Cleansing Power of God
Isaiah 6:1-10
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.
So in about 740 BC, when king Uzziah died, Isaiah had a vision. Sometimes prophets and rulers had visions and dreams, often needing interpretation. This is the only recorded vision that Isaiah had, and it was a very clear presentation from God DIRECTLY to him.
Pharaoh had a vision once, where he dreamed about 7 skinny cows and 7 fat cows. The 7 skinny cows ate the 7 fat ones, and Pharaoh did not know what to make of it. Joseph was there to interpret his dream, and Joseph was put second in command after a stint in prison because of it.
God wrote a message on the wall when Belshazzar was king in Daniel’s time. The writing made Belshazzar very fearful, so much so that his knees shook together and banged against one another (Daniel 4:6 - Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another). Daniel was the only one who could give the interpretation, even after Belshazzar asked astrologers and soothsayers what they made of it all.
The point of the matter is, this vision was pretty straight-forward, and Isaiah was put in the ’office’ of prophet from this encounter on. This wasn’t the start of his prophecies from the Lord, but it was a new level for him with God.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto 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 moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Seraphims were angels, and their name actually comes from ’burning.’ They were powerful beings, but still were not able to be compared to God to ANY extent. We find in Hebrews that men were ’below angels,’ and all throughout the epistles of Paul and Peter, we know that we will have a ’glorified body’ after death if Jesus is our Savior.
’Angels’ actually comes from the word for ’messenger’ in Greek (angelos), and in a very literal sense, they are messengers, indeed. God sends them to protect us sometimes. After Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, angels were there to minister to Him (in this case, likely supplied Him with food - similarly to what they did with Elijah - and congratulated Him).
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 Isaiah was in the Presence of God, he only could see his faults more clearly and was ashamed. He realized that he was not worthy of being there and he was merely a man of unclean lips.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
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.
No matter what the case, if God wants you to do something, He will make you qualified if you allow Him to. God won’t give you more than you can EVER bear, and keeping that in mind and living with that fact, following His Call on your life is possible.
The seraphim with the coal from the altar (with a continual fire burning) can also be a symbol of a person sharing the Gospel. The person shared with may realize his sin due to new revelation, thanks to the Holy Ghost, and the person sharing the Gospel can give them the good news of Jesus Christ. Jesus is faithful and just to forgive EVERY sin we’ve committed and will commit, and to cleanse us from EVERY unrighteous part of us, no matter how hidden those parts of us are. God knows every secret of our hearts.
Hebrews 4:13 - Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
The closer we get to God in our relationship with Him, the more we hate sin and realize what betrayal we have done to our Master. ’Lord’ in Greek is literally, Master (kurios in Greek). As we know, too, God never changes, and in the Old Testament, He is referred to as Adonai, which is literally ’Master’ in Hebrew.
There is cleansing power in the Kingdom of God. Not only cleansing, but empowering power. It may sound redundant, but it’s an understatement. God will give you so much strength, that it’ll make your head spin! You will look back on tough times and be awed at how much He helped you out.
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.
We need to have the willingness to obey God in whatever He has us do. Isaiah was a unique prophet. Many prophets made excuses to God about how they are incapable of doing the work He has set out for them. Moses was concerned that he couldn’t speak well in front of people, Jeremiah was concerned that he wasn’t experienced enough and was too young, but Isaiah knew that he could do all things with enablement from his King, standing right in front of him.
We can do ALL things through Jesus Christ, who empowers us - gives us strength we need to carry on His Work. Without Him, we are like a vine cut off from the rest of the tree, only leaving us to wither. God won’t LET you wither with His Power. He won’t let you crumble when the pressure is on - Just keep your trust in Him and you’ll go far in Him and in life.
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.
God’s mission for Isaiah was to present His message to them. God would destroy the cities due to their disobedience to Him - in many cases, people made their own idols and bowed down to them. Many would hear the words and not accept it, and be completely blind to the truth. Such is the case even today.
Relativism can only last you so far, but if you try to climb that vine for eternity, you will only find yourself with a limited stalk. Climb the vine of eternal life through Jesus, and you will find yourself in Heaven after you climb the vine of daily life until you die (or until Jesus returns first).
A good picture is in Isaiah 44, where the picture of a carpenter is given. The carpenter cuts down trees, makes all his measurements, uses the wood, some for fire, and the rest to make an idol. He then bows down to the idol and asks it to save him. Does he know that he’s bowing down to an inanimate block of wood?
In Psalm 115, it talks about how the idols have eyes but see not, have ears but hear not, have qualities but have no living qualities. They can’t save you more than a trash can lid!
We each often have idols in our own lives, too. Put the Lord Jesus first in your heart and everything else will fall into place. Serving the Lord doesn’t equate to a boring life, but rather the most exciting one - beyond what you could have ever imagined.
His Ways and Thoughts are WAY above ours, as far as the sky is above the ground, even. Isaiah was cleansed in God’s Presence and was able to do what the Lord would have him do.
No matter what your condition, even as Isaiah was a man of "unclean lips," and dwelling with an unclean population of people, God will make a way for you to please Him, and He will bless you for being obedient to His Word.
Even if you are full of sin right now, coming to Jesus will result in total purification, just upon asking Him to cleanse you. No matter where you are, He hears you, and He answers all your prayers. Sometimes He doesn’t answer them the way you want Him to, but in the end, you will see that He answers them according to your best interests.
He could have created us and left us alone completely. He heals, restores, forgives, empowers, strengthens, makes a way out of no way, gives you joy and peace and purpose in life. He is the most caring Father we could ever have.
When the people in the upper room were filled and empowered by the Holy Ghost, they were empowered to do AMAZING things for the Lord. All throughout the book of Acts, miracles and conversions were all over the place! God has much more power and ability than we think.
So make a commitment to serve the Lord. Whatever He wants you to do is the most fulfilling thing you CAN do in life. If you haven’t accepted Christ and want to, ask Him now: Lord Jesus, be my Savior. Forgive my sins. I believe You are the Son of God and give life eternally to those who believe. Amen.
If you want to serve the Lord, give it all to Him right now. Pray: Lord, I want to serve You and do Your Will for my life. Empower me to do whatever You want me to do in life. Thank You, Lord. I know there are Promises in Your Name much greater than any sin can give me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
I challenge you this week to tell even one person you haven’t talked much to about the Gospel. Who knows, maybe they will be a great Warrior for the Lord!
He who began a good work in you will be faithful to carry it out to completion in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah!
