20/20 Vision

Introduction

Just over a month ago, I drove Amy to see her optomologist in downtown Atlanta. Amy has an eye disease brought on by a head on car collision she was in twelve years ago. After seeing her doctor and undergoing eye treatment, it is very difficult for Amy to drive home. Her eyes are very sensitive and it takes them a while to get properly adjusted to the light.

Amy is constantly reminding me that God has blessed me with great vision. Her doctor tested my vision quickly during that last visit and said I have 20/20 vision.

As great a gift 20/20 eyesight is, a far greater gift is to have 20/20 vision with our spiritual sight. That kind of vision only comes when we see God for Who He is. Isaiah was a man who had an encounter with God and it forever changed his life. When Isaiah had this vision of God, he began to see God, himself, and others with 20/20 vision.

Can God, the Great Physician, say the same thing of you and I? If He checked us out, would He say, “20/20” vision? Or would He say, “You are in need of corrective surgery. You need better vision.” Prophet Isaiah wants to share His experience of 20/20 vision with us this morning.
 
I. Look Upward – See The Sovereign In Holiness (Isaiah 6:1-4)

A. The Timing Of This Vision

Isaiah begins, “In the year King Uzziah died…” That’s the timing of this vision. King Uzziah was a strong leader and powerful King of Judah for close to fifty years. His reign was marked by peace, provision and security. He was just he kind of leader America needs right now!

Isaiah, along with the people of God had come to depend heavily on King Uzziah’s leadership. He was someone they trusted in, a King they were in good hands with. What sadness and sorrow everyone felt when King Uzziah died and moved on to be with the Lord.

In the year of an awfully hard death, and an excruciatingly difficult time in his life and Israel’s life, Isaiah had this wonderful vision of God. Often times when we are at our lowest point, God’s presence becomes more real.

Maybe you are in pain this morning for various reasons. 2008 is a tough year for you. Let that pain cause you to seek God in a fresh way. C.S. Lewis in his book The Problem of Pain. wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and pose an obstacle to our return to God... Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”

B. The Throne Of This Vision

Isaiah saw God, the King of Heaven and Earth on the throne! Verse 1, “In the year the King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple.”

This is the vision Isaiah needed most! He got his eyes off his earthly, mortal king to his Immortal, Heavenly King!

So many people are distressed and discouraged over the direction America is headed. So am I. But, let’s remember where our true hope is found. It’s not in the government, as good and sometimes bad as it can be. Our hope is in God! Listen to Psalm 138:4-6, “All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord, when they hear the words of Your mouth. Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord. Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows afar off.”

No matter how tough times may get for you or for America, let’s remember our God is the Ultimate Sovereign King who reigns on high! Let’s humbly acknowledge the One who sits on His throne in Heaven and allow Him to be King in our lives!

C. The Theme Of This Vision

Note verses 2-4, “Above it (God’s throne) 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! And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.”

The theme of Isaiah’s vision was is the holiness of God. The seraphim, lit. “burning ones,” knew they were upon “Holy Ground.” The seraphim covering their faces speaks of their reverence to God. The seraphim covering their feet speaks of their respect to God. The seraphim other two wings were  used to fly in the service of the Lord. John Macarthur points out that 4 of the six wings were used to worship, emphasizing the priority of praise.

Just like these seraphim were created to worship, God created you and I to worship Him “in the beauty of holiness.”

Is worshiping God the theme of your life? Worship is not just for Sunday mornings in church! It’s honoring God in your family life, financial life, school life, sports life, relationships, etc.! Look upward this week and see the Sovereign in His holiness!

II. Look Inward – See Self With Humility (Isaiah 6:5-7)

We live in an image driven society. I was noticing the other day that most men on the magazines  don’t have bodies like mine. Most GQ type magazines do not feature guys who are 10 pounds overweight and sport a double chin! Most of the photos of women on the front cover of magazines in reality do not mirror their true appearance. Professionals have spent hours of their time making them over in search of that “perfect 10” shot. The message of most magazines is “you are not pretty or handsome unless you buy our product and then overnight, you can finally become worthy, decent and acceptable in society.”

How do you see yourself? Have you humbly accepted God’s vision of you? When it comes to seeing ourselves in the proper light, we need to avoid two extremes. Some people think too highly of themselves and need more humility. St. Francis of Assisi had an unusual method of maintaining humility. In his memoirs, he said any time someone praised him, in order to stay humble; he would have a fellow monk sit down and tell him all his faults. Others think so low of themselves they need to understand their true worth in Christ! What will happen when we look inward and see ourselves with humility?

A. We will bow down before God in worship.

When was the last time you really worshiped God? Have you encountered God like Isaiah? I encourage you to worship God every day just for who He is and what He’s done for us! Our worship  of God grows when we realize how Great and Mighty God is, yet He is mindful of us and loves us so much. In Psalm 8:3-6, David says, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of your fingers, the   moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him? For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor.” In the Hebrew, the word “angels” is translated ELOHIM which is another name for God. The world says we are little above the gorillas, on a good day, but the Word of God proclaims we are a little lower than God Himself.

B.  We will experience humility in our hearts.

Do you remember King Nebuchadnezzar from the O.T. book of Daniel?

In summary, he was a king who struggled with his pride. He believed it was his power and his greatness that made him such a wealthy, powerful leader. Daniel 4:30 gives his short testimony, “It not this the great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” Yet the Bible tells us while he was still boasting on himself that a voice fell from heaven saying, “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you!” Trust me, it only gets worse. He was driven from men and ate grass like oxen. His hair grew out like eagles feathers and his nails became “like bird claws.”

It was only when God reached down in mercy and restored him that Nebuchadnezzar says, “Now, I Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.” Daniel 4:37

Nebuchadnezzar was broken before God, just like Isaiah was broken before the greatness of God! From their brokenness, they became changed men!

Why do we need to be broken before the Lord? A.W. Tozer said that those whom God chooses to bless greatly He must first wound deeply. There is no resurrection without the cross. Here is a poem by an unknown author that illustrates this point.
 
When God wants to drill a man, and thrill a man, and skill a man, to play the noblest part; When He yearns with all His heart to create so great and bold a man, that all the world shall be amazed, Watch His methods, watch His ways! How He ruthlessly perfects, Whom He royally elects! How He hammers him and hurts him, And with mighty blows converts him, into trial shapes of clay which Only God understands; While his tortured heart is crying, and he lifts beseeching hands! How He      bends but never breaks, when his good He undertakes; How He uses whom He chooses, And with every purpose fuses him: By every act induces him, to try his splendor out--God knows what He's about.--Author Unknown

C. We will realize our own need for cleansing.

When Isaiah has this “God encounter,” something happened to him first on the inside. When He  saw this mighty and majestic God, he realized his own sinful condition. There was no need to compare himself for others. The first need in his life was God’s cleansing power. Isaiah 6:5, “Woe is me for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips.”

Has that ever happened to you? Has there ever been a time in your own life when God convicted you of the sin in your own life, and you felt undone, ruined? Sometimes it’s painful when the truth of God’s word shines into our lives. It’s not always easy to hear there are areas we need to change in order to reflect God’s character. The right response to God’s light is to agree with God, confess your sin to Him and allow Him to bring forgiveness, renewal, and cleansing in your life!

Before we can receive the good news, we need to understand the bad news. The bad news is we   are sinful and can’t do a thing about it. The Good News is God can! In fact, Jesus our Savior died to do something about it. When we were at our worst, God was at His best! Later Isaiah would proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ saying, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him. And by His stripes we are healed.” Jesus suffered on Calvary’s cross in your place so you could be saved!!!

D. We will have a new vision of others.

When Isaiah got right with God, he became concerned about those who were not right with God. If you are right with God, others are going to matter to you. Instead of looking down on others, you are going to reach out to others with the love and forgiveness God has shown you in Christ!

Receiving God’s forgiveness, means I share that forgiveness with others struggling in sin!

No matter the sin in my life, your life, others lives, God has the solution. Verse 6-7 says, “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 is purged.”

When God forgives you, He frees you completely! Don’t let anyone take away that joy of God’s forgiveness!

A young boy broke a special vase that belonged to his mother. His sister saw the whole thing and said, "If you wash the dishes on my nights as well as yours, I will not tell mom you did it." The frightened brother agreed. Every time it was his sister’s time to wash dishes, she threatened him again and the boy continued washing dishes. This went on for a week and the he became sick of being under his sister's control. Finally, the boy went to his mother and told her the truth. His confession was accepted and forgiveness granted. That evening his sister said, "If you don't do the dishes for me, I will tell mom you broke the vase." The boy said, "It won't do you any good to tell her - I told her this morning. Now you can wash the dishes yourself. I'm free of your control!” Satan is an accuser. He tries to hold you through guilt, fear and threats. But, when you come clean with God, He will forgive you and you can be "free from Satan's control." (Mike Minnix, PastorLife.com). 20/20 vision requires that we look upward – seeing God in holiness, look inward – seeing self in humility, and…

III.  Look Outward – See Souls In Need of Healing (Isaiah 6:8)

A. Hear God’s Commission

Verse 8, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” When our hearts are clean and right with God, that puts us in great position to hear the voice of God! Just like those cell phone commercials, where the man is going all over the world saying, “Can you hear me now?” God will go to any lengths in your life and will keep asking, “Can you hear Me now? Can you hear My call on your life?”

B. See Isaiah’s Commitment

Verse 8b, “Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

When God gives you a fresh vision of Himself, and fills you with Heaven’s forgiveness, it ought to make you eager to share that joy with others!

Interesting, God told Isaiah not everyone would receive his message. Hearts would be dull. Ears would be heavy. Eyes would be shut. Don’t let it get you down when people don’t believe what you tell them. They didn’t believe Isaiah. They didn’t even believe the Son of God! Not all believe, but some will!

Our job as Christians is not to force people to believe God, but to simply share what God has done in our own lives with others. There’s joy in believing God! There’s joy in letting God give you 20/20  vision!

What could God do in your life, in the life of this church, in your family, if you would simply say this morning, “God, I just want to be right with you this morning. Please cleanse my life by your grace and make me your faithful servant. Here I am, send me.” If you prayed a prayer like that, I want you to take a step of faith and come forward this morning during our time of commitment.

Conclusion

The story is told of two men who were walking along a crowded city sidewalk. Suddenly one of them remarked, “Listen to the lovely sound of that cricket.” But his friend could not here the sound. He asked how he could detect the sound of a cricked amide the roar of traffic and the sounds of the people. The first man, a zoologist, had trained himself to hear the sounds of nature- yet did not explain. HE simply dropped a half dollar from his pocket onto the sidewalk, then watched as a dozen people began to look anxiously about them. Then he said, “We hear what we listen for.”

Are you listening to God this morning? Let’s let God give us 20/20 vision spiritually as we look upward to see His holiness, inwardly seeing ourselves with humility, and outwardly seeing souls in need of healing!

Will you respond to His voice in obedience?

Where do you need to look this morning? Are things heavy and difficult in your life? Are you full of anxiety and distress? Are you willing to look upward and see God in His holiness? To put your trust completely in the God who is in control? Some of you need to look inwardly and see yourself with humility. You are who you are because of God. Everything good in your life has come from the Lord. Are you growing as a humble servant of the Lord? Are you praising and serving Him in humility today? He made a promise to you that if you humble yourself before the Lord, He will exalt you, He will lift you up in due time. Do you need to look outwardly and see people in need of healing? If so, you could pray, “Lord, let me see others like you see them and serve like you would serve them."