TEXT:
‘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).
Thousands of people die every day. The saying goes, “The only thing certain about life is death!” Unfortunately due to the internet and social media, daily we are made aware of deaths around the world and how they came about, however awful they may have been.
The same was true in Isaiah’s day. People were dying daily too but when the monarch died it was of national importance. How would the new king act? Would they lead the nation in a godly or ungodly way? From Israel’s history we read that many kings started off with good intentions but strayed from pleasing God to carrying out their own agenda, usually to detriment of the people they reigned over. Our Queen has been a shining example of faithfulness to God and to the nation.
In the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah had a vision of God and Today’s Teachings focusses on three principles of that encounter which will help us as we come to terms with the death of Queen Elizabeth.
1. In the year of death, Isaiah saw the One who is ever alive – ‘I saw the Lord sitting on a throne’
The fear of death is very real for many people, and what has happened to the Queen only reinforces that dread of the unknown. God cannot die and is alive eternally. Jesus is, ‘The resurrection and the life’ (John 11:25).
I thought Jesus was dead until a lapel badge challenged my thinking with the words, “Jesus is alive today”. My life changed direction as I came into contact with the One who is alive forevermore.
As a nation, during this time of mourning, will we look heavenward? God was there for Isaiah, is there for us today and always will be!
It’s His grace that causes Him to respond to our cries for help now, even if we have ignored Him for most of our lives, or even believed He didn’t exist at all. May God help us to see Him more clearly in this year of our own Queen’s death.
2. Isaiah saw himself as a sinner but God helped him to become righteous – ‘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)
When we get a glimpse of the holy God, we usually become acutely aware of our mistakes, short-comings and sins. If we don’t, then there is the accuser, Satan, who is quick to remind us.
God’s response to Isaiah’s declaration of unworthiness was to tell him, ‘Listen carefully, this has touched your lips; your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing] is taken away and your sin atoned for and forgiven’ (Isaiah 6:7 AMP). That was as great a revelation to Isaiah as seeing God.
God never intended our awareness of sin to keep us away from Him, thinking we are not worthy to come into His presence. His intention has always been the forgiveness of our sins through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bibles says, ‘For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him’ (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Something I was thrilled to hear every year was the Queen boldly declaring her personal faith in Jesus Christ in her Christmas message. Millions were listening around the world but she did not hold back from exalting Jesus Christ. We pray for King Charles that he too may share that faith.
3. Isaiah saw the end of one era and the beginning of a new start for himself – ‘Whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then I said, “Here am I, send me”’ (Isaiah 6:8).
There is so much negative talk about the future, so much doom and gloom, that there is a dark cloud of depression hovering over the nation. We can talk ourselves into defeat but we can also talk ourselves into victory.
Every Christian needs a personal vision of what needs to be done and what role they are to play in doing it. When uncertainty grips the nation, it creates golden opportunities for Christians to boldly share their faith in personal evangelism. The recent pandemic made many think about death and even helped some turn to God.
God has not finished with our nation. I believe there will be another revival before Jesus returns. There may be “major players” spearheading evangelism, but everyone can help fuel the fire by praying earnestly, “Here am I, Lord send me!”
Recent Comments