Outward -vs- inward
Isaiah 6:1-10
I think it is important …for us to look at the majestic word pictures the prophet Isaiah gives us in his writing. I think it is necessary for us to be reminded from time to time that we worship the God …who is high and lifted up. …the God who is Holy Holy Holy! …the God whose train fills the whole temple and whose glory fills all of creation! …the God who is attended by beings so incredible, so stupendous that they have only been seen by a hand full of people throughout the whole history of humanity! …a God whose authority is so great that His attendants’ voices cause the foundations of the world to shake!
Folks, this is an awe-inspiring visual image Isaiah gives us here in Chapter 6! …but more important to us than the awe that is struck within us when we take a few minutes to contemplate this scene …is the great truths that God communicates through His WORD!
Here in these 10 little verses are multiple sermons that need to be preached! …but there are just a couple of these verses I want us to focus on this morning…
The first of those is verse 3. The Angelic beings attending the Throne call out: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; The whole earth is full of His glory!”
The word we have repeated three times here as ‘holy’ is the Hebrew word QA-dO-wOs. It is an adjective – a descriptive word – and it means sacred or set-apart! God is sacred and set apart!
The fact that it is repeated 3 times is significant too! 3 times signifies perfection and completeness – so not only is God sacred and set-apart, but he is perfectly and completely sacred …and perfectly and completely set-apart! There is no quivering or questioning! It is already decided, and it is final! God is Holy!
My friends, we serve …a Holy God! …A God who is sacred – which means sanctified …to be revered …hallowed …we often extend the meaning to include …justified. God is the one who needs no justification because he is already justified and sanctified in and of himself! He told Moses in Exodus3:14, “I AM THAT I AM!” (KJV)
But God is also set-apart! …set apart from all that is and has been …created. God is the creator …and as creator, God is separate from the things He has created. …He is separate from the attitudes of mankind …separate from the selfishness that dominates our world and our society …separate from the pettiness that we are so easily caught up into!
Folks, it is these things that makes God worthy of our praise! ….Worthy of our adoration! …Worthy of our worship!
…and there is one other thing about God …God is ONE! …God is the ONLY ONE and God is ONE! In Exodus 8:10, Moses declared “There is no one like our God!” and in Deuteronomy 6:4 we have those notorious words of the ‘Shema’; “Hear, o Israel, The Lord your God is One”.(KJV)
So, why am I harping on these things that you already know? …because this is the reason we gather! …Folks, we know a God worthy of our time and our attention and our gifts and our obedience! …we know a God whose robes fill the WHOLE Temple! Praise be His name! …and it is important for us to hear about His majesty from time to time.
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The Second thing I want to point out from this passage this morning is verses 9 and 10 – God commissions Isaiah to go and tell all the people of God – actually God commissions Isaiah to warn the people of God …that if they continue to live with their attention placed on the riches of the world and the temporary satisfaction of the senses that is all the world has to give, then they are going to be lost for all eternity!
Look at what God tells Isaiah; “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
My friends, do you see that this is a clear and ominous warning for all believers …both 2700 years ago and today! Folks, if you just hear the Word, but never put it into practice, then you have simply not understood it! …you are ever hearing but never understanding!
…have you seen what a difference God brings into your life? …but yet, you continue to rebel and insist on chasing after this WORLD and refusing to realize that God is calling you to be Holy …to be set apart from the world …like He is? …then you are seeing but never perceiving!
Folks, this is something we need to get our heads around and examine what state we are in!
Illustration:
One day I says to myself; Self, how can I tell if I am seeking the things of the world instead of following God’s call in my life? …and myself says back to me …I can tell you a good way to tell if you are following God’s call on your life …or if you are lost in chasing the fleeting things of this world and are blind to God …and then there was a long silence …and so I says to myself OK self, are you going to tell me? …and my self says back to me …if you are too stupid to figure it out for yourself, you are probably too lost in deafness and blindness to understand it if I explain it to you! …my self is sometimes brutally honest with me… …but then my self says again to me …ok, I’ll break it down so that even you can understand it! …if you want to know if you are following the riches of this dead-end world or the life-giving abundance of God …just go ask your neighbor – who doesn’t attend church - if you are so sold out for God that he thinks your are a nut. …if he says he doesn’t know …or if he says anything but ‘yeah, that guy is totally nuts about Jesus!’ ….then you are probably still lost in the world. (pause)
My friends, I think the Apostle Paul gives us a more better way to tell! Look with me at Philippians 2:1-4. Paul writes; “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Notice here that Paul encourages the believers in Philippi …to make his JOY complete! …now, where does Joy come from? …it comes from God! …God makes our lives joyful!
Paul’s joy is made complete by these believers …growing in their faith in God through Jesus Christ! ..as OTHERS come to God through Jesus and live in harmony with all creation and each other, Paul’s JOY is increased!
Let’s take a look at JOY for a couple of minutes. The best illustration I have ever heard of what JOY really is – J-O-Y – Jesus, Others, You!
J-O-Y – Jesus first – Others next – You last!
My friends, we can never know joy – real joy – God’s JOY …unless we put Jesus FIRST in our lives! Joy is not happiness! Joy permeates our being even when things on the outside seem to be falling apart.
JOY gives us peace within …JOY gives us the ability to gather and worship the ONE God who is Holy …and above all …and in control of everything.
Even when are not able to understand how God’s plan is working itself out …JOY manifests itself in the lives of believers!
And again I say – You cannot know JOY without Jesus in your life!
…and if Jesus is in your life, you will find that you will grow to see that Jesus is leading you to do the same thing He done …love humanity!
As rotten as humanity is ….as no-account and worthless as I am in my natural being …Jesus died for us! …so that we don’t have to continue in our worthlessness! …so that we don’t have to wallow in the mediocrity of a meaningless life …apart from God!
When we get our priorities straight and put Jesus first …then JOY can enter our lives and we begin to live in JOY by putting Others’ needs ahead of our own!
Folks, what I am talking about here is the difference between being inwardly focused and being outwardly focused.
Now, this same consideration plagues both 'the Church’ as well as people. …now isn’t that interesting because …the people ARE the church!
These buildings we call ‘churches’ are just wood and nails or brick and mortar. …they are just places where people gather ….they become churches when the people gather there …and when they bring worship to the ONE TRUE GOD there!
It’s like the difference between (hold up the Bible) …this being a book …or the Holy WORD of God! …as long as it sits on a shelf closed, it is just a book …but when it is opened and read …then it transforms into the LIVING WORD OF GOD!!!
Folks, this building is never going to lead anyone to Christ! …but if you love OTHERS more than yourself ..and you get out of your comfortable existence and put yourself on the line for Jesus …hear me now! …if you are SOLD OUT for Jesus …then your testimony …your being a NUT for Jesus just might lead someone to salvation and everlasting life in the presence of the ONE TRUE GOD!
Do you see what can happen when you are outwardly focused and not inwardly focused? …when you put OTHERS ahead of yourself?!?!
One of the great changes that happens to a person when they accept Jesus as LORD …in their hearts …is that their desire to put others before themselves! …Love takes over!
That is one of the ways we can tell Christians from the rest of society – their love! …that’s exactly what Jesus told us in John 13:35 – “they will know you are my disciples” …by your LOVE!
Folks, do you have a love of Others? I didn’t ask you if you love your spouse …or your children …or your mother! …do you have a love for Other people?
IF you know God …IF you are a follower of JESUS …You WILL LOVE others! …because that is one of the things the Holy Spirit brings into your life when you accept Jesus! …LOVE! …LOVE that is manifest in a care and concern for the welfare of others!
When the Holy Spirit comes into your life, you begin to grow into an outwardly focused person!
The old, natural, inwardly focused – look out for number one – kind of attitude …is transformed into an outwardly focused sharing of the LOVE of God that has come into your heart and that overflows from your heart every time you share some of that love with other people!
But folks, there’s more! In Galatians, at Chapter 6, verse 2, Paul admonishes us “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Folks, this isn’t just the smart way to live ….our outward focus …putting Others before ourselves …is the FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW OF CHRIST!!!! …this is not just something that is a good idea …it is at the very heart of all Christianity!
Now, I said earlier that the same consideration of being inwardly focused or outwardly focused plagues both the church and humanity.
Well, as the Holy Spirit fills our lives with the presence of God through Jesus Christ, …we as people grow in love and concern for others …in other words, our focus in life shifts from inward to outward.
But most churches do the exact opposite – Churches are built – because of the LOVE of God being manifest in the people who gather – and I’m not talking about building a brick and mortar building – I’m talking about building a church! …I’m talking about building a family of God in a community!
And when that happens, the LOVE of God is manifest in that place! …but what happens is those same traits that God is set-apart from …that jealousy …that selfishness …that petty desire to grab some authority …or exercise some power …pries its way into those fellowships …into those families …and causes the church to become inwardly focused …eventually reaching the point that an argument about the color of the carpet takes center stage instead the worship of the ONE GOD!
…when this begins to happen, churches become afraid that they will not have enough money, so they stop giving to help people outside the church ….they stop taking part in outreach ministries until there is not enough hands to get the work done and the ministry dies. And they do this …because they are no longer connected to the strength of God …to have the energy …and desire …to be in ministry!
When the church changes from following a Godly pattern of being outwardly focused …to becoming inwardly focused ….then the church dies! …and I am not saying that the doors are closed …but the heart of ministry …has left the building …and the people.
Folks, I’m about to tell you a secret right now …and MY, how I wish it were not a secret!
If you want your church to grow, then make sure that the people who make up the church are outwardly focused! …and then the church will become outwardly focused …because the people are! …and how do you make sure the people who gather are outwardly focused? …by being outwardly focused yourself!
Godly people …who are outwardly focused …inspire others to follow their lead!
And they …are not primarily concerned about their own comfort …or the amount of power or authority they can wield in this world! …but exercise the authority placed in them for the good …of the whole …the good …of others!
Godly people …who are outwardly focused …give of themselves ….of their talents …of their abilities …of their energy …and of their resources …even when it puts them in difficult situations …because they keep in mind Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 25:40 and reasserted in verse 45, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it unto Me.”
Godly people who gather as churches who are outwardly focused do not worry about how they will pay their bills next year …because their trust is in GOD!
They are not worried about how they will be able to climb the mountains of ministry …like how to continue to be faithful in gathering for worship in the midst of a Global Pandemic …because they worship ..and put their trust …in a God of unlimited resources!
Churches that are outwardly focused do not worry about how the ministry will be accomplished because they are infused with power …from the Almighty and All-Powerful …God …for whom NOTHING is too hard!
Those same churches are filled with people whose hearts burn for those who are hungry …or cannot provide for themselves …those who are hopeless …and downtrodden by life! …and they reach out to alleviate that suffering and to bring hope and love and joy …and peace …into the lives of OTHERS!
Did you notice …that the things we bring into the lives of others are those same attributes we concentrated so hard on all through the Advent season?!
And those same churches do not worry about how many people …what number of people …come together on a Sunday morning …because they are content with the riches God places in their lives ….and in their relationships …and in their church family!
And they rest in God’s wisdom and provision for their lives …trusting God for their wellbeing! They are much more concerned with the growth of individuals in their relationship with God …through Christ …by the Holy Spirit ..than they are about the number of people who gather!
My friends, do you see that I am calling you today in the same way that Isaiah was commissioned to call the people of Israel some 2700 years ago?
I am calling you to open your life to God and allow a relationship with the Almighty to grow in your life so that you…
…might see with YOUR eyes,
hear with YOUR ears,
understand with YOUR hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
Amen and Amen!
