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  ISAIAH'S VISION OF THE LORD
  by Stephen Kaung
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Summary: Isaiah's vision of the Lord emphasizes God's sovereignty,
holiness, and uniqueness, and encourages believers to see God on the
throne and to be faceless and feetless before Him.

Duration: 1:11:46 Topics: "Isaiah Vision"
Scripture References: Isaiah 6:1-3, Isaiah 6:5-8

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DESCRIPTION
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In this sermon, the speaker focuses on a song that can be divided into
three parts. The first part describes how God planted Israel as his
vineyard and prepared everything for it, expecting a good harvest.
However, God was disappointed when he didn't get the desired outcome and
instead received wild grapes. As a result, God decided to judge and
allow negative consequences to happen. The second part of the song
discusses the conditions of the people and why God judged them. The
speaker emphasizes that life is full of crises and critical moments,
where we have the opportunity to turn in the right or wrong direction.
The sermon concludes by highlighting the importance of not being greedy
for earthly gain, but instead giving everything to the Lord.

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CONTENT
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This is Sunday evening, April 7th, 1974, in Richmond, Virginia. Ministry
is being given through Brother Stephen Collins. Will you please turn to
the book of Isaiah? Isaiah chapter 6. We'll read the whole chapter.

Isaiah chapter 6, verse 1. In the year of the death of King Uzziah, I
saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train
filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above him. Each had six wings.

With twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and
with twain he flew. And one called to the other and said, Holy, holy,
holy, is Jehovah of Hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.

And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him that
cried, and the house was filled with smoke. And I say, Woe unto me, for
I am dumb. For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a
people of unclean lips.

For mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts. And one of the
seraphim flew unto me, and he had in his hand a glowing coal, which he
had taken with a thong from of the altar. And he made it touch my mouth,
and said, Behold, this has touched thy lips, and thy iniquity is taken
away, and thy sin expiated.

And 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. And he said, Go, and
thou shalt say unto this people, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not
understand, and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive. Make the
heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and blind their
eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and
understand with their heart, and be converted, and healed.

And I said, Lord, how long? And he said, Until the cities be wasted,
without inhabitants, and the houses without men, and the land become an
utter desolation, and Jehovah hath removed man far away, and the
solitude be great in the midst of the land. For the tenth part shall
still be therein, and it shall return, and be eaten. As the tatter
beans, and as the oak, whose trunk remaineth after the felling, the holy
seed shall be the trunk.

The very name of the prophet is a sign and a testament, which God gave
to his people. Isaiah means the salvation of the Lord. We do not know
too much of the history of Isaiah's past.

We only know that he was the son of Ammon. Now, who was this Ammon? We
do not know. According to Jewish tradition, they believe that Amos and
Amaziah, King Amaziah, were brothers.

And because of that, Isaiah, when he began to prophesy in the year, in
the reign of Isaiah, he was a cousin of Uzziah. Now, how true that is,
we do not know. We only know that he was very close to King Uzziah.

And of all the prophets God raised up in Israel and in Judah, we have to
acknowledge that Isaiah was a prophet. Not only prophesied with the
largest cook in his prophecies, but he was the sublimest, the most
beautiful in his prophecies of all the prophets. So probably it has
something to do with his royal background.

He prophesied as we find in the first chapter. He prophesied during the
reign of four kings of Judah. Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

And this period was a very interesting period in the history of Judah.
Because during the first two kings, Uzziah and Jotham, the nation of
Judah enjoyed a period of great prosperity. Then in the reign of Ahaz,
the nation began to go down to the verge of, and it was only gradually
restored through the long reign of King Hezekiah.

So Isaiah prophesied during a period of great changes. Whether Isaiah
was called to be a prophet in the year of the death of Uzziah, or
whether he prophesied even before the death of King Uzziah, we do not
know. But even if we shall count from the last year of King Uzziah, that
is the death of King Uzziah, to the 14th year of King Hezekiah, you'll
find it was a long period, 47 years.

So God used him to prophesy for a very long period. Some people thought
that he died before King Hezekiah. Because after the 14th year of
Hezekiah being mentioned, there was no more mentioning of any further
years.

But other people thought that he continued to live on to a very old age.
He suffered martyrdom under King Manasseh. And according to tradition,
we were told that he was sown asunder.

And that was where in Hebrews, you know, it was said some were being
sown. And that was referring to Isaiah. But anyway, he was a prophet,
raised up by God, for a very significant period.

The book of Isaiah has 66 chapters. I wonder how we should fellowship on
Isaiah. As I look to the Lord, I thought probably we can condense the
book of Isaiah into three different visions.

Number one is Isaiah's vision of the Lord. Number two is Isaiah's vision
concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And of course, in connection with that,
the neighboring nations.

And number three, Isaiah's vision of Christ. And probably, God willing,
we'll go along these three lines. Now tonight, we will begin with
Isaiah's vision of the Lord.

King Uzziah was not a bad king. He was a good king. He did everything
that was right in the eyes of God.

And because of that, God prospered. And the whole nation prospered under
his reign. But unfortunately, because he was so favored of God, pride
entered into his heart.

He thought that he was so favored, that he was qualified to enter into
the temple to burn incense. You know, burning incense before the very
presence of the Lord. Because the golden altar of incense stood right
before the ark without a veil.

It was the highest privilege of priestly service. And yet, it came into
the mind of Uzziah to enter into the temple to offer incense. He was not
trying to do something bad.

As a matter of fact, he was trying to do something which was most
excellent. He was trying to burn incense unto God. He was so sure that
he was such a favored person.

He was qualified to do so. But thank God for Azariah, the high priest.
And a valiant man among the priests.

They withstood him and said, King Uzziah, this is not something that God
had given to you. That was given to the sons of Levi. But he wouldn't
listen.

He was so sure he was the favored one. And as he was resisting, leprosy
appeared upon his brow. He repeated, he lived in a separate house until
his death.

His son Jotham reigned for him until he died. Isaiah must have very
close relationship with King Uzziah. So the death of the King Uzziah
constituted a crisis in the life of Isaiah.

We do not know how this crisis was formed. But we know one thing that it
was a critical moment in the life of Isaiah. If Isaiah was a prophet
before chapter 6, some people think that chapter 1 to chapter 6 actually
should be after chapter 1 to 5 should be after chapter 6. So far as
chronological order is concerned.

Some people believe that chapter 1 to chapter 6, 5 were those prophecies
given by Isaiah before he had this new experience of seeing the Lord.
But whether he prophesied before or whether this was the beginning of
his prophecy, one thing was sure, it was a critical hour of his life.
Dear brothers and sisters, our life is composed of crisis.

We often come to a crisis. And a crisis is a time of turning. Whether
you turn in the right direction or you turn in the wrong direction, you
don't know.

Therefore, it is a most dangerous time. And yet it was a good
opportunity too. And our life is composed of crisis.

You know, we live comfortably for a while. We are familiar with our
environment. We begin to have a sense of security.

We know where we are. We know where we stand. And we are quite
comfortable.

But you'll find suddenly our net is not only stirred, but our net is
taken away beneath us. Now therefore, that is a critical period. We do
not know whether we will fly or whether we will fall.

And life is composed of many crises like this. Our crisis may be
introduced into our life in many different ways or because of many
different reasons. But dear brothers and sisters, as you look back, you
can find that how you live for a while until you're familiar with your
circumstance and begin to feel comfortable and suddenly the problem is
gone.

And I believe this was what Isaiah felt at that time. He was in such
good relationship with King Uzziah. Probably they worked together.

Probably the reason why Uzziah did everything that was right in the
sight of the Lord was somewhat attributed to Isaiah. And now Uzziah,
Isaiah didn't know what was the future. What should he do? He was at a
critical hour.

When he was in a crisis, he took the only way that he could take. And it
is the only way that anyone can take when you enter into a crisis. You
know, when we enter into a crisis, how often we look around and try to
lay a hold of something, even if it is a straw, because it gives us a
kind of security.

Sometimes when we are in a crisis, we look around for people, hoping
that somehow they can lay hold of us or we can lay hold of them. But
dear brothers and sisters, the only right way of facing a crisis is go
into the temple and inquire of them. So here you'll find Isaiah in the
year of the death of King Uzziah, he was in the temple.

Why did he go into the temple? Because he was at a crisis. He had to
seek the face of the Lord. In order to meet the crisis and then make the
right turn.

So there he was in the temple. But as you know, he was not a priest. And
certainly he had learned the lesson from King Uzziah.

He wouldn't dare to enter into the temple proper. He wouldn't dare to
enter into the holy place where the altar of incense was. He dare not do
that.

When he entered into the temple, he must be in the court. That's where
the children of Israel were allowed. So evidently he entered into the
court of the temple with the desire of praise, seeking the face of the
Lord.

Physically speaking, he was in the court. There was a holy place and
behind the holy place there was the holiest of all. But the holiest of
all was covered by a heavy layer.

In other words, there was no way for him to see the ark upon which was
the mercy seat and upon which was the glory of the Lord. Physically,
there was no way for him to see that. He knew the ark was there.

He knew the mercy seat was there. He knew the glory of the Lord was
there on the mercy seat. But, but as he was prayed, he was in the
spirit.

And as he was in the spirit, the veil was opened. Not only he saw the
mercy seat in the holiest of all, but as a matter of fact, he was
transported to the very heaven and he saw the reality. The shadow of
which was the temple in Jerusalem.

So here, brothers and sisters, you'll find Isaiah. As he was praying in
the earthly temple of Jerusalem, God opened up the heavenly reality. He
saw the Lord sitting, the glory of the Lord, sitting on the mercy seat
over the ark was just a shadow.

But Isaiah was given to see the reality. The eternal reality. He saw God
sitting on the throne high and low.

Time had changed. King Uzziah was dead. And when change came, you were
afraid.

But here you'll find Isaiah. As he was deeply touched by the death of
King Uzziah, probably the sense of security was gone from him. But as he
entered into the temple to seek the Lord, he saw the Lord sitting.

Dear brothers and sisters, everything changes. You will like to hold on
to time. You will like to hold on to things, but you're not able to.

As you look back to your individual life, you'll find many changes have
come into your life. As you look around into this world, you'll find the
world is always changing. And as we are coming towards the end of this
age, the change seems to come swifter and swifter.

We are living in a changing world. Nothing is stable. But dear brothers
and sisters, we need to see that the Lord sits on the throne.

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And his throne is always
there. In other words, no matter what change may come into your life, no
matter what change may come into the world, need we be fearful? Need we
lose our sense? God is on the throne.

He knows what is happening. As a matter of fact, he controls everything
that happens. So Isaiah, he entered into the temple and he saw that God
was in full control.

Even the death of Isaiah was under God's control. He didn't need to
worry. He didn't need to be too much concerned.

He could trust that God was on the throne. He controlled everything and
he knew everything that happened. What a comfort it must be to Isaiah.

Dear brothers and sisters, we need to catch that vision. We need to see
that the Lord is on the throne. Oftentimes, when things happen, we enter
into a crisis.

The reason is our very faith is shaken. Our very confidence is taken
away from us. Our very sense of security is gone.

We enter into a period of doubt, a period of darkness, a period of
puzzlement, a dangerous time. Oh, if we only see that the Lord is on the
throne, that will stabilize us. So Isaiah saw the Lord on the throne and
his high and lifted up and his strength filled the temple.

Have you seen the coronation of King Elizabeth? In that royal robe,
you'll find it spreads out far. But here you'll find God sits on the
throne and his strength fills. What really fills the temple? I mean, so
far as you can see.

There in the court at the door was the brazen altar of sacrifice. And
then you'll find the brazen labor of worship. As you enter into the holy
place, you'll find the golden table of showbiz.

On one side, and you'll find the candlestick of gold on the other side.
And as you enter into further, just before the veil, you'll find the
golden altar of incense. Of course, in the holiest of all, there was the
ark, the mercy seat and the glory of God.

But in the vision that Isaiah saw, he saw God sitting on the throne and
his strength filled. You know, in the scripture, the robe or garment or
clothes or dress always carries a spiritual significance. And the
spiritual significance is work, work.

Behavior, conduct works. God is on the throne and his strength fills the
temple. What is the temple? Remember, Isaiah was now in the heavenly
reality.

What is the temple in its eternal reality? Not a temple in Jerusalem.
Not a physical building. We are the temple.

God sits on the throne in his temple. The Lord is on the throne of his.
Brothers and sisters, we need to see that.

God is not only on the throne of the universe, but God is on the throne
in his temple. Is God on the throne of his? Not only individually, he is
on the throne of your life, but together as his people. Is God on the
throne in his church? That is the spiritual reality.

Where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the
midst of, think of this verse. Where two or three are gathered together
unto my name. What does it mean by unto my name? Unto my name simply
means when two or three put themselves under the authority of his name.

That is to say, when two or three submit themselves under the headship
of Christ, that Christ may sit on the throne of his name. And together
with his people, there he will reveal himself. God sits on the throne
of, and his train fills the temple.

In other words, his works fill the church. All these pieces of furniture
in the temple speak to us of certain aspects of the works of Christ. The
brazen altar of sacrifice speaks of how he sacrifices himself, shed his
blood for the remission of our sins.

The brazen labor of washing, he washes us with his own life, that we may
be fit to serve as priests. The table of showbread show us that he is
the bread of life to us. It is by his life that we live.

Then we can testify to his name. The candlestick of gold speaks of him
as our light. In him was light, and the light was the light of man.

If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another. And the blood of Jesus, the son of God, cleanses us from
all our sins. The golden altar of incense speaks of his high priestly
ministry of intercession, how he intercedes for us.

So here you'll find what fills the church. God is on the throne of his
own church, and that which fills the house is the work of Christ.
Everything speaks of what Christ has done.

We are his workmanship, prepared. By God for the good work which he has
ordained for us. So here you'll find the train filled the temple.

And then you'll find seraphim. This is the only mentioning in the whole
Bible of seraphim. We do not know who they are.

We only know seraphim according to the Hebrew root. Probably means the
burning ones. They were like fire, burning, pure, full of energy.

Burning ones, bright ones, burning ones. You know, in the temple, the
mercy seat was upon the ark. And then you'll find two cherubim serving
as the back and the arms of the throne.

Two cherubim, but actually we don't know who cherubim are. Whether the
seraphim are the same as the cherubim, or whether they are different, we
don't know. Whether they are angelic beings, most likely they are, we
don't know.

And you know, because they are spirit, therefore every time in the
scripture when cherubim or seraphim are mentioned, you'll find they
change their forms. They are so flexible. They are so living, they are
not rigid at all.

And oftentimes you'll find the form is given according to the emphasis
that God wants to impress upon us at that moment. So that's why it's
very difficult to try to fix their form. They always change.

But here you'll find the seraphim. We do not know how many of them,
probably two. Like the two cherubim that cover the ark, the mercy seat.

Or preferably, probably two groups of cherubim, of seraphim, we don't
know. But here you'll find the seraphim, they cry one to the other.
Unceasingly, holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts.

The earth is filled with his glory. The seraphim have six wings. With
two wings they cover their face.

With two wings they cover their feet. And with two wings they flee. Even
though they were burning ones.

Oh, they were so close to the throne of God. Probably they were the
closest to the throne of God. And yet they dare not reveal their face.

They hid their face. They were ashamed to show themselves. Two wings
they cover their feet.

They dare not show their feet. In other words, they dare not walk in
their own way. Brothers and sisters, if you know God, how can you show
your face? We need to be faceless before God and feetless too.

But with two wings they flew. That is to say, they were yet swift to
give glory to God and to carry out. And they cry to one another, holy,
holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts.

Now, dear brothers and sisters, what is holy? We often think of holy as
the opposite of sin. But the opposite of sin is righteousness. What is
the opposite of holy? The opposite of holy is common.

Common. So here you'll find these seraphim, they were crying holy, holy,
holy. In other words, uncommon, uncommon, uncommon.

You know what it means? God is different. He is unique. He is all alone
by himself.

He is uncommon, very uncommon. You can never make him like one of you.
Oh, brothers and sisters, one day even Peter tried.

You remember the Lord took three disciples to the mountain. We are more
interested in what would happen to the people. But what things that
should happen to the people will result in what will be happening to the
testimony of God, which is of much more significance.

Brothers and sisters, thank God they are still people who still remain
in the promised land. Who still remain to be, to bear the testimony of
Jesus. But what are their conditions? As you'll find in the history of
the nation of Judah, they too are in danger of entering into captivity.

Somehow, in a very subtle way, those who desire to stand for the Lord's
testimony are in danger of captivity too. It may not be Assyrian
captivity, but it will be Babylonian captivity. And the one is not
better than the other.

Somehow the world as a system is of such subtlety, of such strength,
that it can come in and take away. God's people as a testimony of God.
And because of that, you'll find how much God's interest and concern are
centered upon such people.

Those who remain, and God has a word for us today. So here you'll find
as Isaiah began his prophecy, he said, Here ye heaven, here ye earth, be
witnesses because God. Let us listen to what God.

Now of course, the first five chapters of the book of Isaiah serve as an
introduction to the whole book. It is not only an introduction, but it
is an outline of the whole book. You know, so probably for this morning,
we will just restrict ourselves to the first five chapters.

But let us remember that actually the first five chapters give us the
substance of the prophecies that you'll find throughout the book. God
has a controversy with his own people. The Lord has spoken.

I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against
me. God had a controversy with Judah and Jerusalem. And the controversy
was God had brought them up and nourished them as children.

But they rebelled against God. God was like a father to the nation of
Israel. How God took care of them, and yet they rebelled against God.

Now remember, this word was spoken to Judah and Jerusalem. For the world
to rebel against God, that was natural. That's natural.

Because the world does not know God. But for God's people who have
received his nourishment and has received his upbringing and then
rebelled against God, that is something unusual. In other words,
rebellion.

That is the problem with the children of Judah and Jerusalem. You see,
our relationship with God is a relationship of father and children. And
if the nation of Israel was such, how much more is our relationship with
God as father and children.

With the children of Israel, God was a father to the nation, but they
didn't know God as father to each individual. That was not revealed in
the Old Testament. It is with a song.

It is the song of the beloved touching his beloved. Of course, the
beloved is God. The vineyard is Israel.

So here you'll find God, as it were, through his prophet was singing.
And through song to express his feelings. And this song can be divided
into three parts.

The first part is from verse two through verse seven. And that is how
God planted Israel as his vineyard. How God used the best seed for it.

How God put a hedge around it. How God prepared everything for that
vineyard with the expectation that he will reap from it the good grain.
But unexpectedly, he didn't get what he purported.

He got the wild, wild vine. God was disappointed. He was disappointed
with his people.

And he said, because of this, I will judge. I will take away the hedge.
I will allow wild bees to come to trade and to eat of all.

I will allow all these things. That is the first part. The second part
is from verse eight through verse 25.

And there God, in the song, describes their condition. Why did God judge
them? How did they disappoint God? And here you'll find six woos. God
proclaimed six woos over them.

Verse eight. Woo unto them that add house to house, that join field to
field, until there is no more room, and that you dwell yourself alone in
the midst of the land. That's the first woos.

Here you'll find they add house to house, join field to field. In other
words, there is a greediness for gain. They try to gain the things of
this world.

As if they were successful. But because they were after earthly gain,
the result was there were no more people. Very few people there left.

Now there was the first woo. Spiritually, of course. If our whole life
is towards gain, what can we get? If we try to gain for ourselves, we
will suffer.

The more you gain, the less will you suffer. The only gain is to give
all to the Lord. That's real gain.

Number two. Woo unto them that rising early in the morning, run after
strong drink, that linger till twilight, kill wine in flame of death. In
other words, they sought after pleasure.

Not only after gain, but after pleasure. They just want to enjoy
themselves, indulge themselves. That was their condition.

And the result was God will bring them very low. Do we seek for
pleasure? Or do we seek to please God? Number three. Woo unto them that
draw iniquity with cause of vanity, and think as with cockroach, who
say, let him hasten, let him speed his work, that we may see it.

And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that
we may subversion. They are completely go off. Subversion against moral.

There is no principle, no moral standard anymore. Complete subversion.
And that's what you'll find today.

Number four. I'm able to. The whole earth is filled with His glory.

When the glory of the Lord fills this temple, even the priest cannot
stand. And have to come out of the temple. And let the glory of the Lord
does the work.

You know, oftentimes we do too much. Because the glory does not fill, so
we have to fill in. But when the glory of the Lord shall fill the earth.

Oh, all we need to do is stand by, prostrate, and worship. He is well
able to do it. And you know, when Isaiah saw such a vision.

And heard such a cry. The Bible said the threshold, the foundations of
the threshold of the temple were shaken. And the house was filled with
smoke.

And no wonder it shook Isaiah. Isaiah was shaken, you know. He was
shaken before the Lord.

He cried out and said, rule is me unto me. Oh, for I am undone. I'm a
man of unclean lips.

And live among a people of unclean lips. I have seen the King, the Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters, if you have seen a vision of the Lord.

What will be the effect upon you? As you read the whole Bible, whether
it is the Old Testament or the New Testament. It never changes. Whenever
God appeared to man.

Whenever man are privileged to see the Lord, the glory of the Lord. The
one result is, he always falls flat upon his face. And as if Daniel, the
beloved of the Lord.

When he was given a vision of the Lord, he fell down. And when the Lord
touched him and restored him, he said, my beauty has turned into color.
Are you proud of your beauty? Are you proud of your knowledge? Are you
proud of your vision? Oh, some people say, I've seen a vision.

The Lord has given me a vision. And because the Lord has given me a
vision, I am now someone. You haven't seen a vision of the Lord.

If you have seen a vision of the Lord, you will be as one day. There is
no way to lift up your head. Woe is unto me, for I am undead.

Oh, if Isaiah prophesied before this day. If you read the first five
chapters of Isaiah. What sharp tongue he had.

He slashed the people with his tongue. What strong condemnation. For a
person to denounce the nation in such a way.

What character he must have. What a person he must be. And yet, when he
saw the Lord, he said, I am undead.

Completely undead. And his strongest point becomes the most acute point
of condemnation. What is the strongest point of a prophet? His lips.

A prophet has to speak. So his lips are the strongest point. So here he
was conscious most acutely of the uncleanness.

Dear brothers and sisters, if you have seen the Lord. If the Lord has
met you. Not only your whole being will collapse before the Lord.

But your strongest point will be your ugliest. The strongest point of
Jacob was his father. He was a wrestler.

Born wrestler. He wrestled before he was born. And yet, when he met the
Lord.

He was crippled. His strongest point became his ugliest point. Dear
brothers and sisters, we all have our strong point.

It's very easy to know. That which you always look back and feel happy
about it. You know.

That which sticks out all the time. But when you see the Lord. Remember.

If your strongest point of your life is not touched. To borrow a term.
Your backbone is not yet broken.

In other words, you are still what you are. You may have some minor
wounds. But.

Your backbone is not broken. So here you'll find Isaiah. He was
completely broken before the Lord.

Oh dear brothers and sisters. If you see the Lord. You will be a broken
man.

But thank God. He does not want to destroy us. He breaks us.

Yes. He breaks us because he wants to make us. So when Isaiah began to
see his uncleanness.

He came to repent in darkness. God's salvation came to him. And you know
as you read the Bible.

You'll find this happened to all. Whom God had his hand upon. Look at
Job.

Job was the perfect man. The Bible says he was perfect. Upright.

There was no man on earth like Job. Who feared God. That was where he
began.

But look at where he ended. In ashes and dust. He said I uphold myself.

In dust and ashes I repent. Because formerly I've heard of you. But now
I am.

Isn't it true? When you really see the Lord. I don't mean you see God in
your spirit. The Lord gives you a glimpse of spiritual reality.

Past the reality. Appearance or superficial. They never touch deeper.

But once you meet reality. The very core. So when I dare cry out.

One of the Pharisees. Flew down. And took a living cold.

Out of. The altar. And parched lips and said.

Your sins are forgiven. Your iniquities are expired. Now you're clean.

Now the altar here most likely is the golden altar of Egypt. Because it
is the golden altar of Egypt. Ascends before the ark.

You know the mercy seat. So here you'll find it is a combination. How
are we claimed? Through the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Together. With his intercessory work in heaven. As our great hypocrite.

That's how we are restored. We are claimed. We are purified.

And it was only at that time. That I there heard. And the voice.

He heard. I heard the voice of the Lord saying. Whom shall I send? And
who will go for us? After he was claimed.

He heard the voice of the Lord. Who will go for us? Whom shall I send?
He heard a calling. Now here you'll find brothers and sisters.

God did not speak directly to Isaiah. And say Isaiah. I call you.

God allow Isaiah. To overhear as it were. When the Godhead was in
counsel.

The father and the son were in counsel in the city. They were talking.
Discussing something.

That's a matter of great importance. And they were talking to each other
and said. Who shall I send? Who will go for us? And Isaiah was there.

He overheard it. And he said. Send me.

Here I am. You know brothers and sisters. Often we say God does not be
volunteered.

You know often we volunteer. We volunteer to do God's work. You know.

But we say no God does not want volunteer. God always drafts. If you
volunteer God may not accept you.

God say wait a minute. I take the initiative. I draft.

That is true. And yet there is another side. You know.

When God drafts we volunteer. You know that's the thing. Actually we are
drafted.

If God drafts you. There is no escape. Do not try to escape.

But he was brought back. You know. God always drafts.

Always drafts because he is God. And yet brothers and sisters you see
the beauty of it. If you cooperate with God.

When God drafts you volunteer. That's what Isaiah did. He overheard that
God was looking for someone to be a messenger.

And Isaiah volunteered and said send me here I am. God said go. Go.

Why is it that Isaiah must saw the vision of the Lord. Before he heard
the calling. The reason is.

If Isaiah should hear the calling. Without see the vision of the Lord.
When God message.

Came to him. He will change. Alter it.

Water it. Dilute it. When he felt that it will make him unpopular.

Well it didn't fit with his idea. To be a prophet of God. To speak for
God.

And especially Isaiah was sent to the children of Israel. To the nation
of Judah. To deliver a message of judgment.

There was no return. Humanly speaking. Who would like to deliver such a
message.

That would make you most unpopular. But after Isaiah has saw. Has seen
the Lord.

He will go and deliver the message intact. A hundred percent without any
change. That's the difference.

We say we have heard God's call. Therefore we go out. But brothers and
sisters.

If you have not seen the Lord. Even if God's word should come to you. It
will be.

So basically. If we want to be of usefulness to the Lord. God is looking
for a vessel.

Through which. He can. Manifest himself.

Without being changed. That's the kind of vessel God is looking for. And
that is the reason why.

He is looking for a brokenness. And brokenness comes through a vision of
the hope. Isaiah became a prophet.

And he prophesied for a great length of time. God used him to touch upon
many things. So far as the nation of Israel is concerned.

It was a message of judgment. There was no hope. But thank God.

If you read the book of Isaiah. You'll find there is no hope in Israel.
But Israel's hope is in the Messiah.

In Christ. Isn't it true? There is no hope in us. There is no hope in
the world.

No hope. But thank God. Out of a hopeless situation.

Our only hope. Is in Christ. And I believe this is a message.

God wants. The world. And even his own people to hear.

So this is the vision. That Isaiah saw. Lord.

Oftentimes thou does lead us into a crisis. That we may seek thy face.
And be given a vision.

Of thyself. Do not allow us. To look within ourselves.

Or to look around. And murmur. But Lord.

Even though we are in time of crisis. We are puzzled. We doubt.

We are afraid. Teach us how to enter into thy temple. To inquire of
thee.

Lord we praise and thank thee. That through crisis. Thou are able to
reveal thyself to us.

In a new and living way. Thou are able to deliver us. From what we are.

Thou are able to fill us. With what thou art. We pray that we may be a
people.

Who are so. Broken and clean. That thou may be able to use us.

For whatever. Thou does want. To say or to do.

Oh Lord. We do praise and thank thee. Thou does tell us.

There is no hope in the world. There is no hope in man. There is no hope
in us.

Our hope is in Christ. Teach us how to turn our eyes. Upon Christ.

We ask in thy precious name. Amen.

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Audio: https://sermonindex1.b-cdn.net/1/SID1472.mp3
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/stephen-kaung/isaiahs-vision-of-the-lord/
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