This excerpt is from the Revive Us Bible Study.
When you hear the word revival what comes to mind? Maybe you associate the word with a church service that takes place under a big tent with fiery preaching. You may think of revivals as spiritual movements that have occurred in other places but never as part of your own personal experience. Maybe you think about a time in your life when your faith had grown stale but was suddenly awakened to become fresh and new. Or maybe you think in terms of the word’s explicit meaning: “restoration to life, consciousness, vigor, strength.”
The truth is, the word revival has many connotations—and those meanings aren’t necessarily wrong. The problem comes when our understanding is limited to a certain way we have learned about or experienced revival. We might begin to think revival is a spiritual outcome we can produce. It’s not.
True biblical revival isn’t something we can program into church or personal life. It is different than organizing a campaign. One is worked up, the other is sent down. Revival is God coming down.
When we encounter God, three things happen—we get a right view of God, a right view of self, and a heart for the world. It happened with Abraham, Moses, and Ezekiel. Let’s look now to see how it happened with Isaiah.The vision of God Isaiah received speaks both to God’s holiness and His unrivaled sovereignty. He is not a helpless deity on a paper-mache throne shaking His head in disbelief because He can’t get His people to cooperate with Him. No, God is doing exactly what He planned to do before the world began. And He is doing it well. Many don’t know God because they have never encountered God. He is the sovereign Lord over the universe—He always has been and always will be. Is He Lord over your life? Is He calling the shots? Are you doing things His way? Is He the center of your life? That only happens when you get a true glimpse of God.
Until Isaiah saw God for who He is, he couldn’t see himself for what he was. Being in God’s presence helped Isaiah see his unworthiness. Isaiah’s cry, “I am ruined,” really means, I am being unmade. The holiness of God not only means you might die, but it also means you should die; it presents a problem of forgiveness. Because God is holy, we are responsible to Him for every sinful action, every careless word, and every evil thought. Seeing who God is causes us to realize who we are, which is exactly what happened to Isaiah.
Notice that Isaiah didn’t say, “Woe is everybody else,” He cried out, “Woe is me”. He realized the wickedness of his heart. He knew the pride in his life. He understood the immorality in his mind.
He is the only One who can save us from our sins—and He does!
Robby Gallaty
God had every right to destroy Isaiah, but He saved him. The only way a sinful human being can come into the presence of a holy God is to be cleansed of all unrighteousness. This is why Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian life. He is the only One who can save us from our sins—and He does! You are more sinful than you ever dared to believe and more loved by God than you ever dared to hope. Because it is the Lord’s responsibility to protect us, we don’t have to worry about a thing—we just have to fix our eyes on Jesus, with a clear picture of His mission. If someone does us harm, He will settle the score. His job is to care for us, feed us, clothe us, and provide for our needs. He will lead us, guide us, and instruct us along the way.
True revival happens when we gain a right view of God, a right view of self, and a heart for the world.
Robby Gallaty
True revival happens when we gain a right view of God, a right view of self, and a heart for the world. Knowing who God is calls us into action for His name. Studying God’s character is not an abstract discipline for a select group of gifted Christians but the responsibility of every believer. When we see who God is, we must respond. We must go, full and filled from the forgiveness we have received in Jesus Christ.
We don’t experience revival because we’ve been content to live without it. We need a fresh vision of God. He can do more in a moment than any man, machine, or method can mass-produce in a lifetime. Are you ready?
Revive Us Bible Study Book with Video Access includes printed content for six sessions, a leader guide, personal study between group sessions, applicable Scripture, “How to Use This Study,” and tips for leading a group. Also, each Book contains unique codes that enable you to access free teaching videos for each session.
Revival is a topic that is often talked about but less often understood. What is revival? How do we experience it? How do we recognize it when we see it? What do we do with it?