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Thus says the LORD: “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,’ so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all.” Isaiah 65:8 You pick up a cluster of grapes. Some of the grapes have gone bad. But you don’t throw them all away because some grapes in the bunch are good. You sort out the good from the bad. God says, “That is what I will do with religious people who claim to know me.” Our Lord Jesus tells us that one day God will bring all people to account—secular people and religious people. On that day, some religious people will tell God what they have been doing for Him, and Jesus will say to them, “I never knew you; depart from me” (Mat. 7:23). That is what God is saying through Isaiah here. God seeks out people who don’t know Him, and He sorts out people who claim to know Him. It really doesn’t matter if we are secular people who don’t know God, or religious people who claim to know God. All of us need God’s saving intervention in our lives. Paul talks about this in the New Testament: Jews (the religious people who claim to know God) and Gentiles (the secular people who don’t know God) are all under sin. As it is written, “None is righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). You may want to come to God today and say, “Save me from a secular life that ignores You,” or you may say, “Save me from a religious life that provokes You.” Either way, all of us need to come to Him. Will you come before God today and ask Him to intervene in your life?

This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Matthew 15:8 Religion is a mixed bag and much of it offends God, especially religion that is: Hypocritical (talking the talk but not walking the walk). Personalised (a projection of your own preferences and prejudices). Ritualistic (rites and disciplines that don’t change lives). Dark (seeking communication with spirits of the dead). Rebellious (pursuing what God has told us to forsake). Arrogant (religion that makes you feel superior to other people). This stuff provokes God continually—to His face! (Isa. 65:3). Religion can also be a way of hiding from God. Imagine hearing a knock at your door on a warm, summer afternoon. You peek out through the window and see a couple of students standing outside your door. You open the door, and one of the students nervously announces: “We are from St. Stephen's Church in town, and we have come to talk with you about Jesus Christ and leave a little booklet with you.” Well, you attend St. Jude's Church in town, so you politely decline: “Oh, I’m not interested in that, I already belong to St. Jude's Church,” and you shut the door. There are many people who find that religion is a convenient way of hiding from God. Many people sit in the pews, sing the songs, and all the time they are hiding from God. Jesus said, “This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mat. 15:8). Don’t hide from God in religion. Have you been hiding from God?

A people who provoke me to my face continually… These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day. Isaiah 65:3, 5 Here are several more forms of religion that Isaiah identifies as offensive to God. Dark religion: People “who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places” (65:4). This brand of religion takes a great interest in the dead, seeking communication with the spirits of people who are no longer with us. There’s a great upsurge of interest in this form of religion in our time. But the God of the Bible says that it offends Him. Rebellious religion: People "who eat pig's flesh. and broth of tainted meat” (65:4). In the Old Testament, God’s people were given specific laws that marked their special relationship with Him. These included avoiding certain foods. So, for a person in Old Testament Israel to eat “pig’s flesh" or "broth of tainted meat" was open rebellion against the laws of God. This person was saying, “Whatever God has commanded, I will do the opposite. I am going to be my own god.” And God says, “That provokes Me.” Arrogant religion: People “who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you’” (65:5). Some religious people are unbearably proud. Their religion makes them feel superior to others. But God is saying, “If your religion makes you proud, then your religion provokes me, it offends me.” Maybe you have been burned by religion. You were drawn to seek God but you have been discouraged by what you have seen in church. You have found that among those who claim to know God (in church), there are many who are far from Him. That’s exactly what Isaiah is saying here: “Religion is a mixed bag, and much of it offends God!” Have you been discouraged in your pursuit of God by what you’ve seen in the church?

A people who provoke me to my face continually… These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day. Isaiah 65:3, 5 Clearly there is a kind of religion that God does not like. It is not pleasing to Him; it actually provokes Him! Isaiah identifies several forms of religion that are offensive to God. Hypocritical religion: “A rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good” (65:2). Here are religious folks who talk the talk, but do not walk the walk. They claim to know God, but they do not do good. God says, “That offends me!” If you’ve been offended by people who claim to know God, but they do not do good, then you agree with God. He is provoked by the double standard of claiming to know Him, yet following a pattern of life that is not good. Personalised religion: “Following their own devices” (65:2). Following your own devices means you just assume that God is “for” whatever you are for, and that He is “in” whatever you are in. It is remaking God in your image, so that your god becomes a personalised projection of your own preferences, prejudices, and desires. And God says, “That offends me! It provokes Me to My face continually!” Ritualistic religion: "Sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks” (65:3). Rituals, rites, and disciplines don’t change lives. You might expect that God would be very impressed with people who are constantly offering sacrifices and burning incense. But a religion that is all about rituals is ultimately empty, and God says that this provokes Him. Which of these approaches to religion is most attractive/tempting to you? Why?

I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices. Isaiah 65:2 The rebellious people described here in verse 2 are different from the people who did not ask for or seek God in verse 1. We know that because in the New Testament Paul quotes these verses and tells us that they refer to different people: “‘I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.’ But of Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people’” (Rom. 10:20-21). So verse 1 is about the Gentile nations, the secular people who did not know God; verse 2 is about Israel, the people to whom God made Himself known. There are many of us who belong to this second group. Many of us were brought up with religion. For some, this was positive—you look back on what you learned and you’re thankful. For others, religion was a burden—it felt empty, and it did not bring you to God. Notice what God says to religious people who claim to know Him: “I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people ... a people who provoke me to my face continually" (65:2-3). He’s not talking about secular people who don’t know Him. He is speaking to the religious people who claim to know Him—and He is telling us that religion is a mixed bag. Some religion honours God, but some of it provokes Him. Reflect on your religious upbringing, if any. Would you say that it was more of a positive or would you say it was more of a burden?

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name. Isaiah 65:1 What do you think God would have to say to people who don’t ask for Him and don’t seek after Him? You might expect Him to say: “There are many people in this world who completely ignore Me. They don’t call on My name. These people don’t have faith. They don’t pray. These people really aren’t interested in Me, and so I am not interested in them.” But that is not the God of the Bible. The first thing we learn about God here is that God seeks out people who don’t know Him, and He reveals Himself. He puts Himself on the radar screen of people who aren’t looking for Him. He says, “Here I am,” to those who don’t know Him. You may not be interested in God. But that doesn’t mean God is not interested in you! People who do not pray find that God shows up in their lives. Those who are not looking for God come to know Him-not because they find God, but because God finds them! That opens the door of hope. Maybe you would say, “I don’t have much faith. I don’t know how to pray. I don’t know God. I haven’t been looking for Him, and I don’t feel very spiritual at all.” If so, you are exactly the kind of person God is looking to restore today. If you were to believe that God is really like this, what difference would it make?

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name. Isaiah 65:1 Notice who Isaiah is describing here—people who do not ask for or seek God. We might call these secular people today. In Isaiah’s time, this group of people were known as the Gentiles. In the Old Testament, God had made Himself known to Moses and the people of Israel. But the other nations didn’t know Him, and because they didn’t know Him, they didn’t seek Him or call on Him either. These are people with full and busy lives. They are not looking for God or searching after Him. They don’t expect God to do anything in their lives. They haven’t been praying. They did not ask for God or seek God or call out to Him. You know people like this. They may respect your faith, but they really aren’t interested. Their lives are full, and they don’t have either the time or the inclination to seek after God. Or maybe that describes you. If someone asked you, “What do you expect God to do in your life today?” you wouldn’t really know what to say because you are not really expecting God to do anything in your life. Does this describe you? Or someone in your life? Who?

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down… Isaiah 64:1 Here is prayer that you could pray: O, that You would rend the heavens and come down. Come down and make Your name known. Even among your own people many have such a vague grasp of Your glory. To many You seem distant. Let us see with fresh clarity, who You really are. By Your Holy Spirit, show us Your love, that we may know the love by which Your Son gave Himself for us. By Your Holy Spirit, show us Your power, that we may know the power by which You raised Your Son from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in heaven. Come and cleanse us from our sins. Break the pride of our self-righteousness, and cause us to find in Christ alone our life, our hope, our righteousness, and our redemption. Make us people who pray. Reshape us as people who strive to lay hold of You. Come down and move among us in power. Come, because You are our Father. Come like the potter, and shape what pleases You in my life and in the church. Make us ready for the day when You will rend the heavens and come down, that we may rise and meet You with fullness of joy. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8 Why would God listen to an unclean, unrighteous, dried out, and unstable person? Isaiah gives us two reasons here in Isaiah 64: First, plead the relationship you have with God (your Father): Notice Isaiah appeals to the covenant relationship he has with God: “O LORD, you are our Father” (64:8). That’s the relationship we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Father. When you come to God, say, “Lord, I am an unclean, unrighteous, dried out, unstable person, but hear my prayer today because you’re my Father! In Christ, you’ve adopted me as your son, your daughter.” The only prayers ever offered by a sinless person were the prayers of Jesus. All our prayers hang on the mercy of God. Plead the relationship you have with God in Jesus Christ. Second, plead the relationship you have with God (your Potter): When Isaiah prays, “We are the clay, and you are our potter,” he is inviting God to make whatever He wants of his life. Isaiah is saying, “Here’s my life. Make of me anything You choose. You are the sovereign Lord.” Prayer is not about you getting God in line with what you want. It’s about us getting in line with what He wants. It’s saying, “You are the Potter. I am the clay. I want You to shape my life. Make of this life anything that You want. Do anything with me and in me that pleases You, because I know that what You do is always good.” As you pray, will you plead the relationship you have with God—by pleading for mercy (from your Father), and inviting Him (the sovereign Lord) to make whatever He wants of your life?

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. Isaiah 64:6 When you pray, you will feel your unworthiness. We all do. Coming into a holy place makes you feel how unholy you are. Isaiah knew about this too, and he describes it using four pictures: A leper: “We have all become like one who is unclean.” The leper was outside the camp of Israel. He could not approach the presence of God. So Isaiah says, “I come as someone who has no right to enter the presence of God.” A rag: “All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” Even the best things that we do, like ministry and service, are not as good as they seem. Augustine said that he did not want to present the works of his hands to God for fear that God might find more sins in them than merits. A leaf: “We all fade like a leaf.” Isaiah felt worn out when he came to God in prayer. “I’m like a dry leaf. I feel drained of energy, lacking in life. I feel as if I have nothing left to give.” The wind: “Our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” That’s a picture of the power of sin. It sweeps us away. Here we are struggling with the same sins and not gaining victory. We’re not prevailing over the world; the world is prevailing over us. When Isaiah comes to God, he feels unclean, unrighteous, dried out and unstable. And this is often our condition too when we come to pray. Which of these pictures do you identify with the most as you come to God in prayer?

I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love. Isaiah 63:7 How do you prepare to pray? One way is to fill your mind with the goodness of God. When you read the context of Isaiah 64, you will see this clearly. It’s like watching an athlete taking a run-up to the long jump: she gathers speed, and then she launches into the air. The run-up to Isaiah 64 begins in chapter 63, where Isaiah fills his mind with God's goodness: "I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love” (verse 7). Isaiah goes on to list the works for which God is to be praised. Isaiah is not praying at this point. He does not address God directly until the end of this verse: “So you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name.” So, what is Isaiah doing? He is preparing to pray by filling his mind with the goodness of God. Effective prayer arises from confidence in God's goodness. Faith is the conviction that God is always up to something good. So, if you want to pray with faith, begin by filling your mind with the goodness of God and the great truths of the gospel. Take some time to fill your mind with the goodness of God as described in Isaiah 63:7, and allow this to launch you into prayer.

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence-as when ire kindles brushwood and the ire causes water to boil-to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! Isaiah 64:1-2 When Isaiah asks God to "come down and make your name known", he is asking for God to come down and make His power known. We may believe that God is able to bring us into heaven when we die, but, at the same time, we sometimes fail to believe that God can give us victory over our habitual sins—our pride, laziness, lack of discipline, lust, or greed. We find a way of living with our sins and we say, 'That's just the way I am,” and over time we lose hope. But when Isaiah prays, “Come down and make your name known; come like fire that kindles brushwood and causes water to boil,” he is asking God to make His power known in a way that changes us. Isaiah knew from his own experience that when a person really encounters the God of the Bible, that person’s life is set on a different track forever. Paul prayed for Christians to know God’s power like that: “that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you… and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:18-20). Where could you ask God to make His power known in your life?

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down ... to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence! Isaiah 64:1-2 God’s name is a way of speaking about His character. So, when Isaiah prays that God would “come down… to make your name known,” what he is asking is that God would “come down and let us know who you really are.” Isaiah wants even God’s enemies to know Him: “Make your name known to your adversaries” (64:2). But God’s name becomes known to His adversaries when it is known by His friends. That's why revival is first an intensification of God's presence among His own people. So, what does it mean to ask God to “come down and make your name known”? One example is that it means asking God to “come down and make your love known.” God is love. We believe in God, and yet some of us are not sure that He loves us. You believe in Christ, and yet somehow you assume God is frowning on you or at best tolerating you. Even in the early church, Paul prayed that Christians would know the love of Christ: “that you … may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:17-19). Paul was praying Isaiah’s prayer! “Lord, come down and make your name known. Bring your people into a felt experience of your love.” Would you take a moment to pray that God would make His name and His love known to you and those around you on a deeper level?

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence. Isaiah 64:1 Isaiah’s prayer was formed by the Bible and by his own experience. Isaiah knew from the Bible that God’s presence had come down to Mount Sinai, and when that happened, the whole mountain shook (Ex. 19:17-19). But this wasn’t just history to Isaiah. He had seen the earth-shaking glory of God himself (Isa. 6:1-4). Isaiah felt the weight of the glory of God. He saw it in Scripture. He experienced it in his own life, and now he is saying to God, “I have seen your power and glory. But I live among people who do not know you. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down! Oh, that you would visit your people like you did at Mount Sinai! Oh, that you would give them a glimpse of your glory like you gave me!” Isaiah’s prayer is a passionate longing for a felt sense of the presence of God that will change His people. He is praying, “Come among us, Lord, in a way that shakes mountains. Come in a way that shakes us, that changes us and makes us different.” Imagine what that would look like in your local church. In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul talks about an unbeliever coming into a worship service at Corinth. He hears the Word of God with such power and conviction that he encounters God. He sees his own sin. He begins to worship, and he says, “God is really among you” (verse 25). That’s what Isaiah is praying for—a felt sense of the presence of God that would make even an unbeliever know that God is present. Would you take a moment to pray for God’s powerful presence to convict and change your life and the lives of those around you?

“Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22 Would you consider making it your goal this year to grow in the areas of faith and prayer? That may sound like two goals, but it is really one. For where faith grows, prayer follows. The greater our confidence in God, the more we will ask of Him. Our prayers are the clearest indication of what we really think about God. If you don’t think your king is great, you won’t ask much of him. But if you have a great king, you will ask him for great things. Looking at your prayers will tell you how much you have really grasped about God. Let’s take some examples. Here’s Kathy—she prays for all her family and all her friends. Kathy knows that God cares for each individual, but she has not yet grasped that God cares for the world. When she does, her prayers will become broader. Here's John—he has a well-organised file for his prayer requests. He brings many needs to God and he even tracks the answers, but he has not yet grasped that God is the sovereign Lord who is to be worshipped. When he does, he will enter a deeper communion with God in prayer. Here’s Ben—he is a Christian, but he doesn’t really pray much at all. Ben believes that God saves people through Jesus Christ, but he doesn’t really believe that God does anything much in people’s lives. When he does, he will begin to pray. Wherever you are in your prayer life, may you grow in your confidence and in your ability to ask great things of God and expect great things from God. What does your prayer life reveal about your faith in God?

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down... Isaiah 64:1 The Bible records some marvellous prayers and Isaiah 64 is one of the greatest. It is a prayer for revival and because it is in the Bible, we know it was breathed out by the Holy Spirit of God. It is often said that the best way of learning prayer is to pray with other people. There is some truth in that, but there is also this limitation: If you learn to pray only from other people, you will never pray better than the people from whom you learn. Many Christians seem to reach a certain level in prayer and get stuck there. But when you hear or see someone who prays effectively, you will feel that you want to grow in prayer. That’s what happened to the disciples of Jesus. These men had been praying all their lives, but when they heard Jesus pray, they felt that His praying was at a different level, and they wanted to learn. So they said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1), and Jesus taught them. That means prayer is something we can learn. You can grow in your ability, your language, your faith, your passion, your confidence, and your effectiveness in prayer. And we need to learn prayer. When people write the history of the UK church in our time, they might say that we excelled in programmes, or in organisation, but they won’t likely say that we excelled in prayer. Do you feel that you need to/want to grow in your own prayer life? If so, would you ask the Lord to teach you too?

“If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the aflicted. then shall your light rise in the darkness.” Isaiah 58:10 There is a story of a monk who had given himself to prayer. All his life, he longed that just once, Christ would appear to him. He had prayed this for years, and then one day it happened. The monk was praying, and as he looked up, there he was: the Lord Jesus Christ standing right there in his cell. The monk was completely overwhelmed. This was the moment he had longed for all his life—a personal audience with Jesus Christ. His mind was filled with a thousand questions he wanted to ask. At that moment, the bell over the door of the monastery rang. The monk knew what that meant. From time to time, a beggar would climb the hill to the monastery to ask for bread. That day, the monk was on duty, which meant that it was his responsibility to answer the door. So now, the monk faced an agonising choice: Would he leave the Saviour and feed the beggar, or would he stay with the Saviour and ignore the beggar? The monk made his decision. Slowly, he rose from his knees, left his light-filled cell, went to the kitchen, and gave the beggar the bread. Then, with great sadness the monk walked back to his room, distraught that serving the beggar had caused him to miss the moment of a lifetime. When he got to his cell, to his absolute astonishment, he saw that the Saviour was still there, waiting for him. He fell to his knees in wonder. And then the Saviour said to him: “If you had not gone, I would not have stayed.” Is there someone in need with whom you can share the presence of Christ?

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant. Philippians 2:4-7 God’s purpose in sending His Son was to create a people who would become like Him, that we should be “conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29). He was rich, but He became poor, so that others might inherit the world. He became homeless, so that others may have an everlasting home. He became hungry, so that others might have the bread of life. He was bound, so that others would be set free. He was stripped of His clothing, so that others would be clothed in His righteousness. He suffered injustice, so that others may be justified before God. When you ask the Holy Spirit to restore your soul, you are asking that He will make you more like Jesus. And the distinguishing mark of Christ’s presence in your life will be that you care about others more than you care about yourself. Thank God for all the ways we see reflections of Jesus among us: Those who foster children in need. Those who visit prisons. Those who care for the grieving. Those who have a passion for the persecuted. Those who serve the homeless. Those who care for ageing parents, neighbours, or friends. Those who have a passion for needs in other parts of the world. These are things that Jesus would do. They reflect the kind of Saviour He is. And they show that we belong to Him. What is one way you could better reflect the image of Christ?

The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. Isaiah 59:15-16 Do you see what Isaiah is saying? God is going to fight for our salvation. He comes to us and He stands with us as our Champion, when we could not break through to Him because of our sin. He comes to deal with the dark powers that lie behind sin and evil. God is getting ready to fight: "He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak” (59:17). He dresses for battle. He takes up the armour. In the New Testament, Paul tells us to “put on the whole armor of God” (Eph. 6:11). He talks about the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation. He got that from Isaiah, and Isaiah tells us that Christ wore this armor when He went into battle for us. Reflect on what it meant for Christ to bring justice for you: He wore the breastplate of righteousness to give you a righteousness you do not possess. He wore the helmet of salvation to rescue you when you could not save yourself. He wore garments of vengeance to defeat the dark powers that oppressed you, and to give them what they deserve. He dressed in zeal to enter this fight that you could not win, and triumph so that you could not lose. Philip Ryken speaks about wearing the “hand-me-downs” from Christ's victory over Satan. Whenever you find yourself in a spiritual battle, you are putting on the armour that Jesus has already worn. Christians wear second-hand armour. How does knowing that your spiritual armour was already worn by Christ strengthen your confidence for the battles that lie ahead?

Justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom. Isaiah 59:9 What hope is there for believers who have neglected justice? The answer is God: “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear” (59:1). But here’s the problem: “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (59:2). We have no way of breaking through to God. Our only hope is that He should break through to us. In the middle of the chapter in Isaiah 59, God’s people come to Him in confession. Up until then, Isaiah was saying, “The way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their paths” (59:8). He uses that language because he is speaking the Word of God to the people. But then suddenly from verse 9, Isaiah is standing with the people, talking about “us” and “we.” They turn to God together, owning their own sin and the sin of the nation. Make these words from Isaiah 59 a prayer for yourself and for our nation: “Justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom... For our transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us… we know our iniquities: transgressing. and denying the LORD. and turning back from following our God” (59:9, 12-13).