Take The Long Way Home
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The Long Way Home
The Long Way Home
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. 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. And one called 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 shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 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!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 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.”
When I was 14 years of age, I had my first car. It was a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle- but couldn’t drive it because I wasn’t licensed yet.
Being the child of a single working mother in Junior high school, it meant I did my share of bumming rides home from school events or walking. And if it was daylight, I liked to walk.
But to get home, I had two choices… I either walked SR 39 to my neighborhood, or I walked the railroad tracks. The railroad tracks were the preferred method of travel- because they were quick. But the railroad tracks also had their share of dangers, the most obvious being trains.
I usually, without fail, took the tracks. They made better sense to me. WHY would you do otherwise? Why would you take the long way home?
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. 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. And one called 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 shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
ISAIAH SAW THE LORD
The temple is not the one in earth, but rather the one in heaven.
Note, King Uzziah died. Uzziah was a great king in Israel, but even as great as he was he had been disciplined by God for disobedience.
This great king had left his throne on earth, but the greatest king was still sitting on His throne.
Jesus referred to this in John 12.41
Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.
Note, that for Isaiah, his outlook was difficult.
the beloved king had died.
The nation of israel was in jeopardy.
Isaiah could not change the situation.
But he knew something.... God is still on the throne. And reigning.
Note in the 3rd verse that Isaiah says God spoke and the whole earth was full of his glory. In spite of Isaiah’s desparate circumstances, God saw that the earth was full of God’s glory, and he told Isaiah this was so.
Perspective… ours… and heavens… are quite different.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!
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!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
ISAIAH SAW INSIGHT INTO HIMSELF… isaiah 6.5-7
The sight of the holiness of God brought conviction to Isaiah’s heart.
Isaiah knew his heart was unclean because his lips were unclean... was
look at Matthew 12.34-35
You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.
Isaiah’s situation caused him to call out to God as David did in Psalm 51.10
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
You may speak with the most eloquent of words, but if the heart is not right you will fail.
Before we can take up our cross to serve Jesus, we must accept the Jesus that hung on his cross.
Every great servant of the Lord first understood and acknowledged their own sin before they could do God’s work.
David
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?
Paul
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
Peter
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
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 SAW THE NEED
Isaiah saw the need from God’s perspective, and he answered the call.
Never fail to acknowledge what God can do with one willing soul.
And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.
THE NATION COULD NOT SEE GOD!
vs. 9-10 are quoted 6 times in the New Testament. Jesus, Luke, and Paul all quoted these verses.
And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
He said, “Go and tell this people: “ ‘Listen hard, but you aren’t going to get it; look hard, but you won’t catch on.’ Make these people blockheads, with fingers in their ears and blindfolds on their eyes, So they won’t see a thing, won’t hear a word, So they won’t have a clue about what’s going on and, yes, so they won’t turn around and be made whole.”
God did not make sinners blind, deaf, or hardhearted....
but the more that the nation resisted God’s truth, the less able they were to receive God’s truth.
There would have been no problems in Isaiah’s life if he had just stopped telling the truth. But he couldn’t. He had to remain faithful.
I had a church once that the “leaders” told me to stop talking about salvation and sin. I went to my preacher,and I asked what I should do. He said preach on. Bob Reed. Melvin Chestnut. Great times.
The more we resist God’s truth, the less able we are to receive God’s truth. They no longer saw their sin. Isaiah had delivered the message twice to no avail.
Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.
Isaiah asks how long?
god said you will end in failure, seemingly. The people will be takn into exile and the land will be ruined. but a remnant will survive.
Isaiah needed long-range perspective on his ministry or he would feel like he was accomplishing nothing.
Meaningful Ministry Is a Marathon
Meaningful Ministry Is a Marathon
It is not a moment in time.
It is not a miler.
It is a marathon.
In it for the long haul or until the road gets bumpy?