Introduction:
1. Begin Study:
- Look At The Author Of The Book That Bears His Name - “Who Wrote Isaiah?” - IE: Like “Who Built Noah’s Ark?” - Of Course, It Was Isaiah! - WHO Was Isaiah? - WHAT Can We Learn From His Life To Apply To Ours?
2. Key To Understanding Isaiah:
- Isaiah Was A Servant Of God! - He Served God:
- Extensively! - In The Ministry From 40-60 Years!
- Fearlessly! - Went Before Mighty Kings With Less Than Encouraging News!
- Faithfully! - He “Practiced What He Preached!” - Even His Clothing Matched His Message
- 20:2 - “At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.”
- Till His Death! - Tradition - Martyred By King Manasseh Of Judah, Who Was His Son-In-Law, By Being Cut With A Saw After Being Put In A Log - Possibly Mentioned In Hebrews 11:37 - “They were sawn asunder.”
I. Isaiah Was A Man Named For God’s Service!
- IE: Names Mean Something
- Proverbs 22:1 - “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,”
- Ecclesiastes 7:1 - “A good name is better than precious ointment;”
- “Isaiah” = “The Salvation Of Jehovah” - From The Day Isaiah Was Born - From The Day Isaiah Was Given His Name - God had A Plan For Him To Declare “The Salvation Of Jehovah!”
- He Experienced “The Salvation Of Jehovah” - This Fact Is Clear! Especially When We Come To Chap. 6!
- He Proclaimed “The Salvation Of Jehovah” - To His Own People - This Is What The Book Of Isaiah Is About - “His Name Is Symbolic Of His Message!” (George Robinson, ISBE)
- He Prophesied “The Salvation Of Jehovah” - To Us! - Through His Book! - Through His Many, Specific Descriptions Of Jesus Christ, The Messiah, The Son Of God!
* Like Isaiah, God Has A Plan For You! And Has Had One Since Before You Were Even Born!
- Isaiah 49:1 - “Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.”
- Jeremiah 1:5 - “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”
- Galatians 1:15-16 - “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen;”
II. Isaiah Was A Man Prepared For God’s Service!
- Where He Grew Up: - Probably Jerusalem In Judah - The HQ For Jewish Religion & Worship - After David / Solomon Reign, The Nation Of Israel Split Into 2 Nations - Israel, North & Judah, South - Judah, More Than Israel, Followed After God - Depended On The King In Power - Judah Had More Godly Kings Than Israel
- Where He Grew Up - It Was A Place Of Spiritual Influence - We Have A Rich Spiritual Heritage Also, Yet We Often Lose Focus On This
- When He Grew Up: - During The Reign Of Uzziah, King Of Judah - Because In 6:1, His Ministry Began When He Died
- Uzziah - One Of The Kings That Followed After God! - Reigned For 52 Years (Compare To 8 Years For A Two-Term President!) - Learn About His Reign In 2 Kings & 2 Chronicles - Very Prosperous! - Similar To US Today! - Had Peace, Prosperity & Progress! - “The Nation’s Progress Was Altogether Material!” (George Robinson) - Focus On Prosperity, Not God - “Religion And Life Were To Frequently Disassociated!” (George Robinson) - US A “Christian” Nation - “In God We Trust” Motto On Coin But Not In Hearts
- Yet, Isaiah Kept His Focus On The Spiritual Side Of Life! - Temptations Were There, For Sure! - Rather, He Used The “Time Of Prosperity” To Further His Own Preparation For God’s Service!
- When He Grew Up - It Was A Time Of Material Prosperity - We Live In A Similar Time, With Similar Focus, Do We Have A Similar Response? - We Get Caught Up In This Culture! But:
- 2 Timothy 2:4 - “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
- How He Grew Up:
- He Had Important Relationships: - “Son Of Amoz” (1:1 / 2:1) - Many Believe Amoz Was The Brother To King Uzziah! (Tradition) - That Would Make Isaiah The King’s Nephew!
- Incredible Opportunities! He Used These Not To Further His Own Power, But To Further God’s Work! - God Gave & Used Isaiah’s Relationships To Proclaim His Own Message!
- He Had Important Access: - To The King - Ahaz (7:3) - To The Priest - Uriah (8:2) - God Gave & Used Isaiah’s Access To Proclaim His Own Message!
- He Had Important Abilities: - Educated - He Was A Writer - Isaiah, Of Course (2 Chronicles 26:22 - “Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.”) - He Was a Poet - Many Beautiful, Poetic Passages In Isaiah - He Was A Speaker - Before Great Crowds & Great Kings! - God Gave & Used Isaiah’s Abilities To Proclaim His Own Message!
- How He Grew Up - It Was A Life Of Aristocratic Power - Yet His Important Relationships, Access & Abilities Were All For God’s Service! - Isaiah Surrendered All To The Service Of God!
- What Privileges Has God Given To You?
All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
- How Are You Using Them? - Self-Service? Or His Service?
III. Isaiah Was A Man Called To God’s Service!
- Isaiah 6:1-13 - How Was He Called?
- Through A Personal Encounter With God! - v. 1-4 - He Never God Over This! - He Uses “Holy One Of Israel” 25x!
- Through A Personal Response To God! - v. 5-7 - Humility / Guilt / Repentance – Purification!
- Through A Personal Commission By God! - v. 8 - “Whom Shall I Send & Who Will Go For Us” - God Knew! He Had Named Him / Prepared Him / Now Calling Him To His Service!
- As Christians, We Have Been Called!
- Romans 1:5 - “Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:”
- 1 Corinthians 1:2 - “Called to be saints”
- 1 Corinthians 1:9 - “Called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
- How Do We Respond? With Humility Or With Pride? - God Does Not Have To Use Us, But He Wants To!
IV. Isaiah Was A Man Surrendered To God’s Service!
- 6:8 - “Here Am I, Send Me!”
- Whatever It Is - Wherever It Is - To Whomever It Is
- Samuel & Moses Both Surrendered To God’s Service This Way!
- Shows A Readiness To Serve - I’m Right Here - There’s Nothing Else I Would Rather Do - Most Important Thing!
- Shows A Willingness To Serve - Its Me, Lord - Not Anyone Else!
- Shows A Purpose To Serve - “Send Me” - I Am Wanting To Get Going In Your Service - Nothing Can Stop Me Except You!
- Are We Surrendered To God’s Service?
- “Here Am I, Lord, Send Me!”
V. Isaiah Was A Man Used In God’s Service!
- In His Own Lifetime: - Seen In Every Chapter Of The 66 Chapters Of The Book Of Isaiah!
- In & For The Lives Of Others:
- God Used Isaiah To Prophesy Specific Details Of The Coming Messiah For The Jews To Look Forward To!
- John The Baptist Used Isaiah To Prepare The Way For Jesus!
- Jesus Used Isaiah In His Own Ministry Many Times!
- God Used Isaiah To Bring The Ethiopian Eunuch To Himself!
- God Still Uses Isaiah In His Service! - To You & Me! - This Is Why We Are Going To Take The Time To Study This Book!
Conclusion:
1. What Can We Learn From Isaiah? The Man God Used To Write This Important Book?
- God Had A Plan For Isaiah - And God Has A Plan For You In His Service!
- God Had Prepared Isaiah - And God Has / Is Preparing You For His Service!
- God Had Called Isaiah - And God Has Called You Into His Service!
- As Isaiah Surrendered To God’s Service - Surrender To God’s Service Completely!
- As God Used Isaiah - God Can / Will Use You In His Service!
