Sermon Text: Isaiah 64: 1-4

(1) Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
(2) As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
(3) When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence.
(4) For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

As most of you know, the United States of America went to the polls on Tuesday and we elected a President to lead our nation for the next four years, as the Lord Jesus tarries His coming. We also elected an entire House of Representatives and we elected one third of the Senate, which of course is elected every two years. So, in a six-year period you will have basically all senators up for election, because as you know, their term is for a six-year period while the House of Representatives serve for a two-year term and therefore they face an election every two years.

There has been an awful lot of commentary written as far as the election is concerned. I've been asked a number of questions. I was called by a few folks. Some folks want to interview me and as most of you know, I don't give interviews. I simply don't do it. I don't give interviews to radio. I don't give interviews to TV. I don't give interviews to the press, because of what they do. If you are on the radio or TV, they do sound bites. If you give an interview with a newspaper reporter, they misquote you. So, simply, I don't give any interviews. That's simply not in my purview. If you want to know what I want to say, come and hear me preach. You will hear it well then because I have no problem doing it.

Nevertheless I have been asked by a number of folks, "Preacher, what do you think about the election? What do you think about an individual being elected for the second time in the United States of America and he did not get a majority vote?"

As most of you know, President Clinton did not receive 50% of the vote in the election that was just held on Tuesday, as he did not get 50% of the vote in the election which was held four years ago. "Well, what do you think about that?" What I think about it is that it is simply a shame. But I also think that it spells out a real concern and a need that we have in our nation because we are now being told that less than 50% of the voting population in the United States of America voted. That certainly has some ramifications that I think can be long reaching down the road as the Lord would tarry His coming.

So, the bottom line is "What's the answer?" My bottom line answer is, the United States of America needs a spiritual awakening. The United States of America needs revival. God's people need a revival. That's who God places the responsibility on. Beloved, God does not place the responsibility of revival on the heathen. He places that responsibility upon God's people.

This morning in the moments that we have together I want to address myself to what I believe is the greatest need in our church, in our state, in our country, and in our world, because I am convinced that the greatest need we have is revival. I believe personally that we desperately are in need of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God upon all the work of the New Testament church today. I believe we need to see that. We need to see a revival that will stir hearts and a revival that will grip hearts and will grip lives, minds, and souls through a visitation from God Almighty Himself. That is what needs to take place in the United States of America.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind who knows anything about the political process that this nation is in trouble politically. Politically, this nation is in trouble when you cannot get half the people who are eligible to vote to come out and to vote. You cannot say that you are going to deal with your nation's needs and problems on the basis of that type of participation.

I like what R.A. Torrey said. R.A. Torrey is one of my favorite preachers. As most of you know, R.A. Torrey was converted to Christ in his adult years. R.A. Torrey was a lawyer. He was an attorney. He was a Yale University graduate. He went to the Ivy league schools out on the east coast. R.A. Torrey accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and he then became an evangelist. R.A. Torrey said that "I have a theory and I believe it to be true that there is not a church on earth where you cannot have a revival provided there is a little nucleus of faithful people who will hold onto God until He comes." So you see, we talk about revival and we think we need to have the masses. No, that's not how revival starts. That's not how revival begins, if Torrey be right. And Torrey was right on target because that's exactly what the scripture teaches.

See, revival begins when there is just a handful of people. What did Jesus say? "If two or three are gathered in my name ..." Where is Jesus in that meeting? In the midst. And so it is very clear that revival comes from a response to certain human conditions that are expressed by human beings when they come to God and God hears their plea and God then decides and decrees to meet the needs of those human beings. That's basically what we're talking about when we talk about revival.

Charles Finney, another great revivalist and evangelist said, "A revival is no more a miracle than a crop of wheat." What was Finney saying? Finney was saying that revival is common place when there is a people who want revival. And if you will look in Isaiah chapter 64, you'll notice that we have some very definite teaching here on the subject of revival. Notice the meaning of revival is being explained. Look at verse number 1.

(1) Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, ...

See beloved, a spiritual revival is when God rends the heavens and visits His people. That's what a spiritual revival is all about. And here we have in the scripture God giving us that sense of direction which we need. It is basically a mighty manifestation of the presence and power of God. That's what revival is.

See, revival is not something that you work up. A revival is something that you pray down. We say we are going to have a revival. We have revival meetings. And so we schedule an evangelist to come in and we put some posters out around the community and we get some announcements on WCTS or some other radio stations. We might even put a little ad in the paper and we're going to have a revival. No, those are more evangelistic meetings than they would be revivals. See, you don't work up revival. You can work up an evangelistic meeting. But a revival is always going to be the result of God's people praying, that the heavens would be rent, because there is a body of people who are crying out to God Almighty for God to do something for His honor and for His glory.

Remember in Acts chapter 2 when the Holy Spirit comes and rests on those early believers there in the upper room. Remember that those people had been there for days praying. Really, the first recorded revival that you will see in the Word of God in the New Testament is in the 2nd chapter of Acts. If we had time this morning to go through those early verses from Acts 2:1 through that 21st verse, you would see that it was through the prayer that went on in the upper room in Acts chapter 1 that resulted in that mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God in Acts chapter 2. When you visit there and you look at Peter, James, John, and Mary and you say, "What happened? What did you feel? Describe it for us?" If you were to have the opportunity to ask them that, their answer would all be the same. Their answer simply would be "The presence and power of God was there." That's what revival is all about.

Look at Acts 4:31 and there you'll see revival.

(Acts 4:31) And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken. That's revival. That's what we're talking about. That's what happened when Whitfield preached. That's what happened when Wesley preached. That's what happened when Peter Cartwright went across that Cumberland plateau back in the late 1800s in our nation's early history and preached those tremendously successful revival meetings. That's what revival is all about. It's not working up some kind of a meeting but it is praying down the power of God.

So when I look here at Isaiah chapter 64, I immediately see the meaning of revival. But I not only see the meaning of revival, I see the need of revival is being declared. Because why is revival needed? I personally believe to answer this you need to look in two places. The first place you need to look, of course, is the Word of God. The second place you need to look is to the church of God. If you go back to Isaiah chapter 64 and look at what we see in verses 5-11 in addition to what we have already read in the first four verses, you will see in Isaiah 64:1-11 there were several obstacles hindering God's blessing the children of Israel. Look at verse 1.

(1) Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,

There were obstacles that were there that were hindering. Now notice what some of these obstacles were and then we'll try to make some practical applications to the day and age in which we live. Look at verse 5.

(5) Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.

We have sinned! We have sinned! People, you live in a nation that has sinned! When you want to embrace same sex marriages, you've sinned. You've sinned! When you want to take the lives of 1.5 million babies in a year, you've sinned. You've sinned! You can put any type of a face you want to put on it. You can paint any type of a cover you want to paint on it. But the bottom line is, you've sinned! When you want to take little children who are not yet considered adults and expose those children to that which their parents do not approve of, you have sinned! I do not care what school system it is. I do not care what educational system it is. When you have a school system who wants to provide contraceptives to 14-, 15-, and 16-year-old girls and their parents don't know, you have sinned!

Now, we don't like that kind of preaching in America today. As a matter fact, some of you sitting here right now don't like it. But it doesn't change the truth of it. See, one of the problems with the church of Jesus Christ today is, we're not looking for churches that preach the Bible, we're looking for churches that we're comfortable in. Matter of fact on my desk right now there is a visitor's card from a family who visited our church not too long ago. We had a family go out and visit that family. The report on the back of the card is, "We went to visit and they're visiting churches to find a church they are comfortable in." You don't need to be in a church that you are comfortable in. You need to be in a church that is preaching the Bible. Because this nation is going to Hell! This nation is going down the tubes.

Politically, beloved, this nation is not going to be saved. It will eventually corrupt just like Rome corrupted, just like Greece corrupted, just like Germany corrupted. just like Russia corrupted. Who in their right mind ten years ago would have ever believed that we would have those thousands and thousands and thousands of Russian people who have fled their former Soviet Union coming to our nation right now because communism failed. We would have never believed it. But it failed because anything that man puts his hands to will eventually corrupt if he leaves God out of the picture. It might take ten years, it might take fifty years, it might take a hundred years, it might take two hundred years, but it will corrupt if God is left out of the picture.

(Proverbs 14:34) Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.

So, the Bible says we have sinned. We have sinned. Look if you will please at verse 7. Not only have we sinned but look at what verse 7 says.

(7) And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.

What is Isaiah saying here? He's saying that we've not only sinned as we see in verse 5. As we see in verse 6 ...

(6) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Isaiah says you have not only sinned, but you've been guilty of prayerlessness. Look at that 7th verse, please.

(7) And there is none that calleth upon thy name, ...

Isaiah says there is not one here who is praying. Prayerlessness! That's one of the reasons why you hear me constantly, constantly, constantly, in this church, pleading with people, "You be faithful to that midweek service. You be faithful to that service on Wednesday night when we take time to pray." The men will go over to the fireside room and pray, the ladies stay here in the auditorium and pray, the teenagers go over to the band room and pray, and the kids go downstairs to some of the classrooms and they pray. But let me ask you a question. How many of you are going to be here Wednesday night when we pray? I rest my case. You say, "Preacher, I wish you would not preach like that." And so does the Devil.

What I'm trying to get you all to see today is that we, beloved, in this nation, for the sake of our kids and our grandkids, we need a spiritual awakening! We need a revival! If you think you're going to save this country by electing Republicans and Democrats, look at what just took place. It isn't going to happen. That is not where the answer is. The answer to this nation's ills is in the hand of the God who this nation was founded upon. The principles that are in this blessed Book are the need of this nation. And its God's people who have that responsibility, as you've heard me say again and again. The scripture is very very clear.

(II Chronicles 7:14) If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

That's a principle of Scripture. That is a statement from this Book. Now, if you believe this Book is a true book, if you believe that God does not lie, then you are bound to accept that principle of scripture that God will do what He says. He will do it. Isaiah said, you are a prayerless people. You are not only a sinful people, you are a prayerless people.

Look at verses 10 and 11. This is so applicable to the day and age in which we live.

(10) Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
(11) Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.

That is so prophetic when you look at our nation! There is probably nobody in this room who goes to Washington D.C. more than I do. I've been to Washington D.C. a dozen times this year already. Go to Washington D.C., our nation's capital, and see the conditions of that city. Go into a hotel room and the instructions are there on the door. It is not safe to go outside of the hotel after nightfall. If there is a knock on your door, identify who is on the outside. If they tell you they are a hotel employee and you do not recognize them, call the desk immediately and verify that there is a hotel employee knocking on your door. They have the instructions listed there one after another. And you say, "Well, what part of Washington are you staying in?" I'm staying two blocks from the capitol buildings in the United States of America. It's called the Holiday Inn Capital Hill. That's where I'm staying when I'm in Washington. That's the instruction we're getting in our nation's capital.

(10) Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.

Go to the major cities of this country and I tell you, you will find a war zone in every one of those cities someplace. Right now in Minneapolis, Minnesota there are places we will not let our people visit in the daytime. We will not let them go in there. There are places in Eagan, Minnesota where we will not let the women of our church visit after dark. We will not let them do it because it isn't safe. It isn't prudent to do it. I didn't say, Los Angeles. I didn't say Detroit, Chicago, New York, Cleveland. I said Minneapolis. I said Eagan, Minnesota.

Look at what the Bible says, beloved.

(11) Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste.

It is almost like Isaiah was visiting the United States of America and then sat down and wrote this letter. It's like he was here. Look at the church today; unsaved church members, worldliness, few convictions, coldness, deadness, dullness, the authority of the Bible is being questioned. If any people ought to believe that this is the Word of God, it ought to be the people in the house of God. I can understand the heathen in the secular universities of our nation because I sat in their classes years ago as one of their heathen. I can understand it when I was a heathen not accepting this Book to be the holy, infallible Word of God; but beloved, when I came to know Jesus Christ as Savior I saw a truth that I had never seen before.

When we sit in the house of God today, we sit in God's house and we've got people questioning "Hath God said." I submit we need revival. The church of Jesus Christ needs revival. It is absolutely essential that we see that there is a need in our land today for a revival to sweep away the sin and to remove the mountains of pride, jealousy, complacency, and laziness that has impacted the church of Jesus Christ. God in heaven help us to see that truth for the sake of those who follow after our generation, if you sit here today as an adult. I think you can see here very clearly the need of revival being declared.

Notice also, I see something else as I go back to verse number 1. I see the secret of revival revealed. Look at what he says in the first two words "Oh that." You see revival is the presence and power of God coming down. So, the question, as I've stated several times, is simply, "How do we secure this revival? How does this happen?" It's very simple. It's very basic. There must be a sincere desire.

(1) Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, ...

There's the secret of revival being revealed. There must be an amendment of life style. There needs to be that confession of sin. There needs to be that putting away of sin. If ever we live in a day in our nation's history where the prayer of Psalm 139:23-24 needs to be prayed, I believe it's in the day and age in which we live. It's in those two verses that the Psalmist said:

(Psalm 139:23-24) Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

We need for God's people today to pray that prayer like it has never been prayed before. I'm convinced of it.

But notice here as we look at the secret of revival being revealed because there must be the prayer of intercession. Notice that "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens." What is Isaiah pleading for there? He is pleading for God to intercede. He's recognizing, "God we can't do this. God, we need for You to intercede. We need You to do what we cannot do." Now we must do what we can do and that is, we must exercise our faith. See we must believe that it is possible for God to do that. But we are not going to be the ones who do it. God has to do it, is what Isaiah is saying here.

Then notice one more thought that I want to give you because I think you can see here in this passage of scripture we looked at this morning, the results of revival. When God does rend the heavens, when God does come down upon a people with that mighty quickening work of His Holy Spirit in the local church, then it begins to spread out into the community and it begins to spread out a little bit further and a little bit further. If you get a people on fire for God, get a people excited about God Almighty, get a people filled with the Spirit of God, filled with love for the things of God, and filled with love for the work of God, beloved, that's when you are going to see things begin to spread like a prairie fire. It will begin to reach out and reach out and reach out. I submit to you this morning that's the greatest need I see in the United States of America today. Our great need is revival.

Always remember you cannot revive something that is dead. That's why revival impacts God's people. Revival is not thousands of people being saved. No, that's one of the results of revival. Actually, revival is God's people being revived. It's God's people being refueled, God's people being restored, God's people being reenergized. That's what revival is all about, because you can't revive something that is dead. There must be life. That means there has to be the Lord Jesus Christ abiding in the life of that individual because it is Jesus who said:

(John 10:10) ... I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

So, if you are here this morning and you have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, my plea and prayer to you today is, look into your heart and pray that prayer of Psalm 139:23-24, if you dare.

(Psalm 139:23-24) Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

As God would show you today sin in your life, then don't fail to heed the promise of what God has given us in that verse of scripture which we looked at this morning in II Chronicles 7:14. It's a turning away from that sin, it's a turning away from that unrighteousness, it's a turning away from that which is hindering your walk with God, so that there might be a vessel that is clean, that can then rend the heavens with prayer for God to heal our land. The Psalmist said in Psalm 66:18:

(Psalm 66:18) If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

So, when we pray there cannot be any sin in our life, if God's going to hear that prayer. When we have cleaned that sin out of our life and we then go into the presence of God and we ask God to revive that which needs reviving, we have the promise of His Word that He will do it.

Now, if you are sitting here this morning and you have never trusted Jesus Christ as Savior, you are like Ed Johnson was prior to August 17, 1952. You've never accepted Christ into your heart and life personally to be your Savior. The need of your heart and life today is that you need to make that same kind of a decision that I made that Sunday evening in that little Baptist church in Miami, Florida, when I heard the Gospel preached and the Spirit of God showed me my need of accepting Christ and turning my life over to Him, letting Him be the one who would guide and direct and lead in my life. Not that He is going to make you all preachers or missionaries or Christian school teachers or whatever it may be. No, He has a plan for your life and you need to know that plan. That plan isn't going to hurt you. That plan is going to help you.

My dear friend, if you are here outside of Christ today, come and know Him who is to know life everlasting before you leave the building this morning. That's why at the end of our service on Sunday morning and Sunday night we sing our hymn of invitation. We invite people to come and to let their desire be made known that they want to accept Christ. Let someone take a Bible this morning and show you from the Word of God how you can walk out of the doors of this church knowing that heaven is your home.

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