The best place for a new start...
| 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. (Isaiah6:1) |
What thoughts need to be foremost in our minds?
(If you have time go and read Isaiah 6 slowly and thoughtfully... Isaiah is about to be called to be a prophet...)
The king has died, the future looks uncertain and Isaiah does an unusual thing: he goes to the temple.
Was he frightened and needing solace from God?
Did he have have political aspirations and wanted God's blessing?
We don't know.
But there in the temple Isaiah is met by God and called to be a prophet.
This was to be his life's work: tough, challenging, but glorious.
But how does this calling start?
How does God open the discussion?
What is the foundation of Isaiah's call?
---> The glory and majesty of the sovereign almighty God.
That's the starting point!
- not Isaiah's wishes or his great talent
- not the immensity of the need
- not Isaiah's qualifications or experience
---> But God on the throne: Holy and Majestic
Isaiah's calling is rooted in God's greatness.
More of God less of Isaiah.
After seeing God's great glory Isaiah will say "Woe is me I am undone!"
John the Baptist will say "He must become greater and I must become less"
Peter will hear Jesus speak of the Kingdom and say "Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man"
When we see God's glory so clearly that our own brokenness is apparent, then we are ready to be used by God.
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Going to church on a Sunday morning may seem like a quaint routine.
These days many consider it an outdated cultural relic.
We know God is everywhere. Isaiah knew that too.
We know He can talk to us in the forest, the car and the shower.
BUT there is something about going to a place of worship to worship the One true God.
It is not a quaint routine or an outdated cultural relic.
It is a powerful statement of our belief in God and our desire to worship Him no matter what.
This is what Isaiah does in the midst of crisis.
And God meets him there!
See you in church on Sunday!
