WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.160 Today's scripture is taken from Isaiah chapter 6, verse 1-4. 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:08.560 Please follow along your Bible. 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:12.919 If you don't have one, please do grab them placed nearest to you by the doors. 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:15.200 There's one at the center at the back as well. 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:24.240 Our passage is on page 534 to 535 in the church Bible. 00:00:24.239 --> 00:00:31.379 Here then God's word to us today. 00:00:31.379 --> 00:00:42.459 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. 00:00:43.480 --> 00:00:47.019 Above him stood the seraphim, each had six wings. 00:00:47.480 --> 00:00:53.079 With two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:58.960 And one called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. 00:00:59.199 --> 00:01:01.479 The whole earth is full of his glory. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:08.840 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 00:01:09.420 --> 00:01:13.299 Let us believe and respond to God's true and living word. 00:01:15.099 --> 00:01:16.299 Okay, thank you, Jasmine. 00:01:16.359 --> 00:01:18.959 Let me pray for us as we look at this passage. 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:25.939 Heavenly Father, this passage is short, but it is a resting. 00:01:27.019 --> 00:01:34.799 God, we pray, won't you open the eyes of our hearts to see you freshly this morning and to understand who you are, God. 00:01:35.219 --> 00:01:36.739 We so need you. 00:01:37.419 --> 00:01:43.359 And so I pray, come and help me to hopefully make sense of this passage, to help us see what you want us to see. 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:46.019 And God, I pray for each one of us, speak to us, our lives. 00:01:46.099 --> 00:01:47.959 You know what the things that are going on in our lives. 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:51.959 Come and speak to us this morning in your great and wonderful name. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:52.959 Amen. 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:53.879 Amen. 00:01:55.519 --> 00:01:56.640 Friends, let me ask you a question. 00:01:56.799 --> 00:01:59.659 What is your biggest need in life? 00:02:00.739 --> 00:02:07.120 If someone were to come to you and offer to give you anything that you needed, what would you ask for? 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:09.879 What is your biggest need? 00:02:10.099 --> 00:02:11.120 What would you want? 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:17.599 If you could change one thing about your life, what is it that you would change? 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:23.840 Whenever I meet up with people, I often like to end our time together saying, 00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:25.420 How can I pray for you this week? 00:02:25.460 --> 00:02:30.200 I love to pray for the people that I've maybe met up with or interacted with. 00:02:30.819 --> 00:02:33.439 And invariably, people return the question to me and say, 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:35.520 And you, and how can I pray for you this week? 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:37.480 And it's an interesting question. 00:02:37.659 --> 00:02:42.900 If I had to get many people to pray for me, what is the one thing I would love them to pray for? 00:02:43.540 --> 00:02:49.420 What would I want if I had one prayer that I wanted God to answer? 00:02:49.560 --> 00:02:52.000 What would my one prayer in life be? 00:02:52.660 --> 00:02:58.840 What would be the one thing that I feel like I need in life and I'm desperately wanting God to answer? 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:06.960 Over the last four or five years, I found myself coming back to one prayer again and again. 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:10.599 And I feel like a bit of a stuck record because every time someone says, 00:03:10.759 --> 00:03:11.640 How can I pray for you? 00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:13.539 I just say the same thing. 00:03:14.680 --> 00:03:15.319 What about you? 00:03:15.319 --> 00:03:21.419 If you had somebody that you knew their prayers would definitely be answered. 00:03:21.759 --> 00:03:27.139 Somebody who has an unbelievable connection to heaven and they offered to pray for you. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:29.120 What would you want prayer for? 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:31.859 Friends, what do you pray for yourself? 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:34.539 What do you pray for your children? 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:39.280 What is your deepest desire, your biggest need? 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:41.960 Today is Father's Day. 00:03:42.580 --> 00:03:44.860 As fathers, what is your biggest need? 00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:46.939 What will make you a great father? 00:03:47.580 --> 00:03:49.159 What will make you a better parent? 00:03:50.900 --> 00:03:54.039 In the opening chapters of his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, 00:03:54.460 --> 00:03:56.479 A.W. Tozer writes this. 00:03:57.099 --> 00:04:02.439 What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. 00:04:02.979 --> 00:04:08.259 We tend, by a secret law of the soul, to move towards our mental image of God. 00:04:08.259 --> 00:04:13.879 For this reason, the gravest question before the church is always God himself. 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:21.759 And the most revealing fact about any person is not what he or she may be at any given time or say or do, 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:27.459 but what deep in their heart they conceive God to be like. 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:31.079 Friends, what is our biggest need in life? 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:32.379 What is your biggest need? 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:33.860 My biggest need in life? 00:04:34.219 --> 00:04:36.219 What is our city's greatest need? 00:04:36.300 --> 00:04:37.839 Our world's greatest need? 00:04:38.759 --> 00:04:41.420 Surely it is to see God rightly. 00:04:42.039 --> 00:04:49.360 It's to see God for who he is and to be amazed and blown away and astounded by the majesty of God. 00:04:49.420 --> 00:04:54.060 It's to see and know the one who designed the world and spoke it into being. 00:04:54.699 --> 00:04:59.259 It's to know the one whose existence gives meaning to our very existence. 00:04:59.259 --> 00:05:03.899 To understand God correctly is to understand life correctly. 00:05:03.899 --> 00:05:07.899 To see God accurately is to see ourselves accurately. 00:05:07.899 --> 00:05:11.419 To know God is to know what life is all about. 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:12.639 Why you were born. 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:14.699 What your purpose on this world is. 00:05:15.039 --> 00:05:16.479 How to conduct your life. 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:21.019 To have a vision of God is to have a vision for life itself. 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:30.079 My greatest need and my biggest prayer request for myself, for my children, for us as a church, for this city of Hong Kong, 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:33.120 is God open our eyes to see you. 00:05:33.219 --> 00:05:37.259 May you be big in our hearts and may we be small. 00:05:37.259 --> 00:05:45.000 As the Proverbs say, to fear the Lord is the starting point for a life well lived, a wise life. 00:05:45.060 --> 00:05:48.519 And so my prayer is God be big in our hearts. 00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:55.459 I start off with that because of the next three weeks, we're going to be looking at this Isaiah chapter 6. 00:05:55.539 --> 00:05:56.399 Isaiah chapter 6. 00:05:56.479 --> 00:05:59.379 It's an amazing passage in the book of Isaiah. 00:05:59.459 --> 00:06:01.899 One of the grandest chapters in the Bible. 00:06:02.039 --> 00:06:06.959 And we're going to spend three weeks just on this one chapter working through a little bit slowly. 00:06:07.579 --> 00:06:12.060 And today we're just looking at the first four verses that Jasmine read to us. 00:06:12.139 --> 00:06:14.319 This vision of God. 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:18.980 And the context of Isaiah 6 is not actually all that encouraging. 00:06:19.899 --> 00:06:24.620 Isaiah 6 falls against the background of some dark and difficult times. 00:06:25.219 --> 00:06:31.399 But it's against this backdrop that God calls and commissions Isaiah to the life that he's called him to. 00:06:31.659 --> 00:06:33.759 And so let's dive in and look at it. 00:06:33.819 --> 00:06:36.180 So look at how the chapter begins. 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:36.899 It says this, 00:06:37.039 --> 00:06:40.800 In the year that King Uzziah died. 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:43.120 Now, just by the way, there's two names that are very similar. 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:44.280 One is Isaiah. 00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:45.840 One is Uzziah. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:46.120 Okay. 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:47.319 I know they sound the same. 00:06:47.720 --> 00:06:50.800 And especially my bad accent makes them sound even more similar. 00:06:51.259 --> 00:06:52.379 These are two different people. 00:06:52.540 --> 00:06:52.620 Okay. 00:06:53.220 --> 00:06:55.459 Isaiah is the prophet who wrote the book. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:57.620 Uzziah is the king. 00:06:57.819 --> 00:06:58.040 Okay. 00:06:58.180 --> 00:07:02.040 So the year that King Uzziah died. 00:07:02.420 --> 00:07:03.199 Who was Uzziah? 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:05.860 He was one of Israel's greatest kings. 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:07.639 He was a magnificent king. 00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:11.139 He became king at 16 years old when his father passed away. 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:13.319 And he ascended the throne. 00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:16.519 And he restored and revitalized Israel. 00:07:16.699 --> 00:07:22.360 He did a fantastic job of rebuilding and cultivating culture and magnificent things. 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:24.819 And Israel prospered under his rule. 00:07:25.419 --> 00:07:29.879 He was a reformer that led God's people in the right ways and the right paths. 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:32.120 But now he has died. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:36.420 And the darkness is kind of descending upon the land. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:41.680 Their great and favored king who ruled for 52 years has gone. 00:07:42.899 --> 00:07:50.319 But in fact, the opening chapters of Isaiah paint the picture of Israel as in a dark and desperate place. 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:54.719 They are pictured as being a patient on the doctor's examination bed. 00:07:54.819 --> 00:07:57.019 And this patient is unwell. 00:07:57.319 --> 00:08:00.240 From the tip of their toes to the top of their head. 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:04.659 Here is a patient that has got festering sores and wounds and infection. 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:09.279 And this patient called the nation of Israel is very unwell. 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:15.519 And chapters 1 to 5 serve as a kind of prologue to the book of Isaiah. 00:08:16.180 --> 00:08:17.180 And they set the scene. 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:18.639 And look at what we discover. 00:08:18.639 --> 00:08:21.839 We discover there is a deep failure in God's people. 00:08:22.019 --> 00:08:24.659 In chapter 2 verse 5, Isaiah says, 00:08:25.180 --> 00:08:29.419 Come, he says, O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. 00:08:30.060 --> 00:08:31.319 But they refuse. 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:32.939 Chapter 5 ends with, 00:08:33.419 --> 00:08:36.519 If one looks to the land, behold darkness and distress. 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:39.399 The light is darkened by its clouds. 00:08:40.259 --> 00:08:44.679 In fact, Uzziah, the king, he was one of the good kings. 00:08:45.059 --> 00:08:46.919 But even he was not perfect. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:48.519 He was fallible. 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:51.220 He tried to heal and restore Israel. 00:08:51.659 --> 00:08:53.460 But Uzziah does not live forever. 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:55.699 One day he dies. 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:59.840 In fact, his reign ends off worse than it started. 00:08:59.980 --> 00:09:01.580 It started on such a high note. 00:09:02.100 --> 00:09:05.039 But at a point in his kingdom, he gets proud and arrogant. 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:06.740 And things start to go down. 00:09:07.379 --> 00:09:11.059 And his reign ends with a sense of shame and disgrace. 00:09:11.059 --> 00:09:14.639 Look at how 2 Chronicles chapter 26 describes it. 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:15.139 It says, 00:09:15.139 --> 00:09:21.240 His fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped by the Lord until he was strong. 00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:25.940 But when he became strong, he grew proud to his own destruction. 00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:35.480 And Uzziah's reign ends with him getting sick and being secluded, being quarantined in another house for the final years of his reign. 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:38.779 And the last couple of years of his reign, the throne is kind of empty. 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:41.340 He's on the throne, but he's not really on the throne. 00:09:41.659 --> 00:09:43.060 There's kind of no one on the throne. 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:47.039 He's almost abdicated the rule and reign. 00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:49.940 And Israel's in a dark state. 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:52.080 Things are not going so well. 00:09:52.659 --> 00:09:55.000 The king is kind of around, kind of not around. 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:55.840 He's sick. 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:56.779 He's proud. 00:09:57.039 --> 00:09:58.139 He's under God's judgment. 00:09:58.600 --> 00:09:59.899 Israel's not in a great way. 00:10:00.019 --> 00:10:02.179 And darkness has descended on the land. 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:06.500 Friends, how do you feel about the state of the world at the moment? 00:10:07.740 --> 00:10:09.320 I don't know how Harriet feels about it. 00:10:09.860 --> 00:10:10.779 She feels excited. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:14.080 Friends, how do you feel about the state of the world? 00:10:14.700 --> 00:10:16.899 How do you feel about the state of your world? 00:10:17.620 --> 00:10:18.960 About your relationships? 00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:21.000 About your friendships? 00:10:21.500 --> 00:10:23.159 About marriage and parenting? 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:25.039 About work? 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:31.899 How do you feel when you wake up in the morning and the news headlines tell you war continues? 00:10:32.500 --> 00:10:34.699 The Straits of Hormuzah closed once again. 00:10:36.819 --> 00:10:40.500 Friends, Israel was meant to be a picture of hope in a world of hopelessness. 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:44.219 An outpost of heaven on earth, a source of light in the midst of darkness. 00:10:44.779 --> 00:10:46.959 But they've become just like the nation around them. 00:10:47.759 --> 00:10:48.939 Darkness has set in. 00:10:48.940 --> 00:10:56.000 And friends, those of us who live in this world should not be surprised when life is hard. 00:10:56.160 --> 00:10:57.400 When darkness sets in. 00:10:57.500 --> 00:10:58.720 When evil prevails. 00:10:59.280 --> 00:11:01.080 When war abounds around us. 00:11:01.140 --> 00:11:04.000 When our news feed is anything but encouraging. 00:11:04.680 --> 00:11:06.660 This is the world in which we live. 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:11.720 And it's a natural consequence for us having rejected God and gone our own way. 00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:14.480 The world is covered with a kind of darkness. 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:14.720 Darkness. 00:11:15.460 --> 00:11:20.960 And Christians are not those who are taken out of the world and planted in just this beautiful paradise. 00:11:21.560 --> 00:11:24.180 We are called to live in the midst of our broken world. 00:11:24.680 --> 00:11:25.860 Our world is broken. 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:28.200 Our world is filled with darkness. 00:11:29.340 --> 00:11:35.180 And Isaiah's calling and commissioning doesn't take place while he's sipping cocktails on the beachfront. 00:11:35.620 --> 00:11:39.860 You know, the kids playing in the water and everything's going lovely and swimmingly. 00:11:39.860 --> 00:11:45.100 Isaiah's calling comes in the backdrop of things not going so well. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:51.440 Isaiah encounters the glory of God in the backdrop of darkness and despair. 00:11:51.940 --> 00:11:55.680 Can you resonate with Israel, with Isaiah, the world in which he's in? 00:11:56.899 --> 00:11:58.320 But look what happens. 00:11:58.919 --> 00:12:02.720 In the midst of this, Isaiah sees the king. 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:07.360 Friends, in the darkest of times, we too need to see the king. 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:12.820 And so, King Uzziah is dead, but there is another king who is not dead. 00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:18.800 And what Isaiah sees is that the true king of the world, of the universe, is not dead. 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:21.720 In fact, the true king will never die. 00:12:22.340 --> 00:12:27.220 If Isaiah is going to be even remotely faithful to the task that God is calling him to be, 00:12:27.259 --> 00:12:29.500 if he's going to be the man that God is calling him to, 00:12:29.740 --> 00:12:34.100 what Isaiah needs to see is that in the midst of the darkness around him, 00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:36.460 there is one who is on the throne. 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:38.639 The throne is not vacant. 00:12:39.500 --> 00:12:41.820 In fact, this throne will never be vacant. 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:43.960 And so, look at how our passage starts off. 00:12:44.040 --> 00:12:44.540 It says this, 00:12:44.540 --> 00:12:50.399 In the year the king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon the throne, 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:55.879 high and lifted up, and the train of his robe fills the temple. 00:12:57.100 --> 00:12:58.600 Isaiah's throne has been empty. 00:12:58.899 --> 00:13:00.399 Israel's throne has been empty. 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:02.720 The throne of the universe is not. 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:05.120 But God is on the throne. 00:13:06.019 --> 00:13:08.800 And God is commissioning Isaiah here to be his messenger, 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:12.660 both to confront but also to comfort the people of Israel. 00:13:13.220 --> 00:13:17.019 But first, Isaiah must see who is it that we're dealing with. 00:13:17.560 --> 00:13:20.779 Who is this God that speaks and demands attention? 00:13:21.340 --> 00:13:23.920 Who is this God that's going to challenge their sin 00:13:23.920 --> 00:13:27.639 and yet come with words of comfort and hope in the midst of the brokenness? 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:31.519 Who is the God that demands that they turn from their self-centered ways 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:34.620 to follow him and love him and trust him? 00:13:34.620 --> 00:13:37.939 Who is the God that says life is found in following him 00:13:37.939 --> 00:13:40.659 and death is a consequence of turning from him? 00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:42.539 What does Isaiah see? 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:44.939 He sees the king. 00:13:45.740 --> 00:13:47.299 He sees a king. 00:13:47.659 --> 00:13:49.179 One who is on the throne. 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:51.419 Israel's human king has died. 00:13:51.939 --> 00:13:53.919 Isaiah sees him who is truly king. 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:57.399 Yahweh, the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, 00:13:57.839 --> 00:13:59.659 the one who will never die. 00:14:00.419 --> 00:14:03.360 And the nation of Israel have had a whole series of kings. 00:14:03.719 --> 00:14:05.299 Some good, some bad. 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:06.919 None of them perfect. 00:14:07.439 --> 00:14:08.519 None of them infallible. 00:14:09.079 --> 00:14:10.079 None of them immortal. 00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:13.500 Here, Isaiah sees a different kind of king. 00:14:14.779 --> 00:14:17.439 Yes, he is Israel's king, but he's much more than that. 00:14:17.860 --> 00:14:20.139 He is the king over all creation. 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:27.159 The one who holds supreme authority over every inch of the galaxies and the cosmos. 00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:29.720 Isaiah sees God. 00:14:30.779 --> 00:14:32.500 And look at how he describes him. 00:14:33.299 --> 00:14:33.720 He says, 00:14:34.120 --> 00:14:35.919 In the year the king Uzziah died, 00:14:36.059 --> 00:14:38.539 I saw the Lord sitting upon the throne, 00:14:38.939 --> 00:14:40.419 high and lifted up. 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:44.679 Isaiah's God is not just one of the myriads of gods in Israel. 00:14:44.899 --> 00:14:46.139 You've got the gods of the Canaanites 00:14:46.700 --> 00:14:49.059 and the gods of the Amorites and these gods. 00:14:49.059 --> 00:14:50.859 Oh, here you have the God of the Israelites. 00:14:51.719 --> 00:14:52.000 No, no. 00:14:52.319 --> 00:14:55.919 This is a God who is seated on the throne above all gods. 00:14:56.479 --> 00:15:00.419 He is not just one of many religions or deities or revered figures. 00:15:00.839 --> 00:15:07.439 He is set apart, elevated and exalted above all religions and customs and superstitions and cultures. 00:15:07.939 --> 00:15:11.739 Set above and apart from all creation and creatures. 00:15:12.799 --> 00:15:16.379 And he says here that the train of his robe fills the temple. 00:15:16.579 --> 00:15:17.959 It's a beautiful picture. 00:15:17.960 --> 00:15:20.759 Here, the word train actually means hem. 00:15:20.860 --> 00:15:22.019 I think we've spoken about this before. 00:15:22.180 --> 00:15:24.280 Like, you know, the hem of your garment is the, 00:15:24.400 --> 00:15:25.900 just the edges of the garment. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:28.879 The kind of part that's folded and sewed in, right? 00:15:29.500 --> 00:15:33.560 And the Hebrew word here is the hem of his robe fills the temple. 00:15:33.800 --> 00:15:34.680 Now, what is the temple? 00:15:35.280 --> 00:15:38.519 Well, in the book of Isaiah, the temple is the whole universe. 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:39.879 The whole universe. 00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:48.000 And here is a picture of God sitting on the throne and his robe kind of falls down. 00:15:48.480 --> 00:15:49.899 And the end just tassels. 00:15:50.179 --> 00:15:56.480 The kind of the corner of his robe, or maybe you could say the sleeve of his robe, fills our entire universe. 00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:59.980 So just think about our universe for a second, right? 00:16:00.019 --> 00:16:06.019 We, as humanity, are quite proud of ourselves because we've just recently sent some astronauts into space. 00:16:06.279 --> 00:16:09.120 And they've gone further than any human being has ever gone. 00:16:09.440 --> 00:16:10.860 Artemis 2 mission, right? 00:16:10.860 --> 00:16:18.580 They've gone 250,000 miles from Earth, further than any human being has been further from Earth. 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:20.320 And that's a great achievement. 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:22.279 NASA did very well. 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:29.279 But when we think about how big our universe is, I mean, really, we were just playing in our backyard, right? 00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:32.419 I mean, 250,000 miles away. 00:16:32.500 --> 00:16:34.840 I don't know how, what did it take, like 10 days to get there or something? 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:44.340 But when you think about our galaxy, which is something in the region of 33 billion light years away, okay? 00:16:44.500 --> 00:16:49.780 And the light that we see from there is already 13 billion years old. 00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:51.780 I mean, just think about that. 00:16:51.980 --> 00:16:55.580 13 billion years ago it originated and it's moving towards us. 00:16:56.180 --> 00:16:58.280 That's how big our universe is. 00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:07.839 And God is on the throne and it's kind of like the robe, the hem of His robe fills our entire universe. 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:14.740 Which is something in the region of 100 billion light years in diameter. 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:18.899 The corner of God's sleeve fills it. 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:21.859 Now, this isn't a scientific book, okay? 00:17:22.660 --> 00:17:23.700 This isn't a textbook. 00:17:23.700 --> 00:17:32.840 Isaiah is trying to give us a picture of the vastness and the bigness and the majesty of our God. 00:17:33.920 --> 00:17:42.840 That we don't even understand 0.1% of our universe and that is nothing compared to God. 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:49.180 And the point of Isaiah's vision here is that if God were to sit on the throne and were to wear a royal robe, 00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:52.900 the ends of His robe would utterly fill our universe. 00:17:52.900 --> 00:17:59.040 Or think of Isaiah chapter 40 where God says He holds the universe in His hands. 00:17:59.700 --> 00:18:03.440 Our universe that is something in the region of 200 billion galaxies. 00:18:04.019 --> 00:18:07.960 Each one of them is hundreds of billions of stars and solar systems. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:10.019 I can't even fathom that. 00:18:10.660 --> 00:18:13.480 And God holds it in the palm of His hand. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:19.800 And Isaiah wants us to see this, friends, is the God that we've come to worship and adore this morning. 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:22.619 This is the God that we sang to and said, 00:18:22.879 --> 00:18:25.700 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:29.639 And the point here is that God's being is so all-encompassing. 00:18:30.379 --> 00:18:33.859 The God that we've come to know and serve is not a little God 00:18:33.859 --> 00:18:39.539 who is content to occupy His seat amongst the pantheon of gods and deities in the world. 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:43.159 The God that we've come to know fills creation. 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:46.119 The cosmos is His temple, is His dwelling. 00:18:46.519 --> 00:18:50.440 And there is no part of it which He fails to fill and occupy. 00:18:51.639 --> 00:19:00.460 And what Isaiah sees here is what we all need to see is something of the bigness and the majesty and the sovereignty of God. 00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:02.680 His sheer awesomeness. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:06.160 A.W. Tozer, I've read this before, said this, 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:10.600 We must not think of God as the highest in an ascending order of beings. 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:20.840 Starting with the single cell, then going to maybe the fish or the bird, and then the animal, then the human, then the angel, then the archangel, and then up at top we have God. 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:25.800 No, friends, God is high above the archangel as above a caterpillar. 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:37.139 For the gulf that separates the archangel from the caterpillar is finite, but the gulf between God and everything else in creation is infinite. 00:19:38.159 --> 00:19:41.299 And that's what Isaiah sees, and that's what Isaiah wants us to see. 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:51.579 He sees God, and it shatters every category in his mind as he comes to see God as infinitely more breathtaking and majestic than ever He had conceived. 00:19:51.579 --> 00:19:56.000 God is not simply one deity who is the biggest and the strongest of all. 00:19:56.539 --> 00:19:58.659 He is in a different category altogether. 00:19:59.359 --> 00:20:00.659 He is the King. 00:20:01.319 --> 00:20:03.199 Heaven and earth's true King. 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:04.859 And He sits on the throne. 00:20:05.399 --> 00:20:08.000 The Sovereign who reigns supreme. 00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:12.960 We sang earlier this morning, God the uncreated one. 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:13.599 Think about that. 00:20:13.899 --> 00:20:17.419 Uzziah is on the throne, but there was a time when he was not on the throne. 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:20.079 He had to be coronated the King. 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:24.299 At the age of 16, they put a crown on his head and said, you are now King. 00:20:24.679 --> 00:20:30.460 There was never a moment in all of eternity past where God was not King. 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:34.559 God was never coronated and said, set apart, you are now King. 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:44.480 God the uncreated one, author of salvation, who wrote the laws of space and time and fashioned world to His design. 00:20:44.480 --> 00:21:01.480 He is King forevermore. 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:06.940 And friends, notice in this picture, what is the posture that this King is taking? 00:21:07.720 --> 00:21:09.680 Is He running around managing things? 00:21:10.360 --> 00:21:13.980 Is He directing people, receiving reports, issuing commands? 00:21:14.420 --> 00:21:17.620 Is He pacing up and down, waiting for news from the front lines? 00:21:17.740 --> 00:21:19.839 What happening at the edge of my kingdom? 00:21:20.039 --> 00:21:21.279 Is everything still intact? 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:23.640 No, this King is seated on the throne. 00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:26.980 He is sitting down, utterly at ease. 00:21:27.520 --> 00:21:31.300 Not one bit worried about what is happening in His kingdom. 00:21:31.880 --> 00:21:34.259 All is at peace, total control. 00:21:35.520 --> 00:21:39.660 And the point of all this is that nothing can revoke or veto His decrees. 00:21:39.820 --> 00:21:41.200 What He wills, He purposes. 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:43.020 That He accomplishes. 00:21:43.080 --> 00:21:44.480 Daniel chapter 4 says this, 00:21:44.480 --> 00:22:02.960 As John Piper said, 00:22:02.960 --> 00:22:19.559 Friends, see the King. 00:22:20.600 --> 00:22:23.759 When life is dark, when cancer comes, 00:22:24.299 --> 00:22:25.980 when unemployment comes your way, 00:22:26.779 --> 00:22:30.180 when the longings of our souls feel unmet, 00:22:30.180 --> 00:22:32.320 when the darkness moves in, 00:22:32.980 --> 00:22:34.720 see the one who is on the throne. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:36.360 God is on the throne. 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:38.539 O Lord, open the eyes of our hearts, 00:22:38.620 --> 00:22:39.880 that we may see you rightly. 00:22:40.600 --> 00:22:41.340 See the King. 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:45.120 But see the King who is unlike us. 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:47.779 Look at verse 2 with me here. 00:22:48.420 --> 00:22:51.220 Here we see something of what is happening around the King. 00:22:51.340 --> 00:22:52.120 Verse 2 says this, 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:54.440 Above Him stood the seraphim. 00:22:54.580 --> 00:22:57.160 Now, seraphim kind of means angels. 00:22:57.620 --> 00:22:58.580 But when we think of angels, 00:22:58.579 --> 00:23:01.779 don't think of, you know, the European cathedrals, 00:23:01.899 --> 00:23:04.699 those glorious buildings where you have these chubby little babies 00:23:04.699 --> 00:23:06.240 that have wings and kind of hover. 00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:07.339 Don't think that. 00:23:07.460 --> 00:23:08.759 That's not seraphim, right? 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:12.679 The word seraph actually means burning ones. 00:23:13.439 --> 00:23:14.759 And the seraphim here, 00:23:15.220 --> 00:23:19.220 think of these angelic beings who are balls of nuclear energy. 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:20.879 Think of the sun, right? 00:23:20.919 --> 00:23:23.720 Which is like 5,000 degrees Celsius on the surface. 00:23:24.159 --> 00:23:28.119 Think of these mini suns that are hovering around the throne of God, 00:23:28.119 --> 00:23:32.719 these balls of nuclear energy that are around God's throne, 00:23:32.979 --> 00:23:34.199 worshiping Him, right? 00:23:34.599 --> 00:23:36.879 And if we were to see them with our eyes, 00:23:36.959 --> 00:23:39.439 we would be tempted to fall down and worship them. 00:23:39.819 --> 00:23:41.719 They are so utterly glorious. 00:23:42.979 --> 00:23:43.919 But what do they do? 00:23:44.019 --> 00:23:45.339 Above Him stood the seraphim. 00:23:45.459 --> 00:23:46.399 Each had six wings. 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:48.059 With two, he covered his face, 00:23:48.159 --> 00:23:49.459 not willing to look at God. 00:23:49.639 --> 00:23:50.379 Isn't that quite amazing? 00:23:50.500 --> 00:23:52.399 We think we can't see God because we're sinful. 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:56.280 Here are these sinless beings, I imagine. 00:23:56.480 --> 00:23:57.820 I don't think they've ever sinned. 00:23:58.280 --> 00:23:59.500 But they are still creatures. 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:03.660 And even they cover their eyes to not look at God. 00:24:04.580 --> 00:24:05.700 With two, they cover their eyes. 00:24:05.780 --> 00:24:06.900 With two, they cover their feet. 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:08.500 Feet is a picture of our humanity, 00:24:08.660 --> 00:24:10.259 our earthiness, our fallenness. 00:24:10.840 --> 00:24:12.800 With two, they fly around God's throne. 00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:13.940 And what do they cry out? 00:24:13.940 --> 00:24:16.000 They call to one another saying, 00:24:16.700 --> 00:24:20.000 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:22.320 The earth is full of His glory. 00:24:23.779 --> 00:24:26.279 The word host there means armies. 00:24:26.900 --> 00:24:27.900 Heaven's armies. 00:24:28.700 --> 00:24:31.220 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of heaven's armies. 00:24:31.580 --> 00:24:35.779 These 10 billions of angelic soldiers in a sense. 00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:36.600 God's army. 00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:38.320 The Lord is Lord of all of them. 00:24:39.160 --> 00:24:40.380 And the word holy here, 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:42.400 holy doesn't just mean morally pure 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:44.259 or very religious and devout. 00:24:44.980 --> 00:24:47.540 To be holy means to be utterly distinctive, 00:24:47.759 --> 00:24:50.040 set apart in a category of your own. 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:52.080 As Toza reminded us earlier, 00:24:52.220 --> 00:24:54.400 it doesn't simply mean that God is slightly bigger 00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:56.620 or stronger or more powerful version of ourselves. 00:24:57.060 --> 00:24:59.200 God is in a different category altogether. 00:24:59.740 --> 00:25:02.160 He's in a completely different category of being. 00:25:03.220 --> 00:25:05.800 And for us, to be holy means that we are set apart 00:25:05.800 --> 00:25:06.920 from the fallen world 00:25:06.920 --> 00:25:09.000 and we're becoming a little bit more like God. 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:12.380 For God to be holy means He simply is who He is. 00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:16.140 God cannot become anything more like anyone else. 00:25:16.860 --> 00:25:18.400 God is in a different category. 00:25:18.600 --> 00:25:20.320 He simply is who He is. 00:25:21.780 --> 00:25:24.740 God's holiness is His absolute uniqueness, 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:26.440 His incomparableness. 00:25:27.740 --> 00:25:29.000 God is unlike us. 00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:30.759 A couple of years ago, 00:25:30.820 --> 00:25:32.860 a lady called Jen Wilkin wrote a book 00:25:32.860 --> 00:25:34.519 called None Like Him. 00:25:34.660 --> 00:25:36.480 10 ways that God is different from us 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:37.620 and why that's a good thing. 00:25:38.359 --> 00:25:39.959 And in this book, 00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:42.699 she reminds us that so many of our frustrations 00:25:42.699 --> 00:25:44.239 and our challenges in life 00:25:44.239 --> 00:25:46.859 come not simply from our circumstances, 00:25:47.399 --> 00:25:50.159 but from the fact that we can't control our circumstances. 00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:51.639 Life happens, 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:53.219 but it's the fact that we can't control 00:25:53.219 --> 00:25:54.919 what happens that we struggle with. 00:25:55.179 --> 00:25:56.859 We want to be all-powerful. 00:25:57.079 --> 00:25:58.739 We want to be in control of our lives. 00:25:58.819 --> 00:26:00.139 We want to be in control of our futures, 00:26:00.259 --> 00:26:00.839 our careers, 00:26:01.219 --> 00:26:01.819 our health, 00:26:01.879 --> 00:26:02.479 our children. 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:04.539 And we get frustrated when we realize 00:26:04.539 --> 00:26:07.640 we are not all-powerful. 00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:09.420 We want to be all-knowing. 00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:11.880 We want to predict the outcome of every situation. 00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:13.920 We want to know every health possibility. 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:15.960 And we get frustrated knowing that 00:26:15.960 --> 00:26:17.400 we don't know all things. 00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:19.319 We want to be omnipresent. 00:26:19.799 --> 00:26:21.700 We want to be everywhere all at once. 00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:23.180 Never miss an opportunity. 00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:24.920 Always online. 00:26:25.700 --> 00:26:28.339 And the result is we are anxious and exhausted, 00:26:29.180 --> 00:26:31.400 depressed and depleted and disillusioned. 00:26:31.400 --> 00:26:32.960 And the solution, 00:26:33.259 --> 00:26:33.820 she says, 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:36.940 understand that we are not God. 00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:38.980 We were never meant to be. 00:26:39.860 --> 00:26:40.780 And that's a good thing. 00:26:40.860 --> 00:26:41.780 Listen to what she says. 00:26:41.880 --> 00:26:42.620 It's been on the screen. 00:26:43.120 --> 00:26:44.420 We fear God rightly. 00:26:44.780 --> 00:26:45.759 When we fear God rightly, 00:26:45.860 --> 00:26:46.200 she says, 00:26:46.620 --> 00:26:48.700 we recognize Him for who He truly is. 00:26:49.220 --> 00:26:50.519 A God of no limits. 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:53.580 Utterly unlike anyone or anything we know. 00:26:54.220 --> 00:26:56.720 So rather than casting your anxieties on the internet, 00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:58.040 or AI now, 00:26:58.440 --> 00:26:59.600 which cares for no one, 00:27:00.140 --> 00:27:01.120 cast them on Him, 00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:02.139 the sovereign God, 00:27:02.599 --> 00:27:04.699 for He cares for you. 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:06.079 Friends, 00:27:06.139 --> 00:27:06.579 day and night, 00:27:06.639 --> 00:27:08.819 these angelic balls of fire, 00:27:09.639 --> 00:27:10.599 beings of brightness, 00:27:10.759 --> 00:27:11.679 declare and praise 00:27:11.679 --> 00:27:13.599 the incomparable uniqueness, 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:16.219 the utter stand-aloneness of God. 00:27:17.179 --> 00:27:18.739 They cry around God's throne saying, 00:27:18.979 --> 00:27:19.279 Holy, 00:27:19.479 --> 00:27:19.899 Holy, 00:27:20.099 --> 00:27:20.599 Holy 00:27:20.599 --> 00:27:22.519 is God Almighty. 00:27:22.699 --> 00:27:24.059 The earth is full of His glory. 00:27:24.119 --> 00:27:24.779 And what does that mean, 00:27:24.839 --> 00:27:25.979 that the earth is full of His glory? 00:27:25.980 --> 00:27:30.539 It means that God is not just glorious up there or somewhere in the clouds. 00:27:30.539 --> 00:27:36.500 He is pouring His glory out onto the earth so that you and I can see it and experience it. 00:27:36.720 --> 00:27:38.180 It's what our world needs. 00:27:38.639 --> 00:27:40.139 It's what Hong Kong needs. 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:41.019 Friends, 00:27:41.079 --> 00:27:42.440 it's what you and I need. 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:43.440 Friends, 00:27:43.480 --> 00:27:44.740 if you're a dad here, 00:27:44.819 --> 00:27:45.740 if you're a man, 00:27:46.180 --> 00:27:47.940 what's going to make you a great father? 00:27:47.940 --> 00:27:51.519 What's going to steal the anger in our hearts? 00:27:52.820 --> 00:27:53.240 Friends, 00:27:53.299 --> 00:27:55.580 we need to see a vision of God and who He is, 00:27:55.660 --> 00:27:56.920 the glory of God. 00:27:57.820 --> 00:27:59.279 The earth is full of His glory. 00:27:59.440 --> 00:27:59.640 God, 00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:01.380 help us to see your glory. 00:28:02.779 --> 00:28:04.740 Though our world doesn't recognize it, 00:28:04.820 --> 00:28:05.299 we shun, 00:28:05.500 --> 00:28:05.920 reject, 00:28:06.259 --> 00:28:07.220 and defame His glory. 00:28:07.779 --> 00:28:09.279 That does nothing to diminish 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:12.840 the utter reality of who God is. 00:28:13.400 --> 00:28:14.799 Isaiah sees reality, 00:28:15.299 --> 00:28:16.460 and we need to see it too. 00:28:16.460 --> 00:28:18.880 In the year the king Uzziah died, 00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:20.720 I saw the Lord sitting upon the throne, 00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:21.900 high and lifted up, 00:28:22.440 --> 00:28:24.319 and the train of His robe filled the temple. 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:25.620 Around Him stood the seraph. 00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:27.360 Each of them had six wings. 00:28:27.460 --> 00:28:27.759 With two, 00:28:27.840 --> 00:28:28.519 He covered His eyes. 00:28:28.980 --> 00:28:29.180 Two, 00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:29.860 He covered His feet. 00:28:30.279 --> 00:28:30.620 With two, 00:28:30.700 --> 00:28:31.059 He flew, 00:28:31.160 --> 00:28:31.920 and they cried out. 00:28:31.960 --> 00:28:32.819 One cried to another, 00:28:33.019 --> 00:28:33.340 Holy, 00:28:33.500 --> 00:28:33.759 Holy, 00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:35.640 Holy is the Lord of hosts. 00:28:35.740 --> 00:28:37.039 The earth is full of His glory. 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:38.039 Now, 00:28:38.100 --> 00:28:38.240 friends, 00:28:38.279 --> 00:28:39.380 what does this mean for us? 00:28:39.900 --> 00:28:40.559 So what? 00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:42.079 Why are we talking about this? 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:42.319 Well, 00:28:43.100 --> 00:28:44.140 a couple of thoughts. 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:46.440 I started off this morning saying that 00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:48.940 our biggest need in life 00:28:48.940 --> 00:28:50.720 is to see the bigness, 00:28:50.860 --> 00:28:51.539 and the greatness, 00:28:52.180 --> 00:28:53.799 and the grandeur of who God is. 00:28:54.299 --> 00:28:56.160 Sinclair Ferguson said it like this, 00:28:56.500 --> 00:28:57.640 Our Christian lives, 00:28:57.740 --> 00:28:58.059 indeed, 00:28:58.220 --> 00:28:59.920 everything about our lives, 00:28:59.980 --> 00:29:01.920 is always determined primarily 00:29:01.920 --> 00:29:04.140 by our knowledge and understanding, 00:29:04.580 --> 00:29:05.120 you could say, 00:29:05.160 --> 00:29:05.740 our vision, 00:29:05.960 --> 00:29:06.900 of God. 00:29:07.700 --> 00:29:08.019 Friends, 00:29:08.019 --> 00:29:10.660 the kinds of lives that you and I will live, 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:12.599 whether we waste our lives 00:29:12.599 --> 00:29:14.379 trying to build a puny little monument 00:29:14.379 --> 00:29:15.180 to our lives, 00:29:15.500 --> 00:29:16.079 or whether we, 00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:16.879 like Uzziah, 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:19.259 start off good and blow it 00:29:19.259 --> 00:29:21.759 and fade away into oblivion 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:22.980 or flame out, 00:29:23.180 --> 00:29:25.059 or whether we live the kind of lives 00:29:25.059 --> 00:29:26.539 that are still going to be worthwhile 00:29:26.539 --> 00:29:28.599 in a hundred million years from now, 00:29:29.059 --> 00:29:29.839 in many ways, 00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:31.200 comes down to our understanding 00:29:31.200 --> 00:29:32.240 of who God is. 00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:35.259 Who is this God that we worship this morning? 00:29:35.960 --> 00:29:37.480 Who is in charge of the universe? 00:29:38.220 --> 00:29:40.279 Who is glorious and worthy of our worship? 00:29:40.920 --> 00:29:43.240 What kind of lives does God call us to live 00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:44.500 and expect us to live? 00:29:45.099 --> 00:29:45.400 Friends, 00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:47.539 if God is small in our minds, 00:29:47.660 --> 00:29:49.039 our lives will be small. 00:29:49.460 --> 00:29:51.059 Our worship will be small. 00:29:51.379 --> 00:29:52.960 Our dreams will be small. 00:29:53.400 --> 00:29:55.079 Our prayers will be small. 00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:57.220 And dare I say, 00:29:57.559 --> 00:29:58.619 I don't have my phone on me, 00:29:59.259 --> 00:30:01.200 dare I say that the more our lives 00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:03.019 are consumed by screens, 00:30:03.019 --> 00:30:05.599 the smaller our lives will become. 00:30:05.940 --> 00:30:09.319 As we spend hours staring into a mirror 00:30:09.319 --> 00:30:12.200 that just reflects our own finiteness 00:30:12.200 --> 00:30:14.740 and our smallness. 00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:15.819 Friends, 00:30:15.879 --> 00:30:17.200 the God that we've come to worship 00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:19.059 and pray to and trust this morning, 00:30:19.259 --> 00:30:20.639 the Lord of heaven and earth 00:30:20.639 --> 00:30:21.960 who fills the universe, 00:30:22.359 --> 00:30:23.700 he does not need anything 00:30:23.700 --> 00:30:24.599 that we can give him. 00:30:25.319 --> 00:30:27.000 He is not served by human hands 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:28.079 as if he needs anything. 00:30:28.599 --> 00:30:30.480 He has everything we need 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:32.720 and he needs nothing that we have. 00:30:33.400 --> 00:30:35.180 He is the source of all life 00:30:35.180 --> 00:30:37.720 and we find life as we come to him. 00:30:38.420 --> 00:30:39.819 So what do you and I need? 00:30:40.519 --> 00:30:40.779 Friends, 00:30:40.839 --> 00:30:42.059 what do our children need? 00:30:42.759 --> 00:30:44.319 What do our co-workers need? 00:30:45.019 --> 00:30:46.019 What does the great, 00:30:46.220 --> 00:30:47.880 great city of Hong Kong need? 00:30:48.599 --> 00:30:49.839 What does our church need? 00:30:50.440 --> 00:30:51.740 A vision of the king 00:30:51.740 --> 00:30:52.620 who is glorious 00:30:52.620 --> 00:30:53.920 and majestic 00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:55.259 and sovereign 00:30:55.259 --> 00:30:56.620 and rules 00:30:56.620 --> 00:30:58.660 the king who is unlike us. 00:30:58.660 --> 00:31:00.400 And so what does that mean for us? 00:31:00.420 --> 00:31:00.960 Well, let me close 00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:02.880 with just two very simple thoughts. 00:31:03.340 --> 00:31:04.259 Two things this means. 00:31:04.420 --> 00:31:04.700 Firstly, 00:31:05.340 --> 00:31:06.279 the sovereignty of God 00:31:06.279 --> 00:31:07.420 means we have an anchor 00:31:07.420 --> 00:31:08.220 for our souls 00:31:08.220 --> 00:31:09.420 in the storms of life. 00:31:10.100 --> 00:31:10.300 Friends, 00:31:10.380 --> 00:31:11.300 every one of us, 00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:13.120 every single one of us 00:31:13.120 --> 00:31:14.320 are going to face 00:31:14.320 --> 00:31:15.560 significant storms 00:31:15.560 --> 00:31:16.840 and challenges in life. 00:31:17.400 --> 00:31:17.980 Some of us 00:31:17.980 --> 00:31:19.300 are going through them right now. 00:31:20.640 --> 00:31:22.120 And when the storm comes, 00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:23.560 if you know God 00:31:23.560 --> 00:31:24.300 to be sovereign 00:31:24.300 --> 00:31:25.019 and holy 00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:25.720 and majestic 00:31:25.720 --> 00:31:26.480 and glorious, 00:31:26.680 --> 00:31:27.920 it will be a refuge 00:31:27.920 --> 00:31:28.960 for your soul. 00:31:29.559 --> 00:31:30.440 A ballast 00:31:30.440 --> 00:31:31.880 which will hold you upright 00:31:31.880 --> 00:31:33.059 in the storms of life. 00:31:33.120 --> 00:31:33.900 You know what a ballast is? 00:31:34.200 --> 00:31:35.299 When ships have a ballast 00:31:35.299 --> 00:31:36.600 that keeps them weighted down 00:31:36.600 --> 00:31:37.620 so they don't blow over 00:31:37.620 --> 00:31:38.200 in the storms. 00:31:38.660 --> 00:31:39.600 The sovereignty of God 00:31:39.600 --> 00:31:41.100 is a ballast for our soul 00:31:41.100 --> 00:31:42.220 as an anchor 00:31:42.220 --> 00:31:43.680 to which you can hold on to. 00:31:44.140 --> 00:31:44.420 Friends, 00:31:44.460 --> 00:31:45.640 when the storms come 00:31:45.640 --> 00:31:46.539 and threaten 00:31:46.539 --> 00:31:47.779 to wash you away, 00:31:48.100 --> 00:31:48.860 what you and I 00:31:48.860 --> 00:31:49.700 don't need 00:31:49.700 --> 00:31:50.839 is a little sapling 00:31:50.839 --> 00:31:51.620 to hold on to. 00:31:52.360 --> 00:31:53.519 That is not going 00:31:53.519 --> 00:31:54.180 to help us. 00:31:54.180 --> 00:31:55.060 What we need 00:31:55.060 --> 00:31:55.920 is to find refuge 00:31:55.920 --> 00:31:56.600 in a building 00:31:56.600 --> 00:31:57.440 whose foundations 00:31:57.440 --> 00:31:58.940 go 100 meters deep 00:31:58.940 --> 00:32:00.460 and hit the granite 00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:02.320 of reality. 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:04.019 We need security 00:32:04.019 --> 00:32:04.720 in God. 00:32:05.360 --> 00:32:06.100 Just this week 00:32:06.100 --> 00:32:06.779 I was reading 00:32:06.779 --> 00:32:08.560 the book of Genesis. 00:32:08.680 --> 00:32:09.039 I was reading 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:09.980 Genesis 39 00:32:09.980 --> 00:32:11.420 which is the chapter 00:32:11.420 --> 00:32:12.740 where Joseph 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:16.120 is thrown into jail. 00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:16.420 Remember, 00:32:16.539 --> 00:32:17.420 Joseph is a good man. 00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:18.420 He's a God-fearing man 00:32:18.420 --> 00:32:19.900 and part of his wife 00:32:19.900 --> 00:32:21.000 quite likes Joseph. 00:32:21.560 --> 00:32:22.380 And so she tries 00:32:22.380 --> 00:32:23.160 to seduce him. 00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:24.540 And Joseph says, 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:24.860 no, 00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:26.019 I will not sleep with you. 00:32:26.100 --> 00:32:26.980 You're another man's wife. 00:32:27.360 --> 00:32:28.080 And she, 00:32:28.259 --> 00:32:28.860 out of jealousy, 00:32:29.140 --> 00:32:30.420 gets him thrown into jail. 00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:31.100 So talk about 00:32:31.100 --> 00:32:32.279 a storm of life, right? 00:32:32.500 --> 00:32:33.120 You're just trying 00:32:33.120 --> 00:32:33.960 to be a good man, 00:32:34.220 --> 00:32:35.120 an honest man, 00:32:35.300 --> 00:32:36.180 do the right thing 00:32:36.180 --> 00:32:37.040 and you get thrown 00:32:37.040 --> 00:32:38.160 in jail for five years. 00:32:38.620 --> 00:32:40.080 Talk about a storm of life. 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:42.100 But in that chapter, 00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:43.740 eight times, 00:32:43.820 --> 00:32:44.400 eight times, 00:32:45.100 --> 00:32:45.840 it says, 00:32:46.420 --> 00:32:47.860 the Lord was with him. 00:32:48.440 --> 00:32:49.900 The Lord was looking 00:32:49.900 --> 00:32:50.519 after him. 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:52.820 The Lord blessed him. 00:32:52.819 --> 00:32:55.059 The Lord took care of him. 00:32:55.359 --> 00:32:56.720 The Lord caused him 00:32:56.720 --> 00:32:57.399 to succeed. 00:32:58.039 --> 00:32:59.179 The Lord is with him. 00:33:00.099 --> 00:33:00.439 Friends, 00:33:00.539 --> 00:33:02.099 if God is not sovereign, 00:33:02.740 --> 00:33:04.299 when the storms of life come, 00:33:04.539 --> 00:33:05.480 who cares if God 00:33:05.480 --> 00:33:06.379 is with you or not? 00:33:06.839 --> 00:33:08.139 If God is puny 00:33:08.139 --> 00:33:08.819 and small 00:33:08.819 --> 00:33:10.000 and unpowerful, 00:33:10.460 --> 00:33:11.539 how does that help you? 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:13.079 But friends, 00:33:13.139 --> 00:33:14.399 what we need to know 00:33:14.399 --> 00:33:16.439 is that when the storms come 00:33:16.439 --> 00:33:18.379 and when injustice comes 00:33:18.379 --> 00:33:19.559 and when cancer comes 00:33:19.559 --> 00:33:20.939 and when unemployment comes, 00:33:20.940 --> 00:33:21.660 and friends, 00:33:21.720 --> 00:33:22.460 when the worst thing 00:33:22.460 --> 00:33:23.320 that you can imagine 00:33:23.320 --> 00:33:24.160 happens to you 00:33:24.160 --> 00:33:24.840 as has happened 00:33:24.840 --> 00:33:26.180 to people here this morning, 00:33:26.820 --> 00:33:27.840 you need to know 00:33:27.840 --> 00:33:29.120 that there is a God 00:33:29.120 --> 00:33:30.019 on the throne 00:33:30.019 --> 00:33:32.759 and that he is with you. 00:33:33.259 --> 00:33:35.039 Not a small insignificant God 00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:35.480 who says, 00:33:35.600 --> 00:33:36.440 I wish I could help you 00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:37.340 but my hands are tied. 00:33:38.059 --> 00:33:39.440 The sovereign king 00:33:39.440 --> 00:33:40.820 of all creation. 00:33:41.720 --> 00:33:43.039 When the storms of life come 00:33:43.039 --> 00:33:43.779 and they will come, 00:33:44.279 --> 00:33:44.980 when you're going through 00:33:44.980 --> 00:33:46.180 the lowest moment in your life, 00:33:46.620 --> 00:33:47.420 we need to know 00:33:47.420 --> 00:33:48.860 that the Lord is with us. 00:33:48.859 --> 00:33:49.979 Isaiah 43 says, 00:33:50.139 --> 00:33:50.679 fear not. 00:33:51.059 --> 00:33:52.199 When you pass through the waters, 00:33:52.279 --> 00:33:53.099 I will be with you. 00:33:53.259 --> 00:33:53.859 Through the rivers, 00:33:53.939 --> 00:33:55.039 they will not overwhelm you. 00:33:55.419 --> 00:33:56.659 When you walk through the fire, 00:33:56.740 --> 00:33:57.659 you will not be burnt. 00:33:58.019 --> 00:33:58.619 Fear not. 00:33:58.719 --> 00:34:00.000 I am with you. 00:34:00.779 --> 00:34:02.259 The reason this is good news 00:34:02.259 --> 00:34:03.639 is God is God. 00:34:04.439 --> 00:34:05.399 Here's the second reason. 00:34:06.299 --> 00:34:06.839 So what? 00:34:07.439 --> 00:34:08.900 A God worth praying to. 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:10.299 Worth praying to. 00:34:10.940 --> 00:34:12.159 One of the surprising things 00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:13.059 that's happened to me this week 00:34:13.059 --> 00:34:13.859 as I've been preparing 00:34:13.859 --> 00:34:14.599 for this passage 00:34:14.599 --> 00:34:16.839 is I found that my prayers 00:34:16.839 --> 00:34:18.179 have been injected 00:34:18.179 --> 00:34:19.259 with rocket fuel. 00:34:20.019 --> 00:34:21.079 Where did that come from? 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:22.579 It came from seeing 00:34:22.579 --> 00:34:23.619 the bigness of God. 00:34:24.900 --> 00:34:25.360 Friends, 00:34:25.420 --> 00:34:26.059 when we see 00:34:26.059 --> 00:34:26.839 who it is 00:34:26.839 --> 00:34:27.960 that we are praying to, 00:34:28.460 --> 00:34:29.420 our faith 00:34:29.420 --> 00:34:31.099 is going to expand. 00:34:31.799 --> 00:34:32.980 This is a God 00:34:32.980 --> 00:34:33.860 worth praying to. 00:34:34.299 --> 00:34:35.199 Why should we pray 00:34:35.199 --> 00:34:35.799 to a God 00:34:35.799 --> 00:34:36.380 who is small 00:34:36.380 --> 00:34:37.440 that cannot help us? 00:34:37.880 --> 00:34:38.759 Why should we pray 00:34:38.759 --> 00:34:39.279 to a God 00:34:39.279 --> 00:34:39.880 who is puny 00:34:39.880 --> 00:34:40.759 and incompetent? 00:34:41.279 --> 00:34:42.079 But friends, 00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:43.840 small vision of God 00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:45.039 means small prayers. 00:34:45.380 --> 00:34:46.639 Big vision of God 00:34:46.639 --> 00:34:47.759 means big faith 00:34:47.759 --> 00:34:48.900 and big prayers. 00:34:49.699 --> 00:34:50.739 The God of the Bible 00:34:50.739 --> 00:34:51.400 is the God 00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:52.500 who is seated on the throne, 00:34:52.659 --> 00:34:53.619 who is all-powerful 00:34:53.619 --> 00:34:54.819 over every atom 00:34:54.819 --> 00:34:55.460 in the world. 00:34:55.980 --> 00:34:57.119 And when Jesus asks, 00:34:57.400 --> 00:34:58.340 teaches his disciples 00:34:58.340 --> 00:34:58.840 to pray, 00:34:59.099 --> 00:35:00.179 how does he start off? 00:35:00.699 --> 00:35:01.440 Our Father, 00:35:01.539 --> 00:35:02.199 which that alone 00:35:02.199 --> 00:35:02.799 is amazing, 00:35:03.400 --> 00:35:03.980 our Father 00:35:03.980 --> 00:35:04.900 who is in heaven, 00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:06.059 who is seated 00:35:06.059 --> 00:35:06.819 on the throne, 00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:08.360 hallowed be your name. 00:35:08.880 --> 00:35:09.139 Friends, 00:35:09.239 --> 00:35:10.000 this is the God 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:10.900 that we can pray to, 00:35:11.139 --> 00:35:12.059 totally in control, 00:35:12.059 --> 00:35:13.159 of all things. 00:35:13.659 --> 00:35:14.619 He holds the universe 00:35:14.619 --> 00:35:15.659 in the palm of his hand 00:35:15.659 --> 00:35:17.380 and he invites us 00:35:17.380 --> 00:35:18.279 to come before him 00:35:18.279 --> 00:35:19.480 to present ourselves, 00:35:19.619 --> 00:35:20.119 our needs, 00:35:20.199 --> 00:35:20.779 our requests, 00:35:21.239 --> 00:35:21.799 our burdens, 00:35:21.980 --> 00:35:22.539 our fears, 00:35:22.679 --> 00:35:23.340 our longings, 00:35:23.420 --> 00:35:23.920 our hopes, 00:35:24.360 --> 00:35:25.079 our anxieties 00:35:25.079 --> 00:35:26.559 to encounter him 00:35:26.559 --> 00:35:26.960 in prayer. 00:35:27.679 --> 00:35:28.059 So friends, 00:35:28.139 --> 00:35:29.000 what is your biggest need 00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:29.440 in life? 00:35:30.179 --> 00:35:31.179 What is my biggest need 00:35:31.179 --> 00:35:31.599 in life? 00:35:32.219 --> 00:35:33.219 What is my children's 00:35:33.219 --> 00:35:34.179 biggest need in life? 00:35:34.840 --> 00:35:35.820 It's not just for 00:35:35.820 --> 00:35:37.440 the wars to end, 00:35:37.739 --> 00:35:38.320 to get into that 00:35:38.320 --> 00:35:39.159 degree program, 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:40.460 to get your kids 00:35:40.460 --> 00:35:41.219 into the right school, 00:35:41.219 --> 00:35:42.199 to get the right job, 00:35:42.719 --> 00:35:43.719 to find a spouse. 00:35:44.399 --> 00:35:45.439 As good and as wonderful 00:35:45.439 --> 00:35:46.299 as those things are, 00:35:46.799 --> 00:35:48.059 we can get all those things 00:35:48.059 --> 00:35:49.699 and yet still be self-absorbed 00:35:49.699 --> 00:35:50.879 in our small little world. 00:35:51.359 --> 00:35:52.399 We can get all those things 00:35:52.399 --> 00:35:53.480 and still be self-centered 00:35:53.480 --> 00:35:54.039 and miserable. 00:35:54.739 --> 00:35:54.980 Friends, 00:35:55.019 --> 00:35:56.000 what you and I need 00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:57.139 is to see 00:35:57.139 --> 00:35:57.739 with the eyes 00:35:57.739 --> 00:35:58.319 of our hearts 00:35:58.319 --> 00:35:59.619 the bigness of the God 00:35:59.619 --> 00:36:00.539 that we've come before 00:36:00.539 --> 00:36:01.119 this morning, 00:36:01.419 --> 00:36:02.359 to comprehend 00:36:02.359 --> 00:36:03.199 his majesty, 00:36:03.379 --> 00:36:04.119 his holiness, 00:36:04.359 --> 00:36:05.000 his glory, 00:36:05.619 --> 00:36:06.379 and to fall down 00:36:06.379 --> 00:36:06.980 before him. 00:36:06.980 --> 00:36:08.699 What comes into our minds 00:36:08.699 --> 00:36:09.519 when we think of God 00:36:09.519 --> 00:36:10.460 is the most important 00:36:10.460 --> 00:36:11.159 thing about us, 00:36:11.199 --> 00:36:12.059 said A.W. Tozer. 00:36:12.840 --> 00:36:14.360 For the most revealing fact 00:36:14.360 --> 00:36:15.320 about any person 00:36:15.320 --> 00:36:16.420 is not what he or she 00:36:16.420 --> 00:36:17.860 may be or do 00:36:17.860 --> 00:36:18.619 or say, 00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:20.480 but what deep in our hearts 00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:21.659 we conceive 00:36:21.659 --> 00:36:23.159 God to be like. 00:36:23.559 --> 00:36:24.380 Let's pray together. 00:36:25.760 --> 00:36:26.500 Lord Jesus, 00:36:26.659 --> 00:36:28.000 we do ask you, God, 00:36:28.199 --> 00:36:29.659 open the eyes of our hearts 00:36:29.659 --> 00:36:31.400 to see your majesty. 00:36:32.119 --> 00:36:33.139 Help us to see you 00:36:33.139 --> 00:36:34.340 for who you really are. 00:36:34.980 --> 00:36:36.019 Help us to love you 00:36:36.019 --> 00:36:36.860 and honor you 00:36:36.860 --> 00:36:38.140 and trust you. 00:36:38.920 --> 00:36:39.260 God, 00:36:39.480 --> 00:36:40.840 won't you blow away 00:36:40.840 --> 00:36:42.160 the small-mindedness 00:36:42.160 --> 00:36:42.880 that we have 00:36:42.880 --> 00:36:43.960 and help us 00:36:43.960 --> 00:36:45.579 to see your glory 00:36:45.579 --> 00:36:47.100 and to live for that. 00:36:47.579 --> 00:36:48.340 In your great 00:36:48.340 --> 00:36:49.579 and glorious name 00:36:49.579 --> 00:36:50.019 we pray. 00:36:50.820 --> 00:36:51.200 Amen. 00:36:51.920 --> 00:36:52.240 Amen. 00:36:52.240 --> 00:36:52.380 Amen.