Isaiah 6:1
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.
One of the most important points in this portion of scripture is the opening
phrase, pointing out the fact that Isaiah saw the LORD sitting upon a
throne. Ladies, is that who you see in that spot today?
Very often we see the biggest giant in our life perched there, high and
lifted up. For many women, they can only see their husband's form on that
throne, looming over them like a dark storm cloud. For those who are not
married, your biggest fear may be sitting on that throne; or your dreams
of meeting Prince Charming; and even self resides comfortably in that
place of supremacy.
Isaiah took the death of the king personally. That is, he applied the
loss to his life and learned many things. When death occurs, it reveals
our hearts to us… Over and over again God has to remove our friends, our
loved ones, our plans, and all the other things that we hold dear to us
in order to bring Himself in their place. In the year that the object
that was everything to you passed away, did you become depressed? Angry?
Did you give up? Or did you see the Lord… He must be everything to us!
When Isaiah saw the Lord on the throne, he mentions next that he noticed
how the Lord's train filled the temple… This is the robe of the Lord;
representative of the holy, wonderful qualities which follow our God.
Where God walks, His character goes with Him! Yes, the very nature of
the Lord fills the temple just as Isaiah mentioned that His train did,
and that is what makes coming to the house of God so special, for it is
overflowing with His splendor and glory.
Let me point out here that whoever or whatever it is you perceive sitting
upon the throne today is going to carry with it a powerful influence upon
your life. That which follows the nature of the creature you view as supreme
will fill your temple experience and become an obstacle in your relationship
with the Lord.
Psalm 23 starts out in verse 1 with the Lord as the Shepherd - sitting
on the throne of the psalmist's life and what do we see following him
all the days of his life? Goodness and mercy - the very nature of God!
With the Lord as your Sheperd, the Lord's traits will be your train; as
you proceed, so shall His influences…
Ladies, are you allowing your husband to block your view of God? Your
children? Your fears? Your heartaches? Your dreams or personal goals?
How about your pride? Whose train is filling your temple today? Which
influence permeates your life? It must be God's! If it is not, your life
will fall quickly out of balance and be void of true fulfillment…
Verse 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.
Standing above the throne of God were the Seraphims, angelic creatures
that burned with zeal and love for God, and the Bible states that each
one had six wings. Let's focus on how they were occupied…
1. With twain he covered his face - humility; all vainglory done away,
ready to obey all commands
2. With twain he covered his feet - holiness; in journeys, public decency
3. With twain he did fly - health; able to carry out mission, rise above
circumstances, excel in strength and never weary
**Note that two wings were applied to each area, creating a balanced testimony.
Too much emphasis in either area would be a distraction to God's throne
and an interruption in the flow of worship. Devotion to God determined
their motions.
Would you say you are a balanced Christian? Is your humility a bit wobbly?
Is your holiness as steady as it should be? Have you established endurance
as a child of God or are you usually shaky whenever your circumstances
shift? Our equilibrium as a Christian unites with the glory of God but
our imbalance separates us from it and lessens our influence.
Imbalance often results from blurred vision, however, when we look at
the Lord, balance is reestablished and the glory of God purifies our muddled
outlook on life. When the day is dark, lift your eyes to heaven and see
Christ on the throne!
You might say, "Well, why should I do that? How is that really going to
help?"
Verse 3:
And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of
hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
The first thing affected will be your speech. With their eyes on the Lord,
these seraphim praised God continuously! To them, not only was the temple
filled with His glory, so too was the whole earth… To mankind it seems
as if the whole earth is filled with terror and when considering all that
takes place in this world, one can lose hope very quickly. Such is the
end result of human perspective. Ladies, we need to adopt a heavenly perspective!
Taking inventory of your speech will help you to determine where your
eyes have been focused. Is holiness the foundation of your every word
and the controlling factor of all your conversations? Do you even care?
What will become of us when our perception is perverted? Where will you
get our inspiration, our daily motivation?
Psalm 27:13
I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in
the land of the living.
Hope is heaven's balm for all our heartaches. We must not see to believe,
but believe to see! Fainting is common to God's people today but faith
in God prevents fainting. It's time we saw God in a way we've never seen
Him before! The goodness of the Lord chases away the gloomiest of attitudes
and inevitably improves our speech. Our tongues will move with the grace
that we have witnessed at God's throne! And things will begin to change…
Verse 4:
And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the
house was filled with smoke.
Whatever situation you view as impossible today, God is able to renovate!
Major reconstruction will occur as the very circumstances that leave you
feeling immobilized are affected. Your house can be filled with smoke
- the glory of God! Strongholds come tumbling down when God is relied
upon wholeheartedly. Honor Him with belief.
How "sendable" would you and I be if we considered every overwhelming
situation to be without a solution?? What would become the purpose of
your life then? How could you be of help to anyone if you were skeptical
about the probability of ever receiving any help? Your testimony would
have to be stamped with "Return to Sender"!
Matthew 13:58
And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Unbelief becomes a barrier to Divine blessings. Generally speaking, we
can do little good among people, because it is difficult to look with
the eyes of faith upon that which we have been used to to beholding with
the eyes of the flesh. It's not that Christ doesn't have the power to
change things, but unbelief prevents Him from fully exercising that power.
Unbelief results in an unsteady walk…
Romans 4:20
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong
in faith, giving glory to God;
Many believers waver back and forth between faith and doubt, in spite
of the fact that they own a Bible filled with God's promises! Ladies,
we'll never make it on the soil of a foreign field, let alone local soil
with that kind of a track record! Our lives should verify God's trustworthy
character, not give the impression He is a liar! (1 Jn. 5:10 …he that
believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record
that God gave of his Son.) Godly faith is not full understanding, but
full trust! We aren't as "sendable" as we like to think we are...
Hebrews 3:12
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
in departing from the living God.
As with Isaiah, every experience, including heartache, should bring us
closer to God and make us trust Him more; but oftentimes we part company
with the Lord instead. We leave off prayer, Bible reading, and church
attendance. We give up on passing out tracts or talking about the Lord
because of our personal struggles. To turn away from God is to turn away
from life itself! A disbelieving heart is a hardened heart.
Let's check our hearts today to see if they are evil - and they are evil
if they are filled with unbelief! Let's label our problems the same as
God, amen? Get back on track; build yourself up in the scriptures! It's
the same as taking out an insurance policy on our hearts and is a safeguard
against the day of trouble. How important it is to stay spiritually fresh;
you never know when somebody may need your help!
Verse 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.
A true vision of God and His holiness always makes us realize our own
sinfulness. How many of you find it easy and even enjoyable to spy out
the sin nature in those around you? It's a bad habit most Christians have
and it's because self is on the throne! Isaiah first saw his own sin and
THEN recognized the sins of the people… That is God's order to enlightenment.
Only then will we be found in sendable condition!
When Isaiah confessed his sins, he mentioned especially his unclean lips.
These are the product of an unclean heart! The prophet knew that he could
not faithfully preach for the Lord unless he was prepared and cleansed.
Many of God's people rush out to serve Christ before taking time to meet
the Lord and be cleansed, deliberately concentrating on their speech.
Christian's mouths could stand a good scrubbing for we are guilty of employing
our tongues in the dirtiest of fashion! For example: flattery, flirting,
boasting, gossip, slander, lying, exaggerating, swearing, mockery, insults
and sarcasm etc. are all ways that each of us speak in manners unbecoming
and unpleasing to the Lord.
James 3:9-11
Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which
are made after the similitude of God. [10] Out of the same mouth proceedeth
blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. [11]
Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
Too many Christians want to latch on to a "spiritual experience" with
the Lord, rather than be prepared to go out to share the Lord with others.
We wreak havoc with our words and never even give it a second thought.
By walking around with unclean lips we are actively involved in work contrary
to the Lord! Why would believers want to work part time for God and part
time for Satan?? Ladies, death and life are in the power of the tongue…
If you would present yourself to the Lord as being sendable, you better
sanitize your mouth! The tongue of the believer should be an instrument
of righteousness to the glory of God! (Ps. 17:1-3) Isaiah wanted no inconsistencies
in his life and neither should we…
Verse 6-7:
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.
Whether it is unclean lips you struggle with or something else, you had
better carry your iniquity to the altar and ask for it to be taken away.
Before we can minister, we must permit God to minister to us! Isaiah's
conviction led to confession and confession led to cleansing. He cried
out to be cleansed inwardly and God met his need, sending a seraphim to
touch specifically the sin he was grieved over. What a blessing! Could
you imagine not having an altar in the house of God? It would be like
taking a shower without using any soap! I wonder though, how often do
you make the most of that which you say you are grateful for? The tongs
that carry the live coal, the purifying power of God, are only available
at the altar; you won't receive the benefit of them glued to the pew...
We long to be "sent", yet seldom even take a trip to the altar! It is
after Isaiah left the altar that he uttered these next words:
Verse 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.
Very often we read this portion of scripture and emphasize WHAT is being
said, but today, in preparation for our missions conference, I want us
to consider WHEN it must said.
THEN SAID I illustrates that readiness is greater than eagerness! You
can WANT to do something big for God and even present yourself to the
Lord as a candidate, but that does not make you sendable!! You must be
properly prepared.
This call is not for a special few, or an elite group of highly spiritual
people; it is for EVERYONE! Isaiah overheard God saying, "Who will go
for us?" It was not the singling out of a person and saying, "YOU go."
While in the presence of God at the altar, having dealt with his own sins,
Isaiah overheard the call and realized there was nothing else to do but
take action. What you hear depends upon your relationship with the Lord.
The cleaner you get, the clearer God's voice becomes. Many people are
in the ministry having presumptuously believed themselves to be in "sendable"
condition and it was nothing more than the sound of their own flattering
voice that urged them to go! They send themselves out into the harvest
yet forget to pack their hearts...
Mark 7:6
He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites,
as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their
heart is far from me.
In closing, the attitude Isaiah had prior to volunteering himself was
"Woe is me!" not "Boy, am I somebody special!" He understood his credentials
to be rooted in God and humbly accepted the responsibility of lost souls.
He had seen the Lord, He had seen himself, and he had seen the need. He
was sensitive enough to the right things to be sent to an insensitive
people. As far as God was concerned, Isaiah was in sendable condition.
Are you?
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2002 Pamela A. Iannello
