2 - Seeing God for Who He is: (6:1-4)

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1 1 2 - Seeing God for Who He is: (6:1-4) Welcome back to our journey to the heart of God. In the weeks to come we will be seeking to see God for Who He is, us for who we are, and how we are to respond to those truths. Last week we looked at why God gave Isaiah this vision. Today we will begin to unpack the vision itself and what it means to us today. Today we will get into the meat of the passage we introduced last week. Read with me from Isaiah 6:1-4. READ and PRAY Let me briefly remind you of the situation. King Uzziah was an efficient king. He led the nation into prosperity that it had not seen in recent decades. There was no unemployment and everyone was doing well. But in that time of prosperity there was evil working at the core of the nation. Even in the heart of Uzziah, sin was rampant. The king s decadence became public when he usurped the role of the chief priest and God struck him with leprosy until the day of his death. His death marked the beginning of the end; the gradual but sure moral and spiritual decline of the nation. Into that degradation God was calling Isaiah to minister. But to do so, Isaiah had to be sold out to God. He had to have a boldness, a confidence that would take him through vicious times of accusation and ridicule. He needed to see God for Who He is! In order to be sold out to God, a person needs a vision of the Lord. A person must know the Lord and understand Who He is before he can adequately serve Him. Today we are going to seek to see God for Who He is! The sad reality is that we live in a time not unlike Isaiah s. By and large the people of America have no concept of a holy, righteous God who longs to have relationship with them but it held at bay by man s sin. Jesus Himself said, How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! (Matt. 23:37) For all their outward appearance of religiosity, there was no real fear of God in most people. An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: there is no fear of God before his eyes. (Ps.36:1) Isaiah had already warned them about their evil. Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (5:20) Now Isaiah had to see God for Who He is in order to see himself for who he was and then be called to minister in those troubling times. I see my world, my country, my county, my city, and my very church and family facing this same dilemma. We make God in our own image. We make our own commandments. We determine our own lives without even a nod towards God. We call killing babies removing unwanted tissue. We call adultery and affair. We call sexual perversion a lifestyle. We trample on the Word of God as we would yesterday s newspaper, and give it even less authority over our lives. And we wonder when tragedy hits our lives as if God has somehow done us wrong! It is only by His grace and mercy that we draw the next breath! If He were to respond to us in His righteousness and judgment, none of us would survive! Like Isaiah of old, we are men of unclean lips. I would call us sinning saints. And we dwell among a people of unclean lips some who are also sinning saints and others who are just sinners. A sinning saint is an oxymoron. We are saints in that our sins are forgiven. But we still follow that willful, rebellious nature that leads us into sinning. Thus, we are sinning saints. An oxymoron indeed! A conflict extraordinaire! We somehow know it shouldn t be this way, but we don t care enough to know what to do about it. So we continue to grieve Holy Spirit and quench His work in our lives. Like Isaiah of old, we need to see God for Who He is and us for who we are. Only then will we be useful in His sight.

2 Israel s situation would soon become dire, and God had to send a messenger to warn them, to call them back to Himself. But to prepare His man for such a task, He had to first reveal Himself in all His glory so that Isaiah would know the Eternal King he was speaking for. Thought #1 The Lord gave Isaiah a vision of His exaltation and majesty. V.1 Isaiah actually saw the Lord sitting on His heavenly throne, high and exalted. To be exalted means to be elevated to the highest place possible. There was no place higher than where Isaiah saw the Lord. Obviously, this was the highest, most elevated throne Isaiah had ever seen or imagined. It was the throne of the King of kings Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel of John confirms this fact, for he clearly says that it was Christ sitting on the heavenly throne in all His glory and majesty (Jn.12:41). The Lord was exalted as the sovereign God over the universe: above, before, and over all that exists. Transcending everything, He was exalted above all rulers and governments throughout the universe. He held dominion, ruled and reigned, over all powers and principalities, both in this world and the spiritual world. Isaiah also saw the Lord s majesty. We see this in the flowing robes that filled the heavenly sanctuary. Because of His majesty and royalty, no person was able to stand in His immediate presence or to gaze into His holy face. The train of His robe filled the entire temple. The entire temple was filled with smoke. That was the Shekinah Glory of God, revealed in the Old Testament as the pillar of fire by day and cloud by night. It was this holy presence that descended upon the temple in Jerusalem (2 Chron. 7:1). And it was this holy presence that left the earthly temple (Ez. 10:18). So Isaiah saw God in all His glory, sitting in His place of authority, His majesty resplendent, and His power unimaginable. What was Isaiah s response? He expected to be annihilated at any moment. Why? Because no man could gaze upon the glory of God and live! God Himself said it was so. (Ex. 33:20) But He said, You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live. The children of Israel sensed that at Mt. Sinai when they said, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die. (Deut. 18:16) So Isaiah expected death at any moment and knew instinctively that he deserved it. To worship and serve the Lord, we must see the Lord exalted, sitting upon the throne of the universe in all His majestic glory. If we are not totally convinced that Christ is Lord, how can we lead people to honor and worship Him, to surrender their lives to Him and obey His Holy Word? See, when we come to grips with the fact that the Lord we serve is the Most High God (Adonai) and that there is no authority above Him, no equal to His majesty, to rival to His throne then we can see who we are before Him. We will naturally, automatically, fall at His feet, knowing that apart from His grace and mercy we are dead men! That is what Isaiah learned. He saw the Lord God Almighty for Who He is Wholly Holy and himself as wholly unholy. Oh how we need to be convinced, astonished with this fact. How would it impact who you worship Him? Serve Him? Pray to Him? Witness for Him? Unless we know that Jesus Christ is Lord, we waste our time trying to serve Him. Of what value is any ministry in His Name unless He is Lord? If Jesus Christ were not truly Lord, He would not deserve the worship or service of any person. God s Holy Word declares to us time and again the wonderful truth that Jesus Christ is the exalted, sovereign Lord of the universe. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God (Mk.16:19). Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God (Lu.22:69). 2

3 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins (Ac.5:30-31). Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church (Ep.1:20-22). Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth (Phil. 2:9-10). My prayer is that God would give each of us a clear vision, an astounding conviction, as to Who He is in all His exaltation and majesty. Thought #2 The Lord gave Isaiah a vision of His holiness and glory. V.2-3 Flying above the Lord s throne were a number of spectacular creatures called seraphim, who are not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture. The word seraphim (sarap) means burning ones, suggesting a burning purity and zeal for the Lord. Perhaps their presence suggests the burning, consuming fire of God s holiness in executing His justice and judgment. In appearance, the seraphim were apparently like humans in that they had faces, feet, and voices. But they were unlike humans in that they had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, indicating their unworthiness and humility. They were not worthy to gaze upon the face of the Holy One. With two other wings they covered their feet, perhaps indicating their reverence for the Lord. They are not worthy to stand before the Lord. With the other two wings they flew or hovered above the throne of God, possibly signifying their continued ministry of proclaiming God s holiness and glory. However, their flying could also signify a readiness to undertake any task assigned by the Lord. Isaiah saw and heard the seraphim s fervent, unbroken praise of God s holiness and glory (v.3). Obviously, this was their primary ministry. With the deepest fervency possible, the seraphim called back and forth to each other: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts [Lord Almighty]: the whole earth is full of his glory. The threefold repetition of holy emphasizes that holiness is the most essential characteristic of the Lord. This triple use of a word is to overemphasize the grandeur or completeness of what is being presented. (See Ez. 21:27 ruin and Jer. 22:29 land ) Holiness is the very essence of God s being. Holy (qadosh) means to be set apart, separated, distinctive, different, and transcendent. It also has the idea of perfection, purity, and moral cleanness. The Lord is totally set apart, entirely different from all beings throughout the universe, including mankind. We see this picture again in Revelation 4:1-11 where, The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,Who was and is and is to come! It is a magnificent scene of worship in heaven. From the very presence of God flows the blazing light of perfection and purity. The very nature of God is light, the brilliance and splendor of light, the most pure light imaginable. As Scripture says, God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 Jn.1:5). Being holy the very essence and energy of pure light God can have no part with evil or things associated with evil. Thus anyone who wishes to be associated with God must be holy even as He is holy. But since no person can achieve such holiness or perfection, a person must come to the Lord and beg for cleansing. This will be dealt with in the next point. For now, God s holiness is the focus. God s holiness shines forth as a witness to His perfection. In fact, the blazing glory of God s presence (His holiness and light) shines so brightly that there will be no need for a sun in the New Jerusalem (Rev.21:23). 3

4 Note the second part of the seraphim s song: they declare the whole earth is full of His glory. Creation the heavens and earth declare the glory of God. Wherever we look, whether at the starry sky at night or the astounding beauty of nature, the incomprehensible glory of God is evident. To worship and serve the Lord, we must see the holiness and glory of Christ. If Jesus Christ were not the holy and sinless Son of God, He could not be the Savior of the world. He would be as short of God s glory as we are and as guilty of sin as we are. He would need a Savior as much as we do. But the wonderful truth is this: Jesus Christ is the Son of God, holy and sinless, the Savior of the world. If we do not know Him as our Redeemer, see Him in all His glory, how can we proclaim His salvation? If we believe Jesus Christ is only another man, guilty of sin, there is no value in lifting Him up as the Savior of the world. He would be nothing more than a mere human being. But the unequivocal declaration of God s Holy Word is this wonderful truth: Jesus Christ is the holy, sinless Son of God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Cor. 5:21). For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Heb. 4:15). Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens (Heb. 7:25-26). Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation [behavior, conduct] received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Pe.1:18-19). Thought #3 The Lord gave Isaiah a vision of His power and presence. V.4 As the seraphim cried out, the power of their deep voices shook the very foundation of the temple. Even the huge doorposts and thresholds trembled. Witnessing this would remind Isaiah of God s awesome power and of the angelic agents who were available to execute God s justice upon the earth. Isaiah also saw smoke fill the temple. Most likely, this smoke was a cloud of Shekinah glory that symbolized the Lord s holy presence. His cloud of glory, His presence, had led the Israelites through the wilderness journeys and had also filled Solomon s temple on the day it was dedicated (Ex.13:21; 16:10; 1 Kings 8:10-13). Any person who truly desires a true relationship with the Lord must have a clear vision of His holiness. We must know and be totally convinced that He is the Lord before we can worship and serve Him as we should. This is true for all genuine believers, but especially for those in leadership positions such as ministers and teachers of God s Holy Word. 3) To worship and serve the Lord, we must know His power and presence. We must know that He has the power to deliver us from the bondage of sin and death, the power to deliver us through all trials and temptations. In addition, we must know that the Lord s presence is always with us, guiding and leading us victoriously throughout life. Listen to what God s Holy Word says about the Lord s power: But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house (Mt.9:6-7). As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him (Jn.17:2). 4

5 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:3). 5