Good morning. I can remember a time when I was about 8 or 9, and we were dropping my brother and his wife off at the airport for their honeymoon. We were standing there in the airport, and all of a sudden a large group of men came walking into the room. Now to say they were a large group of men was an understatement. In actuality, they were the Cincinnati Bangles. We were standing there, that close to a professional football team, and I realized that I had to try and get their autographs. So I slowly walked over as began asking. Impressively enough, I was able to get about 4 pages worth of autographs before they had to board their plane.
Growing up, I never really considered myself to be a small kid, but it was that day that I learned just how small I really was. As I shook the hand of Anthony Munoz, a 6 foot plus, 250 pound plus man that was shaking my hand and was able to engulfing my entire hand in his, I realized just how small I really was.
When we stand next to someone that is bigger than us, our perceptions change. For me, I realized just how small I actually was when I stood next to these professional football players. For Isaiah, he saw a vision of Heaven, and as he stood next to God, he saw the greatness of God, he saw the sinfulness of himself, and he saw an awesome calling.
Today, I want us to take a look at an Old Testament passage found in the book of Isaiah. If you have your Bible’s, go ahead and turn with me to Isaiah 6:1-8. It is here in this passage that Isaiah has an encounter with God, and a life changing moment in time. Let’s go ahead and read that passage. Isaiah 6:1-8 says, “1”
Let’s Pray
As we look at this passage this morning, I believe that there are 3 things that we need to pick up on from this encounter that Isaiah had with God.
First, Isaiah Saw The Greatness Of God.
Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner did a comedy skit years ago called, “The 2013 Year Old Man.” In their skit, Reiner interviewed Brooks, who was the old man in the skit. At one point Reiner asked the old man, “Did you always believe in the Lord?” Brooks replied, “No, we had a guy in our village named Phil and fro a time we worshiped him.”
Reiner then asked, “You worshiped a guy named Phil? Why?”
“Because he was big, mean, and he could break you in 2 with his bare hands.”
Reiner further inquired, “Did you have any prayers then?”
“Yes, would you like to hear one?” Brooks replied. “O Phil, please don’t be mean to me today, or hurt me, or break me in 2 with your bare hands!”
Reiner continued and asked, “So when did you start to worship the Lord instead?”
“Well, one day a big thunderstorm came up, and a lightning bolt hit Phil. We all gathered around and saw that Phil was dead. Then we said to one another, there has to be someone bigger than Phil.”
Well, the question of who is in charge of our lives sometimes comes down to who or what we recognize as being bigger. And when Isaiah had his great vision of God, he was able to recognize the greatness of God. He was able to see just how big and great God really was.
Let’s look again at verses 1-4. Isaiah 6:1-4 again says, “1”
Isaiah declared that he “saw the Lord.” Isaiah had a vision of God, but what exactly did he see? It is interesting to note that, although he describes the throne, the robe, and the Heavenly attendants, he does not even attempt to describe God. Nevertheless, certain truths about God were etched on him.
First, he saw that God was sovereign. It was a time of crisis, confusion, and change for Israel. Yet above all the tragedy and turmoil, Isaiah saw the Lord as the sovereign ruler of the world.
The situation that the Israelites were facing reminds me of what our nation felt like after September 11th. Do you remember the turmoil, the uncertainty of what lied ahead? It was a time of doubt and freight. Well that was much the same mood that we find in the 6th chapter of Isaiah. King Uzziah had died. There had not been another king like him since Solomon. Uzziah was an able administrator, and a great military leader. He began his reign at age 16, and it lasted for the next 52 years.
That was the situation that the Israelites faced when Isaiah had his vision. In Israel, Uzziah the earthly king was dead, but Isaiah’s vision showed that the divine king never dies. The earthly throne here was empty, but Isaiah’s vision showed that the throne in Heaven was occupied by the eternal King whose glory filled the earth.
Isaiah never forgot this vision. No matter how black and dark life around him became, he was held by the conviction that God is the sovereign Lord of the universe. Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a throne high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Isaiah not only saw the sovereignty of God, but secondly, he saw the holiness of God. Verse 3 tells us that seraphs were present and there were crying, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole earth is full of His glory.”
The word “Holy” means “separate, sacred, or remote.” The word designates God as being separate from any other man. We need to realize that God is separate from all else and the He is Holy.
Have you ever seen a caricature? Do you know what I am talking about? A caricature is a drawing of someone that over emphasizes features on a person. You usually see these at malls, fairs, and at amusement parks. For example, if someone had thin lips, then the artist might make your drawing have no lips at all. Or if your chin is slightly pointed, the artist would make it very long and pointy. We see these a lot in newspapers with political figures. When they portray George Bush, what feature do they over emphasize? (His ears.)
So, who is God? If I were to ask you what His most prominent characteristic is, what would you tell me? The Bible declares that He is love. It also said He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. It tells us that He is eternal. His is good. He is gracious.
He is merciful. He is just. But what is the main characteristic of God? Well I believe that it is the only on in scripture that is named in triplicate. God is “Holy, Holy, Holy!”
All of the other characteristics of God flow from this one characteristic. His love is a holy love. His mercy is a holy mercy. His wrath is a holy wrath. The Bible never says that God is love, love, love. It never speaks of His as wrath, wrath, wrath. But it does say more than once that He is Holy, Holy, Holy.
God is completely and wholly 100% Holy. When Isaiah saw his vision he saw the greatness of God. He saw that God was sovereign and that He was Holy, Holy, Holy. We live in a culture that fails to honor God today. When His name is mentioned, it is usually misused. People use is when they say “Oh my God this” and “O God that.” People use God’s name as a curse word more than they do when talking about His greatness. We must begin to be like Isaiah, and realize just how great God truly is.
In his vision, Isaiah didn’t just see the greatness of God, But Secondly, He Saw His Own Sinfulness.
A profound awareness of God will always bring painful awareness of our own sins. After their sin of disobedience, Adam and Eve were very much aware of their sinfulness as they hid in the garden. Moses felt it at the burning bush, and he hid his face from the Lord’s presence. Peter felt the heavy weight of guilt and cried out, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man.”
The apostle Paul reacted much the same way as well. Paul was one of the most spiritual men who ever lived. Yet he called himself the worst of sinners and a wretched man.
Bob Russell tells the story of a traveling salesman who drove by a familiar farm and noticed that a painter had just finished whitewashing an old barn that was on this farm. The salesman was very impressed with how clean and fresh the barn appeared. That farmer really improved the appearance of that barn and his farm as a whole the salesman thought to himself as he continued on down the road.
2 days later, the salesman made the return trip just after 5 inches of freshly fallen snow had covered the ground. When he drove by that little old farm and looked at the whitewashed barn, he couldn’t get over how gray and unattractive it appeared as it sat against the pure white snow.
You know what, that is the way we are a lot of times in our lives. We may compare ourselves to others and think, “You know what, I’m doing pretty good. I’ll make it to Heaven.” When we do that, it is a definite sign that we have not been in the presence of our Holy, Holy, Holy God.
So, after Isaiah saw the greatness of God, it made him realize just how bad he really was. First, Isaiah was convicted of his sin. “Woe to me, I am ruined. For I am a man of unclean lips…” Isaiah’s response is similar to the experience of a housewife who worked for 2 hours trying to balance her checkbook.
When her husband arrived home she handed him a neatly typed sheet with the cost of items in columns and showing the exact balance of the checking account. Her husband thought that it was great that she was able to do this, and that she knew exactly where all the money had gone to. As he ran down the list of expenses, he came to an item reading “ESP $164.97.” “What is this that you bought?” he asked. “I really didn’t buy anything,” the wife said. “ESP means Error Some Place!”
Well, we all make errors at times in our lives. Isaiah saw the errors in his life as he stood in stark contrast to God’s majesty. And when we realize in our life how great God is, we too should be convicted of our errors and our sins.
Secondly, following this experience, Isaiah was also compelled to confess his sins. “Woe to me, I am ruined. For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among people of unclean lips.” Isaiah could not help but to admit that he was a man of unclean lips and that he dwelt in the midst of an unclean people. Isaiah confessed that he was unworthy either to join in the praise of God or to deliver a message in His name.
Have you ever tried looking at yourself in a mirror in the dark? You can’t see much can you? Your hair could be a real mess, and you wouldn’t know it. Last night’s pizza could be all over your face, and you wouldn’t be able to see it. That is the problem with examining ourselves in the dark. However, if you turned on a light switch, things would be much different. Isaiah stood in the light of the Lord’s Glory. He saw himself as he really was, sinful and he confessed to God that he was not worthy.
When we step into the light, and we take a look at ourselves in the mirror, we get a clear image of who and what we are. As we step into the presence of God, we should realize just how sinful we are, and that should lead us to confessing those problems to God. But guess what, it doesn’t end there.
Thirdly, God cleansed Isaiah. Isaiah realized his sin, confessed his sin to God, and now God is going to forgive him of his sins. Verse 7 says, “With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your gilt is taken away and your sins atoned for.” God did not tell Isaiah to take a bath or change his clothes. Instead, He touched a hot coal to his lips and forgave the sins of Isaiah. What we need to take from this is that we cannot get rid of our sins on our own. It is only God, through Jesus’ death on the cross, that our sins can be forgiven.
Our concept of sin if formed by our idea or view of God. If we take God lightly we will take sin lightly. However, if we take God seriously, if we have a deep sense of His holiness and His power, and His majesty, then we will take sin seriously as well. Isaiah stood in the presence of God and saw his own sinfulness, he confessed his sins, and then he was forgiven by God. We must also not just realize God’s greatness and stop there. We must also realize our sins, confess them to God, and allow Him to forgive us.
So, Isaiah stood in the presence of God and saw how great God is, how sinful he was, and Finally, Isaiah Realized The Awesomeness Of The Call.
In verse 8 God speaks for the very fist time in Isaiah’s vision. God asks, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Now, God calls us all into service, but He does it is some different ways. For Jacob it was angels and a ladder, for Moses it was a burning bush, for Samuel it was a call in the night, for Elijah it was a still, small voice, for Peter it was a call to be a fisher of men, for Paul it was a blinding light on the road to Damascus. And for Isaiah it is in a vision from God.
We should notice from this passage, that Isaiah was eager and willing. His urgent response suggests that he was afraid someone else might get picked. I can picture Isaiah being like an elementary student putting up there hand in the air and coming up out of their seat shouting, “Pick me! Pick me!” Isaiah did not know the nature of the mission, he did not know what the mission was, he didn’t even know what he would have to do, but he was still willing to go. He did not stop and say, “God, now tell me what and where.” He didn’t say, “Now I will go as long as it isn’t more than 50 miles away and as long as I can be back in time for dinner.” He simply said, “Here am I. Send Me!”
I wonder what it was that cause Isaiah to be so urgent to answer the call of God. But then I think back to verse 7, and think we find the answer there. What did God just do for Isaiah? He forgave him of his sins. You have probably heard the phrase, “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” I think that that was the way it was here with Isaiah and God. When Isaiah got his sins forgiven, he jumped at the opportunity to scratch God’s back and to enter into some kind of service to God.
If you notice, this vision flows from one scene to another. When Isaiah saw God, he realized that greatness of God. When Isaiah realized God’s greatness, he realized his own sinfulness. He was then compelled to confess his sins, and then God forgave him of his sins. And because God forgave Isaiah of his sins, he was willing to serve God “No questions asked.”
“Here am I. Send Me.” No questions asked, just a willingness to serve God no matter what. Now, all good sermons have application, something to strive for. This morning, we can certainly apply that we need to realize how great God is. We can also apply the fact that we need to realize that we are sinners and that we need to confess our sins to God. But the most important application that we can gain from this message I believe is this, “Here am I. Send Me!”
What’s that God, you need good Christian teachers in the schools. “Well here am I. Send Me!”
What’s that God, you need people to set good Christian examples in the schools. “Well here am I. Send Me!”
What’s that God, you need people to volunteer at a mission. “Well here am I. Send Me!”
What’s that God, you need someone to lead worship. “Well here am I. Send Me!”
What’s that God, you need someone to run a good honest business. “Well here am I. Send Me!”
What’s that God, you need someone to do something at the church. “Well here am I. Send Me!”
What’s that God, you need people to set good Christian examples for the people in the city of Vanceburg. “Well here am I. Send Me!”
God is calling you to something this morning, the hardest thing to do is accept that calling. Have the courage and the desire to scratch God’s back. Say to Him, “Here am I. Send Me!” Now I cannot tell you what God wants you to do. I can tell you what Josh Book might want you to do, but I can’t tell you what God is calling you to. But I can tell you from first hand experience, that if you will take on that calling, it will be well worth it.
I love old hymns, and one of my favorite ones is “Where He Leads Me I Will Follow” One line in that song says, “I can hear my savior calling. I can hear my savior calling. I can hear my savior calling. Where He leads me I will follow. Where He leads me I will follow. Where He leads me I will follow. I will go with Him. I will go with Him. I will go with Him all the way.
Will you answer the call today? Will you go where He leads you? Are you willing to serve Him? Can you answer Him today by saying, “Here am I. Send Me!”
Let’s Pray |
