HEARING GOD'S CALL: Isaiah 6:1-8

I first remember having a desire to serve the Lord when I was in fourth grade. Several years earlier I recall memorizing various Scripture passages and getting a nickel from my mom for each verse I could quote. One of the first verses I remember is Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." That verse has stuck with me for over 45 years. It was worth a nickel.

Later, in junior high, I wanted to study the Bible more and more. I begged my mom and dad for a set of audiocassette tapes covering every book in the Bible by well-known Bible teachers. My parents gave in and I proudly displayed my twelve volume cases of Bible cassettes on a shelf in my bedroom. At night I would insert one into my Hitachi tape recorder and listen to great teaching on God's word.

At a young age I knew that I wanted to be a pastor when I grew up. Likewise, I wanted to attend a Christian college. My mom called Biola college and a representative came to our house to talk to me about my future -- I look back on that visit a bit amazed that they would come to my house to talk about college when I was still in elementary school, but I felt God was calling me to serve him and he was confirming my desire.

As the years went by, I still knew that God wanted me to serve him, but I lost the passion of my earlier days. At times I would wander away from the Lord, then come back and repent. After Carol and I were married, I began attending Biola College and struggled with understanding how God could possibly use me. I felt like such a weak, inconsistent Christian at times.

Maybe you have felt the same way? Maybe you have felt or are feeling the call of God? Do you feel inadequate to serve him because of your past or perhaps even your present sins? You and I are not alone. In our passage we are going to find out that Isaiah felt the same way we do. He couldn't understand how God could use him -- But God did use him, in a very surprising way.

BACKGROUND

As we have noted in previous studies, Isaiah is known as one of the great writing prophets. He wrote his book nearly 2,800 years ago and it still speaks to us today! God's word never gets old. It is always fresh and alive (Hebrews 4:12).

You may ask, "Who cares about a book that was written 2,800 years ago?" "Why would it even matter if I read it?" "What is important to me is my life right now: The problems I am facing now!" John Oswalt, in his commentary on Isaiah helps answer these questions for us:

We need "A strong dose of the truth of Isaiah, that there is a God who is at work in the corporate history and in our individual histories. We can know him in the daily experiences of life, as the Israelites did. Knowing him in that way, we can then recover for ourselves, and maybe for our culture, the reality that human choices matter, that we are headed somewhere, and that the transcendent (supreme, incomparable) God is calling us to go with him."

In other words, by reading and studying the book of Isaiah we get a glimpse into God's character. We can better understand that God works in and through the lives of people and, like the Israelites of old, he wants to work in your life too.

THE MAJESTY OF THE LORD (Isaiah 6:1)

One of the noteworthy things about the book of Isaiah is its historicity. In other words, like all of Scripture, it is historically accurate. Isaiah writes about real people, like King Uzziah, who lived and died. The Bible is not a fictional book made up of a lot of fanciful stories to make us feel good. No, it is an accurate book of the history of the world, both good and bad.

Isaiah states clearly in verse 1 that he "Saw the Lord sitting upon a throne..." The first thing that may come to mind upon reading this passage are John's words in John 1:18, "No one has ever seen God..." "Aha!" One might say. "I have found a contradiction in the Bible!" John says no one has ever seen God, but Isaiah wrote that he saw the Lord. Which is it? A closer look reveals, not a contradiction, but something awesome instead.

It is true that "No one has ever seen God" the Father. Then who or what did Isaiah see? He saw the "Lord" Christ sitting on upon a throne. How do we know he saw Christ? The verse we looked at in John 1:18 goes on to clear up this supposed contradiction by saying, "No one has ever seen God; [BUT] the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known." John writes that while we cannot see God (because God is Spirit, John 4:24), he has been made known to us through his Son. The book of Hebrews 1:1-3 elaborates:

"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, who he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

The apostle John identifies who it was Isaiah actually saw, "Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory [the glory of Jesus] and spoke of him [spoke of Jesus] (John 12:41). In Isaiah's vision he saw a future glimpse of Jesus Christ sitting on the throne next to God the Father. Why is Jesus sitting on the throne? Because his work is finished! He died on the cross for our sins, he was buried, and three days later he rose again. After our sins were forgiven through his death on the cross, he sat down. All that is required now is that we believe in Jesus, that he is God. At that moment, when we have a true conviction of our belief, we receive the free gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23). Then, daily, we confess our sins and they are immediately forgiven. It is only because Jesus Christ is seated on the throne that we have forgiveness of sins. He has shed his blood for us and has conquered death so that we might be saved.

Isaiah goes on to describe the Lord. He tells us that he is "high and lifted up." Jesus is above all! The apostle Paul wrote that Jesus is "Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come." (Ephesians 1:21).

The majesty of Christ that Isaiah described was so magnificent that we're told, "The train of his robe filled the temple."

LIGHT MY FIRE! (Isaiah 6:2-7)

Do you believe in angels? You should. The Bible speaks often of them. In Hebrews 1:14, angels are called "ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation."

Isaiah saw a vision of angels. In verse 2 they are called "Seraphim." In verse 3 these seraphim are calling out "Holy, holy, holy" and by doing so are perhaps indicating their worship of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. The word seraphim means burning, or maybe more appropriately, fiery. The apostle Peter wrote, our faith is "tested by fire" (1 Peter 1:7). As these burning, fiery creatures move about in Isaiah's presence he is suddenly convicted of his sin.

He calls out "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips..." Here is Isaiah, standing the presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, surrounded by angelic beings, and suddenly he recognizes his sinfulness. He sees that his sin separates him from enjoying the majesty and wonder that is surrounding him.

That is what sin does to us. It separates us from God. When a believer sins there is guilt. When guilt is not dealt with it causes us to move farther away from God.

But Isaiah didn't let his guilt take hold of him. He immediately recognized his guilt and he expressed it before the "King, the Lord of hosts!" Isaiah confessed his sin. At that moment one of the seraphim swooped down with a piece of coal that had been taken from the altar that was before the Lord. As the seraphim touched the lips of Isaiah with the coal the angel pronounced that his "guilt is taken away, and [his] sin atoned for." Sin can only be atoned for by the sacrifice Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross -- the coal taken from the altar symbolized the work that Jesus did as our final sacrifice. Our guilt is removed and only Jesus Christ atones for our sin. This is a perfect passage that shows how Old Testament people were saved. They were saved the same way we are today, through belief in Jesus Christ.

CLEAR! (Isaiah 6:8)

Verse 8 presents another wonderful picture of the Trinity. The Lord is speaking, "Who will go for us?"  Who is the “us” that the Lord is speaking to in this verse?  Throughout the entire Bible we read of the concept of the Trinity, consisting of the Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit. The first hint of this Trinitarian theology is found in Genesis 1:26 where God says, "Let us make man in our own image." Who was God talking to? He was speaking to the Son and the Holy Spirit. Likewise, in this verse, the Holy Spirit is speaking to the Father and the Son (See Acts 28:25-27).

Isaiah, who is now rid of his guilt, is ready for the challenge of serving the Lord. He quickly responded to God's call. "Here I am! Send me." What Isaiah is saying is, "Please use me! I am clear from all my guilt and sin! I'm ready to be used in your service for whatever you want me to do." But Isaiah probably never dreamed what God was about to make him do.

THREE "HOLY" LESSONS

1. God is enthroned in heaven. We live in a world of chaos today. Enemies threaten us wherever we turn. It is nearly impossible to not get depressed or discouraged after watching or reading the news. Trouble surrounds us, yet the message for us today from Isaiah is that God still rules. God is fully aware of our circumstances. He knows what we are going through and he knows how to handle our problems. Our sin is thinking we have a human solution for our problems. When we continue to worry and rely on human solutions we fall deeper into discouragement and/or depression. When we think WE can handle our own problems, God then becomes our servant rather than our sovereign (Oswalt.) God is sovereign, which means he is Lord over all. When we become the servant and say, "Here I am Lord, send me" then God begins to work in our lives. Do you have problems? Then look up to the throne at the one seated in majesty and power.

2. Recognize that you are a sinner and accept Christ's forgiveness. In the 1970's there was a bestselling book entitled I'm Okay, You're Okay. The idea behind the book was that you could lead a happier and more productive life by performing some self-help techniques. The book sold millions of copies, but our world today is no better off. People are not happier than they were in the 1970's. Arguably, we might say that people throughout the world are less happy. Isaiah presents us with another option; I'm Not Okay, But God Is, therefore confess your guilt and sin to God. Stand up and boldly proclaim to God that you are lost without him.

Many people recognize that they are sinners, but they live in misery because they fail to accept Christ's forgiveness. They cannot possibly imagine how God could forgive them. Some people and perhaps even you are so laden with unconfessed sin that they are afraid to even look to the Lord because of their guilt. But the Bible tells us to look to the One who is "high and lifted up!" for the forgiveness of our sins.

In the book of Numbers there is an interesting story about the Israelites who had left Egypt and were now wandering in the desert. You remember the story of Moses going to Pharaoh and saying, "Let my people go!" God was leading them through the desert, but they did not want to follow him and continually disobeyed him. They grumbled and complained to Moses about God. Because of their grumbling and disobedience we read in in Numbers 21:6, "The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died." Fiery serpents? Sound familiar? Remember the seraphim? They were burning, fiery angels and God used them to convict Isaiah of his sinfulness. In the desert God did the same thing with the Israelites and they were convicted of their sin. In Numbers 21:7, "The people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord..." They recognized that they had sinned and they asked for forgiveness. Then in verse 8, God told Moses to do a wonderful thing. God said, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live"

That story in Numbers was told for a reason. The serpent on the pole represented the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus said, in John 3:14 & 15, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." Recognize that you are a sinner and look to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sin!

3. God calls but it is up to you to answer. Just the fact that you are reading this Bible study may be indication that God is calling you. Do you take time to listen for God's call? Isaiah 6:8 says, "[Isaiah] heard the voice of the Lord." The word "heard" means to "hear and obey" but sometimes we have so much noise around us that we can't even hear what the Lord is saying to us. The noise in our lives comes in all forms:

Emotional noise: We worry about everything, never giving God a chance to help us through our emotional stresses.

Spiritual noise: We fail to hold up to the Bible every belief we encounter and we believe whatever sounds good. We watch a movie about Jesus being married and because it sounds plausible we tend to believe it without ever finding out what Scripture has to say. We hold on to ancient religious practices of our ancestors because it is what we have always done, but we fail to see what God has to say about following other gods beside him.

Physical noise: We listen to music on our iPods, watch DVD's, play X-box, text message, talk on our cell phones, chat on our computers, send e-mail and we're always surrounded by noise. We never have an opportunity to quietly "wait" on the Lord and "hear" his message.

It's no wonder we are weak, and troubled, and hurting. We never get our strength renewed because of the noise. Isaiah addressed this in chapter 40, "But they that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

Be like Isaiah and listen for God's call, then obey him and ask him to "send you."

This week: Examine your sin daily and confess it before God. Be assured that God offers you forgiveness of sins. Push the noise out of your life this week and read and meditate on God's word, listening for his call. Tell God that you are ready to obey him and ask him to send you!

Study Questions:

1. How have you pictured God in heaven? Does the Isaiah 6 passage change the way you thought about God? Explain.

2. Do you think it is hard to ask for forgiveness? Why or why not.

3. The Bible says God is "Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion" in the world. Does that give you any comfort when you see our world disintegrating around us? Explain.