Isaiah 6:1-4
See It Again
This vision is a record of Isaiah’s calling to serve God.
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the
people perish….
Every great work of God begins with a vision. Isaiah was a servant of
God who stood faithfully as a preacher and a witness to an entire
nation. His ministry was so far reaching that it is still on-going
today. Thousands of years after the original calling was given and
his first labors were begun, we are still reading of his work and
reaping the rewards of his service; yet, it all began with a vision.
Not only did Isaiah’s work begin with a vision, it was kept faithful
by that vision. Isaiah did not have an easy time in his service. He
was persecuted, arrested, cruelly imprisoned, starved, and eventually
martyred. Yet he stayed faithful because the vision he had received
from God kept him faithful.
Interestingly, everything that is true of Isaiah’s encounter with God
is true of the encounter that the Green Pond Baptist Church had from
God more than seventy-one years ago. I say more than seventy-one
years ago because the vision was first seen before any preacher ever
had a burden to start a Baptist church in Green Pond. The good people
of this community banded together to pray, seek, and even to collect
money to start this church.
So long before a preacher ever saw the vision to build the Green Pond
Baptist Church, the people of Green Pond saw it. They invested much
work, both physical and spiritual, that this church might be
conceived. Once the church was birthed, that vision was passed down
from generation to generation like a spiritual baton. It has
motivated the work of twenty different pastors, numerous associates,
dozens of deacons, and thousands of church members.
Each hand that has received the baton and every heart that has caught
the vision has been important to the church’s history. There would be
no Green Pond Baptist Church without the godly men and women who
sacrificed and served, but even more worthy of recognition than those
who carried out the labor is the vision itself and the One who gave
it. That vision, given so many years ago, was the seed from which the
church sprang forth and has been the compass by which the church has
been steered.
Today, as we remember seventy-one years of history, we want to
recalibrate ourselves to that vision and the One who gave it. We want
to make certain that we have not deviated or gotten side-tracked.
This morning, we want to See the Vision Again.
I. \\#1-8\\ There was a worthy God.
A. Notice where Isaiah’s eyes fell.
Isa 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw
also the Lord….
1. It upon the LORD.
2. Several thoughts show me that Isaiah recognized the Lord’s
worthiness.
B. We can see God’s worthiness by noticing what Isaiah looked
beyond.
1. \\#2\\ Isaiah looked beyond the seraphims to see the One
that sat upon the throne.
a. Isaiah later noticed these angelic beings. They were
a sight to see.
b. Each one had six wings.
c. Two wings hid their face and two wings hid their feet.
d. But with two wings, they flew.
e. Don’t you know any human eyes would want to study
them?
f. But not Isaiah.
g. Something more worthy had his attention.
2. \\#3\\ Isaiah looked beyond the Lord’s glory which bathed
the whole earth.
a. From Isaiah’s perspective, he could see God glory
running off of God like a river.
b. It flowed out of God’s presence and ran down to the
earth, enveloping it like a blanket.
c. Isaiah will see that but he does not focus on that.
d. Something more worthy had his attention first.
3. \\#1\\ Then there was the throne that the Lord sat upon.
a. Isaiah noticed the throne at the first because he was
looking at God and God was sitting on it, but that is
not where his focus was.
b. In fact, Isaiah does not even describe God’s throng.
He only mentioned it.
4. But John also saw God’s throne and gave us a description
of it in the book of the Revelation.
a. I don’t know that Isaiah saw everything that John saw;
but if he did, he did not even mention some very
noticeable things.
b. Isaiah did not even mention the emerald rainbow which
circles the throne of God. I do not believe he could
have missed that, but Isaiah did not focus on it.
Why? He was focused on the worthy One, the One
sitting upon the throne.
c. Neither did Isaiah mention the Sea of Glass before the
throne. Again, the sea was so large and unusual, the
human eye could not help but to see it; but Isaiah’s
attention was focused on the worthy One.
d. And what about the four living creatures. Ezekiel and
John will see those, but not Isaiah. Why not? They
were likely there, but Isaiah was not concentrating
on them. He was concentrating on the worthy One.
C. \\#3\\ Then we see God’s worthiness by listening to what the
seraphims proclaimed.
Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said,
Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the
whole earth is full of his glory.
1. These beautiful angelic beings proclaimed the Lord’s
holiness!
2. These beings are themselves sinless, but it is not their
goodness that they sang about!
3. They sang of the Creator, the Sustainer, the Master’s
goodness.
4. He alone is worthy!
5. If sinless creatures do not feel worthy in God’s presence,
how much less should we?
D. \\#5\\ We see God’s worthiness by noticing Isaiah’s response to
seeing God.
Isa 6:5 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: for
mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
1. Isaiah saw himself as unworthy and unclean because
he saw God’s worthiness and holiness.
2. Man will not see himself as he is until he sees God as He
is!
3. \\#8\\ Isaiah surrendered himself to serve the Lord with
all of his might the remainder of his life!
4. Why do so few surrender to serve God today? Because they
have not seen God’s worthiness.
5. What an impact seeing this worthy God had on Isaiah?! And
what an impact it has had on the Green Pond Baptist
Church down through the ages.
II. \\#8\\ There was a needful task.
Isaiah 6:8 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.
A. The vision of God that Isaiah saw was not just for his own
benefit.
1. \\#1-7\\ Isaiah saw that God is worthy.
2. \\#8\\ Isaiah learned that God does not give of Himself
so that a select few can enjoy Him.
3. In this vision, God called Isaiah to carry the knowledge
of Him, the generosity and graciousness of God, to
others.
B. So has God called the Green Pond Baptist Church.
1. We have experienced God first hand!
2. Like John of the New Testament, we can say that "…we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth."
3. But we must also hear the Lord’s voice ask, "Now, who will
go for us? Who will send the gospel message to those who
have not heard?"
4. And we must answer that call, "Here I am. Send ME!"
C. For seventy-one years, people have been answering the call to
go.
1. Some have stayed in this community and in this church to
tell those within arm’s reach.
2. Others have moved away from this church, to take what was
planted within them while here to other churches or to
other communities.
3. A few have been called beyond this church and beyond this
community to take the message all around the world.
4. But have you gone? Have you seen the vision of God? Have
you heard the question God asked? Have you responded the
way Isaiah did?
D. Now in these dark days, we must re-align ourselves to this
needful task:
1. As long as there is room, the task is ours.
Luke 14:22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done
as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out
into the highways and hedges, and compel them to
come in, that my house may be filled.
a. All that the Master had previously commanded was done,
but the Master did not bid his servants to rest.
b. As long as there was more room, they were to keep
working.
c. And we, as long as there is still power in the blood
and an empty seat at the Banquet Table are commanded
to keep going for our God.
d. This church may have rendered 71 years of service, but
neither the calling nor the need has abated.
2. As long as there is a need, the task is ours. Here are
some figures I came across. These statistic only reflect
those who lived to birth.
a. 8 out of every 1000 people in the world will die this
year.
b. 1.78 will die every second
c. 107 will die every minute
d. 6390 will die every hour
e. 153,360 will die every day
f. 60.0 million will die this year
g. Approximately 4 billion have died since the GPBC was
founded 71 years ago.
III. \\#11-12\\ There was a limited time.
A. Perhaps it was because Isaiah understood the difficulty of the
task he was being given that he asked, "Lord, how long?"
Isa 6:11 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,
12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and
there be a great forsaking in the midst of the
land.
B. God’s answer was not a precise number of days or weeks but a
description of judgment.
1. Until the cities are wasted. (WASTE)
2. Until the houses and land are without people. (EMPTY)
3. Until the Lord has removed them far away. (REMOVED)
C. The description implies several things:
1. The time to win the masses is limited.
a. Isaiah, whatever you are going to do, do it quickly
for the time is limited.
b. Members of the Green Pond Baptist Church, whatever you
are going to do, do it now for the time is limited.
c. Tell your friends of Jesus.
d. Ordain your deacons and preachers and missionaries.
e. Send your children as ambassadors of grace throughout
the world.
f. Build churches, schools, hospitals, and orphanages
where the gospel can be proclaimed and compel the
people to come in!
2. God has an ending planned.
a. I do not mean to sound negative but the ending is
always the same.
b. In very dispensation and with every group God has
called to serve Him, the command has always been the
same.
c. Keep on telling them until things get so bad that I
have to judge them.
(1) For Noah’s day, it was the flood.
(2) For the Jews, it was the captivity.
(3) For the church, it is the rapture and the
tribulation.
d. I would like to tell you that we can stop the coming
judgment but that has never been the option.
e. God has always know how this age would end and He
wrote it in His Book, the Bible, at the very
beginning so that we would know He always knew.
f. Why do we go then? The same reasons that every
generation goes.
(1) To obey God.
(2) To win those we can win. We cannot win every
one, but if we win someone, we have done well.
Thomas Andrews was born into a wealthy Irish family with connections
to the respected shipbuilding company Harland & Wolff. At age
sixteen, he left school for an apprenticeship at his uncle’s
shipbuilding firm. He worked his way up through many of the various
departments within the company and eventually became the head of the
design department.
Andrews designed or helped design many ships including the Baltic,
the Olympic, and his crown jewel: the Titanic. In his original plans
for the Titanic, he included several features that were rejected in
the final plans such as an extensive double hull, watertight
bulkheads, and enough lifeboats for everyone on board.
Within the business, Andrews was respected for his knowledge and
hands-on methodology. He made a habit of always sailing on his ships
for their maiden voyage in order to ensure the safety and quality of
the journey. Because of this, Andrews was on board the Titanic on
April 15, 1912. After the collision, Captain Smith summoned him to
the bridge to consult him about the damage. Andrews immediately
jumped into action.
He began warning the skeptical passengers of the danger and
convincing them to bundle up and enter the lifeboats. Andrews made
the difference between life and death for many souls that night.
Thomas Andrews spent the last hours of this life ensuring that as
many passengers as possible got into the lifeboats and testimonies
from several survivors confirm that they lived because of his
sacrifice. One of his last actions was to begin throwing deck chairs
off the ship to save those drowning in the icy water below.
To the bitter end, Andrews demonstrated a sincere dedication to the
well-being and safety of his passengers, never thinking of himself
and touching many lives beyond his own.
Question? Did Thomas Andrews think he could save them all? No. Did
he know what was going to happen? Apparently so. What did he do?
What he could to save those who would listen.
Remember what Isaiah learned from his vision:
1. God is worthy.
2. Souls need to know.
3. The time is limited.
May we see the vision again.
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