Isaiah's Calling

Isaiah’s Calling

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 6:1-13

Isaiah 6

1 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.

2 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.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5 Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

Introduction:

At this time Judah was without a King. Uzziah was one of Judah’s Greatest Leaders. Isaiah was searching around and found that His outlook was bleak, but God got Isaiah’s attention and caused him to look up. Then Isaiah saw that his outlook on things wasn’t bleak but bliss. Someone once said, “When the outlook is bleak, try the up look!”

I.The Upward Look (Seeing God as He

Is) [v.v. 1-4]

A.In His Government [v.v. 1&2]

B.In His Glory [v.v. 3&4]

II.The Inward Look (Seeing Ourselves

As We Are) [v.v. 5-8]

“A true vision of God and His holiness always makes us realize our own sinfulness and failure.”

--Wiersbe

A.In Our Sins [v. 5]

1.Solution for Our Sins [v. 7]

In Our Surrounding [v. 5]

1.Solution for Our Surroundings [v. 8]

When believers have a true experience with the Lord, it does not make them proud; rather, it humbles and breaks them.

--Wiersbe

III.The Outward Look (Seeing Others as

They Are) [v.v. 9-12]

In chapter 1, God pictures the nation as a sick body, covered with wounds and rotting sores, and as a stubborn and rebellious animal, too ignorant to listen to his own master. In chapter 5, the nation is pictured as a beautiful vineyard that did not produce good grapes. As you read chapters 1-5, you understand the burden that God gave Isaiah. The nation was prosperous; why preach about sin? The “fashionable ladies” would not like it (3:16-26), nor would the leading rulers (5:8ff). When people are rich, full, and satisfied, they do not believe that judgment is coming.

--Wiersbe

A.In Their Blindness

B.In Their Rebellion

“The Lord did not give His servant much encouragement! Isaiah’s ministry would actually make some people’s eyes more blind, their ears more deaf, and their hearts more callused or (Hardened).”

IV.The Forward Look (Seeing A Hope

For Some) [v. 13]

God is still calling believers today, but only a few are hearing the call and responding to it.