Hear No Good, See No Good, Do no Good (Isaiah 6:1-13)
Notes
Transcript
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
9 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”
And he answered:
“Until the cities lie ruined
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
and the fields ruined and ravaged,
12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.
13 And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”
The Year the King Uzziah Died
This is NOT Isaiah’s first call, but the call to be a prophet comes amidst political uncertainty where Isaiah’s future is unsure.
It is interesting to note that during the last year of Uzziah’s life there had been a large Earthquake
With these things in the background Isaiah has this vision of the heavenly throne room of God shaking with worship
God is the KING!
No matter what the shaking is
No matter where the shaking is
God is on the throne
HE is the King that is ultimately in charge
In the midst of fear, uncertainty, and even hope and joy God is the King on the Throne and HE is the one who should be listened to and obeyed
It doesn't matter who is on the throne in Israel or Judah
It doesn't matter who sits at the resolute desk in the oval office
GOD IS THE KING AND GOD IS IN CHARGE
AND IT IS GOD WHO SHOULD BE LISTENED TO AND OBEYED
This is what Isaiah is reminded of through this scene. God is in charge, and God is to be obeyed!
We can be reminded again of Paul’s words to the church in Galatia
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
God is on the throne, therefore please God!
It doesn't matter what the schools say, the board says, the mayor says etc... there may be consequences, but ULTIMATELY it is God we must obey!
And the reality of God’s holiness magnifies Isaiah’s sinfulness
Isaiah sees this and realizes that he is sinful and the people he represents are sinful. God is so Holy and righteous that Isaiah has no business being near God's presence. He is unworthy to be in the presence of the King.
So, God purifies Him and shows that God is willing to purify the people.
And Isaiah overhears the conversation, “Who will GO…??”
Then Isaiah says he is willing to go and speak for God...
Maybe that was a rush, rash decision. He hadn’t been told what to say (he didn’t ask). He had zeal and excitement, he was purified and ready and willing to go..
Then, God tells him EXACTLY what’s in store for him… PEOPLE WON’T LISTEN!
9 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
Welcome to ministry!!
You will preach and people won't listen...
This is Not a prescription but a DESCRIPTION of the obstinance of the people.
People are so bent on rebellion they would rather be judged than repent.
The message is preached faithfully, but the people refuse to listen and obey.
There are signs and wonders performed - but NOBODY cares.
The prophet and preacher did what God called him to, but the people although they heard the message and say the signs and wonders, they refused to change their hearts, the refused to repent, they refused to turn to God and be healed.
They were so selfish
They were so prideful
They believed they didn't need to head the message. They had it made and were ok!
The people are this way NOT because God declares them to be beyond hope of redemption - they don’t HAVE to be this way… but they CHOOSE to be this way!
They didn't have to be like that. God is not prescribing their behavior, but DESCRIBING how an obstinant rebellious people fail to respond to a message that calls for repentance.
And, there is nothing new under the sun.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
People would rather darkness than light because their deeds are evil.
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
The preacher has preached messages that call for repentance. The preacher has highlighted the power of Christ available to transform.
But, the people are obstinant and refuse to head the message.
Men would rather respond in rage to the things they do not like.
Grown adults behave like children and refuse to allow Christ to change them.
People hang onto their corrupt sinful attitudes and habbits and those arou d them say, "he's been like that all his life, that's just who he is"
Yeah, but Christ says we can be different, transformed, redeemed.
But, people would rather remain sinful than be transformed into God's likeness. And we, the church, give them permission!!
Men look at porn
Women read their romance erotica
Men rage and women get drunk on mimosas and White Claws
Men dream of war and violence and women dream of Hugh Jackman
We curse each other out, we gossip, we nitpick, we get drunk, we rage, we lust... the preacher preaches against these things and points to the power of Christ.
Then we blame the preacher...
But, we're so calloused that we write off the words of the preacher, nitpick his schedule, demand he pastor better...
Because, if we can blame the preacher, if we can come up with reason to accuse the prophet of God, then we don't have to submit to the message he preaches.
There is NOTHING new under the sun!
But, we call ourselves followers of Christ. No wonder the world is doomed for Hell! Those who claim to be the church are leading the way!
Paul stated to Timothy...
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
That is what is happening. People have a form, an imitation, an appearance of godliness BUT they REJECT God’s power to lead them to repentance and transformation.
You ask, “Where is the grace in that message?”
Grace comes when we hear the good news that God loves us so much He sent His son to die so we could be redeemed.
The message of judgment is the backdrop for the impartation of grace.
It was NOT God’s desire that the people would rebel - it was God’s desire that the people would RESPOND to the message, turn to God for salvation, repent of their sins and be transformed.
THINK OF JONAH...
The Message of Grace is that we are not PRESCRIBED to be disobedient, we are CALLED to repent, but CHOOSE to be disobedient...
BUT It doesn't have to be this way!
Repent and believe the good news
Allow Jesus to ACTUALLY have access to your life and he WILL transform you.
Head the words of the Gospel proclaimed by this prophet.
Don't just listen, allow the message of Jesus Christ to change your life.
There is grace, BUT you MUST desire it to work in your life.
Anything less is a calloused heart! The heart that God says the people in Isaiah’s time would have, and that we still have today...
Don't be so proud that you can't and WON’T turn to God for your healing, your family's healing, your church's healing AND your world's healing...
Or, you can do what you are good at doing... ignoring the call to allow Christ to change you.
Jesus said,
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
But, we can be redeemed, forgiven, and transformed BECAUSE of God’s love displayed through us in Jesus Christ even when we didn’t deserve it
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We are loved GREATLY and DEEPLY by God the Father
1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
But, we MUST give up our pride
We must Give up what we are hanging on to
We must give up what we think we can do in our own power to change our situation
We must give up any idea that we can do ANYTHING to EARN our salvation...
WE MUST REPENT and ALLOW the LOVE OF GOD to transform us
Repent, turn, soften your heart, be born again...
BENEDICTION
16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.