24 April 2019

HAVE YOU HAD AN ISAIAH EXPERIENCE?

By John Ollis

Most Christians seem to know the awesome story of the Prophet Isaiah’s experience in the Temple in chapter six of his writings. In the KJV we read in chapter 6 verse one “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”.

Many commentators feel that Isaiah was devastated by the death of King Uzziah, and in his sadness and bereavement goes into the Temple to try and pray. The Scripture would suggest that he was so effected by the death of the king, his mind (and sight) was just filled with this. There was then this glorious moment when he ALSO SAW THE LORD, and Isaiah was overwhelmed by the majesty and glory of God. Something else happened, whenever a Believer sees the Lord in all His glory, he becomes aware of his own depravity and sin in his life, and the contaminating environment in which he lives (verse 5). When we have this experience the Lord does not want to leave us in our predicament, He always has an answer as He had for Isaiah. He was cleansed and sanctified by the hot coals and he knew he had been purged (forgiven). You simply cannot see the Lord in all His glory without being touched and changed.

God has many purposes in His sanctifying ministry in our lives, firstly, it is always to make us more like Jesus, but every believer also has a calling from God, and He said to Isaiah WHOM SHALL I SEND, WHO WILL GO FOR US?

Please note a reference to the Holy Trinity ( God saying US), we also see this in the declaration of the Seraphims in verse three HOLY, HOLY,HOLY.

Then, instantly Isaiah replying “HERE AM I SEND ME”, may we always be willing to quickly and positively respond to God’s call.

This experience changed Isaiah’s life forever, there is no record of his initial call to be a Prophet, but it is sure confirmed in his experience in the Temple. He became known as the MESSIANIC PROPHET as there are so many references to the coming of the Messiah, perhaps the greatest is found in chapter 53.

He became a WRITER interestingly the book bearing his name contains 66 chapters, and is a miniature Bible.

Isaiah became a STATESMAN, and a REFORMER, A TEACHER AND THEOLOGIAN, all because of his confrontation with the Lord in the Temple.

We all thank God for that awesome day we were born again, but we all need an Isaiah experience, where we take our eyes off the sin or problem that is overwhelming us and see the Lord in all His pristine purity and we then recognise our own depravity and sin, and need to be sanctified and experientially begin to walk in holiness before the Lord. Then to be able to clearly hear God’s call to us and for us to respond, and say,

I will go where You want me to go,

I will do what You want to do,

I will say what You want me to say,

I will be what You want me to be.

we may not be called to a Prophet or any other of the five fold Ministry Gifts, but our response must be the same.

This to be our constant prayer, until that day we hear the Lord say “Well done good and faithful servant. Amen.