Isaiah’s New Vision Of God's Work In The World Series

Subject: “Isaiah’s New Vision"

Text: Isaiah 6:1-8 “It was in the year King Uzziah died[a] that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” 4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” 8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Introduction: Prov. 29:18 Where there is no vision the people perish. “A church in a community brought a piece of property and built a building. They were excited about serving the Lord. They wanted to win the lost for Christ and encourage the saved to live for Jesus. They really had a vision for God. It was their desire to carry out the Great Commission. They put a sign over the door of their church: "WHERE THERE IS NO VISION THE PEOPLE PERISH.

Over the years they forgot their purpose and let the building run down and lost many members. Over the door of the church the sign had gotten in bad disarray. It had become old and the paint was faded and one of the letters had fallen off. The "W" on the word "WHERE" had fallen off. Now it read: HERE THERE IS NO VISION THE PEOPLE PERISH. What a difference a ”w” makes! How did these sincere, God loving people begin a good work that failed. They simply lost their vision. What is your vision? Where are you going? What does God want to do through your ministry in the next few years. The years ahead will be challenging years, but they can be the most rewarding.

What is a vision? (1) Well, the simplest definition is "to be able to see something ahead? (2) To have supernatural foresight (3) To be able to keep life in focus and know how to properly prioritize the events of your life. (4) To be able to place the emphasis on the important and not waste time, talent, and energy on the unimportant. Having a vision is not a crystal ball or necessarily hearing audible voices. It is the belief in one’s heart that God is going to do something that is consistent with His Word and consistent with His will and believing that what God is going to do will have an amazing impact on your life. Having vision is having the confident belief that the promises of God are going to be realized in the future of your ministry. It has been said, “A Blind man’s world is bound by the limits of his touch; an ignorant man’s world is bound by the limits of his knowledge; a great man’s world is bound by the limits of his vision."

In our text, Isaiah seemed to have lost his vision and this is the place where he regained it. King had died, politics were changing, people were corrupt, the economy was uncertain, people were less interested in God. There are several specific lessons Isaiah experienced when he has a new vision. Those same lessons we need to see. The vision which Isaiah saw in the temple is contrast with the Lord declaring blindness to come upon the Jewish nation and the destruction which would follow. Judah and Jerusalem enjoyed many years of prosperity and plenty under the rule of king Uzziah. Now Assyria, a powerful aggressor had destroyed the northern kingdom and had scattered the people of Israel throughout its own empire. Sin has consequences. Although it may not be immediate, sin will eventually bring judgment.

Uzziah had meant so much to the nation of Judah and Jerusalem, but his reign had come to a tragedy end. He died under the judgment of leprosy for trying to take over the High Priest's duties. Although he was generally a good king, with a long and prosperous reign, many of his people turned away from God. Prosperity and abundance should cause men to serve God more faithfully, but many times it will separate men from God.