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Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Many of you probably remember where you were November 22, 1963 when you first heard the news of President JFK’s assassination. The same is likely true of September 11, 2001 when you first saw the images or heard the news of the airplane terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in NYC. For a few of you, perhaps December 7, 1941 still is fixed in your mind as you remember when you first heard the news of the Pearl Harbor attack.
Let’s sit for a moment with one of the great men of history, as he tells us about a life changing encounter he had with God, as he grieved the death of a king. Isaiah chapter 6 in the Bible begins: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.’ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.” (Isaiah 6:1-4)
From a few days ago in our “Walking with Jesus” journey, you may recall Uzziah was a remarkable king who had reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. The final 10 years he lived isolated, in a private home, apart from everyone, since he had contracted very contagious leprosy. Perhaps that is why Isaiah grieved so deeply at the news of Uzziah’s death. There is no indication in Scripture that Uzziah was repentant of his pride.
The leprosy had suddenly had come upon king Uzziah in the Temple when his pride had overtaken him and he entered the Holy Place and approached the Altar of Incense which was a sacred privilege reserved only for the priests. A priest only had that privilege once in his lifetime! Remember priest Zechariah and his encounter with Gabriel at that altar? (Luke 1:11) God had struck king Uzziah with judgment, even though he had served well for 4 decades. Pride can undo so much good. Still, it is clear Isaiah had held king Uzziah in such high esteem that when word came of his death, Isaiah had only one place he could find comfort… at the Temple.
Since neither the Holy Place nor the Most Holy Place would have been available to Isaiah, even though he was a man of God, we don’t know exactly where he was when he had this vision of God, but clearly it was a life changing encounter with angels and the Almighty God Himself. Isaiah describes in great detail the classification of angels called Seraphim which he saw. Six wings, hovering in the air like hummingbirds do. The name “Seraph” is derived from the word “burn” or ‘fire’ and suggests these angels guard the sacred, holy presence of God. Their antiphonal call to each other “Holy, holy, holy” is in profound reverence of the unique, complete holiness of Almighty God and is a warning to any and all who might consider defiling God’s holiness or His holy presence.
What do you sense in your spirit when thunder rumbles across the sky or shakes the building where you are or claps like a cymbal crash so loud it seems to pierce your eardrums? What do you imagine Isaiah was experiencing as you read the words he chose to describe the divine encounter he had that day? In all your life, what is the most majestic, powerful, awe inspiring spiritual experience you have ever had? How does it compare to this?
May I urge you to pause and read Isaiah 6:1-4 again, slowly, ponder each word. Close your eyes and invite the Holy Spirit to help you imagine and understand the magnitude of what Isaiah was experiencing.
Now consider Isaiah’s response. . . ‘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 God Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:1-5) I doubt Isaiah was standing. I imagine he was laying prostrate on the floor, overwhelmed. Do you remember how Moses sometimes lay flat on the ground when the “Glory of the LORD” appeared at the Tabernacle (Numbers 16:4)?
While I appreciate many things about the various church worship styles I’ve seen around the world, I have very rarely been in a public worship service where I was overwhelmed with the Holy, Majestic, Sacred Presence of God. Way too often what is called ‘worship’ is entertainment, or a social gathering, or a program of rituals or traditions. But I have had a very few experiences similar to what Isaiah had, and when you’ve tasted that… oh my!
Do you see Isaiah’s overwhelming sense of unworthiness to be in this sacred experience? So let me ask you again my friends: when was the last time you were overwhelmed by the contrast between God’s magnificent, sacred HOLINESS and your personal sinfulness? What did you feel? What did you do? You see my friends, our natural tendency will always be to minimize our sin, overlook our sin, excuse our sinfulness, compare ourselves to others rather than comparing ourselves to God, and when we do that, we minimize the grandeur of God’s Majesty. Isaiah got it right. He saw both himself and the Majesty of God with clarity. And he bowed his head in shame. “Woe to me!…”
Isaiah was right. He deserved God’s wrath, God’s punishment. He deserved death. But look at God’s response. It changed the trajectory of Isaiah’s life… for the rest of his life. “Then one of the seraphs 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 atoned for.'” (Is. 6:6,7)
Let’s be careful we don’t misunderstand this. This does NOT mean that atonement for our sin, pardon for our sin is accomplished by lighting a fire and placing burning coals on your mouth or any part of your body. Atonement for sin is ONLY accomplished by the payment of the death penalty, and Jesus Christ paid that price for your sin and mine with His death on the cross. Only Jesus could make that death payment for us, since only HE is sinless. This act of the Seraph angel is symbolic of what God does when He takes the death payment of Jesus Christ and He applies it to our sin guilt. (2 Corinthians 5:21) We are cleansed by the Holy Spirit of God. Our guilt is taken away and the Holiness of God is applied to our lives! (1 John 1:9)
With that cleansing action accomplished, Isaiah was now in a new position of readiness for a relationship with God and an assignment from God. Do you see how Isaiah describes that moment? “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!’ (Is. 6:8) This is a sacred, powerful moment which has been repeated in the lives of millions of followers of Jesus Christ over the years.
This was the moment of full submission of Isaiah’s life to the Sovereign Lordship of God. From that moment on, every future moment of Isaiah’s life would have value and purpose ONLY as a servant of the Most High God. Paul refers to it this way: “We are Christ’s ambassador, as though God were making His appeal [to the world] through us.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) Do you see it my friends? Do you understand this moment in Isaiah’s life? Isaiah laid his life before God, offering God his entire life, for the rest of his life, to be fully consecrated to God for God’s use and always for God’s glory. Isaiah’s ministry as one of the greatest, longest serving prophets of God began right here.
I have an important question for every person reading this or hearing my voice. Have YOU had this life changing encounter with Almighty, Holy God? Have you been overwhelmed by His Holy Majesty and fully, totally, unequivocally given Him full authority over every aspect of your life, for the rest of your life? While the details are different, this is what happened to Abraham and Moses and Joshua and Samuel and Elijah and Jonah, and now Isaiah.
This is what I call “FOLLOWERSHIP“: obediently following Jesus everyday, as you Worship God with every part of your life, living in a vibrant, holy relationship with Almighty God, through the power of the Holy Spirit of God in your life! FOLLOWERSHIP! Is that the deep passion of your life my “Walking with Jesus” friends around the world?
For nearly 60 years Isaiah was one of God’s primary spokesman. His prophetic messages came to all of God’s people and even the surrounding nations, in his day. In our Bible we have 66 chapters of Isaiah’s messages and while they were initially given during the period 740-680bc many of God’s messages through Isaiah have convicted and guided God’s people for 2700 years! Think about that! When you or I lay our lives completely in God’s hand for Him to do in and through us WHATEVER He wants to do, everyday, for the rest of our lives… we cannot imagine what God might do!
I invite us to take a few moments right now to talk with God and ponder this awesome possibility for you. Here’s a song video to help us . .
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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