Isaiah 6:1-13
Friday, 24 May 2024
So I said:
“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 my eyes have seen the King,
The LORD of hosts.” -Isaiah 6:5
Isaiah’s call to be a prophet to his people is the thrust of our reading today. He sees a vision of the Almighty God which makes him stand in awe of the Lord with a realization of his own insignificance. We see the same response in Peter’s encounter with Jesus, after witnessing a life-transforming miracle in the Sea of Galilee: When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8). This is the genuine starting point in one’s life when a true, personal walk with God begins.
Two effects that a true vision brings on a person, are worth noticing:
I. Dying to self:
As we read in V.5, Isaiah’s encounter with a Holy God results in deep repentance. It revealed to himself his own depravity. Now, he can no longer be the same person. Isaiah could either allow this encounter to change him or he could walk away from it. He chose to remove his self from the throne of his heart and enthroned the real Ruler -God to His rightful place in his heart. The Lord of glory now fills the heart and life of the one who has received this vision. This in turn makes him a truly and remarkably changed man from inside out. The old life of selfishness was replaced by a new holy desire for God and His ways. This is true for every one of us whose spiritual eyes have opened to the Eternal One. The moment this happens the Spirit of God enables us to die to self and become alive to the Lord, who henceforth will rule and rein over his life.
II. Dying to the world around:
Even as the prophet recognizes his own sin, he also realizes that he is living in a world of sin— a world that could entice and trap people to live a life of self-indulgence and pleasure. Here’s the warning from 1 John 2:15: “Do not love the world or anything in the world, for if anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him.” If this is not adhered to, the worldly lifestyle would eventually lead to spiritual death as written in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death ...”
So what is the anti-dote to this kind of lifestyle? Paul lays down 2 principles –
1. Gal 2:20 – Be crucified to Christ- so that He lives in and through you.
2. Gal 6:14 -Boast in the Cross of Christ -whereby we are reminded that there is no relationship between us and the world.
As soon we begin to allow the Holy Spirit to work these truths in us the beauty of this transient world will begin to fade away and it will be replaced with the beauty of an Eternal Kingdom. This dying to one’s self and to this world is a process that all true servants of God will have to go through before they can represent the eternal kingdom of God.
The vision of God and His glory ultimately brings Isaiah to the great commission of his life. God is asking aloud: ‘Also I heard the voice of the LORD, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."’ (Isaiah 6:8). Just as the vision transformed Isaiah and moved him to commit himself to the Lord’s service, may our encounter with Christ help us dedicate ourselves to His service!
Quote for the Day: “God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called.” ~ Anon
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