Isaiah 6 v1-8:
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. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said:
' Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts:
the whole earth is full of his glory.'
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
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.
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.
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:
Here we read the story of a man who recalls a very special year in his life. It starts on a sad note - marked by a death. Yet in a time of great turmoil he actually saw God! (It can often be the case that at the times we consider pain and hurt most evident in our lives, The Lord appears at His brightest and clearest to us).
I don’t know what sort of year 2019 has been for you personally. Perhaps it was marked by some tragedy or something that rocked your world.
Question: At the beginning of a New Year, have you encountered The Lord?
That experience will change everything for you. It will turn your upside-down world the right way up!
Yet look how this personal transformation progresses in verse 5.
First his world is shaken, then he encounters God and here he sees himself in a way he never has before.
“Woe is me for I am undone “.
When you genuinely meet God you quickly realise your own condition before him; your own smallness, weakness and sinfulness and that of others too - great change required.
Yet God has an answer for this man (verses 6 and 7) to be touched by the power of God and the fire of heaven. Things have not changed since these words were penned. We still need God’s power to touch us today! It cleanses us of sin and gives us a brand-new fresh start.
“Whom shall I send?” (verse 8)
It’s worth noting here that The Lord does not directly ask Isaiah to come forward and be used. It seems quite a general, in fact, an open call. Yet without a doubt this man hears that call speaking directly and intimately to him.
Now before, this man was neither ready nor available - but that has changed now.
“Here am I send me”.
When The Lord had dealt with him he was now a vessel fit for purpose.
May 2020 be the year you are changed and used of God too.
Be blessed in 2020. Much love and best wishes.
Pastor John, Danielle and family
