God's Pattern of Revival

DAILY BIBLE READING:

Isaiah 6:1–7:25 
2 Corinthians 11:16-33 
Psalm 54:1-7 
Proverbs 23:1-3

TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Isaiah 6:8 (ESV) "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.' "

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

While there have always been men and women who have responded to the call of God upon their lives with reckless abandon, it seems that there are fewer people responding these days. Fewer are readily, restfully available to the Lord.

I believe that it is because fewer people have experienced the powerful principles found in Isaiah 6:1-7. Isaiah was prepared to willingly, passionately volunteer for whatever the Lord desired because he had experienced a powerful renewal in the previous 7 verses.

The wonderful truth is that these verses present truth that is transferable. What I mean is that just as Isaiah experienced an event that led to his readiness to serve the Lord, so also can we experience a joyful event that equips us to serve the Lord. 

So, let's look at the Pattern of Revival:

1. We Are Reminded of our Humanity

Isa. 6:1 "In the year that King Uzziah died..."

Uzziah had been a good, godly king for the first part of his reign. His death brought about uncertainty. There would have even been anxiety over whether the next king would be good or ruthless.

Oftentimes, God allows difficulties into our life to remind us that we aren't in control and we need Him. Those trials are good because they give us ample reason to run back to the Lord and fall on our knees before Him ... something we don't do often enough when things are going well in life.

2. We Experience Some Powerful Truth about God

Isa. 6:1-4 "... I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 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. And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!' And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke."

As trials bring us to a place where we sense our desperate need for the Lord much more powerfully, the Lord is free to demonstrate a character quality of Himself. Typically, his followers experience His holiness.

While Isaiah visibly experienced the Lord's holiness and glory in his vision, we will experience it in more subjective ways. For instance, during a reading of God's Word it may seem that a verse "jumps off the page" at us and demands that we stop and reflect on it. God allows us to experience a truth about Him and the ability to understand it on a very deep level.

If it is God's holiness that He is revealing to us, and if we come to understand (experience!) how pure and distant from sin our God really is, and if we see how seriously He takes sin and why He must punish it, then we will naturally progress to the next step...

3. We Are Broken Over Our Sinfulness

Isa. 6:5 "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!' "

When Isaiah experienced the light of God's holiness, he was able to see the sin in his own heart much more clearly. 

Principle: The closer we get to God in fellowship, the more we see our sin and sinfulness. But, that is a good thing because when we see our sin, we can acknowledge it to God, repent (turn from it), and receive God's forgiveness and cleansing as we get our joy back. (But, I'm getting ahead of myself. This is point 4.)

Friend, if you can go day after day without being broken over your own struggle with sin, the root cause is your relationship with God. If you are pursuing Him, you will see sin that you had forgotten about or that you had previously not thought was a big deal. If you are not aware of areas of your life that need cleansing, then you are not spending time in the light of God's presence.

4. We Experience God's Forgiveness and Cleansing

Isa. 6:6-7 "Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: 'Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.' "

God is not indifferent to our confession. He is not indifferent to our acknowledgement of our sinfulness. He will move to forgive us and cleanse us.

We learn something else in these verses: the process of being cleansed and forgiven is often painful. God is not content to do a superficial cleansing. Sometimes, we are left with consequences or a mark to remind us of the event (see Genesis 32:22-32). Sometimes, our cleansing requires that we do some hard things like going to someone we wronged and acknowledging what we did. Some offenses can be so great that we may have to admit something that will cost us our marriage, our job, or even risk ending up in trouble with the law. But, it is in those times that we need to determine just how much God and truth mean to us.

5. We Are Prepared and Ready to Serve the Lord

Isa. 6:8 "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.' "

Why is it that so few men and women seem open to serving the Lord with reckless abandon? Is it because of busy schedules? Is it because people aren't properly motivated?

I suspect that the biggest reason of all is because too many Jesus-followers are not living in unbroken fellowship with the Lord. Unconfessed sins remain hidden in their minds and hearts, possibly even undetected, because God is not being pursued. 

But, when God is pursued, wonderful things happen in the life of the pursuer and others will eventually benefit as that Jesus-follower is empowered by the Lord to serve Him and others.

CONCLUSION

Essentially, I have shown in this post that Isaiah 6:1-8 provides a pattern of personal revival. You don't have to wait on others to begin this journey. You can start it on your own. Ask the Lord to help you and then chase after Him. Be willing to acknowledge and repent of any sin that He reveals. And then be prepared for His cleansing work in your life and His call upon you to join Him in what He is doing around you.

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If you want to pursue this topic, I would recommend two books:
"Fresh Encounter" by Henry Blackaby
"Brokenness, Holiness, Surrender" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss