Isaiah 6

“So I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.’” (Isaiah 6:5, NKJV)

Once I was meeting with a group of pastors. The topic came up of how we turned from our old lives of sin, became Christians, and entered the ministry. Each one of us could point to a significant Encounter with God. This changed our lives and convinced us that Christ was worth living for. In many ways it ruined us for living merely for this world. The Encounter called us into eternity.

We don’t know when Isaiah 6 occurred, but this was Isaiah’s life-changing Encounter with the Lord. It prepared him for ministry and ruined him for ordinary life in this world. So what happened?

First, Isaiah saw the Lord. Somehow he was caught up to heaven in a vision where he saw the Lord sitting on a throne. He saw seraphim and heard them praising the LORD. He saw the doorposts shaking and the heavenly temple filled with smoke.

Second, Isaiah was convicted of his sin. The first thing he said was, “Woe is me, for I am undone!” Isaiah saw himself in the perfect light of God, and he was immediately convicted of all the foolish things he had said. This brought Isaiah to extreme poverty of spirit, which is necessary to be used by God. If Isaiah was going to minister to broken people, then he needed to know that he himself was broken.

Third, Isaiah was cleansed of his sin. As soon as Isaiah admitted that he was a sinner, one of the seraphim took a coal from the altar and touched his lips and said, “Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged.”

Fourth, Isaiah heard the need. After this initial Encounter, Isaiah heard the Lord speak. “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Isaiah became aware that God had a work that needed to be done.

Fifth, Isaiah offered himself. So Isaiah responded, “Here am I! Send me!” Thus, Isaiah responded to God’s calling to be a prophet to the people of Judah.

Have you had such a life-transforming Encounter with God? Have you become aware of God’s absolute holiness and your sinfulness? Have you been cleansed of your sins? Have your ears been opened to hear the words of the Lord to go to others? And have you offered yourself to serve Him? If not, then why not ask God to give you an Encounter with Jesus Christ today?