When I was a little boy, when I was 10 years old, I dreamed of my 10th Christmas. All my friends had new two-wheel bicycles and I wanted one. Christmas morning I could not wait to get up. At 6:00 am, I crawled out of bed, opened the door, and looked in the living room and saw a bunch of presents under the tree. None of them was big enough to hold a bicycle. I thought, "Well, maybe they just haven’t put it together yet, maybe it’s not time yet." Around 9:00 my parents got up. We opened the presents but there was no bicycle. I had new underwear, a little tool set, so I was somewhat happy, but there was no bike. Another year without a bike. All my friends would cruise down the road in their nice bikes and I had to ride my old clunker. My dad said, "David, time to clean up and take out all the packages." That was not what I wanted to do at that moment. I was wallowing in self-pity. But I did it. When I rounded the corner with my arms full of trash I walked into a big red bike with a red ribbon tied to it. Until that point, I was thinking that maybe I asked for too much. My parents did not have a good crop on the farm that year. Maybe they could not afford it. Maybe it just was not going to happen for me this year, again. Maybe I did not deserve it. I even thought that they did not love me. After all, I was an afterthought, an accident. I was not planned. My next sibling is 17 years older than I am. But when I turned that corner and saw the bike, I knew I was wrong. I had manufactured all kinds of things in my mind that were false. I had plenty of evidence that my parents loved me, but I let my disappointment deceive me.
How many of you are disappointed with God? How many of you feel like I did, frustrated and lonely. Do you say things like these to yourself? "Maybe it is too much to expect. Maybe, I am not deserving. Maybe, I am not one of the chosen. Maybe, I am not really loved by God." All those are wrong. Psalm 22:3 says, "The Lord dwells in the praises of his people." You say, "Huh, that is a picture I cannot grasp." He lives, He dwells, He is enthroned, it says, in the praises of his people. When you praise God, God becomes real to you. He begins to dwell in your heart, you recognize who He is. It is like saying "Hello," rather than ignoring Him. And then God can respond to you. The word "worship" comes from a Hebrew word that means, to bow down, to have affection for, to kiss. Worship and praise are two different things. Praise is extolling, lifting up, valuing who He is with our words. Worship comes from the inside, from our hearts. We sing worship songs, but the goal is not to sing worship songs, the goal is to worship. Let me be very clear about something. You do not have to sing to worship. Worship is what happens when we catch a glimpse of God’s Being and then internally bow before Him out of reverence and love--reverence for who He is and love for what He has done.
The correct response to what God has done for us is a thankful willingness to let Him influence our lives. That is why Isaiah says, "Here am I, send me." Isaiah had a willing, responsive heart. Contrast this with Moses who was asked, "Will you do this for me?" but came up with all kinds of excuses why he could not. Isaiah overheard God saying, "Oh, I wish I could warn my people, to express my words and thoughts in a clear way they can understand. To paint the pictures that I see of what they are doing. I wish there was someone who could go." Isaiah went. Isaiah was willing to go and speak God’s message to His people.
God has created each one of us to have a personal relationship with Him. The scene Isaiah describes in chapter 6 does not depict a close, personal, intimate relationship between God and His angelic messengers. They cannot even look at Him as He shines in His glory. A celestial hug does not seem possible. Brothers and sisters, this very person who struck awe and fear in the angelic hosts took off His kingly robe, descended the heavenly throne, passed the angelic hosts, and wrapped Himself in swaddling clothes, thorns, sweat, blood, and heartache.
The Bible tells us in two major passages who God is at His core. The two passages are Isaiah 6:1-4 and 1 John 4:7-8. We have already read Isaiah 6:1-4. Now listen to 1 John 4:7-8: "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God—for God is love." God is, at His core, holy-love. Holiness points to His goodness. Love points to His caring. God loves His own goodness and is willing to defend it from all who would try to pollute and overthrow it. God cares about His goodness because it results in blessings for His creatures. God’s goodness cannot help but overflow into the lives of His creatures, it is His nature to care. How does someone who is holy-love in His core solve the relationship problem? He gets involved! Personally!
Ironic, isn’t it? The Lord sits on His throne and even the angels have to shield their eyes because of His holiness. At Calvary, in plain view, the Lord hangs on the cross, half-naked and beaten, and Jew and Gentile look and sneer. It is at Calvary where God exhibited His greatest glory for all who are willing to see. It is not the blinding light that grabs our hearts and stirs thankfulness, it is the crown of thorns, the spital on the face, and the heartache of separation from the Father that draws us toward Him.
With this picture in your mind, will you allow God to touch your lips? Will you agree with Isaiah and give God’s message to others around you? America is growing more corrupt much as Judah was in Isaiah’s day. God commanded Isaiah to warn the people. Most did not listen. But some did!
Copyright 2005 by Pastor Dave Strem
