Isaiah 6 and Surrender

At last night's rehearsal we looked at Isaiah 6, where the prophet Isaiah has a vision of God seated on His heavenly throne. As I was thinking about the issue of yielding to the Lordship of Christ - the theme of this week's Urban Legends message - I considered the connection between seeing the greatness of God and surrending to His control. There is a progression at work in Isaiah 6, a sequence that has vast implications for how we understand our role as lead worshippers.

First, Isaiah looks UPWARD - he is ushered into the very presence of Almighty God - and sees the unfathomable greatness and inescapable holiness of Yahweh. Angels are tirelessly worshipping before the throne of God. Imagine for a moment what Isaiah must have been thinking...is this really happening? Am I still alive? It would be an understatement to say that at that moment Isaiah was in awe of God.

Isaiah then immediately looks INWARD and realizes that in the presence of a Holy God he is utterly un-holy. He says "woe is me!" for he knows that no one sees God and lives to tell about it. He is at point of great despair and absolute terror. He is in need of forgiveness, but where will it come from? In a beautifully symbolic picture and prefiguring of Christ's atonement an angelic being brings a hot coal from the heavenly altar and touches Isaiah's uncleap lips. The angel pronounces Isaiah forgiven: "your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for" (v.7). God has made a way for Isaiah to stand before His throne without Isaiah being completely annihilated.

The last and almost surprising part of the story is the OUTWARD focus - Isaiah responds to God's question of "who will go for us?" with a resounding "Here am I! Send me" (v.8). Having witnessed the greatness of God and received forgiveness he is at point where he is ready to be commissioned as God's ambassador. His willingness to go is in stark contrast to his previous fear! What has made the difference? Isaiah has received forgiveness and understands that God's grace forgives and empowers.

The UPWARD-INWARD-OUTWARD focus is a biblical template for planning worship services. But it also should be our daily experience - that we catch a fresh vision of God's greatness, love, power; that we confess our sins and trust His provision for them through Christ's death; and that we surrender ourselves once again to God's purposes.

We don't arrive at surrender from the get go - it is the response to God's mercy and the overflow of a heart that has been transformed by it.