Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down

Sermon notes from Limavady Independent Methodist Church

Sunday 12 July 2020

Isaiah 64

Whenever we turn to the book of Isaiah we are thinking of a man who lived six centuries before Christ.  The character and standing of Isaiah is seen here in these verses.  God gives a glimpse of Isaiah, allows us to look into the quiet place where Isaiah is.  He is on his knees before God.  A man of devotion.  A man of prayer.  A man of his times.  He saw what Israel needed in those days.  If ever this province needed men and women of devotion and prayer it is now, this very day in which we are living.  We come with the prayer of Isaiah - that "God would rend the heavens."  God comes to each of us today.  In 2 Chronicles God said to Solomon and the Israelites of that day "if my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."  Are you one of God`s own children today?  Was there a time when Christ was invited into your heart to be your Saviour, to become a living relationship?  When you came to the cross?  When you realised you had sinned and come short of the glory of God?  When you called on the Lord to save your soul?  The Lord makes you a new creature in Christ, all things become new in your life, the old is gone.  If ever we needed men and women to pray and call on God it is in this day.  Isaiah is getting before the God of heaven to seek God`s will.  He realises the seriousness of the age he is living in.  We are listening to Isaiah as he prays.  Do we see the seriousness of the times we are living in today?  As Isaiah gets before God of heaven we think of John Knox the great Reformer who prayed "O give me Scotland or I die."  The very Queen of Scotland quaked because she feared him on his knees more than any enemy of Scotland.  Isaiah gets before the God of heaven, realises the seriousness of the situation and prays "O that you would rend the heavens and come down."  Think of Isaiah 6 "In the year that King Uzziah died."  He came into the house of God and gets his eyes upon the throne of God and heaven.  King Uzziah was wise, intelligent, a master planner and strategist, the nation looked up to him but towards the end of his life he became proud.  God had given him victory over his enemies and he thought he had done it all in his own power.  God had to smite him down.  The nation felt the burden of his loss.  Isaiah meets with God that day.  The nation had lost a great leader.  When Isaiah came into the house of the Lord he saw more than a vacant throne.  Isaiah realised he was living among a people of unclean lips and he did not exclude himself - "I am a man of unclean lips and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips."   Think of the same man in 2 Kings 19 at a time of national crisis for King Hezekiah.  Assyria, a world empire of that time was taking nation after nation and they were marching on Jerusalem.  Hezekiah could see them coming, could see the day approaching when they were at the very gates of Jerusalem.  Hezekiah sent for Isaiah.  He realised here was a man who could come before King of heaven and be listened too.  We need to be people who are known as men and women who pray, who get through to God.  Hezekiah said to Isaiah "this day is a day of trouble."  We are in a day of trouble today.  There was something more alarming.  There was a greater enemy than the Assyrian army.  There was a coldness creeping into the nation - verses 10 and 11 there is a great challenge for the church of Christ today.  Yes we have to reach out and see men saved.  There is a carelessness and coldness creeping into the church today.  A man ready to see a challenging situation, a man who is on his knees before God acknowledging the seriousness of the times he lived in.

He prays about the silence of heaven - verse 12 "wilt thou refrain thyself for these things O Lord?" Notice verse 7 "thou hast hid thy face from us and hast consumed us because of our iniquities."  It was as if the heavens were as brass because of the sinfulness and carelessness of God`s own people.  Their sins had separated them from God.  "If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me."  As we come desperate for God to come in the same way do we ask for him to act today?  We are living in the last of the last days.  If Jesus came today would you be left behind?

Isaiah sees the sufficiency of God in the situation.  All the nation needs is a visitation from God.  We need to realise that God is sufficient.  We don`t need any more preaching or services but God to come and pour out his blessings on us.  Isaiah asks the Lord to come down.  The Psalmist said "I waited patiently for the Lord."  He realised that was all he needed too.  Whatever situation you are in today you need the Lord.  If you are cold and backslidden you need the Lord.  Revelation 3 verse 20 is a picture of the Laodicean church.  By all accounts the church was good, it had everything going for it, they felt they needed nothing more.  Perhaps they had a great pastor, a great bible teacher, a great building.  They stood in need of nothing.  We are living in the Laodicean period today.  Maybe we don`t have the Lord today.  A lot of emphasis is put on the preacher today.  We believe that if we have such and such a person then we would have a great congregation, a good church programme, facilities for young and old alike, we could do so much around the community.  What did God say to the Laodiceans?  "You are neither hot or cold."  They could not hide.  The Lord was on the outside of the door of the church.  The Lord was standing on the outside.  Maybe you feel you stand in need of nothing today but you haven`t the Lord himself.

Isaiah sees the supremacy of God.  Isaiah knows if God would rend the heavens and come down he would be supreme over everything.  4 men in Jesus` day had a friend who was an invalid.  They put him on a stretcher and brought him to Jesus.  They had heard so much about Christ, if only they could get their friend to him.  They knew that Jesus was sufficient but he was also supreme.  He had the power to heal their friend.  They did not give up even though there was a great crowd gathered in the house that day.  They began to take away the roof and lower the man down.  The Lord saw their faith and healed the man that day.  Isaiah got before the God of heaven and prayed "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down ..."