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The Bible reads, the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon the throne, high and lifted up and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims, each one had six wings, with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. I once cried unto another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. And the post of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said, I 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 mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken from the tongs from off the altar, and laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquities taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send me. And he said, Go, and tell these people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not, and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of these people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Till the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. But yet in it shall be a tent, and it shall return, and shall be eaten, as a teal tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves, so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the King James Bible, dear God. We thank you for this church you have given us, the Lord. We thank you for the pastor you have given us. Please bless him tonight as he preaches your word on us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay, we're in Isaiah chapter 6 this evening, and we're continuing our Bible study with the book of Isaiah. If I were to title this chapter, I would title it The Commission to Harden Hearts. The Commission to Harden Hearts. And this chapter is actually pretty popular. I'm coming from an old IFB church. I've heard a lot of sermons from Isaiah chapter 6, and in fact, the majority of the sermons that I've heard from the book of Isaiah have primarily only been from Isaiah chapter 6, because of the fact that it's the chapter that possesses the verse where a lot of missionaries will use to confirm their calling to the mission field, and they'll often say, Here am I, Lord, send me, and obviously you can make a good secondary application to them, but the primary interpretation of this is not necessary to be a missionary in order to get people saved. It's actually to be a missionary to harden the hearts of a rebellious nation who have rejected God. And so we'll get into that verse in just a little bit. I might even sing the solo song for you of Here Am I, and I'm just kidding. I shouldn't say kidding, because I might actually do it. I don't know. Depends if the Spirit leads me in that area. So let's go ahead and start off the chapter here. Of course, in chapter 5, he's preaching to them, but here in chapter 6, he gets into a vision, and this is primarily a chapter on Isaiah's vision of the Lord sitting on the throne. He says in verse 1, In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon the throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Now before we get into the actual vision of what he's seeing, I want you to notice that it specifically tells us that in the year that King Uzziah died is actually when this vision comes to fruition. Now why is that important? Well, if you remember from chapter 1, Isaiah's ministry essentially spans over the reign of four different kings. You have Uzziah, you have Jotham, you have Ahaz, and then you have Hezekiah. Uzziah being that first one. Now what's significant about Uzziah, and why it's important to mention him regarding this chapter, is because when you study the life of Uzziah, he was actually a pretty good king. He did a lot of great exploits, he was a great man at one point, and in fact, if you study his life, you'll see that the Bible talks about the fact that he did that which is right in the sight of the Lord, as did his fathers, and it even says that he had great understanding of the visions of God, and basically what that's referring to is that he has understanding of the Bible. You know, the Bible talks about when there is no vision, the people perish, but he that keepeth the law, happiest he. So vision is used in conjunction there to describe the law of God. So we know that Uzziah was a man who understood the Bible, he understood the visions of the Lord, and the result of that is that the Bible actually says that God made him to prosper. And so he was a very successful king because of the fact that he knew the Bible, he loved the Bible. And it kind of reminds me of Psalm 1, where it talks about the man who delights in the law of the Lord, it says, in his law doth he meditate day and night, he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. So basically what the Bible is saying is that when you delight in the Bible, it's like God gives you the Midas touch, where everything just turns to gold. You know, no matter what you do in the Christian life, if you delight in the Bible, you just succeed on all fronts. Doesn't matter what you do. You'll succeed at your job, you'll succeed at your marriage, you'll succeed with your kids, you'll succeed at any type of endeavor, you will always succeed as long as you continue to delight in the law of the Lord. And with Uzziah, that was definitely the case because God made him to prosper. And it even kind of gives us a list of things that he succeeded in. He was great at warfare. He defeated the Philistines, the Arabians, and other foreign nations, and he was so successful in his warfare, and I think this is in 2 Chronicles 20, 26 or so, that he was so successful that even the Amorites began to send him gifts, you know, because they didn't want that smoke. So they're just like, they're just like, hey, don't take us over, here's some gifts to placate your, you know, we're cool with you, right, you know? So they're sending gifts. So he's succeeding at that. He's also, he was also very industrious when it came to making weapons of warfare. And it kind of highlights all the different engines and towers that he constructed and all the weapons and how he increased his army mightily. So his military might was on par. He's succeeding in warfare. And it also says that he was just industrious in other areas. He dug wells, he made towers and bulwarks, and it even says that he succeeded at a hobby because according to his story, he actually was very much into being a husbandman. So he was into planting vineyards, and it actually says in 2 Chronicles that he loved husbandry. So it's like, you know, his little hobby that he had, he even succeeded in that area. Why? Because whatsoever you do, shall prosper. So whether it's like, you know, fighting wars or your hobbies, anything, you're just going to prosper no matter what because he loves the Lord. And the result of this type of success on all fronts is that his fame began to spread abroad. The Bible says that he became well-known in the land in certain words. It talks about the fact that he was just well-known. But unfortunately, because of this, his heart was lifted up to his destruction, the Bible says. So, you know, he became famous, he became popular, well-known, he succeeded at his job, he succeeded at his hobbies, he succeeded against the enemies of God. And what this caused him to do was to become prideful, arrogant. And the Bible says that pride cometh before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. So he became prideful, and what he ended up doing is going into the temple of God and offering incense upon the altar of incense, which is only designated for the priest to do. He pulled a Saul, right? Because you guys remember Saul? He was waiting for Samuel to come, and then he offered the sacrifice, which is only designated for the priest to do. And then Samuel was like, what are you doing? And he was just like, oh, I forced myself, you took too long. And then that's when God began to punish Saul, and that's where really his decline started. Well, the same thing with Uzziah, he offered the incense on the altar of incense, and then God essentially punished him and struck him with leprosy. Severe leprosy to the point where he was just never healed. To the point where the Bible actually says that he lived in several houses, or a several house, meaning that he lived isolated from everyone else until the day that he died. And so his pride took him down. And when you think about why he's being mentioned here in conjunction with Isaiah and this particular vision, well, when you read the chapter you see that Isaiah, when he sees the glory of the Lord, he's greatly humbled. Like he's just like, I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. And quite frankly, you know, Isaiah's probably a super legit guy. He's probably very righteous, very godly, probably loves the Lord, he's a man of great fortitude. But hold on a second, when he's compared to the Lord though, he's humble. And I think the reason this has given us the description of Uzziah's death is because of the fact that Uzziah, maybe he just didn't catch a good glimpse of the Lord, which is why he became prideful. And it's a lesson to us all that no matter how successful you become at whatever it is that you do, no matter how good of a father you are, how good of a mother you are, how good of a laborer, a worker, a church member you are, compare yourself to the Lord before you think yourself to be all high and mighty. And take a glimpse of the glory of the Lord through the word of God, compare yourself to the Bible, don't compare yourself among yourselves, because that would be unwise as the Bible says, why don't you go ahead and compare yourself according to the measure of Christ. And when you do that, you'll be like, well, you'll be like Job. He's just like, I'm vile. He's like, I abhor myself is what he said, right? So Uzziah is a great story to start off chapter six because it's basically saying like he doesn't want Isaiah to go down that path. And you can see how prophets and different men of God who God used greatly to see these visions and to have these interpretations can become prideful. I mean, think of someone like Paul who was given an abundance of revelation, but he was given a thorn in the flesh because of it. Why? To keep him humble so that the power of Christ can continue to rest upon him. And so either you'll get a thorn in the flesh or you can just humble yourself. If God is using you greatly to see a lot of people saved, if you are an outstanding church member, an outstanding employee, maybe you employ others. Maybe you're making money. Maybe you're just good at what you do. Maybe you're just good at your hobby. Stay humble. Stay humble so that you don't end up like Uzziah. And this is the reason why it's starting off with the story of Uzziah or the mention of his death because essentially his death is marking the end of that punishment that Uzziah got because of his pride. Because he died of his leprosy. So what does he see? He sees the Lord high and lifted up, and it says there that his train filled the temple. What is it referring to, his train? Well, you think of like a bride when she's coming down the aisle, she has that train that follows her. But I think a better description of what this is referring to is his entourage. It's all the heavenly hosts that surround him. And the reason why I believe that that's probably what it's referring to is because it goes right into the description of the seraphims, which are angels. So when it says that his train filled the temple, it's just like all his hosts just fills up the temple of God, and he is essentially the centerpiece of that area, of heaven. He's the most important thing. And everything else around him kind of points towards him. He is essentially great. He is the Lord of hosts, and he's high, he's lifted up. Now look what it says in verse number two. It says here, above it stood the seraphims. Each one had six wings, and with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet. Twain means two, both. And with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. So let me pause here for a minute, and let's just discuss the seraphims for just a moment, just to explain what these are referring to. In the Bible, you obviously have the mention of angels, right? And angels can either be describing an actual messenger who is a human messenger of God's message, like an evangelist, or it's actually referring to a celestial being, more specifically in the Bible, referred to as either a cherubim, more often than not, or a seraphim, as we see here in Isaiah 6. Now, cherubim is actually mentioned multiple times in the Bible, okay? Seraphim is actually mentioned, this is actually the only time that it's mentioned. Now, what is a cherubim? Or what are cherubims, should I say? Cherub is the singular, cherubims are the plural. What are they? Well, when you actually look at the description of these angelic beings, you'll realize that the Renaissance got it all wrong, right? Because the Renaissance are just a bunch of faggoty Catholics drawing what they think is an angel, right? You say, why would you say that? Because they're literally just small, fat, naked babies with wings. I don't see that in the Bible. That sounds kind of gross. Why are you making that? Oh, that's right, because you're filled with pedophiles. That's why. And that's what you think about. And they'll call that a cherubim. They'll call that a cherub or cherubims. And I'm sure you've seen those pictures, these short, fat babies or whatever with wings. And people would just take that at face value and think that that's exactly what a cherub is, but it's not. And here's the thing is that the Bible gives a very clear description of what these living creatures, as the Bible calls them, actually look like. And you could do a deep dive on it in Ezekiel 1 and Ezekiel 10, and there's other portions of scripture that talk about them. But essentially what they are is they have an appearance, this anthropomorphic appearance, meaning that they have legs, torso, and even the hands of a man. It doesn't mean that they are men. They just have that appearance. And so it's very anthropomorphic in nature, but they have hooves for feet. So you have hooves for feet. You have the legs, torso, and even the hands of a man. And then these cherubs also have four faces. The Bible talks about that they have a face of a man, and on the right side, the face of a lion, the left, the face of an ox, and then the face of an eagle. You say, well, if it has a face of a man, then why is it called a living creature? Well, you know, there are certain creatures out there that look like men. You think of apes and monkeys, and I've even seen fish. You know what I'm talking about? It almost looks like it has this facial feature of a man. But it's because it comes from the same Creator. And these are not men. The Bible calls them beasts and or living creatures. So they have these four faces, and the reason why is because they symbolically represent what? The Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are represented through the Son of Man. You have the lion, you have the ox, and of course you have the eagle representing the book of John. So they have these four faces, very just terrifying to think about if you really think about it. And they have four wings. Two of them which cover their body, and the other two which kind of stand upright, like this. The Bible also describes them as their motion as being the appearance of a flash of lightning. So it's essentially a creature that moves with very great rapidity. They're very fast. They're just like, they bolt. And they don't turn. So whenever they move, it's either forward, backward, side to side, because of the fact that they're always facing the right way. Isn't there a chess piece that kind of moves like that? Am I correct on that? Is there a chess piece that only goes forward, backward, side to side? The rook. As you can see, I'm a rook when it comes to chess, because I don't really know. But that's kind of how they move. And according to Ezekiel 1, they're also accompanied with these somewhat supernatural wheels within wheels. And these wheels essentially house the spirit of that living creature, and they're filled with eyes within and without. Whenever the living creature moves, it essentially follows it. It goes wherever it goes. These are the cherubims that are described in the Bible. Now, when you think about that, then apply that to every time it's mentioned in the Bible. For example, in Genesis chapter 3, when Adam and Eve are evicted from the Garden of Eden, you see that God places cherubims to guard the tree of life. So that they don't come afterwards and try to eat of it and live forever. So you have these creatures present looking like that, and of course they have the swords that are spinning. And the proof that these are actual angels, and that cherubims and angels are used synonymously in the Bible, is the fact that they're described as cherubims in Genesis chapter 3, but then when you go to Revelation chapter 9, describing those same creatures that are in the Euphrates River, they're described as angels. So it's basically using them synonymously to describe these living creatures, these beasts. And so you have these creatures, and so the type of angels that people portray out there, these celestial beings, is just nothing compared to how God actually describes them in the Bible and how they actually look like. And at that point you can realize, okay, that's why people are scared when they see them. That makes sense. Because if that thing appears to you and it looks like that, yeah, you'll probably fall on your face as dead, and it just looks terrifying. Now the seraphims, on the other hand, are essentially the same exact thing as the cherubims, with a few exceptions. Those exceptions would be that instead of four wings they have six, two they cover their feet, two they cover their face, and then with the other two they fly with. And the other exception is that they don't have four faces, they only possess one of those four. So you have one with the face of a man, one with the face of a lion, one with the face of an ox, and one with the face of an eagle. And the reason we know that is because of the fact that these creatures are actually mentioned in Revelation chapter 4, and that's the same exact description that it gives. So they're basically the same thing with the exception of those two particular details. The cherubims have four wings, whereas the seraphims have six, and they don't possess four faces, they just have one, each of those particular faces that are mentioned there. And here's the other exception to the seraphims, because it kind of seems to indicate that the cherubims, they're the ones who are the ministers of righteous, or ministers to those who shall be heirs of salvation. They're the ones who are essentially protecting the tree of life, and they're the ones who are given those tasks there, whereas the Bible seems to indicate that the seraphims, the only job that they have, and I'm not saying it's only this, but according to this passage, is that they're God's choir, basically. They stand before the Lord, and they sing, Holy, holy, probably not that way, but that's the way we would sing it. Holy Lord God, that's what they sing all the time. So he doesn't mess with MP3s, or SoundCloud, or whatever. He just has his angels sing before him right there. And so that is the description, in case you were wondering about angels. And when you study the book of Revelation, it seems to indicate that there's about 100, at least 102 million of these creatures flying around. Obviously it's a spiritual realm, not physically flying around, but hey, that's good food for thought. Hope you learned something there. So you have these seraphims, and they're singing unto the Lord, and it says in verse three, and it says in verse three, one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy, and by the way, it doesn't say that they whispered, it doesn't say that they're crying, Holy, holy, holy, right? To cry out means they're just kind of like shouting this like a trumpet. And you say, why are they like saying that? Well because of the fact that they're addressing the Godhead, which is made up of three persons. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, so therefore they're saying Holy, holy, holy, and so they're addressing the Godhead there. And let me read to you actually from Revelation chapter four, you don't have to turn there, you can write it down if you like, verse number six says, and before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal, and in the midst of the throne and round about the throne were four beasts full of eyes before and behind, and the first beast was like a lion, the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had the face of a man, the fourth beast like a flying eagle, and the four beasts had each of them six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within, and they rest not day and night, saying holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come. So you know, heaven is very loud, you know. The temple of the Lord is very loud, it's very bright, He has these particular singers, these creatures that are singing unto Him, and this is the description that the Bible's given us regarding what this looks like. Now look at verse number four of Isaiah chapter six. So we got the description of the Lord of hosts on His throne, He's glorious, His train is filling the temple, He has these magnificent living creatures shouting holy, holy, holy, they're singing unto Him, very powerful image here, right. It says in verse number four, and the post of the door moved at the voice of Him that cried and the house was filled with smoke. Now I read this and I thought wow that's pretty interesting, cause essentially what this is saying is that Isaiah is at the post of the door viewing the throne of God. You say why, what's so significant, okay. Well I mean, think about it, He's at the door. Cause there's only one way you can get to the throne of God and that's through the door. And what did Jesus say in John chapter 10? I am the door. He is the way to the throne of God because no man cometh unto the Father but by me, He said. I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me, and in order for you to see the Father, and obviously no one can see the Father but in order for you to see the Godhead you have to go through the door. You have to go through the Son. In order for you to have eternal life, to be in heaven, you have to go through the door, okay. And in fact, let me read to you from John chapter 10 verse 1, it says, verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth some other way, you know like Catholicism, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Mormonism, and all those other isms, that's the other way. The Bible says, same as a thief and a robber, why? Because you're trying to rob God of His glory. Anybody who goes to heaven based upon their faith in Jesus Christ, they cannot boast, right? Because they did no work. So these people are trying to rob God of their glory, of His glory. They're trying to boast in their labors and in their works, but obviously, you know, they're not even going to get past the doorpost because as soon as they die, they're going to lift up their eyes and hell being in torment. But he's making this point, the same as a thief and a robber, but he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth and the sheep hear his voice and he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out. And when he put forth his own sheep, he goeth before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them, unto them being the Pharisees, but they understood not what things which he spake unto them, which I always thought was funny. You know, because he's saying like, a stranger will they not follow, and says, you know, his sheep know his voice, and then the Pharisee is like, I don't understand what you're saying. Like, well, point proven. It's like when you try to quote verses to someone, and they're just like, that's not what it means. It's like, well, you're just proving that you're just not saved. Then said Jesus unto them again, verily, verily I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved. Any man, by the way, right? The gift is available for all. He shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. So he's at the door pose, and he's seeing the Lord's throne, and obviously that door is referring to Jesus Christ. Look at verse five. So we see his vision there, and now we're gonna get into his cleansing. What is the effect of seeing God's glory? He says in verse five, then said I, woe is me, for I am undone. So notice he's not like. Right? Because this is how people act when they feel the presence of God. They feel the presence of God, they just want to lift up their hands and have limp wrists. And you need to strengthen your wrists is what you need to do. God doesn't want limp wrists when being worshiped. What is that? That hurts my wrists to do that. And that's not a proper reaction to the glory of God. So what is the proper reaction? Here's one of two things you should do. Fall on your face is dead, and it's not like, oh, no, it's just like. You just like fall over. That's basically what you do. You look at the instances, especially in the book of Revelation, they fall on their faces as dead. It's a near-death experience. You know, all these churches like, show us your glory. It's like, you're just gonna disintegrate. He'll just discombobulate you once you see the glory. The glory's nothing to mess with. And you're not like, oh, man, you know, here I am to worship or whatever. That's probably where they got that verse. They probably got it from here, right? That's not what Isaiah's doing. He's not singing some liberal song. He's not repeating it seven times over. There's no purple lights in heaven. There's no smoke machine. Actually, I guess there is smoke coming from his nostrils that essentially signifies the wrath of God because it's the smoke from his nostrils that kindles the flames of hell, the Bible says. Now, if churches actually said that when they had their smoke machines, okay, I would permit that. If they're like, this symbolizes the smoke from his nostrils that kindles the flames of hell, I approve. So no one's waving their hands around. What is he doing? Woe is me! He just feels inadequate. He feels sinful. He's just like, I'm just undone. Undone means like he's falling apart because that is the proper reaction. And you know what? He didn't have to make himself feel that way. That's the natural byproduct of seeing God's glory. When you compare yourself to the holiness of God, that is just the natural reaction that the Spirit gives when you view that. And obviously, we don't behold the glory of God, per se, visually. But when we read the Bible, you know what it should cause us to do is be humble. It should humble us and recognize, and by the way, the more you read the Bible, the more you realize how undone you really are. I mean, if you've read the Bible throughout your Christian life and read it a couple times and read it once a year or whatever it may be, whatever your goal is, I'm sure there's times when you read it, and you're just like, I'm just not there yet. You read it, and you're just like, man, I have so much to work on. Man, I fall short. You fall short of the glory of God. You're just like... And here's the thing. The more you learn the Bible, the more you know the Bible, the more you realize you don't really know. It's always the people who don't know enough Bible that think that they know a lot of the Bible. They boast about knowing the Bible quite a bit, but it's when you've actually been a Christian for quite some time, read the Bible a lot, then you start realizing, I actually don't know as much as I thought I knew. You become undone. He says, then said I, woe is me, for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips. I mean, think about it. You know, I'm sure he's not out there saying perverse things, but compared to the righteousness and the holiness of God, he's just like, I'm unclean all around. I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the king, the lord of hosts. Now, this is further proof that who is he looking at? Jesus. Because he says, mine eyes have seen the king, and he's not referring to God the father because no man has seen him and lived, the Bible says. You know, the word of God, he is the express image of the father. God's glory resteth in him, according to John chapter one, so that's what he's beholding. He's beholding the king. And so, you know, Isaiah feels a sense of uncleanness. He feels a sense of inadequacy, and you know what, there comes a point in your Christian life when you're reading the Bible that you get to points like that when you're reading it. Or when you're serving God, you're like, I'm just not doing enough. I don't know enough. I haven't read enough. I just haven't done enough. I'm inadequate. You know, I'm not where I feel like I need to be. But that is what reading the Bible and seeing the glory in the Bible does to you. No one reads the Bible and is just like, I knew all this. Next, you know? What else? I know this. I know this. No, you walk away. The more you consume, the more you realize like, oh man, there's so much more to learn. And then when you think you know everything, then you come across the same chapter you've read like five, six times, and then you learn something new, and you're like, I've just never seen that. And then you just feel like an idiot. I've been there. We're just like, how did I not see this? How many times have you heard a sermon by a pastor who uses a verse and you're like, whoa, I've never seen that. How did I not see that? I've read the Bible so many times. It's like you're undone because you're beholding the glory of the Lord in the word of God, and that is the effect of God's word on your heart is that it should humble you. It should cause you to be abased, not prideful and arrogant. And by the way, one sure way to avoid becoming prideful and arrogant when you're reading the Bible is make sure you obey the Bible. Because someone who just is a hero of the word but they're not a doer, they're deceiving their own selves, they get knowledge, and what does knowledge do? It puffs it up. But charity edifies. So when you have knowledge coupled with charity, boom, you got a good mixture there, you can be humble and still serve God. So he says, I'm a man of unclean lips. He's basically saying, you know, I'm just sinful. Let me read to you from Romans 3, verse 10 says, as it is written, there's none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understand that there's none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that do with good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher with their tongues they have used to seat. The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what think soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. When you recognize God's standard of holiness, you realize, like, I'm not there. I don't meet those qualifications, right? And in order for God to use Isaiah, he has to be at that point. And you know what? Yeah, Uzziah should have gotten to that point. You know, once he accomplished all those things, he should have got a glimpse of the glory of the Lord and recognized, I'm inadequate too. I have not done enough, and in fact, if it wasn't for the Lord, I wouldn't be able to accomplish what I'm accomplishing. That's what he should have said. But instead, he became prideful, he became arrogant, he was lifted up, and therefore, he was punished and abased. Look at verse number six. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar, and he laid it upon my mouth and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. And obviously, this is figurative. This isn't literally happening, okay? This is a vision. And essentially, what I believe this signifies is the fact that God is touching his lips so that he can now preach the word of God, okay? He's purging him from uncleanness so that he can be a vessel and to honor meat for the master's use and prepare them for every good work. Verse number eight, now he gives him the commission. So he sees this vision, he's greatly humbled by it, God cleanses him, and by the way, when you're humbled, you have a tendency to just confess stuff that you just forgot about. You're just like, forgive me, Lord, I've had a foolish thought, or I've said this, or whatever, you just start cleansing yourself, right? So now he gives him the commission, verse eight. Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I, send me. Now I can't tell you how many missionaries have used this verse, right? Because in the old IFB, in order for you to go to a mission field, you have to be called. And I don't know how that calling is. You know what I mean? But it's embedded in us that you have to have that calling. And I think to a certain extent, some people will say that they were called into the ministry, or they're called onto the mission field, only because they've heard that so much that that's what they think they should be saying, and they kind of convince themselves of that. And I'll give you an example. When I first got saved, I remember thinking to myself, I want to preach. And I was like, I want to preach. I want to be a preacher. One day I want to be a pastor. Those are the words that I would say. But when I would express that to my leaders, they would say, oh, you're called to preach. And I didn't really think of anything of it, but I was just like, yeah, I want to preach. But the more you talk to people about it, the more they'll say, oh, so you're called to preach. So it's one of those manipulation tactics or something where it's just like, yes, I am called to preach. And then you just kind of go with that. But really what the Bible says is that if any man desires the office of a bishop, he desires the good work. And obviously, God's calling us to serve him just period, and the pastorate is not the only office that a Christian can serve in. You can serve God at all capacities, and in fact, your life is a service unto God. And there are specific areas that certain people can serve in, but certain people cannot. And so they'll often say, God called me to the mission field. It's like, what do they say? Why do you need a calling when there's a command? It was often said, which is great. You don't need a calling when you have a command. It's just like, I'm just trying to see if I'm called to the mission field. Read Matthew 28. There it is. Read Acts 1-8. There it is. It's like, oh, I'm called to go to the 1040 window. I don't see a 1040 window on here. I just see all nations. You're supposed to go everywhere. But they'll say, you know, I was reading my Bible, and I was just, the wind blew the page to Isaiah chapter six, and then I was drinking coffee, and the coffee spilled right on that verse right there, and it said, I looked down and said, Lord, is this it? Here am I, send me. Who will go for us? And then the song starts. Here am I. I will go. I will reach the lost untold. And then you're just there. You're like, man, God's never called me. I will reach the lost. How does the verse go? I will tell them of the crimson flow. Here am I. I'm getting chills just thinking about it. And then you're just like, you know, because I love missions, and I'm just like crying. I'm just like, wow, that's powerful. That little Cambodian needs. And no one told me it was like a stock photo. You know, that guy never saw that little Cambodian kid. Stock, that's from Google, Google Images. Nowadays, it's probably AI, you know? Here am I. And, you know, so they'll use this. And, you know, for years, they've always used this for years. Like, I'm sure to this day they still do it. But they never, like, finish the chapter. It's a lot darker. I like how real the Bible is, you know what I mean? Because it is a powerful, it's powerful, you know, because it's not, God's not like, you know, who will go for us. Like, he doesn't know. Like, it's only Isaiah there, right? He's saying that to provoke Isaiah to say, you know, like, here am I, I will go. And Isaiah has an unsavory ministry. He's going to preach to a rebellious people is what he's going to do. He's going to preach to people who are not accepting of him. And not accepting of him, but they're not accepting of God. And he's actually being sent and commissioned to go harden the hearts of Judah. So that God would have a reason to punish them. Think about that. That's a lot different than here am I sending me to go win the little, you know, Filipino kid. To Christ. Who's going to reach the little Thai boy and the little African in the jungles of the Congo, you know, and then you play the song. But this isn't about the little African who doesn't have any clothes on and, you know, the Aborigines or whatever. It ain't about that. It's actually about Judah. And, you know, I'm sure the Lord is fine with people applying it to missions because, hey, if it gets you out there, then go or whatever, you know. That's what you need. Like, I put Matthew 28, but I guess you want to use Isaiah 6 or something. Like Isaiah, Matthew 28 is pretty clear, but if you want to use Isaiah 6, okay. That's about something else. And you know what? If we ever give this interpretation in an old IP church, they'd be very offended. They'd be very offended because it's like their life verse. And the verse always comes up at the end of the video, and then you're like, take my money. I'm going to give, and you just put a crazy amount, and people sign their life away, you know, to try to like give to that little African kid who the guy doesn't even know. It's a stock photo. It's stock photo, you know. That's why it looks so good. No, he's actually looking for someone to go and preach hard. That's actually what he's looking for. He's like, who will go for us to preach hard sermons? Now, if you were to give the real interpretation, you'd have a lot of missionaries like, here am I, and then it's like to preach hard sermons. I don't know if I'm called to that. To preach against the sodomites. They're like, you know, I don't find a verse, I don't have a life verse for that. I do. I got life chapters, amen. Because at the end of the day, that's what he's talking about. So if you were to propose this and say, who will go for us to go preach against the wickedness of this world, to go preach the word of God to a rebellious nation, I guarantee you wouldn't have a whole lot of volunteers to that. A lot of people would be like, well, you know, we need to be loving, you know. Yes, we need to be loving, but God wants us to preach hard, so do it. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering, indoctrinate. Here am I, send me. I'll do it. Who will preach against the Catholic church? Here am I, send me. Who will preach? Who's going to preach in June? Here am I, send me. I'll sing a song. That's what he's volunteering for. Verse 9 says, and he said, Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not, and see ye indeed, but perceive not, make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert and be healed. What is he saying? Less means so that they don't convert. He's like, harden their hearts so that they don't convert, because I want to punish this nation. Well, there goes your missions video. Just erase the missions video, because this is a different message. Now, you know, according to that crowd, this is not a very loving thing to do, Lord. What do you mean? Lest they see with their eyes, don't you want them to see with their eyes? Lest they hear with their ears, well, don't you want them to hear with their ears, and understand with their heart? Don't you want them to understand and convert? Don't you want them to convert and be healed? Don't you want them to be healed? Want them to be healed? Yeah, but they've had their chance already, though. So he's giving, he wants to send Isaiah to preach in the heart and the hearts of Judah, who's just perpetually rejected him, and talked all this smack to him. I mean, remember a couple chapters ago, they were just like, make haste. Right? Remember those drunkards in a couple chapters ago, where they were just like, make haste, go and judge us, let's see it. They're like, provoking God. And so God's like, all right, who's going to go for me? Isaiah's like, I'll do it. He's like, all right, go harden that person's heart. Go preach to them, close their eyes, close their ears. I don't want to heal them. I don't want them to convert. I want a reason to just whoop them. That's what he's saying. I'm reading it in its context. That's out of context. You don't even know what that means, if you think that's out of context. That's literally what it's saying. And in fact, hold your place or go to Matthew chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13. This is the message. Now again, you know, I'm not against using it for missions. I think that's a great verse to use, you know. I think it's a great verse for soul winning. Here am I, send me. I saw for a man among them who should make up the hedge and stand in the gap and I found none. Hey, here am I, send me. I think that's great. But I do think like the main interpretation is a little more base though. I think that one's just, I'll go with that one. I'll pick another verse for missions. This one, I want to keep this way. Because this is a hard truth and it's awesome. You know, I think of my pastor friends. These are like my pastor friends. My pastor friends are like Isaiah. They're like, here am I, send me. You know. And you know what, yeah, they're doing missions but they're not using Isaiah 6 to do missions. They're using Isaiah 6 to preach against the wickedness of this world. Look at Matthew 13. This is the parable of the seed and the sower. I'm not going to go over the whole parable. He gives the parable, then he gives the explanation to it. In verse 9 he says, Who hath ears to hear, let them hear. And the disciples came and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? Them is who? The Jews. He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. I don't want them to know. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance, but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that he hath. What is he saying? You know, someone who responds to the truth will be given more truth. But if you have truth and you're rejecting truth, God will even take away the truth that you already have. Jesus said that. Let's read on. Verse 13, Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, Isaiah of course, that's what he's referring to, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive, for this people's heart is waxed gross. Their ears are dull of hearing, their eyes they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Skip down to verse number, actually let's keep reading. But blessed are your eyes, for they see in your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sword. Don't miss this. Verse 19, When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth the way that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside. Now a very common interpretation of this is that, when someone doesn't understand the word of God, it's like that raven that comes, and steals that truth out of their heart. But that's actually not what, this is not what that's teaching. The raven works for God. Because the person who refuses to understand the Bible, because the Bible is easy to understand, especially when it comes to salvation. Especially when it comes to who is Christ. The person who refuses to understand, God sends the raven to go snatch the seed that's in that person's heart. Why would he do that? Oh because, you know, he taketh away even that which he hath. So the raven works for Jesus. And God is saying, I'm giving them this parable, but you know what the reason they don't understand? Because I sent the wicked one to go remove that seed out of their heart, because I don't want them to believe, because they've rejected me. That's what he's saying. I mean that's not popular, but that is what he's saying. Now that should motivate us, number one, to go give the truth to everyone, amen. And get people saved, and get people responding to the truth. But the truth is, is that when we're out there preaching the gospel, sometimes we are hardening the hearts of someone who's out there who hates the Lord and doesn't want nothing to do with him. And it's no skin off my back, because I'm not the one sending the wicked one, I'm not the one sending the raven, God is sending him to go snatch the seed out of that person's heart. Why? Lest they should be converted and be healed. That's powerful. That's what Jesus said. That's how he rolls. He's not willing that any should perish, we know that. He wants people to be saved. But folks, let me just remind you of something. God knows the inner recesses of the heart of everyone better than anyone. He sees the reigns. So you may think, oh man, we need to give this person a chance, which I'm just gonna preach to everyone, because I'm gonna assume just everyone needs the word of God, and that's my job, to go preach the word of God, go preach the gospel, but you know, God is looking in the hearts of everyone, and saying this person hates me. This person has been given the truth over and over and over again. Let that truth come to him, and then the wicked one will come and snatch that out of their hearts, because I don't want them to be saved. And what is that called? Reprobation. Reprobation. That's why people are like, oh man, you know, just pray for these false teachers, and these false prophets, for them to be saved. I pray for the wicked one to continue to snatch the seed out of their heart. Continue to pray for the ravens to come and just snatch the seed out of their heart, so even that which they hath can be taken from them. Why? Because they're shutting up the kingdom of heaven to everyone. They're hindering people from going in. Now, I'm not gonna, I don't reprobate people, because I don't have that ability, and you know, that's not a verb per se, you know, but here's the thing is that I just preach the Bible, and when I'm at the door, I'll preach the gospel to anyone who's willing to listen to it, and if they don't want it, then you know what? I'm done. I'm done, and look, I'm done just like, oh man, this guy is a raving Satanist, and he just rejected me. I'm just heartbroken. I'm not heartbroken over that. You know, I'm heartbroken over the person who may not have all the mental faculties to be able to understand the gospel because of past decisions they've made, and maybe they destroyed their brain or something. You know, I'm grieved over people who are lost in false religion out there, absolutely, but you know what? I have a bias towards the truth, though, and you know what? I don't believe this whole, oh man, you guys are just driving so many people away from Christ by your message. The message doesn't do that. Well, actually, I'm sorry. Let me repeat myself. Yeah, the message actually does do that. You know why? Because sometimes the message will repel people who hate the message, and you know what? I can say it nicely, or I can say it coarsely. Coarsely, the message is still gonna have the same effect, and there's people out there that when they receive it, they hate it. They don't want it, and you know what? I'm not gonna waste my time trying to win people who have rejected the truth. Jesus told me to wipe the dust off my feet and don't cast my pearls before swine and just move on to the next. You know, let me just say this. Stop trying to win your buddy who's been rejecting the gospel you've been preaching to them for the last four years or whatever. We grew up together, though. So what? You know someone out there who's actually willing to give you the time of day and is starving for that gospel presentation, and you're wasting your time with someone who's just closing their eyes and their ears and they don't want to be saved. Oh, man, but we're just great friends. We've just always known each other. So what? We should have a bias towards truth. We have a bias towards the Lord, and you know what? Our job is to be like Isaiah and just preach the word of God and whatever happens, happens. And I'm not saying we go out there like, all right, time to go harden some hearts, amen. You know, on Sunday after church or after morning church, you're like, all right, soul winning teams, let's go harden some hearts. No, we want people to be saved. That is the default setting of our attitude is that we want people to be saved. We hope to get people saved. My heart yearns to get people saved. When I talk to people at the door, my heart yearns that this person would be receptive. And as I'm waiting for that person to come to the door, I'm praying thus with them myself. Lord, please, please, I hope this person is softened towards the gospel. I hope they give me the time of day. I hope you give them understanding. And you know what? If they're rushed or whatever, you know, that hurts. Especially when you know that they're receptive. Or how about times when you preach the gospel to someone and they're like right there and then someone just snatches them away? A mom, a dad or something, that hurts. But if some libtard Satanist just wants to mock God, I'm not shedding any tears over that. I'll shed tears of laughter when their fear cometh as a desolation because they've mocked God. And you know what? I'm not gonna tell them that though. Obviously, I'm not gonna be like, keep laughing, you know. Laugh your way to hell, sucka. I'll say it in my heart, you know what I mean? And then I'll comment that to my soul winning partner and then we'll laugh on our way to the next door. But there I'll just say, all right, well there's the invite. If you ever have a question, let us know. I want to talk to people who want the truth. Do you understand that? You know, that's another reason why I'm not for debating because you're debating someone who doesn't want the truth. I only want to give the truth to people who want the truth. That's what Jesus told us to do. And you know what? The people who don't want it, well they'll just become hardened towards it and so be it. Because there's a commission to get people saved but there's also a commission just by default that you will harden the hearts of some people when you go out there. That's just fact. Because the gospel's not hard to understand. It's the easiest thing to understand. The gospel, the message of salvation is the easiest thing to understand. Go back to Isaiah, if you would. Isaiah chapter six. So he's like, here am I, Lord send me. And he's like, so what's the topic? What would you like me to preach on? The love of God? You want me to preach on Old Testament laws? He's like, reprobation. I want you to just make everyone mad and just preach the hell out of them. Isaiah's not like, well you know, we don't want to drive people away though. You're gonna scare people away from the lie, you're being a bad testimony. Now I'm so sick and tired of people online. You're causing people to go away from Christ. You don't even soul win. What are you talking about? When's the last time you got your lazy, blessed assurance off your stinking phone and actually gonna go preach the gospel to someone? Never. So don't tell me about the love of Christ. Our church first works, goes out on a weekly basis to go preach the gospel and that's our expression of love according to the Bible. But these people online, oh man, you're just being a bad testimony. That's not what the person who got saved said. That's funny. That's not the testimony of like those 76 people who got saved last month. It's interesting that that kind of happened that way. Look at verse 11. So he gets this commission. Look what it says, Then said I, Lord, how long? He's like, and how long is this sermon gonna be? How long do you want me to preach for? And he answered, until the cities be wasted without inhabitant and the houses without man and the land be utterly desolate and the Lord has removed men far away and there be a great forsaken in the midst of the land. Okay. Just a question. He's just writing this down. He's like, all right, cities be wasted without inhabitant. There's a list that he gives them here because this is how long I want the sermon to be until everything's just destroyed. That's a long sermon. That's a very long sermon. You know, I'm looking at the clock here. I have a clock to work with. He doesn't need a clock. He just needs to look at the land. Next day he wakes up. He's preaching. He's like, everything's still intact. I'm still preaching. Comes back the next day. Hasn't happened yet. Still preaching. But then ultimately everything gets destroyed. He's like, all right, I'm about to land the plane. I mean, that is an awesome answer. He didn't say 30 minutes. He didn't say an hour. He says until everything's just destroyed. Do you think God maybe is a little mad? I think he's a little upset. What do you think? He sounds like he's a little irate with Judah. Like, so how long do you want me to preach? He's like, until everything's just destroyed. And I don't even want to see people walking on the street. Powerful. But of course, God is well balanced. He's a man of great judgment, righteousness, and wrath. But just remember, God is love, though. And this is why he says in verse 13, but yet in it shall be a tenth. And it shall return and shall be eaten as a teal tree and as an oak whose substance is in them. When they cast their leaves, so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof. What is he saying? They're still going to be a remnant. Because obviously, within Judah, the whole nation is wicked. But there is a group of people there who still love the Lord. They're worshipping God. They're going against the grain. They're not following the gods of all of their neighbors. They fear God. They love the Lord. And you know what? He's going to preserve them. Because God's not going to just destroy them with the wicked. He's going to save them. And so what do we have here? The chapter here is very powerful because it requires Isaiah to see the glory of the Lord and in light of that be humbled because he's going to be used for a great task, to just preach to a lot of people. And you know what? Everyone's going to be mad at him. And when you preach the truth, people just get mad at you. And it's every one of our tendencies to want to be liked. And so we have to fight that urge and just say the truth anyways. And here's the thing. As a pastor, we all have this commission. And you know what? I could ask the Lord, How long, Lord? And it's just like, until everything is just made desolate. Plain and simple. Until the world ends, basically. Or until I end. So I'm going to be preaching until the day that I die. Or until the rapture takes place. At which point, everything's destroyed. Do you know what I'm saying? And so this is the chapter, Isaiah 6. Great chapter. I love it. Missions is great. But this mission is greater, though. And we can do both, amen? Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Thank you for this powerful chapter. Bless this as we go on our way, Lord. And help us to have love in our hearts as we preach the gospel and get people saved, Lord. And there's many people out there who need the truth, the gospel. They need to know the love of Christ. Help us, Lord, to convey that to them. Not because of how we say it, but because of what we're saying. Because of the scriptures we're quoting, Lord. That you may receive all the honor and glory. But in like manner, Lord, help us to just preach the gospel to everyone. And there might be someone out there who becomes hardened towards the word of God. It would not be our will for that person to become hardened. We want people to be saved. But obviously, you want them to be saved more than we do. And if they reject of the light, Lord, we know that according to your word, the natural byproduct of that is their heart becomes hardened. And I pray that you'd help us, Lord, to have longevity in our church, to do the work of the ministry. We love you. We thank you. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Turn your handles to here am I? No. Song number 377, rescue the perishing. Amen. Song number 377. Song number 377, rescue the perishing.