Making A Difference In This World
Making A Difference In This World
Making a Difference in This World
Text: Isaiah 6:1–8(NKJ)
* I read a quote the other day that captured my thinking.
- Someone once said . . . “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” - As I thought about this, I realized . . . We are called not just to expose darkness,
but to be
March 8, 2026, Sunday AM
the light that transforms it . . . That thought is simple, but it is deeply biblical.
- Anybody can talk about what is wrong with the world.
- Anybody can point at sin, confusion, brokenness, and pain pouring into this
world.
* No doubt we are living in an hour of deep darkness, but darkness has never intimidated
- But the people of God were never called just to complain about darkness. - We were called to walk in victory over it.
God!!
* Sin may abound, confusion may spread, the world may look like it is drifting farther from
truth . . .
- But this is not the time for the Church to shrink back in fear or waste its voice in
complaining. - This is the hour for the people of God to rise up and pour out of our own lives the power of
God that can deliver this world and set it free.
* Jesus said in Matt 5:14-16(NKJ) You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill
cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand,
and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that
they
may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
- When the fire of God rests on His people, light breaks into darkness, hope rises in broken places, and lives are changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- We were not called just to observe the condition of the world . . . We were called to
carry the
power of God into it.
* You know, I have told you this before, I have been troubled, grieved, for a while . . .
- All that is happening in the church . . . Judgment with no grace, criticism with no appreciation.
- Problems that seem to have no answer, addiction that have no recovery, sickness and disease with no healing . . . And that is in the church.
- This ought not to be . . . We serve a God with power, who paid the price, who
generously
* The church needs to rise to it call and once again push back the powers of darkness and see God move.
pours all that He has on us . . . Yet we are stuck, stymied, hindered, sidelined. - It is not supposed to be this way!!!! . . .
- Here is the good news . . .
- God is still raising up men and women who will not just curse the darkness . . .
- But who will be so filled with His presence that they become a flame of fire in the middle of it.
* Listen we are not in the earth by accident . . . We are here on assignment.
- We are not just waiting for heaven.
- We are here to make a difference in this world for the glory of Jesus Christ.
* Let me say it clearly . . . We cannot make that kind of difference in our own strength.
-
- from heaven. -
Ghost.
- in His power.
We cannot do it with clever words, religious activity, or fleshly effort.
We need the Holy Spirit . . . We need the presence of God . . . We need fresh fire
- We need clean hearts, clear vision, and surrendered lives.
The world does not need another opinion . . . It needs a church full of the Holy
It needs believers who know God, walk with God, hear His voice, and move
Read Text: Isaiah 6:1–8(NKJ)
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. 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. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 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.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his
hand
with
it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your
sin
purged.” 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.”
* Our text shows us how God prepares a person to make a difference in a difficult
time.
- Isaiah lived in troubled times . . . Israel was spiritually compromised.
- The future was uncertain . . . Judgment was looming.
- But in the middle of that darkness, God raised up a man . . . A man filled with
God's presence.
- That's how God works . . . In dark times, He raises anointed men and women
of God.
* What we see is God prepared Isaiah to make a difference by revealing Himself to
Him, cleansing
him, setting Him apart, and commissioning him.
a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth
- So, this morning I want to take a few moments and walk through this passage and see what
it means for us today.
I If We are Going to Make a Difference, We Must See God Correctly.
Isaiah 6:1(NKJ) says . . . 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.
* That fact that King Uzziah died matters . . . Uzziah’s death marked the close of a long and powerful reign in Judah . . . A season had ended . . . The nation was facing uncertainty.
- What had felt established and secure was suddenly shaken.
- But it was in that very moment that Isaiah said, “I saw the Lord.”
- When an earthly throne was affected, heaven’s throne was not.
- When the kingdom around him was shifting, the kingdom above him was
unshaken.
* God had not moved . . . God had not weakened . . . God had not lost control.
- The Lord was still high and lifted up, still glorious, still holy, still reigning over all.
* That is what made the difference for Isaiah . . . He did not just see the crisis of his times; he
saw
the God who was above it.
- He did not just see what had ended on earth; he saw the One who never ends.
* Whenever God’s people lose sight of the God, fear grows, discouragement settles in, and
spiritual vision becomes clouded.
- But when we get a fresh revelation of the Lord’s majesty, everything begins to come
back
into proper focus.
* We are not living in Isaiah’s exact moment, but we are living in times that feel shaken.
- We have watched things change . . . We have seen confidence in human strength fail. - We have felt the weight of uncertainty in our world, our communities, our families, and
even
* I believe that is where the Spirit is calling the church in this day and age.
in the church.
- But the answer for the people of God is not panic . . . It is revelation.
- It is to get our eyes lifted again until we see the Lord . . . High and lifted up.
to
God.
and a
- In a time of shaking, God is summoning His people back to the place of vision, back
the place of awe, back to the place of fresh surrender.
- Before Isaiah was commissioned, he had to encounter the Lord.
- Before he could speak to the nation, he had to be revived in the presence of a holy
- And in the same way, the church needs revival . . .
- We need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a fresh vision of the Lord’s glory,
fresh fire on the altar of our hearts.
- We do not overcome a troubled hour by leaning on flesh.
- We overcome it by seeing the Lord, hearing His voice, and being filled again with His
Spirit. - The God who sat on the throne in Isaiah 6 is still reigning now, and He is still able to
awaken
His people, cleanse His servants, and send His church in power.
* Listen, if we are going to make a difference in this world, we need a fresh vision of God.
defeated
God . . . He saw God enthroned.
- And the seraphim cried out in Isaiah 6:3(NKJ) Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the
whole earth is full of His glory!
* That tells us something important . . . Before Isaiah could speak for God, he had to see God.
- Before he could influence men, he had to encounter the Lord.
- That is still true today . . . We will never change the world by being fascinated with the world.
- We make a difference when we become captivated by the glory of God.
- This is where Spirit-filled life begins . . . It begins with an encounter.
- It begins when God becomes more than a concept and more than a doctrine. - It begins when the Holy Spirit makes Jesus real to us.
Pray: Oh God, I pray that you become real to us today, show us who you really are.
* Some people know about God, but they do not know Him intimately.
- Some have what I like to call . . . Church familiarity, but not spiritual reality.
- Some people cannot see God because they do not really know God, or because
they are
spiritually shallow, spiritually lazy, or hindered by sin . . . That is why we need revival!!
- We need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes again.
* Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:15-20(NLT) Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in
the
Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking
God
for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your
knowledge
of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called, his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of
God’s
power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the
dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
* We need that in this hour. We need to see that our God is still mighty.
- He still heals . . . He still saves . . . He still delivers . . . He still speaks . . . He
still moves.
- If we are going to make a difference, we need more than talent. - We need more than personality . . . We need more than strategy. - We need the power of the Holy Spirit.
II If We are Going to Make a Difference, We Must Let the Holiness of God Change Us.
* When Isaiah saw the Lord, the next thing he saw was himself.
- Isaiah 6:5(NKJ) says . . . 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
hide.
impressive.
- He cried out, Woe is me . . . That is one of the marks of a genuine encounter
with God.
- It produces humility . . . Spirit-filled believers must never lose this.
- We believe in power . . . We believe in miracles . . . We believe in the gifts of
the Spirit.
- We believe in boldness . . . But we also believe in holiness.
- We believe the Holy Spirit convicts, purifies, and sanctifies.
- The Spirit who fills is also the Spirit who searches, convicts us, and changes
us.
* Sin can keep hinder our fellowship with God and from seeing Him at work in our
lives.
coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it,
and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin
purged.
effort.
from you.
- - - -
- * Here
-
What Isaiah could not do for himself, God did for him.
Isaiah confessed his uncleanness, but heaven supplied the cleansing.
That is grace . . . That is the mercy of God.
For us, it points us to the cross of Jesus Christ . . . We are not cleansed by self-
We are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.
is the key to this outrageous gift of Grace . . . Maintaining the victory. James 4:7-8(NKJ) Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
* This is where it all begins . . . With personal submission to God.
- Without submission to God, the Holy Spirit can not lead us into a life of holiness. - It is the strategy of the enemy to undermine holiness in our lives . . .
- Every chance he gets, he will move us from holiness to carnality.
- James tells us that if we are going to effectively resist the devil and see him flee,
we must come to a place of humility and submit ourselves to God.
1 Pet 5:6-7(NKJ) Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that
He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
- In other words, we refuse to be prideful and arrogant, but now we choose to become obedient and conform our behavior to God.
* The word submit portrays an individual who willfully places themselves under the authority of
God.
- Rather than go their own way, they place themselves under command.
- There is nothing accidental or haphazard about it.
* Submission to God is really a discipline of abstinence because it's about denying
ourselves the power or privilege of what we want.
- In submission, we’re choosing not to make things happen for ourselves, not to
control people or situations even if we can.
- But instead to come under the Lord’s authority, wisdom, and power.
* Resist the devil and he will flee from you . . . Fight to keep what you have gained. * Draw near to God and He will draw near to you . . . Let Jesus in!!!
Text: Isaiah 6:1–8(NKJ)
* I read a quote the other day that captured my thinking.
- Someone once said . . . “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” - As I thought about this, I realized . . . We are called not just to expose darkness,
but to be
March 8, 2026, Sunday AM
the light that transforms it . . . That thought is simple, but it is deeply biblical.
- Anybody can talk about what is wrong with the world.
- Anybody can point at sin, confusion, brokenness, and pain pouring into this
world.
* No doubt we are living in an hour of deep darkness, but darkness has never intimidated
- But the people of God were never called just to complain about darkness. - We were called to walk in victory over it.
God!!
* Sin may abound, confusion may spread, the world may look like it is drifting farther from
truth . . .
- But this is not the time for the Church to shrink back in fear or waste its voice in
complaining. - This is the hour for the people of God to rise up and pour out of our own lives the power of
God that can deliver this world and set it free.
* Jesus said in Matt 5:14-16(NKJ) You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill
cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand,
and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that
they
may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
- When the fire of God rests on His people, light breaks into darkness, hope rises in broken places, and lives are changed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- We were not called just to observe the condition of the world . . . We were called to
carry the
power of God into it.
* You know, I have told you this before, I have been troubled, grieved, for a while . . .
- All that is happening in the church . . . Judgment with no grace, criticism with no appreciation.
- Problems that seem to have no answer, addiction that have no recovery, sickness and disease with no healing . . . And that is in the church.
- This ought not to be . . . We serve a God with power, who paid the price, who
generously
* The church needs to rise to it call and once again push back the powers of darkness and see God move.
pours all that He has on us . . . Yet we are stuck, stymied, hindered, sidelined. - It is not supposed to be this way!!!! . . .
- Here is the good news . . .
- God is still raising up men and women who will not just curse the darkness . . .
- But who will be so filled with His presence that they become a flame of fire in the middle of it.
* Listen we are not in the earth by accident . . . We are here on assignment.
- We are not just waiting for heaven.
- We are here to make a difference in this world for the glory of Jesus Christ.
* Let me say it clearly . . . We cannot make that kind of difference in our own strength.
-
- from heaven. -
Ghost.
- in His power.
We cannot do it with clever words, religious activity, or fleshly effort.
We need the Holy Spirit . . . We need the presence of God . . . We need fresh fire
- We need clean hearts, clear vision, and surrendered lives.
The world does not need another opinion . . . It needs a church full of the Holy
It needs believers who know God, walk with God, hear His voice, and move
Read Text: Isaiah 6:1–8(NKJ)
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. 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. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 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.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his
hand
with
it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your
sin
purged.” 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.”
* Our text shows us how God prepares a person to make a difference in a difficult
time.
- Isaiah lived in troubled times . . . Israel was spiritually compromised.
- The future was uncertain . . . Judgment was looming.
- But in the middle of that darkness, God raised up a man . . . A man filled with
God's presence.
- That's how God works . . . In dark times, He raises anointed men and women
of God.
* What we see is God prepared Isaiah to make a difference by revealing Himself to
Him, cleansing
him, setting Him apart, and commissioning him.
a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth
- So, this morning I want to take a few moments and walk through this passage and see what
it means for us today.
I If We are Going to Make a Difference, We Must See God Correctly.
Isaiah 6:1(NKJ) says . . . 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.
* That fact that King Uzziah died matters . . . Uzziah’s death marked the close of a long and powerful reign in Judah . . . A season had ended . . . The nation was facing uncertainty.
- What had felt established and secure was suddenly shaken.
- But it was in that very moment that Isaiah said, “I saw the Lord.”
- When an earthly throne was affected, heaven’s throne was not.
- When the kingdom around him was shifting, the kingdom above him was
unshaken.
* God had not moved . . . God had not weakened . . . God had not lost control.
- The Lord was still high and lifted up, still glorious, still holy, still reigning over all.
* That is what made the difference for Isaiah . . . He did not just see the crisis of his times; he
saw
the God who was above it.
- He did not just see what had ended on earth; he saw the One who never ends.
* Whenever God’s people lose sight of the God, fear grows, discouragement settles in, and
spiritual vision becomes clouded.
- But when we get a fresh revelation of the Lord’s majesty, everything begins to come
back
into proper focus.
* We are not living in Isaiah’s exact moment, but we are living in times that feel shaken.
- We have watched things change . . . We have seen confidence in human strength fail. - We have felt the weight of uncertainty in our world, our communities, our families, and
even
* I believe that is where the Spirit is calling the church in this day and age.
in the church.
- But the answer for the people of God is not panic . . . It is revelation.
- It is to get our eyes lifted again until we see the Lord . . . High and lifted up.
to
God.
and a
- In a time of shaking, God is summoning His people back to the place of vision, back
the place of awe, back to the place of fresh surrender.
- Before Isaiah was commissioned, he had to encounter the Lord.
- Before he could speak to the nation, he had to be revived in the presence of a holy
- And in the same way, the church needs revival . . .
- We need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, a fresh vision of the Lord’s glory,
fresh fire on the altar of our hearts.
- We do not overcome a troubled hour by leaning on flesh.
- We overcome it by seeing the Lord, hearing His voice, and being filled again with His
Spirit. - The God who sat on the throne in Isaiah 6 is still reigning now, and He is still able to
awaken
His people, cleanse His servants, and send His church in power.
* Listen, if we are going to make a difference in this world, we need a fresh vision of God.
- - Not a small God . . . Not a distant God . . . Not a God we only talk about on Sundays.
- - We need to see Him as He is . . . High and lifted up!!!
defeated
God . . . He saw God enthroned.
- And the seraphim cried out in Isaiah 6:3(NKJ) Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the
whole earth is full of His glory!
* That tells us something important . . . Before Isaiah could speak for God, he had to see God.
- Before he could influence men, he had to encounter the Lord.
- That is still true today . . . We will never change the world by being fascinated with the world.
- We make a difference when we become captivated by the glory of God.
- This is where Spirit-filled life begins . . . It begins with an encounter.
- It begins when God becomes more than a concept and more than a doctrine. - It begins when the Holy Spirit makes Jesus real to us.
Pray: Oh God, I pray that you become real to us today, show us who you really are.
* Some people know about God, but they do not know Him intimately.
- Some have what I like to call . . . Church familiarity, but not spiritual reality.
- Some people cannot see God because they do not really know God, or because
they are
spiritually shallow, spiritually lazy, or hindered by sin . . . That is why we need revival!!
- We need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes again.
* Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:15-20(NLT) Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in
the
Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking
God
for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your
knowledge
of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called, his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of
God’s
power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the
dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
* We need that in this hour. We need to see that our God is still mighty.
- He still heals . . . He still saves . . . He still delivers . . . He still speaks . . . He
still moves.
- If we are going to make a difference, we need more than talent. - We need more than personality . . . We need more than strategy. - We need the power of the Holy Spirit.
II If We are Going to Make a Difference, We Must Let the Holiness of God Change Us.
* When Isaiah saw the Lord, the next thing he saw was himself.
- Isaiah 6:5(NKJ) says . . . 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
hide.
impressive.
- He cried out, Woe is me . . . That is one of the marks of a genuine encounter
with God.
- It produces humility . . . Spirit-filled believers must never lose this.
- We believe in power . . . We believe in miracles . . . We believe in the gifts of
the Spirit.
- We believe in boldness . . . But we also believe in holiness.
- We believe the Holy Spirit convicts, purifies, and sanctifies.
- The Spirit who fills is also the Spirit who searches, convicts us, and changes
us.
* Sin can keep hinder our fellowship with God and from seeing Him at work in our
lives.
- - Hidden sin will always hinder spiritual clarity . . . Pride will cloud our vision.
- - Bitterness will poison our prayers . . . Compromise will weaken our witness.
- - And as we talk about last week . . . Thank God, when the Holy Spirit convicts,
He is not
trying to destroy us . . . He is drawing us back to the altar.
* We cannot make a difference while protecting what God is trying to purge.
- - We cannot carry holy fire with unrepented sin in our hearts.
- - We cannot ask God to use us publicly while resisting Him privately.
- - The Lord is still looking for yielded vessels.
- - He is still looking for men and women who will say, Search me, cleanse me,
change me,
and use me.
* Isaiah 6:6-7(NKJ) says . . . Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live
- - That is what happens in the presence of God.
- - His light exposes everything . . . His holiness reveals what our flesh wants to
coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it,
and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin
purged.
effort.
from you.
- - - -
- * Here
-
What Isaiah could not do for himself, God did for him.
Isaiah confessed his uncleanness, but heaven supplied the cleansing.
That is grace . . . That is the mercy of God.
For us, it points us to the cross of Jesus Christ . . . We are not cleansed by self-
We are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.
is the key to this outrageous gift of Grace . . . Maintaining the victory. James 4:7-8(NKJ) Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
* This is where it all begins . . . With personal submission to God.
- Without submission to God, the Holy Spirit can not lead us into a life of holiness. - It is the strategy of the enemy to undermine holiness in our lives . . .
- Every chance he gets, he will move us from holiness to carnality.
- James tells us that if we are going to effectively resist the devil and see him flee,
we must come to a place of humility and submit ourselves to God.
1 Pet 5:6-7(NKJ) Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that
He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
- In other words, we refuse to be prideful and arrogant, but now we choose to become obedient and conform our behavior to God.
* The word submit portrays an individual who willfully places themselves under the authority of
God.
- Rather than go their own way, they place themselves under command.
- There is nothing accidental or haphazard about it.
* Submission to God is really a discipline of abstinence because it's about denying
ourselves the power or privilege of what we want.
- In submission, we’re choosing not to make things happen for ourselves, not to
control people or situations even if we can.
- But instead to come under the Lord’s authority, wisdom, and power.
* Resist the devil and he will flee from you . . . Fight to keep what you have gained. * Draw near to God and He will draw near to you . . . Let Jesus in!!!
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