WHERE IS GOD?

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WHERE IS GOD?

A small boy went to church with his father one morning. That night before he went to bed he knelt down and said his prayers. He said, “God, we had a great time at church today. Wish you would have been there.” All too often this is the case. We go to Church but the presence of God is not evident in His power and Glory.

In that case we need revival. Isaiah chapter 64 is a plea from the prophet Isaiah for revival among the people of God. In this text I see THREE facts about revival.

WHAT IS REVIVAL? VERSE 1.
“Oh, that You would rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake at Your presence.”

Isaiah cries out to God, “Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down!” This is revival. Isaiah knew that God was everywhere. He knew that God sat on the circle of the universe, that no temple could house His presence. He was pleading with God to manifest His presence among His people, make Himself known, and make Himself real again.
We need to experience the powerful presence of God in our services. We need to be like Jacob and cry out, “surely the Lord was in this place and we knew it not.” All too often our services can have all the right things in it, yet not the power of God in the midst. Revival is the presence of God among His people once again.

WHAT DOES REVIVAL LOOK LIKE? VERSES 1-2. “Oh, that You would rend the heavens!
That You would come down!
That the mountains might shake at Your presence--
As fire burns brushwood,
As fire causes water to boil--
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!”

What happens when God does make His presence known? Isaiah describes THREE things that happen in verses 1-2.

1. A Shaking.
He says, “Mountains might shake at Your presence.” When God shows up things are shaken up.
a. When God gave the law at Sinai the earth quaked.
b. When Christ returns the bible says that the stars are going to be shaken out of the heaven.
c. When He stands to judge the Earth Mountains will be levelled.
d. God shakes things up when He shows up.

Here Isaiah says mountains are shaken at His presence. What are mountains? A mountain is a large earthen fixture that you and I can do nothing about. When people are asked why they climb mountains all they can say is “because it is there.” It cannot be moved, so you might just as well climb it, or take a picture of it.

We have mountains in the church and in our lives. Have you ever heard the expression, “We have always done it this way?” Those mountains get shaken up when God visits the church in revival.

How about those mountains in your life? How about those things you do not want to change or do not think you could ever change? God shakes them up and turns us and our churches upside down. This is why many do not want revival. They would rather play church than have God visit the church and shake them up. Shake us up God; shake us up for our own good and for Your glory!

2. There is fire.
Isaiah says, "as fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil.” God is spoken of in the bible as being a “consuming fire.” What is the importance of fire?

A. Judgment.
When God judged in the bible he judge often by fire. Sodom and Gomorra were destroyed by fire. The complainers of the Old Testament were consumed by fire, the prophets of Baal, etc... When God shows up in revival there is a great since of our sin and failure. Sin is judged and repented of. There is great judgment of sin and repentance among God’s people when the fire of revival comes upon a church.

B. Refining.
Jesus in Malachi is referred to as the Messenger who is like unto a refiner’s fire, and He will purify the sons of Levi. The fire of God is a refining fire, it consumes the sin. When God shows up little things are confronted in our lives and taken care of. Christians begin to be concerned about even the slightest sin as God’s presence refines.C. the Holy Spirit is Fire.

John the Baptist said, one will come after me who will “baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire.” The Holy Spirit’s ministry is associated to fire in the Bible. Paul said we can quench the fire of the Holy Spirit. When revival comes the Holy Spirit blazes upon God’s people, for He is the presence of God in the Church. He renews passion for Christ and people. He makes worship come alive, and He empowers witness. Blaze Spirit Blaze set our hearts on fire.

3. Fear.
Isaiah says in verse 2, “That the nations may tremble at Your presence!” There is a great sense of fear when God shows up. What ever happened to the fear of God in the Church and in the world? The fear of God comes upon us when God visits the Church. Even so come upon us Lord Jesus!

WHAT CAN WE DO TO GET REVIVAL? VERSE 7.
“And there is no one who calls on Your name,
Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us,
And have consumed us because of our iniquities.”

What can we do to speed up revival? Or can we? Isaiah outlines THREE things we can do to hasten God’s presence among us.

1. Fervent prayer.
He says, “There is no one who calls on Your name.” This describes a desperate plea to God for His presence and help. James says, “You have not because you ask not!” We like Isaiah must begin to cry out to God for personal revival. Notice that Isaiah says, “No One.” Revival begins with the individual.

2. Wake ourselves up.
The prophet says we must “stir ourselves, or wake ourselves up.” Many church members sit and wait for a preacher to stir them up with a fiery sermon, or a wonderful testimony, or a moving song. God says, quit waiting to be moved, and move yourself, wake yourselves up. Wake up to the state of our sleepy Christianity; wake up to the lateness of the hour.

3. Lay Hold of God.
How do we do this? Easy! Make a bold move toward God. Discipline yourselves to pray and:
1. Seek God even when you do not feel like it.
2. Go to church, even when you do not feel like.
3. Repent and confess sin, even when you do not feel like it. James says if you “draw near to God; He will draw near to you.”

Conclusion:

Who will commit themselves to fervent prayer and bold movement toward God in commitment with the expectation of experiencing the wonderful POWERFUL, manifest presence of God in His Church?