God and My Theology (What Isaiah came to believe about God, and himself)

THEOLOGY #1 January 8 Pastor David Staff God and My Theology (What Isaiah came to believe about God, and himself) "If I have one operating philosophy about life, it is this:" writes Sarah Adams (an English professor at Olympia College/Washington), "Be cool to the pizza delivery dude; it's good luck." i "I believe," said Jackie Robinson (who broke the color barrier in Major League baseball), "in the goodness of a free society. And I believe that the society can remain good only as long as we are willing to fight for it." "I believe in a daily walk to listen," notes Susan Cosia, a medical chaplain in California, "because that is when I am close to God, and that is when I find my way." ii Over a dozen years or more, National Public Radio (NPR) has nurtured a quiet movement in our country to encourage people to think about, and express, what they believe. Two very insightful books have been published, and a website maintained, iii to provoke us to think about what is at our core, what we as individuals actually believe. Ask yourself this not-normal question: What do I really believe? The truth is that you are a collection of beliefs, some more important, some less. James Sire explains: We believe. That's what we do to live. Believing is like breathing: we do it, but we only know we are doing it when something draws our attention to it. Most of the day we simply breathe automatically. Then, we play tennis and get short of breath; our breathing becomes problematic, and we notice it. So too with belief. Suddenly, someone asks us why we are doing it and we are at a loss. "i do believe," we say to ourselves. I believe a lot of things. From the simple matter that my computer will turn on when I hit the button to the more questionable believe that my broker is honest or my fiancee loves me in ways she loves no one else...everything I do is predicated on belief. Believing is at the very heart of who we are as human beings. iv The word "believe" itself has a fascinating history. In Middle English, v to believe meant "to praise, to value, to hold dear," related to a German word "to love, to esteem." To believe something meant more than simply to know a fact; it meant "to value it, to love it, to be loyal to it." vi Now, our objective as a spiritual family in these beginning weeks of 2017 is more than just philosophizing about BELIEF. It's to understand how important WHAT we believe is. If "believing" is what we do to live, than WHAT I BELIEVE determines WHO I AM. In fact, I would put it this way What a person believes about God his/her theology determines everything else about him If your theology is that God does not exist, or that the whole discussion about God does not matter, that will determine everything else about you If your theology is that God may exist, but it doesn't really matter what you believe about God, that will determine everything else about you 1 P a g e THEOLOGY #1

If your theology is that God does exist, and life's most important quest is to discover the knowledge of God, then THAT theology will determine everything else about you. As Pamela and I were reminded last week at the Reformation and the Arts exhibition last week (Minneapolis Institute for the Arts), 2017 is the year commemorating the 500 th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther publishing (and, perhaps, even nailing on the door of the All Saints Church in Wittenburg) the 95 Theses protesting the Church's sale of indulgence (or "forgiveness") certificates. vii By the Spirit of God, Luther and others like Huldrych Zwingli and Jean Calvin opened their Bibles and launched the Reformation of the church. 500 years ago, Calvin said it Fifty years ago, A.W.Tozer said it again It is evident that man never attains a true self-knowledge until he has contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself. viii "We must think rightly about God...What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. That our idea of God correspond as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us." ix This morning, we echo the Reformers: I am what I believe about God. Now...are we on the right track about this? Is it really true that I can never understand who I am until I understand who God is? Let's consider, for just a few moments, the experience of Isaiah, the prophet. In your Bible please turn to Isaiah 6. Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. BACKGROUND Judah's King Uzziah had been an incredible, courageous leader for most of his 52 year reign. 2 Chronicles 26 catalogues his victories-defeating enemies--commanding a highly-trained confident army, and building cities/infrastructure using skillful craftsmen and workers. Uzziah loved agriculture, loved his people, loved the Lord, and the text says "God helped him" (vs.7). His fame was relentless....until "when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction" (vs. 16). Increasingly full of himself and angry with those who tried to hold him accountable, he finished badly. The Lord struck him with leprosy, and he finished in pathetic shame, "excluded (vs. 21) from the house of the Lord." 2 P a g e THEOLOGY #1

Young Isaiah had chronicled Uzziah's glory and then, witnessed his fall a king whose beliefs about who God really was shrunk as his self-reliant pride inflated. Suddenly, with the image of a dead, leprous, diminished king in his mind, this young prophet (Isaiah) is transported into the throne room of the universe's real King. Think of all that Isaiah came to understand about God in this indescribable encounter: That THE LORD is on the universe's ultimate throne, a rule/authority that is high and lifted up and has no equal That THE LORD's symbol of authority, his robe, dominates and overwhelms even the place where his throne is to be found That THE LORD is attended by spiritual beings of praise whose assignment is to thunderously declare the TRIUNE HOLINESS of God himself That all the beauty and glory that can be found in the earth is merely an expression and reflection of THE LORD'S glory That the constant declaration of THE LORD'S HOLINESS shakes the very thresholds of God's throneroom, and fills the room with overpowering smoke (perhaps the same "cloud of glory" that Israel's ancestors had seen in the wilderness, Exodus 22:31, Deut 7:6). x The timing and the splendor of this experience are no coincidence. Isaiah cannot understand the significance of the world in which he lives without a primary vision of God. Neither can we. Isaiah cannot properly assess who truly is in charge of the rise and fall of kings and leaders and nations and peoples without a primary vision of God. Neither can we. Isaiah cannot rightly comprehend why holiness is required and sin cannot be tolerated without a primary, clarifying vision of God. Neither can we. No wonder Solomon said to his sons, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7). So what does Isaiah s experience, and his journal of what happened to him, teach us. WHEN I BELIEVE IN THE UNIQUE MAJESTY OF THE LORD GOD, I AM OVERWHELMED. I am what I believe about God. No doubt, Isaiah had been impressed with King Uzziah for a time. We can be taken up with this successful leader or shining personality. But no one compares with God. Be ushered into His presence, and your view of who is great and what is really important changes. Now If Isaiah's first experience was overwhelming awe at WHO THE LORD GOD IS, his second experience was that of utter inadequacy. Isaiah 6:5 And I said: Woe is me! For I am lost; for 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 I BELIEVE IN THE UTTER HOLINESS OF THE LORD GOD, I AM THOROUGHLY UNDONE. I am what I believe about God. 3 P a g e THEOLOGY #1

Alexander expresses what we hear in the text: The prophet is filled with awe, not only by the presence of Jehovah, but also by a deep impression of his own sinfulness, especially considered as unfitting him to (join in) the praise of God, or to be his messenger, and therefore (this sinfulness) represented as residing in the organs of speech. [He expresses] lamentation and alarm...[he feels] destroyed...the ancient, prevalent belief was that no one could see God and live (Genesis 32:30, Judges 6:22-24, 13:22, Exodus 4:10,12, 33:20, 1 Sam 6:19). [Isaiah sensed an] aggravation of that danger arising from the moral contrast between God and himself. xi Isaiah was experiencing what we hear simply stated in Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We memorize that verse; we can say it so matter-of-factly, so hom-hum. But the truth is that every time someone in Scripture is given an unclouded glimpse of God, they cry like Isaiah (like "I shouldn't be seeing this" or "I'm not worthy to be here"). Job 42:5-6 I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Luke 5:8 (Jesus to Peter, "try again!)" "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Rev 1:16-17 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Overwhelmed with the Lord God s majesty; undone by the Lord God s holiness. Still, the Lord is not done with Isaiah. 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for. WHEN I BELIEVE IN THE SURPRISING, SACRIFICIAL GRACE OF THE LORD GOD, I AM COMPLETELY FORGIVEN. I am what I believe about God You can sense with verse 6 that this is a surprising turn of events. Isaiah simply thought he would be consumed. He didn't belong in the Lord's presence. But God didn't summon him simply to overwhelm him, nor was He revealing himself to this young man merely to humble him. God ALSO wanted to cleanse him simply by an act of undeserved grace. Already there is an sacrificial altar fire burning in the throne-room of God. And in a moment, one of the creatures attending the holiness of God flies to Him and presses a burning coal upon his lips a symbolic act by God based on a sacrifice already provided...and Isaiah hears unbelievable words: "Your guilt is taken away; Your sin is atoned for." May I ask you today: Right here, right now...do you absolutely know for sure that this majestic, holy God has forgiven you? Are you, right now, thoroughly forgiven? Do you know, for sure, that God has said to you, "Your guilt is taken away; your sin is atoned for"? Your answer, "Well, I hope so. I've been a pretty good person (better than most)...i think if anyone gets 4 P a g e THEOLOGY #1

in to heaven, I should have a shot." Why? Why should you have a shot? Do you really think that your "relative" goodness is going to cut it with an absolutely holy God? The Bible tells you the truth. It won't. Your lips are no more clean than were Isaiah's. He didn't stand there and plead his "relative goodness;" he admitted in the presence of God's holiness he was "undone." What he needed was a sacrifice applied to his sinful lips, and God's forgiving grace to be applied to his sinful heart. You are what you believe about God. OVERWHELMED BY THE UNIQUE MAJESTY OF THE LORD GOD--I am what I believe about God. THOROUGHLY UNDONE BY THE UTTER HOLINESS OF THE LORD GOD--I am what I believe about God. COMPLETELY CLEANSED BY THE SURPRISING, SACRIFICIAL GRACE OF THE LORD GOD, I am what I believe about God But wait a minute...god is not yet done with Isaiah. 5 P a g e THEOLOGY #1 Isaiah 6:8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here I am! Send me. WHEN I BELIEVE IN THE COMMUNICATING PASSION OF THE LORD GOD, I AM READILY AVAILABLE. I am what I believe about God. When studying this passage a few weeks ago, I have to admit [that] I thought this strange. I mean, "Why does this majestic, holy, absolutely-in-control God ask this question?" WHOM SHALL I SEND, and WHO WILL GO FOR US? There are at least two answers to God's inquiry. The first is that the true God wants to communicate who He is to people whom He has created. God is a revealer. He is a communicator. The voice of His self-revelation shouts through the universe around the world 24-7. God has made it plain to us His Divine Greatness and His eternal power through everything that is made. Men and women are without excuse when they refuse to acknowledge there is a divine, powerful God, the author, creator, and designer of all we see. But the second answer is that the true God wants to also communicate to people that they are lost without His forgiving grace. They are lost in their sin. What people really need is to understand who God is, so as to know who they are, so as to understand their true need, and the offer of His incredible grace. And for that...god's plan is to send those who have been cleansed and forgiven. This is why the One who said, "I have come to seek and to save that which was lost" looked in the eyes of his disciples and said, "When you follow me, I will make you fishers of men." One of my most unforgettable moments as part of the recent Missions Team to Haiti was a couple of moments I had with Jim Ryken, one of our great young leaders here. Jim and Marcy have led at least ½ dozen trips into Haiti over the past 10 years. You can tell their passion for this, and somewhere along the

way we were just talking--i wanted to know where it came from. Jim s answer was as straightforward as it could be: Marcy and I took the Perspectives Class 10 years ago. That class destroyed my life. My eyes were opened to the love of God and the need of the world. I could not live my life after the class the way I had lived my life before. You talk about a family that has decided to answer one of our key life questions How are my (eternal) investments doing? Understanding the communication passion of the Lord; being readily available. CONCLUSION Isaiah's experience with the Lord is very instructive and applicable for us especially because the Spirit of God has preserved it for us in Scripture. Don t hollow out this passage with some weak, Well, I m no prophet. No...we are not all prophets, but we share with Isaiah in this. His life was unmistakably shaped by what He came to believe about the true God. As you ll discover when you wrestle with passages in this week s Connect Group study, God intends our lives to be shaped and changed by what we experience with God and believe about God. What an adventure! Like Isaiah we must be OVERWHELMED BY THE GREATNESS OF THE LORD GOD HUMBLED/UNDONE BY THE HOLINESS OF THE LORD GOD CLEANSED BY THE GRACE OF THE LORD GOD AVAILABLE TO THE SUMMONS OF THE LORD GOD For some listening today, I get it. It's a brand new thought to think that your life can be re-shaped, redefined (if you will) by what you decide to believe ("embrace, or cherish") about God. This morning, I invite you to let that re-shaping, re-definition happen. God wants to blow you away with who He truly is...and then invite you to be His forgiven son/daughter. He will cleanse you, He will remove your guilt and sin all of it if you will believe in Him. For some listening today, you may already have become God's child by faith, but it is time for you to rediscover the greatness of your God. There is a calling from the Lord to every one of Jesus' disciples to "go for Us" (i.e., the Triune God) to love, to share the experiences you've had with the Lord that have changed your life, to "become fishers of men" with the Savior." Copyright 2017 David A. Staff All rights reserved i Jay Allison and Dan Gediman, eds, This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women (Holt Paperbacks, 2006), back cover. ii Ibid., 45. iii http://thisibelieve.org/essays/featured/ iv James W. Sire, Why Should I believe anything at All? (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 16. v English as it was spoken between A.D. 1150 1500. Cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/middle_english vi https://kjvonlydebate.com/2011/04/23/the-etymology-of-belief/ vii https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/martin_luther viii Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book First, "Of the Knowledge of God the Creator," Chap.I., Para.2 and 3) ix A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well. All the problems of heaven and earth, though they were to confront us together and at once, would be nothing compared with the overwhelming problem of God: That He is; what He is like; and what we as moral beings must do about Him" (Tozer, A.W., The Knowledge of the Holy, Kindle Edition). x Suggested by John Martin in "Isaiah," The Bible Knowledge Commentary-Old Testament, p. 1045. xi J.A. Alexander, The Prophesies of Isaiah (Zondervan, 1976), 148-149. 6 P a g e THEOLOGY #1