ESF, Lord’s Day service message

5/18/2025

The Vision of the Holy God

Isaiah 6:1-8

 ¹ In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:

   “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

 ⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

 ⁵ “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

 ⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

 ⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

   And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

In 1963, shocking news was sent out across the world: “The President of the US is dead”. John F. Kennedy, a young, vibrant and dynamic leader of both America and the world, was cut down by an assassin’s bullet. America was plunged into grief.

About 700 B.C., a similar announcement was made, “The king is dead.” King Uzziah, the eleventh King of Judah, had died. Crowned at the age of 16, he had reigned 52 years. Despite his failure in the later years of his reign, king Uzziah had been one of the best kings in the history of Israel (2 Chronicles chapter 26).

During the king’s reign, the land had enjoyed peace and prosperity. But there had always been hostile enemies around the country. The enemies were constantly seeking opportunities to attack Israel. The death of Uzziah meant the death of the security of the nation. Isaiah was saddened and depressed by the king’s death.

But at the time of sadness and depression, God brought Isaiah comfort and hope. In today’s word, God is showing us how we can gain comfort and hope in troubled times.

Turn your eyes from troubles to the Lord

Isaiah, in the midst of troublesome times, said, “I saw the Lord!”

His earthly troubles made him turn his eyes upward. When he turned his eyes from earthly troubles to God, he was able to see the majesty, glory, and power of God. Isaiah was able to see God who was still reigning over the entire earth and universe. I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted,…  Above him were seraphs,…. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (verse 1-3).

When he saw the glory and holiness of the almighty God, the troubles in his life became small. And he felt peace and security.

When God wants to encourage us, He opens our eyes to see His glorious presence.

At the end of the first century, Roman emperor Domitian exiled the Apostle John to the island of Patmos. That Island is completely isolated from the mainland. It is rocky and almost treeless. John was very old at that time. In such a situation, John was unable to find any hope for himself and for the churches he had been leading. Then the Lord opened his eyes and showed him His glorious presence (Rev 1:9-20). With His glorious presence the Lord revived hope for John and the church again.

God still uses the same way to bring hope to us in troubled times. God uses troubled situations to make us turn our eyes to Him.

There was a woman who was working in a small town in Latin America. She was experiencing marital problems, as well as conflicts with people she worked with. She felt that her problems were too big and heavy for her to solve. She was living in severe depression. One day, without warning, an earthquake struck her town. Everything was shaken. Buildings shattered and dust billowed. With panic and fear she ran with other people to a relatively safe place. At that moment, she could see the presence of the Lord and felt all her problems were so small and insignificant. Later she testified, “For those moments I saw everything so clearly, how I could become so much kinder to my husband, how other relationships could work out. In an instant and with such gratitude I saw how it would be so easy for me to turn things around.”

When we have no place to turn, when we are surrounded by troubles from every side, we should seek God’s supernatural help. In hopeless times, we must turn our eyes upward. Then the Spirit of God opens our eyes to see God’s glorious presence. As soon as we see God’s glorious presence, our big and heavy troubles become small and insignificant.

Psalm 123:1-2 says, I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,….so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy.

So, when you feel hopeless because of troubles, do what Isaiah did. Turn your eyes upward. Look unto God! Seek God on His holy throne. Seek God’s majesty, His power, His splendor, His glory, His holiness. In God’s glorious presence, your troubles become small like dust, and you will see hope again.

Receive God’s grace which changes not others but you

Isaiah thought that the troubles were coming because the good king had died, and the nation was facing crisis. He thought that his troubles at that time were coming from circumstances.

Like Isaiah, we may think that troubles in our lives come from circumstances. We tend to think the cause of the troubles is from the outside: political corruption, crimes, bad economy, betrayal of friends, social injustice, our spouse, our children, etc. So, we think that to overcome the troubles in our lives, we have to solve those outside troubles first. And if we can’t solve them, we feel hopeless.

But when God brings solutions to our troubles, He does not solve the outside problems first. Instead, God solves the problems within us.

God helped Isaiah to see himself first and to receive God’s renewing grace for himself: “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”  (verse 5)

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, …With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”  (verse 6 and 7)

Here, God helped Isaiah find who he really was in God’s holy presence. God showed Isaiah how sinful he was. When Isaiah confessed his sins, God gracefully cleansed his sins. God renewed his spirit. Through that, God brought hope to his life.

That was what the Lord did to Peter. When Peter failed in fishing and was deeply discouraged, Jesus came to help Peter. Jesus helped him catch lots of fish at a place where no fish could be found, and at a time when no fish could be caught. It was a miracle. But the miracle itself was not the main point in Jesus’ mind. Through that miracle, Jesus opened Peter’s eyes to see that he was a sinner: when Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8). From the moment of that confession, Jesus turned Peter’s life from a mere fisherman into an apostle for His kingdom (Luke 5:1-11).

This is how God brings hope into our lives. When we see problems from the outside and try to find solutions from the outside, God finds solution from the inside of us first. When we are discouraged by troublesome situations, God encourages us to overcome troubles by changing our inner being.

So, when Paul prayed for believers who were living in difficult times in Ephesus, he prayed for the strength of their inner beings: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith… (Ephesians 3:16-17).

An independent government study was undertaken in the U.S. and found that the success rate of detox centers in getting people off drugs permanently (tested after 7 years) was just 2 – 9%. The more intensive rehabilitation centers were not much better – just 9 – 11%. But this independent government study found that “Teen Challenge” (an organization that is thoroughly Christian – founded by David Wilkerson in New York) had a success rate documented as being 86%. When the government researchers were asked what the difference was, they replied that the only thing they could put Teen Challenge’s success rate to was “THE JESUS FACTOR” (the government’s own words!). Teen Challenge is making a difference because this is not a program based upon the wisdom of men, but on the power of God to transform a life. They’re not preaching rehabilitation; they’re preaching RADICAL REGENERATION. And they’re not prescribing substitute drugs; they’re prescribing a relationship with the Savior Jesus Christ!

If you want to solve the problems in your life, stop struggling with those problems. Open your heart to God and try to see yourself through God’s holy eyes. Seek God’s spiritual renewal for yourself. Receive the power of Jesus who changes your inner being. And God will enable you to overcome all your problems through the inner power.

Hear God’s calling

When the great king Uzziah died, and troubles were coming from every side, Isaiah thought that there was nothing he could do to bring hope to his country and to his life.

At that time, Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord. Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?

Why did God speak this word to Isaiah at that time? By this word God was saying to Isaiah that there was still something to do. God was saying to him that there were still many wonderful opportunities for the future. God was saying to him that God wanted to use Isaiah to bring hope to the hopeless world. God was saying to him that He had a wonderful plan even in such a hopeless situation. God was saying to him that no matter how hopeless the situation was, God still could use believers to bring hope. God was saying to him that He needed people who could hear God’s calling for hope.

When Isaiah heard such a calling from God, he responded to God: “Here am I. Send me!”  He realized that in God’s call, there were opportunities for him to overcome troubles. He accepted God’s call personally. And his worries were gone. His downcast spirit was lifted. His heart was filled with hope.

When there is nothing we can do about our troubles, God still has wonderful plans for our lives. God sees not only one place or several places, but every corner of the world. And in God’s mind, there are endless opportunities despite many troubles around us.

One day Henry Ford was driving in the Michigan countryside when he came upon a man whose car had broken down. The guy was bent under the hood trying to figure out what was wrong. Mr. Ford stopped and asked if he could take a look. In a few minutes, he had the car running. The grateful owner said, “I’m amazed at your ability; you fixed my car so easily.” Ford replied, “I ought to be able to fix it, because I’m the one who designed it.”

The same is true with God. He designed us, and He can fix whatever is wrong with us. Then how can you be fixed by Him? Hear His call and accept His call.

What call?

God calls every one of us to be used by Him. He calls you to fulfill His promise of salvation. He is calling you to live with power in His name, with the power in the name of Jesus. He is calling you to witness His name to people who do not know Him so that they may be saved. He is calling you to build His church together with other believers.

There was a sister who was living under the oppression of spirits of idols in her home. Her home had lots of idols put on the wall shelves. Although she was worshipping the idols, the idols did not give her peace or joy. She always felt that the idols were watching over her movements and trying to punish her for whatever she did wrong. One day a believer encouraged her to invite a pastor to get rid of the idols. So, she invited me to her home. I went to her home and prayed to the Lord to get rid of all dark spirits from her home and fill her home with the Holy Spirit. Then I took all the idols out of the wall shelves, put them in a bag and carried them to church. The next Sunday, after worship service I took the idols out to our church parking lot, accompanied by church people and smashed them with a hammer. Then I threw them into our garbage container. From that time on, she was set free from the dark spirits of the idols and accepted Christ as her Savior. She is testifying that she has found peace in her heart. She also is testifying that she has found the purpose of her life. It is witnessing to the power and grace in Jesus’ name to people who do not know him, to as many as she can. Recently she led one of her friends to Christ.

You may think that you are nobody and you have nothing that can be used by God. But God can use you just as you are and with what you have now.

If you respond to the call by saying “Here am I, send me”, God will empower you with His Spirit. He will open the doors to great opportunities for you. He will enable you to start praying for people who do not know God’s salvation. He will enable you to reach out to people around you. He will enable you to live with purpose and hope.