Isaiah's vision of the LORD

Let's turn to the book of Isaiah please. We'll take a reading first of all in the book of Isaiah and in chapter 1. Isaiah chapter 1. Nice to be with you for the conference. The brethren have been in touch before and I've never been free so it's very nice to be here for the conference this weekend.

Isaiah and in chapter 1 and let's read together at verse number 1. The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

Over into chapter 6 please. Chapter 6 of the same book and again at verse number 1. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim, each one had six wings.

With twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. One cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.

And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, 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. Just notice this expression.

For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. The Hebrew scholars tell us that the word order in Hebrew, just to give the full expression, and the emphasis is this, the King, the Lord of hosts. Mine eyes have seen.

Verse 6, Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send me.

And he said, Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not, and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the Lord hath removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return and shall be eaten as a teal tree and as an oak, whose substance is in them. When they cast their leaves, so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof. God bless to us this further reference from the Old Testament prophets for his own glory.

I think just we're taking a little bit of a step back, most will know that, from where our brother William has had us in the ministry of the Scriptures. We're moving back just a little bit in the terms of the kings of Judah. I have to admit, as I was listening to my brother this morning, the life of Josiah is one of those lives that we follow and we read, and just at the end of his life we read about it, and you'd almost break your heart.

The words of the Lamentation, Lamentations chapter 4, I think I'm quoting from the Darby version, but it says this, our very life's breath, the Lord's anointed King was caught in their traps, among whom we said under his shadow, we shall abide among the nations. I tell you beloved brethren and sisters, you read those words and the impact of those words, it would just break your heart as you think of that man cut off in the midst of his days. We're taking a step back, as I say, just a few years and I want to speak to you from primarily the words of Isaiah 6. What I have upon my mind is this, I want you to think with me of a man who said, I saw also the Lord, and then those words that I tried to emphasize in verse number 6, along with, I saw also the Lord, the King, the Lord of hosts, mine eyes have seen.

Our brethren have often told us that in our English Bibles, there are four books that really introduce us to the prophets. They stand really as the entranceway into this section of the Old Testament. It's not that way in the Hebrew Bible, but the Lord has ordained it that it is this way in our English Bible.

And so we've got what we call the major prophets, that we call the major prophets because of their size and because of their length. We've got Isaiah and we've got Jeremiah and then of course we've got Ezekiel and then we've got Daniel, the four major prophets. It has often been pointed out and we've heard for years that each one of those prophets emphasized to us something that the nation had lost.

When we're reading in the book of Isaiah, the emphasis in Isaiah, and I'll be coming back to this, is that the nation had lost its purity. And when you're reading through the book, the title of the Lord that comes up with such frequent, such frequency and such regularity is the Holy One of Israel. And we read it right through the book of Isaiah, the Holy One of Israel, 29 times in the book we will read of the Holy One.

And the emphasis, I say again, beloved saints, is this, that what God is telling us is the nation has lost its purity. Now we'll be coming back to think about our purity, so we keep that in our minds. When we move into the book of Jeremiah, the emphasis is the nation has lost its territory.

They're going to be removed out of the land and under the hand of divine discipline, they're going to lose their territory. It's in that context that we read Jeremiah chapter 32. It's quite a chapter, I'm always amazed at it, with the army around the city.

And you would say this is the time when the nation will be swept away. It's in that context that the Lord sends a message to Jeremiah and he says, your uncle's son, he's going to come and visit you. And he's going to offer you to buy a portion of land.

And he says, Jeremiah, buy thee the field. And of course there's a lovely application there to the local assembly for us. I don't have time to stay with that.

In Isaiah, they've lost their purity. In the book of Jeremiah, they're going to lose their territory. When we move over to the book of Ezekiel, they've lost the glory.

And you remember in Ezekiel chapter 11, Ezekiel sees the glory and he sees it move from the temple itself. And he sees it lift off and he sees it start to move to the gate on the east side of the city. And the glory is moving.

And eventually, beloved saints, that glory cloud, the insignia of the presence of the Lord, is gone forever. And you know that even under restored conditions, when Nehemiah is back and when those other men are back, when eventually the temple will be rebuilt, there was no Shekinah cloud, no Shekinah cloud of glory. And yet, at the end of the book of Ezekiel, there's a beautiful note, just the last verse of the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 48.

You remember what it says about the coming temple and about the temple that will yet be rebuilt in the days of the Messiah. It says, just at the conclusion of the book, the Lord is there. Beloved saints, what a comfort to our hearts.

Here we are gathered just this morning around the sacred scriptures and we can lift some of those principles and it's a joy to our own souls because amongst us, the Lord is there. So they've lost the territory and they've lost the glory and they've lost their purity. And of course, you go to Daniel and in the book of Daniel, they have lost their sovereignty.

And we're in the times of the Gentiles, the words of the Lord Jesus, Luke's gospel, chapter 21 and verse number 24, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And that commenced in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. And so, beloved saints, we step into the book of Isaiah, the first of the four major prophets as we find them in our English Bible.

I've really foreseen three things possibly. There might be a fourth, but perhaps three things that I have upon my mind this morning. I saw also the Lord.

Mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. I want you to think first of all of this vision. And as we're considering the vision, I want to speak first of all about the importance of the vision.

The second thing that we will speak about together, you'll notice with me the implications of the vision that Isaiah sees. And the third thing, and perhaps the final thing that I'll touch, is not just the importance of the vision and not only the implications of the vision, but I want you to notice the impact of the vision upon the prophet himself. How did it affect Isaiah? Here am I. We've been hearing about the impact in the life of Jeremiah.

Did you hear what our brother William said? Jeremiah chapter 10. Jeremiah would speak and he would speak about me. The great impact that these things were having on one man and how he would then impact others because he has been impacted.

Well what about Isaiah? Here am I. Send me. And so it is, beloved saints, as we are gathered this morning, I hope, I look across an audience like this and the amount of young people here, young believers, young brethren, and young sisters, never forget now the impact of one life for God. If there would be one life here affected through the ministry, that a course might be changed, that a life might be lived for the glory and honor of the one that has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light, here am I. Lord, send me.

But you say, what about first of all, the importance of the vision? I did read for our, just our consideration in chapter 1 and verse number 1, and really the idea and why I read there was this, just to show us the days in which Isaiah was living. He lived in the days of four kings of Judah. And so right there at the beginning, we've got Uzziah, and then we go through them, all of those kings that are mentioned, Jotham and Ahaz, and right into the days of Hezekiah, the kings of Judah.

Now Uzziah commenced to reign, he Hezekiah's reign, it concluded in 698 BC. So what we're looking at, the time scale that is possible over the life and time span of those four kings is 122 years. We know Isaiah likely didn't live that long, but the possibility of his ministry is over the life and the span of four kings of Judah, and their lifespan was 122 years.

And you say, what is the importance of the vision? Well, these were dark days, and these were difficult days. Now, I think that I'm speaking to God's beloved people, and as I'm speaking to you this morning, you and I both know that these are dark days, and these are difficult days. In fact, as Isaiah is prophesying, and as Isaiah himself is moving into the presence of God, he speaks about Uzziah, and he says, in the year that King Uzziah died, now mind you, Uzziah started well.

If you read back into the book of the Chronicles, 1 Chronicles chapter 26, it says this about Uzziah. It says, he sought God, and then it says in a further verse, and as long as he sought the Lord, the Lord made him to prosper. And you go down the chapter a little bit more, and it says this, and the Lord helped him.

What a start in Christian experience, if I can bring it into our lifestyle, and into our lifespan. He sought God, and as long as he sought the Lord, the Lord made him to prosper, and the Lord helped him, and then he moved out of his sphere. Sadly, beloved saints, he moved out of his sphere, and not only did he want the kingship, but he wanted the priesthood, and the Lord smote him with leprosy, and that's how he died.

He died as a leper, and here is Isaiah, and dear Isaiah is being challenged in these dark days, in these difficult days, when men are moving out of the sphere in which God has given them, and he says, in the year that King Uzziah died, he says, I saw also the Lord. Beloved saints, now we are living also in a dark day. We are living in a difficult period, and you say, what's the answer for it? I think the answer is this, I saw also the Lord.

The thing that will stabilize our hearts, the thing that will just give stability to our lives, is a view of Christ. If we could leave this conference renewed with a view of Christ, it would change our lives, beloved saints. It would stabilize our hearts, it would motivate our feet to live for the Lord Jesus.

I saw also the Lord. I personally think that this was likely a reset in the prophet's life. Did you ever come to a conference and the Lord so speak to your spirit that you got a reset? You say, I didn't think a man like Isaiah would need something like that.

I don't think a man like William Skates would need that in a conference like this. A man like Brandon Dahl, would they need it at a conference like this? And you say, what about Isaiah? Well, you remember when you go to the book of Jeremiah, as soon as you enter into the book of Jeremiah, we get the Lord speaking and we get his call. You remember when you go to the book of Ezekiel, you get the Lord speaking right at the entranceway into the book and we get the man's call and the character of his call.

And you say, but wait a moment now, wait a moment, what about Isaiah? We've come through five chapters already in the book of Isaiah and suddenly here is a man and he's being introduced again to the Lord. And now there's a further statement of consecration in Isaiah's life, not in chapter one like Jeremiah and not in chapter one like Ezekiel. Now it's in chapter six, I saw also the Lord.

Did you ever go to a conference and hear the voice of God? God has spoken to you in the past now. There are men here I'm absolutely sure this has happened to. God had spoken to your heart in the past and you heard the voice of God in the past and you answered the call of God in the past.

Romans chapter 12, I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. But over a number of years you know what happens, the world makes inroads into us doesn't it? The world affects our thinking, the world affects our lives and then again you come back to a conference just like this and you hear the voice of God and God starts to speak. I take it beloved that that's the reason for the importance of the vision here.

If you'd been earlier in the book of Isaiah, six times over in chapter five he's pronouncing woes against other people. Twice in chapters before that, eight times in total he says woe, woe, woe and he's going through it all and you see when you get into chapter six, such is the majesty of the glory of the Lord that Isaiah takes a step back and he covers his lip like a leper and he says I'm cut off just like a leprous person and he says oh God woe is me. I am a man of unclean lips.

I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. The King, the Lord of hosts mine eyes have seen. I tell you beloved I can recall coming to conferences just like this.

I was at a conference actually just earlier this year and as I was sitting in that conference I began to think to myself of men who stepped up. I remember a night at that conference Mr. Tom Bentley stepped up and my life was never the same again. I recall the night of that conference Mr. Jim Allen stepped up to the podium and I left that building and my life was never the same beloved Saints.

I recall the night when David Gilliland spoke there and he spoke from the book of Ezekiel about the unmanned gap and he called for young men to live for God. Here we are today you young men I want to put out a call this morning. Young men and young women who are prepared to put their lives on the altar for the Lord.

Oh you say full-time service no if God has that in his vision for you sure but just to live your life for the glory and honor of the Lord in the assembly to burn out for God. Beloved Saints take a look around the audience this morning. I see dear older Saints here and they have poured their hearts into God's assembly.

They have poured every breath into living for that which pleases the Lord most the house of the Lord and here is the importance of the vision Isaiah he's challenged Isaiah in a dark day he will never be the same again. Well you say what about the second thing the implications of the vision I mean he's going to need to be preserved. Is there anything here that will preserve Isaiah in these days? In these days of social unrest in this day of political instability mind you I should just acquiesce and just underline it doesn't need to be done by me but you see what our brother William has touched about the political situation the book of Isaiah highlights that as as well.

Beloved Saints now we have no part in the politics of this world. That's what Isaiah is telling us. Uzziah that King largely speaking he lived a good life for the glory of the Lord and then he stepped away from divine principles.

Jotham largely speaking again a good King that man Ahaz a very evil King I say beloved Saints we learn again the principles of political instability and how that we have no part in it the powers that be are ordained of God our place is to pray for them to pray for their salvation to pray that they will rule in peace and equity so that the gospel may prosper for the glory of the Lord Jesus and so when you say you got sidetracked there that was just tangential I trust that you'll pardon me for that going back to Iowa you say you boys time for you boys to be back in Iowa already well we'll be back in Iowa tonight Lord willing so you can pardon me for the tangent well what about the implications of the vision is there anything in this vision that will be used for the preservation of Isaiah there's four things I want to speak about first of all I'll give you the four things just in case I don't have time to touch them all you'll notice that the Lord's purity preserved Isaiah the Lord's eternality preserved Isaiah the Lord's majesty preserved Isaiah and of course the Lord's deity was a preservation to the Prophet Isaiah well you say what about the Lord's purity he sees into this heavenly sanctuary and as he sees into this heavenly sanctuary I saw also the Lord he says he was high and he was lifted up he says his very train filled the temple he says there were holy beings that were moving in that temple and he says with two wings they cover their face he says with two wings they covered their feet he says with two wings they are flying and their cry was this holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts the whole earth is filled with his glory you know beloved this was a tremendous encouragement and preservation to the Prophet Isaiah can I just highlight again that we are living in a very impure world younger saints here are facing things in this generation that their fathers never faced younger saints who are present with us at this conference are facing things that their grandfathers never faced a very immoral and impure world in fact there are single sisters here let me just appeal to them there are single sisters here and they will carry their moral purity to the judgment seat of Christ the Lord bless every one of you we are living in a world and the world says take that which belongs to marriage and the world says you can do whatever you want and the Lord says if you want a boyfriend or a girlfriend go ahead just live like a world you know beloved saints the Bible never endorses that in fact Paul says as he's writing to Timothy Paul says to a young man he says Timothy keep thyself pure can I appeal to dear young men today the world will tell you that you can sleep around and sleep with whoever you want but God says no there's a moral purity required and it preserved Isaiah you say what was it that really took a hold of him what took a hold of him was this that he was associated with a God who is essentially eternally holy you know beloved saints today you and I are associated with a God and indwelt by the Spirit of God who is eternally essentially holy holy is his name can I appeal to this audience today if it preserved Isaiah it can preserve me and it can preserve you will you say what about the second one not only the purity of the Lord the eternality of the Lord I know just for Bible students you see when you're in verse number one there that's not the Jehovah Word I saw also the Lord that's not Jehovah that's Adonai the Sovereign Lord the one who rose will you say what about verse number five oh it's different there he says what are you seeing Isaiah I saw Jehovah and when you get that lovely title Jehovah there's such connotations flowing through the Old Testament Jehovah tells us of the God who ever existed you remember Exodus chapter 3 Moses stands at the bush which is burning and Moses says Lord who shall I tell them has sent me into Egypt will I tell them that God has sent me Elohim and God says no don't tell them Elohim has sent you you tell them I am that I am has sent you Jehovah the ever-existing one the one that never had a beginning and the one that will never have an end and you say why would that preserve Isaiah well don't forget now he had just seen the throne emptied Isaiah might be wondering who is in control can I just speak to this audience today let me just assure you God has never been out of control we have come through those years of COVID and sometimes beloved Saints sometimes I have wondered how will it be how will we make our way through how will we make our way out of it can I just assure every heart today there is an eternal one and he's the God that has continued eternally and will continue eternally and nothing is out of his control the king the Lord of hosts mine eyes have seen I would like to spend a few minutes I'm already over my time here my apologies I would like to have spent a few minutes but speak about the majesty mind you you say Isaiah was occupied with someone on the throne who was he occupied with come on now I know one will speak out so don't worry about that who was he occupied with oh you say he's going to be preserved through the person that's on the throne according to John's Gospel chapter 12 it was the majesty of the pre-incarnate Christ John 12 tells us very clearly that the one that Isaiah saw was Christ in all his essential majesty beloved Saints today you know what will preserve your heart and what will preserve my heart is being occupied with Christ and you say where will I find Christ you'll find Christ in the Scriptures you'll find Christ in God's Word and just like Isaiah if we could just get back to the majesty of Christ it will preserve our lives what about deity the deity of the Lord preserved the man ah thank God this is one of those passages why tell me why the threefold invocation holy holy holy this is one of the passages that refers to us you'll remember Genesis chapter 2 let us make man you'll recall Genesis chapter 11 at the Tower of Babel the Lord says let us go down but here we have it again in Isaiah and in chapter 6 whom shall we send and who will go for us and Isaiah says here am I and send me I would like to develop that but I want to come to the third thing the importance of the vision the implication of the vision what about the impact of the vision and you say what was the impact again for sake of time there's three aspects of impact in the life of Isaiah did you notice first of all we'll see a purified man the second thing that we will see is a propelled man and the last thing that we will see in the context of Isaiah chapter 6 is not just a purified man I'm not just a propelled man but we will see here a prepared man for the service that God has for I touched the first one of those there's the man standing and he says woe is me who hasn't thought it come on now brethren who hasn't thought it there have been times in conference meetings and in gospel meetings you almost feel reticent to leave the little chair and you say to yourself woe is me you look at Isaiah one of those holy beings moves and he takes those tongues and he takes a cold from off the altar and he touches the lips of Isaiah mind you it has been the lips of Isaiah which have been moving before this it will be the lips of Isaiah that will move after this he touches the lips of Isaiah with the power of the altar the power of Calvary do we ever has there ever been a day maybe I should phrase it like that how's there ever been a day when we need power it's this day and the reality is beloved saints that we have no inherent power in ourselves but Isaiah moved in the power the purifying power of the altar and the cross and just as I finish this morning and give way to one of my beloved brethren I would say here our strength is this that we need to move in the purifying power of the cross to affect our ministry well you say you were going to speak about a propelled man I touch that one and I'm done not just a purified man and not just a prepared man but the last thing I'll touch is this a propelled man whom shall we said who will go for us then said I here I am send me I can recall a day in my life I got the recording actually quite recently dear mr. Albert Howell gave a recording on discipleship I'll not tell you where it's available online if anyone would like a copy of it I'll tell you where you can find it but it was one of those powerful recordings and at last he told about George Whitfield and I was just at the stage in my Christian experience just about to step into the Lord's work and wondering and dear mr. Hall told about George Whitfield on the east coast of the United States I've been at the house where it happened and the dear man was dying didn't know he was dying but the dear man was dying and he preached I think he preached at least once for an hour and the crowd were gathered and the crowd gathered outside the window and they said get him to preach again get him to preach again and George Whitfield moved forward to the window again and he spoke again from the scriptures with such power and the biographer said it was just at that point that the candle went out the candle around the windows they went out and the biographer said it was just a symbol of a life burned out for God and he walked back into the house and the Lord took him home I can still recall sitting in my car that day I'll never forget it and I bowed my heart and I bowed my spirit as I listened to the story and I said Lord here am I send me may the Lord bless us this morning may the Lord bless every heart here may the Lord help us and impress us with the Holy One of Israel that we will move forward as we consider him