INTRO: I reflect back to my life-changing experience that turned me from a young man headed in the wrong direction to a child of God. (Changes, thoughts and the way I looked at life changed, like night and day).
Met my old college baseball coach a couple of years ago. Told him I was a minister and he said, “You’re the last person who I thought would be a minister!”
Today we’re going to talk about a man who had a life-changing experience some 2700 years ago and see what gold nuggets we can lean.
TITLE: A Life-Changing Experience
TEXT: Isaiah 6:1-9 (READ) (7 C’s)
I. Contemplation - v. 1 - “I saw the Lord”.
A. Background - Isaiah was a prophet of God. God raised up prophets during the dark days (sort like evangelist). Isaiah prophesied mainly to SK (Judea).
-Warning them of the impending danger.
B. Vision/dream - seen God’s splendor and majesty. Not his whole glory because:
-Exodus 33:20 - “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
1. Moses was only able to see the back of God as He passed by in His full glory.
2. God’s presence changes us - greatest tuning points in our life. We need to act when God directs us.
ex Called into ministry, Jr. College, wasted three years.
Key: Do what the Lord directs. If he tells you run into a brick wall, run expecting God to make a hole for you.
3. Presence found - temple, His house, one of my favorite places is the House of the Lord (where we talk and fellowship together).
II. Conviction - v. 5 “woe is me.”
(HE) - means an expression of grief and despair!
ex Taste college baseball, pitcher, sound, didn’t even swing!
A. I am ruined - Isaiah sees God’s glory and majesty, holiness. He becomes aware of how unworthy, unholy he is.
1. God’s presence - shows us our wretched inner self (how sinful we truly are).
ex. Painting apartment, in the dim light, owner had bright light.
a. Don’t make the mistake - comparing ourselves against each other. Human nature picks someone less righteous. We use the wrong measuring stick.
ex Story of little boy, 8’ 4” tall, mother smiled and noticed his measuring stick was only 6” rather than 12”. He really was 4’ 2” tall.
b. Right measurement - Amos 8 - “Lord is setting a plumb line among His people to see if they meet the requirements.
1. Plumb line - used by masons to see if walls are vertical. Weight with a string attached to it.
-Jesus is this plumb line that is used to measure us, and we need to measure ourselves against Him.
III. Confession - v. 5 - “For I am a man with unclean lips, and I live among people with unclean lips.”
A. Conviction is followed by confession - crying out to God because of his inadequacies.
1. Let us not be like: The college freshman went to the dorm laundry room with his dirty clothes
bundled into an old sweatshirt. He was embarrassed by how dirty his clothes were that he never opened the bundle. He merely pushed it into a washing machine and when the machine stopped,
• pushed the bundle into a dryer and finally took the still unopened bundle back to his room. He discovered his clothes had gotten wet, dry, but not clean!
* Let us not keep our sins in a safe little bundle. Let the Lord do a thorough cleansing!
B. Holy men - recognize how sinful they truly are. Romans 7:15 - “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”
* Apostle Paul writing this, Pharisee of Pharisees, a man as holy as one can be. Says he ends up doing things he doesn’t want to do (because of the power of sin).
ex Interview Billy Graham, how unworthy he felt because of his thoughts.
Thought: If they feel this way, how much more should we!
IV. Cleansing - v. 6-7 - Guilt and sin are taken care of.
A. Isaiah is cleansed - supernatural act cleansing him from his sin.
1. Ourselves - ask forgiveness. We are cleansed from our guilt and sin.
Psalm 103:12 - “East is from west so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Romans 8:1 - “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!”
a. Teen Challenge - young man killed his mother (imagine the guilt and pain).
* God is the only one at times who can relieve a broken heart and take away the pain and suffering.
b. Cleansing may be painful - My story of sitting on porcupine quill, clean out poison with a needle and razor blade. Painful experience, taught me to look before I sat.
* Father in heaven tries to show us that sin is poisonous and may cause us pain to overcome it, but in the end we will be better off for it!
V. Call of God - v. 8- “Whom shall I send, who will go for us.”
A. Isaiah faced with a challenge of personal commitment. Take up the Lord’s call and be faithful and do what He has called Isaiah to do.
I. All a part of the body - I Cor. 12:14-19 (READ) we all play a part in the body. Some are hands, feet, eyes, ears.
-We’re different, but a part.
a. Notice - Paul says the parts that usually we give the most honor are the least honorable in God’s eyes.
b. Problem - When we want to be another part. I wish I could sing like Steve Green; but when I sing, people usually laugh (youth).
* Do the best with what God has given you!
c. Part of body hurts - v. 26 - One part hurts, every part suffers with it.
ex Swollen toe, whole body felt it. (Same when the Christian body is hurt, the rest of the body feels it,)
VI. Consecration - v. 8b - “Here am I send me.”
A. Quick response - within the same verse Isaiah says here am I send me.
1. Understand Isaiah - Had one of the harder calls, call to repentance a nation that has turned its back on God and what He stands for.
-Isaiah lived during the destruction of the northern kingdom (part of Israel) because they were not following God. So he knew the results of not following God.
a. Even though it was going to be a hard ministry, Isaiah was determined because of God’s sovereignty.
1. A man some 2700 years later put it this way: He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
-Man was Jim Elliot, Missionary to Aca Indians in Ecuador, who was killed by them while trying to reach them for the gospel.
B. Human nature - Here am I sent someone else. Always easier for someone else to carry the load. God wants us all to participate.
-Challenge us all to do the very best for the Lord. Eph. 2:10 - “For we are God’s workmanship, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
1. Exciting - each of us has a part to play in God’s divine will!
VI. Commission - v. 9 - “He said, go and tell this people.”
A. Stayed with the task - Isaiah lasted over 50 years, 5 different kings, only one was a good king.
1. Uncompromising attitude - made life hard for Isaiah and his family. Scholars tell us that Isaiah was later martyred, horrible death by being strapped to a couple of planks and sawed in two. I’m not sure what happened to his family.
2. Endurance - faithful in good times and bad times, Isaiah should be an example for us to follow.
-Sometimes we give up because things may seem hard or we get discouraged, but don’t give up, be persistent.
ex Star fish opening a clam, takes several hours to open (gave up after a few minutes, it wouldn’t succeed).
CONCLUSION: Looked at short passage in Isaiah where God called him to do a task.
* I believe God’s calling me to be pastor, great honor and responsibility!
* Can’t do it alone. Need all of your help. Great task in front of us, not only building the saints, but reaching Owatonna for Christ.
Pray!
