What You Know Impacts What You Do
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To INVEST—what are we spending our energy and time to INVEST in? Sometimes we get sidetracked on what we think is the most important and forget our main objective.
Where are we investing? Could it be that God is looking at us as He looked at Jerusalem? Would He send us the same message?
The first chapter of Isaiah serves as a prologue to the entire book. It stresses four concepts which permeate the message of Isaiah: (1) accusation of sin; (2) invitation to repentance; (3) lamentation over disaster; and (4) purgation through judgment.
Smith, J. E. (1992). The Major Prophets (). Joplin, MO: College Press.
6:1–5 In preparation for calling Isaiah to be the prophet who would proclaim the coming judgment, God gave him a vision of His majestic holiness so overwhelming that it devastated him and made him realize his own sinfulness.
The people to whom Isaiah was sent were the heirs of great promises but appear to have forfeited them.
The people to whom Isaiah was sent were the heirs of great promises but appear to have forfeited them.
God has called us, the Church, to worship Him, serve Him, share Him, love Him, glorify Him, to be His hands and feet, salt of the earth and the light of the world—and what are we doing?
Many are playing church today! Do we long to know Him? Do we long to know His Word? Do we long to know His will for our lives? Do we spend time praying, meditating, asking God to reveal Himself in us?
Could our conflict today be that we don’t know who we are serving? Oh, we profess to know Him, but we really don’t know Him. We really don’t know anything about Him, just principles about what and how He wants us to live.
The Prophets Vision of God
The Prophets Vision of God
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
King Uzziah’s death. After 52 years of reigning, leprosy caused the death of Uzziah in 739 b.c.
I saw the Lord- The prophet became unconscious of the outside world and with his inner eye saw what God revealed to him. This experience recalls the experience of John’s prophetic vision in .
God exhibited himself to the view of the Fathers, in a capacity that men could receive. There was exhibited to Isaiah such a form that enabled him to perceive the inconceivable majesty of God—a throne, robe and bodily appearance.
We would do well to note that whenever God grants any token of His presence, He is undoubtedly present with us. God is NOT a deceiver!
When John saw the Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove (), the name of the Holy Spirit is applied to the outward sign—there was no deception!
This was a limited manifestation that God adapted to mental comprehension and human observation—a vision.
Interestingly, Isaiah says nothing about specifics of God’s face, instead he describes where God was, what was happening around Him and what was being said.
“Sitting on a throne”- posture of a judge, ready to hear causes and give sentence
“high and lifted up”-lofty and exalted. The throne was greatly elevated, at the top of a series of steps, emphasizing the Most High God.
“train filled the temple”- This refers to the hem or fringe of the Lord’s glorious robe that filled the temple-reaching down to the bottom of the temple and spread abroad in the temple, giving evidence of a more than ordinary majesty.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, thou art very great;
Thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty;
The Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself:
The world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.
“filled the temple”- Though Isaiah may have been at the earthly temple, this describes a vision which transcends the earthly. The throne of God is in the heavenly temple (; ; ; ).
The picture Isaiah gives strikes awe and terror in one’s heart—this gives us the idea that the observer is very close to the majesty of the glory and has seen something beyond the human sphere of experience and understanding. This the is the throne room of the palace-temple of the King, the inner sanctum dedicated to the dwelling of God.
Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Seraphim- fiery serpent, burning— The seraphim are an order of angelic creatures who bear a similarity to the 4 living creatures of , which in turn resemble the cherubim of . six wings. They burned with the love of God, or either they were swift as fire, or maybe they were just bright as the blaze.
Each of the seraphim had 6 wings:
-Two wings covered the faces of the seraphim because they dared not gaze directly at God’s glory. They covered their face in “reverence”—They could not endure God’s brightness. If they are overwhelmed by the majesty of God, how great it would be for men.
-Two covered their feet, acknowledging their lowliness even though engaged in divine service. They acknowledged their lowliness, not worthy of acceptance or suitable for the dignity of such glorious majesty. They bowed before Him in worship. The 4 wings related to worship, signifying the priority of praise.
-Two covered their feet, acknowledging their lowliness even though engaged in divine service. They acknowledged their lowliness, not worthy of acceptance or suitable for the dignity of such glorious majesty. They bowed before Him in worship. The 4 wings related to worship, signifying the priority of praise.
-With two they flew in serving the One on the throne.
And one cried unto another, and said,
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts:
The whole earth is full of his glory.
called out to another. The seraphs were speaking to each other in antiphonal praise.
-Holy, Holy, Holy. Imagine, Isaiah viewing this—this was done so that he might share with the whole nation.
The primary thrust of the 3-fold repetition of God’s holiness (called the trihagion) is to emphasize God’s separateness from and independence of His fallen creation, though it implies secondarily that God is 3 Persons.
And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
,
the 4 living creatures utter the trihagion.
where the 4 living creatures utter the trihagion.
God’s absolute holiness reveals how separate, different or totally other he is in comparison to all others of the world. His holiness is revealed in His actions and will—revealed in all of His activity.
Their example is set before us for us to imitate—the most holy service that we can render to God is to be employed in praising His name.
-the whole earth is full of His glory. The earth is the worldwide display of His immeasurable glory, perfections, and attributes as seen in creation (see ). Fallen man has nevertheless refused to glorify Him as God ().
“glory”—the outer manifestation of the brightness of his majesty and holiness.
The Jews thought the glory of God was nowhere to be seen but among themselves—and they wished to have it shut up within their own temple. But, Isaiah shows that is so far from being confined to so narrow limits—it fills the whole earth.
And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
e to be seen but among themselves—and they wished to have it shut up within their own temple. But, Isaiah shows that is so far from being confined to so narrow limits—it fills the whole earth.
“the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried-
Imagine what the voice sounded like—like no other! It was not a human voice! Could it be that God was intending for the voice to establish authority in the presence of the prophet and for ALL mankind—that it might never be forgotten?
The sound of the seraphs was not a weak voice, but more like jet fighters breaking the sound bearer.
“the house was filled with smoke” The trembling and smoke symbolize God’s holiness as it relates to His wrath and judgment (cf. ; ).
Whenever Moses entered into the Tabernacle, smoke didn’t allow the people to see Moses or the tabernacle. As smoke is able to overcome and to get into places where nothing else is able, this is a demonstration of how God will display His power in executing judgment on the people.
Isaiah “saw the Lord”—
How do you see Him?
How do you see Him?
judge? Police chief? Genie in a bottle? Loving? Cruel? Distant?Available?Smiling? Irrelevant? Powerless?
The way you “see” Him will directly affect the way that you “see” YOU!
II. The Prophets View of Himself
II. The Prophets View of Himself
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
“Woe is me, I am undone”- “I am ruined”; “destroyed”-in the presence of God, Isaiah was struck with his mortality.
“unclean lips”- If the lips are unclean, so is the heart. This vision of God’s holiness vividly reminded the prophet of his own unworthiness which deserved judgment. Job ()
”Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” and Peter ()”Depart from me; for I am a sinful man” came to the same realization about themselves when confronted with the presence of the Lord.
(emphasize)-Isaiah confesses that he has not been entirely devoted to God—his profession of faith has been orthodox but empty! He was unaware of the grandeur of God—he said my speeches, prayer, praising—all have been mixed and defiled with irreverence, dulness, distraction of thoughts and affection—I dread the thoughts of appearing before thy judgment seat.
He admits that he has been reduced to silence, which is often taken for death. Actually, he resembled a dead man
He also admits that he is living among unclean people in Judah—he recognized the state of the people that he loved.
The difference between Isaiah and most of us—we walk around comparing ourselves to others. God’s awakening grace turns us completely around!! For the first time, Isaiah sees that he is typical of his generation!!- faith unthinking/ mouths filled with flippant repetitions and self-justifying excuses.
What was it that brought all of this own? that made Isaiah recognize his guilt, to confess his sin?—“for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts”.
God was about to enlarge his favor, to raise him, that Isaiah might have greater influence over the people.
For us to have greater influence over men, we must be vessels ready and prepared and that can only be done when we “experience God”. He was about to deliver a message about blinding the Jews.
What would happen to us if we were to have such an experience with God?
Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
coal … altar. The hot coal taken from the altar of incense in heaven (cf. ) is emblematic of God’s purifying work, an instrument of purification. Repentance is painful.
taken away … forgiven. Spiritual cleansing for special service to the Lord, not salvation, is in view.
The seraph administered the cleansing, but was not the author of it.
III. The Prophets Voracity to Go
III. The Prophets Voracity to Go
(appetite)
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Here am I. Send me! This response evidenced the humble readiness of complete trust. Though profoundly aware of his sin, he was available. He was laying like a dead man, now after experiencing new grace, ready to endure the burden, says “Here am I. Send me”.
And he said, Go, and tell this people,
Hear ye indeed, but understand not;
And see ye indeed, but perceive not.
“Go and tell”
“Go and tell”
God’s favor to him encouraged him to be forward in God’s service. Willing to INVEST.
Isaiah didn’t know the nature of the mission God had designed for him, nor the length of the responsibility, where he must go, the content of the message, or the difficulty of the task.
Nevertheless, Isaiah immediately volunteered to go! He didn’t make excuses like Moses or Jeremiah, but gladly volunteered to serve God.
Make the heart of this people fat,
And make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered,
Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant,
And the houses without man,
And the land be utterly desolate,
Isaiah 6:
Men who refuse God’s Word become ever more hardened to its influence. Isaiah was warned at the outset that his preaching would “make the heart of this people fat,” i.e., their understanding would become dull and sluggish. His auditors would become spiritually blind and deaf (6:9f.).
The pessimistic forecast provoked a despairing question from the fledgling prophet. How long must he continue to preach a message which would cause his people to entrench themselves ever deeper in sin? God’s answer: he must continue to preach until his predictions of devastation and deportation had been completely fulfilled. Then only would he be relieved of the responsibility to preach (6:11f.). The Major ro phets (). Joplin, MO: College Press.
F The Major ro phets (). Joplin, MO: College Press.
From this passage, example, we can deduct:
From this example, we can deduct that the -
“clarity and reality of a person’s vision of the holiness and glory of the majestic King of Kings is directly related to the clarity of a person’s sense of call and their willingness to humbly submit and serve God in whatever capacity He desires”
Smith, G. V. (2007). . (E. R. Clendenen, Ed.) (p. 194). Nashville: B & H Publishing Group.
Are you INVESTING today? What are you doing with God today? Hungering for Him? Praying? Sharing? Meditating?
Many are doing NOTHING—busy in our own little worlds; running to and fro; busy with “religion” but empty of God; we are a culture of “church” and “personality” promotion rather than God promotion; we are a mile wide and an inch deep; theologically ignorant, doctrinally deprived, people who say we believe the Bible is God’s Word, just don’t live by because we don’t know it; living by preference; playing games; empty prayer closets; a faith that is so dead we can’t even share; grieving the Holy Spirit—because we have forsaken the presence, power, holiness of God.
Are you INVESTING today? What are you doing with God today? What are you waiting for? The next big event?
Your VISION of God is determining your SENSE OF CALLING.
Your VISION of God is determining your SENSE OF CALLING.
How do you see God today?
Judge, Distant, Irrelevant, Powerless, Disconnected?
Father, Holy, Separated, Healer, Peace, Righteousness, Master, Protector, Savior, Provider, Counselor, Comforter, Friend, Sustainer?
He is seated on His throne-TODAY
How do you see yourself?
Sinner, forgiven, worthless, worthy, forgotten, chosen, unwanted, adopted, condemned, pardoned?
When we have a clear vision of God, we will be able to clearly submit and serve God—What does that look like?
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