Current Series: “Awaken a Generation” Main Thought: The most important thing about us is how we think about God. The Word: Isaiah 6:1-4, Psalm 34:8, Ephesians 1:21. Bumper Video:
Awaken A Generation Bumper from Source Student Ministries on Vimeo.
Message explanation: Do you know what it feels like when something or someone gets your attention?
How many of you have had a rude awakening before? In all of our lives, we have abrupt wake up calls. Tonight, we are going to take a look at Isaiah 6. We will see that the most important thing about us is how we think about God!
The prophet Isaiah had a wake up call. He was CONFRONTED with God.
Isaiah 6:1a - “It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord.
Teaching Point #1 - Trust in God is learned when we go through troubling times.
Until we see God for who He says He is, we will never understand life. Jesus revealed that He knows pain as He still has scars to this day. Jesus knows about rejection, even his hometown. Jesus knows about loneliness when he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before the cross. Jesus knows how it feels to be abandoned by His own followers when times became tough.
Teaching Point #2: God does not waste the pain in our lives.
Isaiah was awakened to the fact that God was still on the throne! Tragedy is one of the ways God wakes us up! Uzziah started as a king at the age of 16 and reigned for over 52 years. Isaiah was awakened to the fact that God was still on the throne! Isaiah was at church, he was in the right place.
Why do we run from persecution/pain? We will suffer if we live for God. The pain that was done to you does not define you. You are not defined by what has happened to you. You are defined by the God of the universe.
“ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Psalm 34:8
Isaiah 6:1b-2–He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.” Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.”
Why is Jesus sitting on the throne? God isn’t running around frantic when painful circumstances happen in life.
Correcting our false view of God: Is God a big tyrant ruling the universe who is waiting to blast us? Is God a giant teddy bear that only wants me to be happy?
Isaiah 6:3-4 - “3 They were calling out to each other,“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.”
The universe displays the majesty of God. - The sun [an average sized star] is a million times the size of the earth.
i. 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It takes only seconds for the light to reach the Earth 93,000 miles away
iii. A million times the size of Earth=
iv. If the Earth was the size of a golf-ball the sun would be 15 feet in diameter
v. 960,000 Earths fit inside the sun
The Sun is just one of the billions of stars in the Milky Way, which is one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe.
Psalm 33:6-9 “The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. 7 He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. 8 Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him. 9 For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.”
Worship is not about us. It is giving God what He deserves as a thankful response!
Teaching Point #3: God’s holiness leads to hope.
Explanation: “Holy, Holy, Holy” We all need a completely new understanding of the holiness of God. Hebrew word for “holy” means set apart.
“Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.” Ephesians 1:21.