Many of them are meeting as they can to worship today. They're finding ways and finding places to gather together with other believers and worship Jesus. And I think that it's thinking about them that causes me to recognize how desperately I need reviving. Beginning next Sunday here at Cornerstone, we will hold special services that we call revival services. And you'll notice that ever since I came to Cornerstone as pastor, when we have had these services, I have called them revival services, not simply revival. Because, friends, revival services does not mean that you and I will experience revival just as we do not need to hold revival services to experience revival. We need reviving. And I'm not speaking about the people around us. I am talking about me. I need reviving. We need reviving. earlier in the service we read from Romans chapter 13. And I think this passage is a good description of Christian revival when it speaks of the need to awake out of sleep. Did you hear as Pastor Ronnie read in that passage, Romans 13 specifically verse 11, where Paul called upon the Roman believers, speaking to them, saying that it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. If Paul could say that in the mid first century, How much more true, over 1900 years later, is it that you and I need to awake out of sleep because our salvation, the completion of redemption, is nearer today than when we believed? We need reviving. Awakening or reawakening is a good description. of what revival is. And it's the theme of the message from Ezra chapter nine. Ezra was a scribe and a priest who was born and lived many years during the captivity in Babylon. He was not born in Judea in Jerusalem. He was born there in Babylon and lived many years into his adult life. During his adult years, the king of Babylon began to send some of the Jews back to Jerusalem as God had said would take place. One group had returned to Jerusalem and begun rebuilding the temple and reestablishing the Jewish presence there in Jerusalem. Ezra was part of the second group who returned and how excited he must have been to go to the land of his father's, to go to the land of promise for the first time in his life and to be a part of that time in Israel's history. However, shortly after he arrived, he found that the first group who had returned were already becoming slack. about their covenant responsibilities before God. In Ezra 9, he prayed, and it's a portion of his prayer that I wanna read as our text in Ezra 9, verses eight and nine. Follow along, Ezra 9, verse eight. The Bible says, and now for a little space, grace hath been showed from the Lord our God. to leave us a remnant to escape and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen, yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. From this text, I want to preach a message entitled, Reawakening. God's recipe for revival. My prayer is that this message will demonstrate our need and help us position ourselves so that we can be reawakened. Would you pray with me? And as we do, ask God to reveal your needs today. Let's pray together. Father, thank you so much for this opportunity that we have to be gathered together today in your house to worship you. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to hear from your word. And I pray today, God, that you would speak to our hearts, that you would accomplish your purpose and your plan in us as we come to your word. Lord, please fulfill in us what you desire. And we'll be sure to praise and thank you for it. In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen. Would you see with me this morning from our text three thoughts about God's recipe for revival? Would you notice first of all that revival occurs when I am reawakened God's Word. You and I experience revival in our lives when we are reawakened by God's Word. Look back, if you will, at Ezra chapter 9. Look back to verse 4. The Bible to send me everyone that trembled at the words of the God of Israel because of the transgression of those that had been carried away. And I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice." As we come to Ezra chapter 9, the Bible records for us that Ezra was approached by a group of God's people who were gravely concerned about the condition of the people of Jerusalem and Judea. These were those who had been reintroduced to God's law, and it hit them like a Mack truck. They had been taught again what God demanded in his law and what God required of them under the covenant. And when they realized that they were failing again, shortly after being brought back from captivity, it brought fear. The scripture says it this way in verse four as we read, that they trembled at the words of the God of Israel. It speaks of trembling, the physical response because of fear. Have you ever been in that situation in your life where you were so afraid of something that your body had a physical response? You trembled, you shook and quaked. Perhaps you even passed out. Maybe you screamed out in fear. Maybe you were so afraid you were paralyzed and couldn't even make a sound. The Bible says this was the response of those who realized how they were failing in relation to God's word. It identifies one who is in a state of severe distress. When one is living and behaving contrary to God's demands, an attitude of fear is a positive trait. That's what God said through the prophet Isaiah, as recorded in Isaiah 66, verse two. The Bible says there, for all those things have mine hand made, and all those things have been, sayeth the Lord. But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." And God says, I'm going to be attentive to those who in a spirit of humility tremble at my word. Friends, the question for us this morning is very simple. What is our attitude and our response to God's word? When God's Word is presented to us, when it's preached to us, when we are confronted with the truth of the Word of God, what is our response? What is our attitude when God's Word speaks to our hearts? How do you and I respond when God, through his truth, convicts and challenges our lives? We were reminded last Sunday morning in our adult Sunday school that God's word was given for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished unto all good works. God's word has been given to teach us what is right. to teach us what is wrong, to teach us when we are wrong and how to make it right, and how to keep it right. But friends, that doesn't just happen naturally. It doesn't just happen because I sit here under the preaching of God's word. It doesn't just happen because I read God's word for myself. God's word affects us when we respond to God's word as he has designed. And when you and I are found living in such a way that is contrary to God's word, trembling is a good response. You see, when we are lacking in our lives, when we are in need of reviving, being reawakened by God's word is necessary. One teacher said it this way, a man's attitude towards God's word is one of the ultimate criteria of his spirituality. What is your attitude and your response to the word of God? The group of God's people that we read about here in Ezra 9, 4 had experienced a reawakening by God's word. When God's law began to be taught again there in Jerusalem and throughout Judea, they were reawakened by God's word. They noted that their attitudes and behavior were contrary and were failing what God demanded. and they trembled about it. What happens when we are reawakened by God's word? Three truths we see from the text. Being awakened by God's word, first of all, causes a recognition of my sin or our sin. What was the sin that Ezra was informed of? Now remember, Ezra has just come back. He's a scribe and a priest of God. He is one who is responsible for teaching the Word of God and, as best he can, making sure that all of those under his care know what God wanted and are following God. He's never been to Jerusalem before, though. He's been brought up in captivity. Returning to Jerusalem, he is excited about this opportunity. But shortly after he returns, he finds out through this group who were concerned that there were many in Judah, including among the leadership, who were intermarrying with the original inhabitants of Canaan. They were giving themselves and their sons and daughters in marriage to some of those original inhabitants, including in verse one, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites. And this was a problem. But please understand that this was not a problem of race, but a problem of religion. It wasn't a skin problem. It was a spiritual problem. I make sure you understand that because there are those who would teach us that God's commands in the Old Testament and even the New Testament about being unequally yoked together has to do with race and skin. That is not true whatsoever. It has to do with religion and that which is spiritual. And here in this text, they were found intermarrying among these, which God had told them when they came out of Egypt and were established in the promised land, they were not to do. In fact, this is what God said of his people in Deuteronomy 7, verse 6. For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth. From their beginning as a nation, God warned them that unwise relationships with the heathen around them would draw them into idolatry. In fact, it was one of the main reasons they were carried away into captivity in the first place. Because they mingled with the people of Canaan and began to go into idolatry. Here's what the Bible said about that in Psalm 106, verses 35 through 39, speaking of Israel, but were mingled among the heathen and learned their works. and they served their idols, which were a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a-whoring. with their own inventions. What you see there is a record of a progression. It began with God's people mingling with the people of Canaan. It progressed to them doing the works of the people of Canaan, serving their idols and sacrificing to the idols of Canaan like the Canaanites did. But God says his people then went even beyond the heathen, being defiled with their own works, their own inventions, the things they came up with themselves that were so contrary to God's character and God's word. Friends, can I remind you today that God's Word speaks to New Testament believers in similar ways? We are a called, chosen, royal, holy, and peculiar people. Peter spoke of that in 1 Peter chapter 9 when he says to us that we are a chosen nation. We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. Like God chose Israel and set them apart, so God has determined that His people, those who are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, are to be set apart. As such, we are warned about our relationships with and among the world. Yes, we are to go into the world to seek to win the world to the Lord Jesus, but we are warned not to follow or allow the philosophies and practices of the world to influence us away from the principles found in the Bible. Friends, as you and I go into this world to seek to win the world, as you and I live in and among those of the world, whose philosophies and practices differ from what God says should be true of believers in Jesus Christ. We are to make sure that we're living in among them. We're to make sure that we're sharing love with them. We're to make sure that we are presenting the truth of God to them, all while making sure that our attitudes and behaviors do not become consistent with theirs so that we are separated from the principles of God's word. The word of God is our source of truth. By it, the Holy Spirit reveals the areas of sin present in our lives, areas where we are mingling with the world, allowing ourselves to be directed by the world's philosophies and practices. But God's word, when we are reawakened by it, will lead us to a recognition of the sin that is present in our lives. And recognition of my sin should then lead to remorse of my sin. and arson. How did Ezra react to this report in verses three and four? You'll find that he did not minimize, ignore, or hide it. He didn't say, well, it's not really that big of a deal. He didn't just ignore the problem and go on. He didn't seek to just sweep it under the rug. Rather, he responded in a way that demonstrated tremendous grief and heartache because he was deeply remorseful about the sin of God's people. Look at what verse number six records about his remorse. It was there and said, that is, Ezra said, oh my God, I am ashamed and blushed to lift up my face to thee, my God. For our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Ezra testifies here that he was so grieved by the sin that he could not even lift up his face to God. He was ashamed, so much so that the sin of the people brought color to his face. He blushed in shame. When God's word deals with you about sin, or when you are in the presence of sin in our society, how does it affect you? Are we complacent about the attitudes and actions of sin in our own lives? Are we complacent and even complicit in the sins of our culture today? It's telling when we recognize that we will shrug off or even laugh at things that ought to shock us. That's what we see in Ezra here. One Bible preacher of a previous generation said it this way, the inability to blush because of sin is a mark of hypocrisy and superficial spiritual experience. Words and actions that would have made earlier generations blush in shame are today part of the normal entertainment diet of the average TV viewer. When a nation turns sin into entertainment and laughs at what ought to make us weep, we are in desperate need of revival. Friends, take stock of yourselves. Not your neighbor, not your coworker, your own life. What have you chuckled about that you should have cried about? Teenager, let me address you specifically. What TikTok video did you find humorous that you should have found insulting to the holy God you profess to know and love? Aged believer, what did you sweep under the rug that you should have surrendered at the altar? God help us to be reawakened by his word so that we will have true remorse of our sin. Not only a recognition of sin and a remorse of sin, but thirdly, there's a repentance of sin. The bulk of this chapter is a prayer of repentance uttered by Ezra. If you read verses 5 through 15, you'll find that he included himself in the sin of his people because he recognized God's view of national sin and national responsibility. Had Ezra intermarried with one of the inhabitants of Canaan? No, but yet as he offered repentance to God, he said, God, forgive us. He didn't say, God, forgive them. He didn't say, God, do something in them. He said, God, forgive us. He recognized that God had this view of national sin and national responsibility, especially in the context of Israel's covenant with God. What Ezra did not do was ignore, excuse, or just move on from the sin of the people. Rather, he repented. in the vein of Proverbs 28, 13, that says, he that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Experiencing revival does not happen short of being reawakened by God's word that results in recognition of sin, remorse of sin, and repentance of sin. we need to be reawakened by God's word. But then would you notice the second act that occurs when we are reawakened? Not only are we reawakened by God's word, but we are reawakened to God's work. In Ezra 9, 8, 9 again, Prayer of repentance says, as we read earlier, now for a little space, grace hath been showed from the Lord our God. to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen, yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. He uses here that term reviving more than once. And he says that this reviving, what was already going on, even as the people of Judah were guilty of this sin before God, God was at work in and among his people. He was working for and with his people. They were experiencing mercy. Even as they were wrong. As a result. of God's grace. You'll notice that I use the term reawakened to God's work, not reawakened for God's work. Many times when we think of revival, we think of revival as something that kind of drives us to do something for God. And I think that ultimately does happen. But before revival drives us to do something for God, I believe that it reawakens us to what God has already done for us. You'll notice that's what Ezra talks about here. In verses eight and nine, he's not talking about what God has done and the people have done in response. He's not talking about all that they have done for God. No, he is talking about all that God had done for them. Even in their sin, God had been so gracious to his people, he says, and now for a little space, grace hath been showed. Aren't you glad today that even in your sin and mine, God shows grace. Friends, don't miss this. God's grace is always at the heart of His interaction, His work for and with His people. God never does anything in relation to you separate from grace. Do you realize that? Always. He's working for you and with you on the basis of grace. We see this in this text in five ways. I'm gonna give them to you quickly. First of all, notice that God's grace spared them. Ezra said to leave us a remnant to escape. We see it again in verse number 13. Would you notice verse 13 with me? He says this, and after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great trespass, Notice this, seeing that thou our God has punished us less than our iniquities deserve and has given us such deliverance as this. What a picture of our God. Ezra says, God, even as you have punished us for our sin, even as you allowed us to be conquered and carried away captive into a foreign nation, yet you did not punish us as much as our iniquities deserved and instead provided so great a deliverance. What a God he is. God's grace not only spared them, God's grace secured them. Ezra says, and to give us a nail in his holy place. You might mark down that the nail describes securing something in place. There have been times in your life that you've probably taken a hammer and a nail to secure something. Maybe something to a wall. Maybe you were involved in some sort of construction, even if it was very minimal, minor construction, and you secured one thing to another using a hammer and a nail. That's the thought here. Think of this as a figure of speech that described a state of a constant and sure dwelling place. When Ezra said, you've given us a nail in your holy place, what Ezra was saying is, is God has brought us back from that captivity. He has secured us here. Thirdly, God's grace sustained them. Ezra spoke here of God lightening their eyes, giving them a little reviving and bondage, because they were bondmen, yet God did not forsake them. Instead, he extended mercy to them, giving them a little reviving. Remember what reviving speaks of in the word of God. It speaks of bringing consciousness to, bringing life back to. Here's what Ezra is saying, even throughout the conquests and captivity, God provided life to his people. He protected and he preserved them through his providential mercy. He sustained them. Notice, fourthly, Ezra says that God's grace strengthened them. He says, to set up the house of our God and to repair the desolations thereof. God gave them strength when they returned to Jerusalem to repair and rebuild his temple. He provided all that was needed. Can you imagine today? that through a heathen, idolatrous king, God provided everything they needed to repair and rebuild God's temple in Jerusalem. I mean, think of it. That would be equivalent to the most liberal politician you can possibly imagine. The worst communist dictator in our nation, or in any nation in our world, providing materials to some of God's people to build a house of worship, giving them funds so that they could go out and do God's mission. I mean, this is astounding. And Ezra says, God, this is because of your grace. And then fifthly, notice God's grace sanctified them. He says at the end of verse nine, to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. Now, your mind might go to the wall that was repaired and rebuilt under Nehemiah. That's not what Ezra's talking about here. It's not speaking about that physical wall around Jerusalem that was repaired under the direction of Nehemiah. Rather, Ezra here is speaking in a figurative sense as God himself being a wall to his people. He's saying, God, you've sanctified us. You have set us apart from all the other peoples of the earth. You have cared for us yourself. You have been our wall and our shield. God, you have sanctified us, you set us apart. In these ways, God's gracious work was evidenced in the lives of his people. Can I ask you today, do you recognize God's work in your life compared to these? Think about it. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, God's grace has spared you. Ephesians 2, 4 and 5, but God who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace ye are saved. Friends, if you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, be reawakened to God's work. His grace has spared you. Not only that, God's grace has secured you. 1 Peter 1, 3 and 5, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. God's grace has secured you. Your salvation is secure. You're a child of God if you know Christ, and nothing can change that or take it away from you. God's grace has sustained you. Hebrews 4 16, let us therefore come bold That we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Are there times in your life you have felt you just couldn't go on? You just couldn't make it, and you needed someone and something to help you all along. If you know Jesus as your savior, God has been there with a full supply of his grace. You might think, pastor, you don't know how much of God's grace I've used up. That may be true, but I know this, the well of God's grace is so deep, that bucket's never gonna get to a dry bottom. God's grace sustains you. Fourthly, God's grace strengthens you. 2 Corinthians 12, 9, Paul testified, and he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Friends, you may think again, your strength is almost gone. You may think that you don't have what you need to carry on. Be reawakened to God's work today, that God's grace is present in your life, and in His grace, when you're weak, His grace is sufficient to give you the power of Christ, so that you can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth you. Then think about this God's grace sanctifies us Titus 2 11 through 14 for the grace of God that bring us and have appeared to all men Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts We should live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed Hope and the glorious appearing of the great God in our Savior Jesus Christ Who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. Friends, it is God's grace at work in you that sanctifies you and sets you apart for his glory. Just as was true for his people Israel, God's grace is always at the heart of his interaction, his work with and for his people today. Now the question might be asked, why is this such an important aspect in God's recipe for revival? Listen to me very carefully. It has to do with your response. God is at work in you. His grace is working with you and for you if you're a child of God. Will you be passive about it? Or active about it? You see, when I am reawakened to the work of God in my life, I cannot be passive about it. I have to be active about it. In other words, when God's work of grace toward me is something that means something to me, I want to do something about it and respond to God. Do you need to be reawakened today? Revival occurs when I am reawakened by God's word, when I am reawakened to God's work. And then thirdly, revival occurs when I am reawakened for God's will. As we go into Ezra chapter 10, Notice, if you will, verse four, the Bible tells us that God's people came out to speak to Ezra after he had been astonished and praying his prayer of repentance. And he has a conversation with him, and in part he says this in verse four, arise, for this matter belongeth unto thee. We also will be with thee. Be of good courage and do it. Friends, when revival occurs, we are reawakened for God's will. You say, pastor, what exactly do you mean by that? Simply this. When revival occurs in our life, we are reawakened for God's will so that God's will is the priority of my life. God's purpose and his plan for me. And do not mistake it. God has a purpose and a plan uniquely designed for your life. No matter your age, your social standing, wherever you may find yourself in life, no matter what your background is, no matter what your past failures are, your present condition spiritually, God has a purpose and a plan for you. for your life. And when revival occurs in your life, you're reawakened by God's word to recognize and be remorseful over and repentant of your sin. You're reawakened to God's work, the grace that God has showed working with you and for you in your life. But then you're reawakened for God's will. God's will becomes the priority again. What God has purposed and planned for you becomes more important than anything else. God's will takes you where God wants you to go, regardless of what you see the possible consequences being, regardless of if it makes sense from a human perspective and human understanding. When you are reawakened, revived by God, his will becomes essential. Notice, we see it Illustrated in this text, we see that Ezra was entrusted for God's will. He says, arise, for this matter belongeth unto thee. Ezra, this is God's purpose for you. This is God's plan for you. Friends, again, as I just mentioned, you and I too are entrusted for God's will. God has entrusted to us a purpose and a plan that he has for us that only we can fulfill. Notice he was encouraged. Shekiniah, the one who is speaking to him, says in the middle of verse four, we also will be with thee. he's doing is he's encouraging Ezra. Ezra, you're not going to go to this work alone. You're not going to go to fulfill the purpose and the plan that God has entrusted to you alone. We're going to be with you. We're going to support you. We're going to encourage you. We're going to stand with you. Friends, can I tell you today that we too are encouraged for God's will. You may look around and wonder, Pastor, who is there to encourage me? Who will stand with me? who will go with me, who will help me, who will support me in doing that work. Friends, can I tell you today, though none go with me, still I will follow, not because I go it alone, but because even if no other human instrument stands with me and supports me and helps me, God himself is there to encourage and enable me. And so be encouraged today. God is with you. He will help you. And then notice, finally, he was enjoined. At the end of the verse, we see this, be of good courage and do it. Ezra, you know what God wants for you. You know that God is with you and for you. Now it simply is left to you to get up and do it. Friends, God has a purpose and a plan for you. He is with you and will enable you. And when revival takes place and we are reawakened for God's will, it simply comes down to this, that God is calling us simply to get up and do what he has purposed and planned for us to do. You remember Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 6 when he was reawakened to God? It was at that time when he heard God say, whom shall we send and who will go for us? And Isaiah said, here am I, send me. He was reawakened for God's will and it was left to him simply to say, God, here am I. I will do it. Believer? I'm speaking primarily to you today. God wants us to be reawakened by his word, to his work, and for his will. Can I simply ask you today, are you in a position for God to do this in your life? Are you in a place of yieldedness and submission so that as God speaks, you're listening? You're not going to hit the snooze button anymore. You're not going to turn the alarm off anymore. When God says, hey, it's time to wake up. Are you in a position to respond to God and say, God, that's what I need. Would you reawaken me by your word? Would you reawaken me to your work? Would you reawaken me for your will? Would you bow your heads and close your eyes with me this morning? Here is God's recipe for revival. We need to be reawakened. Is it true in your life today? Perhaps you're here this morning and as God has spoken to your heart, you would have to admit to the Lord that that is exactly what you need. You need to be reawakened to God's word, by God's word. Maybe God has been dealing with your heart for some time about sin that is present in your life. Maybe this morning through the preaching, God has dealt with you about mingling with and allowing this world's philosophies and practices to draw you away from the principles of God's word, and he is dealing with your heart about that today. If so, would you respond as God wants you to? Perhaps today through the preaching, God has spoken to your heart about his work in your life. Maybe the reality is you've been passive about it. We might call that apathy. We might call it complacency. You've been passive about the work that God has already done with you and for you. You just simply need to make a commitment to be active in your response. Maybe God is dealing with your heart about his will in your life. Or perhaps God simply wants you to put yourself in a position to be reawakened. However, God is speaking to your heart. In just a moment as the invitation is given, would you respond as God leads you? Father, thank you again for your word. Thank you for your truth and how it speaks to our hearts. I pray right now, as we wait before you, that the Holy Spirit of God would draw us to respond obediently to what you have revealed to our hearts. the needs that are present. Help us, Lord, to do what you lead us to do in these moments. In Jesus' name we pray. With heads bowed and eyes closed, would you stand to your feet? And as the pianist plays, if God is working in your heart, friends, don't delay. Respond as God leads you right now.