(Revival) Part 6 - Crowning Day
Thesis The church's only hope in desperate times is to lift her eyes from her circumstances to behold Christ, the solitary conqueror who has defeated every enemy and will return to complete His triumph, and this vision alone sustains faithful prayer and intercession.
The shape of the message
Lloyd-Jones presents Isaiah 63:1-6 as God's encouragement to His despairing people in the midst of their desperate prayer for revival. The vision of a blood-stained conqueror coming from Edom represents Christ's total victory over all enemies of God and His church—past, present, and future. The sermon argues that this vision was given to sustain the prophet's intercession by reminding him of the ultimate triumph of God's Son. Lloyd-Jones applies this to the contemporary church's discouragement, insisting that the only hope for revival and the church's survival is to fix their eyes on Christ the victor, who alone has conquered sin, death, and hell, and who will return to complete His triumph. The sermon climaxes with the eschatological vision of Christ's final victory at His second coming, urging believers to find encouragement for persistent prayer and unbelievers to flee to this conquering Savior before it is too late.
Discuss · apply · pray
Six surfaces drawn from this sermon — small-group leader brief, daily reading plan, weekly prayer, memorize, family table, couples — generated automatically by Sermon Steward.
Questions for midweek
- In Isaiah 62:6-7, God's people are calling out in desperate prayer for revival, yet they seem to be getting no answer. What does the sudden appearance of this blood-stained figure in Isaiah 63:1 suggest about why God placed this vision precisely at this moment in Scripture? How does understanding this as divine encouragement change the way you read passages that seem to interrupt the flow of a biblical book?
- The figure in the vision asks, 'Who is this?' appearing at first glance to be a solitary warrior. What is the paradox Lloyd-Jones identifies between how this figure appears and who He actually is, and why does that paradox matter for desperate believers?
- Lloyd-Jones argues that 'the deity of Christ—that He is the Son of God—is the whole of Christianity.' How does Isaiah 63's vision of a solitary conqueror treading the winepress alone depend on Christ being more than human?What changes in your prayer life if you lose sight of Christ's deity?
- According to the sermon, Christ's fury against Edom and His enemies flows from His 'consuming zeal for God's honor' rather than from mere vindictiveness. How does understanding Christ's anger this way reshape what it means for Him to be our deliverer? When you pray for protection or deliverance, are you consciously asking Christ to act out of His zeal for God's glory, or do you tend to think of Him mainly as your personal advocate?
- The sermon claims that 'we ourselves could not continue without such encouragements' from God, and that He periodically grants sudden visions or revelations to enable His people to persevere. Where do you currently experience spiritual discouragement that might actually be calling you to seek a fresh vision of Christ's crowned glory?
- Lloyd-Jones teaches that 'revival is always Christ's work alone' and that the church's response is simply 'to see Christ in His glory and turn to Him in prayer.' Given the specific discouragements or spiritual struggles in your own life right now, what would it look like to lift your eyes from those circumstances and behold Christ the solitary conqueror—and then to let that vision fuel your prayers this week? Who in your life needs to hear that their only real hope is Christ crowned and victorious, not the success or failure of their earthly efforts?
Five-day reading plan
This week traces the arc of encouragement that sustains faithful prayer: beginning with God's gracious pattern of sustaining His struggling people, moving through the vision of Christ's absolute deity and solitary conquest, and culminating in the call to behold the crowned King whose intercession we join.
Prayer for Eyes Fixed on the Conquering Christ
Father, we come before You with hearts that grow weary in this present age. We confess that our eyes too easily fall upon our circumstances—the apparent victories of evil, the slow pace of Your kingdom's advance, the mockery of those who oppose Your truth. Like Isaiah's people in their desperate prayer, we find ourselves tempted to despair, wondering whether You will act, whether revival will come, whether Your purposes will ultimately prevail (Isaiah 62:6–7). Forgive us for the smallness of our vision and the poverty of our faith.
Yet You have given us what You gave to Isaiah—a vision of the conquering Christ. We behold Him now, blood-stained and triumphant, having trodden the winepress alone, having defeated every enemy through His solitary work (Isaiah 63:1–6). He is the King of Glory, the Son of God, clothed in the righteousness that restores all things. His deity is our anchor; His coronation at Your right hand is our certainty. Because He lives and reigns, the ultimate victory of Your kingdom is guaranteed, regardless of what we see in this present darkness (Hebrews 2:8–9). The gospel tells us that this mighty deliverer has already paid the price for our salvation and seated Himself as Lord of all history.
Grant us grace, O God, to fix our eyes upon Jesus and to find in His glory the courage to persevere in prayer and intercession. As we behold His strength, His righteousness, His consuming zeal for Your honor, fill us with the confidence that moves mountains. Enable us to pray not in fear but in faith, not in despair but in the certain hope of His return. Make this vision of Christ so real to us that we, too, might mock our enemies with the joy of those who have seen the end from the beginning.
We commit ourselves anew to the prayer that brings revival—the prayer that fixes its gaze on You alone and on Your conquering Son. All glory belongs to Him, now and forever. Amen.
Isaiah 63:1
“Who is this that comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? 'It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.'”
Who Is This Coming from Edom?
One question for the table: In the sermon, we heard about a strange vision Isaiah saw: someone coming from far away, covered in blood from a great battle, walking alone. When Isaiah asked 'Who is this?'—he was amazed to discover it was Jesus, the King of Glory, all by Himself. If you were Isaiah and you saw someone like that coming toward you, what would you want to ask Him? What would you want to know?
works for ages 7+ — younger children can listen and offer simple observations; older kids and teens will naturally move toward deeper questions about who Jesus is and what His victory means
For parents: This prompt invites your family to sit with the mystery at the heart of Isaiah's vision—a blood-stained figure appearing suddenly on the horizon. The goal is to help children (and adults) grasp that when we're discouraged or scared, Jesus is the one who has already won every battle.
Beholding Christ the Conqueror
- What did this vision of Christ as the solitary, blood-stained conqueror stir in your own heart—where might you be discouraged and need to lift your eyes to see Him crowned?
- How does our marriage reflect or fail to reflect the truth that Christ alone has won every victory for us, and how might beholding His triumph together change how we face our struggles as a couple?
- What is one specific burden or intercession the Lord has laid on your heart for our church or world, and how can we pray for one another this week to sustain our faith that Christ will complete what He has begun?
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Welsh physician-turned-pastor of Westminster Chapel in London (1939–1968); his expositions of Romans and Ephesians sit on most Reformed pastors' shelves.