A TRANSFORMING ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIVING GOD —Part 8
"So I (Isaiah) 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" (Isaiah 6:5).
Recall that, many centuries later, the apostle Peter caught a spiritual glimpse of the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ's deity and holiness. When Peter witnessed the Lord Jesus perform a supernatural miracle (which could only be explained by the truth that He is Lord and God), we read in Luke 5, "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord.'" Centuries ago, the Lord came to Job in a whirlwind. Afterward, he cried out, "I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." Similarly, Isaiah's sight of the Lord's majestic sovereignty and holiness had utterly shattered the heart of the prophet.
Consequently, he was rightly robbed of any sense of self-worth, self-sufficiency, and self-exaltation. The prophet was consumed with a sense of his own profound wretchedness when compared to God's pure holiness.
These verities should remind all that 'sinful men with tender hearts rightly respond to an encounter with the Holy Lord God, with a reverent fear and awe'. Even today, when one is confronted with the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ through His word, it is impossible to remain neutral. His enemies may react to Him with hatred and reviling, but His true disciples will respond with worshipping homage and awestruck reverence. I am attempting to convey that believers must take our Lord and God extremely seriously by responding in reverence, with awe, and a humble and healthy fear within our hearts.
Remember, no one can even begin the journey of faith without some sense of the reverential fear of God. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Notice that there was no attitude of flippancy or casualness within the heart of the prophet of God. For he had not only seen the Lord, he also knew that the Lord was seeing through to the inner core of his being. Thus, he ceased comparing himself to anyone else at this point. No longer was he pointing his finger at anyone else in the nation, for he was startlingly aware that the King was gazing into his heart and soul.
His response speaks volumes as he cries out, "Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips. Then comes the reason for this change, 'for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.'" What prostrated his soul so low in the dust? Why was he utterly overwhelmed with self-abasement? Why was his heart so devastated with a keen sense of his own vileness? Oh, it came from his unclouded view of the essential glory of the Son of God! Whenever any person has a transforming encounter with the majesty of God the Son, the blazing flame of the majesty of Jesus Christ reveals the hidden evil within the life of that individual, so that this person falls low, bowing before the throne of the Holy One with the confession, "I abhor myself. Woe is me! For I am undone."
Beloved, let this truth be ever present in your mind. As you increasingly see an enlarging and expanding vision of the majestic glory of Christ (within the pages of scripture), you will increasingly see that there is no glory in yourself. Any powerful encounter with the Lord Jesus becomes the searchlight that reveals the darkness and defilements that are within our wicked flesh. When we see His glory, it is then that those deep-seated and long-veiled defects and defilements are exposed. The Lord God desires that His glory shine through your life.
Isaiah was the finest man in the kingdom. Yet, when he saw the pristine holiness of the Lord, he was ruined. He was falling to pieces. He called down a curse on himself. He pronounced judgment on himself. However, the Lord was gracious to reveal His holiness, allowing Isaiah to see his own sinfulness and know to call out to the One who would cleanse him, fill him with His power, and equip him to carry out the work the Lord had assigned to him.
I close today by pointing out that this was the most spiritually advantageous reality that could occur in his life. For Isaiah to be used in a mighty way, as a prophet to the nation, he must first see himself in the light of the holiness of the Lord. Through this encounter Isaiah will now fully understand where the power originates to fulfill his daily life.
A TRANSFORMING ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIVING GOD —Part 7
"And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I (Isaiah) 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" (Isaiah 6:4-5).
As we continue observing these verses, remember that throughout chapter 5, the prophet has been calling down 'woe after woe' on his nation, which had turned away from the Lord God. But when He experienced this transforming encounter of the 'sovereignty and holiness of God the Son', he called down 'WOE'' upon himself! Likewise, whenever the grace of God gives a believer a fresh encounter with the living God, through His written word, He reveals our present and practical condition to our hearts and minds.
This powerful confrontation will expose areas of worldliness and selfishness. It brings to light our sins of omission and commission. It reflects our attitudes of apathy, lethargy, and neglect concerning Jesus' lordship rights over our lives. A divine encounter with the Lord unearths the "strained and even broken relationships" that we have refused to deal with. It unmasks any idolatries, which are nothing less than spiritual adulteries against God!
Dear friend, this delineates that 'personal or corporate revival' does not begin with the top blowing off. On the contrary, it commences with the "bottom falling out". When the redeemed church of the Lord experiences a transforming encounter with the Lord's sovereign rights and majestic holiness, it simultaneously comes under profound conviction and contrition over its many sins against the Lord of the church.
Are you aware that the most dangerous thing for the future of the evangelical church is the shallowing of the mind and heart, in its perceptions of the Lord God? In other words, the danger of not possessing the biblical view of God is that you will not obtain the right view of man, the right view of sin, or the correct view of salvation. Instead, many within the contemporary church have created a god of their own making, a god who sits complacently and inconsequentially as the church members live their self-centered and worldly lives.
Therefore, the modern church's obsession has been to 'dumb down the biblical view of God', so that the members and visitors might find Him more acceptable and attractive to their fleshly mindset. Much of the contemporary church falsely assumes that, "if they will bring the infinite God down to the level of their puny minds, that He will appear to be safer to them." When in reality, safety and security are ultimately found in the biblical truth that 'God's ways are infinitely above our ways; and His thoughts are infinitely above our thoughts'. However, it is a great tragedy that most church members would rather settle for a superficial and shallow view of God, rather than a mind-stretching, gut-wrenching, and life-altering reality of who God truly is.
Consequently, this watered-down version of the character of God doesn't really amaze and astound us, move us, stir us, scare us, offend us, or thrill us. So, this results in disaster, where most people look elsewhere for their dramatic thrills. They look to entertainment, sports, music, drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, or other distractions to capture their hearts and wow their minds, instead of gazing on the biblical vision of the magnificent majesty of the awesome reality of who God is.
Oh, but when this prophet of God saw the revelation of the God of the Bible (for precisely who He is in all of His Glory), he saw his own sinfulness, wretchedness, and doom. As an immediate result, he was disintegrating over his sin against the Lord God.
Friend, when we are graced with a fresh biblical vision of the Lord God in authentic revival (not some mystical vision- but a biblical vision), and we see God's holy standard for our lives, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can be certain that we will have grounds for both personal and corporate repentance.
A TRANSFORMING ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIVING GOD —Part 6
"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! And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I (Isaiah) 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" (Isaiah 6:1-4).
When Isaiah was confronted with a vision of the sovereignty of Jehovah Adonai (LORD, MASTER, OWNER) and the sanctity of the pre-incarnate glory of God the Son, he immediately received a vision of his own SINFULNESS! First, take note that the entire temple structure was quaking in the presence of the Lordship and Holiness of the pre-incarnate Christ. Even the inanimate objects of the temple shook by the presence of the Holy Lord God! Isaiah, God's chosen prophet, was also shaken to the inner core of his being. Suddenly, he found himself in the presence of a powerful vision of the sovereignty and sanctity of the God of creation.
This appearance of the Lord God to Isaiah was unexpected, disruptive, devastating, and overwhelming! As a direct consequence, the prophet cried out, "Woe is me!" The term "WOE" alerts us that Isaiah literally called down a curse of damnation on himself. This is the language of utter disintegration and devastation. He was calling out in deep conviction, admittedly saying, "I am falling to pieces. I am broken and speechless. I am utterly overthrown with a sense of my own wretchedness, in the presence of this vision of God's holiness and sovereignty." By doing this, Isaiah was totally overcome with his own uncleanness, unworthiness, and grave jeopardy! This holy vision abruptly awakened him to the pervasiveness of wickedness that was emanating from his life.
He cried out, "I am a man of unclean lips." The word 'unclean' was the same word that a leper was required to employ. If another person approached him too closely, they were to warn him of their dangerous condition by shouting, UNCLEAN! But Isaiah found himself crying out "UNCLEAN" in the presence of the pristine purity of the God of the universe!
Remember, Isaiah had just observed King Uzziah die with physical leprosy. But now, he is seeing his own spiritual leprosy in the presence of the majestic sanctity of the living God. Consequently, he cried out in personal brokenness, deep conviction, and profound contrition, confessing, 'I am a man with a leprous mouth, which is flowing from the polluted fountain of my leprous heart'!
A Prophet, like Isaiah, whose speech was the one place that should have been most useful to God, and indeed where God most gifted him. However, his tongue was the fruit of the most radical manifestation of the root of his own leprous heart. This preacher learned a significant lesson that some people never learn in their entire lives. He came to the personal understanding that even the best of his strength, his gifts, and his usefulness were unclean when evaluated and exposed to the searching floodlight of the holiness of God. For the heights that the best of men can accomplish are utterly contaminated with the uncleanness of human defilement. There is quite enough sin in the "best 30 minutes" that we have ever lived to condemn each of us to hell, without the mediation of the Great High Priest!
When Isaiah was suddenly confronted with the pristine standard of God's holiness, he found himself to be vile, guilty, condemned, and in urgent need of a supernatural purging and miraculous cleansing. In simple terms, the awful purity of God brought him to a position of spiritual destitution, defilement, and devastation! Dear one, the nearer you and I get to the majestic holiness of the Lord God, the more realistic you become about your own humanness, fallenness, and sinfulness. But this is where believers will recognize our need for Him to cleanse us continuously.
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A TRANSFORMING ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIVING GOD —Part 5
"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)!
In the prior devotion, we considered the truth that the Prophet Isaiah encountered a powerful vision of the Sovereignty of the Lord. Today, let's begin to ponder the truth that He also experienced a life-transforming encounter with THE SANCTITY OF THE LORD.
The sanctity (or holiness) of the Lord speaks of everything that sets God infinitely apart from us and reveals that God is radically different from man. Holiness has to do with everything that sets God against unconverted sinners (in their sinfulness) and causes His just wrath to be fixed against them. This Holy LORD God is an infinite and distinctive cut above everyone and everything else in His created universe.
Notice that even the seraphim had to cover their faces in the presence of the thrice-holiest Lord God? Observe, those "holy angels" were not crying "love, love, love" to one another. The scripture does inform that "God is love". However, love is not God. Furthermore, the truth that "God is love" is not the whole truth. The truth that "God is love" is only part of the truth. Sorrowfully, when the contemporary church attempts to take PART of the truth, saying (God is love) and make that ALL of the truth, then that 'incomplete truth' becomes an untruth! And why? Because they have become dangerously out of balance. It is a precious reality that "God is love," but His love never comes at the expense of LIGHT! At the same time, "God is light," but never at the expense of love!
The seraphim were also not crying "grace, grace, grace". Our Lord and God is full of grace and truth. It is by grace that any sinner is saved. God has shown His grace to this sinner by giving me what I did not deserve. However, these flaming angels were not crying out "grace, grace, grace" around the Throne of God.
Moreover, they were not crying out to one another, "mercy, mercy, mercy!" I revel in the precious promise that my Lord and Savior is plenteous in mercy. It is of the Lord's mercies that His justice has not consumed me. It is according to His mercies that He saved this wretch of a sinner, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. But the seraphim were not crying out "mercy, mercy, mercy" around the Throne of the Lord!
What were they crying out? The Word of God proclaims that these flaming angelic beings cease not day and night to cry "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY!" Dear reader, God's holiness is His fundamental characteristic; the crown of His magnificent being; and the foundation for all of His other spectacular attributes! Our Lord and God is glorious in holiness. He is transcendent in His majesty. He is perfect in all of His ways. As a matter of fact, He is infallible in His perfections. The Lord has never made a mistake, a misjudgment, or a miscalculation. He is fully and infinitely right and absolutely sinless. He does not conform to anyone else's standard. He is the standard of holiness!
Additionally, because God is absolutely holy, He possesses a holy indignation and just hostility against all sin. His holy hatred for sin does not only extend to the sins of unconverted sinners, but also to the sins of His people. You can be sure that the Lord hated Isaiah's sin. And He hates our sins. God does not condemn sin in the sinner and then condone sin in the saint. He possesses a righteous indignation for our sins of omission and commission. He detests our polluted worship. He despises the sins of refusing to be "set apart from our flesh's agendas and set apart unto His agendas". Our Holy Lord God loathes our refusal to yield to the sovereign rights of His Lordship unconditionally. You can be assured that He disciplines His children who will not confess and forsake their sins. God will not hear (turn a deaf ear) the prayers of His children, who are giving place to iniquity in their lives.
Why is there so little power within the modern church? Could it be because there is so little purity in the church? Why is there so little glory within the church among His people? Is it because there is very little "pursuit of holiness" in the church?
A TRANSFORMING ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIVING GOD — Part 4
"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" (Isaiah 6:1).
In the previous devotion, we observed that although there was a vacancy in relation to the earthly throne, there was no vacancy on the Heavenly Throne. The King of kings and Lord of lords, our God sovereignly rules in the universe which He has created. You may be thinking, "How does a fresh encounter with the Sovereignty of the Lord relate to personal or corporate revival in the life of a believer or a local church? Oh friend, whenever personal or corporate revival becomes a living reality, they are reawakened to the biblical fact that, the Lord Jesus Christ possesses the sovereign right to be Lord of every compartment of their lives!" He purchased those 'Lordship rights' on the Cross. Romans 14:8-9 declares, "For if we live, we live to the LORD; and if we die, we die to the LORD. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be LORD of both the dead and the living."
The prophet Isaiah was seeking the Lord in the earthly temple, when he was confronted with this life-transforming vision of the throne of the Lord God. The throne of the pre-incarnate glory of the Lord Jesus extended upward and outward to fill the entire universe, like an inverted pyramid. It was a spiritual vision of the greatness, the bigness, the majesty, the sheer enormity of the sovereign reign of the Lord God. Friends, this was the majestic sovereignty and the all-consuming glory of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. This is the One residing on this throne who is in ultimate charge of the entirety of human history, from the beginning of time and space, all the way into the timelessness of eternity!
Consequently, Jehovah Adonai (the dominion of the Lord) is the only One who maintains the right to reside on the throne of the life of every born-again follower of the Lord! Dr. Stephen Olford once said, "If Jesus died to redeem you as Lord, then Jesus lives in you to REIGN in you as LORD!" He reminds us that genuine conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ is not the end of slavery. Genuine conversion to Christ is the exchange of masters! Authentic conversion is the supernatural implantation of the THRONE of the LORD Jesus Christ in the regenerated heart of this person who is being converted.
If you have experienced this great exchange of masters, in a bona fide conversion to the Lord, then you are not your own. You have been purchased at the most precious price. Now, you are personally responsible for glorifying the LORD, in your body and in your spirit, which are now the purchased possession of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, dear reader, when a believer is graced with a reviving and transforming encounter with the LORD, they are radically confronted (afresh and anew) with the truth that they are under new management of a new Owner, Master, and King!
Is the Lord Jesus Christ presently ruling and reigning in every compartment of your heart and life? I remind you, "Grace is not the license to live in the manner that your wicked flesh desires to live. Grace is the liberty and power to live in the manner in which the Lord purposes for you to live! Moreover, it is His sanctifying love to convict you, correct you, and cleanse you when you stumble and fall while walking on the narrow road.
If you are converted to the Lord, then you are responsible to King Jesus, as Lord of your life. "Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do it heartily as unto the Lord, and not men. Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord."
Contemplate the following questions. Is there anything that is occurring in your life that you cannot sign the name of the Lord to? Is there anything that you are involved in that you cannot do heartily as unto the Lord? Can you do or say it under His authority, with His approval, and for His acclaim? The One who is reigning on the Throne of the universe also has the sovereign right to rule on the throne of your heart and life!
You have absolutely no right to compartmentalize your life. You do not have permission to say to the Sovereign Lord that, "He can be Lord in 80% of your life; while you remain the lord over 20% of your life. That would be partial obedience. Remember, partial obedience is total disobedience, and total disobedience is rebellion!
A TRANSFORMING ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIVING GOD — Part 3
"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" (Isaiah 6:1).
King Uzziah had ascended to the throne at the age of sixteen! He was truly a "child-king" in every sense of the word. However, as long as the King sought the Lord, the Lord's word, the Lord's will, and the Lord's ways, his reign was prospered by the Lord. However, tragically, later in his life, he became overly confident in his own abilities. He began to think too highly of himself, and his heart became filled with self-sufficiency and self-reliance. To make it quite clear, Uzziah's inner core had become poisoned with the rotten refuse of pride. He became so full of himself that he entered into the 'altar of incense', where only the High Priest was permitted to enter. His foolish pride inspired him to attempt to worship the Holy Lord God on his own terms, rather than the Lord's terms. Can you imagine how ignorant and arrogant this decision was?
Friends, this is precisely what scores of church members are attempting to do with their lives! They endeavor to worship this Holy Lord God on their own selfish conditions, neglecting the Lord's conditions. Our Lord Jesus Christ reminds each of us that, "God is seeking worshipers, who will worship Him in spirit and in truth." To 'worship God in spirit' is to manifest a lifestyle of worship, in which the born-again believer is striving to live the totality of their life for the glory of the Lord. Then to 'worship in spirit' is to possess a regenerated heart which is boiling over in adoration of Jesus and allegiance to Jesus, so that this disciple is seeking to live to please Jesus in all of the compartments of their life. This disciple is exhibiting a single-minded devotion to the Lord, in which all of the weeds of idolatry have been extracted from the garden of the heart! As a direct consequence, the Lord Jesus Christ is the undisputed champion of their heart!
Furthermore, to 'worship in truth' is to live a life that is rooted and grounded in the truth of the Word of God. This describes an ongoing lifestyle of worship that flows from a biblical view of the Lord God. This worshiper is purposing to live a life that is being shaped and molded by the sound doctrines of the Word of God. They do not desire to attempt to dilute the biblical view of the Lord. They are not seeking to create a 'god' of their own imagination. Nor are they striving to concoct a 'god' in their own image and according to their flesh's likeness. On the contrary, they are seeking to live their life in such a manner that their ambitions, attitudes, affections, actions, and reactions are being directed and dominated by the truth; the whole truth; and nothing but the truth! So this born-again believer, who worships the Lord' in spirit and in truth', responds by yielding their heart, mind, and members to the Lord in the New Testament consecration sacrifice of worship (Romans 12:1). They present their bodies as a living and holy sacrifice. This worshiper purposefully sets their life apart from their 'flesh's plans and purposes and purposefully sets their life apart 'UNTO GOD'S AGENDAS' for their life! This is true and acceptable worship.
But tragically, King Uzziah was polluted with pride; so he was utterly defiled in his worship. He sought to worship God on his own conditions. Azariah and eighty of the priests attempted to stop the king, but they were unable. Oh, but God stopped him in his tracks. God struck him with leprosy and removed him from the throne. This Monarch, who had been at the center of national life for over four decades, died in seclusion, quarantine, and disgrace! Now, the earthly throne was empty.
The judgment of God is imminent on the nation. Isaiah, the prophet of God, makes his way to the temple of God in hope of getting a word from God. But suddenly, the sovereign Lord of the universe took Isaiah's eyes away from the earthly throne and placed his eyes on the Heavenly Throne! Dear reader, even though there was a vacancy on the earthly throne, there was no vacancy in glory! The prophet declared, "I saw the Lord sitting upon His throne". As King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lord regally rules and royally reigns as Sovereign over this universe. He is in complete control of this planet. He is working all things (even the King's death) according to His will. He is directing every process, and He is ordering every event to fulfill His eternal plans and to accomplish His good pleasure. Oh, but how should this biblical vision of the Sovereignty of the Lord radically affect your life? The answer to that query will be in the following devotion.