Note: The thougt and basics of this message came from Chris Sustar pastor of High Praises in Anderson,SC.
“Title: The Great Disconnect
Theme: Help us to avoid the disconnect between Sunday and Monday.
Text: Isaiah 6:1-8
Isaiah 6:1-8 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. (2) Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. (3) And one cried to 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 were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. (5) So I said: "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 my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts." (6) Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. (7) And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged." (8) Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
Introduction
Isaiah the Preacher
Positives: The Remnant of Israel, there is a few, the rapture, the coming of the Messiah Isaiah 7:14, the suffering savant Isaiah 53
Negatives: judgement of the nations, judgement of Israel, judgement of Judah
Isaiah’s Realization
“Woe is me, for am I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips”
Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
Why “unclean lips:?
Maybe: gossip, slander, talk about other prophets, lie
Unclean lips signify an unclean heart
Mat 12:34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Paul, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"
Other Names: Christian Atheists,
Conviction “sensitive conscience”
When ever there is a disconnect it will be met by God with conviction.
The Rechabites – It is ok to have a sensitive spirit
Jeremiah 35:1-10 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, (2) "Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink." (3) Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, his brothers and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites, (4) and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door. (5) Then I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, "Drink wine." (6) But they said, "We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, 'You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever. (7) You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have any of these; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.' (8) Thus we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, (9) nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; nor do we have vineyard, field, or seed. (10) But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
Other men who had a disconnect
Nadab and Abihu
Leviticus 10:1-2 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. (2) So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.
Gehazi – Servant of Elijah - 2 Kings 5
Israel
The Ark Captured - Not just a box but God who is in the box
1 Samuel 4:1-11 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.*Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. (2) Then the Philistines put themselves in battle array against Israel. And when they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. (3) And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies." (4) So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. (5) And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth shook. (6) Now when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, "What does the sound of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. (7) So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come into the camp!" And they said, "Woe to us! For such a thing has never happened before. (8) Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. (9) Be strong and conduct yourselves like men, you Philistines, that you do not become servants of the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Conduct yourselves like men, and fight!" (10) So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. (11) Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.
The Purpose of Fasting = More than just a religious ceremony
Isaiah 58:1-11 "Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. (2) Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God. (3) 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?' "In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. (4) Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. (5) Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord? (6) "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? (7) Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? (8) Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. (9) Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' "If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, (10) If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. (11) The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Priests
Pharisees – religious but not Godly
Judas – Spent time with Jesus yet betrayed him in the end.
Matthew 7:21-27 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. (22) Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' (23) And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' (24) "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: (25) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (26) But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: (27) and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
Characteristics of the Disconnect
1) Continued Conviction on Sunday morning – instead of focusing on ministry you are more focused on what you did wrong, so others suffer
2) A bad reputation
3) Constant guilt
4) Believing that religion has a “Place” in your life
5) More focus on self and less focus on others
.
Cure – Repentance not remorse. There is a big difference. Remorse is feeling sorry for sin but not changing. Repentance is making a turn away.
The way you live your life carries so much more than what you preach
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Where did the revelation of Isaiah’s disconnect come from? In the presence of Jehovah
The Bible says around the throne the angels cried “Holy, Holy, Holy”
Maybe this was the attribute that Isaiah needed.
It could be omnipotent,
Answer: Tongs to the mouth
The same presence that caused you to see the disconnect is the same that will help you reconnect.
