January 17th, 2016
Transcription:
if you have your Bibles open them to Isaiah chapter 6 look it is a it is a powerful story it’s a powerful story okay and the story is about this this this man named Isaiah there’s a statesman politician whatever you want to call him but here’s here’s the thing God comes and visits him and and he has a revelation I don’t know if you have ever had that happen in your life that you live your life live your life everything is going everything is nice everything is and all of a sudden something happens and you see things differently you see things you know not the way you saw them before does that ever happen to you yeah like like a revelation a a you know a spark a you know the your your eyes are open your spiritual eyes are open and the adventures of Robinson Crusoe have I think captured the hearts of many many people many readers over the years and maybe because maybe because you know a lot of people would love to be on a stranded Island somewhere just alone no one around them just nothing to you know the only thing that waa he had a lot of things to worry about but but just you know not dealing with this world and stuff right and so he was uh he was a master of resourcefulness he he was able to provide for himself food and shelter and he was able to come up with all kinds of stuff he was capturing you know he would capture or trap goats until he had his own heart and he was he was building shelter for you know that he would be able to he would be able to stay warm and and for for protection as well and so every day he would explore the island he would go explore the island for food look for food right Robert Robinson so he would go and he would explore the island for for food and his his everything that he was doing was determined by the fact that he was totally alone on this island okay suddenly one day suddenly one day he discovered a footprint in the sand and he was blown away everything his whole world was was was changed because he was operating he was living on the assumption that he was alone on this island and all of a sudden there’s a footprint and so after that everything has changed now his concept had to change uh and his little island was not so so secluded and so saw that solitary after all he was not alone and this Isaiah in Isaiah 6 there is this this this story or history of of this statesman who was living in a secure circle of royalty he was very very close to King Uzziah he was very close to the Royals and so suddenly they discovered the imprint of God’s presence on his life and in that moment everything changed in that moment everything changed people that live their lives and then all of a sudden come to this realization that God wants to save them and he when he when they give their lives to Jesus and he saves them their life is saved they are born again with the part what the Bible is talking about everything changes right you know what I’m talking about everything changes different plans different perspectives you know his plans Isaiah’s plans change his commitments changed the whole future had a changed drastic overhaul of everything that he was that he wanted now so Isaiah was was was made aware of God and uh and and he also was asked this sort of an embarrassing question an embarrassing question and that question is who will go for us who will go for us and septuagint it reads who will go to these people or who will go and these people and so although this passage has been quoted or used as the basis for you know when the missionaries leave when the mission there you know who will go to another country who will go to you know some some people that we don’t know and and and all that well when we read this we see that Isaiah didn’t have to move he didn’t have to go anywhere and so I think it’s pretty safe to say that he was called to his own people who his own people and today I believe that you are called that I am called to our people to the GTA to Tirana okay God is calling you and he’s placing this call on on you you don’t need to pick up and you don’t need to he didn’t even have to leave for a weekend you know he didn’t have to go anywhere he he was called to his people and so he is he was asked to maybe just go across the street to maybe just go and talk to his neighbors maybe talk to the people that you know maybe you that you are in school with or in in and you know at work with and so I think for a number of reasons or few reasons there is there is that God’s question who will go is sort of embarrassing okay number one is because of past sin okay the past sin and so we read in the fifth verse this is what it says then I said then I said it’s all over I am doomed for I am a what sinful men for I am a sinful man I have filthy lips and I live among a people with filthy lips yet I have seen the king the Lord of heavens armies now you cannot see God’s holiness without seeing how sinful you are is that can we agree on that you can’t go and say yeah I see how holy God is and yet you don’t see your own sin it’s impossible and a person who comes and says all I’ve experienced God he changed my life completely and there is absolutely no change in their own life that person is deceived so we need to be very very careful when we say oh I have an amazing amazing experience with God and then we go and we live our life like as if nothing happened because you see it is impossible it is impossible to come and have an encounter with a holy God and your life does not change it is impossible everyone say impossible that’s what happened to Isaiah he had an encounter with a holy God he had a revelation that his his life is not about you know this chair his life is not about you know getting a new suit or getting a new hat or getting a new you know pair of pants or it is not about anything material in fact it’s not even about the people his life is all about God it is all about God and of course when God makes an imprint on your life you will impact the people around you your choices your the stuff that you say will will be changed completely changed we need to get rid of this complacent self-righteousness that that often just settles in our life and we are just ah you know now it’s good now we are good I’m here and I want to start the series from the book of Isaiah we’re gonna we’re gonna look at Isaiah 4 in for a few weeks now and for a few weeks coming and and I want us to really really you know dig deep into what Isaiah was going through okay and and and so see that that this life that you have okay this life that you have is a gift how many of you know that it’s a gift and this can be can be you know can be used in a different ways you can use that gift in a different ways and so my challenge to you is that we would use that gift that God has given us and and we would have this realization but God is holy I need to live my life in a holy manner and righteous manner so then I said it is all over I am doomed for I am sinful men I have lit have filthy lips and I live among a people with filthy lips yet I have seen the king the Lord of heavens army and suddenly Isaiah saw that his life or his private life wasn’t so private anymore no that might be you know you might be sitting here and saying oh man that’s bad news because I thought that my life is completely private well to me it is like you’re your life to me is private I don’t know but your life really or Isaiah came and he realized that his private life had not been private at all and he had been living his life in the midst of God’s throne room check this out it changes our perspective your life is not private my life is not private there’s nothing that you do nothing that you think that can be that can be hidden from God God knows everything you can’t run you can run from me you can run from your friends your parents your children your your your friends your family and you can be private in that you know do you know some private people people that don’t talk much to anyone people that is just you know you don’t ask them for anything because you know because they’re private they don’t give you any information you don’t know what’s going on in their lives is that people like people are like you like that you would call them private people right well but even those people can hide absolutely nothing before God there is no privacy before God everything is out on out in the open on the table before God everything and so Ziya comes to this realization and even one of what one of the the angelic beings you can say this is what he announced this is what what he said this this new concept to Isaiah the whole earth is full of his glory the whole earth is filled with God’s glory he’s been living in the throne room of God his whole life and thinking I am so secluded and so private see Isaiah’s lips had been you know given to secular ambitions to secular and political causes and ambitions but not to God’s causes and I think that a lot of times our lips our lives the thing that we do are given more to secular causes to – maybe not political maybe political I don’t know your your ambitions but but other causes in our lives and not to God’s cost and so our lips what we say need to be need to be given to God and his cause and his cause alone and so perhaps Isaiah was like before this realisation was maybe some like our contemporary politicians you know the politicians you know how you know how the politicians are you know some sometimes not all of them but but sometimes you know they go and they speak the language of the people on the street so they would they would throw in some you know even you know curses some some other you know some their language the people out there on the on the streets but then to also gain the the support of the people that love God the God’s people you know God’s people they would quote scripture they would try to you know and maybe that’s what he was up until then maybe he was a little bit mixed up when when when that when when this was happening but no doubt Isaiah had been involved in many with many people and some stuff whose eyes he had in whose eyes he had lost respect and so me you see here’s here’s the thing here’s the thing now he was asked to be witness for God before he has said some stuff before he lived his life in a different way now he he was asked to live his life for God to use his mouth and lips for God and perhaps he already was in that moment could think of some families that he went to visit and he was obviously you know maybe trying to train to gain their support and he said some stuff and maybe he has done some stuff or you know made deals that now he’s reminded of like oh my man now is God God is calling me to go and be a witness for him completely different and this is I think it hits home for us because we’ve done some stuff we’ve said some stuff you have friends that are out in this world and they don’t know Jesus and you have said stuff you have done stuff that now God is calling you you go and be my witness you go and now that you know that I’m so real now that you know that I’m holy and I and I hate sin you need to turn away from this and now I need you to go and be my witness but easy right it’s not easy but yet I don’t I don’t see any excuses coming out of his mouth it wasn’t acceptable for God offered a way to cleanse Isaiah God can offer and he offers to – to cleanse you to move you away from sin and one of the angelic beings the Bible says that touched Isaiah Isaiah’s unclean lips with a live call so hot-hot-hot call from the the altar fire signifying the cleansing power of God that our lips need to be need to be cleansed you know this is sort of an embarrassing question so the number one is because of the past sin because of the sin that Isaiah has committed the sins that we have committed and then secondly because of past blindness Isaiah was blind before not physically blind but to some degree couldn’t see things you know and and and if you’re here I know that you would love to see things the way they are right many of us are pretty straightforward people I just want to see things they were well I say I couldn’t see things the way they were before all of a sudden now is the encounter that he had with God he can see and this is what he says in the very first verse of the sixth chapter he says what I it was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord I saw the Lord and he was sitting on the lofty throne and the Train of his robe filled the temple and this another embarrassing aspect involves the sudden realization of past blindness Pat you know that we were not able to see things the way they were oh is this that we were not able to see the truth so when Isaiah finally became God aware or aware of God’s holy presence he was overwhelmed with how blind that he had been before you know every time you come and you get closer to God you see how blind you’ve been before it’s just it’s just so obvious you see things that you were not able to see before you see how maybe you’ve been talking to other people and your attitude and and the things that were so negative and you’re like you did not see them before you did not know them before now you know because you have seen God you have you have been you have been touched by by God so people see often can see very very clearly through through tears you know and what I mean by that is you know the telescope’s and all this modern technology and stuff and the Hubble right is that the Hubble telescope that and and how they have seen something that that landed on some star or planet and it’s like light-years away or something like just mind-boggling stuff but but even through those telescopes you see you can’t see your own nature your own who you are but you can only see that through when you have an encounter with God and often tears flow out of your eyes you can see so clear God touches you and through those tears you can see the reality of heaven around you the reality that God wants to save you that God wants to be with you King Uzziah okay had died after a rule of more than fifty years he was one of the good kings that the Bible talks about there’s about eight so many like about forty kings right but it was about eight that Bible says they were good right and so he was one of the good guys but even at the end he makes a mistake and then in second chronicles chapter 26 you can read all about it and and and it’s it’s when he went and he took on the role or he was he assumed the role of a priest he was filled with pride and when he was warned he got angry when he was warned by the by the priest you should not be doing this you’re not a priest you’re a king your ruler you’re not a priest you should not be fulfilling the the the the the office of a priest and so he got angry of that and you know what happened he got struck with leprosy and so even though after many many many years of really good ruling all of a sudden this is where he is and so the Bible says that he the rest of his life he spent with with the lepers with with the people that sick with leaven and with leprosy and so and so this is how it ends he dies so all this image in in people’s eyes the image of you know powerful King well now the king is dead and this is in the year King Uzziah died that Isaiah has this has this has this vision okay has this vision and so and so he sees that and all of a sudden you know his hope his everything was put in that king because he was a good king made a mistake but his hope everything was put in that and King Uzziah and now the king is dead and he realizes it was in the he realizes that they he has too much hope and men in people and the lesson from this is that every man everyone that puts their hope and men I trust in men really if you think about it they put their trust and hope in and something that would put in the coffin later it is doesn’t amount to much no matter who you trust like I can tell you those people are people people have the ability to failure did you know that people have the ability to to to hurt you sometimes they don’t know that they’re hurting you but they are hurting you but sometimes and so the challenge to Isaiah and the challenge to you is that our hope and our trust goes to God we need to trust in God that as long as God is on the throne no matter what King what men is on the throne of this this physical throne that doesn’t matter because that will change as long as God is on the throne of my life I think that sometimes only death can show people that there is more to life then then then those carefully free pleasures and earthly riches and the things that we run after sometimes only death can show us that when people go to funerals it’s so open to hear the golf Oh hear that hey this what we have no matter how strong you feel it will end you may be young today one day you will not be so young I I it’s just oh my gosh pastor Dennis discouraging me no I’m just I’m just I’m just telling you the reality I can’t be here telling you something else because I would be lying and I can’t do that no matter how strong you feel today this strength the beauty the everything that this earth has to offer will end do we know that yes and I think we need to live in that perspective knowing that this this will will not be you know yesterday I was paying attention to the heavyweight boxing yeah we were pretty you know for those of you that have some polish blood in you you were disappointed at the end of the ninth round it was going well no uh going amazing it’s going well one window one opening boom gone listen this strength this hope that we have in anything or anyone just like that right just like that lights out poor Arthur not what’s new there was this polish guy that was fighting for the heavy heavyweight title right and he lost by knockout in the ninth round was doing good so number three okay it is an embarrassing question because of the task and because the task that was asked was undesirable and here in verse 10 says Harlan the hearts of these people plug their ears and shut their ears that way they will not they will not see with their eyes and will nor hear with their ears nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing now the call to stand for righteousness in the midst of of your town in the midst of your situation may not be the most desirable call because people not everyone will hear you let me just say that okay look Isaiah was called to something Isaiah was a wealthy man he had a position assumed to walk with the the royalty with the you know with the the upper shelf that you know the people that just are way up there right this is where he walked this is the this was the it was the upper class and no doubt because of his royal rank he had been a very very popular person around okay a very popular person and now and now okay he was asked to do something that was not so popular he was asked to do something by God that was not so popular and he was called to stand as a Messenger of God and confront the life long friends that he had with a reality of their ungodliness and called them to repentance now is that something that people would desire like it’s hard huh it would be hard but there was change in his life and all of a sudden he turned and he’s like no yeah now I know the purpose of my life and now God has called me he has told me what to do and now I can move forward and that’s what he does but it wasn’t a very desired you know a task and so to even add to this this this fact that it wasn’t wanted there’s this position or this this this it wasn’t you know it was undesirable and that that task it was the promise that Isaiah’s ministry would be a thankless one that no one would thank him for his ministry and no one would come and say oh my goodness is doing such a good job I want to give my life to Jesus I want to live my life in the guy in the godly manner that that’s what and this is what he was promised as well even even with this look that he would know that his words he was talking with very eloquent people that his eloquence would go sometimes to waste people would not hear it and look that their hearts would be hardened that what he was saying would harden their hearts that he was saying would shut their eyes that they would not see what he was with what he was saying that they would not hear what he was saying and their hearts would be hardened now this was God’s Way of telling Isaiah that that his witness would often come and meet with the result of okay we don’t want that but here’s the thing okay so people will say that but who are we to say we are not going to go and do this we’re not going to tell people about Jesus because they will say no well number one we don’t know that they will say no and number two is that the choice should be theirs my job is just to tell them the choice is theirs do I want to follow God or not let’s leave the choice up to those people not to us because we are maybe uncomfortable or scared to to to preach the to preach the gospel so Isaiah’s task was was often fruitless one you know gods or great crowds would not you know come to listen to what he was saying and in the light of God’s warning uh you know he said he knew that it would be difficult do you know what question he asked what question would you ask when you would know that you know you would be going and preaching and people would not necessarily listen to you all the time what questions would you ask and it would be difficult for you what question would you ask this is what would he ask we just read that what did he ask you know he asked Lord how long will this go on right how long will this go on I think that sooner or later every faithful disciple of Jesus when we come up against some difficult things this is the question that we ask Lord how long will this I it will will it will this last how long will I have to go through this how long will I have to suffer like this how long were people mock me how long will people come up against me and so when faced with this uncertain with this uncaring and unmoved audience this is what he this is what he said how long you know what the answer is then I said then I said Lord how long will this this is verse 11 how long will this will this go on and he replied until their towns are empty their houses are deserted and the whole country is a wasteland until the Lord has sent everyone away and the the entire land of Israel lies deserted in other words is this we preached until there is life we tell people until there is people this is the mess that Isaiah had I go and I preach until there are people that I can preach to friends in conclusion the only way you can graduate from this is when we go see Jesus there is no resting on our glory past glory the time is too short there there are people that need salvation today we need to tell them about Jesus we need to tell him about God Jesus himself if you if you if you look at his life he crowds came after him but there was more crowds that would have him crucified and would have him would have him beaten and sped on but then the crowds that followed him does that mean that he was a failure not at all and so you may not have the crowds I may not have the crowds that will follow us for the rest of our lives but we will impact one two three four or five people and your life is worth it your life is worth it find that person that you can impact for forgot and there was also a strange question or embarrassing question because of a personal aspect of personal aspect of the of the question verse verse eight then I heard the Lord asking whom shall I say send as a messenger to these people who will go for us now I may be speaking to this group of people here but I know that the Holy Spirit is speaking to individuals individuals and and so today he may be speaking to you he may be encouraging you I want you to understand this that you are working for an unseen boss you are doing work for an unseen Kingdom you are working in labor laboring for for unseen rewards eternal though they will never be this this discredit they will never be dissolved they will never deteriorate because they are eternal and so my my encouragement to all of us here today is let’s work for those things that we can’t see but they will never be ruined they will never be dissolved they can’t you can’t see them now the rewards but but they will never be taken away from you you work for God he’d do those things for God it may be with just one person this week you may pray for that opportunity pray for that opportunity and so think that life is never lived to the fullest unless is lived as a task or an errand that you run for God you know you are full of errands that you have to your life is full of animals that you have to run this this week but your life should be an errand that is being run for God that God has to his disposal you