Hear the call

Isaiah 6

I.       Hear the call – See Him in every situation

A.     In tragedy

(NKJV) Isaiah 6 1 In the year that King Uzziah died,

1.      Isaiah – tragedy; cousin? to Uzziah – young person in the mainstream of life -

B.     In failure

1.      Prideful downfall to end a time of faithfulness

a)      Strength led to destruction

 (NKJV) 2 Chronicles 26 16 But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

b)      Suffered consequences of sin

(NKJV) 2 Chronicles 26 21 King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord.

C.     In everything

1.      Amos – blue collar worker; Abraham – successful businessman
Moses – midlife comfort; Jeremiah – fearful young religious worker

II.    Hear the call - See the Lord in His proper place

A.     Exalted

(NKJV) Isaiah 6 1 … I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

1.      Isaiah's vision

a)      Only one seeing the Lord there

b)      Throne

(1)   Ruling as sovereign

(2)   Judging the affairs of men

(3)   Contrast to Uzziah

2.      He is in His proper role – exalted

B.     Mighty

(NKJV) Isaiah 6 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3.      Angels as an example (burning ones)

a)      Humility

b)      Unworthiness

c)      Readiness to obey

C.     Holy

 (NKJV) Isaiah 6 3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

d)      Three unheard of – no measurement - complete holiness

e)      Seriousness of sin

D.    Omnipresent

(NKJV) Isaiah 6 3 … The whole earth is full of His glory!”

f)       Not a tiny God hidden in the temple between the wings of the cherabim on the ark of the covenant

(1)   Temple in heaven

(2)   Temple on earth

(3)   Rules both

E.     Awesome

(NKJV) Isaiah 6 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

III. Hear the call - See ourselves as we are

A.     Sinners

(NKJV) Isaiah 6 5 So I said: “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 my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”

1.      Funeral dirge

2.      Undone - Doomed

a)      Tense implies it is so imminent that it has already occurred

3.      No hope in self

a)      Words reflect who I am – totally unclean

b)      No chance of satisfying the Lord on one's merit

c)      No ability to praise the Lord

4.      True of Isaiah – me – the world

5.      Unable to stand before the perfect Holy judge

B.     Forgiven in Christ

(NKJV) Isaiah 6 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.”

1.      God sent a messenger

2.      Sacrifice had been made

3.      Needed to be applied

4.      Guilt is removed

a)      True Guilt from known wrong doing

b)      Taken out of the path – removed as an obstacle

5.      Sin is atoned for

a)      Inner corruption – specific wrong -  deserving of divine displeasure

b)      Covered over  (like pitch over ark to seal out water – payment to "cover" a debt found in the Law canceling by satisfactory payment

c)      No longer sees it

d)      Anger against sin is gone

e)      Wrath has been satisfied (against another)

f)       Sees only the sacrifice as He looks upon him

C.     With Personal access to God

(NKJV) Isaiah 6 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

1.      Now near rather than far

2.      Able to understand the Lord's plan and interact with Him

IV. Hear the call  - See the responsibility

A.     The need to tell

 (NKJV) Isaiah 6 8 … “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?”

1.      Chooses to partner in the salvation of men

2.      Rhetorical request - Not that He doesn't know

3.      Gives opportunity to respond

B.     The natural response to volunteer

(NKJV) Isaiah 6 8 … Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

1.      Engages the Lord personally – free to speak

a)      No longer afraid before the Lord –

b)      confident (bold) in the effects of the sacrifice

2.      Responsive

a)      Immediate recognition

b)      Available

c)      Aware of the message

d)      Received personal benefit

3.      Acts with his will

a)      Discerns responsibility

b)      Readiness to respond

c)      Commits

4.      Even before he knows what his commitment entails

C.     The Commission to go

(NKJV) Isaiah 6 9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people:

1.      Required action to go out

2.      Required action to speak up

V.    Conclusion

God intervenes in our lives in get our attention  – but perhaps we don't need to wait for Him – Let's give Him our attention now

He is exalted – we are sinners – yet He has made the way to give us access to Him

Our response to what the Lord has done should be yieldedness

All called to go

Each led down different paths