice new carpet, in their dirty feet, and they leave dirt marks where they sit."

Chuck says, "Oh, so this is about the carpet now? Is that what this is, the carpet?" He says, "You know what? Take the carpet out. If someone's got problems with our nice chairs, take them out, we'll replace them with metal benches because nothing is going to stand in front of the gospel of Jesus Christ." Nothing is going to stand in front of this. Amen?

A. Trust in the Lord with all your heart

Because it's not about the stuff. It's not about the stuff. It's about what God is doing in hearts, and it lies in transforming. Then we read this. It's about Hezekiah's revival. That he trusted in the Lord with all his heart. That is what revival is. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Now, at first when you hear that you might say, "Well, that sounds kind of simplistic." That is until you understand what was happening. Assyria was arising in terrible power. Intimidating, destroying nations. In verse 7 we read Hezekiah rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him because he trusted in the Lord with all his heart.

See, now when you see it in that context it's a whole nother thing. That's a whole nother kind of faith. This is faith that holds firm in deep water, in deep troubles. That's what we need today. We need faith like that, because I suggest to you that this world is in deep water. We've been mentioning for a long time that troubles are arising. Well, the world has turned a page in history that is monumental.

When Russia invaded Ukraine with the intent to swallow it, I submit to you that there is no good end to this. Either they will spit it out or they will choke on it, for the sanctions levied against now Russia, are the greatest and they're not done yet. The greatest that have been seen in many, many decades. The intent of these things is to break the back of that nation, for this thing is going to get very dangerous very rapidly. We will see what he will do when his back is against the wall.

I suggest to you that the danger to this world is the greatest that it has ever been since the advent of nuclear war. This is the time where we must recognize that we are living in deep waters. Now is the time for revival, now is the time. There's an urgency about the day. Now is the time, in the time of terrible troubles, to have something real and authentic. Now, pay very close attention to what's happening in the world, but now is the time for that which is authentic fire that comes from the throne of heaven.

Psalm 37:3-4, "Trust in the Lord, do good, dwell in the land, and cultivate faithfulness." I love that expression. To cultivate is to be steadfast in the sowing, the giving, the standing in faithfulness. "Delight yourself in the Lord," for that is what revival does, "and He will give you the desires of your heart." Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight."

Interestingly, by coincidence, I happened to be at the bank on Friday, and one of the girls who works at the bank goes to the church and so John was with me. We went over to her desk to say hi. While we were talking she says, "By the way, I need you to know that your missionary in Russia will receive no more money. There will be no more funds sent to your missionary. It is now impossible to send him money." I thought, "Well, now it's getting personal." I was there when we planted this work in Russia, and we've seen many, many years of faithfulness now to come to this.

I email him. He says, "I have two months of money, and then I don't know what to do. I've always trusted that God will make a way, and I'll trust that he'll make a way again." This is what caused Hezekiah to stand out amongst the kings of Israel. That he trusted in the Lord with all his heart in deep water. Then it says that he clung to the Lord. There's the right understanding. To cling to the Lord is what made him separate from all the other kings. He did not depart from following Him. You know, it's the same word in the Hebrew that's found in Galatians 2, "A man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife," same word, "that nothing come between. Let no wedge drive between."

B. Cling to the Lord

It's like what Joshua said in Joshua 23:8 when he gathered the people of Israel. "You are to cling to the Lord your God as you have done to this very day." That's what revival is. It means that we must be careful not to leave our first love. In other words, we must be careful to keep the relationship to the Lord fresh and new. Let God do a new work, a fresh new work. Is your relationship to the Lord based on what happened in the past? The good old days of some revival that happened before? No, let God do a fresh anointing. We need a new work, a fresh work, and a fresh outpouring.

In Russia, speaking in Russia in that Orthodox church, they have these icons; the little images of saints or whatever. They believe that these icons have power unto themselves. The icon, the thing has power. They would put an icon in their car to protect them while they're driving, or they might put an icon in their house to protect them when they're in the house. I suggest to you that there is no power in the thing. There is power in God and God alone, and there is no power in the thing. Isn't this just a building? This is just a building of concrete. It's just a thing, but God is here because you are here.

God inhabits the praises of His people. God is moving in power because God is moving in you, in your heart, and in your soul. Can we agree together that what we need is the reality of relationship with Christ where there is fire in the soul? That's when fire will sweep through our land. Let the church catch fire, and I tell you, others will catch fire from it. Let there be fire here in this place. Let the church ask, and God will pour out His Holy Spirit and there will be fire because souls are alive. That's what we need. We are living in times of deep water, and we need now God to pour His Holy Spirit that there be fire in the church.

[applause]

Amen. Amen. Father, we do now look to you and thank you for how you have moved among us in power. How you have revealed yourself to us through your word. God, that is our heart, that is our desire. Pour out your life. Ignite your church.

Church, how many would say that to the Lord today? How many would say to the Lord, "I'm asking, I want, I'm desiring that there be fire in my soul. God, I want to be alive. Let there be fire in the soul. God, let there be fire in me, and I want to live by that. Transform me by that. I want fire in my soul."

Would you say that to the Lord? Would you say it? If you would, would you just lift your hand up to the Lord? Just raise your hand to the Lord. I'm just saying it to you, Lord. I'm asking, let there be fire in my soul, and I want to live by that. I want to live in revival. I want to live because you have moved in power. Do this in me, Lord. Do this to me. We asked as we give you thanks. We ask this because you said we can ask. To seek for it and you'll pour it out. Well, God, here we are. Meet us here and pour it out. In Jesus' powerful name. And everyone said?