Good evening.  Tonight we are going to finish up our series on Finding Freedom From Sin.  So far we have spent five weeks looking at ways to find freedom from the sin that we are trapped in.  And tonight, we are going to finish by taking a look at some Fresh Air.  The main point behind tonight’s discussion time is that we need to realize that when we allow God to cleanse us, then He can truly use us.

Listen to this story that I heard from a guy that was working as a manager for a food company.  He says, “While working for a fast food company as the manager, I remember several of my agitated employees deciding to get back at me.  I was counting the inventory in the freezer and they locked the freezer and turned off the power with me inside.  Now I want you to know, that not only was I really cold; but even worse, I was not getting any fresh air in that dark enclosed area.  The employees told me later that I was only in there for about 5 minutes, but I want to assure you, it seemed like an hour to me.  When they let me out, I remember how good it felt to breathe that fresh air.”

Did you know that sin could hold you captive?  When sin holds you captive it is like that cold, dark freezer without any air, but when you are set free, you get to experience the great sense of the fresh air of God.  As a Christian, I want to be in the presence of God, but I have learned that I can’t go to God in my own nature.

Why can’t we go to God in our own nature and ability?  (Because of sin)

Well, what I want to do this evening is take a look this at what happens when we get a breath of the fresh air of God.  Go ahead and turn with me to Isaiah 6:1-8.  Now we have looked at this passage before on a Sunday morning I believe, but tonight, I want us to discuss this passage and see what it is that Isaiah wants us to learn.  Listen to what he says, Isaiah 6:1-8 says, “1”

Does anything stand out to you from this passage?

Well, before we get started, let’s begin with a word of prayer.  Let’s Pray!

First, There Is Trouble:

Once again, Isaiah 6:1 said, “In the year the King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple.”

What was the trouble that the people were facing?

Here we have a sad situation.  This was a sad time for the Nation of Israel because Uzziah was one of the good kings.  Now he was dead.  History would show that Uzziah was the last great king of the southern kingdom of Judah.  Isaiah is thinking at this point, “Alright, the good king has died and now things are getting ready to get bad again.”  With that in mind, Isaiah goes into the temple.  He goes to the proper place, the place where he could meet with God.  And in God’s temple Isaiah makes the discovery that the true King of the nation is not dead.

In this, we have that sad situation solved.  Isaiah sees God sitting upon a throne.  God is on the throne.  God is still in charge.  Isaiah has already told us not to put confidence in man.  Just like Uzziah, we can die at any moment.  We as God’s people need to be reminded that God is still on the throne from time to time.  God still hears and answers our prayers.  God is still working miracles in lives everyday. 

Then there is a discovery that is made.  Isaiah makes a second discovery and that is: God is high and lifted up and His train fills the temple.  God is high and lifted up.  God will not and cannot compromise with sin.

Secondly, We See The Truth:

Isaiah 6:2 says, “Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.”

Now first off, what in the world is a Seraphim?

Well, first off, they are angels.  But these angels described here are mentioned only a few times in Scripture.  Seraph means, “to burn.”  It is the word used in connection with the sin offerings and judgment.  The seraphim usually are the angels that search out sin.  The seraphim in this text are protecting the holiness of God.  So that is what a seraphim is.

And as it is talking about God, it is telling us that “He is high and lifted up.”  Sin, God will not compromise with evil.  God hates sin and in the end will destroy sin.  When Isaiah saw God on the throne, it brought him down upon his face.

Isaiah says in Isaiah 6:3, “And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.”  Can you imagine that scene?  God is holy and we cannot just rush into His presence.  It is not permitted.  So, if we are unable to go to God on our own good deeds and in our own nature, how do we get to Him?

So how do we go to God?

Well, you can go to the Father through Jesus Christ.  You can never go to the Father because of your own doing.  It is much like the song says, “Not because of who I am, but because of what you’ve done.  Not because of what I’ve done, but because of who you are.”  You see, Jesus is the only way.  In fact, Jesus Himself said it, “I am the way the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me.”  As a Christian, you can go boldly to the throne of the Father, but only because of Jesus being in your life.

The Third Thing Displayed Here In This Passage Is Terror:

Isaiah 6:4-5 says, “At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.  “Woe to me!” I cried.  “I am ruined!  For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.””

It is in this moment that you see yourself.  Isaiah was God’s man before this experience, but it had a huge effect on him.  For the first time, Isaiah sees himself as he really is in the presence of God.  Being in God’s presence shows him his true condition.

But he also sees God.  When he had seen God, he could see himself.  The problem with many of us today is that we don’t walk in the light of the Word of God.  If we did, we would see ourselves for what we really are.  In I John 1:7 it says, “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”  If we walk in the light of God’s Word, we are going to see exactly what Isaiah saw.  We are going to see that we are a people of unclean lips.

Some other people from the Bible have had similar experiences.  Can you guess of anyone else who this happened to?

Well, one is Job.  In Job 42:5-6 Job says, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.  Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

Another example would be John.  Revelation 1:17 says, “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead.  Then He placed His right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid.  I am the First and the Last.””  And finally, Paul had a similar experience.  In Philippians 3:7 he says, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”

Have any of you had a similar experience when you came face to face with who and what God really is?

Well, let’s go ahead and move on.

Next, We See A Triumph:
Isaiah 6:6 says, “Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.”

Does anyone know what the significance of this “live coal” is?

Well, this “live coal” has come from the burnt altar where sin had been dealt with.  In the next chapter you will find the prediction of the birth of Jesus, but is not the birth of Christ that saves us.  It is His death on the cross that saves us.  For this reason, Isaiah needs the live coal from the burnt altar, which is symbolic of Christ’s death.  This “living coal” represents the cleansing blood of Christ that keeps on cleansing us from all of our sins.

Isaiah 6:7 goes on to say, “With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.””  Isaiah was a

man of unclean lips, and the condition for cleansing is confession.  In I John 1:9 it says that, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  This glowing coal is symbolic of Jesus.  Jesus was the One high and lifted up on the throne and Jesus is also the One that was high and lifted up on the cross.

Part of life as a Christian is realizing that you cannot walk in your own strength and stay clean.  Many people all throughout the Bible realized that and made changes in their lives.  Many people today do the exact same thing.  However, there are many that try and ignore that fact and try and take care of everything on their own.  But that just won’t work.

Finally, We Learn About Time:

Isaiah 6:8 says, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?”  And I said, “Here am I.  Send me!””

Hearing the call is the most important part to finding freedom from the sin that we are caught up in.  It is interesting that up to this time Isaiah had never heard the call of God.  I think many Christians have never felt like they were called to do anything for God because they have never been cleansed.

God is not going to use a dirty vessel, I can assure you of that.  In this instant, Isaiah heeded the call of God.  Isaiah heard God’s call: “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?”  Now, as a little side note, notice that the passage said “us.”  That is the idea of the Trinity coming out.  Then we see Isaiah’s response.  Immediately he says, “Here am I.  Send me!”

Notice that in the Bible that verse ends with an exclamation mark.  Isaiah was truly excited to be able to share in whatever task it was that God would give him.  And so, he followed God’s call.  Isaiah heard God’s call for the first time and responded to it, as a cleansed individual should do.

So, as we close this evening, let me ask you a few questions.  Feel free to give your answers out loud, or just meditate upon them on your own.  Here are my questions to consider:

1) Have you heard God’s call on your life?

2) If you have are you doing as He has said?

3) If you have not heard God’s call, why is that?

a) Do you need to be cleansed of those sins by God?

b) What are you waiting for?

4) Are you one of God’s children?

Now, before we close this evening, does anyone have anything that they would like to add?

Well, if there is nothing else, just keep in mind that just as Isaiah learned that day, today is the time to follow the Lord.  I hope that over the past several weeks, as we have been looking at finding freedom from sin, that what we have looked at has helped each of you in some way.

Let’s Pray!

Next week, we are going to begin a new series, and it is titled, Take It To The Limit: How To Get The Most Out Of Life, and it is a DVD series with Andy Stanley.  So I hope you will come and join in those discussions, and I would encourage you to invite others from the church and other people that you know to come and take part in that time with us.