Wake up! When do we talk about waking up? When someone is asleep. Unfortunately, even believers can fall asleep. So do we. We don't die, we just fall asleep. Unfortunately, there is not much difference between a sleeping person and a dead person. Neither speaks, nor moves, nor works, nor does anything useful. It's a bit like that with sleeping Christians. They do nothing useful for the kingdom of God.
Isaiah 6:1-8
What are the characteristics of sleeping Christians? They do many religious things (prayer, prayers, prayer, giving, ..), but their heart is no longer in it. They no longer have the first love, but not the second or third, no love for God. Only a religious life. He may still be serving, but it shows in his service that he is no longer doing it from the heart. A sleeping Christianity is well described by Isaiah:
„And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,” Isaiah 29:13 ESV
Jesus later quotes this to the Pharisees and scribes.
If there is no love for God, there is no love for people. People will sense whether you have love or not, and if you don't, they will run away from you.
„Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8 ESV
It's not easy to wake up from a deep sleep. e.g. the snooze button is the devil's invention. It's not easy to wake up from spiritual sleep either, because sleep is good - for the body. Tiny's latest catchphrase, "Leave me alone." So we are often with God. He wants to wake us up, but we press the snooze button to say, "Leave me alone!
Today's passage shows us the kind of revival that God gives. Is there another kind? Yes, a human effort that doesn't last long.
The beginning of God's awakening is the revelation of God
True praise and worship and AWAKENING is a prerequisite to seeing God as He really is. How do we know what God is like? Thank God that we don't have to guess because He doesn't sell us a bill of goods, He tells us who He really is. How does God reveal Himself?
- Scripture
- Nature
- Songs (praise)
- Spiritual experiences
When man sees, SEES IN HEART, who God is, then he can do nothing but fall on his knees (or fall to the ground) and praise Him. Of course, it's not the posture that matters, but the condition of our hearts. In this passage we learn several important things about God.
Immediately the verse begins, "In the year of the death of King Uzziah, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne" (v.1). An earthly king dies, and the heavenly king appears, who is eternal, immortal. What a contrast in this first sentence! All earthly kings and rulers die at some point. Hitler, Stalin. They did terrible things, but they all died in the end. But the same is true of good rulers, like Moses or David. Was Uzziah a good king or a bad king? He started well, but he ended hellishly.
That's why it's very important not to trust people with the big issues of our lives, because people will disappoint us. Guaranteed. I disappoint my wife, my children, my church, my co-workers, ... But God will never disappoint you.
„Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”” Jeremiah 17:5-8 ESV
So, the first thing we see is that GOD IS A KING, HE WILL NEVER DIE. He was, he is, he will be, unlike Lenin.
The other is that GOD IS HOLY. In Hebrew there was no bold or italics, but if they wanted to emphasize something, they doubled it. e.g. Abraham, Abraham, do not sacrifice your son; or David lamented his son, Absalom, Absalom; or Jesus, verily, verily I say unto thee. But here the word is not twice, but three times, Holy. Some theologians say that the Bible meant to say that this is very, very, very important. To my knowledge, there is no other word in the entire Bible that is repeated three times because it is so important. Yes God is love, but God is also Holy. There is a lot of talk in churches today about God loving, but rarely about God holy, even though He is both at the same time. What does it mean that God is Holy?
It is separate, that is, God is essentially different from everything in the visible and invisible world. It is He who is totally different from us, totally different from angels, totally different from nature, totally different from anything we can imagine. He is "totally other." Therefore God cannot be fully comprehended by human, finite reason.
„This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5 ESV
Perfectly clean. e.g. glass of water. In God there is nothing wrong, no defect, no evil, no sin. He is so pure that we cannot imagine. We are used to this world we live in and we think it is normal. But this world is not as it was originally, it is corrupt. Therefore, the holiness and purity of God is foreign to us.
A revival from God includes confession of sin and a cleansed conscience
When we see ourselves in the light of God's holiness as a mirror, we realize how far we are from His glory and purity. In short, we realize that WE ARE SUCH SINNERS. When God's glory and holiness are displayed in a church through the Word and the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing but what Isaiah did. When was the last time you encountered the holiness and glory of God?
Isaiah cries out: “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 ESV When we encounter the glory of God, the FIRST REACTION is, GO TO ME. It's like being locked in a dark basement for a very long time. His eyes get used to the darkness and suddenly the cellar door opens, they come to rescue him. When she sees the natural light, it blinds her at first, it's so bright.
E.g. when we read about revivals in world history, it always starts with people becoming deeply aware of their sins in the presence of God. e.g. Ashbury revival in 1970 (lasted 1 week, but also after that. People confessed their secret sins to each other), or Jonathan Edwards, 1741, Jul 8, America, "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God" The first step of a revival from God is ALWAYS SIN RECOGNITION, SIN CONFESSION.
Sleeping Christians don't see their sins, they are satisfied with themselves, they no longer have a sensitive conscience and they don't feel so bad. They are so soft. They are unaware of their secret sins, which are the most dangerous, because they lead to destruction without being noticed. e.g. when I was converted and did just a little wrong, I felt like I was dying of inner pain. My conscience was very convicted. It is the same now when I am close to God.
When the Holy Spirit is at work, repentance is NEVER THE FINAL STATE. When man realizes his sin, God runs to him like a father to a prodigal son, and embraces him, kisses him, and gives him new clothes.
„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.”” Isaiah 6:6-7 ESV
It's the greatest feeling in the world when God tells you, personally, that your sin is taken away, your sin is forgiven. It is an unspeakable relief and joy when your burdens are lifted and God's love fills your heart.
Forgiveness is certain for those who confess their sins:
„If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9 ESV
In the original Hebrew, it means that your transgressions have been paid for, or that someone has paid for them for you. This is of course a prophecy referring to Jesus.
Awakening from God always results in obedience and (fervent) service
When God revealed to Isaiah that his sins were forgiven, He immediately asked him a question. Notice that this is not a command, but a question. Why not a command? Because God DOES NOT WANT us to obey and serve him out of our hearts, but out of our hearts.
If a person truly worships God, and his soul is awakened from its sleepy state, he will gladly say yes to God's call to serve and gladly obey. No matter how beautifully one sings, no matter how beautifully one prays, if one does not obey God in his life, it is all for nothing. Obedience is part of true worship of God.
Isaiah says: Here I am, send me. e.g. my own example, when I was converted and would have done anything for God. When God wanted me to go to theology, at first I was not so eager, but then God spoke to me personally and called me, and then I could not say anything else but that I would go.
Finishing
- The beginning of God's awakening is the revelation of God
- A revival from God includes confession of sin and a cleansed conscience
- Awakening from God always results in obedience and (fervent) service
A quote from Rick Warren's devotional, "God speaks to people who choose to do what He tells them to do - before He tells them. . . The answer is "yes" - before you tell him. Whatever you want me to do, I will do."
Blank page, signed. I go where you say. But to do that, you have to come out of your dormant state.
Imaginary dialogue in heaven. Father, Son, Holy Spirit conferring. See the people? They are going towards destruction. Who shall I send? Jesus: send me, I will go.