Isaiah 58:1 says, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”
Being in the church all my life, I have only seen a “grand sweep” of the Holy Spirit a few times. Mine is a holiness denomination. Revival services were common years back. I have watched the Holy Spirit draw many people to the altar, including myself.
One of the grand sweeps happened in the Coyote Prison in Connell, Washington. I got up to preach in an evening service. I never preached. I simply said, “On my way here I realized that the only thing that really matters in this life is that our sins are all under the blood.” Without an invitation, one of the prisoners in the back row stood up and said, “I know mine aren’t.” He then went down and knelt at the altar. Another stood up and did the same thing, then another. The rest, without saying anything, came forward and knelt in the front rows crying and weeping. Everyone came down. This was simply a drawing of the Holy Spirit—a grand sweep!
Isaiah is speaking the words of the Lord in chapter 58. God was speaking to a group of people—His people—that thought that they were okay before God. They asked God, “Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?” (vs. 3)
God had called them down in the way they were worshiping Him. This could be a “call down” of some of our worship today. This is called a sin. How could worship be a sin? Isaiah 58:2 says, “Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.” Notice that they were “as a nation that did righteousness.” They were not doing righteousness, but were coming to worship God as if they were. They may have fooled themselves and others. They didn’t fool God.
Another thing that stands out is that they took delight in approaching to God. That certainly fits the church today. The worship service at one time included the singing, announcements, offering and sermon. Now the worship service means the singing service. At one time we sang a few hymns. Now we sing for half an hour as we delight in approaching God. We stand, we sway and even jump about. In some churches we even scream out. God called Israel down for this because they were not righteous. Their response to God was that they fasted. God then looked at what they called fasting and told them what real fasting was. His idea of fasting was for them to forget about themselves and care about the hungry and needy.
The real church is where the hungry and needy are. This was beautifully portrayed by Charles Sheldon in his classic book, In His Steps. Both Sheldon and Isaiah close the scenario with the glorious results that happen when the church is truly revived. This only happens when the Holy Spirit is poured out on us. We then lose control and He takes control. We need it today. Join me in a cry for revival!
Yes.