Bringing Your Life Into Focus
By Readjusting Your View of God
Text: Isaiah 6:1-7
Introduction: "Your view of God is the most important view you have, and to the extent your view of God is distorted…to that extent your life will be out of focus." Is your view of God in focus or is it blurry or even smudged? As we examine the calling of the prophet Isaiah, we can pick up on a transition that begins to occur to a life that is out of focus. As the presence and power of God becomes real to us as individuals, our life begins to come into focus.
The initial change begins to take place as we:
1. Enter Into God’s Presence
- vv 1-4 - "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above Him; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; His glory fills the whole earth. The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke."
A. Understand the importance of that first phrase: "In the year that King Uzziah died"
1. Early in his kingship, Uzziah had experienced a revival within his spirit
a. Before he came to the throne, the nation of Israel had turned their hearts away from God and were following after worldly things
b. His view of God changed and he brought a godly change to the nation
c. But as his life wore on, he allowed the things of the world to once again come in and cloud his vision of God and the nation once again fell back into sin.
2. So in the year King Uzziah died, Israel was neck-deep in sin.
B. It’s important that we note that even in the midst of their sin, God hadn’t given up on them.
1. God raised up a great prophet by the name of Isaiah.
2. God gave this great prophet a view of Himself.
3. God hasn’t given up on you either.
C. God took Isaiah right into His presence.
1. He revealed His tremendous glory to him.
2. He revealed His awesome wonder to him.
3. He revealed His majesty and splendor to him.
4. He does the same for you and I if we will just say: "Here I am!"
Application: When the glory of God falls, His power and His presence become evident all around and your problems, your past, your vision completely changes. We need the glory of God to fall in order to take our distorted view of things and bring our lives back into focus.
As we enter into God’s presence:
2. Our Lives Begin to Change
- v 5 - "Isaiah said: Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts."
Upon viewing God’s presence, Isaiah’s whole outlook changes:
A. He recognizes his own sinful condition - Woes is me, I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips.
1. He cries out: "Oh my, I am nothing, I am a ruin."
2. God’s presence took Isaiah from being an absolute nobody to being one of the greatest men of God this world has ever known.
Application: A true vision of God and His holiness will always make us realize our own sinfulness and failure. It is easy for us to say: "Oh yes, I know I am a sinner," but when we truly come into the presence of God we recognize that we just can’t get away with such a broad and indefinite statement. Entering God’s presence brings what we really are into focus. We no longer have some kind of vague sense of sin in our lives. Rather, we recognize we are full of sin and we need a complete overhaul.
B. Upon viewing God’s presence, Isaiah’s whole outlook changes - He recognizes he is immersed in a sinful society - I live among a people of unclean lips.
1. Once we come to see our own sinful condition and then we allow God to cleanse us with the blood of Jesus, we then become able to see all the sinful things of this world.
2. Our world is corrupt - outside of God’s presence it seems just fine but inside of His presence, our view begins to clear up.
Application: Our concept of sin is formed by our idea or our view of God. If we take God lightly, we will take sin lightly. If our image of God is weak, we will sin without restraint. However, if we take God seriously, if we have a deep sense of His holiness and His power, and His majesty, we will take sin seriously; we will be quick to bow in humility, confessing our own inadequacy, our inability to measure up, our need to have the rags of sinfulness replaced by robes of righteousness. If we have no relationship, or only a superficial relationship, with Almighty God, then we will care not at all about how our sin hurts God and harms our relationship with Him. Whatever your view of God is, that is the extent of your concept of sin. "Your view of God is the most important view you have, and to the extent your view of God is distorted… to that extent your live is out of focus."
As our lives begin to change, we become willing to let God:
3. Remove the World’s Scum from our Eyes
- vv 6-7 - "Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said: Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, and your sin is atoned for."
A. The glowing coal is still hot from a recent sacrifice.
1. It burns away the impurities of his mouth of his life and from his heart.
2. It makes him a clean vessel prepared for God’s service.
B. The scum of this world has distorted our view of God.
1. We can’t see His beauty clearly.
2. We can’t see His purity clearly.
3. We can’t see His holiness clearly.
Conclusion: Do you need a cleansing from God today? Is your view of Him distorted and unclear? Is your life out of focus? Remember King Uzziah? He led the nation of Israel to revival then he allowed his view of God to change. He began to loose focus and eventually died with his life in total disarray as well as the lives of the people God put him over.
Remember what I said: "Your view of God is the most important view you have, and to the extent your view of God is distorted…to that extent your life will be out of focus." You may be a new Christian; you may have been one for years. Neither is exempt from losing sight of just how holy and magnificent God really is. We must return to seeing God as holy and just. Your view of God is primary, for from it you gain your view of self, others, things, success, and all the issues of life. Your attitude towards growing as a Christian is shaped by what you believe of God. How you view death is directly connected to whether you believe God is dead, far away, or alive and near. The enemy of our souls is in the distortion business. Each day he finds new and creative ways to block and distort our view of God.
If your view of God is distorted now is the time to clear the smudge away!
DISCLAIMER: Some material contained herein may have been gleaned from other messages. Please feel free to use this message as God leads.
