HOW GOD PREPARES US FOR MINISTRY

But now, O Lord , You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8 NKJV

One of the things that I enjoy watching is the art of a potter with a lump of clay - how he pushes and shapes that meaningless lump into something of great value and beauty.

My wife and I have accumulated some very beautiful and useful pieces over the years that are showcased in our house.

It is interesting: Pottery is the number one most popular find of Archaeologists who study the Ancient World. They have found the remains of potter’s shops that date back to 12000 BC.

I have been able to see some of the ancient pottery and it is breathtaking to think that I was looking at something thousands of years old.

In Ancient times - the day begins early as the potter leaves the house early in the morning with bags in hand to go out into the fields to gather the clay.

Here are 6 Observations from a Potters House that relate to our relationship with God.

1. He Put His Thoughts On You

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 

When He looked on you and thought of you, He could not use you as you were. You were lumpy, rocky, stiff-necked, you had hard spots in you. You did not have consistency. So He took you down and:

2.  He Put His Eyes on You

He began to look at you without seeing you for what you are, but for what He knows you can be!

Psalm 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, 

Psalm 33:18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; 

3. He Put His Feet On You

Clay in its natural state was seldom fit for use. Several stages of preparation were usually necessary. 

The clay must be softened before it can be fashioned.

The clay was mixed with water and sifted to remove any stones or foreign objects that did not need to be there. There were several settling basins where the sifting took place, each basin with smaller holes than the one before. 

This was the process of refining the clay in order to make the very best vessel.

Once refined, the potter would place the clay on a clean floor and begin walking on it, back and forth, over and over until all the air pockets were removed.

Once the right consistency is obtained, He will pick you up off the floor and place you on the potter’s wheel. There He will:

4. He Will Put His Hands On You

While you’re on the wheel, He will begin molding you. This involves applying pressure in certain areas that He needs to change. You may not like these pressures, but understand, He is the one making the vessel, and He knows what is best for you!!

He will form you into the vessel that He desires to make.

Romans 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 

Once His hands have formed you into the beautiful vessel you are still worthless and without function until He puts you in the fire.

There were two ways of doing this: In the old days they would “Sun Dry” the vessels. 

However, they had limitations, they could only store dry goods, because liquids would break them down. 

They would then "kiln burn" the vessel to harden it even more.

A fine vessel that will harden and hold liquids and maintain its shape had to be exposed to a minimum temperature of 500 degrees.

The beauty of properly fire clay is that it will not breakdown and disintegrate, even if buried for thousands of years. Metal or wood would have long since disappeared. 

Fire Time was also very crucial; it had to stay in the fire long enough for the chemical process in the clay to start working.

Once removed from the fire the vessel must be scoured and scrubbed to remove any lingering signs of air bubbles that surfaced in the fire. The nicks and bumps had to be smoothed out. 

Once the smoothing process has been accomplished, you are now ready to be painted, glazed. These words and synonymous with the word anointed. 

A vessel that has not been glazed could only be used once, because of bacteria and fungi being able to hide in its pours. However, when a glazed vessel is washed with soap and water you can use it over and over again, because the bugs have no place to hide.

5. He Will Put His Anointing On You 

This is the painting and glazing of the vessel. This is what makes the vessel attractive

6. Finally He Will Put His Name On You

Every good artist puts his name on his work.  

I have some beautiful pottery that sits on my desk.  If you lift it up you will notice the name of the artist who created it.

Rev. 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 

The quality must go in, before the name goes on.

In the process of the clay our Master has made some beautiful vessels. Taking the time to think about us, look upon us, sift us, walk on us, knead us, place His hand upon us, lead us through the fire, glaze us with His anointing, and finally place His Name on us.

What wonderful vessels have been made for the glory of God!

On the other hand there are stubborn vessels that won’t accept the hand of the potter, and the pressure applied by Him.  The potter will keep working with these vessels and eventually will discard them in the potters field because they are not shapable or moldable for the use the potter desires for them.

I pray that today you would allow your lump of clay to become moldable and pliable for God's hands to shape you for your call and destiny.  If you have rebellion in your heart - I pray that God would soften you and that you would be shaped into the man or woman God has intended for you to be.

YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of  My  hands; Your walls are continually before Me. Your sons shall make haste; Your destroyers and those who laid you waste Shall go away from you. Lift up your eyes, look around and see; All these gather together and come to you. As I live,” says the Lord , “You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament, And bind them on  you as a bride does. Isaiah 49:15‭-‬18 NKJV

I think most of us struggle at times as to whether we are important to God or not. If you are like me, we sometimes wonder if our lives are of any value to God and have any meaning on this earth. The enemy deposits thoughts in our head that challenge us to whether we are worthy or not. 

We all feel at times that we have been forgotten and perhaps even not loved. That is a lie from the pit of hell that needs to be squashed and put away from your thougths.

Isaiah uses four word metaphors in this passage to show us how much God loves us and how He has NOT forgotten us.

1. GOD IS LIKE A MOTHER

First of all, as we have seen, God is like a mother. Verse 15 asks, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion on the son of her womb?” 

While it is not probable, it is possible. “Even these may forget,” God says, “but I will not forget you.”

You’ve heard of self-defining moments, I’m sure. A self-defining moment occurs when something happens that determines your identity from that instant forward. Because of some event or incident, whatever it may be, you will never be the same again.

I had such an experience when each of my daughters were born.  Holding them for the first time was life-changing.  And then it happened again when I held each of my grandchildren.

Has my love for them ever failed? Not in intention, it hasn’t, but I have to confess that at times I have been preoccupied with myself, and I have failed to show them the love I have for them.

But now, consider God. He has for each of us -- for you, for me -- a place in his heart that belongs to no other. Will his love for you ever fail? No. It cannot happen. It will not happen. Our own parents may fail us at times, but God never will. He is like the mother who never forgets.

2. GOD IS LIKE AN OBSESSED LOVER

God is also like an obsessed lover. Let me tell you what I mean by that. I have known people so captivated by romance that they have had the name of their beloved tattooed on their body. 

I know of many who have tattoted the name of someone they love onto their body only to realize sometime later that they are in love with someone else.

All this talk of tattoos may seem strangely out of place, but actually, it isn’t. In verse 16 of our text from Isaiah, the Lord says, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.” In other words, God has tattooed your name on his hands. He could never forget you!

Not that he would want to, but even if he did, how could he. Your name would be constantly before his eyes. Who does things like this? An obsessed -- if not too prudent -- lover, for one. And God. God does things like this. He wants you to know that you can trust him. He will never forget you. He will never forsake you.

3. GOD IS LIKE A WATCHMAN

And he will ever watch over you. Look at the latter part of verse 16. “Your walls are continually before me,” God says. He is like a night watchman who never takes a break.

When I was young my grandfather and grandmother volunteered at Angeles Temple in their prayer room.  They would go down in the middle of the night to receive phone calls from people who needed a miracle or needed someone to talk to.

In a sense, they were like a spiritual night watchman as they made themselves available to stand guard in prayer over the many needs that came their way.

God says that’s how he is. As He watches over your life - He announces, “Your destroyers and those who laid you waste Shall go away from you.” As a result - you can sleep securely. God is watching over you.

4. GOD IS LIKE JEWELER

A mother’s love, a lover’s obsession, a night watchman’s attentive eye -- are these give expression to God’s interest in you. A final word picture that Isaiah uses here is that of a jeweler. Let me show you what I mean.

The historical setting for these words out of Isaiah is worth mentioning. The nation of Judah had suffered conquest at the hands of the Babylonians. In fact, the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem, leveled the temple, and carried every able-bodied person into captivity. It was an awful time, and you can understand how the people might have thought God had forgotten them.

But now, God says to Judah, all your exiles are coming home. “Lift up your eyes all around and see; they all gather, they come to you.” And then this: “As I live, says the Lord” -- he’s banking his life on it -- “you shall put all of them on like an ornament, and like a bride you shall bind them on.”

Judah’s exiled people would be restored to her like so many dazzling diamonds and other precious stones. Like a jeweler, God would awe his people with the beauty of the final outcome.

We, too, have the assurance that God will place before us in splendid array his many, many blessings. And they shall adorn our lives like ornaments.

So, why wouldn’t you put your trust in a God like this? Mothers may forget -- they’re human, too. Lovers may be mistaken. Watchmen may look away. Jewels may no longer allure. But God will never forget. He will never leave you. He will never look away. And he will always bring beauty and joy to your heart. That’s the way he is, and that’s why we should place our trust in him.

You can count on this - GOD WILL NEVER FORGET YOU!

STAY THIRSTY

For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground... Isaiah 44:3 NKJV

I've been thinking a lot about water lately  and how important it is for our survival. 

There is nothing that satisfies our body more than a tall glass of water when you are feeling parched and thirsty.

Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation. Isaiah 12:3 NKJV

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. John 7:37 NKJV

In the Bible, The Feast Tabernacles was a popular festival rich in symbolism. Each day of the feast of booths included a water ceremony in which a procession of priests descended to the south border of the city to the Gihon Spring.

There a priest filled a golden pitcher as a choir chanted Isaiah 12:3: “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” 

The water was then carried back up the hill to the “Water Gate,” followed by crowds carrying tree branches (lulab in the right hand) in memory of the desert booths and (an ethrog in the left hand) a citrus branches in memory of the harvest. 

The crowd would shake these and sing Psalms 113–118. 

When the procession arrived at the temple, the priest would climb the altar steps and pour the water onto the altar while the crowd circled him and continued singing. On the seventh day of the festival, this procession took place seven times. 

Judaism saw this water ceremony on multiple levels. On the one hand, it was a plea to God for rain since the autumn is a time of threatened drought in Israel. 

On the other hand, it was a source of rich symbolism. The feast was established as a memorial to the wilderness journey and God’s provision of water from a rock (Num. 20:8, 10; 2Cor. ). 

The pouring out of water which caused the sacrificial rock altar of the temple to flow represented the day God’s life giving water would flow out of God’s temple during the messianic age. 

Zechariah and Ezekiel had visions of rivers flowing from the temple in a miraculous display of God’s blessing (Ezek. 47:1; Zech. 14:8). [In a drought-stricken land, it was a spectacular vision of water, life-giving water flowing from God’s life-giving temple. 

Jesus’ climatic appearance and astounding words are to be understood against this background. (John 7)

On this final day of celebration, Jesus steps into public view and makes His most stunning pronouncement of the feast. As the seventh water procession climbed the steep hill of south Jerusalem, verse 37 commences. Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink."

He was making a plea for their inner thirst that so easily alluded them because they were filling their lives with wrong things,

Nothing can fill your lives like Jesus. There is no lasting earthly satisfaction. Marriage, family, money, fame, enlightenment, travel, athletics, academic achievement- nothing completely satisfies us. Any satisfaction or significance we gain in our quest fades quickly and becomes a vague memory, if remembered at all.

Yes, certainly, there are happy events along the way, unexpected moments when we experience pure delight. But those moments are fleeting, and we can never go back in time to relive them and recapture the sensation. 

Why then do we keep seeking for something to satisfy us? Simply put, its because we have to. You and I are thirsty people. We long for a deep satisfaction, the kind that makes our insides very alive, that makes us enriched people. We thirst. Deep in our souls, down at the core, we desperately want something-and want it legitimately-that we don’t have -to be respected, to be deeply involved with someone who truly accepts us.

Whether we realize it or not our souls are thirsting for God. Every desire, every aspiration, every longing of our nature is nothing less than a yearning for God. We were born for His love and we cannot truly live without it. He is the joy for which we have been searching all our lives. Everything that we desire is found in Him-and infinitely more.

Jesus is the answer for this deep thirst. But it’s our responsibility-and our opportunity-to drink deeply of Him, to trust Him to produce the kind of change that way down deep inside we know we want for ourselves.

And so, if you find yourself restless and thirsting for something more in life; respond to Jesus’ invitation, "Come to Me and drink." Go to Him, drink freely of His grace and forgiveness, and experience true joy and the personal significance that only Jesus can provide. 

Happiness depends on happenings, but joy, satisfaction, significance and so much more depends on drinking in from Jesus!

For those who accept the invitation and come to Jesus, He gives an astounding promises in verse 38. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 

Jesus was requiring of each individual a response of faith in Him. In order to come and drink, you must believe in Jesus. In order to continue to drink you must continue to come in faith to Jesus. He is the source of the fountain that wells up inside of faithful believers.

Scripture is full of references to blessing of the Holy Spirt in connection to water. - Isa. 44:3; 55:1; 58:11; Ezek. 47:1ff; Joel 3:18; Zech 13:1; 14:8; Prov. 4:23; 5:15. 

When a believer comes to Christ and drink he not only slakes his thirst but receives such an abundant supply that authentic rivers flow out of his inner being. 

This springing up well not only refreshes one’s own soul but flows out to refresh the lives of others.

The DEAD SEA is so salty that it contains no fish or plant life. What accounts for this unusual condition? There are absolutely no outlets! A great volume of water pours into this depression from the Jordan, but nothing flows out. Inlets plus no outlets equals a dead sea.

This law of nature may also be applied to the child of God, and it explains why many believers are unfruitful and lack spiritual vitality. 

It’s possible for some people to attend church, listen to religious broadcasts, study the Scriptures, and continually take in the Word as it is preached from the pulpit, and yet seem lifeless and unproductive in their Christian lives. 

Such individuals are like the Dead Sea. They have several "inlets" but no "outlets." To be vibrant and useful believers, we must not only "take in" all we can, but we must also "give out" in service to others!

It is my prayer for each of you today that you would stay thirsty with God and that you would freely pour out to others to keep yourself fresh and flowing with God.

May God abundantly por out the water  of His spirit upon every part of your soul and in every way as you seek Him today.

WHEN LIFE IS SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL

I don't think I need to remind any of us that our world is in trouble. It seems as if were spinning out of control and that the hedge of God's protection has been lifted and that there is a free for all who want to incur vilolence wherever they want.

There is only one solution: we must be people who are praying diligently for God to come and move again in our land.

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14 NKJV

In this political season, when clergy of all stripes rush to support their preferred candidates, it’s important to remember 2 Chronicles 7:14 was not written to the Democrats or the Republicans.

This is not a blanket invitation that applies to anyone, anywhere, at any time. God limits this invitation to those who are “his people.” 

This is not, for instance, a verse that applies to the Hindus. Nor does it apply to mankind in general. This promise applies to those who know Jesus and to no one else. 

To be called by the name of the Lord means you have called upon the name of the Lord to be saved (Romans 10:13).

“Will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways” (v. 14b).

Here are the four conditions for revival:

#1: Humility

What exactly is humility? Although many answers might be given, perhaps the simplest is that humility means seeing my true condition before God. 

After all, pride is simply taking credit for things that I’m not really responsible for. 

When we start feeling too puffed up about ourselves, we need to remember 1 Corinthians 4:7, “What do you have that you did not receive?” 

The answer is nothing. 

#2: Prayer

What sort of prayer is the Lord talking about? It is the sincere prayer of a person who realizes his true condition. 

When I understand everything I have comes as a gift from God, my prayers will be filled with gratitude, love and praise. I will cry out to God, confessing how far short I fall of his divine standards. 

And every day I will remember the words of Jesus, “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

# 3: Seeking God’s Face

The phrase “seek my face” is a familiar one in the Old Testament. It has to do with the direction of my life.

It is very similar to the fourth beatitude: “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). 

To seek God’s face is to hunger for a closer walk with him. Many of us know little of this because we fill our stomachs with spiritual junk food that never satisfies but keeps us from seeking nutritious food. 

The question is, what are you hungry for right now? Those who are hungry to know God seek one thing; those who are hungry for a career seek something else. What you are hungry for determines what you seek.

# 4: Turning from our Wicked Ways

At some point things have to change. We must repent. To repent means you turn from your wicked ways. 

If you think about it, these four conditions form a kind of progression:

You will never pray with any fervency until you see your true condition before God.

You will never seek God’s face until you begin to get serious about prayer.

You will never turn from your wicked ways until God becomes all-important in your life.

Humility leads to prayer. Prayer leads to seeking God’s face. Seeking God’s face leads to turning from our wicked ways.
  
“Then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (v. 14c).

We need to think carefully about this because it’s easy to turn 2 Chronicles 7:14 into a formula for revival. 

Certainly the verse lays out a plan for us to follow. The word “then” encourages us to believe our crying to God will never be in vain.

Our tears are not in vain.
Our prayers are not in vain.
Our burden is not in vain.
Our sadness is not in vain.
Our desperation is not in vain.

Perhaps we can say it this way. When we are so dissatisfied with the status quo that we cry out to God for help, the answer will indeed come from heaven and things will begin to change. We must not limit God as to the how and the when. 

He is still the sovereign God who does whatever pleases him (Psalm 115:3). 

We must not dictate to the Lord about how the answer from heaven will come. He will answer in his own time, in his own way, according to his own will. But we have this assurance:

He will hear.
He will forgive.
He will heal.

If we do our part, though it will seem very incomplete, God will certainly do his. If we humble ourselves, and if we pray, and if we seek his face, and if we turn from our wicked ways, knowing all the while that we still fall short, God will move from heaven to come to our aid.

Politics is Not the Answer

This verse gives me hope because we seem to be in a bad state today. I cannot remember a time when America was more divided than we are at this moment. As a nation, we have turned away from the Lord. How will we ever find our way back to God?

The answer won’t come from the White House.

Politics will not save us.

Putting another justice on the Supreme Court won’t heal our land.

I say that in full recognition that it matters greatly how we vote because it matters who sits in the White House and makes those judicial appointments. We have to vote. I’m all for speaking out and taking a stand.

But when all is said and done, our greatest need is not political; our greatest need is spiritual. We need another great awakening in our land. Perhaps it will come in our day. I certainly hope so. 

So where does revival begin? The answer is always the same. It begins with you and it begins with me. 

It’s one thing to talk about what stands between our nation and revival or between my church and revival. It’s always easier to confess someone else’s sins. Ask God what stands between you and a new experience of his power and blessing. If you ask in sincerity, God will surely answer.

Do we have to stay the way we are? The answer is, “No, but." We have to start by understanding “the way we are.” Once we see that, the possibility of genuine change and real spiritual growth is open to us. So I end where I began. 

Revival is not far away when we see ourselves as God sees us. It’s easy to say, “America needs to get right with God” or “My neighbor needs changing” or “My church needs revival.” Those statements can become excuses for evading our own responsibility.

The call of Christ is always personal. He calls us one by one to follow him. Perhaps we should repeat the Chinese prayer that goes this way: “O Lord, change the world. Begin, I pray thee, with me.” Revival begins with the person you see when you look in the mirror. Start there and by God’s grace revival will begin inside your own heart.  
                

EMBRACING THE STORMS OF LIFE

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 NLT

My heart has been saddened by the violence we have witnessed in the world over the past few months - especially to law enforcement officers across our country. (29 police officers have been killed this year).

The doom sayers of this world are encouraging people to run and hide from evil but that is never the answer.  We can't run from the storms of life but we must embrace them.

Have you ever seen an eagle flying?  To be able to witness the flight of an eagle is an amazing thing.  I love eagles, I love to watch them soar and float in the air almost like they are weightless.  

They seem to be able to catch the current of the airflow and just glide around effortlessly.  They are a majestic creature with strength that is amazing.  

They can spot a fish in a stream miles below them and snatch it up in a quick minute.  Their beaks are powerful and their talons are piercing, but their flying is what amazes me the most.  

When we compare chickens to eagles it seems funny that they are both actually come from the bird family.  

Chickens scratch around in the dirt and never get the chance to fly.  They peck the ground for every morsel of food they can find.  

When a storm approaches them or they feel threatened, they run and hide.  They kick up dust in their panic and take cover in the chicken house with all the other chickens.

Remember the story of chicken little?  "The sky is falling, the sky is falling."  

An eagle on the other hand embrace the storms, he rises above the storm clouds.  While the chickens are running for cover, the eagle is soaring high above the storm in the sunshine.  

The eagle loves a challenge, he doesn't back down or run away when they feel threatened. The eagle is determined to rise above all the storms life throws at him.  

The eagle has no worries, no stress, only determination and fierce sense of pride in who he is.  So let me ask you, if you could chose who would you rather be a Christian who is like a chicken or an eagle?  Think carefully because the answer is not as easy as it seems.

You see as a chicken Christian we get to run and hide every time the going gets tough.  When God asks us to do something out of our comfort zone, we have an excuse.  "Oh God I can't do that.  That's out of my comfort zone."  

I have been there and said this before, many times, trust me this is the easy way out.  We get to run and hide in our safe little home protected and warm, safe from the storm.  

We just scurry around, satisfied with what we have, never being challenged.

Like the chickens in the chicken yard, we peck the ground and feel safe and secure knowing there is a fence keeping all the foxes out of our yard.  

We live life frightened of every little thing, afraid that someone may ruffle our feathers.  

The storm comes along and we don't know what to do so we panic and run around kicking up a bunch of dust, saying "I can't handle this, I can't handle this".

As an eagle Christian we will have the ability to embrace the storms in life.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going.  

We will learn to sore above the storms in life.  We will learn from them and we will be able to grow in our strength and power.  

When we are challenged to step out of our comfort zone, we will step up and step out.  

We will not be comfortable with a fence protecting us, because we realize that even though the fence may keep the predator out, it is also keeping out all those who may need help.  

We will embrace a challenge and learn to soar.  How do we do all this? How do we learn to rise above the storms in life?  How do we learn to have the strength and power to step out of our comfort zone?  

There is only one way to become an eagle Christian, read and study the Bible and pray for wisdom.  The Bible is full of God's promises.  

His word contains true stories of people who were just like you and me, who stepped up and stepped out.  

People who decided they wanted to be like an eagle, not scratch around in the chicken coop with all the other chickens.  

They risked their lives for the mission God gave them.  They had faith that God would get them through the storm if they just believed and trusted.

God has a mission for each of us to accomplish and if we sit in our little comfort zones and run and hide, then that mission will never be accomplished.  

We can't run and hide because we are fearful.  We must turn and embrace the storms before us because “He that is in me is greater than he who is in the world.”

BEING SENSITIVE TO GOD'S PRESENCE

Unlike many people, I grew up in the church experiencing God presence on an ongoing way.  I still love talking about and sensing God's holiness in my life.  I still love fixing my gaze on Him above all the rubble of life.

Once, as an experiment, the great scientist Isaac Newton stared at the image of the sun reflected in a mirror. The brightness burned into his retina, and he suffered temporary blindness. Even after he hid for three days behind closed doors, still the bright spot would not fade from his vision.

I pray that you and I would have a similar experience this morning as  I share a few things from God’s Word.

As we fix our gaze on the penetrating purity of the holiness of God -  May His brightness burn into our lives in such a way that it would never fade from our vision. May we find His holiness irresistible and not boring.

Isaiah 6:1-8 will help us understand more about the holiness of God.

Let me give you some background. Isaiah may have been the greatest prophet in all of Israel. He is called a "major prophet" because of the vast amount of written material that bears his name. He was a statesman, who spoke for God to common people and also to kings. He prophesied during the reign of four kings over a period of sixty years, which were filled with crisis and moral decadence. In fact during the time of Isaiah’s prophecy the northern kingdom Israel was taken captive by invaders. The southern kingdom, Judah, was attacked by Assyria.

During this time there was a king in Judah named Uzziah. He reigned for a long time ­ 52 years. He was one of the better kings they ever had. He was able to turn Jerusalem into a fortified city, well equipped with arms for its own defense and he gave the people a great sense of security.

The story of Uzziah ends on a sad note. While he started out strong, 2 Chronicles 26:16 says that, "…after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord, His God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense."

Because he arrogantly claimed for himself the rights that God had given only to the priests, God struck him with leprosy and he eventually died.

In spite of the shame of his later years, when King Uzziah died, it became a time of national mourning. In the same year that his king died, Isaiah went to the temple presumably to find some consolation and to pay his respects to Uzziah. He got more than he bargained for.

We can summarize Isaiah’s experience this way:

He saw the Lord’s Majesty (6:1-4)

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. Isaiah 6:1‭-‬4 NKJV

As Isaiah sees the Lord’s majesty, He learns three lessons.

Lesson #1 is that God is high.

Imagine if you will what it must have been like for him to see the Lord high and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple.

I love watching brides come down the aisle in weddings. The train of their gown flows behind them as they walk. Now, try to picture what Isaiah saw. The train of God’s robe filled every part of the temple! It was over the chairs, the podium, and the balcony, everywhere.

Isaiah is overwhelmed with everything, and as he looks up, way up, he sees the Sovereign God seated on a throne high and exalted. Can you imagine what must have been going through his mind?

Lesson #2 is found in verse 2: God is holy.

Isaiah describes what he saw, "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 what are seraphim? They are a certain group of angels whose personal calling was to attend to God’s holiness. They are fiery guardians of the holiness of God.

Have you ever wondered why they have 6 wings? Notice it says that with two, they were flying. Apparently these marvelous, incredible, supernatural creatures had the capacity to hover like some kind of a celestial helicopter around the throne of God which was high and lifted up.

And then it says, "With two they covered their feet." Why? Do you remember when Moses was up on an old dirt hill one day? He turned around and saw a burning bush and a voice came to him out of the bush that said, take off your shoes, Moses. Why? "For you’re standing on holy ground."

To "be holy" means to be separate. The very god-ness of God means that He is separate from all that is not God. There is an infinite qualitative difference between Creator and creature.

The absence of a clear understanding of God’s holiness is the reason for our shallowness, our impotence, our selfishness, our weakness, and our disobedience.

R.C. Sproul says that, "Any attempt to understand God apart from His holiness is idolatry."

Notice the last phrase of verse 3: "…the whole earth is full of his glory."

This is lesson #3: God is here.

He is high and He is holy, and He is here.

This is difficult for us to understand. How can He be both holy and be here? How can he be high and lifted up and still be right here with us?

Theologians refer to this as His transcendence.­ He is separate from us; and He is immanent ­ He is right here with us. He is to be feared and He is our friend.

He saw the Lord’s Mercy (6:5-7)

So I said: “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 my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with  it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” Isaiah 6:5‭-‬7 NKJV

What was Isaiah’s reaction when he came face to face with God’s majesty?

Look at the first part of verse 5, "Woe to me!" I cried…" That’s not just a sigh of despair, although I think there’s despair in it. It’s far more than that.

You see, in the Old Testament prophets gave prophetic announcements, which were very often preceded by the statement, "Thus saith the Lord." And their statements could be positive or negative.

When they were positive they’d often say, "Blessed." When they were negative they would often say, "woe."

On the lips of a prophet, the word woe is an announcement of doom. Jeremiah used it. Ezekiel used it. Nahum used it. Amos used it. Habakkuk used it. Hosea used it. Zephaniah used it. Zechariah used it. Micah used it. Jesus used it in Matthew 24 when he said, "Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees." And the angels of judgment in Revelation use it. It is a word of cursing.

And here is an amazing thing -- a prophet of God pronounces a curse and the judgment of God upon himself!

This is mind-boggling. Isaiah is the best man in the land. He is a sold-out servant of God. But when he sees the holiness of God, the only thing he can do is pronounce a curse upon his own head. He can only see his defilement, not his goodness.

Before he could see God’s mercy, Isaiah first needed to understand his destiny.

And then he says this, "I am ruined" which means to be lost, or to be annihilated, or to be destroyed. He was devastated by the holiness of God. He’s wiped out. He’s piled. He’s falling apart. He’s coming loose at the seams.

What Isaiah was expressing is what modern psychologists describe as the experience of personal disintegration. Why? Because he saw God and when he saw God for the first time in his life he saw Isaiah.

And he knew how wretched he was. He may have been a secure fellow before this. Everybody honored him and patted him on the back. He was a paragon of virtue. He was the best of men, a spiritual leader, the voice of God, an obedient saint, a servant of the Lord.

And yet, with one glimpse of God’s holiness, the man was a wretch in his own eyes.

John Calvin once said, "Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance until they have confronted themselves with the majesty of God."

As long as Isaiah could compare himself with other mortals, he was able to sustain a lofty opinion of his character. The instant he measured himself by the ultimate standard, he was morally and spiritually annihilated.

After understanding his destiny, Isaiah then came face-to-face with his own depravity.

No one can stand in the presence of God without becoming profoundly and devastatingly aware of his own wretched sinfulness. In other words, if we don’t understand the holiness of God, we don’t understand our own depravity. To see even the smallest glimpse of God’s holiness is to be destroyed and wiped out. Isaiah would never be the same again. Neither will we when we see God’s holiness.

No one ever comes before the holiness of God without devastation. The prophet Habakkuk learned this the hard way. After approaching God rather boldly and demanding an answer to some of his questions, Habakkuk 3:16 records what happens when God finally answers him: "I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled…"

When is the last time you trembled and your heart pounded in the presence of God?

Let’s be honest about something. Many of us are playing little church games, compromising, disobeying whenever we feel like it, right in the face of a holy God.

If we could see only a portion of what Isaiah saw, we would be changed forever. No question about it. You see, many of us are bored with God because we don’t understand Who He really is, and because we don’t understand Who He is, we don’t understand our own depravity.

He saw the Lord’s Mission (6:8)

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

After coming to grips with our destiny and with our depravity, we are then ready to understand our deliverance.

God does not leave Isaiah devastated ­ He does something about it.

Isaiah first saw the Lord’s majesty. Then, as he was overcome with the foul odor of his own sinfulness, he experienced the Lord’s mercy. Now, in verse 8, he sees the Lord’s mission.

Next, after being sensitive to the voice of God, Isaiah surrenders to God’s call.

The last thing Isaiah declared was his own lack of worthiness -- now he says, "Lord, You need anybody? I’ll go...I’ll go." The only way we are fit to serve is when we are cleansed by the mercy of God and overwhelmed by the majesty of God.

With these words, Isaiah is surrendering to God’s mission; he’s stepping forward to volunteer for service.

That leads to a couple obvious questions. Are you sensitive to His voice this morning? And, have you surrendered to His call? God is still looking for people who have been so moved by His majesty, and have experienced His mercy on a personal basis, that they will be eager to join in His mission.

Are you sensitive to His voice this morning? Are you surrendered to His mission? I don’t know what exactly that will mean for you personally, but I do know that we’ve been given a task to do ­ to go and make disciples of all nations.

It was D.L. Moody who said, "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And that which I can do by the grace of God, I will do."

Inspired by Pastor Brian Bill