Part 2 of 3 Why Worship Matters

Are you willing? Are you willing to do hard things? Are you willing to admit and acknowledge who God is and who you are? Being a willing worshiper is like knowing—what to do when you are on fire: Stop, Drop and Roll. When Isaiah gets a glimpse of God He not only sees God for who He is, but sees Isaiah for who He is. Isaiah responds to God. Isn’t that true when you see the God of the Bible He wows you?

Those who have seen God are never the same. The children of Israel asked to see the Lord of Moses, but when they saw the Lord they were afraid and ask Moses never to allow them to see God like that again. In Revelation 1:9-18, John saw the awesomeness of Christ and fell as a dead man. People who see God are left with an awesome and unforgettable impression. A willing worship will:

STOP and take a long look at who you are and who God is [Isaiah 6:5]

Isaiah is deeply impacted by God as he watches this unfold before him. He feels unworthy to be in the presence of the GOD who IS. He says, “Woe is me.” In other words he is saying, “I’m dead, I’m done for, I am silenced.” It is as if you got to peak under the curtain of the holy of holiest and you were found out. I’m caught. I’ve offended the King. I’m ashamed. Now I’m toast.

In a sense Isaiah asks, “How can I speak on behalf of God? I am unclean and I live with people who are unclean.” Don’t ever think that you are some holy Joe or Jane! Sure compared to the person in the pew next to you maybe, but not compared to God. May God forgive us our pride and arrogance, and give us a holy sense of who we are and who He is.

DROP to your knees and receive God’s forgiveness [vs.6-7]

The natural response to gazing upon the greatness of God is to drop to our knees for forgiveness. There is something interesting at work here. In Isaiah’s day their was a pagan practice called the “washing of the mouth” ritual that took an inanimate idol and made it inhabited by a god. The image would be purified and cleansed to be ready for a god to dwell in it. The cleansing ceremony Isaiah experiences is quite similar, but irony as the True God chooses Isaiah to cleanse and become His spokesmen to the pagan idolaters.

Have you felt the forgiveness of God? Guilt should not handicap you; rather motivate you not to go there anymore and rest in God’s forgiveness. I am so glad the passage does not end in verse 5. In God’s holiness we see our sinfulness. Yet God calls and commissions us to holiness too [1 Peter 1:14-19]. From guilt to grace, Isaiah is cleansed from His sinfulness and experiences God’s forgiveness. God’s holiness is unattainable, but His forgiveness is not. In the midst of chaos there is always Cosmos. God is a Restorer. God’s pursues forgiveness in Isaiah and you too. He pursues you through the work of Christ on the cross that shed His blood as your substitute so that you might be forgiven and free.

ROLL up your sleeves and get to work [v.8]

Forgiveness is never passive, it is active. After the cleansing God calls Isaiah to a difficult task: see to it that My people know I am forgiving too. After forgiveness I am called to share the good news and warning to others. Can you hear God call you to serve Him? Will you respond? Commissioning follows cleansing. In God’s economy worship = serving. Worship = life.

Worship matters because GOD IS and His character demand my worship. GOD IS PURSUING WILLING WORSHIPERS and my presence is expected.