A Fresh Vision of God

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.’” (Isaiah 6:1-3)

As the prophet stood in awe, beholding the glorious vision of the Lord described in the sixth chapter of Isaiah, we can imagine how he must have trembled as he heard a voice so powerful the doorposts shook; and His presence was so strong, the house was filled with smoke, symbolizing the glory of the Lord.

I truly believe that what the Church in America needs is a fresh vision of God. We need to behold His glory and His holiness. We need to see Him not only as our Father and best friend; but we also need to see Him as the God of the Universe, the One Who spoke the heavens and earth into being simply by His Word; the One Whose glory is so bright that we could not bear to look upon His face. If we were to catch a glimpse of Him Who is sitting on His throne, high and exalted, as the train of his robe fills the temple…if we were to really grasp the awesomeness of His majesty, His power and His glory, I believe that our response would be much like Isaiah’s.

 We will recognize the true state of our own righteousness. (Is. 6:5) “So I said: ‘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 my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.’”

 When we compare ourselves to each other, it’s easy to overlook our own faults and shortcomings. We often hear statements like, “Well, I’m as good as the next person.” And “Well, I’m only human and I make mistakes.” Isaiah said, “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Is. 64:6)

In Philippians 3:5,6 Paul listed all his personal qualifications as a Jew and a Pharisee. But then in verse 8, he says that he counts all his earthly accomplishments as rubbish when compared with the “excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord”. Likewise, when we come face to face with the awesome presence of God, we can begin to see ourselves exactly as we are. Isaiah was a prophet of God, a man who walked close to Him daily and God spoke to Israel through him. Yet, compared to the presence of His holiness and the brightness of His glory, Isaiah realized he was undone and unclean.

 Once we see ourselves as we really are, there will be a renewed repentance to spring up from our hearts. (Is. 6:6,7) “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.”

 In Psalm 139:23-24, David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties. And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Surely, when we truly repent of our sins and seek to be thoroughly cleansed of our iniquities and begin to walk blamelessly before God, He will cleanse us, purge our sins and set us on the path of holiness and righteousness for His name’s sake in answer to the cry of our hearts.

Then we will be ready to be used by God for His purposes. (Is. 6:8) “Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.”

Truly one of the greatest tragedies of the Church today is spiritually overweight children of God. They are the people who sit in the pews week after week being fed the choicest of spiritual delicacies from God’s banquet table, and then will not make an effort to take that good news into a hurting, dying world to offer hope to the lost. They are the ones who testify of God’s faithfulness in supplying their every need, and then they won’t help someone else find Jesus as their Savior and Lord. How can we say that we really believe we have the answer the world is looking for and then go on letting people around us die without that eternal hope of salvation? God doesn’t demand some of our time and part of our possessions. If He is worthy to be Lord of anything, then He is worthy to be LORD OF ALL, and that is what He expects to be. Everything we are, everything we own, everything we ever hope to be belongs to Him. Everything He blesses us with is to bring further blessing to the Kingdom of God.

When Jesus said, “Give and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:38), He wasn’t just speaking of finances. He meant everything! Our time, our talents, our treasure…our very lives should be offered to the Lord as a sacrifice. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” There are no “in-active” soldiers in God’s army. We are all commissioned to GO. When we have been purged of our uncleanness, the cry of our hearts will also be, as Isaiah’s, “Here am I. Send me!” Then God will begin to open doors and reveal His purpose for each of our lives and lead us in “the way everlasting”.

Prayer:

Father…it is our deep desire to fulfill Your purpose for our lives. Let us walk in the ways that You would have us to walk and do those things that You envision for us. Most of all Father, let us see You anew and afresh, and let us catch a glimpse of Your Glory and Your Majesty. For once we do Lord, it will shake us to the very core of our being and allow us to see a reality of who we are…and having seen that, we would humble ourselves before You in total and complete surrender and dependency on You alone. We love You Father, and we give You praise today…in Jesus Name…Amen!