Challenges have their place in our lives. Don’t they? Challenges have a way of bringing us to focus on the Lord like nothing else. It is in the “hard times” we hit our knees in desperation. Generally, people strive for independence. We want to be self-sufficient. We don’t want to be a burden to anyone. Am I alone in this? Our nation taught us this. Our parents taught us this, maybe? I know I taught my kids to take care of themselves. But God has a way of bringing us to the end of ourselves so we finally realize we need Him! Doesn’t He? He teaches us in Scripture that we are part of a body. Not the whole body, but just a part of it. So, you see, dependence is a critical principle in God’s economy. That topsy-turvy way of thinking that He has, and wants to impart to His people. Let that soak in and transform your mind to be more like Christ’s.
Today, we’re looking at Isaiah chapter 6. These 13 verses reveal God’s holiness and His call upon Isaiah’s life. (Isaiah) saw and heard the Lord and said,
“Send me.”
When we walk away from our time together today, I want
you to know Our holy Lord provides
atonement for His people and calls us to take His message to the world. Let’s begin with prayer.
Most Holy Father,
open our eyes to see You today. Open our
ears to hear Your message for us. Open
our hearts to receive You. Open our
minds to understand the Scriptures. Heal
us. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Our text is divided into two parts, today:
1.In the year King Uzziah died, I (Isaiah) saw the Lord
and seraphim (Isaiah 6:1-7)
2.I (Isaiah) heard the voice of the Lord and He sent me
to the people (Isaiah 6:8-13)
Let’s dive right in to this amazing chapter of Scripture.
Read Isaiah 6:1.
In the year King Uzziah died… According to Google, that was 733 BC. Uzziah was 16 when he became king. He reigned 52 years. He did what was right in the eyes of the
Lord. He sought God. He set a good example for the people. He conquered the Philistines. The Ammonites brought him tribute. He was very powerful. He built fortifications and had a
well-trained army. Can you imagine how
attached the people would have become to such a leader in that length of
time? But Uzziah was not perfect. He was the one who was stricken by God with
leprosy for offering incense in the temple.
And he was a leper until the day he died.
When he died, Isaiah saw the Lord. Was the vision of King Uzziah enough to
eclipse Isaiah’s view of God until that earthly king was taken out of the
way? Kings on earth will come and go,
but THE KING reigns eternally! Seated on
a throne. High and exalted. The hem of His robe fills the temple. The very bottom of His robe FILLS the
temple. That’s big. How big is your God? Big enough to overcome the loss of an earthly
king? Of a spouse? Of a job?
Of anything we have exalted in His place? Let’s read on.
Read Isaiah 6:2.
First, let me admit that my understanding of seraphim is
non-existent. I will share a couple of
things I read about them during my study of this passage, but I haven’t even
read a whole lot about them, and feel unworthy to comment on them, myself. I read some interesting commentary on this
verse. The commentator said that the
seraphim were using four of their wings to worship and two of their wings to
work. He suggested that our worship to
work ratio should mirror theirs. We
should worship twice as much as we work.
After all, it’s God Who equips and empowers us to do work for His
kingdom. Right?
Another commentator gave a mini comparison between
seraphim and cherubim. He said that
cherubim were protectors.
Representations of cherubim appear on the mercy seat of the ark of the
covenant. The word seraphim means
“burning.” This commentator talks about
these supernatural beings as being on fire for God. How on fire for God are you? Let’s keep
reading.
Read Isaiah 6:3-4.
One of these mysterious beings called to another,
declaring the intense holiness of the Lord of Armies and the foundations of the
doorways shook at the sound of their voices and the temple filled with smoke! If their voices shook the foundations of the
doorways, what would God’s voice do? Did
the seraph call out “Holy, holy, holy” to emphasize the intensity of God’s
holiness? To point to the Trinity? Both?
Regardless, the holiness Isaiah saw did something to him. Let’s look at verses 5-7.
Read Isaiah 6:5-7.
Isaiah is completely undone. He recognizes his sinfulness. Do you recognize your sin this way? Do you see your sin more clearly the closer
you get to the Light of the world? Do
you recognize your need for salvation and cleansing when you encounter God and
His holiness?
So, one of the seraphim goes to the altar, picks up tongs
to take a glowing coal, then puts it in his hand a flew to Isaiah. He touched the coal to Isaiah’s mouth and
said Isaiah’s sin was atoned for. I’ve
got chills at this picture of Christ’s atoning sacrifice for us! I’ve got the words of a song running through
my head: “our God is a consuming fire, a burning holy flame with glory and
freedom.” The burning coal cleansed
Isaiah’s mouth. It freed him to be used
of God.
This leads us to our first principle:
Principle 1: The Lord reveals Himself to His people.
What or who needs to be taken out of the way for you to
see the Lord? How have challenging
circumstances led you to see the Lord more clearly? How might you capture that focus upon Him in
“good times”? Do you recognize the
incredible holiness of God? Do you have
a regular practice of confessing your sins before the Lord? Are you allowing Him to cleanse you? Would people who know you say you are on fire
for Him? Have your sins been atoned
for? Do you have a relationship with
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?
Have you been born again? If not,
pray with me right now:
Holy Father, I recognize that I am a sinner
in need of a Savior. I acknowledge that
Jesus is that Savior. He died on the
cross to pay the penalty for all my sins.
He was buried and rose from the grave three days later, conquering
death. invite Him to live in my heart right now. In Jesus’ mighty, saving Name. Amen.
If you said that prayer, call a Christian friend and tell
them about your decision to follow Jesus.
Find a church that teaches the Scriptures. Start praying and reading the Scriptures. The Gospel of John is a great place to start.
Now let’s look at God’s call upon Isaiah now that he has
been prepared to serve through atonement.
Read Isaiah 6:8.
The first thing I want to point out is that atonement
comes before a person is called into service to the Lord. God had a mission. He needed someone to send. He provided atonement, then was looking for a
volunteer to “go for us.” Ohmygoodness,
this verse gives me chills! Not just
thinking about the effect God’s voice would have had on the foundations of the
doorway considering how dramatic the effect was when the seraph spoke… But the idea that God had a mission and
wanted to involve a human being in that mission! God has a mission today, and He wants to
involve human beings in the mission! We
are to take the Gospel message to the ends of the earth. It’s the Great Commission the Jesus presented
at the end of the Gospel of Matthew.
Where have you taken the Gospel lately?
How else could Isaiah respond after all that had
transpired in the previous seven verses?
There is no other response. When
God offers, all of His people should clamor for the chance to serve Him!!! I had an experience recently that opened my
eyes to the fact that it’s the willing servant of God who receives the
blessing! Are you willing?
Read Isaiah 6:9-10.
God responds to Isaiah’s volunteering with a very
difficult mission for Isaiah. A lack of
understanding and perception. Minds made
dull. Ears made deaf. Eyes made blind. No healing.
Isaiah would not see the fruit of worldly prosperity from this
assignment. Isaiah gets to proclaim the
ruin of the people. How discouraging
would this have been?
In Matthew 13:10-17, Jesus quotes these verses when He
explains to the disciples why He is speaking in parables. We need to pray for understanding. We need to pray for sharp minds. We need to pray for eyes to see and ears to
hear. We need to pray for healing. We need to ask God for spiritual prosperity.
Let’s keep reading.
Read Isaiah
6:11-13.
Isaiah asks how long he needs to continue this
assignment. I would probably ask the
same question. The answer is grave: until
the cities lie in ruins and the people are gone. Preach it until there’s no one left to preach
it to. The people will be taken to
foreign lands in exile.
But this chapter does end on a hopeful note. There will be a remnant. A tenth will remain in the land. It will be burned again. But, just like the terebinth or the oak that
is felled leaves a stump, this remnant, this holy seed, will be the stump of
the people. And that stump will
sprout. Messiah would come from the Israelite tribe of Judah!
And here is our final principle:
Principle 2: The Lord calls His people to serve Him.
What needs to change in your heart and mind to make you
enthusiastic about the Lord calling you to serve Him? Are there any acts of service that you
consider to be “beneath you,” or are you willing to do anything? Are you on fire for God to the extent that
you’re willing to obey Him in doing even the most discouraging work for the
kingdom? Where are you taking the Gospel? Have you stopped sharing the good news
because you haven’t led anyone to Christ lately?
You may be the first person to share the truth with
someone. You may be the hundredth. You may share through your facial
expressions. Or your willingness to pray
with someone. Or give them a ride. Or do their shopping. You may have no idea who you’re witnessing to
by walking through a challenging circumstance with grace and faith and
joy! You may not know who is watching
you. But I can tell you for a fact that
God is watching. And He may be waiting
for you to be willing to send you out on mission for Him. Let’s pray.
Holy Father, I pray
that You will make us willing to serve You.
I pray that we would see how those serving around us are blessed and You
would fill us with a godly jealousy to serve You. I pray that Your people would clamor to serve
You. That so many people would come
forward to serve that You have to find other assignments for them. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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