Post AzRpwDVWGAU3QGyxxg by Kaavik_B@liberdon.com
 (DIR) More posts by Kaavik_B@liberdon.com
 (DIR) Post #AzR14pCOuaZOyYO3ZQ by SuperLutheran@poa.st
       2025-10-21T13:10:13.200723Z
       
       1 likes, 1 repeats
       
       1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory!”4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for 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 6:1-5Isaiah being present in the temple means that he was almost certainly a priest. He knew all about the Levitical cleanliness standards, and he mentions the ceremonial rites with good detail in the first chapter. The man clearly lived in Jerusalem and was steeped in priestly culture and activity. So how does a holy man like Isaiah respond when he has contact with the Divine? Screaming in terror. There is no Levitical rite for cleansing the lips, for wiping away every wrong syllable that ever emerged from the mouth. He is acutely aware of his faults and transgressions, and he - the man who kept a strict holiness code his entire life - sees that he is worse than nothing before God and His angels.Now if an educated, devoted, active priest *and* prophet reacts this way how do you suppose you would react if you saw God right now? Would your crusader profile pic give you confidence? Would your doctrinal knowledge make you feel holy and in charge? You called liberal Christians cuckolds and you told them they're going to hell - on account of that great and high merit, would you stand before God Almighty and merely smile?Of course not. Heck, on my end I'd probably scream louder than you would. Do not believe the puffed up visions of the modern mystics or the old monks, who dream up warm welcomes in Heaven and long lists of punishments for their cartoonish depictions of hell. Isaiah tells us the real experience of encountering the Divine, and it involves a great humbling which will never be forgotten. For five chapters before this, Isaiah gave prophecies wherein God promises to humble the children of Israel; He starts with Isaiah, bringing him into the heavenly Throne Room and tearing down any pride that the prophet may have had. Of course, we have a fuller confidence in the Gospel that Isaiah may not have had. We know that our sins are forgiven in Christ, so we have at least the confidence that we shall not be destroyed. However, even then, should we shed our mortal coil, have an experience here on earth or witness Christ's Return, we will still feel all of our self importance burn away. So let us be humble now, so we are prepared for that moment.
       
 (DIR) Post #AzRpwDVWGAU3QGyxxg by Kaavik_B@liberdon.com
       2025-10-21T22:19:49Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @SuperLutheran It seems to me that the degree to which a person understands humility deeply affects their ability to hear directly from the Lord. He resists the proud not by fighting with their Vending Machine viewpoint, but by showing His favor to those who silently beat their chest, "forgive me, a sinner""Look for His face, not His hand" I heard from the pulpit, talking about adjacent topics.