Isaiah 6: 1-5
Last week: we learned that Isaiah v1 ‘saw the Lord’ – the Sovereign God
The key verse, in the New Testament, which helps us to understand the sovereignty of God is
Romans 11: 36 ‘For everything comes from Him and (everything) exists by His power and is (everything) intended for His glory’.
We can define the meaning of ‘sovereignty’ like this:
God is the Creator of everything and controls everything for His purposes and for His glory
This week:
V1 ‘It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord’
Who is this dude Uzziah?
Uzziah was one of Israel’s greatest kings who ruled over the southern province of Judah.
He reigned in Judah for 52 years beginning in 768 B.C at the young age of 16 (2 Kings 15: 2, 2 Chronicles 26: 3)
He died in 716 B.C (2 Chronicles 26: 1-23)
In the beginning he was a God fearing man
During his reign as king he led Israel into a time of economic growth and territorial expansion
At the end of his life he became proud of all his success and sinned against God and died of leprosy
Even though Uzziah was a great King in Israel, he had no ‘business’/right to be the king over God’s people
To understand this we need to go back to the time of the Judges
In the time of Samuel, the great man of God and ‘Judge’ of Israel, the people of God demanded of him that he appoint a king for them
They did this because they were in rebellion against God and wanted to be like the other pagan nations around them (1 Samuel 8: 1-9)
This is not a new problem
The first man – Adam, did the same thing (Genesis 3: 1-6)
He rejected God’s sovereignty and we all know how that turned out!!!
Now, the sinful nature that we all inherited from Adam does the same thing
The sinful nature rejects the sovereignty of God
Romans 8: 7 ‘For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will’
The sinful nature says: “This is my Life and I am the Master of my own destiny”
That is so funny!
What do you think God says about that?
Psalm 2
Here’s the problem:
We are very quick to reject God’s sovereignty in our Life and replace it with a different sovereignty of our liking
Here’s the lesson:
There is only One Sovereign and it’s not you and it’s not me, it’s not Justin Bieber or any other ‘celebrity’, it’s not any politician, it’s not Barak Obama, it’s not the Dalai Lama, it’s not the Pope and it’s not Buddha, it’s not Allah, and it’s not money!
If there is another Sovereign in your life other than the Lord – it needs to die!
V1 ‘It was in the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord’
Here are some more examples of God’s sovereignty in action:
1/ God sovereignly guides us in His purposes for our lives, for His glory
Proverbs 16: 9 ‘People may make plans in their minds, but the Lord decides what they will do’
Proverbs 19: 21, Proverbs 21: 1, James 4: 13-16
Example: Abraham and Sarah and King Abimelech
Genesis 20: 1-7 ‘Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner, 2 Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.
3 But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman you have taken is already married!”
4 But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.”
6 In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t return her to him, you can be sure that you and all your people will die.”
Do you think God is capable of guiding your Life?
Yes, of course, don’t fight against His will or else He might hurt you! (V7)
2/ God sovereignly blesses us in His purposes for our lives, for His glory
Matthew 6: 31-33 ‘So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need’.
Example: God commands Moses to lead the people of God out of slavery from Egypt and take them to the Promised Land (Israel)
Exodus 3: 19-22 “But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand forces him. 20 So I will raise My hand and strike the Egyptians, performing all kinds of miracles among them. Then at last he will let you go. 21 And I will cause the Egyptians to look favorably on you. They will give you gifts when you go so you will not leave empty-handed. 22 Every Israelite woman will ask for articles of silver and gold and fine clothing from her Egyptian neighbors and from the foreign women in their houses. You will dress your sons and daughters with these, stripping the Egyptians of their wealth.”
Do you think God is capable of blessing you?
Yes, of course, put God’s will for your Life first, not money, and He will provide everything you need (V21)
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