Effective Servant
By Senior Pastor Prince Guneratnam
In the year that King
Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on the throne, high and exalted, and the
train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six
wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their
feet, and with two they were flying. And
they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is
the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
At the sound of their
voices the doorposts and threshold shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and live
among a nation of people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the
Lord Almighty.”
Then one of the
seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs
from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your
lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
Then I heard the voice
of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am
He said, “Go and tell
this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understand; be ever seeing, but never
perceiving.”
Isaiah 6:1-9
Isaiah’s vision of the Lord and his subsequent commission to
service very clearly reveals to us four aspect of the nature of God which we
need to keep in mind in order to be able to serve Him effectively.
- He is worshipped (v.3)
The seraphs worshipped Him. The God we serve, as declared by
the seraphs is glorious. He is the
LORD Almighty who is worth our praise and highest honour.
- He is holy (vv. 2&3)
God is holy that the seraphs had to cover their faces and
feet with their wings. This nature of His demands that we live a holy and
righteous life.
- He is powerful (vv.3&4)
The whole scenario of the shaking of the doorposts and
threshold and the smoke-filled temple portrays the power of God. This power is
made available to you by His Holy Spirit.
- He is King (v.5)
Isaiah, having seen
God, declared that he has “…seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” God is worthy of
our worship.
We need to have the right concept of God before we can serve
Him effectively.
Isaiah saw God in His holiness, power and majesty. His
subsequent response to this divine encounter shows us five steps that lead to
effective service unto Him:
1. Conviction
After having seen the Lord in His holiness, Isaiah was
convicted of his sinfulness (v5).
In like manner, Job responded when he saw the Lord: “My ears
had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore, I despise myself and
repent in dust and ashes.” John in Revelation 1:17, said: “When I saw him, I fell
at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do
not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.’” Rev. 1:17.
We should not only be convicted of our sins but also of the
things that we do. We should be men and women of conviction. Isaiah not only
knew what it was to be convicted but also how to live up to his convictions.
2. Confession
Conviction led Isaiah to confess his condition: “I am
ruined!” (v5). Sin ruins you, your home, relationships, marriage and so on.
Isaiah saw himself ruined because he was a sinner in God’s sight. To be
“ruined” means “to be cut off”. Sin cuts you off. Sin separates you from God
who is the source of life and hope.
Isaiah did not stop here. He did not allow sin to deter him
from progressing. He confessed it to God. Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals
his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds
mercy.”
3. Cleansing (v.6)
Cleansing comes after conviction and confession. One of the
seraphs flew to Isaiah and touched his lips with a live coal as a sign of
cleansing. A New Testament truth is
typified here. The seraph is a typology of the Holy Spirit who convicts us of
our sin and the coal typifies Jesus’ blood, that cleanses us from all sins (1
John 1:9).
The Bible says,
“Without blood there is no remission of sins”. The Holy Spirit takes the
finished work of Christ and applies it to our hearts. He is still doing this.
Let the Holy Spirit banish all your negative thoughts and cleanse you so that
you can serve Him wholeheartedly. God will only use clean vessels. God clearly
brings forth this fact in Isaiah 52:11: “Depart, depart, go out from there!
Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels
of the Lord.” (Read also II Cor. 7:1)
4. Challenge (v.8)
After Isaiah was cleansed, he heard the voice of the Lord
saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” The Lord laid the
challenge before Isaiah. Likewise, God speaks when you are ready for service
unto Him. His challenge is before you today.
5. Consecration (v.8)
Isaiah acted in obedience to the challenge and said: “Here
am I. Send me!” There was not only consecration on the part of Isaiah but also
action. This led to his commission for service in verse 9 – He said, “Go and
tell this people…”
Will you let the Holy Spirit today help you respond like Isaiah?
Let us work the works of Him who has sent us.