This is the first of two plans based on Isaiah’s vision and calling to serve the Lord. Isaiah did not sit down to write because he had tremendous literary ability or because he was so godly and knowledgeable. He became a difference maker because he was amazed by the Lord. To become a difference maker, you must start by beholding God and being amazed at His holiness.
Gregg Matte
Day 1
Scriptures: Isaiah 6:1-4, Galatians 4:4-5
God of History
Difference makers are amazed by the Lord.
Many of us are underwhelmed by the gospel, instead of overwhelmed by it. Our attitude is that we receive blessings in expectation, rather than receiving blessings in gratitude. We should have a heart that is so amazed by the Lord that we sit back and just go, “Wow, You are amazing.”
Now, I want to draw your attention to the timeline, to history. Here is what I want you to realize: 739 bc was the year of King Uzziah’s death. That year was also the year of the founding of Rome. The Old Testament tells how Israel goes into a decline. It declines so much that the Israelites—the Pharisees, Sadducees, and everyone else—do not recognize the Messiah Jesus when He finally comes. But Rome is going to be so strong that it will crucify the Messiah. It begins right here, in 739 bc.
The whole book of Isaiah is this decline of Israel into not obeying God. There is the rise of Rome, and God knows here, 739 years in advance, that Jesus Christ is showing up on planet Earth. The Jews won’t recognize him and the Romans will be powerful enough to crucify him. But the Romans will also have built roads all throughout the ancient world so that the gospel of Jesus Christ will be able to go forward to all to the ends of the Earth.
I want you to see history. Around 2000 bc, we have Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. At about 1000 bc, David and Solomon rule—and this is the high point of the nation Israel. Then Solomon disobeys the Lord, and after his death the Israelites end up with a divided kingdom: Israel in the north, and Judah in the south.
739 bc is when Rome is starting and Israel is declining. That is where we are at this moment, when Isaiah sees a vision. God shows up in the darkest of times, doesn’t He? God loves bad odds. Isaiah is amazed by God. What God will do is absolutely amazing. What He wants to do in you and in me is absolutely amazing as well.
Am I amazed by God? Am I overwhelmed by the gospel? Do I receive God’s blessings in expectation, or in gratitude?
Day 2
Scriptures: Isaiah 6:1-4, Psalms 99:1-3
Amazed by God
Isaiah is called to be a difference maker. He sees a vision. He says, “I saw the Lord.” He sees Him high and lifted up, filling the temple, with seraphim calling Him holy, holy, holy.
Holiness is a huge, huge thing, but the people of Israel thought God could fit inside the Ark of the Covenant. They traveled through the wilderness with the Ark. They could put it—and God—in a tent. Yet here Isaiah says that God is so big that the train of His robe fills the temple. God defies our expectations.
In his book Miracles, British author C. S. Lewis put it like this:
It is always shocking to meet life where we thought we were alone. ‘Look out!’ we cry, ‘it’s alive’. And therefore this is the very point at which so many draw back—I would have done so myself if I could—and proceed no further with Christianity. An ‘impersonal God’—well and good. A subjective God of beauty, truth and goodness, inside our own heads—better still. A formless life-force surging through us, a vast power which we can tap –best of all. But God Himself, alive, pulling at the other end of the cord, perhaps approaching at an infinite speed, the hunter, king, husband—that is quite another matter. There comes a moment when the children who have been playing at burglars hush suddenly: was that a real footstep in the hall? There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion (“Man’s search for God”!) suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us!
God is real. He is seated upon a throne, the train of His robe filling the temple, smoke all around him, angelic beings flying around. God is holy, and Isaiah sees Him.
We all have this little box that we place God in. What happens when we see God for who God is, not who we want Him to be?
Difference makers are amazed by the Lord. Seeing God changed Isaiah’s life. His mission became telling people about the greatness of God. He saw God anew, and the way he saw anew changed everything else he saw.
Am I amazed by God, or have I put Him in a box? Do I see God as He really is?
Day 3
Scriptures: Isaiah 6:1-5, Proverbs 18:12
Holy, Holy, Holy
How do you become a person who makes a difference in your community? You become a difference maker by being amazed by the Lord, like Isaiah was. He saw the Lord, and his response was, “Woe is me!”
See, many of us think we are spiritual only if we are better than somebody else. But spirituality is not measured man against man, or woman against woman. It is not measured between people. God is the standard. Spirituality is how people measure compared to God. God is holy, holy, holy. And when we realize that, we say “Woe is me!”
God is other. He is different than we are. He is so holy that seraphim cover their eyes in humility. They cannot even look at him. This is the only place the word seraphim is mentioned in Scripture. It means burning ones. The seraphim, in response to the purity and holiness of God, cover their eyes. They cover their feet out of respect. They fly around God chanting one to another, “Holy, holy, holy.”
I just did a word search in my Bible program. I typed in the word holy to see every scripture that has this word in it. I received 15 pages in 12-point font. The printout does not even show the whole verse; it just shows every phrase that has the word holy in it. When I saw this, I was blown away. God is not just nice. God is not just good. God is Holy. The Scriptures do not describe Him as love, love, love or grace, grace, grace. But from His holiness comes His grace, His love, and His justice.
The seraphim cover their faces, not daring to look at God. Meanwhile, we think that all we have to be is nicer than somebody else, and God will be pleased with us. But a holy God requires holiness in us, and that is only found through Jesus Christ. When you think about these Scriptures—holy, holy, holy—it changes everything, doesn’t it? God is holy. He is righteous. He is set apart.
Do I measure my spirituality by comparing myself to others, or to God? Do I know what it means to be holy?
Day 4
Scriptures: Isaiah 6:1-5, Psalms 29:1-2
Power to Shake Foundations
Can you imagine being amazed with God, seeing Him as holy for the first time? It is the same as seeing color for the first time. You can see videos of people who are colorblind putting on glasses that change their perception of the world. They choke up with tears. A new vision changes everything. And here’s what results: praise. Praise results.
Praise has the power to shake the foundations. We see it in verse 4. It says the foundations of the doorway shook at the sound of seraphim’s voices, at their praise, and the temple filled with smoke. What an amazing thought! Praise has the power to shake foundations.
When we see God holy and lifted up, when we see Him for who He is, we begin to praise. We begin to say, “Lord, I am amazed at what You have done. You are so mighty. You are the God of history. You have a plan and have all of this in Your hand.”
At the same time, we want to say with Isaiah, “God, You are high and lifted up. You are holy, holy, holy. You have everything in your hands. You have Israel, You have Rome, You are preparing the earth for the coming Messiah. Lord, we just want to give You praise. We want to give You praise, because we are amazed by You.”
Can I see You, Lord, even through tears? Can I praise you even when my foundations are shaken?
Day 5
Scriptures: Isaiah 6:5, Isaiah 55:6-8
Not, Not, Not
Difference makers are able to see the difference between God and humanity. Isaiah understands this. He sees God and says, “Woe is me!”
In our society do we understand the difference between God and human beings? Or have we thought that we are God? We begin to play God, don’t we? We think we have no boundaries, that we can do anything and go anywhere.
We are not God. We have our little categories that make us better or different than others. I am smarter. I have been to more places. I have more stuff. I have more money, or less money. I have more education, or less education. All of these little things separate us, but what happens when you die? As you stand before a holy God, you have none of these aspects that separate you from other people. That is a scary place, when you have built your whole life on what separates you and makes you special. But suddenly you are naked—not physically, but spiritually. It is you and God. You are completely alone and at that moment you need Jesus.
It is Jesus who steps in front of you and a holy God. God, in His holiness, sees that you are clothed in Christ. And now you realize the difference between God and humanity. You say, like Isaiah, “Woe is me. I’m a man of unclean lips, and I live among people of unclean lips.”
Notice the order. Isaiah first realizes his personal uncleanliness, then he realizes the corporate or societal uncleanliness. What have we done, in order to protect our own sin? We have reversed it. We say, “Look at our society, how bad everyone is!” But we ought to be saying, “Look at my own heart, how bad it is!” There may be sexual perversion out there, but is there sexual perversion in me, in my thoughts? There may be greed out there, but is there greed in me? When I see that, I say, “Lord, have mercy upon our people, because we, as a human race, are streaked and stained with sin.” God is holy, holy, holy. I am not, not, not. And I need forgiveness—forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
Am I relying on what makes me different from others? Am I blaming others to take attention away from my own sins? Or am I relying on Christ’s righteousness?
Day 6
Scriptures: 2 Chronicles 26:3-5, 2 Chronicles 26:15-19
Uzziah and Isaiah
In 2 Chronicles 26, we learn about the fall of King Uzziah who died in 739 bc when Isaiah had his vision. In 791 or 792 bc, Uzziah became king. He was only 16 and reigned for 52 years. He was actually a good king. When he sought the Lord, God gave him success. So, we know he did right for 52 years. All throughout Chronicles, and the book of Kings, God gave him success.
In 2 Chronicles 26, we see that King Uzziah had all these warriors, towers, and more. Verse 15 scares us to death: King Uzziah had catapults and weapons built to shoot arrows from the towers and corners of Jerusalem. His fame spread, and God marvelously helped him.
But when King Uzziah became strong, he stopped saying, “Woe is me.” He started saying, “Awesome is me. I’ve got armies, I’ve got gardens, I’ve got all sorts of stuff, and I’m famous. I am the man!’ After 52 years on the throne, he declares, “I’m the man.”
But God loves the humble. God loves the weak. Uzziah was neither. He became strong, he grew arrogant, and it led to his own destruction. Uzziah went into the temple. The kings had a role. The priests had a role. The kings did not offer incense up to the Lord; that was the priestly role. But King Uzziah strolls right into the temple and begins to offer incense to the Lord. Leprosy breaks out on his forehead. He then has to give up his throne to his son and live in a different place until he dies.
Can I just warn you that even after 52 years, the devil can take you down? When you begin thinking you’re something, you’ll be nothing by the end of the week. I’m not saying God’s going to strike you with leprosy. What I am saying is that you should be humbled and grateful to God Almighty.
Difference makers choose humility in the midst of success. We do not walk into the temple and act like “God got something” when he got us. We got something when we got him. Isaiah understood this. He was humble before God.
Am I ignoring the help I received from God? Am I grateful, or am I full of pride, like Uzziah? Am I humble, like Isaiah?
Day 7
Scriptures: Isaiah 55:6-8, 1 Timothy 2:5-6
A Vast Difference
I am going to lead the Houston Texans’ Chapel service. I am excited about it, but also humble. Let me tell you how keenly aware I am of the differences between me and the football players on the team. There is no thought in my mind that we are the same. When they sit down, they are much taller than I am. I cannot see past more than three rows, yet I am standing up and they are sitting down. The average weight of a lineman is 310 pounds; my weight is about as much as his leg. I am the femur. I am the leg of one of these people.
When we have the chapel, they will come in and sit down. There won’t be any music nor any kind of singing. One of the coaches or probably the chaplain, will say, “We want to introduce Pastor Gregg. He is going to lead our chapel.” And I will ask myself, “What am I going to stand on to get them to see me?”
We are different. Vastly, vastly different. Let me tell you, those are just differences between people. But when you look at the difference between God and people, run to Jesus.
I don’t want to stand before a holy God to try to justify myself. I need Jesus to be my clothing so that when God sees me, He sees His son. God is holy, I am not. I can’t be saved through good works. I can only be saved by receiving the grace of Jesus Christ, praying, “Lord, I need you and I trust you. I need Christ—the Son of Man and the Son of God—to be in my heart, to be the difference maker.”
Difference makers are amazed by the Lord. Praise God that you can have a relationship with Him, that He has a plan, and that He knows more of history than you do. See God for who He is.
Am I amazed by God? Am I praising Him and walking with Him so He can make a difference in my life?