Isaiah 6:1-9 – In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 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.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” 8 Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” 9 And He said, “Go, and tell these people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
When we read this powerful opening passage of scripture regarding Isaiah the Prophet, there are unique things that are highlighted here that I believe are authentic earmarks of a genuine encounter with the Lord. I believe these traits will be seen in the lives of every believer who has their own personal encounter with God. Let’s discuss this below:
The very first thing that took place when Isaiah had a personal encounter with the Lord was his recognition of his need to be made whole and cleansed in the presence of the Lord. Isaiah uttered the following: “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.” When a genuine move of God takes place and the presence of the Lord shows up in our lives, in a corporate gathering, a home, living room or even our office, one of the first things that will take place is our recognition of our necessity to get right with him. The presence of God will begin to shine a spotlight on the hidden things and secrets of the heart. He will draw us unto repentance by his precious Holy Spirit. The more we set our eyes to gaze upon the King, the more we will utter “Woe is Me” This is why it’s important for us to have frequent times set apart to get in his presence so that we can keep our hearts right before him. Notice what happened when Isaiah acknowledged and confessed his sin before the Lord. The Word of God tells us that one of the seraphim flew to him, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar and touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.”
The next thing that happened with Isaiah after his encounter with the Lord, that I believe is a major earmark of a genuine encounter, was his desire to be sent! He came into agreement with the assignment of Heaven for his life. He no longer had a desire to live for himself but to be used by God. Isaiah stated the following: 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”. Have you ever pondered on how so many of the Apostles were able to willingly lay down their lives as they did and be martyrs in the early Church? The answer is that they had a genuine encounter with God! Not religion, Not a system of man, or a Church program! They were like the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus. They had an encounter with the Lord that ruined them for life! It destroyed Church as usual for them! It wiped out the desire for religious rituals and the norm. These men and women of God that you and I have read about, know about or even reading this today, know that they can never go back to what they once were after their eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.
Lastly, The Lord told Isaiah to go and TELL! This is the “Great Commission” of every believer! Jesus commanded us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. – Mark 16:15-16 .. One of the major earmarks of a man or woman that has had a true encounter with the Lord is they will have a burning desire and urgency to testify of their experience and they will desire others to have the same encounter that they have experienced. One of the things that Jesus told his disciples was that they would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses to in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
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