When God Shows Up

Isaiah 64

When God shows up, that is revival. There’s no military power that can bring revival. There’s no economic upturn that can bring revival. There is no election that can bring revival. Revival is the work of Almighty God.

The setting of this passage of Scripture: God’s people had been carried away into captivity and God’s work was in disrepair. God’s people were dispirited, and they’re so much like the modern church today. The modern church today has been carried away into captivity by the world and the flesh and the devil. And I look around, many Christians are discouraged, many have no hope for revival. They don’t even believe that revival is possible. And I want to tell you, revival is not only possible, it is inevitable when we get right with God. That’s when He shows up!

Now why is there no revival? Listen very carefully, we can’t say there is no revival because of the disunity of God’s people. We can’t say that. We can’t say there’s no revival because we’ve not been evangelistic. We can’t say that. We can’t say there’s no revival because God’s people have been worldly and compromised. We can’t say that. We cannot say there is no revival because of liberalism in the churches. If we get all of these matters changed, it still would not bring revival. These things that I’ve mentioned to you are not the reason that there is no revival…they are the result of no revival. When we are revived, all these things will fall into place!

What is revival? Revival is when God comes down.

Look in chapter 64 verse 1, “Oh, that Thou, Almighty God, wouldest rend the Heavens, that Thou wouldest come down.” That’s what revival is. It is a meeting with Almighty God. Most of us are seeking for God to do something. We want it for our church’s sake. We want it for our family’s sake. We want it for the nation’s sake. But we’re seeking God’s hand and not seeking God’s face. Our hearts need to yearn for God. We need to say, “O God, will You come down?” God loves to come down.

• Adam and Eve sinned and were weighted down with their guilt, alone in the garden of Eden, in shame, and then God came down! 
• Abraham had his knife in the air, just about to plunge it into his only son Isaac, and then God came down!
• Israel was trapped with their back against the wall as Pharaoh had them trapped at the Red Sea, and then God came down! 
• Joshua had no way of getting past the mighty walls of Jericho, but then God came down and the walls came down!
• Samson had messed up his life and was taken prisoner, blinded, a mockery, but with his hands on the center pillars at Philistine Hall God came down and brought the house down!
• The 3 Hebrew children were thrown into the fiery furnace, but God came down and was with them, and they weren’t even singed!
• God came down as a babe and was born on Christmas morning, He stepped out of Heaven [heaven came down!], and came down to this world of woe that He might save us. The world was hopelessly lost, but then God showed up! 
• They were out of wine at a wedding, but then God showed up! 
• A woman at a well had a life messed up, but then God showed up!
• The blind and deaf were ambling around like the walking dead, and the lame couldn’t even do that, but then God showed up!
• The disciples were about to perish in a boat in a great storm, but then God showed up!
• After the crucifixion, some ladies were mourning His loss at the garden tomb, and then God showed up!
• The disciples were cowering, hidden away in a house, knowing they were being hunted.  As far as they knew, He had left them for good, and they were all alone…and then God showed up!
• On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down and baptized that infant church with wonderful power. Yeah, God showed up!
• Very soon, Jesus is coming down again at His Second Coming. I can hardly wait. How about you? He is coming down again.

God has come down, and touched down, many times in the Bible and we find Bible revival. And then, in modern history, if you’ll study the record of the church, you will find, from time to time, in place to place, God has come down. Now I want God to come down upon our church. I want God to come down upon my life. I want God to come down upon my family. We need to seek God. When He shows up, we have revival.

I want you to notice the presence that produces revival. What is the presence that produces revival? It is God Himself. Now let me tell you what will happen when God comes down.

Mountains will melt.

Look in chapter 64 verses 1 and 2, “Oh, that Thou wouldest rend the Heavens, that Thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down in Thy presence.” And then at verse 2, “As when the melting fire burneth.” That is, God’s fire is going to come and it’s going to melt the mountains. What do we mean by that? Mountains of pride and bigotry and indifference; all of these things that seem to be the obstacles to God’s work; they’ll melt away. There is nothing that can stop the revival fire of Almighty God, absolutely nothing! Don’t you insult God by saying, “There’re too many mountains, too many obstacles.” I’m telling you when God comes down, mountains will melt.

Sinners will shake.

…verses 2 and 3, “And 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! When Thou didst terrible things,” that means awesome things.

When we have genuine revival and when mountains begin to melt, sinners begin to shake. When they see something that they cannot explain, that brings Holy Spirit conviction. If we have revival in America, sinners awake from their slumber, politicians will stand on the Word of God and be bold about sharing the truth at their own risk, the late night comedians will not make fun of holy things and mock the things of God. The unsaved will cry out to God for mercy as sinners shake. I’ll tell you what else will happen. Not only will mountains melt, not only will sinners shake, but…

The righteous will rejoice.

…verses 4 and 5, “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. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness.”  [Proverbs says when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice!]

God wants to meet with you. God wants to come down. And when He does, you will rejoice. You’ll have joy unspeakable and full of glory. Church will be your favorite thing…not be a bore to you.

How many of you have ever been in a boring worship service?

No, you haven’t. You’ve been in a boring church service. You cannot have a boring worship service. If you’re worshipping God, there’s nothing boring about that. God’s people have joy unspeakable and full of glory, and the righteous rejoice when we have revival. I want the children to see that. I want God to meet with His people and know this incredible joy.

What are the problems that prevent revival? First, we’re corrupted by our sins.

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

The filthy rag refers to the clothing that the leper would wear that was infectious. And we dress up in our self-righteousness and we come to church, and we look around in haughtiness and pride. But God says that your righteousness and my righteousness, are filthy rags in the sight of Almighty God. We try to cover ourselves with the very thing that defiles us and condemns us.

“And we all do fade as a leaf.” What does that mean? Well, fall is beginning. And you see the leaves; they begin to turn yellow and brown and they fade and they fall. One moment they’re on the trees looking so good, but the wind comes and they’re suddenly on the ground.

I’ve seen that happen so many times: people dressed up in the filthy rags of their own self-righteousness. They are doing good, but you let the wind blow; you let them have some family problems; you let them have some financial reverse; you let them have some difficulty, something they cannot understand, and they are blown away.

But the sad thing is we are complacent in our sins.

…verse 7, “There is none that calleth upon Thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee.”

Have you stirred yourself up to take hold of God, or are you simply a Sunday morning bench warmer, believing that you’ve done God a favor by getting here this morning? Is there in your heart a yearning, burning, longing for revival? Are you willing to stir yourself up? If you get serious, God’ll send revival.

Dr. R. A. Torrey lived in another generation. Here’s what he said to the saints who’d been chloroformed by the spirit of their age.

“I have a theory, and I believe it to be true, that there is not a church…on Earth where you cannot have revival, provided there is a little nucleus of faithful people who will hold to God until He comes,” [talking about Him coming down] “First, let a few Christians; they need not be many, get thoroughly right with God themselves.” [Now he’s talking to you right now] “If this is not done, the rest, I’m sorry to say, cannot be done, and it will come to nothing. Second; let them bind themselves together to pray for revival until God opens the Heavens and comes down.”

That’s what we’re talking about here in Isaiah chapter 64. Get right with God. Band together and continue to pray. And then, Dr. Torrey said, “Third, let them put themselves at the disposal of God to use them as He sees fit in winning others to Christ. That’s all. This is sure to bring revival in any church or community. I have given this prescription around the world. It has been taken by many churches and many communities, and in no instance has it ever failed, and it cannot fail!”

You say, “Well, that’s so simple.” That’s true. It’s simple. Get right with God. Pray; put yourself at God’s disposal. But what is the problem? The church is complacent. There’s none, “That stirreth up himself.” What kind of a desire do you have today for revival?

…verse 7, “There is none that calleth upon Thee, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee,” now listen, “for Thou hast hid Thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.” We’re consumed in our sins. What does that mean? Our sins are eating us alive. God turns His face away from us. We have no protection. We can sing, “God Bless America,” but it’s hollow because God has taken down the hedge of protection.

…verse 8, “But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father; we’re the clay. Thou our Potter, and we all are the work of Thy hand.”

“Mold me and make me after Thy will.”

God doesn’t want a place in your life. God doesn’t want prominence in your life. He deserves pre-eminence.

…verse 9, “Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity forever; behold, see, we beseech Thee, we are all Thy people.”

What he is saying is, “O God, have mercy.”

God wants to extend mercy. God had much rather forgive sin than to punish sin. God doesn’t hold a grudge. God wants to forgive sin. But God cannot fully put away our sin by forgiving it unless we put it away by forsaking it. The problem with so many of our prayers is we’re not willing to repent. We want God’s mercy, but we seek no repentance. And prayer without repentance is a farce, a smokescreen. [did you hear the word repent at last week’s funeral?]

…verses 10 through 12, “Thy holy cities are a wilderness; Zion is a wilderness; Jerusalem is a desolation. Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised Thee, is burned up with fire, and all our pleasant things are laid waste. Wilt Thou refrain Thyself for these things, O Lord? Wilt Thou hold Thy peace, and afflict us very sore?”

What he is saying is, “O God, we remember the glory. We remember when You spoke to us from Your sacred temple. What a glorious time it was! O God, we want Your glory again! O God, show Thy face, show Thy glory!” That’s what revival is. It is when God comes down/shows up.

Maybe you haven’t been willing to stir yourself up. Maybe you are dressed in the rags of your self-righteousness today, the filthy rags. Maybe you’re a dying leaf and don’t even know it. Maybe you’re quite satisfied with where you are in your complacency. But, I’m telling you that God wants to come down. He is waiting to come down. He is leaning over the battlements of Heaven. We don’t have to persuade God to send revival; only permit Him to do so.

Let me talk to those who may not be saved.  You need Jesus. If you die without Him, you’ll be everlastingly condemned in Hell. If you want to be saved, God will save you today. You don’t have to beg God to save you. You have to be sincere. Jesus Christ hung naked and bloody on a cross for you. He paid in full your sin debt. And if you will turn from your sin to Jesus Christ, He will save you instantly. He’ll be with you continually. He will keep you eternally if you will only trust Him.      [from Adrian Rogers]