Isaiah 6:1-5 (NKJV)

1 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. 2 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. 3 And one cried to another and said:“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;The whole earth is full of His glory!”

Isaiah 6:1-5 (NKJV)

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.5 So I 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 6:1-5

I Surrender My Denial

I Surrender My Denial

Our theme for 2013 has been “I Surrender All”

We have already focused on some specific lessons that deal with our theme

This morning, we want to do the same as we continue with our theme

I Surrender My Denial

When we talk about denial, there are different meanings to the idea

One is very Biblical in nature; it’s the denial Jesus spoke of in Matthew 16:24

We are to deny ourselves of anything that might prohibit us from following after Christ

I Surrender My Denial

The denial that we are going to speak of today deals with a different type of self denial

It’s perhaps more of a blindness or ignorance when it comes to our own lives

It’s the idea of focusing on the bad in others instead of in ourselves

I Surrender My Denial

It’s easy to look at others and point out what is wrong or what needs to be fixed/improved

It’s not quite as easy to see the same in ourselves

Perhaps because of this we just choose not to focus on ourselves

Comparisons, Comparisons

We are all guilty of playing the comparison game

We do it with our spiritual and moral lives

We generally compare ourselves to someone much worse and think, “I’m not that bad”

Comparisons, Comparisons

Instead of being the best we can be, we just end up being better than the next guy

The standard for many is no longer Jesus, but the least of those around us

No doubt, others around us are bad (Israel - Is. 5).

Face To Face With God

What happens though, when we come face to face with God?

Look at what happen to Isaiah (6:1-5)

“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”

Face To Face With God

Isaiah was forced to see himself in comparison to who God was

He had no choice but to see himself as the sinner that he was

If we are going to compare ourselves, then we should do so looking to God, the greatest standard

Face To Face With God

This is precisely what should happen to us when we come face to face with God

It doesn’t have to happen in a physical sense, but can happen through the word

Do we too recognize our own sinfulness before God in humbleness of heart?

What About Others?

Perhaps we are still tempted to say, “But what about others?”

So let’s look at others who were willing to look at God and be honest about themselves

David came face to face with God through His creation – Psalm 8

What About Others?

Peter came face to face with God in the flesh – Luke 5:8

Paul came face to face with God through his conversion – I Corinthians 15:9; Ephesians 3:8; I Timothy 1:15

Paul even refers to himself as the chief of sinners

So What Now?

What do I do when I come face to face with God and the reality that I am a sinner?

Do I just quit or give up because “woe is me”?

What did Isaiah do following his own realization?

So What Now?

v. 7 – “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged”

The first thing we notice is that there was atonement for Isaiah and his “unclean lips”

Because of Christ we enjoy the same (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:6-11)

So What Now?

We don’t have to give up, Christ made a way for us to be cleansed and free from sin!

This should cause us to rejoice, but never feel as though we were good enough to deserve what He did for us

It’s okay to admit who we are

So What Now?

Look at what else Isaiah did…

v. 8 – “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.’”

Following Isaiah’s realization and atonement, he began to work

So What Now?

Isaiah gives us the perfect response to God’s holiness

We should always be willing to look at ourselves in comparison to God

We can gain forgiveness through Christ, and then get busy doing the will of God!