THE MAN WHO HAS SEEN GOD
Isaiah 6
1 In 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.
3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I 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.”
6 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, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Introduction:
The year that King Uzziah died was approximately 740 BC. He remained leprous until he died because he tried to take over the high priest’s duties (2 Chronicles 26:18-21). Although Uzziah was generally a good king and had a long and prosperous reign, many of his people turned away from God while he was in power.
It was during this time that the prophet Isaiah received this vision. He was brought before the throne of God and what he experienced before the LORD was something that made him give everything to God, including his life.
Title: “THE MAN WHO HAS SEEN GOD”
- When Man Sees God.
- When God Sees Man
- Thoroughly Seeing God
- The ONE Who Sees God’s Heart.
Most prophets record a time when God called them to their ministry. – Moses received God’s call at the burning bush (Exo 3).
– Jeremiah heard God tell him that he had been chosen from the womb to deliver a message of judgment and salvation to the nations (Jer 1:4-10).
– Ezekiel experienced an incredible vision while in exile in Babylon (Ezek. 1:4-3:27).
– Isaiah received his commissioning vision in the temple, but in his vision the temple was transformed into the throne room of heaven itself.
I. WHEN MAN SEES GOD.
- He Sees God’s Throne – The Rule of God
The core belief of atheism or materialism is that there is no throne. The core belief of humanism is that there is a throne – but man sits upon it.
But the Bible makes it clear that there is a throne in heaven, and no fallen man sits on the throne, but the Lord GOD is enthroned in heaven.
In Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah, “saw the Lord on His throne— high, and exalted. and the train of his robe filled the temple.”
He saw that the Lord has the right to rule over everything on this earth.
“High and Lifted Up” – The throne was greatly elevated, emphasizing the Most High God.
“Train” refers to the hem or fringe of the Lord’s glorious robe that filled the temple.
“Temple” – This describes a vision which transcends the earthly. The throne of God is in the heavenly temple.
“The Seraphim” – angelic creatures of great power and importance. Their name means “burning ones,” and the implication of fire evokes thoughts of danger and mystery. They have six wings. Two wings covered their faces because they dared not gaze directly at God’s glory. Two covered their feet, acknowledging their lowliness even though engaged in divine service. With two they flew in serving the One on the throne.
There is a throne in heaven, and the LORD God sits upon it as the sovereign ruler of the universe. God does not sit on a chair in heaven. Sovereign kings sit on thrones. Judges sit on thrones. Those with proper authority and sovereignty sit on thrones.
Application: All creation in heaven bows before the LORD on His throne. If heaven bows, we as earthly creation should bow the more. Anyone who has seen the Lord should have stood in awe of his throne and rule.
- He Sees God’s Holiness – The Glory of God
Isa. 6:3- 4 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
In the Hebrew language, intensity is communicated by repetition. To say the LORD is holy says something. To say the LORD is holy, holy, says far more. To say, holy, holy, holy is the LORD is to declare His holiness in the highest possible degree.
In a time when moral and spiritual decay had peaked, Isaiah needed to see God in his holiness. Being holy means being morally perfect, pure, and set apart.
God is set apart from creation, in that the Lord GOD is not a creature, and He exists outside of all creation.
He is set apart from humanity, in that His “nature” or “essence” is Divine, not human. God is not a super-man or the ultimate man. You can’t measure God on man’s chart. He is Divine, and we are human.
Application: We need to discover God’s holiness. Our daily frustrations, society’s pressures, and our shortcomings reduce and narrow our view of God. We need the Bible’s view of God as high and lifted up to empower us to gain the right perspective between our humanness and his perfection so that we can serve him properly.
- He Sees His Own Sinfulness.
Isa. 6: 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I 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.”
The revelation of the Holy One is disturbing.
“Woe to me!”
When Isaiah saw the angels, in all their holy humility, obedience, and praise to God, he realized not only that he was unlike the Lord GOD, he was also unlike the angels.
For the first time in the book, Isaiah speaks, and his word is a prophetic woe against himself. In the presence of such holiness, Isaiah felt the weight of his own sinfulness.
Each of us should feel the weight of our sinfulness when we stand before the presence of God. Nobody deserves recognition and honor when he stands before the holy God.
“I am undone” which means I am ruined; to be cut off. He feared for himself because he knew that God did not tolerate uncleanness in his presence.
“Man of unclean lips,” implies a man with a sinful heart. If the lips are unclean, so is the heart. This vision of God’s holiness vividly reminded the prophet of his own unworthiness which deserved judgment.
“I live among people of unclean lips” Isaiah’s generation is unfit for God, and Isaiah himself is no better.
“My eyes have seen the King.” At this statement Isaiah was in terrible fear because anyone who saw God expected to die immediately. Exodus 33:20, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
In seeing the Lord and listening to the praise of the angels, Isaiah realized that he was sinful and unclean before God, with no hope of measuring up to God’s holiness.
Application: When a man stands before the presence of God, he should recognize his sinfulness that separates him from a Holy God.
II. WHEN GOD SEES MAN.
- He Gives Grace.
Isaiah 6: 6- 7 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
“The live coal.” It was hot and burning that the angel had to use the tongs from the altar to touch Isaiah’s lips with it.
“This has touched thy lips.”
– By nature, our lips are full of flattery and false intent: With flattering lips and a double heart they speak (Psalm 12:2).
– By nature, our lips lie and are proud: Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous (Psalm 31:18).
– By nature, our lips deceive: Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit (Psalm 34:13).
– By nature, our lips are violent: Swords are in their lips (Psalm 59:7).
– By nature, our lips bring death to others: The poison of asps is under their lips (Psalm 140:3).
Numbers 31:22-23 says, “Fire can purify.” The remedy of grace is personally applied. God’s holiness and glory now redemptively enter Isaiah’s experience.
“Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” The fire of judgment was applied to his place of sin.
The coal did not cleanse him; GOD DID.
- He Gets Rid of Guilt
Isaiah has confessed his sinful impurity before God, and he is touched by the Lord in the area of his need.
Paraphrased: God says to the seraph, “Take a message of hope and touch the area of his need. Touch his lips. Touch the soiled part of My servant.” And with that touch, the prophet’s guilt is removed.
Here the altar must be heaven’s version of the altar of incense that was set before the holy of holies in the Tabernacle of God (Exodus 30). The earthly Tabernacle God instructed Moses to build was made after the pattern of a heavenly reality (Exodus 25: 9)
The fire was taken from the altar, to intimate that it was divine or heavenly; for the law did not allow any strange fire to be brought to it. Isaiah was taught that all purity flows from God alone.
Application: The throne is for God; that is where He rules and reigns. The altar is for us; that is where we find cleansing and purging from sin.
III. THOROUGHLY SEEING GOD.
Isaiah 6: 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah heard God’s call and thoroughly saw God – His heart. In that vision God saw Isaiah’s heart and God also showed him His heart by asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah’s response was, “Here am I; send me.”
Isaiah heard God’s call for the first time and responded to God’s desire, as a cleansed individual should do. God prepared him by cleansing his lips, the instrument by which he would execute his prophetic task. Now Isaiah is qualified to proclaim the only hope of the world—the overruling grace of God.
He submitted himself entirely to God’s service. The painful cleansing process was necessary before Isaiah could fulfill the task to which God was calling him.
Application: When a man thoroughly sees God, he would see His heart. He would know the very Person and character of God. He is a God who is Holy and yet is gracious since the beginning. He is a God sitting on His throne in heaven but He also wants to be seated in man’s heart.
How strange it is for God to ask a question at all. But God was asking for a person because God wants to reach the world, and He wants to reach it through willing people. God is waiting for ready hearts to reveal themselves.
God wants willing, surrendered servants.
IV. THE ONE WHO SEES GOD’S HEART.
The touch of God’s holiness prompts us to be like Him—to pray, “Lord, I want to be your servant.” – “Send me.”
What created this kind of heart in Isaiah?
– He had a heart that had been in the presence of God.
– He had a heart that knew its own sinfulness.
– He had a heart that knew the need among the people, the need for God’s word.
– He had a heart that had been touched by God’s cleansing fire.
– He had a heart that sees God’s heart.
We should be people who see God’s heart. The more we grow older in the church, the more we should understand that God is a Seeker.
Every one of us has been commissioned with the gospel. But do we respond like Isaiah, or are we more like Jonah? Have we settled in the hold of the ship, rapidly moving away from the place God has sent us?
Let the Spirit of God give you an awakening so that you can say, “I’ve heard from You, Lord. I’m available.”
When God calls, will you also say, “Here I am. Send me”?
We need the fire from God’s altar to touch our soiled lives. We need a touch in the area where we have become cold.
The more clearly Isaiah saw God, the more aware he became that without God he was nothing, powerless and inadequate to do anything of lasting value. When touched by the fire of God, Isaiah said, “Here I am. Send me.”
But Jesus is the greater Isaiah. He was willing to come to this world of sin declaring the good news, healing the sick, freeing those bound by the devil and raising the dead to life. He had no sin but was burned with God’s judgment due to our sin. He offered His life on the cross, the best altar since it was ordained by God and the worst altar since He had to end his life there as a sacrifice. But because He was holy and righteous, the fire of God’s judgment did not harm him. It only burned away sin, our sin. Since our sin was already burned, we can have the courage to say, “Here I am. Send me. Here I am, use me.”
God wants to make a spiritual transaction with you today and it comes from His throne. This transaction was signed by His own Son through His Blood when He came down from heaven and died on the cross. This transaction was even authenticated when He rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, sat on His throne and sent the Holy Spirit in the form of fire.
Our transaction with the world must only come after our transaction with the Lord.
CONCLUSION:
The man who has seen the Lord has seen His glory and holiness, and he sees his own sinfulness but God has His own eyes to look at us. He sees us through the lens of Grace found in the purifying work of His own Son.
The cross is our “burning coal,” representing how Jesus’ death cleanses us. It is the touch that we need to start anew. It is the touch of heaven.
Before we accept God’s call to speak for him to those around us, we must be cleansed as Isaiah was, confessing our sins and submitting to God’s control. Letting God purify us may be painful, but we must be purified so that we can truly represent God, who is pure and holy.
Let the Holy Spirit touch our soiled life. He knows how to cleanse it.
