They Walked with God: Isaiah

Isaiah walked with God. But not only did he walk with God, he has a vision of God “high and lifted up.” His is one of the most exhilarating visions recorded within the Scriptures.

This summer has been a Summer of Testimonies, both from the lives of a dozen of our own members, and a dozen biblical characters. I pray that you’ve heard how God comes into our lives and changes them. I hope you’ve heard and absorbed some of the lessons we’ve gleaned from the biblical characters who walked with God.

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah is the last of our character studies. Throughout his ministry he was devoted, earnest, and fearless. I encourage you to read through the Book of Isaiah to catch a glimpse of how God used the prophet’s life, and to hear the redemptive message he preaches.

This morning I want us to zero-in on the Prophet’s vision of God and consider the lessons we learn from his experience.

I. THE PROPHET

1. what do we know about Isaiah?

a. some of what we know can be directly gleaned from the pages of Scripture

b. some of what we know can be inferred from what he writes and what others write about him

A. ISAIAH WAS A FAMILY MAN

1. he identifies himself as the “son of Amoz”

a. Hebrew tradition says that his father was a brother of King Amaziah, who was the father of King Uzziah — the first king of Israel Isaiah prophesied under

b. if this tradition is accurate, it could explain why Isaiah has access to four of Israel’s kings

c. Isaiah’s name — Yesha-yahu in the Hebrew — means “Salvation of the Lord” and happens to be the key theme of this book

2. Isaiah is married and simply identifies his wife as “the prophetess” (8:3) either because she was married to a prophet or because she shared the prophetic gift

3. Isaiah fathers two sons that we know of, and their names have prophetic significance

a. Shear-jashbu — which means “a remnant shall return” (7:3)

b. Maher-shalal-hash-baz — which means “quick to plunder, swift to the spoil” (8:1-4)

ILLUS. Can you imagine this poor kid on the first day of kindergarten? “And what is your name young man?” and the boy responds, “My name is ‘Quick to Plunder, Swift to the Spoil’.”

B. ISAIAH WAS A MAN OF THE CITY

1. he was born in the city, he labored in the city, and he loved the city

a. that city was Jerusalem

2. he had a long ministry, covering forty years or more, the entirety of which, was spent in Judah’s capitol

a. he was essentially the “court preacher” — personal prophet to four respective Kings of Judah

3. his figures of speech, his references, and his poetic imagery are all drawn from urban life

4. Isaiah was a man at home in the highest circles of government who had ready access to the king

5. he knew the priesthood intimately and was conversant with the life of the upper class

6. Isaiah grew up in a day of affluence and prosperity

a. King Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel brought their people to the highest achievements of economic and political prosperity

b. together, the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel rivaled the power and glory of the united kingdom under David and Solomon

C. ISAIAH WAS A MAN WHO HATED SIN AND SHAM RELIGION

1. his favorite name for God is “the Holy One of Israel”

a. he uses it twenty-five times in his book

1) it is used only five time in the rest fo the Old Testament

2. he looked at the crowded courts of the Jewish Temple and cried out, “They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward” (Isa. 1:4)

3. he examined the political policies of the leaders and said, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help ... but they look not to the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord” (Isa 31:1)

4. Jehovah was holy, but the nation was sinful; and Isaiah called the people to repent

a. his courage in this is astounding

1) unafraid to denounce kings and priests, and unwavering when public opinion went against him, he boldly declared the Word of God

2) at one point, Isaiah wears only a loin cloth for three years, hoping to gain the attention of a people who were blind to the growing threat of Assyria

5. Isaiah was a social critic, remorselessly applying the yardstick of God’s law to what he saw in his culture

D. ISAIAH HAD A SPECTACULAR ENCOUNTER WITH GOD

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”” (Isaiah 6:1–8, ESV)

1. because of this dramatic and dynamic experience, Isaiah has been referred to as “the Apostle Paul of the Old Testament”

2. as you read his prophecy, you will discover that he was a man in touch with God

a. he saw God’s Son and he saw God’s glory

b. he heard God’s message, and he sought to bring the nation back to God before it was too late

3. each of these elements of Isaiah’s life are lessons in and of themselves

a. they remind us that we each need to be devoted to our families, our community, our faith group, and our Lord

II. THE LESSONS FROM THE PROPHET’S VISION

1. the Book of the Prophet Isaiah is a lengthy prophecy — sixty-six chapters

a. he is speaking to a people living in prosperity, but with the dark cloud of judgement forming on the horizon

1) Isaiah is a book of soaring spiritual insight and stirring reminders of the promises of God

2) it is often referred to as ‘the fifth gospel’

b. the most compelling reading in the book are four sections referred to as Songs of the Suffering Servant

1) they are four poems that speak of a man simply called the servant of Yahweh

2) it is hard for a Christian to read these passages and not see Christ our Savior

2. because the book is lengthy, the lessons are numerous, but let me give what I think are the main take-away’s that we can glean from the prophet’s vision of God

A. 1st, OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD

1. the word that describes this scene is majesty

a. our Lord Christ is seen on his throne in regal splendor

2. everything about his scene is meant to force us to bow before our Maker

ILLUS. In 1980 a praise song titled Majesty was released by Jack Hayford. Forty years later, Majesty is still rated as one of the top 100 contemporary hymns of all time. Hayford is the founding pastor of The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, California, where he served as senior pastor for more than three decades. Hayford and his wife were on vacation in Great Britain in 1977 and visited many of the Castles that dot the land. He began to imagine what it must be like to be raised in a royal family, living in one of those stately edifices and to witness the pomp and ceremony of royal life. Then, he says, it occurred to him that, in Christ, he was part of a royal family. Of that moment he writes, “As Anna and I drove along together, the opening lyrics and melody of “Majesty” simply came to my heart. I continued driving, asking Anna to jot the words and melody line. So powerfully did the sense of Christ Jesus’ royalty, dignity, and majesty fill my heart; I seemed to feel something new of what it meant to be His! The accomplished triumph of His Cross has not only unlocked us from the chains of our own bondage and restored us to fellowship with the Father, but He has also unfolded to us a life of authority over sin and hell and raised us to partnership with Him in His Throne – now!”

The lyrics tell us:

Majesty, worship His Majesty!

Unto Jesus be all glory, honor and praise.

Majesty, Kingdom authority,

Flows from His throne, unto His own,

His anthem raise.

So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus.

Magnify, come glorify, Christ Jesus the King.

Majesty, worship His Majesty,

Jesus who died, now glorified,

King of all kings.

a. in Isaiah’s vision of God high and lifted up we catch a vision of the grandeur and the

glory and the awesomeness and the majesty of God

b. that theme is repeated throughout the book

2. according to Isaiah 40 ...

a. our God is a God who can measure the waters of the earth in the hallow of His hand

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?” (Isaiah 40:12, ESV)

ILLUS. The total volume of water on Earth is estimated at 333 million cubic miles, and God measured it out in the hollow of his hand. It’s a good thing he didn’t use both!

b. our God is a God who measured off the heavens with the span of his hand

ILLUS. In 2004, scientists estimated that the universe is 156 billion light-years wide. Other scientists pish-posh that number and say it’s only 93 billion light-years across. I think that God just stuck His hand out and said, “Yea, I think that’ll ‘bout do it.”

c. our God is a God who counts the stars and calls them each by name

“To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.” (Isaiah 40:25–26, ESV)

ILLUS. Almost all the stars in the universe are collected together into galaxies. These can be small dwarf galaxies, with just 10 million or so stars, or they can be monstrous irregular galaxies with 10 trillion stars or more. Our own Milky Way galaxy is estimated to contain about 200 billion stars; and we're actually about average in number of stars in a galaxy. Now, how many galaxies are there? There are an estimated 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe — those that can be seen with the Hubble Space Telescope! 100 billion galaxies with an average of 200 billion stars each is a lot of star! There may be as many as 1 septillion stars in the Universe. That's a lot of stars (almost as big as our national debt) — and, according to Isaiah God has given every one of them a name.

3. our God is an awesome God

B. 2nd, WITHOUT GRACE NO MAN CAN SEE GOD

“And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5, ESV)

1. when Isaiah stands before God in his vision, Isaiah’s first response is woe is me

a. in the presence of God, Isaiah understands he is subject to judgment

1) he cries out woe — a word used to express grief, or grievous distress because judgment is coming

2) He sees himself as he really is in the presence of God — undone, lost, and unclean

b. in the presence of God, Isaiah understands his lostness

1) lost and saved are two words frequently used in evangelical Christianity to describe the spiritual condition of men

2) the word lost in Isaiah 6:5 literally means to be cut off from — it’s used almost exclusively by the Hebrew prophets and refers to a person who will ultimately come to a violent end because they have been cut off from safety

a) to be lost means to be in an unregenerate spiritual condition — meaning that a man is outside of a redemptive relationship with God and is lost in his sin and will suffer the consequences of unforgiven sin because he is under the wrath of God

b) to be saved means, of course, to be in the opposite situation — a man who is “saved” in a regenerate spiritual condition — meaning that a man’s sin is covered by the grace of God because he is in a redemptive relationship with God through the act of faith and has been saved from the consequences of sin and is now considered a child of God

3) the good news is that Jesus can change your spiritual condition from lostness to foundness

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”” (Luke 19:10, NIV84)

a) in the Presence of God, Isaiah Understands His Lostness

c. in the presence of God, Isaiah understands the depravity of his sin, and the sin of others — which is why men are lost

1) to be unclean in Jewish culture had nothing to do with physical cleanliness, but with spiritual uncleanliness

2) it means to be living is a state where sin controls every aspect of one’s life

a) it means to be totally unacceptable in God’s sight

b) in Revelation 21:27 we’re told that nothing unclean shall enter the Kingdom of God

3. only the cleansing work of God, wrought in the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, allows the sinner to stand in the presence of God

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”” (Isaiah 6:5–7, ESV)

a. Isaiah appears before God unclean, but leaves cleansed and forgiven

1) this “live coal” has come from the altar of burnt offering where sin is dealt with

2) that it is a live coal ultimately represents Christ himself and his cleansing blood that keeps on cleansing us from all sin

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, NIV84)

3) when the seraph symbolically touched Isaiah’s lips, it announced that God has “removed” Isaiah’s guilt and that his sin “was atoned” by God

4) in the third chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus referred to this as being born again

b. all this was an act of God’s grace

1) Isaiah did nothing to accomplish his atonement

2) Isaiah offered no sacrifices, did not promise to be a missionary to gain it, and had no power to save himself from certain ruin

4. this morning, if you need God’s forgiveness in your life, there is nothing you can offer him, nothing you can do to please him, nothing you can accomplish that earns His grace

a. it’s a free gift that he gives you when you confess woe is me, my sin makes me unclean and I am doomed unless Jesus comes into my life

ILLUS.

Not the labor of my hands

Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears forever flow,

All could never sin erase,

Thou must save, and save by grace.

C. 3rd, GOD’S REDEMPTION OF OUR SOUL COMPELS US TO BE WITNESSES

“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!”” (Isaiah 6:8, NIV84)

ILLUS. Set my soul afire, Lord, set my soul afire, Make my life a witness of Thy saving pow’r. Millions grope in darkness, waiting for Thy Word, Set my soul afire, Lord, Set my soul afire.

1. like Isaiah, when we give a witness, most of those with whom we share the gospel will not “see” and will not “hear” and will not “perceive” because their hearts are dull, their ears are heavy and their eyes are blind

a. they will not turn and be healed

2. like Isaiah, we ask, “How long shall we keep it up?” and God’s response is until the cities lie in waste, and the land is desolate

a. which is God’s way of saying that we are to never end our witnessing for the Lord

3. but the good news is that the holy seed (vs. 13) will survive

a. it’s an expression of infinite promise meaning that God’s truth remains, it will sprout and it will reap a harvest