To Be Heard On High (Video) — Shane Idleman

An Urgent Message to America and the Call to Be Heard on High

Message to America, an urgent message to America. If I had a subtitle, it would be to be heard on high. And God had other plans this week. I had this whole sermon already done by Sunday or Monday, just things put in my heart, expositionally in line, doctrinally in line, and God just said, I felt, Shane, I need you to share your heart.

I just need you to share your heart to the people about this topic. And I think I'm going to keep this theme going into next week, so this could really be part one, part two next week, on an urgent message to America to be heard on high.

But before I get into this, I just want to encourage you to stick around for the closing worship, because I'm gonna go into a time of corporate prayer. We're gonna pray for some things in our nation. I think it's so important that we agree as a body of believers.

And what's been on my heart is this theme of revival, this theme of God reviving His people. But before I get there, I want to just talk about this verse, to be heard on high. Some people know where that comes from, some people don't.

It comes from Isaiah 58. And the people, the people of God, were sacrificing, they were fasting, they were doing all these things. And there are conditions to be heard from God. And he said, Isaiah the prophet said, this kind of fasting, and I'm just translating here on a loose translation, Isaiah 58 said, this kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me, God said.

This kind of fasting, this kind of works, this kind of character or lifestyle will not get you anywhere with me. You will not fast as you do this day. In other words, something has to change. He's telling the nation of Israel, something has to change.

I see your works, I see your sacrifices, but your hearts are as hard as stone. And so he said, something needs to change to make your voice heard on high. In other words, I will hear you, I will answer, but something needs to change.

Fueling the Flames of Revival Through Desperation

And so the first point I want to discuss is this, the flames of revival, on this theme of revival, the flames of revival must be fueled. You put gas on a fire, you put lighting starter fluid, or whatever you want to call it, you put that on a fire.

And there's a desperation. So if we want to see revival in our land, I'm gonna get to what that is, why that's so important in just a minute. But these flames have to be fueled. The flames of revival has to be fueled.

There has to be a desperation. That's why I said a few weeks back that I'm not real convinced yet that this epidemic is going to be lifted, because I see America scared, but not broken. I see America worried, but not humble.

I see America anxious, but not petitioning God. So we have to get to a point of desperation. And that's what happens when God brings the fires of revival. The whole atmosphere has changed. And there's many words to describe one experience on this theme of revival.

One word really sets this word apart. Revival and fire. They go together. Many words to describe the fire of God. Did you know this? That in the Bible, God answered by fire. He communicated by fire. His presence was fire.

God is a consuming fire. The Holy Spirit brings fire, and Jesus said you would receive fire. And so normal Christianity is not what you think normal Christianity is. Normal Christianity is men and women on blaze, on fire, for the glory of God to elevate the truth, to look at holiness as something precious, and repentance as something that should be sought.

And we have drifted from that mark, and we need to get back to God-infused revival. So I'm sure many are watching saying, Shane, I've heard that word many times, and I've seen weird things done. So have I.

But what is biblical revival? Well, I came up with this definition by looking over many scriptures. When God's people experience the fire of God, and they, along with their communities, are forever changed.

In other words, when God's power hits God's people, that's revival. They are revived. And what happens? This fire doesn't burn. Let me just say this. There was a man, very well-known man, who would actually mock what I'm saying right now.

Who wants the fire of God? We're singing about the fire of God. Don't they know that the judgment is the fire of God? Yes, judgment to sinners, but the believers need the fire of God. This fire burns, but it does not consume.

It refines, but it does not destroy. And to my conservative friends listening out there, revival is not meetings. You can have revival meetings and not have revival. You can have revival conferences with the prophet so-and-so and the apostle so-and-so on the flyer, and that's not revival.

You can't work up revival, charismatic friends, but you can bring it down from heaven. It's when God's fire hits his people, and they're so broken before God. They're so desperate for God. They're so hungry for God, and they cry out.

They might even fast. They might even get to all-night prayer meetings. They might throw out the television, and the neighbor says, what are you doing? Says, I have to find God. I am desperate for God.

Individual and Corporate Revival

And you need to be aware of two different revivals, and I love that last song. They are so right on the money. As I was listening to that song this week, I said, that song is preaching my sermon, because revival has to start in the individual.

So see, there's individual revival, individual fire. When the fire of God comes upon a person, and they are forever changed, what I'm talking about is corporate revival. When this fire of God falls upon a large group of people, I'm going to go into this a little bit next week.

I'm going to read some excerpts from books. I'm going to talk about some things that need to happen in order to sustain revival and fuel the flames of revival. And again, you can't work it up. Okay, God, we're going to have revival this week.

We're going to have these great speakers come in. We're going to do all these things. We're going to send out marketing and Facebook and Twitter. God says none of that will work. This type of fire comes down from heaven.

You don't work it up. God brings it down. As you position yourself, the lower you go, the more the fire will fall on a broken and humble person. And let me tell you this, though, churches, I know there's many pastors watching.

I hear your cry for revival as well. And this type of fire creates friction in the church. There's friction in the church. Why? Because those with fire are on fire. And have you ever seen somebody so passionate about something?

And if you're not as passionate, you don't get too excited. And people start to say, hey, Shane, let's not get too carried away. Put your hands down. Easy worship that we all agree with. Don't do this.

That's too emotional. That's too extreme. And often there's tremendous jealousy because others are experiencing God and they are not. Anytime, any book I've ever read from the 1700s, men like Hal Harris, Griffin Jones, Daniel Rowlands of the Welsh revivals and other Welsh revivals and New Hebrides revivals and American revivals and England revivals, all, everything I've ever written or read on this topic, what blows my mind is at some point when revival hits, conservative, arrogant, hard hearts come against it in every case.

In the case of George Whitefield, he was the most loved man in England. People came from all over to hear his sermons. And when revival hit, he went from the most loved man in England to the most hated and despised.

He was kicked out of churches. Why do you think they preached in the fields? Because of arrogant people who've now experienced the fire of God and they try to quench that fire. Oh, trust me, the enemy wants to quench fire.

He does that with mocking voices. And let me give you a personal testimony briefly. I won't stay too long here because many of you have heard me before. I've shared this and I'm not going to go into a lot of detail.

From Spiritual Pride to First Love

But there was a season in my life, the Lord brought the prodigal son home and there was so much joy. I didn't know what hermeneutics were, I didn't know what homiletics were, I didn't know what eschatology was, I didn't know what pneumatology was, I didn't know what soteriology was, I didn't know what the correct way to prepare a sermon was, I didn't know an eductive, deductive, immediate approaches to my sermon.

I didn't have any of that. I just knew I love God and I wanted to share that with others. Well, there's something called knowledge that comes along and you start to read and you start to study and knowledge begins to puff you up.

You begin to be puffed up. You see, there's nothing more deadly among Christians than spiritual pride. Shane, how do you know that? Well, do you know that the people Jesus rebuked were religious leaders?

Religious leaders. You brood of vipers, you whitewash tombs, you travel wherever you can to win one proselyte and when you win that person you make him twice as son of hell as you. You stiff-necked people, you religious arrogant leaders do what the Pharisees do but don't do what they or do what they say but don't do what they do.

And so through this experience, knowledge puffed up and I could exegete a text. Oh, I had all the theological terms down. I was reading Calvin and Luther and Swingly and Knox and I could quote all these Puritans and oh, wasn't I proud but I was powerless.

I was powerless. I was lovingly confronted. Many of you know I told you this by my mom. She said, Shane, nobody wants to be around you anymore. How can nobody want to be around a Christian that's on fire for God?

See, something's wrong in the heart. There's a critical heart there. I realized I wasn't leading people to the Lord. I realized I didn't have any joy. Don't get me wrong, we can slip right back into this Pharisee mode very quickly.

That's why we have to stay broken and humble and then one day I was reading an incredible chapter and I want to encourage you to read this tonight. Two chapters. End of the Bible, Revelation 2, Revelation 3, it just leaped from the pages.

Jesus said, oh, you're good at spotting false doctrine. You're good at nailing the false teachers. Oh, I see your works. Oh boy, but yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken. You have left. You have abandoned your first love.

What does Jesus say? He says, repent. Repent. Humble yourself before Almighty God and return to that first love, that first love in the prayer closet of humbling yourself and not putting people down and not trying to elevate self and not letting knowledge puff you up.

Shane, get back to that point of full surrender. Get back to that point of being broken and usable and humble because if not, I will take my calling away from you. I will take that anointing away from you.

I do not anoint prideful men, God would say. I anoint broken men and women. I didn't care about love. I cared about being right. Oh, but once I experienced the power of God, once I've experienced the power of God, it was amazing.

Just the power, the presence. Worship came alive again. I'm loving people. I'm not judgmental. I'm not looking at every little word they say, every little scripture they quote. Are you on my side of the theological framework here?

No, I just wanted to, Lord, use me and I actually felt like the blind man. I felt like that blind man. Do you remember that blind man that Jesus actually healed him? Can you imagine being blind since birth and Jesus is healed?

You're healed. What did the Pharisees say? How did he do that? How did he do that? Tell us how they drilled him. They drilled him. They drilled him. What exactly did Jesus do? We want a theological exposition and a biblically accurate conservative hermeneutic approach to what happened to you.

He says, I don't know. All I know is I was blind but now I see. I was lost but now I found and I want to shout that from the rooftop. I don't know. How can you explain the fire of God, the presence of God, the power of God, the unction of God, the anointing of God?

John said, oh when he comes you're gonna receive a baptism of fire. I don't know everything else but I do know this. I was lost but now I'm found. I was blind but now I see. Oh my God, I could stay here.

I didn't want his presence but now I'm a lover of his presence. I don't want to listen to people. I wanted to win the argument. I didn't care what they were going through. It was about my needs, my desires.

I didn't like emotional, sappy worship but now it's the heartbeat of my soul and I realized that something was wrong in my own heart. Like the song says, I have tasted and seen. I have tasted and seen of the sweetness of the loves where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone.

Your presence, Lord. Your presence, God. That's all I want. I don't want fake. I don't want phony. I just want your presence and your power in my life. I want to know the fruit of the Spirit from the bottom of my heart all the way up into the to my mind and feel that power and presence.

Spirit-Filled Preaching and the Need for Holiness

Pastors that are listening, true preaching comes when the wellspring of what God has deposited goes into you and then to others. That's biblical, passionate preaching. I don't care how well your sermon is prepared.

Has God prepared your heart? Here's why. Dead pastors have dead churches. Dead pastors have dead churches. Fake pastors have fake churches and I realized God doesn't need church buildings. Amen? He doesn't need church buildings.

He doesn't need marketing. That's hard to believe these days. I was a marketing director. I'm all about marketing. I know. He doesn't need marketing. He doesn't need promoting. He doesn't need TikTok.

He doesn't need Instagram. He doesn't need Twitter. He doesn't need Facebook. He doesn't need you promote. What does he need? He needs men and women filled with the spirit of the living God like Micah 3 .8.

But truly, truly I'm full of the power by the Holy Spirit and of justice and might to declare to Jacob his transgressions and to Israel her sins. We've got to get back to calling sin, sin and calling the nation to repentance.

Woe be are the good feel-good messages. They are gone. They need to leave. We need to get to the root and the root is confronting our sin and our rebellion before Almighty God. I often wonder where are those on fire for God today?

Where are those on fire for God? Think about it. Where are the Isaiah's and the Jeremiah's calling our nation back? Where are the Peter's and the Paul's? The Peter's and the Paul's who spoke with such authority that martyrdom did not silence them.

Though they are dead, they still speak. Where is the Whitecliffs who were called the morning star of the Reformation? Where are the Tyndale's and the John Huss's who were burned at the stake for simply declaring the truth of God's Word?

Where are they? Where are the Luther's who said I stand here I can do no other? Where are the John Knox's who said give me Scotland for the cause of Christ or I shall die? Who out there saying give me America for the cause of Christ or I shall die?

Where are the Zwingli's in Switzerland and the Calvin's in the Whitfield's shaking continents and the Dio Moody's bringing America to her knees? The same cry goes out today. Where are they? Well Shane, I'm cold.

I am cold. I'm cold to the things of God. You might be saying I've got a hard heart. What am I supposed to do? What do you do if you're cold? You run to the fire. You run to God and you run to that heat and that warmth.

Repentance as the First Step Toward Revival

So the first point I wanted to really get across to you I just did. You have to fuel the flames of revival and now that you're hungry for revival that's what I'm going to talk about next week on how we how we usher that in but I want to talk about the second point briefly as well.

Point number two. So if we have to we have to fuel those fires of revival. What I mean by that is if you're not feeling it sometimes you got to strengthen yourself in the Lord. I talked about this Wednesday.

You got to get down on your knees and even pray Lord give me this fire. I want that filling of the Holy Spirit. Let's talk about that for a minute. The filling of the Spirit. The baptism of the Spirit.

The unction of the Spirit. The empowerment of the Spirit. The dunamis power of the Spirit. I'm tired of debating the exact theological term. I just want to know one question. Do you have it? I like what R .A. Torrey said.

I'd rather have the power of the Spirit and miss the theological correct term than have the term just right and miss the power. That's the problem. Many pulpits are lacking power. Many Christians are lacking power.

So that leads me right to the next step. The first step in experiencing this revival after we fuel those flames. I should say the next step is always. Are you ready for this one? Better back up. I'm gonna drop a bomb.

Always. This has to happen nationally. This has to happen in our churches. The first step is always repentance. Revival is a downpour and repentance opens those floodgates. That's how it works. If my people humble themselves, pray, seek and turn from their sin.

Lord I have a hard broken heart. Some of you need to pray this today. God my heart has been so hard and so callous. Oh God help me love people again. Bring back the filling of your spirit. The mighty filling of your spirit.

Here's why. You are as revived as you want to be. Right now, right here in this setting, you are as revived as you want to be. In a case you're wondering, I'm trying to offend. I'm trying to offend your pride.

Yes I'm stepping on toes and I'm ruffling feathers. I'm afflicting the comfortable and I'm comforting the afflicted. Just like Spurgeon said. Because I'm convinced our nation needs to be waken up from her slumber.

The arrogance, the stench has reached the nostrils of God. And it's amazing that just with the word, God shuts down every church in the United States of America. What country can stand in God's presence?

What leader is going to defy God? North Korea? There's reports he might not come out of his coma. Nobody knows. Russia? Who's going? Who can stop God Almighty? Who can stop God Almighty? And when we sing that song, do you know what we're talking about?

Who can stop God Almighty when I'm living in carnality? No. Who can stop God Almighty when I'm a modern-day Pharisee? No. Who can stop God Almighty when he fills the heart and the life of a spirit-filled believer?

That's why it's called spirit-filled believer. Because you're filled with God's Spirit. If this upsets you, I plead to you. I plead to you to open your eyes of your heart. Oh, I plead with you. That's how God speaks to us.

Through confrontation. Through conviction. I love what D .O. Moody said about the teachers in his day. Oh, they are good teachers. They're great teachers. But why can't they see that the power of the Holy Spirit is the one thing, the one thing that they themselves need?

See, you can be a good teacher. You can look at biblical text and you can exegete it. You can open your Greek up and your Hebrew up and here's what they meant. Here's the verb tense of that. Here's the flow.

Here's the historical context. Here's grammar. Here's the everything. You've got it. But you're dry inside. You've left that first love or you've never had it. Now, I'm not a person who teaches that in a couple years from now, you know, you have to wait for this baptism of the Spirit.

I believe the baptism of the Spirit is a baptism into the body of Christ. But Paul is clear. There are subsequent fillings of the Holy Spirit. They're subsequent. Meaning, when Paul said be being filled, that verb tense is actually, for you Bible scholars, it's a be being filled.

Be being filled. You're being filled with the Spirit. So I can go into sin, quench and grieve the Spirit of God and quench that power of God. Or I could be filled with the Spirit of God. But the person says, and I get this all the time when they get mad at messages like this, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but you know what?

I have the truth. I'm standing up for the truth. I'm a defender of the truth. I'm pointing out false truth. I got the truth. Guess what? So did the Pharisees. That's just the truth. Jesus said, do what they say to do, but don't be like them.

So it's time for the Pharisees to repent. It's time for the carnal to repent. It's time for the unbeliever to repent. And I know there's people listening who do not know God. You don't know the fire of God.

You have no clue what I'm talking about. You're either really hungry and desperate for it or you want to tune this out. But let me tell you something. Repentance is the key to all of this. Arrogant hearts must repent.

Carnal hearts must repent. And if you do not know God, there is a day of reckoning coming. There is a day of judgment coming. God, this is God's wake-up call. What do they call that loud horn that they use or that bull horn?

Whatever it's called. And they shout it. This is God's wake-up call. Turn to me while you still can. When you hear his voice, harden not your heart. Today is the day of salvation. Turn to Almighty God.

Repent of your sin. Believe on Calvary. Believe on the cross. Believe on Christ, the one who will set you free. And turn from the wrath that is to come. Turn from the wrath that is to come today. The Bible is clear.

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? God says, who may ascend into my house? Who may come into heaven? Those who have clean hands and a pure heart and who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor has he sworn deceitfully.

Yes, that's a wonderful scripture for Christians to get our hearts right. But when the Bible says, he who has clean hands. How can you come to God with clean hands? First, you have to dip them in the mighty blood of Jesus Christ.

And God says, I see the shed blood of my Lamb. And because of that, you can enter into the power and presence of God. You may ascend into the hill of the Lord. So once we look at the fuel for revival, being hungry for revival, and we talk about repentance, there is a third point here.

Maintaining Revival Through Separation and Discipleship

But I don't want to lose this this moment here. Because what's going to happen many times is, when you turn this off, you're going to turn on things that you shouldn't be watching. You're going to turn on things that are not productive.

You're going to turn on things that draw you away from God. So you have to keep that revival fire going. Get into the Word. Listen, people don't like when I say this, but to grasp hold of God, you have to make radical choices.

You can't just buy a five-minute devotional, put it on the counter, and hope that's going to do it. There's a separation that occurs. Paul said, come out from among them. Be separated. Jesus said, when you follow me, you will deny yourself your fleshly lusts, your desires.

You will pick up your cross, and you will follow me. Discipleship is narrow. There is a cost to pay, and we have to make that decision. I believe we have to get back to the point where we say, Jesus, no matter what it costs me, the churches might not open.

It might get difficult. No matter what happens, Jesus, I'm holding on to you. More people are worried about Bill Gates and vaccines than Almighty God. We should have a problem with that. Where's the fear of the Lord in this place?

I see Facebook posts about everything from conspiracy theories and New World Orders and all these things. Yes, they are concerning. They are alarming. We are praying against them. We are to be wise. But at the end of the day, you should fear God and Almighty God.

Don't fear Him who can kill your body. Fear Him who can cast both body and soul in hell. Jesus spoke about the fear of God. The fear of God is throughout the entire Bible. Just about every book of the Bible talks about fearing God with a reverence and respect.

As a matter of fact, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge and understanding. Oh, Washington and Sacramento, you want to know what to do in this pandemic? Then fear Almighty God.

Bow your knee to Jesus Christ and cry out for wisdom and discernment. And then number three, we're missing. We're missing this. We've got to bring back prayer and worship. And you might say, oh I know that.

Prayer and Worship as the Engine of Revival

No, I don't think you do. Here's what I mean by prayer. When God filled me with the Spirit, prayer is my life. My schedule has evolved around my prayer. My meetings I make are scheduled around prayer.

Time with my family, prayer is a priority. Prayer is a focus. That communion, that relationship with God, that prayer is everything. I will actually look at my day and say, how's this going to affect my prayer life tomorrow?

People have been making fun of me for years. Oh, you go to bed so early. Oh, if you could experience my mornings, you would never mock me again. Heart-wrenching, soul-searching prayer. And then when you tie it in with worship, adoration.

There's prayer and there's, it's adoration. Here's why I said that, because even the Pharisees prayed. Even unbelievers pray. You have to have prayer and worship. Worship of the true and living God. And when you combine those things, when you combine prayer and worship, that's why I love that song, I'm a lover of your presence.

Oh God, I'm a lover of your presence. There is a passion. There is a stirring deep inside. Oh God, I want your presence again, no matter what it costs me. I want to find myself searching for you in the morning, praying, calling out to you at night, bringing the church back to prayer.

When you start to see prayer meetings increasing, when you start to see people hungry for prayer, oh look up, your redemption draws nigh as far as revival falling and hitting a place. Every mighty move of God begins in a prayer closet, not with some top-named preacher with a hundred thousand views.

It begins in a prayer room. Read about the Duncan Campbell revivals in New Hebrides. One lady was blind, another was hunched over in their 80s, I believe, and they prayed, oh God, visit our island. If we could just get back to people saying, oh God, we need to hear from you.

Well, we don't want to exist. Aren't you tired of normal Christianity, what the world calls normal? Prayer is so important. God says, ask. Did you think about this? The God of the universe calls us. He says, ask, ask, ask, ask with the right heart and I will deliver.

I will set free. I will bring the prodigal son home. I will comfort your children. I will heal. I will deliver. Ask and you shall receive. Ask and this mountain will be moved. Ask and you shall have what you want as long as your heart is right.

Ask and watch the angels of heaven come down and fight against the demonic influences. We have to ask and be specific. Ask the mountains be moved. I might just go right into the prayer points I wanted for the end because this is so important.

Intercession for America, Families, and the Unborn

We have to ask and America has to be specific God with this COVID -19 pandemic, Lord, we ask that you would reveal what is really going on. We ask that you would show us the unfruitful works of darkness.

We ask for wisdom. We ask for discernment. We ask for a humble heart that obeys our authorities. But when there, when there's a need for boldness, we ask you rise up and we lead the people down the path that is narrow.

Oh God, give us direction. And Lord, we pray for our president. Oh God, give our administration wisdom. Humble them. Let them cry out to you, God. We pray for protection. All hell is breaking loose against this administration that no president in the history of the United States has ever seen.

So we ask for comfort. We ask for peace. We ask for the fake news and the, and the false stories to be killed and expose them, expose the unfruitful works of darkness. Lord, we ask that the satanic bondage would be lifted.

We pray that these pedophile rings would continue to be demolished. We pray that abortion, God, the murdering of our innocent children, that where we can slaughter them in nine months, God, would you convict the people?

We have the blood of innocent children on our hands and we cry out to God Almighty. Intercede, Lord, on behalf of your people. We pray for our children. God, would you guide our children, guard our children, help our children, secure our children.

God, please. Lord, I pray for the families. Lord, the child abuse that is taking place. Even right now, right now people listening have been reacting in anger. Lord, show them your love. God, I pray for the little boys, little girls so scared because their parents are scared.

Show them when they turn to you that you give them the peace that surpasses all understanding. They need to cry out and call out to the Prince of Peace. And God, you know my heart for this next prayer request.

A Revival of Truth and a Return to God's Word

Lord, it's a revival of truth. I'm sick and tired of courthouses and schools and atheist groups removing your word. I pray this is a revival of your truth. We bring back absolute truth that we're not scared of truth.

You're actually bringing prayers back into the schools right now in our homes. And Lord, because you will not mock. Whatever man sows, he shall reap. The more California drifts from you, the more the United States drifts from you.

We will reap, God. We will reap the whirlwind and we are mocking you. God, please have mercy on your people. Bring back your truth. Elevate that absolute truth of God's Word like a lighthouse standing on the shore, guarding that edge line so the ships do not bash against those rocks.

We are bashing against sin. We are fueling the works of the enemy and we pray for a revival of truth. God, would you awaken your pastors? God, awaken those who are preaching a sloppy, cold, callous gospel that makes Jesus a butler and this health and wealth and faith and all positive.

God, bring us to the conviction that we need to be.