How to Make a Difference in this World

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2025 – MR PHILIP GRAHAM

ISAIAH 6 VERSES 1 TO 9

How to make a difference in this world. I often think about my life and my sphere of working – what difference am I making in this world? “Everyone has the ability to brighten a room. Some folks brighten a room when they enter in it, others brighten it when they leave it.” I want to be a person who knows God personally. I know many of you feel that way. One day Jesus was preaching a sermon “you are the salt of the earth” and “you are to be the light in the darkness”. He commands us to let our light shine before others so that they may see your good works. A testimony of what Christ is doing in our lives. Centuries ago on a very dark day in Israel most of the people had turned their backs on Yahweh. God was judging his people. God called in the midst of that darkness. He called a man to shine a light in the darkness. How God prepared that man to do exactly that, to make a difference. We have to be able to see God prepared that man to do exactly that. To make a difference we have to be able to see God. Verse 1 “I saw the Lord.” I wonder are you able to see God? Some people can’t see God today. Some people believe there is a God out there some where, a million miles away. Some people cannot see God, cannot rely on God for help. They will manage life their way. There are a few reasons why they cannot see God – firstly we don’t know God. Maybe know about God but have never been born again, born by the Spirit of God. Maybe secondly we have been Christians for years and never applied ourselves to growing in God’s word. Maybe spiritually lazy and know we should make more effort but we don’t invest enough time in our relationship with God. How much time do we spend getting to know God? Time with God means you have a proper relationship with God. 3 minutes devotional and a quick prayer at night is not enough. Maybe we have sin in our lives. It will keep us from knowing God better. Sin is all the things we think about. We tend to think of lust, greed, anger, bitterness. Really bad things. Things we hear on the news or from people. Sin is also doing those things God has asked us to do and we don’t do them. God commands us to love our neighbour, love those around you. If we don’t do that we ae sinning against God. If we cannot be bothered, if he has told us to read his word and pray and we don’t do it we are sinning. We have never indulged in some heinous sins, classified as deep sin. We have to examine ourselves today in the light of God’s word. Sin stops us from seeing God. It is good to identify that some times. We cannot see God working in our lives, not moving we wonder does God really care? Is he able to? We begin to drift from God. We stop communicating with God because we don’t see him and the vicious circle keeps going around. How big is your God today? God is magnificent, awesome regardless whether or not we believe that. He is the same yesterday, today and for ever. It is not the problem that God is too small but our vision of him is too small. We put him in a box and only bring him out when we need him. Isaiah’s problem was he had too small a vision of God. At this point in history the king Uzziah had died. That is it, he is gone. What are we going to do? He had been a good king. At 16 years of age he had become king and reigned for 50 years. He had restored Israel back to the original ways.  But now he was dead. Maybe Isaiah entered the temple discouraged and in despair. What is going to happen now? Put yourself in his shoes. This king is dead, who will be the next king? When we put our confidence in man. Isaiah was concentrating on Uzziah. He thought the world would end. Something amazing happened to Isaiah he didn’t expect. God showed up. Isaiah got a real vision of God.

Isaiah’s ability to see. This was an amazing vision. Imagine this scene as he stood there and seen it all happening. He saw a God that was alive, real, all powerful, awesome, all knowing. The mighty God on the throne. For some God is not much more than a fairy tale or fable today. God is not real in people’s lives. Not relevant because he is not included in every part of their lives. Our God is alive and is real. He is still involved in our lives today. God is interested in you today. Matthew 10 verse 29 “are not two  sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.” The very hairs of your head are numbered. God knows when one sparrow will fall to the ground. You are so much more worth than them. Do you believe that? Do you believe he is real and relevant in your life? If you don’t believe that you will not see God working in your life, making a positive difference in this world. When Isaiah saw God he saw a wonderful, glorious scene. He saw the Lord seated on the throne ruling over all the world, over every circumstance. God is still on the throne today. No matter what the nations said, Isaiah saw a God that was awesome, powerful. The temple shook when the angels declared the goodness of God. “Holy, holy, holy.” It refers to something overwhelming and great. It does not do it justice. The human mind can hardly take it in. Great is our God. It causes those in his presence to tremble. If we want to make a different we need to see God.

Next there will be confession – verse 5. Isaiah realises his depravity, his lostness. He is standing before a thrice holy God and he was nothing. We are nothing. We deserve nothing. He realised his unworthiness. We too are unworthy. We must get to that point if we want to make a difference. There is nothing good in ourselves, in our works and our efforts are nothing too. Isaiah realises his imperfection – “I am nothing”. Isaiah realises his unworthiness, his sinfulness in light of God’s holiness. That is where we must get to today. Unbroken, nothing. Before we can change this world we need to realise there is sin in our lives.

His confession led to cleansing – verses 6 and 7. Have you confessed your sin? Then there is cleansing. What an amazing truth and experience for Isaiah. When he confessed his sin and unworthiness there was cleansing to be had.1 John 1 verse 9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Our sins are forgiven not because of anything we have done but because of Calvary.  We must first see God then there will be confession and cleansing. We will be able to see the need around us. God gets us to see the need because he has chosen us. We need to see the need first. Very often we push the issue down the road. We will have to give an account for the need around us. Sometimes we don’t see the need, we focus on ourselves. We want God to give us grace and mercy but don’t want it dished out around us. We need to be able to identify the need and ask to fulfil it. “I am not worthy to meet God’s need.” Neither was Isaiah. Is that you today responding to God’s call?

Isaiah’s commissioning – verse 8. I wonder is that your response today? Where was God going to send Isaiah? Right back into the darkness. Where he came from, only this time he would make a difference. He would light a candle and be the light in that darkness. Do you see that? Have you heard that call? God is telling you to go today. Maybe it will mean to a foreign mission field but maybe not. One thing he is calling you to do is be faithful, to make a difference. Maybe God is calling you to those on your own doorstep, your family, your work colleagues, the people we meet during the week. It is good to pass a tract through the letter box but you need to put legs to that tract. You need to speak to people about what is in that tract. You will make a difference in your life and in theirs. It is about those personal relationships we have outside of the church. We can be like a light in the darkness. God is asking you to be available. There is a call, who will go? Go is still alive and moving today. He is not done with you today. He wants to use you today. Are