THE PAINFUL PRICE OF REVIVAL (PART 5 OF 5)
by Jerry Vines
THE PAINFUL PRICE OF REVIVAL (Part 5 of 5)
Ezra 9-10
Jerry Vines
5/7/2000
Ezra had successfully done the will of God in
bringing another portion of people back to the land of
Promise. They were a remnant people. They had now
returned and there was going on a process of spiritual
restoration. He must have been thrilled to be back in
the land of promise again. Back to the home of
Jerusalem once more. But his thrill is short-lived
because it becomes apparent in about four months that
things are not well among the remnant of God's people
who have returned. He gets the report that there is
sin in the fellowship. The children of Israel had
their bodies out of the land of Babylon, but the
spirit of Babylon was still very much in their hearts.
Sometimes Christians have a hard time getting this old
world out of their system. Sometimes Christians have
a difficult time breaking with the past life. This
was the situation of the people of God at this time.
You have to remember that Ezra was a priest and a
teacher of the Word of God. He had been teaching and
preaching God's Word. As always occurs when God's
Word is preached, it begins to expose things that are
wrong. It always exposes sin. Hebrews 4:12 says
this. "The word of God is quick and powerful and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit and joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents
of the heart". The preaching and teaching of God's
Word gets down into those secret places and it
invariably exposes sin.
I have found that has been true all through the
years of my ministry. Though I may not know the
situation, just the preaching of God's Word has a way
of exposing sin in the congregation. A number of
years ago I was pastor of a church in northern
Georgia. I was preaching the Word as faithfully as I
knew how to preach it. It became very apparent that a
...
Ezra 9-10
Jerry Vines
5/7/2000
Ezra had successfully done the will of God in
bringing another portion of people back to the land of
Promise. They were a remnant people. They had now
returned and there was going on a process of spiritual
restoration. He must have been thrilled to be back in
the land of promise again. Back to the home of
Jerusalem once more. But his thrill is short-lived
because it becomes apparent in about four months that
things are not well among the remnant of God's people
who have returned. He gets the report that there is
sin in the fellowship. The children of Israel had
their bodies out of the land of Babylon, but the
spirit of Babylon was still very much in their hearts.
Sometimes Christians have a hard time getting this old
world out of their system. Sometimes Christians have
a difficult time breaking with the past life. This
was the situation of the people of God at this time.
You have to remember that Ezra was a priest and a
teacher of the Word of God. He had been teaching and
preaching God's Word. As always occurs when God's
Word is preached, it begins to expose things that are
wrong. It always exposes sin. Hebrews 4:12 says
this. "The word of God is quick and powerful and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit and joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents
of the heart". The preaching and teaching of God's
Word gets down into those secret places and it
invariably exposes sin.
I have found that has been true all through the
years of my ministry. Though I may not know the
situation, just the preaching of God's Word has a way
of exposing sin in the congregation. A number of
years ago I was pastor of a church in northern
Georgia. I was preaching the Word as faithfully as I
knew how to preach it. It became very apparent that a
...
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