DAILY DEVOTION No. 13

Isaiah 6:1-8 "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD......

Verse 1 - "In the year King Uzziah died I saw the Lord...." Over and over again God has to remove people and things from our lives and replace them with Himself - replace them with His ways, His thoughts and His life. The Apostle Paul said “I die Daily”. What has to die in me so I can see God? First of all, the Adamic nature - something that each of us fights with every day. Secondly, the world's values. Because we are constantly bombarded with the world's thoughts and values on the issues that oppose what God teaches, it isn't too long before we start to compromise our stand, even to the point of accepting it's values. Isaiah’s world was a lot like ours today. He preached for 50yrs to the people with no response. As Christians, are our values God's values? As Oswald Chambers puts it, "My vision of God depends on the state of my heart, and my heart determines my revelation."

Verse 1(b) - "The train of His robe filled the temple……" You and I are the temple of the Lord. Does His Glory fill our lives? We have Christ the hope of glory in us but do we live our lives in such a way that His glory shines through? Isaiah was in the presence of God. This was real. It wasn't a substitute and nothing could compare. There is no substitute for God's presence in our lives and nothing can compare to it.

In Verse 3 we read “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty; the Whole Earth is full of His Glory.” The Heavenly Host were declaring the Holiness of God. All of creation declares the Glory of the Lord, and we are without excuse. The temple was filled with smoke……There were no special effects, no smoke machines or special lights, because when God turns up, we don't need any of these man made things to create His presence. God had filled the temple with Himself and He wants to fill each one of us. He wants each one of us to declare His holiness and live lives that are righteous and God honouring.

In Verse 5 Isaiah says, “Woe is me! For I am undone;" Isaiah was all of a sudden aware of himself, that he was a sinner. God's holy presence brought repentance to the heart of Isaiah. What had he said? God is always specific with our sin. Isaiah, referred to his unclean lips. Had he been unkind in speech? Was his praise true & acceptable to God? God had nailed something in his life while in His presence. It is during times of worship and intimacy when we still our heart before Him and remove all masks that we are ready to hear what God wants to say to us. It is when we are in His presence that we are ready to hear and often He reminds us to put things right during these times. When we have been in that place, where His Glory fills the temple, we know the difference between the true and the false, real worship and what’s been manufactured. There is a way God has made for us to come into His presence…with a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

We all come each week with different circumstances in our lives into our church services. Some come distressed, others triumphant, others having suffered defeat, others in grief, others rejoicing with thanksgiving. All these ways are valid if Jesus is truly the focus of our worship. David said in Ps 118:5 “From my distress (defeat), I called upon the Lord. The Lord answered me and set me in a large place; The Lord is for me I will not be fear. What can man do to me?" As it was for David, God hears the cry of His people. There’s a place too for CRYING in worship. In Ps 47 we read, "Clap your hands all you people, shout unto God with a voice of Triumph….." So there is a place in worship for us to shout as well. But in every way that we come before Him, there must be  repentance flowing from a broken and contrite heart. No matter what way we come into His presence, in every circumstance, there must be an acknowledgement of God as our source, where we say "My hope is in the Name of the Lord, my strength, my help, my life, my joy, my victory."

Verse 6 and 7 …"Your sin is forgiven." Because of an openness of heart and transparency, God was ready to forgive Isaiah. When we come as Isaiah did, God will touch the areas in our lives revealed by His Spirit…..with the coals from the Altar. Salvation comes in His presence. You and I must die daily to those things God puts His finger on when we are in His presence. When we worship corporately in our church services, it doesn’t matter what rhythm, beat, style or how loud our music is, God is looking for a transparent and true heart that might worship Him in spirit and truth.

In Verse 8 it says "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.” God’s presence brings truth. There are two things God requires of us, that we love Him with all our hearts and we love others. When we are in His presence, we hear His voice. God didn’t address the call to Isaiah personally, he overheard God saying “Who will go for us.” The call of God is not for the special few, it’s for everyone. What I hear depends on the state of my heart. Those who allow their hearts to be touched by God, and who have unstopped ears, hear His voice saying “Who will go.” Isaiah was in Gods presence. He heard the call and realized there was nothing else for him to say except, “Here I am, send me”. 

Challenge

Will you be a temple that houses God's glory? Will you come before Him with a hard heart or with a broken and contrite heart? 

When we come face to face with Jesus, we too will hear God’s voice, and we will willingly say, “SEND ME.” Send me to my family and friends. Send me to my local community. Send me to the nations. “ Let us go and tell these people their hope is in the name of the LORD.

Prayer

Lord, give me a heart that is in tune with Your heart. Let me constantly come before you in brokenness and repentance. Lord, I want to be a person that is available to bring your glory and your hope to a people that don't know You, the hope of Glory.

Rod Best