Defining Moments of Destiny
Isaiah 6:1-8 – Here I am, Send Me
· We all face moments of destiny in our lives
- Moments that can define and determine the course of the rest of our lives.
· Moments like these come at unexpected times and in unexpected ways.
- For example, Moses with his people awaiting God’s provision, the parting of the ocean. Today, this enemy you see, you’ll see no more forever.
- Or when Mordecai sent the message to Queen Esther saying that she had been brought into the kingdom for such a time as this.
- Or President Bush standing atop the rubble of ground zero on 9/11.
- Or a parenting challenge in your life where you know it’s a situation that will define your parenting and create a good or bad memory for your child.
· The outcome of moments like these determines whether we will live lives of failure and defeat or lives of victory and reward.
- No matter how far-reaching you perceive your influence to be, our decisions and actions have enormous ramifications on our lives and on the lives of those around us.
· Today we are going to look at an account of a man who encountered a destiny altering moment.
- I’ve really felt this message impressed upon me by the Lord.
Vs. 1
· King Uzziah was an extremely powerful king in Judah.
- Following the murder of his father, 16 year old Uzziah, the King of Judah, came to power.
- For the longest time, King Uzziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and consequently, he was blessed by God.
- He had a vast, well trained and equipped army, he was extremely wealthy, and his fame spread all over the known world. Israel prospered and was peaceful under his reign.
· However, his Achilles heel was his pride. Because of his pride, God struck him with leprosy and he died.
o He was a man who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, who also had a fundamental flaw.
§ He allowed his pride to be his downfall.
o Uzziah wished, like Egypt's kings, to make himself high priest, and to combine in himself all civil and religious power.
o He became so enthralled with his own greatness that he crossed a forbidden boundary; he entered the Temple and tried to perform the function of a priest.
2 Chronicles 26:16-21
But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the Lord his God by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 So Azariah the priest went in after him and with him were eighty priests of the Lord – valiant men. 18 And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the Lord God.” 19 Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the Lord, beside the incense altar. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, no his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of the place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the Lord had struck him. 21 King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death. He dwelt in an isolated house, because he was a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the Lord…
o Because of his arrogant actions and the fact that he was unrepentant when confronted, God punished him and removed him from his throne.
§ Our response to corrections determines the capacity of our lives.
Isaiah wrote his first five chapters under Uzziah, and had his vision in the year of Uzziah’s death.
Vs. 1a
· The name of Isaiah means “salvation or deliverance of the Lord”
· Deliverance would be Isaiah’s calling; he would move into the role of a major prophet.
- By prophesying concerning 5 different times of God’s deliverance:
1. The deliverance of Judah from Assyria
2. Deliverance of the nation from Babylonian captivity
3. Future deliverance of the Jews from worldwide dispersion among the Gentiles
4. The deliverance of lost sinners from judgment
5. The final deliverance of creation from the bondages of sin
Vs. 1-4
· Seraphim means God’s attendant angels, which comes from the root word Saraph, which means to burn.
· Isaiah’s destiny was defined by 4 clear moments.
Defining Destiny Moment #1 – The Revelation
· We all need to have our eyes opened to the 4th dimensional realm. We all need to receive a vision or revelation of God’s greatness.
- When Isaiah’s eyes are opened to the reality of the spiritual realm, he sees the Lord sitting on His throne.
· Why does God give us a glimpse into his heavenly realm? Why do we have the book of “Revelation”?
- So that we long after a relationship with him, to be with him for eternity.
· He also gives us a snapshot into His kingdom to see that things continue to be firm, established and immovable.
- The Kingdom of Heaven is undaunted by the uncertainty of human politics, even following a King’s death.
- Regardless of what is going on in our lives, in our churches, or in our nation, God is on the Throne!
· The Lord is in control.
Matthew 28:18
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
- We need to know that He’s never taken off-guard.
- We need to know that He never wonders about the future, because the future is held firmly in His hand.
· You would think that Isaiah should be pretty stoked right about now.
- However, simultaneous to Isaiah’s realization that God is on the throne and is in full control is his realization that God is REALLY big and completely holy.
· At this point Isaiah is feeling overwhelmed.
Vs. 5
· In the presence of the Almighty Holy God, Isaiah is completely overwhelmed.
- He is overwhelmed by his own brokenness and sin in the presence of perfect purity and strength.
- The goodness of God is too much; it is more than I deserve.
- His glory is greater than I can contain.
· We have to catch God for who He is and His sheer majestic nature.
· Think of a time when you’ve been overwhelmed or have come undone by God.
- I encourage you to cry out for a revelation from God.
- Ask to be overwhelmed by God and Church.
· Cry out to Him today!
- Ex: There have been times where I’ve gotten up especially early and gone to the mountains, or gone on a short walk, or sat outside of work and cried out to God for his healing, his deliverance, his wisdom.
· God wants to show Himself strong for us.
- Because he longs for honest vulnerable relationship with each one of us.
- Because he longs for us to cry out.
- Because he promises to show himself strong to the righteous.
- Because he cares for the just.
- Because he cares for the castaway.
- Because he responds to the lonely.
- Because he lifts up the humble and broken.
- Because he desires to be a father to the fatherless.
- Cry out to God this week!
· This is a moment in defining Isaiah’s destiny.
- Isaiah realizes that His sin cannot coexist with a holy God.
- He understands that at the core of his being he is a sinful man, and as such he is worthy of death.
We all go through moments of destiny where all that is before us will be different based upon how we walk through challenges.
Vs. 6
· God takes each one of us through a process in our lives to get us to the point that we are useful and ready to be sent out.
- God has a way of interrupting our lives.
Defining Destiny Moment #2 – The Confrontation
· At some point in our lives God interrupts us to tell us that we have been interrupting Him all along, and He has a plan and purpose for our lives.
- These interruptions can be painless if we are paying attention, but if we are consumed in ourselves, they can often feel less comfortable.
· The Holy Spirit is always in pursuit of his people. He is always seeking to be with us and confront us.
- However, He does it in response to an invitation.
Revelation 3:20
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
· God wants to invite you today into a deep relationship with Him.
- He has sent the Holy Spirit to be “with you,” or “around you.”
John 14:16
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.”
· This is the point in the relationship where the person of the Holy Spirit functions by coming “alongside” a person.
- I believe that the Holy Spirit is dwelling with, alongside, or around a person prior to salvation.
· He is the One who is calling, wooing, and leading the person to desire Christ.
- EX: He is the One who is calling, wooing, and leading you today to desire Christ.
· This is the initial Spirit’s work of convincing a person that Jesus is God and He saves us from sin, condemnation, and judgment.
- Invite God into your life today.
· Once God has our attention He begins the process of sanctification and purification.
Vs. 7
Defining Destiny Moment #3 – The Purification
- Our iniquity is taken away by Jesus.
- He comes and cleans us from our sin.
· Ex: How many of you enjoy gardening?
- The Lord is purging and cleansing our lives much like a master gardener:
- He is focused on productivity and beauty.
- He knows how to bring more color and life to our lives.
- He knows how and when to prune to bring about greater fruit.
· Each one of us has a horrible, seemingly incurable disease.
- It is the problem of pride, self importance, and self provision.
· Ironically, when we desire to receive glory or desire to take God’s glory, we in return lose our joy.
- Vice versa, as we give the rightful glory to God, we in return receive back our joy!
- As John Piper said so well, “We are more joyful when Christ is most glorified…”
· During these seasons where God cleanses us, we realize that everything has to change:
- Old thought processes have to be changed.
- Old sins have to be purged.
- When we come face to face with God, everything has to change.
- This is just as Paul urges us:
Romans 12:1-2
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
· At this point we have to make a choice:
- Are we going to allow everything to change?
- Are we going to follow God’s plan and purpose for our lives?
- Or are we going to defiantly move forward with our own agenda and ignore what God is saying?
- We can only follow God’s plan when we embrace the supernaturally led introspective life.
· Learning to live a supernaturally-led introspective and honest life is:
- Embracing vulnerability, going beneath the canopy of security
- Weighing your reactions to situations that displease you, holding your tongue and letting the coal of God touch your lips
- Becoming a clean vessel for God to pour through
- Always rejoicing, making a commitment to celebrate what God is doing and where He is going
- Expect life to be tough, misunderstood and maligned
Luke 6:35
“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
· These are all aspects of God’s cleansing in our lives.
It would be easy to be a spirit-filled Christian, if it wasn’t for all the others that call themselves Christians. J
· The goal of God’s purification is maturity.
- Our very captain of the faith, Jesus, walked through a very similar maturing process.
Hebrews 2:10
For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
· Through the heat of our sufferings we are matured.
- The word “perfect” is “teleioo” in the Greek.
- It translates as: “to complete, finish, to reach a goal or be fulfilled or completed.”
· In Isaiah’s case, as soon as the purification process is complete, he hears God speaking in Vs. 8.
Vs. 8
Defining Destiny Moment #4 –The Calling
· Ex: Receiving the calling, knowing what God has for you to do in this life, is something that happens in God’s timing.
· This is actually a two-part step: first the calling is received, and then it is lived.
- We posture ourselves to receive the calling that God has for our lives by going through the purification process.
- God then releases the calling to purified vessels.
Our destiny and calling is to reach out and into the lives of others.
· You are called to reach out to those that God has placed in your sphere of influence:
- The framers around you
- The painters around you
- Those practicing medicine or law with you
- Those raising their kids at the park with you
· One sure and true sign of health in our lives is that we arrive at a place where we build and center our lives on and around others.
- As individuals, around other individuals
- As families, around other families
· Charles Spurgeon said, “The main business is the saving of souls, this one thing I do.”
· In Acts 20 Paul has been away from Jerusalem for a long time, and during his absence the persecution of the Church in Jerusalem has increased dramatically.
- He knows that returning to Jerusalem could cost him his life, but he says:
Acts 20:22-24
“And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
· What would be Paul’s great calling, his great “Here I am send me, moment”?
· Paul does not know what the specific details of the calling are. He does not need to.
- He knows that he has to testify to the Gospel of God’s grace, and that is all that matters.
· He lived out his calling, even if it cost him his life.
- There were no qualifications about where or when, or how to do what. He just says, “send me.”
· Are you willing to live in the calling that God has on your life? Are you willing to go wherever, to do whatever, however, whenever? Are you willing to say to God, “send me” even before you know the calling?
- Take a risk and be vulnerable; embrace the introspective life.
· God is looking for people whose hearts are so on fire that they will follow the calling and will finish the race to the very end, no matter what.
“And I'm ready now, Lord send me out
To sing a song of a heart set free
I will be Your hands and feet.”
This sermon was produced at Mountain Springs Church in Colorado Springs, with Senior Pastor Daniel Rolfe. www.mountainsprings.org
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