"What a Difference a "W" MAKES"
ISA. 6:1-8
Prov. 29:18 WHERE THERE IS NO VISION THE PEOPLE PERISH.
Tell the story of the church that let their "W" fall off. A church in a community brought a piece of property and built a building. They were exciting about serving the Lord. They wanted to win the lost for Christ and encourage the saved to live for Jesus. They really had a vision for God. It was their desire to carry out the Great Commission.
They put a sign over the door of their church:
"WHERE THERE IS NO VISION
THE PEOPLE PERISH.
Over the years they forgot their purpose and let the building run down and lost many of their people. Over the door of the church the sign had gotten in bad disarray. It had become old and the paint was faded and one of the letter had fallen off. The "W" on the word "WHERE" had fallen off. Now it read:
HERE THERE IS NO VISION
THE PEOPLE PERISH.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A "W" MAKES!
Why is it that sincere, God loving people begin a work and it fails.
THE ANSWER: - - THEY LOSE THEIR VISION.
What is our vision? Where are we going? What does the living God want to do through our church in the next few years. They will be challenging years but they can be the most rewarding yet.
WHAT IS A VISION?
(1) Well, the simplest definition is "to be able to see something?
(2) To have a supernatural aberration.
(3) To be able to put life in focus and know how to properly prioritize the events of your life. To be able to place the emphasis on the important and not waste time, talent, and energy on the unimportant.
Having a vision is not a crystal ball or hearing audible voices. It is the belief in one’s heart that God is going to do something that is consistent with His Word and consistent with His will, and believing that what God is going to do will have an amazing impact on your life. Having vision is having the confident belief that the promises of God are going to be realized in the future of our church."
E. A Blind man’s world is bound by the limits of his touch; an ignorant man’s world is bound by the limits of his knowledge; a great man’s world is bound by the limits of his vision."
I love the passage we read this morning. Isaiah had lost his VISION and this is the spot where he regained it.
King had died – politics were bad – people were corrupt – economy stunk – people were not interested in God.
T/S THERE WERE SPECIFICALLY 5 THINGS THAT ISAIAH SAW IN THIS VISION THAT YOU AND I NEED TO SEE TODAY.
I. ISAIAH GOT A VISION OF GOD.
A. Have you ever noticed the order, the harmony, the dignity, the stateliness, the sheer awesomeness, the Majestic splendor around the throne of God.
ISAIAH’S VISION:
a. In a great temple. b. Sitting on a throne - high & lifted up.
d. There are the seraphims
e. They are crying Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is filled with his glory
f. The place was shaken when they spoke and smoke filled the temple.
We need to see God:
ISAIAH 40:28, Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
I love the story that comes out of slavery day. Old black man who went to the revival and was saved. His owner said, "John I hear you got saved last night." "Yes sir," John replied, "I found Jesus as my Lord and Savior and my God." "Don’t you know there is no God", the owner said. "You said it right boss but you just didn’t say enough. You should have said, "There ain’t no God that you know of".
There are a lot of people that don’t know of a God but that does not mean that He is not there.
II. THE SECOND THING HE SAW IN HIS VISION WAS HIMSELF.
Verse 5 - "Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone, (a work in progress)
You will never get a real picture of yourself until you see yourself in the presence of the living God.
You will think to highly of yourself or you will think to critically of yourself. Only when you see yourself as God see you will you get a true picture.
We need to remember that the Bible is God’s perfect mirror but it is also a telescope. When I look in God’s mirror and see my sinful nature I must say, "Woe is Me". but when I look into God’s telescope and see what God is going to make of me then I can say, "Praise the Lord".
III. THE THIRD THINGS HE SAW WAS A CLEAR VISION OF OTHERS.
I dwell with a people of unclean lips
ROMANS 3:23, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
ISAIAH 64:6, But we are all as an unclean thing , and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Isaiah saw people who were lost and who did not have a clue about what to do. Remember that our Lord saw the multitude as sheep that had no shepherd.
IV. HE HAD A VISION OF GOD’S REDEMPTIVE POWER.
Isa 6:6,7 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: 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.
God’s grace can reach you – wherever you are. His grace can cleanse you – can restore you.
Iniquity taken away – Sin purged.
V. LAST, ISAIAH GOT A REAL VISION OF HIS TRUE PURPOSE IN LIFE.
Here am I – send me
