May 6, 2001 Isaiah 6
“We exist to Worship”
1. True worship is not an escape from reality. (vs. 1a)
It is something that happens in the midst of life. Isaiah begins this passage with the phrase, “In the year that king Uzziah died…”. King Uzziah was one of the good kings of the province of Judah – part of what had once been the united nation of Israel. His story is told in 2 Chron. 26. In the beginning of his reign, he had faithfully served God and done a lot of good things. He greatly strengthened the defenses of the wall around Jerusalem. He dug wells for water to provide for the livestock. He strengthened the army and successfully lead the Israelites against their enemies. He made war machines that could be placed on the city wall to hurl huge stones at an enemy as he approached the city. During Uzziah’s reign, the people dwelt in safety and relative peace. They enjoyed prosperity, because they had confidence about what the days ahead were going to bring. So long as Uzziah was alive, things were going to be good.
But now, Uzziah was dead. No one knew what the future might hold. Uzziah’s son, Jotham would become the new king, but no one could say what kind of a king he was going to be. Having a godly father who was a good leader was no guarantee that the son would be of the same quality. It was a time of great uncertainty and apprehension. What would tomorrow be like?
For us, it would be the same as saying, “In the year that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, I worshipped God. In the year that Kennedy was assassinated, I worshipped God. In the year that the bottom fell out of the stock market, I worshipped God. In the year that the Space Shuttle exploded, in the year of the riots in Cleveland, in the year of the President’s affair, I worshipped God.” Let’s make it a little more personal. “In the year that I lost my job, I worshipped God. In the year that my marriage fell apart, I worshipped God. In the year that I lost the child that I love, in the year that my health went south, in the year that everything seemed to go wrong, I worshipped God.” Worship does not happen apart from life. It happens in the middle of life. Right in the middle of all my experiences, good and bad, my responsibility is to worship God.
Worship in here can never be oblivious to what is happening out there. Why do we worship God? It is not to escape life out there; it is to deal with life out there. If you want your worship in the sanctuary to be true worship, then you bring with you the baggage of all that is happening out in the world. In the Old Testament, the greatest book of worship is the book of Psalms. It is the favorite book of countless Christians throughout the ages. That book grew out of the experiences of David and other writers – some experiences that were good and some that were bad. David writes in response to those experiences, not trying to cover over any of his negative feelings or his questions. He pours out his heart to God. He is open and honest before God. But in the midst of all his experiences, his anger, his sorrow, his frustration, he worships.
It is a natural part of worship to bring with you the concerns of your life. We gather here, and we bring in the fears of life, the worries of our family, the concerns of the world, and we lift them up in prayer, and we seek God’s guidance and comfort about them.
But we don’t wait until God has changed our situation before we worship God. Some people say, “When I get a new reality, then I’ll worship. When the car is working right, and I get a 50% raise at work, and my children treat me like the king I am, then I’ll worship God.” Worship God in the middle of the reality that you have right now. The reality of worship and of our relationship with God is evidenced by the fact that we worship no matter what (i.e. Job)!
It’s easy to worship God in a monastery or up on the mountaintop. It is easy to worship God when the music is just right, when there are no babies crying, when the soloist shakes the rafters and when the pastor gives an awe-inspiring message. Some people worship God in order to get a new reality. “I’ll worship God in order that He change my situation. If I just tell God what a great God He is, He’ll be so impressed by my attitude, that when I walk out that door, my whole world will have changed.” God will not be manipulated by us. If you try to give God what He deserves in order to get what you want, you will be sadly disappointed. Worship will not change our world. Worship will change us.
Worship in the middle of the life that you have right now.
2. True worship always focuses on God. (vs. 1b)
Isaiah says that the vision that he had of God was of God “on His throne, high and lifted up…” Think what an encouragement that would have been to him. He has just mentioned previously that his king has died. Life has gotten scary. The enemy may come in and attack now. Will this new king be able to protect us? Will he live for God like his dad did? Uncertainties all around. In the midst of all those uncertainties, Isaiah sees God. Where is He? He’s on the throne. We worship a God who is settled and in control. Regardless of the scariness of your situation, you can worship the God who is on the throne.
True worship always focuses on God. This is where many of us make a mistake. We assume that worship focuses on us. I’ve heard many times people talk about how they are struggling at church because they are not being fed. They say things like “I’m not being fed. I’m not getting anything out of worship. I’m not being nurtured by worship. I don’t get a blessing out of worship.”
But I never, ever hear people say anything about whether or not God is being blessed in the worship experience. I never hear anyone concerned about whether God or not God is enjoying worship.
We do not worship so that we can get something out of the experience. We worship so that God can get something out of the experience. And until God gets something out of the worship experience, we never will. Until God gets blessed by our worship, we won’t be blessed by it either. People walk away from church when they don’t get a fuzzy feeling anymore. They’re looking for a buzz. Worship is not a drug. Worship is a gift that I give to God. Do you walk away from your spouse when you don’t have that fuzzy feeling anymore, when being around him or her doesn’t give you a buzz? Then you better go ahead and pack your bags because tomorrow morning at 6:00 or whenever it is that you get up, I doubt that you’re going to have very many fuzzy feelings toward that weird looking, foul smelling thing in bed next to you. Worship is for God, not for us.
Isaiah goes to the temple, and he says, “I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.” It is the presence of God that fills true worship. When Solomon built the temple at Jerusalem, on the day that it was dedicated, the Bible records that God’s presence – God’s glory – came down and filled that place so full that the priests could not enter in (1 Kings 8:10-11). We sing a song about our desire for God’s Spirit to come in and take complete control of our worship service here. “Surely the presence…” I don’t know about you, but I want that for this church. The only way for the Spirit’s presence to be in this place is for you to bring Him with you when you come through those doors. Don’t get me wrong. I know that God’s Spirit is present everywhere. But there are some places where His life-changing power is free to flow, and others where it is stifled. Paul told the Thessalonian church not to quench the Spirit (1 Thes 5:19). I find that sometimes, I come to church, and I am not in the right mindset to worship. I am angry. I’m angry at my kids because they made me late. I’m frustrated. I did not have enough time to prepare my message or study my Sunday School lesson. I’m rushed. I went 65 in a 55 speed zone just so I could get here on time and greet everyone with my fake smile at the door. You ever been there?
I want the Spirit’s presence to be so evident in this place that when unsaved people walk through that back door, they fall flat on their faces and cry out, “What must I do to be saved?”! There are only two things that are going to make that happen – praise and prayer. Both of these elements have got to occur on Sunday morning, but there’s got to be more of that going on during the week too. On Tuesday mornings at 6:30, some of the men of our church meet here at the church to pray. If you’re available or you can rearrange your schedule, come and join them. On Wednesday mornings, some of the ladies meet to pray. Talk to Jean, or Terry or Shirley to find out when and where. Prayer activates the power of God to intervene in a situation, and it gets us ready to experience the presence of God in a place.
Can I make a request of you? Can we change some of how we do what we do on Sunday mornings? Can I give you my vision of how a church service should begin? Our service begins at 10:45. Next week, at 10:40 – 5 minutes before we begin the service – Dave is going to begin to softly play some instrumental music. That will be your cue that it is time to stop whatever you are doing – socializing, getting water, looking for someone, whatever – and start getting your mind and heart in gear to worship God. It’s time to find a seat, quiet your heart before God and pray. You can come to the altar if you want to. It would be really great if you would gather in groups and send up prayers before God for the people that are in your group, for the pastor, for the musicians, for the Spirit to have complete control of the service. When someone new comes into our church, invite them to come and pray in your group. Not everyone has to pray out loud. 5 minutes wouldn’t allow for that. But join hands together and ask God to open your eyes to see Him in all His glory. It may be uncomfortable at first, but it will be worth it. Then we close that time as we sing a song – something like “Sweet hour of prayer” or “Surely the presence”. Can we try that for a while and see what happens?
True worship focuses on God, and it is prayer that gets us focused.
3. True worship always begins with a vision of God’s holiness. (vs. 2 - 4)
In recent years, theology and worship have emphasized the personal nature of God, the love of God, and joy of God to such a degree that for some reason we’ve forgotten that our God is an awesome God. We have almost reformed God into a “little buddy” or someone to pal around with. We’ve forgotten that God is such an awesome and holy God that to be in His presence is to be filled with wonder.
When Moses was aware of God’s presence in the burning bush, Moses was afraid. When Jacob had a dream of a staircase or ladder to heaven, he woke up and was afraid, because he said, “Surely the Lord is present and I didn’t know it.” And the Bible says He was filled with awe. Time and again, when people are aware of the presence of God, the Bible describes the experience as one filled with awe and even fear.
Right now, in our church, I am afraid that we don’t have enough awareness of the presence of God or the holiness of God. Right now, just prior to the service, and in the middle of the service, there is too much talking, movement and socializing that is going on. I don’t mean that in order to honor God’s holiness, we have to be somber and serious all the time. We can laugh and have a good time together. But God’s holiness demands that whatever the worship activity of the moment might be, we give our undivided and complete attention to it. Because God is here, because He sees what is going on and hears what is being said, He knows what was available for me to receive. I’m going to be tested on this. I’m going to be held accountable. I had better give it my full attention. I don’t want to stifle fellowship. But if it comes to a choice between fellowship suffering and worship suffering, I choose that fellowship suffer.
True worship focuses on God’s holiness.
4. True worship helps us understand ourselves and our shortcomings. (vs. 5)
You cannot come into the presence of God without becoming aware of the holiness of God and your own unholiness. Paul, in Romans 3:23, says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
If I compare my basketball ability to my son’s, I look pretty good. If I compare my baseball skills to my daughter’s, I look pretty good. I must be a great sportsman. What? You doubt my sporting ability?! I wonder what would happen if I went head-to-head with Michael Jordan in the basketball arena. Or if I stepped into the batting cage with Sammy Sosa. No I don’t wonder what would happen. I know what would happen. I would fall short of their sporting ability. I would be in the presence of greatness.
That’s what happened to Isaiah when he got into the presence of God. I saw himself as he really was. Compared to others, he might have looked good. But compared to God, he was ruined and undone. He was rotten and naked.
I want you to notice something here. Everything that Isaiah had to say concerning his wretched condition had nothing to do with his actions, but everything to do with his character. He didn’t say, “I have said unclean things.” He said, “I have unclean lips”. His problem was not that he sinned. His problem was that he was a sinner. Maybe, just maybe, if he tried hard enough, and put tape over his mouth, or had his mouth stitched shut, he could stop himself from saying sinful things. But he could never change the fact that he had unclean lips. That’s the same thing that’s true with us. Our problem is not that we sin. Our problem is that we are sinners. We understand that when we get a vision of God’s holiness through worship.
5. True worship causes us to seek forgiveness. (vs. 6 -7)
It would be an awful thing if worship only showed us our condition and didn’t offer us a way to change that condition. But it does. Look at what happened to Isaiah.
Sin has to be judged. It can’t be excused.
The forgiveness and cleansing from sin is painful.
The forgiveness and cleansing were accomplished by God not by Isaiah. There was no self-effort involved.
In one of John’s NT letters we are told, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our faults, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)
Why do we worship? One reason is to be able to experience that forgiveness. WE need to hear the same message that the prophet Isaiah heard: “Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
6. True worship makes a difference in our everyday lives. (vs. 8 -13)
The difference should be in terms of service. Worship at its best always motivates the worshipper to roll up the sleeves and get to work. In several churches that I have been in, they have two slogans posted over the doorway that leads into the main hall of the church. On the outside of the door as you come in, there is a slogan that says, “Enter to worship”. Then on the back side, positioned in such a way that you will read it when you leave is another slogan that reads, “Depart to serve.” In the Christian life, one cannot have worship without service to follow.
When Isaiah had gained a vision of God’s glory and became aware of God’s forgiveness of him, and then he understood that there was a job that God needed someone to do, he said, “Here am I; send me!” It was his worship of God that enabled him to gain an understanding of God’s authority to call him to serve. Isaiah didn’t have to be pushed into service. He volunteered! “Here am I; send me!” Those are the words that every nominating ministry team member would love to hear. Knowing who He is and knowing what I am, it amazes me that God would even want to use me. But He does. And so when the opportunity comes, my response should be to jump at the opportunity.
True worship always results in service. We cannot enter into the sanctuary to worship without departing into the world to serve. I know that probably all of you have been in a service that you thought would never end. But have you ever been in a worship service that you hoped would never end? Peter, James and John went with Jesus one day to the top of a mountain [tell the rest of the story emphasizing that Peter didn’t want to leave]. You know why Peter didn’t want to leave? There were people down below. Nasty, stinky, needy, dangerous people. There was work down below. There was weariness down below. And up here…well here, it felt like heaven. He liked it. He wanted to stay. But God had a job for him to do down below, at the foot of the mountain.
Did you notice the character of the service that Isaiah was given to do? [read it again] Sounds like loads of fun, doesn’t it. Do you find yourself saying to God, “God, I’ll do this, but don’t you dare ask me to do this.” Isaiah volunteered for the job, and then God filled in all the details. How could he do that? Because he had gained a vision of the God that was on the throne. He could trust that God to do what was right and to do what was best.
True worship makes a difference in your everyday life. Therefore, the test of whether or not you have really worshipped cannot be answered while you are within the doors of this church. The only way you will know if you have really worshipped or not is when you get outside the doors. The factor that determines whether or not you have really worshipped is your attitude, actions and spirit when you leave this place. Do you yell at the kids for getting their Sunday clothes dirty? Do you complain to the waitress about her speed of service or about the fact that your steak is a little on the burnt side? Do you get mad at the preacher for letting you out late with the result that all the other churches get to the restaurant first? “Letting you out” – that sounds like prison, not a church service. And to some people, worship is a prison. Something you have to do because you’ve been bad until you get paroled. But worship is a privilege that God has granted to imperfect sinful people that brings us into a relationship with a God who loves us.
What is God calling you to do this week? How are you going to respond to His call?
What God calls us to do from one week to the next may change, but let your response always be, “Here am I; send me!”
