In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of having a high view of the character of God. He highlights the judgment of God as a reminder of His power and authority. The prophet Isaiah's encounter with God in the temple serves as an example of how unexpected encounters with God can transform our lives. The preacher also discusses the consequences of the church losing its dependence on God and becoming powerless in impacting the world.

I am sure that in this meeting there are some of you who made a start towards spiritual commitment in a very real way nine months ago. And as has already been said and prayed tonight, revival is not something you take for granted, it's something that keeps on needing to be revived. That is very scriptural. Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? It's the Old Testament text of revival. Notice it says, Wilt thou not revive... Already there is life that has had to be re-life. There is one revival. Revive us... what's the next word? Again. So the psalmist is saying, the revival needs it again. And that is as scriptural as can be. And I am just encouraging you in the area to make sure that this will not be the last refresher time, but that it will be one of many kinds of ministries like this that will keep on reminding us or refreshing us in the truth that God uses to set us free. Some of you may be here tonight discouraged. You say, you know, I made a start nine months ago, but it hasn't all yet come to gel in my life. That's why a refresher week is here. God may reveal a specific truth that you need to see more clearly now. Thank God for the progress you've made. But there could be another area, some area that God's after. Keep open to it. You say, I know I need to respond to God, but what will people think if I have to go to a place of prayer? When I was in the place of prayer nine months ago, you know what people think? Praise the Lord. Amen? Thank God we are honest enough to recognize that we do have needs, that none of us have arrived, that we're all candidates for further touching from God in our lives, but there's a need for sharpening the focus, and whatever it is God's saying to us tonight, be open to respond to what He's after in your personal life. All right, now tonight, where revival begins? Where does personal revival begin? Isaiah chapter six is a biblical evaluation of that subject. It is one of those stories that I love because it is so to the point of what God really says to us in personal revival. Isaiah six. It's on page 718 in my Bible. In the year that King Uzziah died, I, Isaiah, saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims. Each one had six wings. With twain he covered his face, and with twain or two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongues from off the altar, and he laid it upon my mouth and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send my brother. Here am I, send me. And if we were to read on, he said, Go and tell this people, and it goes and tells the story of how God Almighty gave Isaiah exactly what to say, and the continuation in the chapters to come. Now in order to get the truth I'm after this evening, we must have a background to the verses I've just read. You see, Isaiah was a prophet, already commissioned by God, but ready to quit. He was laboring with little success, confused as he saw the chaos, and the lawlessness, the rebellion, the homosexuality, and so on of all the people around him. This day that we have read about is the prophet Isaiah walking into the temple, confused, frustrated, discouraged, disappointed, upset, hopeless, not knowing which way to turn, even though he had been commissioned by God into a ministry. Suppose he went to church that morning, like some of us go to church, merely expecting some easement from the harassment of the cares of life through the week, or maybe expecting to spend one hour in which he could settle down and relax and not have anybody bothering him, possibly even go to sleep while the preacher was preaching. One of those hours where his wife couldn't bother him. Children couldn't bother him too much. They were often children's church. An hour to get caught up with himself. Does that sound familiar to some of us? Suppose he went there that morning expecting to hear the pastor say something that would soothe his nerves or a pleasant building up of his ego, telling him how faithful he was in the cause of religious duty. Suppose he went like that, like some of us would like to go to church and enjoy hearing those things. What a shock it must have been to assist him. For him to go to church that morning and in the light of what we have just read, to have his eyes blazingly filled with the glory of God and his heart burned clean in the fire of Almighty God. Imagine what a shock it must have been to assist him to go to church and find the doorpost moving with God's power and the house filled with smoke and rising incense and the atmosphere literally flated with the presence of Almighty God and before that service was over he was forced down to his knees, gripped and smitten, broken and cleansed, empowered and renewed and reassured of the commission. What an hour in church! He probably never noticed the sign at the entrance of the church that morning that said, enter at your own risk. A risky place to be when God is on the scene and ready to do something in the life of a prophet that had to be done in order for him to be able to serve God in reality. Now what is the application? We all have our cozy ideas and our notions as to what church going ought to be like. It ought to be respectable and comfortable and predictable and satisfiable and amiable. Everything is orderly as a biscuit cutter. The tragic sentiment of our day is that most of us and many of us think that good form is the main thing in worship. As long as the form is right it is good worship. We have our temples, we have our altars, we have our songs, we too have our anthems, we sing holy, holy, holy but that's where it ends for most of us as far as God is concerned. C.S. Lewis in his book called Miracles describes it in a most unique way. He suggests that most of us prefer living in a world with a God who is manageable by us. We like the idea of having a God that we can manage, who we can manage. He says a harmless God. He says one that literally is in our control as it were. We control Him. Everything in order. In his own words here's what he says. There comes a moment when children who have been playing at burglars hush suddenly. Suppose was that a real footstep in the hall? There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion suddenly draw back. Suppose we really found Him. Or he said we never meant to come to that. Or more rightly we're still suppose He found us. C.S. Lewis We never expected that. We thought we were just playing cops and robbers. We thought we were just playing as burglars. But now we find ourselves all at once in the presence of Almighty God. That's what happened to the prophet that day in the temple. That's what could be happening to some people in this meeting tonight who merely expected to come and enjoy a good night out, the singing, the rejoicing, the overflow of nine months ago. And tonight you may find yourself literally with your eyes filled with the glory of God and a sense of God's presence and would to God we'd understand it and before the night's over some of us would be so smitten by the power of God that we'd be on our faces before God like the prophet was. Commissioned and anointed to serve God in reality. Remember here's a prophet. If such was true of a prophet who was already commissioned by God how much more all the rest of us need to be open to whatever it is God's after in our personal lives? Personal revival. Where does revival begin? Can I say it this way in one simple statement? Personal revival is a revolution of our self-image. It is a revolution of our self-image. Now having said that what kind of a revolution is it? What needs to take place? What needs to be revolutionized in my life? Here are the areas of revolution. First of all four things. The pride of self. Secondly the standard for self. Thirdly the death of self. Fourthly the revival of himself. That's where we're going tonight. That's the revolution that must take place in every one of our lives if we want to understand what the prophet Isaiah experienced to be able to serve God in reality. Let's look at the first one. A revolution. The pride of self. In order to catch the truth of that we must understand a little bit of chapter five. You see in chapter five the prophet Isaiah looks at the world around him. He looks at society about him. He sees all those around him. And there are six times he makes one statement. The statement is Six times. You find them. Verse eight Woe unto them! And without my elaborating merely to mention. In verse eight he's pointing a woe to those who are caught in the bondage of materialism. In verses eleven and twenty-two Woe unto them! Those who are gripped in the bondage of alcoholism. Woe unto them! In verse eighteen he says Woe unto them! Those who are gripped in the bondage of sensualism. Immorality. Woe unto them! In verse twenty Woe unto them! Those who are gripped in the bondage of liberalism. Theologically and morally. Woe unto them! Liberal theology and morally. And then in verse twenty-one Woe unto them! Those who are gripped in the bondage of something we hear much about these days. Humanism. Where man is the end in himself. Where man is his own boss. Where man calls his own shots. Dictates his own terms. Man is the ultimate authority. Humanism. Five specific areas that he saw a problem with people. And he was absolutely right. Every one of those groups of people were in problems. But the problem I'm suggesting tonight is the pride of self is such that even though he cries out six times Woe unto them! And there was plenty wrong with all of those people. Self esteem thrives on revealing the sins of other people. Self esteem thrives on finding what is wrong with everybody else around. Could that be your condition tonight? You can tell us what's wrong with the preacher. You can tell us what's wrong with some people who are hypocrites in the church around you. You have all the reasons why everybody around you needs to be revived. You can tell us how everybody ought to be straightened out. And on and on we go. You see, the problem is that the pride of self having arrived, having attained, comparing yourself with other people always points a finger at someone else. And never sees himself. In chapter 5, I find no sign of any recognition at all that the prophet himself had pride in his own heart. That he was setting himself up above other people around him. That he saw himself as destitute and in need. There's no idea that the prophet sees himself as a problem. But rather I catch the Laodicean attitude in the prophet Isaiah in chapter 5. I have need of nothing like the Laodicean said in the book of the Revelation. I'm rich. I'm increased with goods. I have all these things going for me. I have need of nothing. And God Almighty turns to the Laodicean church and He says, Thou knowest not that thou art poor, thou art miserable, thou art wretched, thou art blind, thou art naked. Five things wrong with you and you don't even know it. And that's the tragedy. That's the problem of the pride of self. Cannot see yourself because your eyes are on someone else. Where does revival begin? It begins when you and I recognize the anguish and the devastating power of the pride of self that thrives on showing the wrongs in other people and esteeming ourselves better than others and with the attitude that I have arrived and I am not a candidate for personal revival. Whenever I get that feeling in my own spirit, I am reminded of the last supper of our blessed Lord. When He turned to His disciples in that hour and He said to them, One of you will betray me. And I have often thought it must have been Peter the first one to say, Lord, it is not I. Lord, it is not I. And around the room they went, Lord, it is not I. Lord, it is not I. Until by process of elimination, Judas Iscariot was the only one left. And Judas said, Well, I guess, Lord, it must be I because everybody else says they are not guilty. Is that what your Bible says? Not mine. Maybe the reverse vision says that. The devil's perversion says that. But that is not what God's Word says. It was as if instinctively I get a picture of all of those disciples. Who were they? Those who had walked three years in the presence of our blessed Lord. Who had felt His heartbeat. Who literally walked side by side with Him as they ministered day after day and month after month for those three years of His human earthly ministry. You talk about people who ought to be those who recognize that they have got it all put together. Certainly those people ought to be the ones. But with one instinctive boy's eye, catch the picture when the Lord said, one of you will betray Me. It was as if collectively they said, Lord, is it I? The twelve men closest to Christ recognize the potential for sin. They recognize that they could be men in need. Men with sin in their lives even though they were that close to the Savior. If such is true of such men, who is there in this meeting tonight who would say that I am not a candidate for personal revival? That because I'm better than some people I know, that's a sign that I don't need a broken spirit before Almighty God and let God deal with me at a personal level so that my life can be transformed by God's glory. So that I'll not be content merely to be a good person in the church and have it all put together religiously, but I'll have the anointing of God such as I've never known before. The pride of self says, esteem yourself better than other people around you. Secondly, the standard for self. The standard for self. Right from chapter 5, we move right into chapter 6 in verse 1, and the prophet, and it says, in the year that King Uzziah died, I, Isaiah, saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Now the standard for self. Who is the standard for self? I also saw the Lord. What a contrast from what he saw in chapter 5. All he could see in chapter 5 was people around him. And he was judging himself by those around him. But now, his eyes blazingly filled with a sense of God Himself. Now the standard is the Lord and no human being. Isaiah, as a possible historian, could have written to us about a great funeral of a great king, Uzziah. But he didn't say one thing about it. It is significant that those words, in the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. Uzziah was a great king. In fact, Uzziah was a tremendous model to the prophet Isaiah. In fact, it was such that the prophet Isaiah was sad at the death of that king because it seemed to him that the last hope for Judah was gone because of his tremendous righteous acts as a righteous king. He saw go before him a king with whom he could work. A king who had the same affinity as the prophet did. And when that king died, instead of Isaiah recording to us the story of a great king, he said, in the year that King Uzziah died, somehow when I walked into the temple that day, there was someone in the temple that was bigger than the temple itself. Someone in the temple that the temple actually could not contain. The Lord of hosts. Why talk about anyone else? All I could see is Him. The standard for self now becomes divine. When did Isaiah see the Lord? When he closeted himself in with that God. Not until he got his eyes off of everyone around him. Not until his human resources were gone. King Uzziah was gone. His last hope was gone. He no longer could depend on anything human. Not until the bottom dropped out of everything he considered of reality that could make the difference. Conditions were in such shambles and all hope gone. Everything crashing in around him. No longer could he depend on anything human or anyone human to make the difference. Could I suggest tonight that you and I are not candidates for personal revival as long as you and I figure that we have some kind of human resources that we can depend on to solve our problems. It's not until God Almighty strips the scales from our eyes and all we can see is a magnificent God who alone can make the difference that all of our righteousnesses, all the good things about us are as filthy rags in His sight. It's not until we get to that place will we be candidates for revival. The practical lesson is this tonight. What will it take in our lives before we will be in the place where God can reveal Himself to us like He revealed Himself to Isaiah? What yet must God do in your life and in your home and in your family and in your circumstances to strip you from all of your reliance on human resources before you can finally see the Lord as the One who longs to sit on the throne of your life? What did Isaiah see when he saw the Lord? What did he see? He primarily saw three things. First of all, he saw God in His sovereignty, in His divinity. Verse 1, I saw the Lord high and lifted up, sitting on a throne. His train filled the temple. I saw Him high and lifted up. You know what he's saying? He's saying, I'm seeing Him as God sitting on a throne. He's saying, no longer do I bring Him down to a human level. I see Him higher and above all that human man can talk about. I see Him as sovereign. I see Him as King. I see Him as Lord. I see Him as Master. I see Him as the One who must sit on the throne of my life. Sovereign God. Though to him from a human perspective it looked as if man was still trying to run things, now that day in the temple he finally caught the right vision. He now sees that there's still hope because though the things are in shambles around him, there are no shambles on the throne. Amen. That God is still in control. And though your world may be crumbling around you tonight in so many aspects, it's a thrilling comfort to know that God is still sitting on the throne and He cares and He loves and He reaches out tonight for you to bow your knee in full surrender to His Lordship. He not only saw Him as sovereign, secondly, He saw His holiness. In verses 2 and 3, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. He saw Him as holy. Verse 3, One cried out, holy, holy is the Lord. The whole earth is full of His glory. What does it mean? It means not of this earth, not earthly, but pure and holy. It's a purity that transcends far beyond the limits of our human perception. It's a holiness whose height is beyond our imagination. It's a cleanness that makes all the cleanness of man, that all the cleanness of man could ever hope to have and to attain look like corruptible garbage. That's what He saw that day. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders, and the Bible is full of it? Thou art of pure eyes than to behold evil and hence not look on iniquity. The tragedy is that when you and I try to describe God in His holiness, we can only describe Him hinged to our own concepts of God which are already tainted by our own frailty and the inevitability that emerges because of our own sinfulness. We cannot understand what kind of a God He really is because of our finite frailty. But that day, the prophet saw a God who was holier than anything man could ever dream about. Thirdly, he saw Him in His judgment. Not only did he see Him sovereign. Not only did he see Him in His holiness. Can I pause long enough to say no wonder there is so much of the world in the church these days. We have such a low view of the character of God. But he sees Him in judgment in verse 4. In verse 4, it's a reminder of a sign of judgment. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of Him that cried. And the house was filled with smoke. A symbol or a picture of the judgment of God. The power of Almighty God descending in the midst of His people. He saw Him as the judge. Will not the judge of the earth do right? The judge who keeps the book straight? Nothing is hid from His eyes? If we judge our sins and ourselves now, the judgment seat of Christ is one of tremendous reward. That day, the prophet Isaiah saw a God who not only has love and mercy and tenderness, but also holds justice and judgment as the habitation of His throne. He saw Him as a God who knows everything about us. Who keeps the record straight. Nothing is hid from His eyes. Thou God, seest me, and the sin that I commit under the canopy of night is still not dark enough to hide from Almighty God. The judge of the earth will do right. And the prophet that day got a glimpse of the fact that one day he would stand before that kind of a holy, sovereign God and have to meet Him in judgment. And if you have a mamby-pamby, sort of a weak, anemic concept of God, who is only a God of love and tenderness. You see Christ as the tender shepherd. You see Him holding the children in His arms. But I very rarely have gone into a church and have seen a picture of a God of judgment on a wall. Somehow we don't like that concept. But He must be a God of judgment if He is a God of love. One is a counterpart to the other. And so when the prophet saw that the standard was no longer those inconsistent people around him or those worldly people on the outside, the crowd of the underworld that he pointed his finger at in chapter 5, but now he saw God sitting on the throne, a God who is absolutely pure, a God who keeps the book straight. Now his standard was altogether changed of who he really was. And that's what has to happen in your life and mine. We must see God like that, as the standard. When I catch a glimpse of that, how do I continue to stand upright when I take a look at that kind of God? Thirdly, the death of self. Not only recognize the pride of self. Not only recognize the standard for self, the Holy God. The death of self. Verse 5, Then, then, then, then! Not before that, where he saw God and himself in the sight of God. Then said I, Woe is who? Me. Isn't that a change? Isaiah chapter 5, six times you said, Woe unto them. All at once your language changes. Woe is me, for I am undone. Isaiah chapter 5, they were all undone. Your language changes. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Isaiah, in chapter 5, you were pointing your finger at all those unclean people, and you did not even want to relate to them. You did not want to consider yourself as a part of them. You were trying to set yourself apart from them. In chapter 5, and now in chapter 6, you are saying, I am a part of them. I dwell in the midst of them. I am no better than they are. You talk about death to self. Woe is me. I am undone. I am unclean. I am a part of this unclean generation. Do you want to know what the problem is in the United States of America tonight? It's not the crooked politicians in Washington. It's not the women of the underworld. It's not the Iran gate. It's not any other gate you want to find. Ushers, lock the doors of this church, and don't let anybody out. And then, those of us on the inside, my people, called by my name, shall what? Humble themselves. Deal with that pride. Pray. Seek my face. Turn from their wicked ways. Then will I forgive their sins, and then watch what I'm going to do to their land. Whenever the church gets up off its knees, whenever God's people no longer recognize their absolute dependence on God, whenever we think we have arrived, and we no longer see ourselves as sinners saved by grace, and as candidates for the blood of Christ to be applied to our hearts on a daily basis, whenever we think we no longer need the cross, whenever we think we no longer need the finished work of Christ, we are the reason for the world on the outside the way it is. A church that becomes powerless, that can no longer affect its society. The reason for the outside. Have you ever used the four spiritual laws? I've often suggested that if I were to write them, I would write a fifth one. And I would make the fifth one the first one. And it would be something like this. Law number one. Neighbor, will you please forgive me for not coming to you sooner with the greatest news in the world? The reason is, I have been so backslidden, and so cold, and so out of touch with God, that I didn't have that much a concern for you. But thank God, God has finally shown me myself, and I have repented of it, and now I want to share with you the rest of the spiritual laws. What about that? The reason why you neighbor don't have an interest in the things of God could be the fact that I have not been walking with God the way I should have been. And I'm no better than you are, neighbor. I am undone. I am unclean, and I am a part of this society. And most of us here tonight, our neighbors think that we think that we are the holiest people around. And that we have arrived. And when we get off of that high pedestal of pride, and God breaks our hearts, and we see ourselves the way we are, and we see God the way He is, and we're able to go to our neighbors and say, Oh neighbor, God has broken my heart. I've been religious. I've made professions. I go to the farm. I've got a lot of right things going, but God has broken my heart about my self-sufficiency, my ego, my self-determination of my own life, and on and on we can go. There's the death of self. And there are some of us in this meeting tonight who still think that we have a lot to offer God. That when we finally surrender totally to God, that God really is going to get a great package. Any greater than the prophet Isaiah? And yet, here he is smitten, coming to the end of himself. I have an idea that that moment, the prophet Isaiah never saw another person in the world. He could only see himself for a holy God. Self-esteem ends where a vision of God begins. You see? Now a vision and awareness of our own unclean lips can be a reality where we have finally seen God. Now we are willing to identify ourselves with those people around us. You see, now we are recognizing that there is iniquity and sin in our own lives that needs to be taken care of. You see, now that the standard has changed, we no longer pride ourselves in what we are, but we see the holy God. The truth is that if Isaiah did not see God in his holiness, he would have never seen himself in his filthiness. And therefore I can almost sense the prophet Isaiah saying, Thank you God. Thank you God for revealing yourself. Because if you had not revealed yourself like that, I would have never seen myself. And if I would have never seen myself, I'd still be as filthy as I was before. I'd still be as self-righteous as I was before. I'd still be pointing my finger at others as I was before. The holiness of God. There's a wall. It's the wrong color, for what I'm saying. But if that wall were white, and I'd say, That wall doesn't need to be painted. Look how white it is. You'd say, Yes it does. Let me show you. And you take one brush, and dip it into a can of white paint, and you splash one brush full onto that wall. You then would say, How dirty that wall is. What made the difference? The pure white. If Isaiah had never seen the pure white, he would have considered himself all right. And some of us in this meeting have never really caught a glimpse of the pure white. And that's why we still put our hands under our arms and tell God how good we are. And God needs to break our hearts to the end. But when that happens, thank God, God doesn't leave us there. The revival of himself. The revival of himself. Verses 6 through 11. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongues from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth. And he said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. And I also heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And then who will go for us? Then said I, here am I. Send me. The revival of himself. Four statements made. The first one, Thine iniquity is taken away. Holy Spirit anointing. And now for what reason? To fulfill the Great Commission. Not to enjoy it for ourselves. But the world at our doorstep, that needs the touch of God, that needs the anointed lips, that needs the voice of the one who has already met God at the altar. And if you can remember clearly those truths that were brought into focus during our time together, when we go to the prayer room, we say, deal honestly with our sins. Deal honestly with self. Bring it to the cross for death union. And claim by faith the ministry of the Holy Spirit. To be able to go out from this place walking in the Spirit. To fulfill what God longs for you to do. And here in the story of the prophet Isaiah, those same truths come into focus. There is now a revival of himself. Whereas to begin tonight, dealing with self, with self-esteem as sin, now there is a revival of himself, which is, can I say, the proper self-esteem, which is the anointing of God, that shows us who we really are in Christ. People who are set apart for God's glory, with a job to fulfill, a mission. Is that the kind of revival you need tonight? You know, I have often thought that when Isaiah was on his face before God, broken in such a way, could he have had the idea in his spirit, God, I am so undone. When I see a holier, I am so unclean. My lips are so filthy. Just be content if you will just cleanse those lips and cleanse that vile heart. God, is it possible that you can use me? The marvel that God, you would want to use such a one who was so unclean, so unworthy, so filthy. I am nothing, I am wretched, I am useless. You are such a holy God and I am such a sinner. Do you really mean me? God, do you really want me? Could it be possible that you can take the broken strings of my self-centeredness, the broken cords of my life that have been shattered by sin and self and pride and ego and all the contamination? Could it be, God, that now in the midst of the cleansing, you want to perform a healing to make me whole again so that out of this broken life there can come a sweet melody that can play a beautiful tune for the glory of God? Amen! A revival of myself so that God can now receive the glory. So that anything good that comes out of me, I cannot take the credit because I was so undone. And until you see yourself like that, in the view of a holy God, you'll still be serving the church and serving people around you and looking for brownie points in heaven and looking for people to applaud you on the back. And when they don't applaud you just right, you're not sure you're going to keep serving all in the energy of the flesh, wood, hay and stubble as far as God is concerned. But when God finally brings you to the end of yourself, then the marvel of marvels is that He says, I want to use you. And God can take the smallest life in this meeting tonight. The one who considers that you are so insignificant that there's no place for you in the service of God. God Almighty can do such wonders for you. The truth is, God Almighty can take a little old crooked stick and He can use it for His whole glory as long as He's the one who owns the stick. A broken spirit He will not despise. For the first time, the prophet Isaiah had a sense of anointing, had a sense of fulfillment, had a willingness to say, here am I, send me. For the first time, there was no hesitancy about fulfilling the commission. And if we were to take time tonight, which we will not. God used the prophet over and over again to stand and cry against the sins of the people, to proclaim the love of God who wanted to restore them and what that God could do in their lives. He became a witness by His life to a whole nation. And as you go on and read in the book of Isaiah, He became a joyous and happy testimony despite the circumstances around Him. His whole family was used of God. And in chapter 8, you see how the prophet became the spokesman of God for the nation. And then God literally named all of His children with such meaningful names that were an asset to the fact that God anointed His whole family. What a thrill! Because one day a prophet allowed the purging power of a holy God to penetrate the resources or the outward shell of His veneer and His religiosity. And even His commission had get to the innermost depth of His being. And He dealt with His pride and He became that vessel for God's glory even to His family. I stand here tonight and thank God for that kind of an influence in my own life. Parents who recognize their need for a holy God and in the midst of a religious background as an Italian family, how God Almighty and His love and His kindness and His tenderness would call one family out of a whole relationship and allow a mother to say yes to God. And a dad who weeks and months later who fought like cats and dogs as it were against anyone who would step on the religion of our family. Ready to leave mother with five children all under ten years of age. But mother had so seen God that she turned to dad and said dad as much as I love you if it means giving you up or giving up my God I'd have to give you up but Christ has become so real I cannot let Him go. And then God breaking my dad's heart to think of where we might be tonight had those parents never allowed the breaking process of God in their hearts. To think that six children bowed their knees in salvation not in a revival meeting but all at mother's knees. Dad's in heaven. I don't know if he's looking on tonight but I say to you every father in this meeting who thinks that your pride and ego keeps you from saying yes to God in His fullness and personal revival is worth it. The tragedy may be that someday your children may rise up and curse the day that you gave them birth for the fact that you never lived the godly lifestyle the example of a surrendered life to the Lordship of Christ. Children never having the potential of the influence and impact of godly parents to lead them on like Isaiah led his family. What a story. Where does revival begin? One day Isaiah walked into the temple confused, discouraged disappointed, hopeless, upset didn't know which way to turn but he went out of the temple a man encouraged with hope, joy victory, anointing, glory a ministry. That's the revival. Where are you tonight? You see? He could not see himself until he saw God. Neither can you. He could not see his sin until he saw himself. Neither can I. He could not see the world until he dealt with sin and self and was anointed with fires from off the altar. Then he could see the world and say, here am I, send me. And neither will you have a burden that is consistent for the world and a broken heart for the world until you have a genuine personal revival and then you'll see through God's eyes a world that's closest to God's heart. Tonight, there are some people in this meeting who need to be revived. Are you a candidate? Let's stand and pray. O God, I pray Thou wilt show us where we've allowed the enemy of our souls to thwart us from seeing Thee in Thy holiness and Thy power. Spirit of the living God, do Thy office work in every one of our hearts tonight. We are such a proud people, better than the people next door because we have more truth than they do. Better than the church down the block because we have the truth and they don't see it clearly. Better than a lot of people who call themselves Christians. O God, strip us tonight of that damnable pride that points a finger at everybody else who needs to be revived. God, Thou art in Thy holy temple. Holy, holy, holy, holy. Lord, God, almighty, sitting on a throne, forgive us for belittling Thee, bringing Thee down to human level. Lord, we want Thee to be on the throne. Holy, God, break our hearts. Show us who we really are. Smite our hearts. So religiously proud. All of our accomplishments, show us that they come to naught if done in the energy of the flesh. Self has Thy way. While we're praying, where are all the hungry hearts in this meeting? We say, well, I could not have heard it any straighter. I need God to do such a deep work in my heart that He delivers me from the bondage of my pride. I have been such an arrogant, self-sufficient person. I can see what's wrong with everybody else. But I have need of nothing. It's been my attitude for so long. Men, especially, tonight, I am a candidate for personal revival. I've seen God in His holiness. He's spoken in my heart. And I want to go to my knees and repent of my pride, my ego. I want to deal with my sin. I want to surrender all the rights of self and lay it all before God. And by faith, I want to claim the fullness of His Spirit to have an anointing in my life. Maybe some of you were here nine months ago and you've allowed the enemy to trip you up along the way. And tonight, God Almighty wants to sharpen the focus. Why don't you go to that place of repentance? Go to your knees. Nobody will say anything to you until you have responded to God. And don't get up off your knees until you can thank Him for the victory and claim it by faith. Before you go, I'd like for us to pray collectively for you. Express your desire. Slip your hands up. Place them down all across the congregation. Yes, yes, hands are being raised. Yes, yes, hands are being raised. Yes, recognition of my need. Keep on recognizing your need. Others, express your desire for God to bring you out. Yes, God bless you. Hands are being raised. Others, Oh, I just need that kind of a thorough cleansing in my life. Yes, God bless you. It's nice to see men as well as women, young and old, expressing that desire. How many others? I know I'm not walking in spiritual victory tonight. I've seen myself. I need God. Pray for me. I want to be included in this prayer. Others, before we pray. Yes, God bless you. Way in the back, I see it. Others, desire to be included now. A moment of truth. Yes, God bless you. On the side, I see it. Others, before we pray. God, it's full of my heart. God bless you, sir. Recognition of need. A pride that stands in between me and the anointing of God in my life. Let's pray. Lord, Yes, God bless you, sir. Hands still being raised. Are there others? Are there others? Lord, I praise Thee for what Thou art doing, what Thou art saying. Ministered by Thy Spirit, give us enough sense to know what we've heard from Thee, and by Thy power, may we not leave until we know beyond a shadow of any and every doubt that we've come into full agreement to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives, to be revived in ourselves. Have Thy way. I pray for each one who's recognized that need. Give him judgment day honesty. Do Thy work in Thy way for Thy glory, that lives can be transformed tonight. Have Thy way. While we're praying, and we prayerfully sing, have Thine own way, Lord. Those of you who've expressed your desire, slip out from where you are, go to the back of the auditorium, all the way to the back, and there's a room for prayer. Go to your knees. Don't let anybody talk to you. God's done all the talking necessary. It's now time for you to respond to Him. And don't get up off your knees until you know you're claiming the fullness of God to be yours after that repentance and brokenness before Him. All across the congregation. Don't hesitate a moment. We know each other well enough that we don't need to hesitate. Folks are already going. Go now. Have Thine own way. God bless you. Just keep right on going. Thou art the potter. I am the clay. Wonderful to see people respond to God. I am the clay. Mold me and make me. After Thy will. While I am waiting. Yielded and still. I'm delighted to tell you that a number of people have already responded. And you don't have to have raised your hand. There could be husbands and wives here tonight. You know the problem in your home is the fact that self is in control. Someone is not willing to come to the end of self. And it demands its rights. And tonight you want to be delivered from all that bondage. And you want to be purged clean and anointed. Oh, thank God. He's doing it for people all across the continent. And you can be a recipient of what God has for you personally. We sing that second verse. Have Thine own way, Lord. Have Thine own way. Search me and try me, Master, today. Whiter than snow, Lord. As we sing it. Go now. Join those at the place of prayer. Have Thine own way. Have Thine own way. Search me and try me. Master, I pray. Whiter than snow, Lord. Wash me just now. As in Thy presence. Humbly I bow. Now as we're praying, are we in need of prayer partners? Are we in need of prayer partners? Yes, a number of prayer partners are needed. Those who have assisted in the prayer room ministry. If you'll just go to the prayer room now to quietly pray next to those that are on their knees. Go now. Those of you who assisted when we were here and who are familiar with the way in which we were praying with people, go now. Join them at the place of prayer. Many people are there responding to God. I want to thank God for it. Now let me say, as we look up for a moment, this is the truth. This is the basic truth that God's after. And as we continue this week, as this is an overview of the truth, as God speaks to you this week, even though some of the teaching relates to where do we go from here, the follow through and some basic principles, I want you to know that the prayer ministry is always open, that there are all kinds of people who'd be glad to counsel and pray with you, take time with you, relate to you as to what God's saying, that together we might leave knowing that everyone who needs to respond has responded. Don't let this week come to a close if there's something that's not settled. That's what a refresher is. If there's some questions, areas that are not clear, feel free to see us. Let's take time together. This is a people ministry. We're here to see lives changed. And it doesn't all happen overnight. Aren't some of you glad God didn't show you everything during the last crusade? Aren't you glad He waited until after the crusade was over to show you some more? Aren't you glad He's still showing you some things? Amen? I'm delighted about that. You know, it would be kind of boring if we got to be perfect and nothing else for God to show us. Then I'd be sure we should be in heaven. But what a thrill to know that God can keep on speaking to us. We can keep on having that kind of a love relationship when He's so interested in us. Keep your hearts wide open. Well, it's been a wonderful evening and let's thank God for it. Let's pray, shall we? Lord, we're so delighted to be here because we're delighted that You have chosen to be in our midst and we're consciously aware of Your presence. Not only do we know it, but we're aware of it. Thank You for the transparent honesty of people who want to get this thing settled tonight. And some who are going to take the truth home and they're going to have their hearts open. Some who may respond to God even at their bedside tonight. Just keep on having Thy way throughout this week as we anticipate a great time together. And we'll give You all the praise and the glory and all of God's people said, Amen. Good night. God bless you.