My Vision Improved

Isaiah was a Priest and a Prophet that followed God’s leading.  He represented the people before God, and God before the people.  He was a prophet that had access to the king and could be seen entering and leaving the palace on numerous occasions.

Isaiah was a special prophet, a seer, one who could see the future.  One day the king died, as all folks on the earth do, he past away.  He apparently was influential in Isaiah’s life.  For the day when the king Uzziah died, the bible says, that Isaiah then saw the lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up and his train filled the temple.

As Isaiah continues to describe the scene, he saw Seraphims, which are the highest rank in Christian angelology, these are angels, that were on fire or called the burning ones.  Seraphims are described as having six wings and having some human facial characteristics.  Cherubims on the other hand are similar but have two wings.

Each one had two wings that covered his face, two wings that covered his feet, and two wings are used to fly.  One Seraphim cried out to the other one another using language recognizable to Isaiah, saying Holy holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.

As this Seraphim cried out, the posts of the door of the temple moved as he spoke and the place was filled with smoke.  Let me pause here to say that Isaiah statement about also seeing the Lord on the day when the king Uzziah died, sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up and his train filled the temple, reminds me of a lunar eclipse.

When the moon stands in the way of the sun’s light, blocking the sun, and when the moon moves out the way, the sun’s light could be seen.   Instead of seeing the king high and lifted up on his throne, now he saw the Lord.

As we serve the Lord, the Pastor, the deacon, the missionary, and other greats in the Christian faith should not take the place of God sitting on our throne.   Neither should they have prominence over our Lord. It is easy, perhaps as a young prophet, Isaiah served the king religiously.

He was seen on numerous occasions entering and leaving the palace.  They probably had long conversations, ate at the king’s dinner table, maybe occasionally stayed overnight.  Could have gone out on outings, fishing, hunting, I am just using my pastoral mind to say, they were close.

But as we talked about Saul whose name was changed to Paul, while he  was on the Damascus Road, he too saw the Lord, his life was changed, what he thought he was doing to serve God, he recognized that he was to serve God at a new level, with a new purpose, and with new power and authority.

His agenda changed, his life changed, he no longer wanted to drag Christians back to Jerusalem to stand trial and be killed, but he became the evangelist, the missionary telling the unsaved about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

He now was the hunted and not the hunter.  The one hated rather than the one who hated.  The one who crossed the line to the other side.

Isaiah had a moment with the Lord causing him to cry out “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 mine eyes have seen the (K)ing, the Lord of hosts.”

What a climatic call from the Lord and we too as Saul.  Men who were serving God, they thought they were doing the will of the Father, but learned that they needed God to build something new on the inside.  The routines of life had brought a plateau of living for God that had to be rebuilt.

A direct result of such was an increase on the outside of new power and authority.   It is a climatic call from the Lord, to amend our ways, to take a new pathway hewed out by the Lord himself.  Seraphims may not be a part of our conversion, we may not be knocked off our preverbal donkey but nevertheless it is climatic to us.

Point 1 – My Vision is Improved by a Conversion By Fire!

Isaiah 6:6-7 King James Version (KJV)

⁶ Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: ⁷ 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.

• Nothing purges a matter or situation like fire. Gold, silver, or any metal is purified by fire.
• This moment purified the spirit of Isaiah, a second conversion had taken place, the prophet now saw visions from a new perspective.
• We too need to get into the face of God, we too need to be refilled until it overflows. We too need a revival.

 Point 2 – My Vision is Improved, Thus I Am Available to God?

Isaiah 6:8 King James Version (KJV)

⁸ Also 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.

• We are doing a great job, but God is asking us to go in a new direction.
• What we have been doing is fantastic, but God has greater for us. Can we hear individually and corporately?
• Let’s make God a first priority in our lives.

Point 3 –My Vision is Improved So Let’s Get Out!

Matthew 28:16-20 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. ¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

• I know we have jobs, responsibilities and many other tasks, but God says, if we put him first, all other things shall be added.
• Let’s get out an reach others We have access with folks. The spirit of God that is within us allows us opportunity to witness non-verbally. It not what we say, but what we don’t say.  It not what we do that stands out to folks but what we don’t do.
• Because of our connection with the Lord, we are considered special. Special indeed because of the Spirit of Christ that lives within us.   God has brought us through some very difficult moments and allowed us the opportunity to be a witness because of the way we went through those difficulties.
• So Let us Go! He is sending us out! Our Vision is Improved