God’s Glory In My Life: Isaiah 6:1-8

 

God’s Glory In My Life - Isaiah 6:1-8

As we have been preaching through the Bible chronologically, we have also been reading through the Bible and this past week we came to the book of Isaiah. The Old Testament is divided into several classes or categories.

We have the Torah, the Tanak, or the Law which is the first 5 books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy. Then the books of history Joshua through Esther, the books of poetry Job through Ecclesiastes and then the books of the Prophets Isaiah Through Malachi. Isaiah is one of the major prophets, which includes Isiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, while the other prophetic books are Hosea through Malachi.

Isaiah 6

Isaiah is one of the most elegent and powerful of the Old Testament writers. His words, his style, his poetry has a majesty that impresses anyone who reads his book.

And it would be almost impossible to preach from the Book of Isaiah and not bring a sermon on chapter 6, where Isaiah sees a vision of God sitting upon the throne, high and lifted it. The vision shares much with Moses, Ezekiel, and John in the book of Revelation. In the vision of these men we also get to glimpse the Glory of God. In every case they are overwhelmed and changed by what they see and we need to take time to read and meditate on these visions because until we get to heaven, their visions are our introduction to God’s glory.

And we need to understand as much as we can of God and his glory because as James Packer, in his book, Knowing God, wrote, “Knowing about God is crucially important for the living of our lives. As it would be cruel to an Amazonian tribesman to fly him to London, put him down without explanation in Trafalgar Square and leave him, as one who knew nothing of English or England, to fend for himself, so we are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life with it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know God. Disregard the study of God and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.”

We need to know as much as we can of the God who made us, saved us, called us and one day will resurrect us and part of knowing Him is glimpsing His glory. So, turn to Isaiah chapter 6 and one of the most dramatic passage of scripture in the Bible. This sure isn’t another list of fathers begetting sons, or offerings to build the tabernacle.

God Glory In My Loss Isaiah 6:1

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord…

Isaiah’s Loss

Isaiah dates his vision by the year his King Uzziah died. King Uzziah for the most part was a good king. One of the last that Judah would have.

2 Kings 15:3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done;

Then something happened. Uzziah became proud and he entered the holy place of God’s Temple to burn incense. 2 Chronicles 26:16-20 But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. 17 And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: 18 And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. 19 Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. 20 And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him.

I believe that Isaiah who lived at this same time may have been looking to Uzziah as a king who would once again lead Israel to follow God but instead, he was severely punished by God because of his pride and he then he died, leaving that great task undone. Isaiah and Israel have lost their King and their hope. It is at this time of loss for Isaiah and the nation that the God chooses to show his glory to the prophet.

In Our Loss We Often See God

Many times in life, if not always, it is necessary to suffer loss in order to know God, to glimpse His glory in our lives. It is often after loss, brokenness, great sorrow or complete weakness, that we experience the power, hope and strength of God. The Bible is filled with examples of this truth. 

Israel after facing certain death at the Red Sea, with no way to retreat and no way to go forward in Exodus 24:9-11 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God,

Ezekiel the prophet is taken as a prisoner of war suffering the loss of family, friends and home, all he had ever known and then in  Ezekiel 1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

John according to history is dipped into burning oil for preaching the word of God, banished to a barren rock of an island called Patmos and left to die. Then this near 100 years old the last of the apostles sees the great vision of God and the conclusion of God’s plan for the ages. Revelation 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

To begin to experience and know God as He wants us to see Him, we must understand the loss, pain and defeat. We must come to the end of ourselves before we can come to the beginning of God.

We must lose our belief in ourselves, lose hope in our goodness. We must see the reality of our weakness and fallibility. We must die to ourselves in order to truly become alive to the reality of God. We must be willing to believe that the greatest loss, our greatest failure may result in our greatest gain by experiencing God.

Philippians 3:8-10 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Jacob Wrestles with the Lord - Genesis 32:24-26

Probably the best example of this is the conniving, supplanting Jacob. When he was sure Esau would kill him, he went away by himself and their on Mt. Penuel, he met God and in his brokenness became Israel a prince with God. And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

The Lord could have slain Jacob with just a whisper, but instead he lets Jacob use up all his strength, cripples him for life and then Jacob finally cries out as he cling to the Lord, “I will not release thee, except thou bless me.”

Without that loss Jacoub would never have been made Israel by God’s and without loss in our life we cannot fully receive the blessings of God in our life.

God’s Glory In His House Isaiah 6:1

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.

Isaiah’s Worship

I don’t think it was coincidental that God revealed himself to Isaiah when he came to the Temple.

I think Isaiah was seeking God in God’s House. I think he was praying to God for his nation in the loss of Uzziah. Perhaps he was trying to find hope in the place where hope is always found. So, he comes to the House of God and there he saw and experienced God as he never had before.

We also see this over and over again in scripture.

John in the spirit on the Lord’s Day. He was worshipping God on the day God ordained Christians to worship.

Solomon at the dedication of the Temple prays and the Shekinah glory of God fills the Temple.

The apostle and the first church of Jerusalem are worshipping in the upper room on Sunday in the only house of worship they had and the Holy Spirit filled the room, the NT parallel of the OT Shekinah Glory of God filling the Temple.

In Our Worship We Find God’s Glory

I ask people who tell me they are Christians and yet don’t go to church, “How can you say you love God and don’t even come to his house? How can you say you want to go to Heaven for eternity, when you won’t come to church for 2 or 3 hours a week?”

God meets us in His word, in prayer, in praise, in the fellowship of brothers and sister in Christ and all those come together in one place, the church of Jesus Christ, the House of God.

I know we all hear people say, I worship God in the outdoors, or my backyard or any place other than the church where God tells His people to assemble together.

This is what David said when he was in the outdoors, the wilderness and could not come to the Temple. Psalms 63:1-2 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

Where? In the sanctuary, the temple, the church. God’s house is where God has chosen to let us experience Him more than any other place.

God in My Experience

I have seen the greatness of God while standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon or looking up from the depths of its deep valleys. I have seen the greatness of God in the birth of my children and in the death of one of his saints but the place I have most often seen the greatness of God is in the church.

In the church, I saw his greatness reach done in love and grace and save my soul as a young 7-year-old boy. In church I felt his hand on my shoulder as I wept over an alcoholic father and a broken hearted mother. In church, I experienced his presence when I knelt with my Pastor and told him God was dealing with me to be a pastor. In church, I saw my children saved one by precious one. In church, I have seen God touch hearts, hard as stones and break them fine dust and then remake them into his own throne. In church, I have seen lives changed and souls saved and people caught up in the greatness and grace of God. In church, I have experienced God more often than anywhere else and that is not an accident, it is by the plan and will of God.

If you would experience the greatness of God, you must understand failure and loss. You must also seek God where He has told us He would be found in His House of Worship. Now let us look at what happens when we experience God’s Glory in my life.

God’s Glory In My Life - Isaiah 6:1-8

Isaiah 6:1-4 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.

Isaiah’s Remaking

Isaiah saw God on his throne, ruling and reigning over all the universe.  He saw God high and lifted up. His presence filled the temple. And He heard the voices of the seraphim calling out Holy! Holy! Holy!

So great was God’s presence and so loud the cry of the seraphim that the massive columns of the temple shook as though an earthquake was taking place.

So powerful was this vision that Isaiah cries out, “I am undone.” My body cannot bear the glory of God.  My soul cannot sustain the reality of His holiness. I am being tore apart by the greatness of God’s presence.

Then in that state of being reduced to nothing, one of the seraphim came with a live coal from the altar. This coal we know later symbolizes the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the only sacrifice that could make Isaiah clean and worthy to be in the presence of God.

He then placed that burning hot coal to Isaiah lips but because the Messiah one day would take away the fire of God’s judgment for our sin, all that Isaiah feels is the redeeming, rebuilding warmth of God’s mercy and grace.

He is  cleansed of his iniquity and purged of his sin by God’s redeeming, restoring, reviving touch of grace.

Now when God called for one to send, he could answer, “Here am I send me.” Without loss, without seeing God glory, without experiencing cleansing, without restoring grace Isaish would have remained mute, but now he can answers the call of God. “Here am I, send me.”

Isaiah was deconstructed and then reconstructed by his experience of   God’s glory in his life. God filled the Temple with His Glory and then filled Isaiah with His power.

God’s Glory Will Change You

No one can truly experience the glory and greatness of God and remain the same. For this reason, I believe that most of us are afraid to risk experience God. We are afraid of the change it will bring in our lives.

Far too many church members today find comfort in legalism, joy in routines, steadfastness in traditions and in these ruts think that they experienced God.

 Too often we allow the paraphernalia of piety, the regalia of religion and the trappings of tradition to replace God word, God’s house and God’s people. Ritual replaces relationship and conformity replaces confrontation. We need God in His greatness, in His glory not just the outward décor of Christianity. Without a confrontation of God in his greatness, His glory, His grandeur we will arrive in heaven very much the same as the day we were saved still waiting to experience God’s glory in our lives.    

How great is God to you? Isaiah saw God’s greatness filling the temple and in a sense filling all of creation. Is God in his glory great enough to fill my life, fill my home or fill my marriage, my church, my life? Is He great enough to overcome my problems, my failures, my pain? Great enough to fill my heart, my thoughts or my hopes? Great enough to make a difference in the way you live, think or act?

The Story of How Great Thou Art

How Great Thou Art – The History of the hymn
The history of the hymn How Great Thou Art begins with Mr. Carl Gustaf Boberg (1859-1940). He was a Swedish pastor, editor, and member of the Swedish parliament. He was enjoying a nice walk when a thunderstorm suddenly appeared. A severe wind began to blow. After the storm was over, Mr. Boberg looked out over the clear bay. He then heard a church bell ringing in the distance calling people to the Lord’s house. The words to How Great Thou Art begin to form in his heart -- O Lord, my God, When I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds Thy hands hath made. He had glimpsed God and the result it a hymn that is a testimony to  God’s glory and one of the most powerful after all these years.

The hymn is so popular because it strikes a chord in our souls that echoes like that church bell so long ago. Oh how much we need in our own hearts to experience God in his greatness and glory, to truly know How Great Thou Art.

Conclusion

God’s Glory in My life to most of us it will only be another sermon title, just a like a dozen or a thousand before it. But to some it will be more, it will be an awaking, a call, a stirring to a quest to truly experience the greatness of the God of the Universe, here in His word, through prayer, through God’s weak but wonderful saints and especially in God’s house of worship and truth.   

The Glory of God can annihilate you and then reform you, it can overwhelm your senses and fill your soul. The Glory of God is so much more than a theme, it is the desire of those who truly long for more than just the routine of religion.

Could that be you today? Could that be us? Is God stirring your heart to experience His greatness and His glory?