Text: Isaiah 6:1-8
OPEN:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a young German theologian. He was hanged on April 9, 1945, by special order of Himmler at the concentration camp in Buechenwald. He wrote a little book entitled, The Cost of Discipleship. I first read it in Kenya back in 1997. What Bonhoeffer attacks in his first essay he calls “cheap grace.”
Bonhoeffer says, "Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting for costly grace." (p. 45) "Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ." Bonhoeffer goes on to say that cheap grace is worship “services” without brokenness, singing without contrition, praying without humility.
On this first Sunday of Lent, we turn to Isaiah’s life changing experience in chapter six. Here, we see two significant aspects about worship. The first is that worship begins with a passion for God’s glory. The second is that brokenness is a prerequisite for worship, both private and corporate. It is this second aspect that we will examine more closely.
The book of Isaiah is named for the prophet who composed the book. His name means "The Lord is salvation." The work of the great prophet was to turn the Jews to the Lord as the only hope of their salvation.
Isaiah's ministry occurred at a critical time in Judah's history. The Assyrian power was rising, and in the light of this fact two groups appeared within the nation. One sought alliance with Egypt and the other with Syria. Isaiah, however, forbade human alliances and urged the nation to trust in God (Young, Introduction. 211).
Isaiah's work as a prophet began in the year King Uzziah of Judah died, 739 BC. His call was accompanied by an apocalyptic vision of God on His throne which foreshadowed John's vision in Revelation. He prophesied during the reigns of "Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah" (1:1). Thus, his public prophetic ministry apparently lasted 53 years (739 B.C. - 686 B.C.), and he lived several years longer. Jewish tradition claims he was sawed in two at the command of King Manasseh (cf. Hebrews 11:37).
Brokenness is the prerequisite to true worship, and authentic worship always results in sacrificial service.
I. Five Observations Concerning Isaiah’s Experience of Brokenness.
1. When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, his own self-righteousness was utterly destroyed and he received true righteousness as a gift of God’s grace. "I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty" (v. 1)
Humanly speaking, he was a righteous man even before he entered God’s throne room. As a prophet, he had dedicated his life to God’s service. Yet, something was missing. There were depths of his own depravity that he had yet to confront, and thus he needed a shattering experience of having God’s grace applied to his guilt.
Many terrifying thoughts must have run through Isaiah’s mind when he saw God on His holy throne. Frankly he thought he was a dead man, for he knew it was impossible for any man to see God and live (Ex. 33:20). “Woe to me!” he said, “For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"
No doubt, Isaiah remembered what had happened to King Hezekiah, who had died earlier that same year. Uzziah had been one of Judah’s more successful monarchs. He was a good king who “sought God” and “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Chron 26:4-5).
However, Uzziah became proud of his accomplishments, and in his pride he entered the Holy Place to burn incense on God’s altar. This was strictly forbidden, so the priests tried to bar the king’s entrance. While they argued back and forth, Uzziah was struck by leprosy. This made him ceremoniously unclean, and was thereby forced to leave the temple and never return. The king lived in seclusion until his dying day. This was the consequence of his arrogant pride that caused his unlawful entrance into God’s holy sanctuary (2 Chron 26:16-23).
With all of this somewhere in the back of his mind, Isaiah was terrified by his vision of God’s glory, and understandably so.
2. Isaiah cried, “Woe is me!… I am lost/ ruined!”
The word “woe” is significant. In the previous chapter, Isaiah had pronounced six woes against the people of Jerusalem, condemning them for everything from drunkenness to unethical real estate development. However, according to the conventions of Hebrew literature, things ordinarily came in sevens—therefore, one would have expected one more woe. By pronouncing only six woes, Isaiah seemed to have left things hanging.
Then the prophet saw the sovereign Lord, seated in majesty, and his woe was made complete. “Woe is me!” he cried, pronouncing the seventh and final woe. Isaiah knew that he was finished. There was no way that he would ever survive this encounter, let alone join the angels in praising God’s holiness. All he could do was say, “I am lost/ ruined.” In other words—“It’s over. I’m finished. I am devastated and dismantled. I’m all in pieces. I cease to exist.”
What so completely overwhelmed Isaiah was a clear and complete view of his depravity in light of God’s perfection. He now has a deep experimental acquaintance with his own sinfulness.
3. This is what always happens when we see God as He really is—we see ourselves as we really are.
We stop comparing ourselves to others and start comparing ourselves with God.
A true vision of God’s sovereign majesty/glory always includes a painful awareness of our own radical depravity. The more we recognize God’s glory, the more we see our desperate need for his grace.
4. What is particularly striking in Isaiah’s case is the specific sin he confessed—foul language. "I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" (v. 5)
He discovered that he was a sinner in the one area of life where he was most committed to doing God’s will.
Isaiah was a prophet, and as a prophet it was his job to speak God’s Word. In the course of his prophetic work, he often had occasion to pronounce judgment against the sins of others. Yet he had not fully understood the depth of his own depravity, and it was not until he saw God’s glory that he realized that he himself was a foul-mouthed sinner. When he was confronted with God’s sovereign holiness, he was forced to admit that he, too, was a man of unclean lips—a sinner like everyone else. His privileged background did not prevent him from needing to be broken before God like everyone else.
5. Furthermore, Isaiah recognized that he lived “among a people of unclean lips.”
In other words, he had a heightened sensitivity to the depravity of his entire generation.
This is the very opposite of the worldliness that plagues our evangelical churches today—that of cultural accommodation at all costs.
Rather than going with the crowd, and bowing to the pressure of public opinion, Isaiah realized his contemporaries were in violation of God’s holiness. This realization was necessary for him to fulfill his calling as a prophet: prophets must always stand apart from the culture of the day and call attention to the disparity between the culture and God’s holiness.
There was another danger inherent in Isaiah’s prophetic profession—it was the danger of becoming proud of his own spiritual accomplishments. Prophets are tempted to judge their listeners instead of bowing before God, who alone is Judge. Churches face the same temptation—proclaiming God’s expectations but then presuming his place as judge.
What preserved Isaiah was his unforgettable encounter with God’s transcendent glory, which produced a forthright confession of his own personal sin. As a result, when Isaiah confronted the sins of others, he did so in a spirit of humble contrition.
II. Three Implications of Brokenness for Worship.
1. Worship Begins in the Mind.
a. Our focus and energy in worship should be directed toward exalting and enjoying God’s glory, holiness, manifold perfections.
The reason so many churches suffer through little experiences labeled “worship” is because they give attention to an inferior god.
What kind of God does our corporate worship reveal? Are we stingy with worship, bland with worship, bored with worship, rushed in worship? All of this things reflect our view of God.
What would worship be like if it really reflected an infinite God who is the sum total of everything beautiful and magnificent in the universe?
What kind of God does your personal worship reveal?
b. We have never truly worshipped until we have dealt intellectually with our sin in light of God’s perfection.
Worship is really not something to be enjoyed—it is a response reflecting the disparity between God’s perfection and our sinfulness.
When God's Spirit confronts my spirit, the inevitable response is brokenness and worship.
2. Worship is not complete until it has touched completely.
Isaiah understood God’s holiness and his own depravity, but that reality sunk so deep into his mind and heart that it resulted in an emotional response—“I am lost/!”
By definition, true worship is never self-centered.
Emotion/passion does not produce worship, but they are necessary by-products of it.
How can one passively and unemotionally stand in the presence of greatness.
3. Genuine worship always results in surrender and service.
"Here am I; send me!" (v. 8)
The goal of brokenness and worship is never an emotional response; it is decisive action.
God always changes us so that we may be agents of transformation in the world.
CLOSE:
Brokenness is the prerequisite to true worship, and authentic worship always results in sacrificial service.
(Dr. Dane Fowlkes)
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