Our world today is in a time of great upheaval. From Russia and the Ukraine, Israel and the Middle East, Iran and North Korea, China and Taiwan, there is intensifying political, military, economic and social instability, as well as in South Africa and the U.K. So where is God when it seems the very foundations of whole nations are shaking? Is there any hope when everything seems hopeless? And how do we cope in times of great change in our personal lives especially when people we knew and loved are no longer with us?
Only this week we in King’s Church International have faced a moment of irreversible transition with the passing of one of our well-loved and most faithful pastors. A former atheist, Pastor Terry Beasley served in countless roles for over six decades since becoming a Christian at the age of 16 until his death this week at the age of 79. For so many people, both locally and in other nations, he was part of the ever-dependable fabric of our lives, always willing to help people spiritually, practically and emotionally. He was a wonderful husband to his equally faithful wife Margaret for almost 57 years. He was a devoted father and grandfather, a wise community and church leader and not least he was our Senior Pastor’s closest friend since school days and an ever-dependable supporter who helped him through many seasons of life and ministry.
When we lose such sincere, life enhancing people like this, when we see the state of the world around us, it’s like experiencing an earthquake when the very ground we have stood on is being shaken. And yet it is at such times that we can find a sure foundation and hope for the future by discovering God and His unshakable kingdom.
Isaiah 6:1-8 begins ‘In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord.’ Uzziah, also known as Azariah, was one of Judah’s greatest Kings who reigned for 52 years. In the earlier part of his kingship, under the influence of his godly advisor Zechariah, Uzziah was faithful to God and did right in the Lord’s eyes. However, Uzziah’s success made him proud leading to his downfall and death around 740 BC.
`Pastor Terry in contrast remained faithful to the Lord all his life but now he too has suddenly gone. Yet we, like Isaiah in the time of the removal of someone who had always been part of his life, can also experience what happened to Isaiah. For it was in the very season that the old had ended, something new was happening. In a season of death, new life was emerging. In the time of great darkness, there came new light. What Isaiah experienced in a year of major change gave him a whole new perception of the condition of his own life and about the future direction of his life.
1. He had a new vision of God (Isaiah 6:1; Job 26:9; Psalm 9:4-7; Lamentations 5:19; Ezekiel 1:26; Daniel 7:9; Revelation 4:1-11; Isaiah 6:2-4)
2. He had a life changing encounter with God (Isaiah 6:5-7; John 16:8; 1 John 1:9)
3. He received and obeyed a strong call from God (Isaiah 6:8-9)
Apply
1. He had a new vision of God. He had a vision of God who is high above everything (Isaiah 6:1). The God of the Bible is far above every other power and ruler. He is God Almighty, the ‘great God’ that Handel said he glimpsed as he wrote The Messiah. This awesome God is the ultimate and eternal authority over all creation: the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Like Isaiah, many people in the Bible who had a vision of God in heaven spoke of God’s throne (Job 26:9; David in Psalm 9:4-7; Jeremiah in Lamentations 5:19; Ezekiel 1:26; Daniel 7:9; & the Apostle John in Revelation 4:1-11). Isaiah may have been depressed or discouraged because a great leader of Judah was no longer on the throne. But then Isaiah had a vision of God in heaven. Despite Uzziah no longer being on his throne, God was still on His. And that remains true today in every changing circumstance of life. For always the Lord reigns over all. He also had a vision of a Holy God (Isaiah 6:2-4). Isaiah had a revelation of heavenly beings who constantly spoke of the holiness and glory of God. The name seraphim means “burning ones.” Holiness means that God is set apart from any other being by His perfection and purity. Holiness in the Bible refers to a majestic God whose character is without any flaw and whose awesome presence changes everything and everyone who experiences it. Just one experience, even one glimpse of a holy God, will change your whole life and perspective, just as it changed Isaiah’s.
2. He had a life changing encounter with God. He saw what a sinner he was (Isaiah 6:5-7). When Isaiah saw the intense brightness of a holy God, he suddenly felt very dirty. Any self-righteousness he may have had was immediately stripped away. He felt that he was ruined because he was so unclean and living among people who were so unclean. This awareness and confession of sin is essential if we are to find God, and is one of the roles of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8). You cannot find God when you try to make out how good you are, but only when you recognise how bad you are and how great is your need of God to make you clean. In the same moment Isaiah admitted how sinful he was, he discovered how God could remove his sin, and experienced great forgiveness and cleansing (Isaiah 6:6-7). Isaiah had a powerful experience of being forgiven and freed from guilt. He discovered what the Bible calls grace. That’s why Jesus, God in human form, came to shed His pure blood so that we could all be cleaned up on the inside and come to know friendship and fellowship with a holy God (1 John 1:9). Not only can we be washed clean by the blood of Jesus, we can also be touched in our lives and the words of our lips by the fire of the Holy Spirit just as the first disciples experienced on the Day of Pentecost. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, prayed ‘God of burning cleansing fire’ give us ‘strength to ever do the right and power to walk the world in white.’ The Salvation Army logo has long been Blood and Fire. Every one of us needs a pivotal encounter with God that William Booth and Isaiah experienced.
3. He received and obeyed a strong call from God. He heard God calling for people to represent Him (Isaiah 6:8). God was looking to recruit Isaiah to represent Him and to go and speak to his generation for Him. Isaiah was given the clear and tough task of proclaiming coming judgement to a rebellious and God-rejecting nation. It was a far from popular message, but God wanted to give every opportunity to those who would listen and repent. Isaiah’s response to this great challenge was positive, deciding to obey the call of God on his life (Isaiah 6:8-9). Isaiah made himself totally available to God, committing to be sent, to go, do and say what God wanted. Today in this turbulent moment of history in our nation and in the nations, God is calling to every one of His followers to be fully dedicated to Him. Will you be a man or woman to answer the call of God? Will you as young people become unashamed ambassadors to your generation? Will you stand in the gap to carry the gospel torch that Pastor Terry has now laid down? Will you faithfully tell the good news of Jesus? Will you be a preacher, teacher, pastor or evangelist? Will you be His representative in your home, neighbourhood, workplace and society? Will you say ‘Lord here I am, send me’?
