Listen to me read the blog below:
Third heading: Proclaiming the vital message.
Isaiah 6
Ever had a moment when you get in your car, drive to a familiar destination, you know the area well, but still you don’t know where you are? This was one of my moments one day over the past weekend. Blissful thoughts placed me there. My detour, though not far from my destination, took me to an unfamiliar, but, beautiful spot. I finally made it home after stocking up on veggies and other goodies for the week.
When I think of Jesus in my life, knowing Him is blissful. In addition, He, is the co-pilot and will often take me into unfamiliar places. Areas of His teachings that make me think, reverse, turn, stop, to move forward, and to find my way again. The vital message he came to teach us, can’t help, but place these directives in my life. If non-existent, I feel as though growth is stagnant.
A few weeks ago, I began this three-part expression based on Isaiah six. I shared with you on his vision and consecration. And now, in this final piece, I look at how this short chapter in the Bible display major aspects in our daily lives. Last week, I touched on the question of why Isaiah’s vision of God’s greatness was necessary. In my meditation on this question, it came to me that it is only through the realization of God’s ultimate sacrifice of His son, could we fathom how mighty He is.
So… you my constant readers know that I visit churches often, right? I do this not only to understand better, the climate of people who assert to teach the gospel, I also do so, to capture the business models of these institutions. My visits are never done to criticize, they are mostly for my own knowledge bank.
Activities grounded in the framework of acclimatization are big in some of the churches I’ve visited. In some sense, I’ve come to view this from a vantage point of the slogan in the movie Field of Dreams “If we/you build it, they will come.” But do they stay? This question leads me into the core areas of this blog.
Thy sin atoned for, said the seraph to Isaiah. Your sin is no more. The Hebrew translation states your sin is covered or purged. Purged by the birth and death of Christ, which came quite later. The ultimate sacrifice! Isaiah’s experience prepared him for the vital message he must proclaim. The method in which our sins were forgiven. The incarnate Christ made sure Isaiah knew of His greatness and that he was exposed to elements of what was about to come.
Primary foci for Isaiah:
- Sins of human beings
- The complete holiness of God
- Actionable purging of sin, through thoroughly knowing God
God is the only one who forgives us. His grace is immeasurable. It is only in knowing Him that we are cleansed and renewed.
Yes, building a church, then extending invitations for people to visit, will more than likely begin the process of Christianizing them. Family programs, classes, and the like, may get people excited to return. But again, will they hang around? Will they return without atonement in the recognition that life is not complete until Jesus’ teachings are delivered through His Gospel and fully understood? Complete knowledge of what He taught, create openings for people to recognize that current behaviors are not in direct spiritual alignment with Christ.
I often wonder if popularity or being extra careful to not step on the toes of congregants are a few reasons why some leaders shy away from discussing what it takes to purge sin, the need for conversion, to acknowledge the Savior in everything, and to be commissioned by Him to teach, and teach some more!
It is my belief guys that to keep people coming back to what has been built, a good and wholesome time of ministry event(s) is indeed necessary. However, within these moments, there must be discussions on why we are able to create such environments. Plainly speaking, everything in the church is accomplished through what Jesus did for all of us. This message must be declared repeatedly. In sermons and at events! No beating around the bush, here. In these environments or beyond, people can get use to you, but will never understand you, the real you, until you share the good news of the Gospel.
Repentance, conversion, grace, faith, commission forward. All in the Light of Jesus.
His love for us bears no sin, our love for Him erases the sins He discussed.
Isaiah’s vision and the narrative as its partner, are most prevalent today.
The holiness of Our Father, Isaiah’s conviction of sin, his repentance, and trusting Christ through the actions of the seraph. A crises conversion of Isaiah. Guys, of you and of me.
In conversion we move from a life some consider terrifying in the sense that there are moments when the notion of “there’s no way out” is significant. A depiction of such life is right there in Isaiah 1-5. But with his conviction, his life moved from utter confusion to gratitude.
It is often argued in Jewish texts that Isaiah was a cousin of King Uzziah, which means he came from a privilege life. Although we know that God guides every author in the Bible, He never took away from each author’s remarkable writing style. Isaiah was highly gifted in this craft. Extremely powerful! Yet, we see him to be a broken person. One who calls out to the Lord… “Woe is me”.
As we also see in Isaiah’s orations, walking completely with God is not always easy, specifically when we are in the company of unbelievers or people who just don’t know the Bible. I say this, this is one of the most perfect opportunity to live out God’s truth by sharing about what His son did for all of us. The world needs Jesus! As believers we should never tip-toe around the magnificent story of His life.
No matter the event, sermon or intimate conversation, before they begin, may you always remember to say “Here am I, send me!”
Have a most beautiful week,
I’ll see you in October
Charlotte
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