Thirty Days of Praise
Knowing God More
Isaiah 6:1-8
Electing our leaders is a process that has been going on for over 200 years. For Americans, the highest privilege and responsibility we have is the election of a “President.” Next year we will, once again, elect a new president. The reasons that the election of the president is so important are many. The President is the Commander in Chief of our military, the head of the Executive Branch of our Government, and the face of all Americans. One of the great responsibilities of the president is to develop and maintain relations with foreign leaders. To keep these relationships fresh and American interests fairly represented in these countries, one of the first things a new president must do is appoint Ambassadors to these countries. When the President makes one of these appointments, he is literally giving this person an incredible amount of both responsibility and authority. I submit to you that no president takes any such appointment lightly. When considering a person to “Represent the USA”, “to be HIS face on foreign soil”, all qualifications and background are microscopically reviewed. Generally, the individual must possess a graduate degree in International studies and be fluent in the language where they will serve. HOWEVER from time to time, a president or two has been known to by-pass some of these high standards and appoint some one who is a “friend,” someone who the president trusts implicitly. By the way, it matters not how these ambassadors are appointed, they are still expected to fully support and execute the policies of the President. He still sets the agenda and makes policies for these Ambassadors, even those they are in a place they are considered a foreigner or alien.
Have you ever considered that he Bible uses that word “Ambassador” to describe the believer in Christ? We are God’s representative in a foreign country, His mouthpiece in this alien land. Now, I suggest to you that on our own we have not qualified for this type of assignment, yet God is looking representatives, people who will be, do, and go for Him.
* One of the greatest and most familiar passages of scripture which illustrate that God is looking for those who will accurately represent Him in found in our text today. Let’s stand and read. PRAY
* Every time I read this text I wondered what it must have been like for Isaiah and witness this display of power, glory, and grandeur. And yet through the awesomeness of this sight, He hears the very voice of God asking a personal and powerful question. God asks, “Who should I send?” or better yet, “who will go for me?” Who is that person who is willing to be MY Personal Ambassador, my emissary, or my representative? It seems to me He desires to send someone who is trustworthy, reliable, and someone who KNOWS HIM very well.
* Since our qualifications are suspect, the question becomes, “How do I personally get to know God well enough to be His voice down here?” Like any good and effective ambassador, there are a couple of things we are required to know. If I am to know God:
1) I must Know Who God Is. The culture we live in offers to each of us its own version of God. We hear that God is everywhere. We hear that God is love and will not send anyone to a place called hell. We even hear that God is your good buddy, the man upstairs, or the old man. Yet, in Isaiah, we have an eye-witness account describing exactly what God is like and it may be different than the pop-god of today. We’ll begin with;
a. His Position – He is “high and lifted Up.” These words mean one thing to us, but what did they mean to Isaiah? For Isaiah (and his readers), the throne which had to be an awe inspiring picture. Additionally, being high & lifted up spoke of royalty, sovereignty, authority, & overwhelming glory. He is the ruler over everything and all there is. Not only do we see God ON the throne but be assured that God will never leave nor give up His throne for any reason. He is God, above, beyond, greater than us. Consider the nature of the universe (describe).
b. His Praise – Interestingly, even in this vision given to Isaiah there exists around the throne worshippers. The Bible called them Seraphims (Heavenly Beings). The praise of the one on the throne appears to be “antiphonal” in nature as they “called and response” to each other. The song was simple. It is my belief that this is the first verse of the song we hear being sung in Revelation 4. It is a song that is repeated for eternity. In the larger picture, it appears that no one gets tired of singing the same song, repeating the same chorus, no one is looking for something else to sing, because the only thing which seems right to say or sing is that which fills the heart and mind as all creation gazes upon this throne. True praise comes from a true picture of Him on the throne. To see Him on the throne is to finally recognize who He is and to respond in the only way possible, PRAISE!!
c. His Power – As if the throne and the train are not enough to demonstrate who God is, when He speaks it shake the building. In Revelation 19:15, we see the Rider on a white horse coming to make things right. Our Lord is pictured with sharp sword coming out of His mouth. His hands hold the power of life and death, heaven and hell, creation and destruction. Make this a personal picture in your mind’s eye; A throne that is high and lifted up, a robe or veil which encompasses all that you see, a group of angelic beings singing praise to the one on the throne, and then He just speaks and the place where you stands shakes. What a Picture! To see God in this way evokes a deep emotion. This is who God is. He’s the supreme God of Glory.
2) I must know Who I Am. Before I can truly understand who I am, I must know who God is, only then can I get a true picture of who I am. Without this understanding, my self image is flawed.
a. The Person I am – Let’s not forget that Isaiah is a prophet of God. He is writing a record that is considered major in scripture. Yet, when He gets a glimpse of God there is only all of a sudden his own life takes a more accurate perspective. He says, “Woe Is Me” or better said, “When I see God, I don’t measure up.” Another way to state this is that He felt conviction. There is no way of getting to know God without “conviction” being involved. Part of our problem in the 21st century has to do the idea that we do little or no wrong. Or worse yet, even though we happen to simply make wrong decisions or take wrong actions, it’s okay because we all do it. We have forgotten that sin in our lives are an affront to Holy God & must be dealt with.
b. The Problem I have – Let’s not forget that when Isaiah saw God, He feel on his face in the presence of such majesty, power, and authority. On his face he can only utter, I am unworthy, unclean, undone. Through his confession, Isaiah conveys to us that his sin was immediately known by the one on the throne. Believe this or not, sin stands as the great divide between God and us. This divide breaks fellowship, stops your connection, and certainly hinders my knowing God.
c. The Plan I need – Most have a flawed concept of the way God desires to deal with our sin. But here’s the truth, God so much hates our sin that He takes the initiative to cleanse us. For Isaiah it was a seraphim with a hot coal from the altar, for us it was God’s son on the cross of Calvary. Cleansing is not option for a person who wants to get to know God.
