Invitation to a Fresh Encounter

Holiness of God

King Uzziah had led the nation of Israel into a godless nation. Isaiah is heartbroken for his nation so he goes to the temple to pray. Little did he know that his life was going to change. When he entered the temple he saw the Lord. What he saw was breathtaking. He saw him sitting on a throne. This demonstrates that the Lord is king of kings and Lord of Lords. Their is no greater authority than the Lord. Their is no one greater than the Lord. This is why the Lord said in the first commandment. Exodus 20:3

Exodus 20:3 NASB95

“You shall have no other gods before Me.

Isaiah witnessed the Seraphim standing above the throne. They covered themselves as to not look upon the fullness of the glory of God. They knew that they could not look on the fullness of God and live. God told Moses this as well. Exodus 33:18-20

Exodus 33:18–20 NASB95

Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”

We cannot grasp the entirety of the glory of God. That which He has revealed to us is enough to make us stand in awe and wonder of Him. There are things of God that we do not know and may never know because His holiness is so much greater than our being!

The angels pronounced His holiness and stated that the whole earth is filled with His glory. As we look around at the design of God’s creation we witness a glimpse of the glory of God. Psalms 19:1

Psalm 19:1 NASB95

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

God’s creation demonstrates His glory by revealing that He is the Creator. Romans 1:20

Romans 1:20 NASB95

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

We must begin to focus and understand the Holiness of God if we are going to experience personal revival. The trivialization of God in our half-hearted devotion to Him will never bring about personal revival. Until we have the heart of DL Moody who said, “ “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.”

The Sinfulness of Man

Isaiah proclaimed that he was ruined because he was a man of unclean lips and lived among people of unclean lips. It was the witness of the holiness of God that Isaiah understood the depravity of his own soul. He considered himself ruined. He considered his life as not even worth living. He could never attain to being in the presence of the Lord because his sin was so great.

Isaiah could have easily looked at other people and considered himself as not as bad as others and perhaps even somewhat deserving of the favor of God. He did not do this. He considered the atrocity of his own sin before a Holy God. He saw himself as ruined.

There was no trivialization of sin. He saw it for what it was and the destruction that it brought. We too must understand our own depravity before a Holy God. We must not compare ourselves to others but instead see the destruction of our own sin and beg for the mercy of God.

Often times we choose not to address our own sins but instead look to others and determine that we are better than them. This is a lie from Satan. Until we are willing to confess and repent of our own sin we will never experience personal revival. This is not a once and done event. Confession and repentance are a life long endeavor that must not be neglected but instead practiced on a frequent basis.

We like to talk about how our nation is going in a wrong direction and rightly it is, but we must begin with ourselves before we begin to talk about others or our nation. Jesus put it this way: Matthew 7:3-5

Matthew 7:3–5 NASB95

“Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Until we repent of our own sin we have no business judging the sin in others lives. Once we have removed the plank form our own eye (repentance) then we can seek to help those who have a speck in their eye. We do not sit in a place of judgement, but instead sit in a place of restoration.

The Forgiveness of God

The Seraphim took a burning coal and put it on Isaiah’s mouth and his iniquity was taken away and his sins forgiven. Two things happened here. First his iniquity was taken away and second his sins were forgiven. What was his iniquity? He was a man of unclean lips. God changed that by not only removing the unclean lips but replacing it with the Words of God.

Secondly God forgave his sin. What was the consequence of his sin? He was ruined. God took his ruined life and gave him purpose and calling. God did not allow his life to be ruined but gave him new life.

This is exactly how God deals with us. He removes our iniquity. When we come to know Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, He changes our will. Our desires are changed from the ways of this world to the ways of His kingdom.

Secondly, He forgives us of our sin. Paul puts it this way in Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 NASB95

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God removes the punishment of everlasting death and replaces it with everlasting life.

The Testimony of God

The Lord said ,”Whom shall I send?” Isaiah said, “Send me!”

God told Isaiah to proclaim to the people that they had no awareness or conception of God. They were a people that could not see or hear God. Isaiah was sent to proclaim judgment on the people in hopes that they might understand with their hearts and turn and be healed.

This is the gospel that we are to share. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on a cross for our sins. We are to repent and receive the gift of God through faith in Jesus. This is the way we understand with our hearts and turn and are healed.