Isaiah 6:1-8 Have You Seen The King?
I. A Powerful Confrontation
A. He Saw The Position Of A Sovereign God v.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.
(a) The Timing Of The Vision v.1 In the year that king Uzziah died Because he honored God, his was a reign of plenty. His was also a reign of prosperity. His was also a reign of protection. King Uzziah won every war he fought because the good hand of God was upon him. (b) The Testing Of The Vision But Uzziah died. You see, there are two kings that are seen in v.1. One is a dead king, one is a divine king. One is a mortal king, one is an immortal king. One is a human king, one is a heavenly king. One king had died.One king lives forever. Lamentations 5:19 Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation. (c) The Teaching Of The Vision I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne
God is on the throne, and He is in complete control. B. He Heard The Praise Of A Sinless God 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. The chief attribute of God is not power. The seraphim were not crying out "Omnipotent, omnipotent, omnipotent is the Lord of hosts." The chief attribute of God is not perception. They were not crying out, "Omniscient, omniscient, omniscient is the Lord of hosts." The chief attribute of God is not presence. They were not crying out, "Omnipresent, omnipresent, omnipresent is the Lord of hosts. The chief attribute of God is purity. That is why they were crying out, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts." Holiness is not something that God has. It is not something that God does. It is something that God is. His holiness is a unique holiness. I Samuel 2:2 There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
Psalm 99:5 Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.
In Hebrew poetry repetition is a form of emphasis. To mention something three times in succession was to attach to it the greatest importance. Only once is a character trait of God mentioned three times in succession. The Bible does not say that God is love, love, love, or, mercy, mercy, mercy, or justice, justice, justice. But it does say that He is holy, holy, holy.
C. He Learned The Purpose Of A Supreme God The whole earth is full of his glory.
The Westminster confession says, "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever." I Cor. 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. The Bible says whatever you eat, whatever you drink, whatever you wear, wherever you go, whatever you do, whatever you see, whatever you hear, do it for the glory of God.
II. A Painful Conviction 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.
Now up to this time Isaiah had put in overtime pointing the finger at other people, condemning the sins of other people. Isaiah had already seen other people's faults.
Go back to chapter 5 and notice how he condemns the people with a woe:
(v.8) Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!
(v.11) Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
(v.18) Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:
(v.20) Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
It is not father, it is not my mother, it is not brother, it is not my sister, it is me,
When Isaiah saw God in his holiness he saw himself in his hellishness.
(Job 42:5-6) I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
There is the person you hope you are. There is the person others think you are. Then there is the person that God knows you are.
III. A Prayerful Confession 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.
When a person refuses his sin, or excuses his sin, he has no conviction of sin.
So many people today are trying to justify their sins. They will call them by other names. They won't call it a sin, they'll call it a phobia, a complex, an illness, a problem.
A king was on board a Galley rowed by slaves. "Why are you here?"
"Why," he said, "Sire, I was praying. Some of my enemies falsely accused me."
He said, "Well Sire, I happened to be on a street corner when a crime was committed, and I was arrested with the other people.
Finally, "Sire, I am here because I have sinned. I have sinned against myself. I have sinned against the state. I have sinned against the king. I have sinned against God. That's why I am here. The king said, "You scoundrel, you rogue. Why are you here among so many honest and upright men? " let him go."
IV. A Perfect Cleansing 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. Now why the emphasis on the lips? Matthew 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
We have two problems with our lips. (a) We say things we shouldn't (b) we don't say things that we should.
Notice Conviction and Confession, then Cleansing. Am I a soldier of the cross, A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause, Or blush to speak His Name? V. A Personal Calling 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. After the cleansing comes the calling. God does not demand a perfect vessel, but He does demand a clean vessel. Reasons to go into a profession not money, not prestige, not enjoyment. The primary consideration of what you do with your life ought to be the calling of God. It ought to be the purpose of God.
Hear the Lord of harvest sweetly calling, “Who will go and work for Me today?
Who will bring to Me the lost and dying? Who will point them to the narrow way?
Speak, my Lord, Speak to me, Speak and I’ll be quick to answer Thee;
Speak, my Lord, speak, to me, Speak, and I will answer, “Lord, send me.”
Millions now in sin and shame are dying, Listen to their sad and bitter cry;
Hasten, brother, hasten to the rescue; Quickly answer, “Master, here am I.”
Soon the time for reaping will be over; Soon we’ll gather for the harvest home;
May the Lord of harvest smile upon us, May we hear His blessèd, “Child, well done.”
VI. A Purposeful Commitment Then said I, Here am I; send me.
A. He Was Committed to Desire The Will Of God
He said, "Here am I!" There is a crucial difference between saying, "Here am I!" and saying, "Here I am!" Had he simply said, "Here I am!" that would have just indicated his location. But he was not interested in just giving God his location. He was interested in finding his vocation. He said, "Here am I!" What he was saying to God was, "Look no further, send me."
The world's greatest ability is availability. Ability, without availability, is liability. Our daily prayer ought to be: Mine are the hands to do the work; My feet shall run for Thee;
My lips shall sound the glorious news: Lord, here am I; send me. B. He Was Committed To Deliver The Word Of God Immediately God says to Isaiah, "Go, and tell this people." (v.9) When a man sees God, he wants to share God. He wants to go and tell. Worship always leads to witnessing.
Saul Acts 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
C. He Was Committed To Do The Work Of God 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.
But that was not to concern Isaiah. He was not responsible for the harvest. He was simply responsible for the sowing of the seed.
God has not called us to be successful. God has called us to be faithful.
A pagan king lay dying on the battlefield. His sword bearer was next to him. He said to him, "Servant, go tell the dead the king is coming."
When the servant heard that, immediately he took his sword and thrust it into his own heart that he might die before his king, and tell those in the realm of the dead that the king was coming.
God is saying to us take death to yourself and go tell the dead of this world that the King is coming. Have you seen the King? If you have you will be telling others that He is coming, and you can hardly wait for His return.
