Isaiah 6:1-8
WHAT WE NEED IN THE DOWN TIMES
Pastor Allan Kircher SPBC
**Note: I have Comprehensive Sunday school lessons on James, 1and2 Peter and working on Romans. The students love them (with proper teacher) numerous practical application questions for growth. if interested contact me. I'll send--simply copy and use. will save you hundreds dollars from ordering material. May God's word be spread. now the message.
Intro: V. 1 mentions/death/King Uzziah.
• 10th king/Judah and he was a very godly man.
• He was highly influenced by the prophet Zechariah and, unlike many of the other kings,
• He never totally departed from the worship of the true God.
Under his influence, the southern kingdom attained power, wealth and success unlike any it had enjoyed since the days of Solomon.
Made prideful/success/king and by his blessings from the Lord,
• Uzziah made/mistake/offering incense/Temple, 2 Chron. 26.
• For his disobedience to the Lord/stricken to leprosy.
• He died in that leprous condition!
• Disobedience to the Lord is a serious thing!
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Well, evidently, Isaiah/disturbed by the death of the great king.
• After all, he had reigned for 52 years.
• His death signaled/end of a time/great prosperity consistency in the southern kingdom.
• For Isaiah and entire nation, it ushered in a time of uncertainty, change and doubt.
• Yet, for Isaiah, this is to be a time of rediscovery.
Apparently Isaiah had his attention focused on Uzziah, but now that Uzziah is dead, his attention is redirected back to the Lord.
This down time in the prophet’s life became an uptime.
• That which had held his attention was removed
• Isaiah had a fresh encounter with God.
• What happened to Isaiah in this event spotlights for us what we need during the down times in our own lives.
• We all have down times in life!
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Now the down times can either grow us or ruin us.
• It depends on us…..what happens
• It depends on us….what road we take
• It depends on us…..in how we advance!
• Prayfully the word of God will speak to each of us today.
• What has your attention, the world or the word?
Let’s look/familiar verses/think for a while on the thought
What do We Need In The Down Times Of Life.
Learning what to do when life turns us down will help us to get back on track with God’s will.
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I. V. 1-4 WE NEED TO SEE WHAT ISAIAH SAW
V. 1 He Saw God’s Position - Isaiah saw God in His sovereignty.
• An earthly king may have died, but the Lord still reigned.
• He saw the Lord in all His glory.
• It had a profound impact on the life of Isaiah.
When life seems to fall apart at the seams, we need to remember the God Who is in control of it all!
What appears to be a tragedy to us may be the greatest thing that could happen in our lives.
• Look at Job! Look at Rom 8:28…
• 2 Cor. 4:17 “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
• We need to remember just Who is in control!
Who is this God?
God has given us all spiritual blessings through Jesus - Eph. 1:3.
God has determined that we will be like Jesus, and with Jesus, one day - Eph. 1:5; 11-12.
God reached out to us when we were dead in our sins and headed to Hell - Eph. 2:1-4.
God loved us - Eph. 2:4.
God has given us a new life in Jesus - Eph. 2:10.
God desires to use us, bless us and teach about the divine mystery of His everlasting grace and love - Eph. 3:1-21.
That’s who our God is!
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V. 2-3 He Saw God’s Personality
The angelic beings in the temple proclaimed the holy nature of the God of Heaven.
Even those sinless creatures were careful to honor the holiness and purity of the Lord.
• Notice that they covered their faces with their wings.
• They also proclaimed the glory of the Lord!
• Isaiah finally understood that Uzziah might have been a good king
• But the Lord was a holy God and He and He alone deserved the glory for all of life!
We need to remember that God’s prime characteristic is His holiness!
Our duty before/Lord/honor His holy nature by living holy lives before Him.
We are to recognize His right to glory by giving Him all the glory for everything in our lives, 1 Cor. 10:31.
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In Ephesians, Paul says, “…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”
We are “live our lives in such a way that we balance the scales by adding something of equal value with what we have been given in Jesus.”
“God has tipped the scales with His blessings.
You are in tremendous debt to Him for all that He has done for you.
• Now that He has called you to Jesus
• saved you by His grace
• Do everything in your power to live in such a way that you balance the scales.”
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To “walk worthy. “means, “to balance the scales.”
• literal meaning is,
• “To bring up the other arm of the scales.”
• It has the idea of “adding something of equal value.”
• Are you doing that?
We know we can never pay the Lord back for all that He has done for us and all that He has given us in Jesus Christ.
• Thankfully, He does not ask us to.
• All He asks us to do is to live lives that are consistent
• Consistent with Who He is
• what He has done for us
• What He has given to us in Jesus Christ.
Phil. 1:27 says, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.”
• Called on to live lives that look good on the gospel.
• Called to live lives that reflect the changes God made in us when He saved us.
• Called on to be different, 2 Cor. 5:17;
• Called to be holy…1 Pet. 1:16, “for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy”
• Called to be like Jesus Christ, 1 John 2:6 “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”
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Isaiah learned that this thing was not about Uzziah or Isaiah, but it is all about God!
God, and God alone deserves to be in the place of honor/glory!
Be careful not to assume the place that belongs to Him alone!
• During the downtimes of life, we need to remember
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17!
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Look at Paul…Imprisoned/Jesus/road/Damascus
• He never sought freedom of Lord’s incarceration.
• Why?
• He was captive to Christ.
• He had no will of his own.
• No rights of his own. No plans of his own.
He saw everything through the eyes of the Lord Jesus.
• Paul was held in such divine captivity that every thought, every plan, every deed, every word written or spoken
• and every other thing Paul did
• Was carried according to the will of the One Who held Paul captive.
• Do you…do I…have that same captivity to the Lord today?
• How we behave in life will always be determined by what we believe to be true.
• Our practice will always be dictated by the precepts we hold to be true.
• In others words, if we are going to behave right, we must believe right.
Until we come to a place where we correctly understand the doctrines taught in the Bible, we will not live lives that are pleasing to the Lord.
• As long as there are holes in our doctrine
• We will be derelict in our duty to serve the Lord.
• Who we are should have an impact on what we are.
• What we believe about God should determine how we behave before God.
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V. 4 He Saw God’s Presence - We are told that the “house was filled with smoke”.
• This was a symbol of the presence of God.
• You will notice that God’s “train” filled the temple!
• God was the central figure in the Temple!
• Isaiah was reminded, rather forcefully, that Uzziah might be gone, but the Lord was still there!
• He had not been forsaken even during this downtime, but the Lord was still with Him in great glory!
We need to remember this truth as well!
If we are saved, we are never alone, but even during the downtimes of life, we still have the presence of the lord with us at all times, Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5.)
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V. 5-7 WE NEED TO SENSE WHAT ISAIAH SENSED
V. 5 He Sensed His Own Condition - When Isaiah saw the Lord, he instantly realized that there were problems within his own heart.
• That is what happens when you get close to Him!
• Moving closer to God and seeing Him as He is,
• It will reveal the wickedness/sin in our own lives.
• Isaiah probably thought all was well in his life
• Until he saw the Lord in His glory and holiness.
When he did, he was made aware of his own shortcomings!
• Until we see God and are confronted with our own condition before Him,
• we will remain haughty and proud,
• but when we come face to face with Who He is and what we are,
• It will produce humility and confession!
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Ill. Isaiah didn’t cry out “Woe is my neighbor!”
• He cried out “Woe is me!”
• He didn’t point at no one but himself.
• Until we are able to see our own failures
• Our own need for repentance before the Lord,
• We will never come clean.
The sooner we come clean with the Lord about our own condition, the sooner we will see our downtime start to turn up!
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V. 6-7 He Sensed His Own Cleansing
• Thank God, the Lord does not just point out our sins
• He also provides a means for our cleansing!
• With Isaiah, it was an angel with a live coal from the altar.
With us, it is the precious blood of Jesus, 1 John 1:7-9!
• If we see Him as He is and we see ourselves as we are,
• We will come before Him in humility and confess our sins.
The closer you get to Him, the worse you look!
• when that realization comes,
• and we deal with it in repentance before the Lord
• we will experience His cleansing
• and we will be able to stand in His presence and receive all He has for us!
• Talk about a downtime turning up!
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V. 8 WE NEED TO SAY WHAT ISAIAH SAID
He Said “I Am Available” - As soon as Isaiah gets His heart clean, he hears the call of the Lord to service.
When Isaiah said “Here am I”, he was saying, “My downtime is over and I am ready for service!”
• He was signifying he was over the death/Uzziah
• Now his life was on the altar of sacrifice for the glory of God!
That’s what we need to say when life turns down!
We need to get on the altar for God and come to the place where nothing means anything to us but what He wants from us!
We need to submit, surrender and sacrifice, Rom. 12:1-2.
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• Part/ministry/Holy Spirit is that of being our “Comforter.”
• He comes alongside the saints of God like a trusted Friend
• Offering encouragement, guidance, consolation, instruction, teaching, comfort, exhortation, among others things.
• He performs this ministry in an effort to help us to grow in the Lord.
• He does it to make us more like Jesus Christ.
• He does it to challenge us to reach our fullest potential in the Lord.
• If you are saved, you have experienced and benefited from this personal and powerful ministry of the Holy Spirit.
• By the way, this ought to encourage us!
• Like Jesus said in John 14:18, “I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.”
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We are not in this world alone!
While we have the Spirit of God Who fulfills the role of Comforter in our lives
we have an obligation to one another to come alongside one another to help one another reach our fullest potential in Christ.
A true friend will reach out in love:
• To encourage - Acts 11:22-24.
• To restore - Gal. 6:1-2.
• To challenge - Gal. 2:11-14.
• And “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful,” Pro. 27:6.
• To Instruct - Acts 18:24-26.
• To help - Deut. 22:4.
• And “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth,” 1 John 3:18.
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A true friend is
• Someone who refuses to allow you/live a substandard life.
• someone who helps you become more like Jesus
• Someone who comes alongside you “to exhort, to entreat, to comfort; to encourage and strengthen by consolation; to instruct, to teach.”
A true friend says, “Listen, I want to tell you about everything God has given to you in Jesus Christ, and I want to help you live up to your true potential in Jesus. I am here to help. I am here to guide you. I am here to teach you. You can count on me. I am your friend.”
What a comfort that we have such a friend in the Holy Spirit.
What a blessing when you have that kind of friends in your life.
What a testimony it is when you are that kind of friend to someone else!
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v. 8 Isaiah Said “I Am Agreeable” Send me!
• Isaiah not only told the Lord of His availability
• He also mentioned his agreeability!
• He was saying, “Lord, I am here to do what you want and I am willing to do what you want!
• Send me and let me go do what you want me to do!”
That is a sure way to turn your downtimes upside down!
• Make yourself available to the Lord
• get agreeable with whatever He asks you to do
• and you can be sure that He will bless your life
• and that He will use you for His glory!
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Conc: I admit this intimidates me.
• When I stop to think about all that I have in the Lord Jesus,
• I have only scratched the surface today
• I realize that I am terribly behind loving Him and living for Him like I should.
• But, I have a duty to “walk worthy of the Lord.
• I have a duty to try and balance the scales!
• I have a duty to live in doctrine.
• I have a duty to see that my practice matches His principles.
• I have a duty to ensure that my behavior matches up with what I claim to believe.
• That is my duty as a believer, and that is our duty as a church!
Consider, as we close, Heb. 11.
In that great chapter we are introduced to many of the great heroes and heroines of the faith.
• People like Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab and many others.
• But, if you will notice Heb. 11:32-38.
• In verse 38, God says that the world was not “worthy of them.”
• It’s the same world my friends!
These saints had their eyes on the Lord, His will and the ultimate goal of Heaven.
• They did not walk with their eyes on the world.
• And, just as they did not deserve the things they endured, the world did not deserve to have these saints in its midst!
God is telling us
• when our duty lines up with His doctrine;
• when our practice lines up with His principles;
• when our walk lines up with His Word
• The world is not “worthy” of us.
In other words
• Through us living holy, godly lives
• Placing so much on the arm of the scale in God’s favor
• the world is forever indebted to us
• For revealing, for living, for proclaiming the truth about God.
God’s challenge to the church is that we consider our lives in light of all we have been given in Jesus Christ.
His challenge is that we do everything in our power to balance the scales.
His challenge is that we live these kinds of lives so that He might be glorified and that the world might see the evidence of God’s saving grace and of faith in His Word through us!
Friends, the downtimes are going to come in life!
You can count on them just as surely as you can count on the sun rising and sitting day by day.
However, when they do come
• you can shorten their duration and severity
• How?
• By simply seeing what Isaiah saw
• Sensing what Isaiah sensed and saying what Isaiah said!
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• A focused heart, a clean heart and a surrendered heart will quickly find itself on the upward path.
• I know that’s what I want in my life, how about you?
