The KEY to LIFE in the CHURCH

Since the Exodus from Egypt, the nation of Israel had struggled with idolatry. The kings of the people were not much better. As early as the third king, Solomon famed son of David, began practicing the worship of idols. When the nation divided into northern and southern kingdoms, the northern kingdom went wholeheartedly into idolatry and never returned. While the southern kingdom remained dedicated to the line of David, their loyalty to God was much better. The northern kingdom was judged by God and destroyed by the Assyrians. The southern kingdom still remained but was rapidly abandoning any obedience to the true God. In the south, this decline into judgment culminated under the reign of the evil King Manasseh. It was Manasseh’s rank idolatry and immorality that secured God’s wrath for them as had been poured out on the northern kingdom. 

Although Manasseh had sealed the nation's fate, he was not their last king. After Manasseh died, his son Amon was made king. When Amon was assassinated two years into his reign, his son Josiah was crowned king of Judah. Josiah was a godly king. His response to the Word of God's judgment was postponed for another thirty years. So instead of judgment from God they received a revival! 

Can we still receive a revival of true faith in these dark days? Does God still send seasons of spiritual awakening? Is it too late to see and feel the fresh breeze of the Spirit of God in our midst? Let’s look at Josiah and his obedience to the Scriptures to see if we might learn how we might once again experience the outpouring of His Spirit upon the church.