{"id":823,"date":"2018-10-29T13:51:49","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T12:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=823"},"modified":"2018-10-29T13:51:49","modified_gmt":"2018-10-29T12:51:49","slug":"i-saw-the-lord-a-mediation-on-isaiah-61-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=823","title":{"rendered":"I saw the Lord – a mediation on Isaiah 6:1-8"},"content":{"rendered":"

SING 34 At your feet we fall
\nISAIAH 6:1-8
\nIn the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
\n3 And they were calling to one another: \u2018Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.\u2019
\n4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
\n5 \u2018Woe to me!\u2019 I cried. \u2018I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.\u2019
\n6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, \u2018See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.\u2019 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, \u2018Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?\u2019
\nAnd I said, \u2018Here am I. Send me!\u2019
\nA. W. Tozer \u201cThe true Christian ideal is not to be happy but to be holy.\u201d
\nOswald Chambers. \u201cThe destined end of man is not happiness, nor health, but holiness. God\u2019s one aim is the production of saints. He is not an eternal blessing machine for men; he did not come to save men out of pity; he came to save men because he had created them to be holy.\u201d
\nWhat does holiness mean? The root of the Hebrew word qados is \u201capartness\u201d: to be separated or cut off. When we say God is holy we mean He is apart from us, different from us, transcendent. Pure and righteous and untainted by sin. And for human beings to be holy it means we are set apart from the world, consecrated \u2013 set apart for God, dedicated to God, sold out for God. Being dedicated to God is not some optional extra for Christians. It is simply obedience to the First and Greatest Commandment: Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. (Mark 12:30)
\nIsaiah\u2019s life was shaped by the encounter he had with the Living God which we read about in Isaiah chapter 6. His personal holiness, dedicating his life to God\u2019s service and his ministry as arguably the most important Old Testament prophet of God, all came from this one event where he met with God in all his glorious majesty, sovereignty and holiness. If we really want to meet with God the invitation is there. It is up to each one of us how holy we are. Every Christian is as holy as he or she wants to be. We may not be as holy as we would like to be, or as we pretend to be to other people or even to ourselves. None of us is as holy as God longs for us to become. But every Christian is as holy as he or she wants to be. My relationship with God and my own holiness are my personal responsibility! If I don\u2019t make time to read the Bible, that\u2019s down to me. It takes time to be holy! If I don\u2019t make time to pray, that\u2019s down to me! Robert Murray McCheyne wrote, \u201cWhat a man is on his knees before God, that he is, and nothing more.\u201d
\nSo we need to meet with God. If we are serious about becoming more holy, we need to spend time with God. Our personal holiness is the power behind all effective Christian service. And our holiness is our witness to the world. 4th century St John Chrysostom (C. 347\u2013407) wrote, \u201cIf only ten among us be righteous, the ten will become twenty, the twenty fifty, the fifty a hu,ndred, the hundred a thousand, and the thousand will become the entire city. As when ten lamps are kindled, a whole house may easily be filled with light; so it is with the progress of spiritual things. If but ten among us lead a holy life, we shall kindle a fire which shall light up the entire city.\u201d
\nThis encounter with God changed Isaiah\u2019s life. Let\u2019s spend some minutes meditating on this passage verse by verse and opening our lives to God, asking Him to change us too.
\nSING 249 I see the Lord<\/p>\n

Seeing God as he really is
\nGod is Sovereign
\n1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
\nIsaiah 66:1 This is what the LORD says:\u201cHeaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.
\nWhere is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?
\n2 Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?\u201d declares the LORD.
\nQUIET REFLECTION
\nGod is Holy
\n2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: \u201cHoly, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.\u201d 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
\nIsaiah 57 15 For this is what the high and lofty One says\u2014 he who lives forever, whose name is holy: \u201cI live in a high and holy place,
\nExodus 15 11 \u201cWho among the gods is like you, O LORD?
\nWho is like you\u2014 majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
\nQUIET REFLECTION
\nSING 772 Holy Holy, Holy Holy
\nSeeing ourselves as we really are – Sinners
\n5 \u201cWoe to me!\u201d I cried. \u201cI am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.\u201d
\n5 times Isaiah 5 pronounces woe on sinners. That is why Isaiah says, \u201cWoe is me!\u201d
\nIsaiah 5:8 Woe to those who are greedy and woe to those who spend all day drinking, who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks. 18 Woe to those who are doomed, who are unable to break free from their sins. 20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. 22 Woe to those who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent
\nQUIET REFLECTION
\nSING 316 Just as I am without one plea
\nRecognising that we are forgiven v 6-7
\n6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, \u201cSee, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.\u201d
\nQUIET REFLECTION
\nSING 1015 Thank you for saving me
\nResponding to God\u2019s call v 8
\n8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, \u201cWhom shall I send? And who will go for us?\u201d
\nAnd I said, \u201cHere am I. Send me!\u201d
\nQUIET REFLECTION
\nA TIME OF PRAYER
\nSING 519 Take my life and let it be <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SING 34 At your feet we fall ISAIAH 6:1-8 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated…<\/span><\/p>\n

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