Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “When God Convicts” – Thursday, 10 July 2014 - Scripture: Isaiah 6: Holy, Holy, Holy!1-8 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Master sitting on a throne—high, exalted!—and the train of his robes filled the Temple. Angel-seraphs hovered above him, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew. And they called back and forth one to the other,
Holy, Holy, Holy is God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
His bright glory fills the whole earth.
The foundations trembled at the sound of the angel voices, and then the whole house filled with smoke. I said,
“Doom! It’s Doomsday!
I’m as good as dead!
Every word I’ve ever spoken is tainted—
blasphemous even!
And the people I live with talk the same way,
using words that corrupt and desecrate.
And here I’ve looked God in the face!
The King! God-of-the-Angel-Armies!”
Then one of the angel-seraphs flew to me. He held a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with the coal and said,
“Look. This coal has touched your lips.
Gone your guilt,
your sins wiped out.”
And then I heard the voice of the Master:
“Whom shall I send?
Who will go for us?”
I spoke up,
“I’ll go.
Send me!”
9-10 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Listen hard, but you aren’t going to get it;
look hard, but you won’t catch on.’
Make these people blockheads,
with fingers in their ears and blindfolds on their eyes,
So they won’t see a thing,
won’t hear a word,
So they won’t have a clue about what’s going on
and, yes, so they won’t turn around and be made whole.”
11-13 Astonished, I said,
“And Master, how long is this to go on?”
He said, “Until the cities are emptied out,
not a soul left in the cities—
Houses empty of people,
countryside empty of people.
Until I, God, get rid of everyone, sending them off,
the land totally empty.
And even if some should survive, say a tenth,
the devastation will start up again.
The country will look like pine and oak forest
with every tree cut down—
Every tree a stump, a huge field of stumps.
But there’s a holy seed in those stumps.”
“When God Convicts” by Wil Watson
There’s a big difference between conviction in a court of law and God convicting us of sin. The one brings punishment; the other motivates us toward redemption. An old children’s chorus speaks of mountain-high sins that all disappear in the fountain of saving grace. God’s purpose in convicting us is to make us aware of our sins, then deliver us from them. That’s one important part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry (John 16:8).
Isaiah’s experience in the temple was life-changing. He saw his own sin in contrast to God’s holiness. That’s real conviction! The result was an encounter with God’s cleansing fire. Isaiah’s response reflects complete consecration, “Send me!” He shed tears of repentance—for himself and for his nation. Yet, he did more: Isaiah offered himself as a living sacrifice for God’s purpose.
Sometimes our repentance is too shallow. Some years ago, a young girl was praying at the altar for salvation. After a short time, she testified, "I'm saved," and started to get up. The old evangelist pushed her back down, saying "Honey, you pray some more. You haven't shed enough tears yet!"
God’s conviction may be intense or gentle. The key question is how do we respond?
Hymn for Today:
“Ready” by A. c. Palmer1. Ready to suffer grief or pain,
Ready to stand the test,
Ready to stay at home and send
Others if He sees best.
Refrain:
Ready to go, ready to stay,
Ready my place to fill,
Ready for service, lowly or great,
Ready to do His will.
2. Ready to go, ready to bear,
Ready to watch and pray,
Ready to stand aside and give,
Till He shall clear the way.
Refrain:
Ready to go, ready to stay,
Ready my place to fill,
Ready for service, lowly or great,
Ready to do His will.
3. Ready to speak, ready to think,
Ready with heart and brain,
Ready to stand where He sees fit,
Ready to bear the strain.
Refrain:
Ready to go, ready to stay,
Ready my place to fill,
Ready for service, lowly or great,
Ready to do His will.
4. Ready to speak, ready to warn,
Ready o’er souls to yearn,
Ready in life, ready in death,
Ready for His return.
Refrain:
Ready to go, ready to stay,
Ready my place to fill,
Ready for service, lowly or great,
Ready to do His will.
Thought for Today:
“One penalty of sin is that gradually you get used to it and do not know it is sin”(Oswald Chambers).
Prayer Needs:
Many people in Mali will come to know Jesus the Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, and will receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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