Sermon Manuscript020407
Sermon Worksheet & Manuscript
Robert L. Hutcherson, Jr.
Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church
Sermon Preparation/Delivery
Isaiah 6:1-8
“Working on Renewal”
The Rev. Karla J. Cooper, Pastor
February 4, 2007
Sermon Worksheet & Manuscript
AUTHOR
1. Who wrote (or is credited with writing) the text?
The Prophet Isaiah. The name borne by this great prophet was Yesha'-yâhu, which stands for "the Salvation of Jehovah." The name was not an uncommon one. It was borne by one of the heads of the singers in the time of David, by a Levite of the same period, by one of the chief men who returned to Jerusalem with Ezra (Ezra 8:7), by a Benjamite mentioned in Nehemiah, and others. The form may be compared with that of Khizki-yâhu, or Hezekiah, which meant "the Strength of Jehovah, "and Tsidki-yâhu, or Zedekiah, which meant "the Righteousness of Jehovah." It was one of singular appropriateness in the case of the great prophet, since "the salvation of Jehovah" was the subject which Isaiah was especially commissioned to set forth. His parentage and family. Isaiah was, as he tells us repeatedly "the son of Amoz." This name must not be confounded with that of the Prophet Amos, from which it differs both in its first and in its final letter. Amoz, according to a Jewish tradition, was a brother of King Amaziah; but this tradition can scarcely be authentic, since it would make Isaiah too old. Amoz was probably not a man of any high distinction, since he is never mentioned excepting as Isaiah's father. Isaiah was married, and his wife was known as "the prophetess", which, however, does not necessarily imply that the prophetic gift had been bestowed upon her. It may have been, as it was upon Deborah and upon Huldah; or she may have been called "the prophetess" simply as being the wife of "the prophet" (Isa 38:1). Isaiah tells us that he had two sons, Shear-jashub and Maher-shalal-hash-baz, whose names are connected with his prophetical office. Shear-jashub was the elder of the two by many years.The prophet tells us that he "saw a vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah". It would follow from this, that, even if he began his prophetic career as early as the twentieth year of his age, he must have been born twenty years before Uzziah's death, or in B.C. 779. He certainly lived till the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, or B.C. 715, and probably outlived that monarch, who died in B.C. 699-8. It is not unlikely that he was even contemporary for some years with Manasseh, Hezekiah's son; so that we may, perhaps, assign him, conjecturally, the space between B.C. 780 and B.C. 690, which would give him a lifetime of ninety years.
2. From what perspective does the author write?
Isaiah grew to manhood as a subject of the Judaean kingdom, during the period of the two kingdoms known respectively as those of Israel and Judah. Israel, the schismatical kingdom established by Jeroboam on the death of Solomon, was approaching to its fall. After existing for two centuries under eighteen monarchs of eight different families, and with some difficulty maintaining its independence against the attacks of its northern neighbor, Syria of Damascus, the Israelitish kingdom was on the point of succumbing to a far greater power, the well-known Assyrian empire.
TEXT
"In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory. And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth {with it} and said, Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven. Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then I said, Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:1-8 NASBR)
BODY
I just want to ask you today…Why do you come to church? Do we come to church to worship God? Will we begin to worship in sincerity and truth.
After attending church one Sunday morning, a little boy knelt at his bedside that night and prayed, "Dear God, we had a good time at church today--but I wish you had been there!"
Though we do not face a pantheon of false gods like the Israelites did, we face pressures from a pantheon of false values--materialism, love of leisure, sensuality, worship of self, security, and many others. The second commandment deals with idols. This may be something that most of us can't relate to--unless we include life goals that revolve around something other than God Himself. What is the object of our affections, our efforts, and our attention? Where does most of our time go? On what do we spend the greatest amount of our resources?
What is worship? Giving ourselves to someone or something in adoration and devotion. Someone is worthy of ourselves. What we worship is what we think of more than anything else. It is what we want more than anything else. There is little question that we, as a nation, stand in need of renewal. America needs to turn back to God. As we look at the condition of our country we are amazed at the moral breakdown of society. It is time for genuine renewal, but it must begin with each of us.
Tonight I want us to look at the prophet Isaiah. His world was also troubled and in need of turning back to God. The key verse is verse 5 “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.” To translate undone from the Hebrew means “cut off”.
It is not hard for us to point our finger at the conditions we see in this world, but the real need for today is personal renewal. Isaiah shows us what is needed for us to have this personal renewal.
We Need a New Awareness of the Character of God. "In the year that King Uzziah died..." Uzziah had been a great and powerful king. He began to reign when he was only 16 years old, and reigned for 52 years. He sought for God and God made him prosper. He was a mighty warrior and God gave him many great victories. He offended against the Lord later in his reign and God smote him with leprosy until the day he died. In his day everything was centered around the king, and with him dead there was a great void, because he had been a great king. Isaiah perhaps had his eyes on the great king, but now God removes him from his sight. He describes an event that took place in his life that changed him forever and made him a different man. Like many who are preoccupied with other people or things, Isaiah had not been focusing on God.
"I saw also the Lord..." Isaiah, now unable to look to Uzziah, looks to God and finds out what God is like. He saw the Lord enthroned. Don’t miss this…Israel's throne was empty, but God's was occupied. Great leaders come and go, but God remains! To do successful service for God, we must have a vision of the enthroned Christ. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Do we see the Lord when we come to Worship? What we may be seeing instead of God in our church.
One of the real problems of our time is the near celebrity status of many preachers. Many men are almost worshipped by their followers. Lyman Beecher Stowe wrote about an incident in his book Saints, Sinners, and Beechers. Stowe told that on one occasion Thomas K. Beecher substituted for his famous brother Henry Ward Beecher at the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, New York. Many curiosity seekers had come to hear the renowned Henry Beecher speak. Therefore when Thomas Beecher appeared in the pulpit instead, some of the people got up and started for the doors. Sensing that they were disappointed because he was substituting for his brother, Thomas Beecher raised his hand for silence and announced, "All those who came here this morning to worship Henry Ward Beecher may withdraw from the church; all who came to worship God may remain."
Isaiah saw the Lord's attendants. There were seraphims, each one with six wings. Two covered their faces out of reverence for the Lord. Two covered their feet out of humility before the Lord. The other two were used for flying to do service for their Lord.
He heard the praise in heaven. “Holy, holy, holy”: this is the nature of God.
The whole earth is full of His glory. The glory of the great king Uzziah paled when compared to the glory of God! The whole place shook and was filled with smoke signaling the presence of God!
We Need a New Awakening of Christian Conscience. Isaiah's vision did something for Isaiah. It changed him completely. He didn't shout, he began to weep. It made him weep because it brought him to a sense of sin. This is the greatest need for us today! He cried, "Woe is me!" This was the outward expression of the inward conviction. Seeing God, he became aware of himself. The same happened to Peter in Luke 5:8, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." It happened to John in Revelations. 1:17, "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead..."He said, "I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips..."He confessed his sin and his helplessness to do anything about it. He confessed that he was unclean and that his people were also unclean. He didn't tell the Lord how honest and upright he was...he knew that he wasn't. Unclean lips are the result of an unclean heart.
“Give me a Clean Heart
So I can serve Thee
Open my eyes,
That I may be used by Thee
Though I’m not worthy
Still I would serve Thee
Give me a Clean Heart
And I’ll follow Thee”
We Need Cleansing. The live coal came from the brazen altar where the sacrifices had been offered. God brought the cleansing after Isaiah repented. Before he could be used of God, he needed to be cleansed by God. So the lips were cleansed. "Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged..." God meets our specific needs. His grace is sufficient. The Lord took our sin and iniquity that we might be free.
We Need a New Concern for the Souls of Men. "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us...?" God asked for volunteers. God is looking for someone to send to tell others of the precious truth about Christ. God is always looking for someone who will represent Him. "Then said I, Here am I..."Now that he was changed and now that he was cleansed.
Isaiah was ready to commit his life to the service of God. He looked up and saw the Lord, he looked in and saw himself, but when he looked out he saw the world and its need.
When renewal comes, We Need to Begin to Care about the needs of others."...Send me..."When Isaiah said, "Send me" God said. "Go". If we are unwilling to go, who will? There needs to be within us a readiness to obey God's will and carry the message to those who have never heard.
“I will go where there’s a need
I will go, Lord send me
I will go where You lead
Even to the ends of the earth”
What will it take for genuine renewal? A new awareness of God, A new awareness of self, and a new concern for souls. God wants us to have renewal, but we must be willing to receive it from Him. When our hearts are right, then we are ready to serve.
How do we see God? Do we see Him as our King? Do we see his holiness and his glory. Do we see His desire to see us in the worship and to have fellowship with us. Do we See Him in the beauty of creation. Do we see how His glory fills the earth. Do we see Him in the beauty of People He has placed in our lives. Do we see Him in the beauty of the church. This is His body and this is His people. Not a perfect people but a people that He loves. Do we see Him as the only one in all of our lives that is worthy of us. Do we sense the holiness of God? Do we sense our need for cleansing of unholiness. “Woe is me for I am Undone”. Do we see Him as he is. Do we see His desire to provide all that we need so we may come and worship Him and know Him now and forever.
Let’s be the true worshippers…The cleansed ones.
Those who desire God in their Lives.
Those who recognize their sinfulness.
Those who recognize their need of forgiveness.
Those who seek to put God first in their lives, because this is our spiritual worship.
Those who follow the Lord’s will in their lives.
Have you received God’s forgiveness for our sins for the day, week, month, year, and Life? Do you hear the calling of God? Do you have a desire to go where God wants us to go. Have you come to the altar of God for your cleansing so you can come into his presence fit for service.
“Let me sow the seeds of life
To a parched and dying land
Water me with Your words of love
So that they may understand
That the love that God has shed upon us
Is a love that will never fade away
Let me share it with the world
I’ll go..I’ll be the one to go…
Here am I, send me
Here am I, send me
Until every nation knows
The power of your love
Give me a hunger to know
Where it is you want me to go
Father, I’m saying
“Here am I, send me”
Let us pray…
1Chronicles 16:29 tells us: Give unto the LORD the glory [due] unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
CHILDREN’S LESSON
Order of Worship
Sunday February 4th, 2007
11:00 A.M.
Opening Hymn………………” I Am On The Battlefield For My Lord”, Hymn 390
Doxology………………………………………………..All
Call to Worship……………………………….Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Hymn……………………………“King Jesus Will Roll All Burdens Away”, Hymn
Prayer…………………………………………..Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Prayer Response………………………………….Give Us This Day”
Scripture Reading……………………………..Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Decalogue………………………………………Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Gloria Patri………………………………………….Congregation
Sermon…………………………………………Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Invitation to Christian Discipleship..”I am Weak and I Need Thy Strength”, Hymn 378
Altar Call/Offertory………………………………………All
Offertory Response……………………………”All Things Come Of Thee”
Affirmation of Faith…………………………………Congregation
Benediction……………………………………..Bro. Robert Hutcherson