Trevor S Ferguson
May 5, 2012
Isaiah
6:1-8 (KJV)
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
INTRODUCTION
The glory of God refers to
the awesome weighty importance and shining majesty of God’s presence. The word glory
comes from the Hebrew ‘kabod’ which means ‘heavy in weight’ but also refers to
splendor or copiousness.
In order to get a picture of
the glory of God we can reflect on some of the references to his appearance in
scripture. One of the best examples of this is the encounter with Israel on
Mount Sinai as recorded in Exodus 19. Firstly, we note that the people had to
make extensive preparation for God’s appearance. They were to sanctify
themselves for two days, wash their clothes and abstain from sexual activities.
They were warned not to go near to the mountain or they would die. On the third
day God manifested himself before the people. There were thunders and lightning
and a thick cloud upon the mountain. This was accompanied by the voice of a
trumpet, which was so exceedingly loud that the people trembled. Mount Sinai
was altogether covered in smoke in smoke as God descended with fire and the
whole mountain quaked greatly. So awesome was the presence of God that the
people requested of Moses that he should speak to them, instead of God, for
they feared that if they came into the presence of God they would die!
The awe of Sinai has caused
many persons to fear entering into the presence of God. This need not be the
case however as we are encouraged in the New Testament to come boldly to the
throne of grace (Heb. 4:16). We are also assured that in this dispensation “we
are come unto mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem
and to the general assembly of the church of the firstborn…” (Heb. 12:22-23).
Regardless of the situation, however, there is an awe that is associated with
the presence of God. It’s an awe that is transforming. I believe that anyone
who experiences the awesome glory of God is changed forever!
Today, I want us to reflect
on Isaiah’s life changing encounter with God, to see how we can be transformed
by God’s glory.
EXPOSITION
Isaiah was one of the great
Old Testament prophets. His prophetic ministry spanned over 50 years and four
kings, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. He was apparently from an influential
upper class background and as such gave prophetic counsel to the kings. His
early ministry records prophecies of judgment for Israel’s rebelliousness and
haughty spirit. He also prophesied concerning the day of the Lord and the final
judgment. His later ministry contains numerous Messianic prophecies such as the
virgin birth in Isaiah 7:14 and the promised son in Isaiah 9:6. His vision of
Christ’s passion is unparalleled, prompting him to ask “Who hath believed our
report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” as he reveals a picture
of the Messiah as a suffering servant (Isaiah 53 vs. 1-5).
One might question what is
it about Isaiah that opened him up to such great revelations? Why did God use
him in this way? The answer, I believe, is that he was transformed by God’s
glory! He had an encounter with God that was life changing and when called, he
was willing to go.
This encounter is the
subject of Isaiah 6. Prior to this Isaiah was an ordinary prophet but after
this life transforming encounter, his ministry was enlarged and God used him as
a mouthpiece to herald the mysteries of heaven.
The date is approximately
740 B.C.; the year King Uzziah died. In his vision he saw the Lord, high and
lifted up. The Lord was in the position of a king, He was sitting on a throne,
the throne was high and lofty, and He wore a kingly robe, the train of which
filled the temple. Not only was the Lord high and lifted up but heavenly beings
ministered unto Him. Above the throne stood seraphims – angelic beings of high
order. The angels worshipped saying, holy, holy, holy is the LORD, the whole
earth is filled with His glory. Isaiah was struck by the awesomeness of God’s
glory and immediately his own sinfulness and inadequacy became apparent as he
cried Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips. One of the angels then placed
a live coal from the altar on his lips so that he could be cleansed. After his
cleansing the question was asked: Whom shall I send and who will go for us?
Isaiah answered – Here I am; Send me.
Note the sequence of
Isaiah’s transformation: It started with the VISION; this was followed by the
CONFESSION, and then the CLEANSING. After the cleansing came the CHALLENGE;
next came Isaiah’s ANSWER and finally came the COMMISSION.
APPLICATION
The call of God to the
church today is for a transformation. Many people attend church services regularly
but still have not seen God for who he is. Some see God as a benevolent
supplier of needs; others may see Him as distant father, out there somewhere
but not too involved in their daily affairs. God however wants to reveal Himself
to you in His power and His glory. He wants to show you His awesome majesty; he
wants you to feel his overwhelming presence. Like Isaiah he wants you to get a
glimpse of His throne; to see the extent of His influence and His train which
filled the temple. He wants you to see the angels as they minister unto Him. He
wants you to see the multitude of men and women who bow down and worship Him. With such a vision of his majesty, we would
immediately recognize our sinfulness, repent and confess our sins, as we make
ourselves ready to do his work.
Too many of us have been
satisfied with the ordinary. We are happy with a little church attendance, a
little prayer, a little convention here or there, but beyond that we are not
moved and more than that, we are not changed. God wants to change your
perspective today. God wants to show you His glory, to transform your life and
create in you a passionate ministry. Will you answer the call today?
