UPWARD, INWARD, & OUTWARD VISION
Isa. 6:1-8
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. In one of Charles Shultz’s famous “Peanuts” cartoons, Lucy is philosophizing and Charlie is listening. “Charlie Brown,” she begins, “life is a lot like a deck chair on a cruise ship. Some place it to see where they’ve been, some where they are at present, and others where they are going.” Charlie sighs, “I can’t even get my deck chair unfolded!”
2. We’re going to look at a great O.T. prophet and see how vision changed his life and can change ours too!
B. TEXT
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isa. 6:1-8
C. THESIS
1. Isaiah saw three visions: an upward one, of God; an inward one, of himself; and an outward vision, of the needs of the lost people around him. If we hope to change the world then we need the same three visions.
2. The title of this message is “Upward, Inward, and Outward Vision.”
I. ISAIAH’S UPWARD VISION
A. WHAT ISAIAH SAW, FELT, AND HEARD
1. GOD ON HIS THRONE...high and exalted, reigning over all other kingdoms; God rules and commands all. John 12:41 tells us that Isaiah saw the Lord Jesus; Isaiah “saw Christ's glory and spoke of him.” He is the divine Lord (Adonai), supreme in power and government over the universe, above all competition and contradiction.
2. ISAIAH SAW GOD’S GLORY – manifested in the cloud of God’s visible presence, appearing as a massive kingly robe, sweeping through the whole Temple.
3. GOD’S ATTENDANTS. Next Isaiah saw three holy angels, seraphim – which means “burning ones” – circling God’s throne. They literally burn with love for God and zeal against sin. Each of them has six wings.
a. With two wings they COVER THEIR FACES, being conscious of the infinite distance they are from the divine perfection. God is too mighty to look in the face – it’s like looking into the sun!
b. With two wings they COVER THEIR FEET, because God is so sacred that even the ground/area around God is holy. Moses was told to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground. Feet, in contact with the earth, are considered the dirtiest part of the body, needing cleansing.
c. With two wings they FLEW. If angels, which are so holy, show so much reverence before God, how much more should we, mere mortals, be reverent when we approach God’s throne!
4. Like Town Criers, THEY DECLARE God’s infinite perfections saying, “Holy, holy, holy!” They recognize God as infinitely pure, as separate & unlike all other created beings. The threefold cry may reflect the three Persons of the Godhead, God’s reign over past, present, and future, or because there are three seraphs. They also cry, “The whole earth is full of his glory,” because God’s reign is not only worldwide but over all time and space.
5. THE WHOLE TEMPLE WAS SHAKEN – not just the door & thresholds. All was moved by the violent concussion, a manifestation of power, against the degeneration and contradiction caused by sin. God’s shekinah GLORY-CLOUD then filled the Temple, so that even the seraphim were unable to minister (as their earthly counterparts had been, 1 Kgs. 8:11).
B. OUR NEED FOR A “POWER-ENCOUNTER”
1. Many Christians think they know God, but they’ve never had a “power encounter.” We need to have an experiential faith!
2. Saul of Tarsus thought he knew God until he had a “power-encounter” with Jesus on the Damascus Road. His first question was, “Who are You, Lord?” He was shocked by his ignorance of the Living God!
3. Moses thought he knew God until he met Him at the Burning Bush.
4. Peter thought he knew God until Jesus multiplied the fish in his nets (to thousands) and Peter said, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
5. That’s what happened to Isaiah: He had even been a prophet, but this vision brought him into a new dimension with God.
6. YOU AND I NEED AN EXPERIENCE WITH GOD, a contact with the Divine, so that we can be forever changed! Next, Isaiah had an...
II. ISAIAH’S INWARD VISION
A. ISAIAH’S REACTION
1. Isaiah’s problem and ours is that we’ve become numb to sin and insensitive to God. We don’t feel convicted any more except by the most gross forms of sin.
2. Charles Finney made a list of common sins of Christian’s to remove the blinders of where we really are spiritually.
3. FINNEY’S 10 SIGNS OF TURNING AWAY FROM GOD
1). A LACK OF SPIRITUAL ENJOYMENT. When Jesus is no longer our greatest joy, then we’ve lost our first love and backslidden in heart.
2). OUTWARD FORMALITY. When our serving the Lord is the result of habit rather than (the out-gushing of) heart-love – & we no longer feel emotion for Jesus – we have turned away from God.
3). UNGOVERNED TEMPER. When we have an irritable, uncontrolled temper, it’s clear evidence that the love of God has left you.
4). When YOUR CONVERSATION quits being about Jesus and spiritual things, your heart has found another love.
5). SEARCHING FOR WORLDLY AMUSEMENTS shows you’ve lost Jesus at the center.
6). When we’ve LOST OUR CONCERN OVER LOST SOULS, the poor, & the needy – Christ’s Spirit has departed.
7). A FAULT-FINDING, CRITICAL SPIRIT. Blaming, judging, and doubting others is evidence the Spirit’s fruit is missing.
8). A SELF-INDULGENT SPIRIT – gratifying our appetites & passions, is clear evidence of backsliding.
9). When PRAYER IS SEEN AS A DUTY rather than as a privilege, it’s a sad indicator of a backslidden heart.
10). A LACK OF INTEREST IN GOD’S WORD. To new Christians, no book in the world is more precious; but when our love for Jesus dissipates, the Bible becomes not only uninteresting, but often repulsive.
4. IS GOD EXPOSING ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR SPIRITUAL CONDITION THIS MORNING? IT’S TIME TO REPENT AND SEEK GOD’S ATONEMENT!
B. GOD’S RESPONDED BY SENDING AN ANGEL
1. Isaiah’s words “Woe to me!” had been a prayer and God answered by sending a seraph. Aren’t you glad that when we repent God speedily answers with mercy?
2. The seraph brought a fiery coal from the altar, containing heavenly fire, and touched it to his lips. This fire didn’t hurt his lips, but to heal them. In the O.T., there were purifications by fire, as well as by water. [Why did the angel use tongs? I believe so he wouldn't contaminate the perfect atonement - like doctors using sterile tools in surgery.]
3. This live coal represents the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Christ is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8), long before Isaiah’s time. God’s coal must be applied to us too.
4. After touching his lips, the angel declared, “your iniquity is taken away and your sin is purged.” It was pardoning love, not good works, that brought about his transformation. Do you need that this morning?
5. YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN A COAL in a clear bag representing the atonement that Jesus provided. God is expecting a response from you, to apply His sacrifice to your life!
III. ISAIAH’S OUTWARD VISION
A. HIS EARS OPEN
1. Before now, Isaiah had not been ready to be a spokesman for God, but now his heart, as well as his head, were prepared. With Isaiah’s sin removed, his spiritual ears were opened and he could hear the voice of God speaking. God is always speaking, but we are deaf to His voice. GOD CAN’T SPEAK THROUGH YOU IF HE CAN’T SPEAK TO YOU.
2. But now Isaiah had a vision of reaching the lost! William Barclay said, “There are two great days in a person’s life: the day we are born, and the day we discover why.”
B. ISAIAH VOLUNTEERED TO GO
1. Isaiah’s ministry as a prophet was renewed. It’s Christ's work to put men into the ministry, 1 Tim. 1:12. Isaiah volunteered: “Then said I, ‘Here am I; send me.’” He did not say, "I’ll go if I can have success;" but, "I’ll go,” and he left the success to God.
2. Those whom God calls, He qualifies. If we go in His name, we may be confident of having His authority and confirmation in our ministry, with signs and wonders.
C. ILLUSTRATION: THE FORGOTTEN NAME
1. A woman missionary was traveling by train in India and had a long layover in the city of Cawnpore. Since she could speak the local dialect, she struck up conversations with others waiting for trains in the station.
2. She started talking to a woman sadhu (holy woman) about God. In her conversation she mentioned the name of “Christ.”
3. The woman immediately jumped to her feet and exclaimed, “That’s it! That’s His Name!” A grateful smile lit up her face. She continued, “I had forgotten it. Tell me again so I won’t forget!”
4. The missionary asked her where she’d heard the name of Christ. She said, “I was seeking God, roaming in the jungles chanting the name of my god, saying, “Ram, Ram, Ram....” Suddenly a voice spoke to me, “Don’t worship Ram, worship Christ!” A few minutes later the voice again said, “Don’t worship Ram, worship Christ!”
5. “I left the jungles to think about what had just happened, but in the meantime forgot the Name the voice had spoken. When you said the Name of Christ, I remembered that was it!”
6. And she began to praise the Name of Christ aloud in the railroad station and the missionary led to faith in Jesus and she became a great witness of the Lord! [Knight’s 3000 Illus., p.181]
7. Maybe some of you have never trusted in the Name of Jesus before. We’re going to do that in a few minutes!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: The Dream
1. A Christian dreamed that he was carried by the angels to the Eternal City. There he saw the streets of gold and enjoyed the company of many joyful Christians.
2. Then he saw Jesus, shining with heavenly splendor, Who beckoned to him and pointing over the battlements of heaven, "Look down there. What do you see?"
3. "I see the dark earth I have come from." "What else?" "I see men and women, blindfolded, going over a terrible precipice into a bottomless pit."
4. "Well," said Jesus, "Will you remain up here, and enjoy these mansions I’ve prepared, or go back into that dark world, and warn these people, so they can escape that terrible plight and trust in Me?"
5. “I realized that the greatest thing I can do is to tell lost people about heaven, and Jesus’ saving love. [Moody's Anecdotes and Illustrations]
B. THE CALL
1. YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN A COAL in a clear bag representing God’s atonement in Jesus Christ. It reminds us of our sins before God. We need to follow in Isaiah’s footsteps, come to the altars, and be purified from our sins. If you haven’t trusted in Christ yet, come join me at the front and I’ll pray with you.
2. This is “March-to-the-front.” God is expecting a response from us. Let’s spend the next 15 minutes waiting on God in the altars. PRAYER
