Isaiah 6:6-7: “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said: Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, and your sin is atoned for.”

3) Authentic Worship Leads to a Display of Redemption

• A display of redemption means the proclamation of the gospel.  The hot coal taken from the altar of incense in heaven is emblematic of God’s purifying work. (Rev. 8:3-5) Repentance is often painful.
  
• Verse 7 “Your wickedness removed, sin atoned for.”

  Within the context of Isaiah 6, it is spiritual cleansing for special service to the Lord. But generally speaking this can be said of as an act of salvation–it is clearly an anticipation of the work of Christ.

  It is a unilateral act of God, a unilateral propitiatory sacrifice, a picture of atonement.  Isaiah brought absolutely nothing; Isaiah had been brought face to face with his sin and now realizes redemption is all of grace, and that it is costly. The coal, after all, came from the altar, not from a campfire.
  

• True worship requires seeing the true and living God and then seeing ourselves as we actually are in our sinfulness. Turning to God through confession, we experience the display and declaration of redemption.
  
• True worship always proclaims the gospel, the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ. It proclaims the work of Christ and it centers in the cross. With the apostle Paul we say, “In the cross of Christ we glory.” We proclaim liberty to the captive, grace and pardon to all who believe in His name. If sinners come to Him, He will by no means cast them out.

And lastly…

4) Authentic Worship Requires a Response

Verse 8: “Here I am. Send me.”

• Given what God has done authentic worship requires a response; just like Christ’s call for us to “go” in Matthew 28:18-20, the Great Commission.
  
• Worship calls for an ongoing response seen in the proclamation of the gospel, in evangelism, and in missions. If our worship is weakened, our missionary witness will be weakened as well. We will forget the God who has sent us. We will neglect the content of the message of redemption with which he has sent us.
  
• Our response evidences the humble readiness of our complete trust in God. Though profoundly aware of his sin, Isaiah was available and willing.

(Part 6, the Conclusion of this series on “Authentic Worship”, coming soon….)

[Authentic Worship: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.]