A Needed Vision

A Needed Vision

Isaiah 6:1-5

Isaiah had an encounter with God that provided Him with a clear vision of God, himself, his people, and his mission. Proverbs 29:18 tells us that “where there is no vision people perish”. We as individuals and as the family of God need to have a clear vision like Isaiah. We need to see and understand Who God is, what we are, and what God is calling us to do.

I. We need a clear vision of God

A. Isaiah 6:1-4 “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.”

B. We need to see His holiness

1. “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts”

2. Psalm 145:17 “The LORD is righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works.”

3. Revelation 15:4 “"Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy"

4. God is Holy

5. The holiness of God is absolute, uncompromising, and not subject to corruption. God is independently, infinitely, immutably, indelibly holy.

6. Habakkuk 1:13 “"Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity"

7. Because God is holy we should desire and strive to be conformed to Him. His command is, "Be ye holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16).

8. John Brown, a nineteenth-century Scottish theologian said “Holiness does not consist in mystic speculations, enthusiastic fervors, or uncommanded austerities; it consists in thinking as God thinks, and willing as God wills.” -quoted in, The Pursuit of Holiness by J. Bridges

C. We need to see and understand His Righteousness

1. Isaiah 5:16 “But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment,

and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.”

2. God’s righteousness or justice is the natural expression of His holiness. His righteousness is how consistently acts in accord with His own character His actions are always right and fair.

3. If the Holy God is infinitely pure, then He must be opposed to all sin, and that opposition to sin must be demonstrated in His treatment of both sin and those who commit sin.

4. God’s standard of righteousness is Jesus Christ.

5. God’s will is that believers be Christ-like.

6. Romans 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son…”

7. To be conformed to Jesus, we must first begin to think as Jesus did. We need the "mind of Christ." We need to value the things He values and despise the things He despises. We need to have the same priorities He has. –RC Sproul, The Holiness of God

8. Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

9. “God wants us first acknowledging that sin is in fact sin according to how the New Testament Bible reveals what sin is, then God wants us making it our TOP PRIORITY in working with Him to stop committing those sins. Am I somehow trying to imply that Christians can somehow reach a state of sinless perfection in this life? No I am not! I do not believe such a thing is possible before we receive our glorified bodies, or until we get to heaven. However, I do believe God wants us making it top priority to strive diligently to get all sin out of our life. Striving to become sin-free is very commendable to God, and will be greatly rewarded.” – Norm Rasmussen

II. We need a clear vision of Ourselves

A. Isaiah 6:5a “Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips…”

B. When Isaiah had this encounter with God something happened to him first on the inside. Isaiah saw himself in the light of God’s Holiness and was speechless. Isaiah’s became conscious of his sinfulness and understood that his sin had left him in a state of deadness and ruin. There was no defense as he stood before the Righteous Judge of the Universe. He saw his sin as God saw it – something that must be confessed and forsaken.

C. We need to have a vision of what sin is and how it affects our relationship to God.