Isaiah & Worship

Title: A Window into Biblical Worship

Text: Isaiah 6:1-8

Theme: True Worship

INTRODUCTION:  We often look at the scriptures and don’t bother to study the background and temperature of the climate and culture of the time. To the Jews, Isaiah was the greatest of the prophets. The commentator Karl Delitzsch called Isaiah the “universal prophet.”

Probably no other Old Testament document has been more deeply studied than the Book of Isaiah. Certainly none has had more books and articles written about it. The New Testament alludes to it over 250 times and quotes Isaiah specifically at least 50 times!

The year was 739 b.c.  According to tradition this may have been the actual year in which, on the banks of the Tiber River across the Mediterranean, Rome was founded!

In Judah it was the year King Uzziah died.

For Isaiah, it was the year he saw the Lord.

These events were turning points for both Judah and Isaiah. For Judah Uzziah’s death marked the beginning of the end of peace and prosperity. Assyria had begun to expand westward. Israel joined with Syria to stave off an attack and then tried to force Judah into a coalition with them against Assyria. Judah refused to go along, so Israel and Syria attempted to replace Judah’s king with a man of their own choosing. Finally, King Ahaz of Judah called on Assyria for support against his two local enemies, only to find himself threatened by this voracious helper. Ultimately, Israel became a puppet state and then suffered complete destruction (722 b.c.), and Judah was left exposed on her northern and western flanks.

Within the land there was a deepening spiritual decline. Uzziah had begun as a godly king, and “as long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success” (2 Chron. 26:5). Growing military success, however, made Uzziah proud. He turned away from God, was struck with leprosy, and retired to a separate house for his final years. Jotham, his son, ruled for him. Jotham “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (27:2) and during his 16-year reign enjoyed continued political and military success. But he had little influence on the practices of Judah’s people. The Bible tells us that they “continued their corrupt practices” (v. 2). The sins against which Isaiah would cry out were deeply entrenched in the lifestyle of Judah as well as of Israel!

Uzziah’s death was symbolic. He who had begun so well and had found prosperity in obedience had been struck by the dread disease of leprosy. An appearance of health and strength remained for a time, but the disease was at work within the body of the king; its marks became more and more visible as the ravages of that dread sickness took their toll. Finally, destroyed within and without, Uzziah died; his pride and his disobedience brought judgment on him.

Isaiah pointed out that Judah was also diseased, just like her king, because she too had deserted the Lord.

In this context we read the account of Isaiah’s call. We see that Isaiah’s spiritual eyes were opened. His eyes were focused on his spiritual need. This encounter with God resulted in Isaiah’s becoming the great prophet that he was.

Big Idea: True Worship Involves Three Steps.

1A. ISAIAH SAW GOD – vv.1-4

        1B.  Isaiah saw a big God – v. 1

                1C. He caught a glimpse of the power of God. He saw God sitting on a throne. Isaiah saw God as

                        the King of kings and Lord of lords.  Isaiah pictured God in this way. He said, “the train of His

                         robe filled the temple” (v. 1). Isaiah saw God as the biggest thing he could imagine.

                2C.  ILLUSTRATION: Brent & I driving in a car. Brent asked “Dad, Are you stronger than God?”

                        Just has Isabella for 2 weeks. She is fearless around Grandma and Grandpa. Go up steps that

                        are bigger than her, etc.

                3C.  Application:  For Isaiah God could meet any need. Today’s Christian often puts a straitjacket

                        on God because he does not see God as the enormous, all-powerful God that He is. We

                        need our spiritual eyes opened.

        2B.  Isaiah saw a holy God vv. 2-3

                1C.  King Uzziah died in 740 B.C. and was one of Judah’s greatest leaders, even though in his

                        latter years he was disciplined for disobeying God (2 Chron. 26:16–21). A great king may

                        have left his throne on earth, but the greatest King was still seated on the throne of heaven.

                2C.  Holy, Holy, Holy – קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹש קָדוֹש

1.     Definition: Separate, apart, of things, awe-inspiring, to be treated with caution.

2.       Message:  “And they were calling to called back and forth one another: to the other, Holy, holy, holy Holy, Holy is God-of-the-Angel-Armies. His bright glory fills the Lord Almighty; the whole earth.is full of his glory.”

3.       ILLUSTRATION: Chuck Swindoll at a Conference with 40,000 pastors.

2A. ISAIAH SAW HIMSELF. 6:5-7

        1B.  Isaiah saw his unworthiness – v. 5

                1C. Woe to me                                                

                2C.  I am ruined

        2B.  Isaiah saw his sinfulness – v. 5                                  

                2C.  Unclean - religiously, with idols, sacrificing children to idols, ceremonially, by contact with

                        carcasses of unclean animals, by leprosy, by contact with the dead.

                3C.  Application: He realized that he was a sinful creature and, in the presence of holy God, this

 was overwhelming. All of us, when we come face-to-face with God, feel so unworthy. Those who are the closest to God are the ones who feel the most unworthy, because they are the ones who sense most the holiness of God. This feeling is revealed when Isaiah said, “I am a man of unclean lips” (v. 5). He realized his unworthiness. At this point God was able to work with Isaiah. Only after we realize our unworthiness can God make us into the mighty vessels we should be.

3B.  Isaiah saw his need to be made holy (v. 6-7).

                    1C.  Unclean lips are caused by an unclean heart (Matt. 12:34–35). Isaiah cried out to be

                            cleansed inwardly (Ps. 51:10), and God met his need. Before we can minister to others, we

                            must permit God to minister to us. Before we pronounce “woe” upon others, we must

                            sincerely say, “Woe is me!” Isaiah’s conviction led to confession, and confession led to

                            cleansing (1 John 1:9). Like Isaiah, many of the great heroes of faith saw themselves as

                            sinners and humbled themselves before God:

3A. ISAIAH SAW HIS TASK. 6:8

        1B.  Isaiah heard God’s plea.  – “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

                1C.  As always, God is looking for someone who will serve Him. The question confronted Isaiah:

                        “Will you be that person?” God is likewise confronting the church today with that question.

                        Will you accept His call?
        2B.  Isaiah responded – Here I am, send me!!!

                1C.  Isaiah had seen God. For him God was powerful. He was big enough to handle whatever would come. Then Isaiah got his life in order. He received forgiveness of sins. Finally he was ready to serve.

                2C.  Message: “Then And then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Master: “Whom shall I send? And Who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. spoke up, “I’ll go. Send me!””

CONCLUSION: I want us to pray that God will open our eyes. Take a good look at God, our self, and our task.

Read Isaiah 1:1-6

Isaiah graphically describes the advanced stages of leprosy: Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil. Isaiah 1:5–6

Judah’s sickness, like that of Uzziah, had to end in death. The year Uzziah died was a pivotal time for Judah. She had a last opportunity to choose between life and death. And Judah’s choice, like Uzziah’s, had been made.

Yet this was the year Isaiah saw the Lord!

How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets [the] real thing, it is irresistible.
C.S. Lewis, Letters to an American Lady, New Bible Commentary, p. 28.

[1] Isaiah was getting a fresh glimpse of God. He was seeing God praised and worshiped with all the exuberance and enthusiasm that His awesome holiness demanded. Don’t miss the significance of the fact that when God was properly praised and worshiped, the house was shaken. The Word of God says that God inhabits the praises of His people (Ps.22: 3). That being the case, maybe our churches would best be served by spending more time praising God than pushing our programs.
[2] Isn’t it sad that many Christians are more uninhibited about shouting their lungs out at a high school football game than they are about praising God at church?

In his book I Surrender, Patrick Morley writes that the church’s integrity problem is in the misconception “that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior.” He goes on to say, “It is revival without reformation, without repentance.”
Quoted by C. Swindoll, John The Baptizer, Bible Study Guide, p. 16.

Talk about when I met Christ. He changed the path of my life.

Now when we hear this command to be holy we do one of two things. We either

a)      brush it off as impossible.

b)       Or, we have an image similar to John White,

Have you ever gone fishing in a polluted river and hauled out an old shoe, a tea kettle, or a rusty can? I get a similar sort of catch if I cast as a bait the word holiness into the murky depths of my mind. To my dismay I come up with such associations as:

thinness
hollow-eyed gauntness
beards
sandals
long robes
stone cells
no sex
no jokes
hair shirts
frequent cold baths
fasting
hours of prayer
wild rocky deserts
getting up at 4 A.M.
clean fingernails
stained glass
self-humiliation
[The Fight p.179]

 [Eph 5:1-7] Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.”

We need to take personal holiness seriously. We spend a good deal of our lives trifling with sin

It is time to do a personal inventory and to make changes,

in your entertainment

your use of your time

the way you spend your money

the way you talk

the way you do your job

the way you treat others

the way you worship

How you treat others: A holy person, first and foremost, loves.

In Matthew 23 Jesus spoke the harshest words of his entire ministry, and they were directed at the Pharisees.

Being perpetually disgruntled drains the energy out of your existence and robs you of joy that should be  Adjusting your disgruntled attitude will make a difference in your life.

Your mind has become a battlefield; get ready to fight.

If we are not careful we will find ourselves being influenced by the world, instead of the Word.

If we fill our minds with junk all day long, we’ll end up thinking junk. If we fill our minds with Scripture, and with prayer, with uplifting music, and with edifying conversation, our lives will reflect the difference.