Introduction
A revival is a time when sleepy Christians wake up, when nominal Christians convert to Christ, and when non-Christians come to faith in Christ. This is accompanied by an increase in the conviction of sin, an increase in the consciousness of God’s mercy and our unworthiness. You see, a revival is the ordinary operations of the Holy Spirit (I’m not speaking of signs and wonders) when the Spirit convicts of sin, brings assurance of salvation, and makes the sense of Jesus Christ intensely real. We want revival for so many reasons but one reason is this: revival always makes an impact on a society. There have always been social reforms in the wake of revivals — whether it is the repeal of child labor laws, the abolition of slavery, or even a decrease in crime — revival always leaves it mark on a people.
Now, the mention of the words revival or awakening will make some Christians light with excitement while others will roll their eyes with suspicion. I get this as so many of us have seen so much emotionalism, that we run from the phony stuff. No one can force a major revival to happen by pushing the right buttons. Yet, allow me to give you Five marks that help distinguish a real awakening from the phony emotional stuff that passes for an awakening.
Five Marks of True Revival
Jonathan Edwards was the great pastor in Northampton, MS and experienced several revivals in his time there. You know him from his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of Angry God.” But he’s much bigger than this one sermon. In fact, nearly 300 years ago, during the First Great Awakening, he penned a book where he outlines five true marks of a revival. These are helpful for us to quickly review.
1. A Deeper Awareness of God’s Presence
Usually a time of renewal is preceded by a crisis and during the crisis, God’s people really seek His presence. The people of God had a thirst for the living God. There’s a hunger for God’s presence. Revival or Awakening never happens unless the Spirit of God shows Himself strong.
When you study the awakenings in the past, I don’t know of one that wasn’t preceded by an extraordinary time of prayer. The Holy Spirit uses “extraordinary prayer” — united, persistent, and kingdom centered prayer. What is important is not the number of people praying but the nature of the praying. There is a difference between “maintenance” and “frontline” praying. Maintenance prayer meetings are short, mechanical, and focused on physical needs inside the church.
In contrast, the three basic traits of frontline prayer are these:
1. A request for grace to confess sins and to humble ourselves;
2. A compassion and zeal for the flourishing of the church and the reaching of the lost;
3. A yearning to know God, to see his face, to glimpse his glory.
2. An Increased Sensitivity to Sin
Whenever you see an awakening taking place, you see people crying out to God in confession of sin. Sometimes this can be gradual, where God’s people really listen to the preaching of the Word. And at other times, there’s a sudden change as if an invisible thunderbolt from heaven comes down. Either way, you begin to notice a deepening burden on the minds of people whether they are old or young, rich or poor, man or woman. There’s a pervasive shame throughout, as they search for inner peace. There’s a deep anguish of the heart and it may reveal itself as silent, downcast appearance of the face but at other times, you witness people sobbing because of their increased sensitivity to sin. A true revival will see a lot of people in despair and sadness. A true revival will see someone’s conscience awakened.
3. A Renewed Discovery of God’s Grace
The strange thing about an awakened congregation is you’ll have a mixture of sadness and joy in the same room. There’s sadness because we realize the true weight of our sins, but there’s real gladness because we begin to appreciate the significance of the gospel. A lot of people right now are living life like this: “I live a good life; therefore Jesus accepts me.” But, when revival/awakening comes, there’s new embrace that Jesus saves sinners by grace. There’s a new grasp of the wonder of God’s grace. So in place of, “I live a good life; therefore Jesus accepts me,” it’s now, “Jesus accepts me; now I’ll live a good life.” Sleepy Christians wake up to the power of grace and realize they cannot be accepted based on their religious performance.
Over time, people and even the whole church will lose sight of the gospel. One of the main vehicles sparking the first awakening in Northampton, Massachusetts was Edwards' two sermons on Romans 4:5, “Justification by Faith Alone,” in November, 1734. For both John Wesley and George Whitefield, the main leaders of the British Great Awakening, it was an understanding of salvation by grace rather than moral effort that touched off personal renewal and made them agents of revival. The gospel will delight committed Christians, confront nominal Christians, while arousing sleepy Christians – all at the same time. There’s a rediscovery of the gospel by a generation or a church body.
4. A Elevated Confidence in God’s Word
During times of revival, God brings a new pungency to His word. While the Word of God is always alive, its aliveness is never more felt than during times of revival. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
Lastly…
5. A Resurrected Feeling of Love
When real revival comes, there’s love and generosity. There’s unity and joy.
Today’s Scripture
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:1-8)
Sermon Introduction
What’s the most important item in your life? For some the most important item in their lives is their bank account. For others it is their looks or their popularity. Still others feel the most important item is their family.
Today, as we conclude this series, I want to convince and remind you that the single most important item in our lives is God. You see the truth is simply this: the greatest subject we can ever talk about is God Himself. If your view of God is wrong, then your view of you is wrong. If your view of God is wrong, then your view of success is wrong. If your view of God is wrong, then your view of money is wrong. If your view of God is wrong, then your view of everything else is also wrong. My view of God largely determines my relationship with God.
A theophany is where God makes Himself known. I pray that Isaiah’s vision of God, stirs and stretches you to the point where you experience the very presence of God Himself.
1. God’s Immortality Humbles Me
Isaiah gets a High Definition view of God, a 4D view of God if you will. And the first item we see is this: God is alive. King Uzziah is dead (around 739 BC), but God is alive. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2). God was alive when this universe came into existence. He was alive when Socrates drank his poison. He was alive when William the Conqueror defeated English forces at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He was alive when William B. Travis wrote his “Victory or Death” letter at the Alamo. He was alive when Time magazine proclaimed, “God is dead” on its front cover in 1966.
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord…” (Isaiah 6:1a) There is not a single head of state in all the world who will be there in 75 years. The turnover in world leadership is 100%. World population experts at the United Nations predict the world population to be 21.2 billion by the year 2200 – a nearly 14 billion increase in population. In just 175 years, some 21 plus billion brand new people and all 7 billion of us alive today will have vanished off the earth just like Uzziah. But not God. He never had a beginning and therefore depends on nothing for His existence. He always has been and always will be alive.
2. God’s Authority Strengthens Me
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne…” (Isaiah 6:1a). No vision of heaven has ever caught a glimpse of God plowing a field, or cutting His grass or cleaning His car or filling out reports or loading a truck. Heaven is not coming apart at the seams. God is never at wits’ end. He sits. And He sits on a throne. All is at peace and He has everything at His control.
There are two kings in verse one. There is a dead king and a living king. There is a mortal king and there is an immortal king. There are human kings and there is a Divine king.
You sit here this morning and you and I have fears… … you and I have troubles… … you have frustrations, apprehensions, and anxieties… but you need to know that God is on His throne today.
Today, we face terrorism and we rightly fear ISIS. The doctor may tell you have cancer or you need a new organ of some kind (heart, lungs, kidneys, etc.). Your husband may tell you he doesn’t love you and you’re 30 plus years of marriage is over. Your boss may tell you that you no longer have a job. But through all of this right now, I call on you to hear me in the name of Jesus, God sits on His throne.
3. God’s Holiness Overwhelms Me
Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts…” (Isaiah 6:2-3a)
When you see the word “holy” in your Bible, you can think of someone or something that is withheld from ordinary use. Think of snagging a baseball at a Major League game. You catch a foul ball or even better yet, you catch a homerun ball in the stands. Would you turn around and use this same ball for catch in the back yard? No, you would withhold this ball from ordinary use.
The Bible uses the word “holy” to describe God more than any other word in all of the Old Testament. In fact, the word “holy” is used to describe God more than all the other descriptions combined. No other description of God is repeated three times. The Bible doesn’t say God is Power, Power, Power. It doesn’t say He is Smart, Smart, Smart. It doesn’t even say He is Love, Love, Love. It only says, He is Holy, Holy, Holy. In the Hebrew language, the way something is emphasized is to repeat it. For example, in Hebrew if you want to say something is pure gold, you would say, “gold gold.” So when the prophet tells us He is holy, holy, holy, he’s telling us that God isn’t just superlative but He is super superlative. When something is repeated three times it is the peak of pyramid. Holiness isn’t something that God has but Holy is what He is. The reason we should worship God is because He is HOLY.
4. God’s Glory Astonishes Me
Even though Isaiah says, “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord…” (Isaiah 6:1a), it’s important to realize that the Lord Himself is not described.
The length of God’s train is described but God is concealed by smoke (verse 4). “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18). “‘But,’ [God] said, ‘you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live’” (Exodus 33:20).
4.1 The Relationship of God’s Holiness and God’s Glory
Let me show you the relationship between God’s holiness and His glory. I am grateful to Pastor John Piper for this insight. “God is glorious,” means this: God’s holiness has gone public. His glory is the open advertisement of His holiness. Like a sock that is turned out, you can think of God’s holiness as His God’s glory concealed. While His glory is His holiness revealed.
4.2 Seraphim
No one knows what these strange 6 winged creatures with feet and eyes and intelligence are. They never appear again in the Bible — at least not under the name seraphim. Given the grandeur of the scene and the power of the angelic hosts, we had best not picture chubby winged babies fluttering about the Lord’s ears. According to verse 4, when one of them speaks, the foundations of the temple shake. We would do better to think of the Blue Angels diving in formation before the presidential entourage and cracking the sound barrier just before his face. There are no puny or silly creatures in heaven. Only magnificent ones. Take note that the earth shakes when God showed His glory: “And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke” (Isaiah 6:3).
4.3 The Trinity
“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8a) Now, Isaiah is so close to God that He can eavesdrop on a conference call between the members of the Trinity. In fact, it is really insightful to realize that the New Testament identifies the “us” at the end of verse 8 as both Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. “Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him” (John 12:41). “And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: ‘The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet” (Acts 28:25).
5. God’s Essence Reveals Me
What’s remarkable is how Isaiah “found himself.” Take note of the personal words in verse 5: And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5)! And again note how personal all this is for the prophet in verse 7: “And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:7). If you go off to search for yourself, you’ll always be traveling to a dead-end. To truly find yourself, you have to find God.
5.1 The Boomerang Effect
Whenever real revival and awakening appears, there’s always “the boomerang effect.” What’s “the boomerang effect.” Turn to Isaiah 5 for a minute and follow along with me.
First, he condemns the rich: “Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land” (Isaiah 5:8). Second, Isaiah condemns the drunkards: “Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them” (Isaiah 5:11)! “Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink…” (Isaiah 5:22). Third, Isaiah blasts all liars: “Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes…” (Isaiah 5:18). Fourth, the prophet denounces the arrogant: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20)! “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight” (Isaiah 5:21)! But as chapter 5 turns into chapter 6, watch for “the boomerang effect” in verse 5: “And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts’” (Isaiah 6:5)!
Whenever you see the real God, He will show the real me. Most us see ourselves as part of the solution, it isn’t until God shows us that we ourselves as part of the problem. The prophet has been brought down from his “high horse.” Whenever the prophet saw God through the window, that window became a mirror. Not only did He see God in all of holiness, he saw himself in all of his sinfulness.
Again, when you see the real God, you’ll see the real you. You’ll never see yourself for what you really are, until you see God for who He really is. You’ll never see yourself for who you really are until you see God for who He is really is.
5.2 I Am Ruined
“And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost …” (Isaiah 6:5a). Many of your translations quote the prophet as saying “I am ruined.” There are three people sitting in your seat this morning. There’s the person you think you are. There’s the person you hope you are. And there’s the person God knows you are. Remember, the more I know of God, the less I think of me.
What began as a window was soon transformed into a mirror and Isaiah didn’t like what he saw in the mirror.
Do you know what happens in a spiritual awakening? This is the truth of a revival: most of us see ourselves as moral and spiritual superstars until we see Him. The real God shows the real me.
6. God’s Presence Motivates Me
All of sudden the Holy God becomes the loving God before our eyes. God’s love is a holy love. And whenever the real you sees the real God, you cannot help but do what Isaiah did: “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me’” (Isaiah 6:8). The problem in our day is we have an inoculation against revival and awakening. The problem in our day is we have received a vaccination against revival and awakening. Most of us say, “There he is, send him.” During a time of awakening, you don’t hear, “Send the pastor.” During a time of revival, you don’t hear, “Send the missionary.” So many of you say, “Send anybody but me.” No, real revival sees God and says, “Here am I, send me.”
The real God motivates the real me.
Conclusion
God is coming to you with a live coal from His altar. He takes the initiative to love you and cleanse you. And today, the coal is the cross of Jesus.
