The Picture Of Revival: Whole-Life Worship

If God brought revival to a church, a city, a region, or a nation, what might happen? Isaiah chapters 58-59 give to us a helpful picture. Writing at the end of the eight century, B.C., the prophet calls Judah to task because though they desire God’s blessing in response to their merely religious actions (58:1-3a), they are steeped in sin, care little about truly following God’s will, and so are separated from God (59:1-15a).

What is the answer? God calls his people to a worship of him (showing forth of his “worth-ship”) that encompasses all of life, that seeks to trust him in such a way we obey him, and that cares for others in word and deed. Consider what God says through the prophet in Isaiah 58:1-14:

“Cry aloud; do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins. 2Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God. 3‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
 Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. 4Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high. 5Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke? 7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

9Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
 you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday. 11And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail. 12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in. 13“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; 14then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

We see from this challenge that God wants our entire life. Notice that the chapter begins and ends by calling God’s people under the Old Covenant to practice a form of fasting (religious action) that cares for others and truly to observe the Sabbath (religious action), which displays a real dependence upon God. On other words our worship should shape all we do, not just a narrow set of religious actions.

This is one of those places in the Bible where we find a helpful, but powerful summary of what it looks like to follow God. Jesus gave us one of those summaries in Matthew 22:37-40, when he taught us we are to love God with all we have and others as self. In many ways he summarizes Isaiah 58 with that simple summary.

Yet, more specifically what does this God-and-people-loving involve? Isaiah gives us eight different duties that help put some meat on the bones of that love, which also bring about eight different blessings. If revival is a work of the Spirit whereby we are infused with a renewal of godliness, then we have come to the right place to determine how we can recognize and pray for such a work. We will unfold these duties and blessings in the next few posts.

For now, let’s begin to pray and to look for a work of God’s spirit that moves us to take our worship of him out of merely a Sunday morning setting so that it shapes all we do Sunday through Monday.