Isaiah An Introduction
(If you are reading this message… I am sorry for the typo’s but as far as I know word can’t see words spelled wrong in all caps)
TODAY WE BEGIN OUR STUDY OF ISAIAHH -- OUR SUNDAY MORNING STUDY THAT IS (WE’VE BEEN ISIAH FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS ON WED).
AS WE BEGIN THIS STUDY IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US FIRST TO DO SOME INTRODUCTORY WORK; FIRST WE WANT TO REVIEW THE BACKGROUND OF GOD’S PEOPLE THAT BRINGS US TO THE TIME OF ISAIAH.
ISAIAH; "THE BACKGROUND"
THE HISTORY OF GOD’S PEOPLE (THE NATION OF ISRAEL BEGAN WITH A CALL. IN THE YEAR 2057BC A MAN NAMED ABRAHAM LIVING IN MESOPOTAMIA -- RECEIVED A CALL FROM GOD, WE READ ABOUT THAT CALL IN GENESIS CHAPTER 12.... AND GOD SAID TO ABRAHAM, "LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY, YOUR PEOPLE AND YOUR FATHER’S HOUSEHOLD AND GO TO THE LAND I WILL SHOW YOU. I WILL MAKE YOU INTO A GREAT NATION AND I WILL BLESS YOU; I WILL MAKE YOUR NAME GREAT .... AND ALL PEOPLES ON EARTH WILL BE BLESSED THROUGH YOU."+
AND ABRAHAM OBEYED THAT CALL AND WENT EVEN THOUGH HE DID NOT KNOW WHERE HE WAS GOING, EVEN THOUGH HE WAS ASKED TO LEAVE THE FAMILIAR AND JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN. AND BY FAITH ABRAHAM SETTLED IN THE PROMISE LAND, BUT HE NEVER DID (NOR DID HIS CHILDREN FOR THAT MATTER) HAVE A REAL HOME -- THEY LIVED AS NOMADS
IN TENTS IN THE DESERT... AND ABRAHAM WAS ABLE TO DO THIS BECAUSE HE HAD FAITH AND HE WAS NOT CONCERNED ABOUT WHERE HE LIVED ON THIS EARTH -- BECAUSE HE WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO LIVING IN THAT HEAVENLY CITY WHOSE BUILDER AND DESIGNER IS GOD.... HE ENDURED IN THIS LIFE BECAUSE HE WAS CONVINCED OF THE FUTURE GLORY THAT AWAITED HIM.
ABRAHAM FATHERED ISAAC AND ISAAC WAS THE FATHER OF JACOB AND JACOB HAD 12 SONS.... ONE OF WHO WAS JOSEPH (YOU KNOW THE COAT OF MANY COLORS) WHO WAS SOLD BY HIS BROTHERS AS A SLAVE, SPENT TIME IN JAIL BECAUSE HE REFUSED THE ADVANCES OF POTIPHAR’S WIFE, AND WHO LATER BECAME 2ND IN COMMAND OF ALL OF EGYPT AND WHO ALSO LATER FORGAVE HIS BROTHERS (WHO HAD COME TO EGYPT SEEKING FOOD DURING A FAMINE) SAYING
"YOU INTENDED TO HARM ME, BUT GOD INTENDED IT FOR MY GOOD, TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT IS NOW BEING DONE, THE SAVING OF MANY LIVES. SO THEN DON’T BE AFRAID. I WILL PROVIDE FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN"
SATAN ON THE OTHER HAND ALWAYS INTENDS THINGS FOR OUR HARM...
ROMANS 8:28; "AND WE KNOW THAT GOD CAUSE ALL THINGS TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD, OF THOSE WHO LOVE HIM, WHO HAVE BEEN CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.."
(NOTICE THAT IT IS CONDITIONAL -- WE CAN’T CLAIM THE PROMISE ALL THINGS WORKING FOR GOOD UNLESS WE LOVE GOD AS EVIDENCED BY OUR OBEDIENCE TO HIS COMMANDS AND BY OUR LIVES..)
AND JACOB CAME TO EGYPT BRINGING ALL HIS SONS AND THEIR FAMILIES (70 IN ALL) TO LIVE THERE..
AND NOT LONG AFTER THEIR ARRIVAL IN EGYPT WHEN A NEW PHARAOH AROSE TO POWER WHO DID NOT KNOW JOSEPH)-- WE SEE GOD’S PEOPLE IN CHAINS, SLAVE IN EGYPT FOR 400 YEARS.... BUT DESPITE GOD’S PEOPLE BEING OPPRESSED BY THE CRUEL WHIP OF THE EGYPTIANS... DURING THOSE 400+ YEARS GOD’S PEOPLE SWELLED TO OVER A MILLION DURING THEIR YEARS IN CAPTIVITY.
BUT GOD NEITHER FORGOT NOR NEGLECTED HIS PEOPLE, IN 1447 BC AS HE HAD PROMISED, GOD SENT THEM A DELIVERER, AND MOSES THROUGH THE POWER OF GOD PERFORMED GREAT MIRACLES (NILE TO BLOOD, PLAGUES OF: FROGS, GNATS, FLIES, HAIL, BOILS, LOCUST AND THE DEATH OF THE FIRST BORN).
AND GOD BROUGHT THE MIGHTY EGYPTIAN EMPIRE TO HER KNEES. AND PHARAOH LET GOD’S PEOPLE GO... AND THEY LEFT EGYPT GUIDED BY A CLOUD BY DAY AND A PILLAR OF FIRE BY NIGHT..... AND WHILE IN THAT DESERT GOD MET THEIR NEEDS PROVIDING THEM MANNA FORM THE SKY EVERY MORNING, PROVIDING THEM QUAIL AND WATER.
AND IT WAS WHILE CAMPED IN THAT DESERT THAT MOSES BROUGHT DOWN FROM THUNDERING MT. SINAI THE LAW OF GOD....ENGRAVED ON TO STONE TABLETS BY GOD’S OWN HAND....
FROM THERE MOSES LED THE PEOPLE RIGHT TO THE EDGE OF THE PROMISE LAND... AND IT WAS HERE THAT GOD’S PEOPLE FACED A GREAT CHALLENGE TO THEIR FAITH... WE READ ABOUT IT IN NUMBERS CHAPTER 13. MOSES SENT OUT 12 MEN (SPIES) TO CHECK OUT THE PROMISE LAND TO SEE WHAT KIND OF LAND IT WAS AND TO SEE WHAT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE WERE LIKE, BEFORE THEY ENTERED AND TOOK POSSESSION OF THE LAND.
YOU SEE, GOD WANTED THEM TO GO SO THAT THEY COULD SEE JUST HOW GREAT THE LAND WAS THAT HE WAS NOW GIVING TO THEM.... BUT RATHER THEN SEEING THE BEAUTY OF THE LAND, SEEING THAT IT WAS A LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY -- ALL 10 OF THE SPIES COULD SEE WERE THE OBSTACLES; "YEAH THE LAND OVER THERE IS PRETTY GOOD BUT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THEIR ARE POWERFUL, AND THE CITES ARE FORTIFIED AND VERY LARGE -- WE CAN’T ATTACK THOSE PEOPLE THEY ARE STRONGER THAN WE ARE...WE ARE MERE GRASSHOPPERS IN THEIR SIGHT."
NOW 2 OF THE SPIES, CALEB AND JOSHUA TRIED TO GET THE PEOPLE TO TRUST GOD AND TO GO TAKE THE LAND... BUT BECAUSE OF THE FAITH OF GOD’S PEOPLE WAS SMALL (LIKE GRASSHOPPERS) -- THEY LISTEN TO THE PESSIMISTS/THEY WERE OVERCOME BY THE OBSTACLES AND SAID WE ARE NOT GOING... AND THEY NEVER ENTERED THE LAND. (AND THERE ARE MANY LANDS THAT GOD’S PEOPLE DON’T EVER TODAY: "PEACE, JOY, HOPE, CONTENTMENT" BECAUSE THEY LIKE THE ISRAELITES DON’T REALLY BELIEVE THAT GOD IS ABLE..)
AND THIS DISOBEDIENCE AND LACK OF FAITH...RESULTED IN THEM HAVING TO WANDER IN THE DESERT FOR NEARLY 40 YEARS.
AND WHEN THOSE 40 YEARS WERE COMPLETED, AND THE GENERATION THAT HAD SINNED HAD DIED -- MOSES ONCE AGAIN BROUGHT GOD’S PEOPLE TO THE EDGE OF THE PROMISE LAND... WE READ ABOUT THIS IN THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY (2ND LAW -- BECAUSE MOSES NOW GIVES GOD’S LAW TO THE NEW GENERATION)... AND BEFORE THEY ENTERED THE PROMISE LAND MOSES PRESENTED GOD’S PEOPLE WITH A CHALLENGE HE GAVE THEM A CHOICE AND WARNED THEM OF CONSEQUENCES....
IN DT 30; MOSES TELLS THE PEOPLE THEY CAN EITHER CHOICE GOD AND HAVE LIFE OR THEY CAN TURN AWAY FROM GOD AND SUFFER GREATLY IN THE LAND..
AND IN THE BOOK OF JOSHUA WE READ HOW JOSHUA MOSES SUCCESSOR AND IN 1407 BC JOSHUA LED ISRAEL ACROSS THE JORDAN INTO THE PROMISE LAND -- BRINGING THE WALLS OF JERICHO CRASHING DOWN, CONQUERING THE LAND FOR GOD AND HIS PEOPLE.... IT WAS A GREAT MOMENT FOR THE AS THEY FINALLY TRUSTED GOD TO DIVIDE THE WATERS OF LIFE AND THEY WERE VICTORIOUS...
THE BOOK OF JOSHUA ENDS WITH THE PEOPLE SETTLING IN THE LAND AS THEY DIVIDed THE LAND OF CANAAN AMONG THE 12 TRIBES OF ISRAEL AND WITH JOSHUA MAKING THAT GREAT STATEMENT OF FAITH..
JOSHUA 24:14-15
BUT IT WAS NOT VERY LONG AFTER THEY HAD SETTLED IN THE LAND THAT GOD’S PEOPLE ENTER A VERY DARK PERIOD OF THEIR HISTORY.... IT IS CALLED THE PERIOD OF JUDGES AND IT LASTED 335 YEARS.
THE GENERATION THAT ENTERED THE LAND WITH JOSHUA THOUGH THEY KNEW GOD THEMSELVES, THEY FAILED TO TEACH THE NEXT GENERATION, AND THE NEW GENERATION THEREFORE DID NOT KNOW GOD AND THEIR DEEDS WERE EVIL...
IN THE LAST VERSE OF THE BOOK JUDGES THE WRITER OF THE BOOK SHARES A FEW WORDS THAT SUMMARIZE THIS ENTIRE PERIOD.
"IN THOSE DAYS ISRAEL HAD NO KING, AND EVERYONE DID WHAT WAS RIGHT IN THEIR OWN EYES....."
BECAUSE THEY HAD NO KING, BECAUSE THEY HAD NO STANDARD, BECAUSE GOD WAS NOT ON THE THRONE OF THEIR LIVES --- EVERYONE DID WHATEVER THEY WANTED TO DO... IF IT FELT GOOD THEY DID IT -- AND IF IT FELT GOOD OR WAS CONVENIENT TO NOT TO DO IT -- THEY DIDN’T!
THIS ENTIRE PERIOD WAS CHARACTERIZED BY GOD’S PEOPLE FALLING AWAY, SUFFERING BECAUSE OF SIN; THE PEOPLE CRYING OUT TO GOD FOR DELIVERANCE, AND THEN GOD SENDING THEM A DELIVER TO RESCUE THEM.
BUT WHENEVER THAT DELIVER DIED, THE PEOPLE WOULD AGAIN QUICKLY RETURN TO THEIR EVIL WAYS.... SEVEN TIMES GOD’S PEOPLE DURING THOSE 300+ YEARS, WENT THROUGH THE SAME CYCLE OF SIN -- SUFFERING -- SUPPLICATION (CRYING OUT TO GOD) AND DELIVERANCE...
THE NEXT TURN IN THE HISTORY OF GOD’S PEOPLE IS THEIR RISE AND WE READ OF THIS RISE BEGINNING IN I SAMUEL AND ENDING EARLY IN THE BOOK OF 1ST KINGS. THIS PERIOD IN THEIR HISTORY LASTED 114 YEARS. AND IT BEGINS WHEN SAUL IS CROWNED KING OF ISRAEL --
LATER WE SEE DAVID THE SHEPHERD BOY: SLAYING A GIANT, BECOMING KING, AND CONQUERING MANY NATIONS IN BATTLE (EXPANDING THE BORDERS OF THE NATION).
-- AND FINALLY DAVID’S SON SOLOMON TAKES THE THRONE -- HE BUILDS THE TEMPLE OF GOD AND ACCUMULATES MORE WEALTH THEN ANYONE EVER HAS... IT WAS A TIME OF GREAT PROSPERITY FOR GOD’S PEOPLE.. BUT THIS TIME WAS TO BE SHORT LIVED, BECAUSE AT SOLOMON’S DEATH GOD’S PEOPLE RAPIDLY BEGIN THEIR FALL.
YOU SEE, SHORTLY AFTER SOLOMON’S DEATH THE NATION DIVIDED INTO 2 KINGDOMS... ISRAEL IN THE NORTH AND IN THE SOUTH... AND THIS DIVIDED NATION WAS UNABLE TO STAND...(NEITHER WILL CHURCHES OR HOMES).
ISAIAH; THE MAN
IT WAS DURING THE TIME OF THE THIS DIVIDED PERIOD OF ISRAEL’S HISTORY (WHICH LASTED FROM 931BC TO 722 BC) THAT ISAIAH (WHOSE NAME MEANS "YAHWEH IS SALVATION") THUNDERED ON THE SCENE PROCLAIMING GOD’S TRUTH AND JUDGMENT TO JUDAH, THE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH.. A PEOPLE WHO HAD FORGOTTEN NA TURNED THEIR BACKS ON GOD.
ISAIAH’S MINISTRY STANDS IN TIME 1/2 WAY BETWEEN GOD’S 2 GRETA DELIVERERS, MOSES (1400 BC) AND CHRIST (3 BC). ISAIAH BEGAN HIS PROPHETIC CAREER IN 740 BC AND ENDED AT HIS DEATH IN THE YEAR 680 BC. HIS MINISTRY SPANNED THE REIGN OF 4 KINGS IN JUDAH: JOTHAM, AHAZ, HEZEKIAH AND MANASSEH; AND IT SPANNED THE RISE AND FALL OF 3 GREAT EMPIRES EGYPT, ASSYRIA AND BABYLON...
PRIOR TO HIS DIVINE CALL TO THE PROPHETIC OFFICE, ISAIAH WAS A COURT HISTORIOGRAPHER FOR KING UZZIAH AND KING HEZEKIAH OF JUDAH. HE WAS MARRIED AND HAD 2 SONS. ISAIAH WAS A FERVENT PATRIOT. HE WAS A WELL EDUCATED MAN WITH A MASSIVE VOCABULARY... HE WAS A MASTERFUL WRITER AND ORATOR WHO USED SARCASM AND IRONY WITH THE SKILL OF A SURGEON. HIS WORDS REVEAL GREAT EARNESTNESS, BOLDNESS AND SPIRITUALITY. ISAIAH WAS A MAN OF DEEP REVERENCE FOR GOD.
ONE SCHOLAR SAYS THE FOLLOWING OF ISAIAH;
"NEVER PERHAPS HAS THERE BEEN ANOTHER PROPHET LIKE ISAIAH, WHO STOOD WITH HIS HEAD IN THE CLOUDS AND HIS FEET ON SOLID EARTH, WITH HIS HEART IN THINGS OF ETERNITY AND WITH HIS MOUTH AND HAND IN THE THINGS OF TIME, WITH HIS SPIRIT IN THE ETERNAL COUNSEL OF GOD AND HIS BODY IN A VERY DEFINITE MOMENT OF HISTORY."
ISAIAH SERVED GOD FAITHFULLY; AND ACCORDING TO TRADITION -- ISAIAH WAS ONE OF THE FAITHFUL WHO HEBREWS 11:37 TELLS US WAS SAWED IN TWO. (WICKED KING MANASSEH -- HOLLOW LOG).
THEREFORE WHEN YOU READ THE WORDS OF ISAIAH (AND I HOPE YOU WILL DURING OUR STUDY) DON’T SIMPLY TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED; FOR YOU ARE READING THE WORDS OF A DEVOTED MAN OF GOD, A MAN WHO LOVED GOD DEEPLY, SERVED HIM FAITHFULLY, TRUSTED HIM FULLY AND WHO GAVE HIMSELF COMPLETELY TO HIS SERVICE...
ISAIAH; THE BOOK
THE FINAL PART OF OUR INTRODUCTORY WORK TODAY IS ABOUT ISAIAH THE BOOK... THE BOOK OF ISAIAH CONTAINS 66 CHAPTERS; SOME HAVE REFERRED TO IT AS A MIN BIBLE: THE FIRST 39 CHAPTERS (NOV/DEC) LIKE THE OT SPEAK MAINLY OF CONDEMNATION -- THE LAST 27 (MARCH/APRIL) SPEAK MAINLY OF REDEMPTION..
THE PURPOSE OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH IS TWOFOLD; FIRST TO TEACH THE TRUTH THAT SALVATION IS BY GRACE AND SECOND TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT THRU JUDAH THE MESSIAH WOULD BE REVEALED...
ISAIAH RANKS SECOND ONLY THE BOOK OF PSALMS IN THE NUMBER OF VERSES THAT SPEAK DIRECTLY ABOUT THE COMING OF CHRIST (59)
47 CHAPTERS OF ISAIAH ARE QUOTED OR ALLUDED TO BY CHRIST OR THE APOSTLES. AND WITH MORE THAN 400 REFERENCES ISAIAH STANDS SECOND ONLY TO PSALMS AS THE MOST QUOTED BOOK IN THE NT.
JAMES E SMITH IN HIS INTRODUCTORY NOTES ON ISAIAH WRITES;
"THE BOOK OF ISAIAH HAS BEEN CALLED THE MOUNT EVEREST OF PROPHETIC LITERATURE. THE INTRINSIC GRANDEUR OF THIS BOOK ATTRACTS THOSE WHO ARE CONNOISSEURS OF GREAT LITERATURE. STUDENTS OF THEOLOGY FIND HERE SUBLIME REVELATIONS OF GOD’S CHARACTER. THE EVANGELICAL EMPHASIS OF THE BOOK HAS MADE IT A FAVORITE OF CHRISTIAN PREACHERS THROUGH THE AGES. THOSE WHO DEFEND BIBLICAL REVELATION FIND IN THESE PROPHECIES ABUNDANT EVIDENCE OF SUPERNATURAL REVELATION.
AND SIMPLE BELIEVERS REJOICE IN A TREASURE TROVE OF PASSAGES WHICH ENCOURAGE THEM IN THEIR CHRISTIAN PILGRIMAGE."
TODAY "AS BODY," WE BEGIN OUR STUDY OF THIS GREAT BOOK WRITTEN BY A FAITHFUL MAN OF GOD OVER 2,700 YEARS AGO.... BUT I AM CONFIDENT THAT YOU WILL FIND AS THOSE WHO ARE INVOLVED IN OUR MID WEEK STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT ISAIAH IS AN EXTREMELY RELEVANT BOOK FOR US TODAY....
OUR MESSAGE TODAY IS ENTITLED ANSWER THE CALL THE MAIN TEXT IS THE SIXTH CHAPTER OF ISAIAH. AND JUST AS GOD CALLED HIS PEOPLE 2,7000 YEARS AGO; HE STILL CALLS THEM TODAY...
ISAIAH 6:1-8
FIRST AND FOREMOST GOD CALLS US TO SEE HIM
CAN’T YOU JUST PICTURE IN YOUR MIND THE SCENE THAT ISAIAH HAD RIGHT BEFORE HIS VERY EYES... THIS WAS NO MOVIE -- THIS WASN’T ANY SPECIAL EFFECTS TRICKERY... THIS WAS REAL...
ISAIAH SAW THE LORD.... (THE APOSTLE JOHN TELLS US IN JOHN 12:41 THAT IT WAS JESUS THAT ISAIAH SAW) ISAIAH SAW GOD THE SON SEATED ON HIS THRONE....
AND JESUS WAS HIGH AND EXALTED.... AND HIS ROBE FILLED THE TEMPLE WITH GLORY...
AND ABOVE THE LORD WERE FLAME-LIKE ANGELIC BEINGS CALLED SERAPHS.... EACH HAD 6 WINGS; ONE PAIR OF WINGS SHIELDED THEIR EYES FROM GOD’S GLORY... A SECOND PAIR COVERED THE LOWER PARTS OF THEIR BODIES IN MODESTY... AND THE THIRD SET WAS USED TO FLY ABOVE THE LORD... AND THESE ANGELS WERE CALLING TO ONE ANOTHER WITH GRETA EXCITEMENT AND JOY (AND THIS WAS THEIR 24 HR A DAY JOB)....
"HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD ALMIGHTY THE WHOLE EARTH IS FULL OF HIS GLORY......"
GOD CALLED ISAIAH TO SEE HIS, (WELL AT LEAST A PART OF IT).
AND GOD STILL CALLS PEOPLE TODAY TO SEE HIM... TO BEHOLD HIS GLORY... TO KNOW HIM.
IN FACT, GOD’S ENTIRE DEALING WITH MAN HAS BEEN SO THAT MAN CAN KNOW HIM...
LISTEN TO WHAT PAUL SAYS IN
ACTS 17:26,27
GOD CHOOSE THE NATION OF ISRAEL, GOD SENT PROPHETS TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT MANKIND COULD KNOW HIM...
CREATION ITSELF SPEAKS TO THE FACT THAT GOD WANTS TO BE KNOWN;
THE HEAVENS PROCLAIM HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND ALL HIS PEOPLE SEE HIS GLORY" -- PS 97:6
AND CERTAINLY THE INCARNATION SPEAKS TO GOD’S DESIRE FOR MAN TO KNOW HIM...
THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND MADE HIS DWELLING AMONG US. WE HAVE SEEN HIS GLORY, THE GLORY OF THE ONE AND ONLY, WHO CAME FORM THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE AND GLORY.."
"I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIGHT. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME. IF YOU REALLY KNEW ME, YOU WOULD NOW MY FATHER AS WELL. FROM NOW ON YOU DO KNOW HIM AND HAVE SEEN HIM... IF YOU HAVE SEEN ME YOU HAVE SEEN THE FATHER.."
GOD WANTS US TO SEE HIM TODAY... AND WE CAN SEE GOD THROUGH HIS WORD; NOT BY JUST READING IT -- BUT BY STUDYING IT, BY MEDIATING ON IT -- BY PRAYING ABOUT IT.. BY LIVING IT..
AND BY ASKING GOD TO REVEAL HIMSELF TO US IN HIS WORD...
AND WHEN WE DO THIS WE TOO WILL ENCOUNTER GOD -- WE TOO WILL COME FACE TO FACE WITH THE HOLY ONE -- AS WE BEHOLD HIS GLORY..
AND IF YOU HAVEN’T REALLY SEEN GOD (YET OR LATELY) IT IS BECAUSE YOU EITHER HAVE NOT BEEN LOOKING FOR HIM OR YOU HAVE LET YOUR SIN GET IN THE WAY..
BECAUSE GOD SAYS; "YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME, WHEN YOU SEEK ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART..."
AFTER GOD CALLS US TO SEE HIM HE THEN
CALLS US TO SEE OURSELVES
HAVE YOU EVER TRIED LOOKING AT YOURSELF IN A MIRROR IN THE DARK? CAN’T SEE TOO MUCH CAN YOU? I MEAN YOUR HAIR COULD BE A REAL MESS, LAST NIGHTS PIZZA COULD BE ON YOUR FACE, YOU COULD HAVE BLEMISHES ALL OVER AND YOU WOULDN’T EVEN KNOW THEY WERE THERE.
BUT IF YOU REACHED OVER, AND CLICKED ON THE LIGHT SWITCH -- THINGS WOULD BE DIFFERENT -- (YOU MAY WANT TO FLICK IT OFF) -- BECAUSE IN THE LIGHT YOU CAN SEE YOURSELF MORE CLEARLY.
AS ISAIAH STOOD IN THE LIGHT OF THE LORD’S GLORY; ISAIAH SAW HIMSELF VERY CLEARLY... ISIAH SAW HIMSELF AS HE REALLY WAS...NO PRETENSE; NO GAME PLAYING; NO SPIRITUAL TALK; NO FAKING IT AND NO HYPOCRISY...
AND WHILE ISIAH BASKED IN THE LIGHT OF THE LORD’S HOLINESS -- THE ONLY WORDS HE COULD GET THROUGH HIS LIPS WERE, "WOE IS ME!" "I AM RUINED" WHY? "BECAUSE I AM A MAN OF UNCLEAN LIPS AND I LIVE AMONG A PEOPLE OF UNCLEAN LIPS..." THE WORD RUIN MEANS TO UNRAVEL...
IN OTHER WORDS ISAIAH IS SAYING "I’M COMING A PART AT THE SEAMS, BECAUSE I AM A SINNER AND I HAVE SEEN AND I AM IN THE PRESNESE OF GOD IN ALL OF HIS AWESOME HOLINESS."
WHEN YOU COME FACE TO FACE WITH GOD -- (AND AS I SAID EARLIER WE CAN COME FACE TO FACE WITH GOD TODAY BY READING, STUDYING AND MEDIATING ON HIS WORD...)
WHEN YOU COME FACE TO FACE WITH GOD, IT WILL EFFECT YOUR SELF ESTEEM -- AND YOU WILL QUICKLY DISCOVER THAT YOU ARE NOT ALL YOU THINK YOU ARE.
NOW, ISAIAH WAS A GODLY MAN, A MAN THAT THE LORD HAD HAND PICKED FOR A SPECIAL MINISTRY, BUT HE WAS STILL A MAN.
AND WHEN ISIAH SAW GOD -- THE LIGHT CLICKED ON AND HE SAW HIMSELF -- BLEMISHES AND ALL.
FOR YOU SEE, ONE DOWNSIDE OF SEEING GOD -- OF FINDING HIM IN A REAL WAY THROUGH A SERIOUS PERSONAL ENCOUNTER IN THE WORD IS THAT ONCE GOD UNVEILS HIMSELF SHOWING US WHO HE IS -- A DIRECT RESULT OR CONSEQUENCE OF THIS IS THAT HE UNVEILS OR REVEALS WHO WE REALLY ARE... THE LIGHT CLICKS ON...
AND WE FIND OURSELVES FACED WITH THE PROBLEM PETER HAD WHEN HE RAN INTO JESUS CHRIST AND FOUND OUT WHO HE WAS. WHEN PETER SAW JESUS CHRIST FOR WHO HE WAS; THE PROUD-SELF SUFFICIENT FISHERMAN FROM GALILEE FELL ON TO HIS KNEES AND CRIED OUT TO JESUS, "GO AWAY FROM ME LORD! I AM A SINFUL MAN!"
WHEN YOU TRULY SEE GOD IN HIS GLORY THE ONLY RESPONSE YOU WILL HAVE IS "WOE IS ME, I AM RUINED I AM A MAN OF UNCLEAN LIPS" "LORD GO AWAY FROM ME I AM A SINFUL MAN..." -- THE LIGHT SWITCH HAS BEEN CLICKED ON >>> AND WE SEE ALL THE SPOTS AND BLEMISHES IN OUR LIFE...
BROTHERS & SISTERS WHEN WE SEE GOD HE WILL TELL US THE TRUTH ABOUT WHO WE ARE.
NOW, TELLING PEOPLE THE TRUTH IS NOT ALL THAT COMMON TODAY. WE DON’T TELL EACH OTHER THE TRUTH BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT PEOPLE MAD AT US, WE DON’T WANT TO OFFEND THEM...
WHAT WIFE WANTS TO HEAR THE TRUTH ABOUT A HAIRSTYLE OR CLOTHES)..
WE DON’T TELL THE TRUTH BECAUSE PEOPLE DON’T WANT TO HEAR THE TRUTH...
AND LET ME TELL YOU GOD’S PEOPLE IN ISAIAH’S DAY DID NOT WANT TO HEAR THE TRUTH EITHER ... BECAUSE THE TRUTH WAS >>> THEY WERE EVIL, REBELLIOUS AND IMMORAL -- THEY HAD TURNED AWAY FROM GOD.
BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT GOD SENT ISAIAH TO DO >> TELL THEM THE TRUTH... NO MATTER HOW UNPLEASANT THAT MIGHT BE...
LISTEN TO ISIAH’S OPENING SERMON TO GOD’S PEOPLE...
ISAIAH 1:2-31
(1:2-4); THEY ARE UNGRATEFUL, REBELLIOUS AND STUPID
(1:5-8): THEY ARE SUFFERING FOR THEIR SIN
(1:10-15); THEIR FORMAL, RITUALISTIC, SIMPLY GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS WORSHIP OF GOD IS MEANINGLESS AND DETESTABLE TO GOD -- BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT LIVING/DOING RIGHT. (1:16-19); REPENTANCE AND OBEDIENCE WOULD RESULT IN FORGIVENESS
A CALL TO REPENT
(1:20-31) IF THEY CONTINUE ON THE ROAD OF REBELLION THEY WILL SUFFER..
GOD TOLD THE NATION THE TRUTH -- HE TOLD THEM WHO THEY WERE...
AND GOD STILL TELLS THE TRUTH TODAY, HE STILL CALLS IT AS HE SEES -- AND IF YOU MAKE THE MISTAKE OF COMING INTO HIS PRESENCE (ENCOUNTERING HIM IN HIS WORD) >> HE IS GOING TO TELL YOU LIKE IT IS.. HE IS GOING TO TELL THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH ABOUT WHO YOU REALLY ARE...
AND GOD IS NOT GOING TO WORRY ONE BIT ABOUT HURTING YOUR FEELINGS OR OFFENDING YOU...
IF YOU’RE NOT DOING WHAT YOU SHOULD -- IF YOU ARE DOING THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T... GOD IS NOT GOING TO SAY WHILE THAT’S OKAY DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT...
HE IS GOING TO SAY JUST WHAT HE SAID 2,700 YEARS AGO; STOP DOING WRONG AND LEARN TO DO RIGHT....
THEREFORE (JUST AS IT WAS IN ISIAH’S DAY) THOSE WHO DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT THEMSELVES (ABOUT THEIR SINFUL ATTITUDES, ACTIONS AND INACTIONS) -- WILL NOT SEEK GOD; THEY WILL NOT TRY TO SEE HIM; THEY WILL NOT BE IN HIS WORD -- THEY WILL NOT STRIVE FOR A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH GOD... BECAUSE THEY DON’T WANT TO SEE HIM -- THEY DON’T WANT THE LIGHT ON (THEY LOVE DARKNESS BECAUSE THEIR DEEDS ARE EVIL) -- THEY WANT TO BE JUST LIKE THEY ARE.... THEY WANT TO KEEP DOING WHAT THEY ARE DOING...
PERHAPS EVEN SOME HERE TODAY NEED THE LIGHT OF GOD’S GLORY CLICKED ON... SO THEY CAN SEE CLEARLY. RECENTLY IN OUR 260 DAY CHALLENGE WE READ REVELATION CHAPTER 3 AND GOD WROTE TO THE CHURCH AT SARDIS;
"I KNOW YOUR DEEDS. YOU HAVE A REPUTATION OF BEING ALIVE, BUT YOU ARE DEAD... WAKE UP!"
FIRST AND FOREMOST GOD CALLS US TO SEE HIM -- THEN TO SEE OURSELVES
NEXT GOD CALLS US TO SEE OUR NEED
SEEING GOD AS HE IS AND THEN HAVING TO SEE OURSELVES AS WE REALLY ARE IS NOT VERY PLEASANT AT TIMES.... AND LIKE I SAID PEOPLE THEREFORE TRY TO AVOID THESE ENCOUNTERS... BUT IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO DO SO BECAUSE IT IS ONLY WHEN WE SEE GOD AND OUR OURSELVES CLEARLY THAT WE WILL ALSO SEE OUR NEED...
ISAIAH HAD A NEED -- A NEED TO BE TOUCHED BY GOD -- A NEED TO HAVE HIS SIN PROBLEM, HIS UNCLEANNESS TAKEN CARE OF....
"THEN ONE O THE SERAPH FLEW TO ME WITH A LIVE COAL IN HIS HAND, WHICH HE HAD TAKEN WITH TONGS FROM THE ALTAR. WITH IT HE TOUCHED MY MOUTH AND SAID, `SEE, THIS HAS TOUCHED YOUR LIPS, YOUR GUILT IS TAKEN AWAY AND YOUR SIN IS ATONED FOR..."
WE HAVE THE SAME NEED TODAY; BECAUSE WE TOO HAVE A SIN PROBLEM -- AND PRAISE THE LORD GOD IS STILL IN THE SIN ATONING; GUILT REMOVING BUSINESS TODAY -- AND HE DOESN’T DO IT WITH A HOT COAL BUT THROUGH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST A LAMB WITH BLEMISH OR DEFECT....
AN UNCLEAN PERSON IS INITIALLY WASHED CLEAN BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS THROUGH FAITH, REPENTANCE AND IMMERSION...
ACTS 2:38 ACTS 22:16
AND A CHRISTIAN WHO HAS BECOME POLLUTED AND UNCLEAN FROM PERSONAL SIN, WHAT ARE THEY TO DO TO GET CLEAN?
"IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST AND WILL FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND PURIFY US FROM UNRIGHTEOUSNESS..."
BUT UNDERSTAND THAT THESE CLEANSINGS CAN NOT TAKE PLACE UNTIL WE RECOGNIZE OUR NEED -- TO BE CLEAN -- AND THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN UNTIL WE SEE GOD’S HOLINESS AND OUR UNHOLINESS...
THAT IS WHY IN THAT GREAT CALL FOR REPENTANCE THAT WE READ IN ISAIAH CHAPTER 1:16-20 GOD SAYS; "COME LET US TALK TOGETHER ABOUT THESE THINGS (COME INTO MY PRESNESE FELLOWSHIP WITH ME) -- THOUGH YOUR SINS ARE LIKE SCARLET -- I CAN MAKE THEM WHITE AS SNOW -- THOUGH YOUR SINS ARE RED AS CRIMSON THEY SHALL BE LIKE WOOL... IF YOU ARE WILLING AND OBEDIENT -- YOU WILL EAT THE BEST OF MY LAND...
OUR GOD IS A GOD WHO INVITES. GOD IS A GOD WHO CALLS. GOD IS A GOD WHO OPENS THE DOOR AND WAVES HIS HAND POINTING PEOPLE TO A FULL TABLE. HOWEVER HIS INVITATION IS NOT JUST FOR A MEAL, IT IS FOR LIFE. AN INVITATION TO COME INTO HIS KINGDOM AND TAKE UP RESIDENCE IN A TEARLESS, GRAVELESS, PAINLESS WORLD.
AND WHO CAN COME?
ANYONE WHO WANTS TO; WHO CHOICES TO -- GOD’S CALL IS BOTH PERSONAL AND UNIVERSAL... HE CALLS US TO SEE HIM -- TO SEE OUR REAL SELF -- TO RECOGNIZE OUR NEED AND BE CLEANSED...
AND IT IS ONLY AFTER THIS; THAT
GOD CALLS US TO THE MISSION
GOD CAN NOT USE US, REALLY USE US IN HIS SERVICE UNTIL WE SEE WHO HE IS -- WHO WE ARE -- AND UNTIL WE COME AND GET CLEANED UP BY HIM....
GOD CAN AND WILL NOT USE IN HIS SERVICE UNCLEAN PEOPLE -- PEOPLE STANDING IN THE DARK -- WHO REFUSE TO LOOK INTO THE MIRROR
DAVID UNDERSTOOD THIS (PS 51)
THAT IS WHY FOR A TIME GOD COULDN’T USE DAVID BECAUSE DAVID WAS IN THE DARK... HE WAS LIVING WITH THE SIN OF MURDER AND ADULTERY UNREPENTANT OF AND THEN THE PROPHET NATHAN CAME UP AND TURNED THE LIGHT ON...
AND DAVID WROTE THESE WORDS..
"CLEANSE ME WITH HYSSOP, AND I WILL BE CLEAN; WASH ME, AND I WILL BE WHITER THAN SNOW...LET ME HEAR JOY AND GLADNESS LET THE BONES YOU HAVE CRUSHED REJOICE.. HIDE YOU FACE FROM MY SINS AND BLOT OUT MY INIQUITY.CREATE IN ME A PURE HEART, O GOD, AND RENEW A STEADFAST SPIRIT WITH IN ME. DO NOT CAST ME FORM YOUR PRESNESE OR TAKE YOUR HOLY SPIRIT FROM ME RESTORE TO ME THE JOY OF YOUR SALVATION AND GRANT ME A WILLING SPIRIT TO SUSTAIN ME THEN I WILL TEACH TRANSGRESSORS YOUR WAYS AND SINNERS WILL TURN BACK TO YOU."
GOD IS LOOKING OUT INTO THE HOMES, SCHOOLS , NEIGHBORHOODS AN WORK PLACES... TO YOUR WORKPLACE -- TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD... AND HE SEES THOSE DYING IN THEIR SIN AND HE SAYS WHOM SHALL I SEND? WHO WILL GO FOR US?
THOSE WHO HAVE SEEN GOD -- SEEN THEMSELVES -- BENE CLEANED UP WILL HEAR GOD’S CALL AND SAY HERE I AM LORD SEND ME...!
CONCLUSION
WE SOMEONE HAS BEEN GOOD TO YOU -- DONE GRETA THINGS FOR YOU -- YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING IN RETURN TO SAY THANK YOU...
GOD HAS DONE GRETA THINGS FOR EVERYONE HEAR...
DO YOU WANT TO THANK HIM... REALLY THANK HIM
THEN THIS THANKSGIVING ANSWER THE CALL THAT HE IS MAKING TO YOU TODAY...
IS GOD CALLING YOU TODAY TO SEE HIM TO SEE YOURSELF TO SEE YOUR NEED TO SEE YOU MISSION
JUST AS ISRAEL’S HISTORY BEGAN AND WAS SUSTAIN WITH GOD’S CALL... SO IS YOUR HISTORY WITH GOD..
GOD IS CALLING -- WILL YOU ANSWER?
