WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.200 Today's scripture reading is taken from the book of Isaiah chapter 6 verses 1-7. 00:00:09.540 --> 00:00:11.620 ! Please follow along with your Bible. 00:00:12.419 --> 00:00:20.100 And again, if you don't have a Bible with you, please grab a church Bible from the front of the stage, at the back or near the door. 00:00:21.140 --> 00:00:27.000 Our passage today is on page 534-535 of the church Bible. 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:41.219 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon the throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his rope filled the temple. 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:45.879 Above him stood the seraphim, each had six wings. 00:00:46.760 --> 00:00:52.379 With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 00:00:52.379 --> 00:00:55.280 And one called to another and said, 00:00:55.280 --> 00:01:03.500 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, and the whole earth is full of his glory. 00:01:04.659 --> 00:01:11.620 And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 00:01:11.620 --> 00:01:22.500 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. 00:01:23.140 --> 00:01:26.280 For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 00:01:26.280 --> 00:01:35.079 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:41.320 And he touched my mouth and said, Behold, this has touched your lips. 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:46.700 Your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for. 00:01:46.700 --> 00:01:51.400 Let us believe and respond to God's true and living word. 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:55.140 Great. Thank you so much, Lonnie. 00:01:56.060 --> 00:01:58.000 Okay, well, good morning, everybody, once again. 00:01:58.560 --> 00:01:59.920 It's good to see you. 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:03.820 Now, I know that we missed a number of you last week. 00:02:03.939 --> 00:02:05.740 Last weekend was a long weekend. 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:07.900 It was a public holiday and also Father's Day. 00:02:07.900 --> 00:02:12.300 So, I know some people had Father's Day commitments, and we missed you last week. 00:02:12.780 --> 00:02:18.840 But last Sunday, we started looking at this chapter for, well, we're going to look at it for three weeks. 00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:20.560 Last week, today, and next week. 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:27.939 And we're taking three weeks just to zone in on one chapter of the Bible and take it slowly and think about it. 00:02:28.180 --> 00:02:35.140 And what we saw last week, we looked at just the first four verses of Isaiah chapter 6. 00:02:35.139 --> 00:02:40.279 And there we saw a picture of God's unrivaled majesty. 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:42.679 The fact that God is on the throne. 00:02:42.839 --> 00:02:44.699 He's the king over all creation. 00:02:44.839 --> 00:02:47.739 I'm not sure if you saw it when Lonnie was reading to us. 00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:50.239 It talks about in the year that King Uzziah died. 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:53.679 There is a king, but he has died, and the throne is now empty. 00:02:54.079 --> 00:02:57.379 But the throne isn't completely empty because there is a king on the throne. 00:02:57.819 --> 00:02:59.759 And it's a picture of God as the king. 00:02:59.939 --> 00:03:01.879 And this passage talks about his throne. 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:06.319 And then again, verse 7 talks about the fact that I've seen the king. 00:03:06.859 --> 00:03:13.840 And so last week, we looked at this idea that God is the sovereign Lord over everything that exists. 00:03:14.379 --> 00:03:19.740 There is an indisputable distinction between God and everything else in creation. 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:21.340 Everything is created. 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:22.680 He is creator. 00:03:23.180 --> 00:03:24.439 He sits on the throne. 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:28.379 He is Lord and king over everything and everyone. 00:03:28.379 --> 00:03:35.419 And we spent most of last week just thinking about this picture of God's majesty, his sovereignty, his kingship. 00:03:36.180 --> 00:03:40.560 And we were asking ourselves the question, what difference does this make to our lives? 00:03:41.419 --> 00:03:47.939 Is this reflected in our attitudes, in our decisions, in the way we handle things, in the way we think about life? 00:03:48.419 --> 00:03:52.199 Is the bigness of God big in our hearts? 00:03:52.539 --> 00:03:54.699 That's the kind of question we were thinking about last week. 00:03:54.699 --> 00:03:56.819 And there's a quote here by A.W. Tozer. 00:03:56.959 --> 00:03:57.739 I read it last week. 00:03:57.799 --> 00:03:58.679 Let me read it again. 00:03:59.139 --> 00:03:59.519 He says, 00:03:59.679 --> 00:04:05.419 What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. 00:04:05.819 --> 00:04:12.159 Because we tend, by a secret law of the soul, to move towards our mental image of God. 00:04:12.799 --> 00:04:19.339 The most important fact about any person is not what he or she at any given time may say or do, 00:04:19.339 --> 00:04:24.639 but what deep in their hearts they conceive, they think God is like. 00:04:25.359 --> 00:04:27.239 And A.W. Tozer is absolutely right. 00:04:27.599 --> 00:04:29.500 We become like what we worship. 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:35.719 And our mental image of God is absolutely important to shaping the kind of people we become. 00:04:36.259 --> 00:04:39.919 If we've got a small view of God, we become small people. 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:41.639 We pray small prayers. 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:43.359 We have small faith. 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:49.560 And part of our desire and our hope is that we will be people that will see the bigness of God. 00:04:49.620 --> 00:04:51.759 And the bigness of God will be big in our hearts. 00:04:52.180 --> 00:04:57.319 And that we will become big people with big faith and pray big prayers and live big lives 00:04:57.319 --> 00:05:00.780 because we know and delight in the bigness of God. 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:04.400 And so last week, we looked at just the first four verses 00:05:04.400 --> 00:05:08.220 and thought about this life-changing vision of the bigness of God. 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:17.000 Now, in our passage today, I think God wants us to see that how we see God not only affects our worldview, 00:05:17.200 --> 00:05:24.180 how we see the world out there, but also how we see ourselves and will change us deeply. 00:05:25.080 --> 00:05:27.760 And so in Isaiah chapter 6, Isaiah has a vision. 00:05:28.440 --> 00:05:32.780 And after seeing the sheer awesomeness and the unparalleled majesty of God, 00:05:33.100 --> 00:05:34.940 up until this point, he hasn't said a word. 00:05:35.020 --> 00:05:37.160 He's just responded to what he's seen. 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:42.040 But now in verse 5, today we're going to look at just the next three verses, 5, 6, and 7. 00:05:42.380 --> 00:05:45.640 In verse 5, for the first time, Isaiah speaks. 00:05:46.500 --> 00:05:47.580 And look at what he says. 00:05:47.880 --> 00:05:48.439 Verse 5, 00:05:49.140 --> 00:05:53.340 And I said, woe is me, I am lost. 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:58.260 I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. 00:05:58.740 --> 00:06:03.440 For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 00:06:04.020 --> 00:06:06.240 Friends, let me pray for us, and then we're going to look at this passage. 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:13.079 Lord Jesus, as we come to this, your word, just these three verses, so short and yet so packed with power, 00:06:13.699 --> 00:06:16.560 won't you, by your Spirit, speak to us? 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:18.379 Open the eyes of our hearts. 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:20.079 Help us to see you. 00:06:20.220 --> 00:06:21.180 Help us to see ourselves. 00:06:21.379 --> 00:06:23.600 Help us to see what you want to say in this passage. 00:06:23.939 --> 00:06:25.180 And speak to us, we pray. 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:26.759 In your glorious name. 00:06:27.420 --> 00:06:27.720 Amen. 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:30.980 In this passage, I want us to see two things. 00:06:31.080 --> 00:06:34.280 Two things that we all need to change deeply. 00:06:35.080 --> 00:06:36.860 And first one is this. 00:06:37.620 --> 00:06:38.480 Confessing sin. 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:43.620 In the first, Isaiah is this amazing book of the Bible. 00:06:43.780 --> 00:06:47.060 It's called the fifth gospel because it talks about Jesus so much. 00:06:47.060 --> 00:06:51.800 Even though it was written 700 years before Jesus was born, it's an amazing book. 00:06:52.220 --> 00:06:55.540 But the first five chapters are kind of like the prologue, the introduction. 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:59.439 And it really starts in chapter six, which we are reading these three weeks. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:06.379 In the first five chapters, Isaiah has been speaking about the brokenness and the sin of the nation of Israel. 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:08.259 The fact that they have rebelled against God. 00:07:08.340 --> 00:07:09.660 They've broken covenant with Him. 00:07:09.660 --> 00:07:12.980 And the first five chapters are not easy reading. 00:07:13.700 --> 00:07:19.160 And in chapter five, so the one just before we're reading, six times Isaiah uses this word woe. 00:07:19.260 --> 00:07:20.820 It's a word of denouncing. 00:07:21.280 --> 00:07:23.780 And he's talking about the injustice of society. 00:07:23.980 --> 00:07:25.440 He says, woe to the greedy. 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:27.280 Woe to those who pervert justice. 00:07:27.540 --> 00:07:28.520 Woe to the arrogant. 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:32.260 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:35.560 And he's talking about the injustice in society. 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:42.300 But here, having seen God, Isaiah now sees himself with fresh eyes. 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:45.439 And he starts to see his own sin. 00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:46.920 His own duplicity. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:47.879 And so look what he says. 00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:51.959 He says, verse five, woe is me. 00:07:52.579 --> 00:07:54.860 Or I am lost. 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:55.759 Or I am ruined. 00:07:55.860 --> 00:07:56.620 I am undone. 00:07:57.160 --> 00:07:59.340 For I am a man of unclean lips. 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:01.860 And I dwell amongst the people of unclean lips. 00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:05.199 And my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:08.000 Isaiah sees God. 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:10.540 And what it leads to is him seeing himself. 00:08:11.240 --> 00:08:14.120 And that leads to this confession of his own sin. 00:08:14.259 --> 00:08:15.360 Admission of guilt. 00:08:16.220 --> 00:08:21.360 Now for some of us, when we hear the word confession, we may think of a very formalized structure. 00:08:21.500 --> 00:08:23.100 Maybe you come from a Catholic background. 00:08:23.579 --> 00:08:28.019 And so when you have heard of confession, you think you've got to make an appointment. 00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:29.379 You go to the priest. 00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:30.519 You go into a little booth. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:32.240 And you kind of confess your sins. 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:37.960 And then the priest will tell you to say a bunch of Hail Marys or maybe some rosemary beads. 00:08:38.299 --> 00:08:41.000 And then he will pronounce you absolved of your sin. 00:08:41.139 --> 00:08:42.019 And you go out. 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:45.779 But actually, look in the Bible how confession works. 00:08:46.480 --> 00:08:48.940 Here, Isaiah's confession is not planned. 00:08:49.320 --> 00:08:50.259 It's not organized. 00:08:51.080 --> 00:08:53.759 He doesn't make an appointment to go and see anyone. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:09:01.700 It's almost this natural, almost involuntary response that he has in response to seeing who God is. 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:04.019 Isaiah sees God. 00:09:04.200 --> 00:09:07.399 And he almost cannot help himself but see himself rightly. 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:11.179 And seeing himself, it leads to this confession. 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:13.519 And that's what he says. 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:14.039 Woe is me. 00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:15.080 I've seen God. 00:09:15.500 --> 00:09:16.179 I am ruined. 00:09:16.259 --> 00:09:16.759 I'm undone. 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:20.600 I'm a man who's transgressed God's glorious and holy ways. 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:28.059 Friends, in many ways, this is actually how you know whether you are a Christian or not. 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:29.580 What is a Christian? 00:09:30.259 --> 00:09:38.259 A Christian is not just someone who intellectually believes the teachings of the Christian faith or intellectually understands the doctrines of the Christian faith. 00:09:38.860 --> 00:09:44.080 A Christian is someone who has seen God, seen that Jesus really is who he said he is. 00:09:44.519 --> 00:09:49.740 And then because of that, they've seen themselves that we really are who Jesus says we are. 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:56.039 And because of that, we have come to see God as we are one that has transgressed against God. 00:09:56.379 --> 00:09:58.759 We are one that has broken a relationship with God. 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:00.439 That's what makes a Christian. 00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:08.440 David Powelson, I was reading this last night just by chance, but I read this in a book he wrote late last night. 00:10:08.500 --> 00:10:08.980 He writes this, 00:10:09.380 --> 00:10:15.620 When Jesus crosses paths with you, he reveals you for who you really are. 00:10:16.220 --> 00:10:20.560 In response to that, people change, either for the better or for the worse. 00:10:21.040 --> 00:10:25.060 When a person makes a turn for the better, transformation is happening. 00:10:25.400 --> 00:10:26.720 Sorry, different quote. 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:32.000 David Powelson is saying, when Jesus crosses our paths, he cannot leave us the same. 00:10:32.120 --> 00:10:34.360 We see him and then we start to see ourselves. 00:10:34.940 --> 00:10:36.139 And then we've got a response. 00:10:36.500 --> 00:10:37.940 How we got to respond to that? 00:10:38.300 --> 00:10:40.180 And we see the same thing in the New Testament. 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:47.300 When the apostle Peter, he is getting to know Jesus and he sees Jesus and he sees his miraculous power. 00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:49.180 He sees Jesus doing this amazing miracle. 00:10:49.680 --> 00:10:50.879 And what is his response? 00:10:51.220 --> 00:10:52.300 Luke tells us, 00:10:52.299 --> 00:10:56.839 When Simon Peter saw Jesus, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, 00:10:57.159 --> 00:10:57.919 Depart from me. 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:00.299 I am a sinful man, O Lord. 00:11:00.979 --> 00:11:02.179 And that's what's happening to Isaiah. 00:11:02.819 --> 00:11:07.599 Isaiah sees God and his response is he starts to see himself. 00:11:08.579 --> 00:11:11.779 And this leads to a remarkably honest confession of sin. 00:11:11.959 --> 00:11:12.639 Woe is me. 00:11:12.699 --> 00:11:13.459 I am lost. 00:11:14.079 --> 00:11:17.240 I'm a man that has transgressed God's holy ways. 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:24.539 Now, friends, if you're anything like me, when I first read this, and I read that Isaiah's confession is he says, 00:11:24.620 --> 00:11:26.080 I'm a man of unclean lips. 00:11:26.500 --> 00:11:29.279 My first response is, that's not too bad. 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:34.919 I mean, I'm sure we can all think of worse sins than having a dirty mouth, right? 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:41.519 If Isaiah had said something like, I am a murderous racist that kills people that are unlike me. 00:11:41.659 --> 00:11:42.159 Okay, sure. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:43.279 We would understand, right? 00:11:43.319 --> 00:11:44.219 Isaiah's got a problem. 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:47.360 But for Isaiah to say, I'm a man of unclean lips. 00:11:47.419 --> 00:11:51.000 It's like, okay, well, what's the big deal with that? 00:11:51.059 --> 00:11:52.179 What's the problem with that? 00:11:52.819 --> 00:11:54.039 It doesn't seem all that bad. 00:11:54.860 --> 00:12:01.459 But actually, many centuries later, Jesus Christ, 700 years later, would look at the people of his day. 00:12:01.460 --> 00:12:09.139 And he would quote Isaiah, not this chapter, but another chapter, to reveal the dark duplicity of the people of his day. 00:12:09.800 --> 00:12:14.540 Look at what Jesus says when he quotes Isaiah 29 to the religious leaders of his day. 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:15.019 He says, 00:12:15.019 --> 00:12:31.100 Jesus would later on go on to say, 00:12:31.539 --> 00:12:37.860 And what Jesus is showing us here is there's two problems with our speech. 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:42.340 The first is this, a tendency to be hypocritical or false or duplicitous. 00:12:42.779 --> 00:12:46.100 We say one thing, but actually our hearts are in a very different place. 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:47.460 We say these good things. 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:51.620 We praise people, maybe we praise God, but actually our hearts are hard to God. 00:12:52.039 --> 00:12:56.000 And I find that deeply challenging, especially in light of the confession we said this morning, 00:12:56.139 --> 00:12:57.899 or the catechism, or the songs we sing. 00:12:58.300 --> 00:12:59.159 God, I love you. 00:12:59.259 --> 00:13:00.200 Jesus, you're amazing. 00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:02.480 But actually, my heart can be very far from God. 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:07.580 And so Jesus is saying that our lips can betray the duplicity of our hearts. 00:13:07.899 --> 00:13:10.820 We can wear a mask and our lips betray that. 00:13:11.300 --> 00:13:13.300 But there's another thing that Jesus is saying is, 00:13:13.980 --> 00:13:18.440 Jesus says that our words often reveal what's going on in our hearts. 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:20.879 It's like a window into our soul. 00:13:21.259 --> 00:13:25.019 You know when you go to the aquarium and you look into this window and there's this, 00:13:25.019 --> 00:13:30.019 you look through the glass and behind the glass is this dark water with sharks and stingrays 00:13:30.019 --> 00:13:34.419 and all sorts of horrible things or wonderful things, but dangerous things in there. 00:13:34.679 --> 00:13:38.720 You look through the glass and you see the deep, dark world of the deep. 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:43.299 Jesus is saying that the words of our mouth is kind of like a window into our soul. 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:49.799 And Jesus says that when we get angry and we shout or we rebuke or we scold or we lose our temper, 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:51.319 we tell somebody, you fool. 00:13:51.559 --> 00:13:55.019 It's actually showing that our hearts, there's something deeply unwell, 00:13:55.100 --> 00:13:56.500 there's something toxic in our hearts. 00:13:56.500 --> 00:14:01.159 And so friends, think about the last time you fought with someone or cut someone off 00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:04.000 or spoke negatively about someone when they weren't around 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:10.259 or maybe said something to a car in the traffic like I did this week 00:14:10.259 --> 00:14:14.419 and my girls were horrified about what came out of my mouth as that truck cut me off 00:14:14.419 --> 00:14:16.139 and I was very frustrated. 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:18.919 What do the words of my mouth reveal? 00:14:19.080 --> 00:14:22.440 They reveal a deep darkness that's going on in my heart. 00:14:22.440 --> 00:14:28.300 Actually, the words of our mouth, the tone of our speech is like a window that allows us to see. 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:33.720 And Isaiah knows that the angry words reveal a toxic heart. 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:38.660 And so Isaiah is confessing, not just, oh, you know, I sometimes swear now and then, okay. 00:14:38.800 --> 00:14:42.400 He's actually revealing there's something going on inside me that's not well. 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:44.480 But notice something else here. 00:14:44.940 --> 00:14:51.360 Notice that Isaiah confesses that sin has both an internal and an external genesis. 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:54.659 There's an origin that both comes from within and external. 00:14:55.019 --> 00:14:55.460 What do I mean? 00:14:55.539 --> 00:14:56.779 Well, look at what he says here. 00:14:56.899 --> 00:15:03.080 He says, I'm a man of unclean lips and I dwell amongst the people of unclean lips. 00:15:04.100 --> 00:15:08.800 We know that our worst behavior comes from deep within us, comes from inside of us, right? 00:15:08.860 --> 00:15:12.539 Our angry outbursts, our losing our temper with somebody. 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:15.139 It's not just our words, it's our hearts, right? 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:16.139 We've just spoken about that. 00:15:16.539 --> 00:15:18.700 When someone gets angry or loses their temper, 00:15:18.700 --> 00:15:23.540 it's easy to blame someone else and say, well, if you hadn't, you know, you provoked me, it's your fault. 00:15:23.900 --> 00:15:25.320 But actually, that's just an excuse. 00:15:25.740 --> 00:15:27.160 Our anger comes from within us. 00:15:27.180 --> 00:15:30.000 So there's an internal genesis and an origin of our sin. 00:15:30.700 --> 00:15:36.200 But look here, in another sense, it's also true that the sins of our community, 00:15:36.900 --> 00:15:39.320 maybe the sins of our culture, our nation, 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:46.820 the people that we identify with rub off on us and start to influence us and start to affect us. 00:15:47.360 --> 00:15:53.360 One of the things that's remarkable here is that Isaiah identifies himself with the very people 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:56.280 who sins he's just been denouncing in the previous five chapters. 00:15:56.279 --> 00:16:01.480 And if you think about it, one of the things that social scientists have often wrestled with is 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:09.959 how is it that human beings can be so shockingly cruel, almost animalistic towards other human beings? 00:16:10.539 --> 00:16:13.079 Think of Nazi Germany in the 1940s, right? 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:17.779 Or think of the Japanese forces during occupation in the 1940s. 00:16:17.779 --> 00:16:20.319 Or think of apartheid South Africa, where I come from. 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:28.200 How is it that educated, sophisticated, intellectual first world countries, in most of those cases, 00:16:28.820 --> 00:16:33.200 can treat other human beings so unbelievably shockingly? 00:16:33.560 --> 00:16:35.700 Almost like we've descended to become animals. 00:16:35.820 --> 00:16:36.600 How is that possible? 00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:40.400 Well, Isaiah's confession here reveals something of that. 00:16:40.400 --> 00:16:48.600 That though sin lies deep within us, it's often cultivated or nurtured or encouraged by the society, 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:51.480 the culture, the city, the nation in which we're living in. 00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:55.659 We're not nearly as autonomous or independent thinkers as we think we are. 00:16:56.040 --> 00:16:57.279 We often think, I'm an independent thinker. 00:16:57.320 --> 00:16:58.360 I would never do that. 00:16:58.440 --> 00:17:01.460 But as you put yourself in that environment, you become just like those people. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:04.079 It's like Lord of the Flies kind of stuff, right? 00:17:05.500 --> 00:17:09.940 And here Isaiah sees God, and the result is that he starts to see himself. 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:12.360 And he sees who he really is. 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:13.299 And he sees his guilt. 00:17:13.380 --> 00:17:14.279 And he sees his shame. 00:17:14.339 --> 00:17:15.599 And he sees his transgression. 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:18.879 And that leads to this most honest confession. 00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:23.699 Now, friends, if you are new to church this morning, 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:28.119 I wonder what is your impression of Christians confessing sin? 00:17:29.159 --> 00:17:31.740 You may think, what a morbid thing that is. 00:17:31.879 --> 00:17:33.319 How terrible, right? 00:17:33.939 --> 00:17:38.799 You might find it strange that we all come here and we kind of remind ourselves of how bad we are, right? 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:40.819 It's almost kind of a religious self-abuse. 00:17:40.899 --> 00:17:43.000 We just beat ourselves up even more. 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:46.160 Or maybe if you're youth here, you think, that's why I don't like going to church. 00:17:46.220 --> 00:17:48.920 My parents drag me to church, and they just tell me how bad I am. 00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:54.359 But actually, I want us to notice just a couple of things here before we move on. 00:17:54.460 --> 00:17:56.359 Notice two things in particular, two implications. 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:03.140 First of this, what marks true Christian faith is not perfection, but confession. 00:18:04.140 --> 00:18:07.660 What marks true Christian faith is not perfection, but confession. 00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:10.460 Barry Webb put it like this in his commentary. 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:16.500 He says, ironically, it's not the fact that Isaiah is a sinner, like his fellow Israelites, 00:18:16.740 --> 00:18:21.559 but it's his confession of being a sinner, like his fellow Israelites, that sets him apart from them. 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:24.140 So what separates Isaiah from all the rest? 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:25.740 Isaiah is different from them. 00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:26.600 What's different? 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:30.900 It's not that they bad and he's very bad, or that they bad and he's good. 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:32.539 That's not what makes Isaiah different. 00:18:33.059 --> 00:18:36.920 The difference is Isaiah recognizes his badness and confesses it. 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:43.900 What makes Isaiah's faith true and genuine is not that he's perfect, but that he knows he's not perfect and acknowledges it. 00:18:44.800 --> 00:18:52.279 Friends, Christian maturity is not marked by moral perfection, by coming to church and pretending you've got it all together. 00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:54.180 Friends, can I be honest? 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:56.080 None of us have it together. 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:00.680 Not me on the stage, not you, none of us. 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:06.240 Christian maturity is not marked by pretending you've got it all together, but by honest confession. 00:19:06.700 --> 00:19:09.259 I've got a friend in India, in Delhi, called Akshay. 00:19:09.519 --> 00:19:16.660 Akshay says, you'll either be a real pretender or a real repenter, but you cannot be both. 00:19:17.560 --> 00:19:18.539 And that's true, isn't it? 00:19:18.840 --> 00:19:23.019 It's easy to come to church and we put on the mask and we pretend, hey, my life's all together. 00:19:23.080 --> 00:19:23.740 I've got it fine. 00:19:24.080 --> 00:19:25.920 But actually, we never meet grace there. 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:30.240 Christian faith is marked by confession, not perfection. 00:19:30.680 --> 00:19:31.539 Here's the second thing. 00:19:31.660 --> 00:19:36.759 I want you to notice the difference between Christianity and most modern popular thinking. 00:19:37.340 --> 00:19:42.100 How does modern culture, modern popular psychology think of the brokenness of our lives, right? 00:19:42.420 --> 00:19:46.140 We tend to think that the greatest problems in our lives are out there. 00:19:46.580 --> 00:19:47.680 It's the government. 00:19:47.840 --> 00:19:48.799 It's my parents. 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:49.820 It's my siblings. 00:19:50.019 --> 00:19:50.900 It's the economy. 00:19:51.080 --> 00:19:52.019 It's my boss. 00:19:53.500 --> 00:19:55.240 It's big tech, right? 00:19:55.320 --> 00:19:56.180 It's Elon Musk. 00:19:56.460 --> 00:19:57.820 They, the problems out there. 00:19:57.819 --> 00:20:01.319 And if only they could sort themselves out, my life would be so much better. 00:20:01.919 --> 00:20:07.240 And modern psychology tells us the problem is out there and the solution is found within yourself. 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:08.759 Just look within yourself. 00:20:08.899 --> 00:20:10.319 Find your authentic self. 00:20:10.500 --> 00:20:12.000 Be true to who you are. 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:14.980 If you are true to yourself, then you will really be free. 00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:18.380 Jesus Christ turns that on its head. 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:22.779 And Jesus is actually the biggest problems in our lives are found within. 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:24.839 It's my pride. 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:26.220 It's my ego. 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:28.240 It's my self-sufficiency. 00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:30.279 It's my self-love. 00:20:30.900 --> 00:20:32.019 It's my arrogance. 00:20:32.940 --> 00:20:34.500 It's my looking down at others. 00:20:34.980 --> 00:20:37.500 And the solution is not to look within myself. 00:20:37.500 --> 00:20:42.440 It's actually to look outward to the one who came to us to rescue us and save us. 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:43.819 Amazing, right? 00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:49.440 Jesus Christ gives such freedom when he tells us to look outside of ourselves to him. 00:20:50.460 --> 00:20:55.039 Now, friends, for some of us, maybe you are zoning out of the sermon. 00:20:55.640 --> 00:20:59.539 Maybe you've already left the room in your mind many minutes ago. 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:00.839 And I'll tell you why that is, right? 00:21:00.920 --> 00:21:01.299 Come back. 00:21:01.380 --> 00:21:01.740 Come back. 00:21:01.799 --> 00:21:02.220 You with me? 00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:04.019 I'll tell you why you're zoning out. 00:21:04.019 --> 00:21:11.759 I think the reason why we tend to zone out is because many churches, many pastors, many preachers, we love to stop here. 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:14.059 We love to tell people, you're a sinner. 00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:14.779 You're a sinner. 00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:15.400 You're a sinner. 00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:15.940 You're a sinner. 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:16.519 You're bad. 00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:17.039 You're bad. 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:19.359 And then we say, and best of luck. 00:21:19.639 --> 00:21:19.920 Okay? 00:21:20.339 --> 00:21:21.359 Go sort yourselves out. 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:30.660 Or maybe we'll say, your preachers love to pile on the bad news, almost as if the worse the pastor can make you feel, the better job he's done. 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:31.000 Right? 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:37.720 So there's some churches where you don't feel like you've listened to a real sermon unless you've really been beaten up badly by the pastor. 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:38.039 Okay? 00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:43.000 And then maybe we'll say, here are a couple of tools to help you fix yourself. 00:21:43.900 --> 00:21:47.920 Friends, I want you to know that is not where the Bible ends. 00:21:48.759 --> 00:21:51.920 Because that's not where this passage ends. 00:21:52.579 --> 00:21:56.619 The message of the Bible is not, you're a mess, fix yourself up. 00:21:56.880 --> 00:21:59.440 Or, you're a mess, here's some tools to help you. 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:07.940 As confident as Jordan Peterson may be, the message of the Bible is not that God helps those who help themselves. 00:22:09.080 --> 00:22:11.340 Friends, look at what happens here next. 00:22:12.100 --> 00:22:14.980 Isaiah acknowledges and sees his sin. 00:22:15.740 --> 00:22:18.720 And then Isaiah encounters grace. 00:22:19.779 --> 00:22:21.940 Isaiah encounters grace. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:23.740 Look at verse 6 and 7 with me. 00:22:23.740 --> 00:22:32.279 One of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 00:22:33.019 --> 00:22:37.240 And he touched my mouth and he said, behold, this has touched your lips. 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:39.319 Your guilt is taken away. 00:22:39.859 --> 00:22:41.740 Your sin is atoned for. 00:22:42.539 --> 00:22:45.000 Friends, here we have the good news of Christianity. 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:48.859 As clearly as you'll see anywhere in the Bible in three simple verses. 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:52.759 Written 700 years before Jesus Christ was ever born. 00:22:53.180 --> 00:22:54.380 The good news of the gospel. 00:22:55.319 --> 00:23:00.680 Here we have the message that in Isaiah's helpless state, God takes all the initiative. 00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:02.299 God moves towards him. 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:04.500 This imperfect fallen man. 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:06.119 And he meets his failure. 00:23:06.500 --> 00:23:07.759 And he meets his shame. 00:23:08.059 --> 00:23:09.960 And he meets his guilt. 00:23:10.180 --> 00:23:13.519 With healing and renewing and liberating grace. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:19.940 Friends, here we see what happens when the real God meets the real Isaiah with real grace. 00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:22.279 Isaiah says, I am ruined. 00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:24.799 And God says, you are saved. 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:27.379 Isaiah says, I'm cut off. 00:23:27.500 --> 00:23:29.779 And God says, you are made whole. 00:23:30.619 --> 00:23:32.019 Isaiah says, I'm guilty. 00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:35.400 And God says, your guilt has been taken away. 00:23:36.299 --> 00:23:37.819 Isaiah says, I am undone. 00:23:38.220 --> 00:23:40.599 And God says, your sin has been atoned for. 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:42.400 Your shame has been dealt with. 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:46.780 Your transgressions are gone as far as the east is from the west. 00:23:47.060 --> 00:23:49.240 Never to be remembered again. 00:23:50.360 --> 00:23:51.060 Isn't that amazing? 00:23:51.860 --> 00:23:52.820 We sang it earlier. 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:53.980 It is done. 00:23:54.360 --> 00:23:55.140 It is finished. 00:23:55.820 --> 00:23:57.940 No more moral debt I owe. 00:23:58.600 --> 00:24:00.800 Because our sin was credited to Christ. 00:24:01.320 --> 00:24:03.280 His righteousness was credited to us. 00:24:03.840 --> 00:24:05.820 Friends, notice what Isaiah does here with the sin. 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:07.400 He doesn't parade it through the streets. 00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:09.120 He doesn't boast about it. 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:10.919 But he also doesn't hide it. 00:24:11.139 --> 00:24:12.439 He doesn't try and cover it. 00:24:12.479 --> 00:24:13.859 He doesn't pretend it's not real. 00:24:13.959 --> 00:24:15.519 He doesn't blame it on somebody else. 00:24:15.659 --> 00:24:18.519 He simply owns it and confesses it. 00:24:18.639 --> 00:24:23.159 And in that place, God comes and frees him. 00:24:24.219 --> 00:24:25.099 Sets him free. 00:24:26.779 --> 00:24:28.879 Friends, how do people change deeply? 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:31.960 How do you and I change deeply? 00:24:33.020 --> 00:24:35.100 Friends, how are marriages restored? 00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:38.100 How are relationships healed? 00:24:38.920 --> 00:24:40.980 How are addictions overcome? 00:24:42.120 --> 00:24:45.820 How is destructive behavior brought to an end? 00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:48.400 How are egos dismantled? 00:24:49.120 --> 00:24:50.240 Fears overcome. 00:24:51.160 --> 00:24:52.300 Families restored. 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:54.580 Hope made new. 00:24:55.579 --> 00:24:56.539 We see God. 00:24:57.439 --> 00:24:58.399 We see ourselves. 00:24:59.439 --> 00:25:02.039 We encounter God's amazing grace. 00:25:03.220 --> 00:25:05.619 And notice a couple of things here in this picture. 00:25:06.199 --> 00:25:07.919 Notice how we encounter God's grace. 00:25:08.019 --> 00:25:11.439 Notice what it looks like when we encounter God's amazing grace. 00:25:12.199 --> 00:25:15.460 Notice firstly, the altar here is a place of sacrifice. 00:25:16.980 --> 00:25:17.919 What happens here? 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:19.899 The seraph, who's a picture of an angelic being, 00:25:19.900 --> 00:25:24.600 he takes a burning hot coal from the altar and he touches Isaiah's lips. 00:25:25.259 --> 00:25:26.620 Now, what does that mean for us? 00:25:27.120 --> 00:25:29.200 Well, notice here first, the altar is a place of sacrifice. 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:32.660 It's a place where burnt offerings and sin offerings are brought 00:25:32.660 --> 00:25:35.720 and they are burnt with fire and consumed before God. 00:25:36.340 --> 00:25:39.840 The altar is a place where sin offerings are given to God 00:25:39.840 --> 00:25:43.140 and forgiveness of sin is made and atoned for, right? 00:25:43.560 --> 00:25:44.800 Now, what does that mean for us? 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:49.919 Friends, the Bible tells us that the ultimate sin offering was given 00:25:49.919 --> 00:25:53.500 when Jesus Christ died on the cross at Mount Calvary. 00:25:54.359 --> 00:25:55.319 Now, you know what that means? 00:25:56.200 --> 00:25:58.779 Where Jesus bled and died is an atoning sacrifice. 00:25:58.919 --> 00:26:01.419 The sin offering to end all sin offerings. 00:26:02.079 --> 00:26:02.779 What does that mean? 00:26:03.180 --> 00:26:06.379 It means that in order to encounter God's grace, 00:26:07.159 --> 00:26:09.559 in order to have our sin and our guilt atoned for, 00:26:09.659 --> 00:26:10.799 we must go there. 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:11.240 There. 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:13.559 You must go to the altar. 00:26:14.539 --> 00:26:16.079 We must meet Christ at the cross. 00:26:16.180 --> 00:26:16.960 There's no other way. 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:18.500 There's no other place. 00:26:19.159 --> 00:26:21.460 If you only meet Jesus in his teachings, 00:26:21.799 --> 00:26:24.240 you may be amazed, but you won't be changed. 00:26:24.899 --> 00:26:27.159 If you meet Jesus simply in his wisdom, 00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:29.639 you'll be inspired, but you won't be transformed. 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:32.539 If you meet Jesus in his example, 00:26:33.019 --> 00:26:35.180 you'll be encouraged, but you won't be forgiven. 00:26:35.180 --> 00:26:39.720 The place to encounter God's transforming grace 00:26:39.720 --> 00:26:41.860 is to meet him at Calvary, 00:26:42.100 --> 00:26:43.480 to meet him at the cross, 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:46.640 to meet him at the place where Jesus died as a sin offering 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:48.400 for your sin and my sin, 00:26:48.600 --> 00:26:52.160 to take it away, to atone for it. 00:26:52.680 --> 00:26:55.259 You've got to meet not just the doctrine of Jesus, 00:26:55.400 --> 00:26:56.940 not just the teachings of Jesus, 00:26:57.039 --> 00:26:58.380 or the philosophy of Jesus, 00:26:58.740 --> 00:27:00.080 the person of Jesus, 00:27:00.580 --> 00:27:02.799 the living person of the Lord Jesus, 00:27:02.920 --> 00:27:04.019 to meet him at the cross. 00:27:04.019 --> 00:27:06.000 That's where grace is found. 00:27:06.859 --> 00:27:07.740 Here's the other thing. 00:27:08.379 --> 00:27:10.500 Encountering God's grace is often painful 00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:12.319 before it's liberating. 00:27:13.299 --> 00:27:17.299 In this picture, the seraph takes this burning hot coal 00:27:17.299 --> 00:27:19.400 and he touches Isaiah's lips, right? 00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:22.079 Now, obviously the burning hot coal is a picture 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:24.180 of the consuming holiness of God. 00:27:25.700 --> 00:27:28.019 I'm sure we've all burnt our mouths before, right? 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:29.359 Maybe you're eating some, you know, 00:27:29.420 --> 00:27:31.639 and it's steaming hot, 00:27:31.799 --> 00:27:32.879 and you take that bite, 00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:34.960 and you're like, ah, it burns your mouth, right? 00:27:34.980 --> 00:27:36.920 Or maybe you take a sip of coffee 00:27:36.920 --> 00:27:38.240 and it's way too hot, 00:27:38.360 --> 00:27:39.780 and you scald your mouth. 00:27:39.860 --> 00:27:42.920 And the roof, every time I eat pan-fried dumplings, 00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:46.780 the roof of my mouth is scalded for the next few days, right? 00:27:48.440 --> 00:27:49.980 We've all burnt our mouths, right? 00:27:51.120 --> 00:27:52.180 Friends, when Jesus, 00:27:52.180 --> 00:27:54.940 when God confronts Isaiah here, 00:27:55.220 --> 00:27:57.320 he doesn't give him a back massage. 00:27:58.259 --> 00:28:00.960 Isaiah does not meet God in the spa. 00:28:01.980 --> 00:28:04.480 He brings this burning hot coal 00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:05.860 and he touches his lips. 00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:07.160 Why? 00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:08.360 He wounds him. 00:28:08.779 --> 00:28:09.740 He hurts him. 00:28:10.220 --> 00:28:11.500 And yet he heals him. 00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:12.940 He heals him. 00:28:13.720 --> 00:28:15.539 Think about in the Old Testament when Jacob, 00:28:16.100 --> 00:28:16.820 remember Jacob? 00:28:16.940 --> 00:28:19.539 Jacob's this wrestling, scheming, hustling guy. 00:28:19.980 --> 00:28:21.039 He's always cheating everyone. 00:28:21.139 --> 00:28:22.000 He's cheating his brother. 00:28:22.180 --> 00:28:23.099 He cheats his uncle. 00:28:23.399 --> 00:28:24.759 He's wrestling with his dad. 00:28:25.259 --> 00:28:26.879 And he meets God one day, 00:28:26.940 --> 00:28:27.839 and God changes him. 00:28:27.879 --> 00:28:28.960 But how does God change him? 00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:30.839 God wrestles him, 00:28:31.079 --> 00:28:32.039 and he hurts him. 00:28:32.839 --> 00:28:33.599 He hurts him, 00:28:33.659 --> 00:28:34.500 but he heals him. 00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:35.920 He saves him. 00:28:36.119 --> 00:28:37.940 Well, think of Saul of Tarsus, right? 00:28:38.359 --> 00:28:40.819 Saul is this murderous, nationalistic racist. 00:28:41.259 --> 00:28:42.200 He hates the Christians. 00:28:42.319 --> 00:28:43.639 He's going everywhere to kill them. 00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:46.200 How does Saul encounter Jesus? 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:48.500 Jesus knocks him off his horse, 00:28:48.840 --> 00:28:50.660 and he blinds him for a few days. 00:28:51.240 --> 00:28:52.059 He wounds him, 00:28:52.620 --> 00:28:53.819 but he transforms him. 00:28:54.380 --> 00:28:55.259 He changes him. 00:28:55.860 --> 00:28:57.080 He sets him free. 00:28:58.620 --> 00:29:00.220 Friends, if you know the stories of Narnia, 00:29:00.620 --> 00:29:03.000 it's the episode in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:05.080 where there's this little brat called Eustace. 00:29:05.299 --> 00:29:06.580 He's a horrible little brat. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:09.360 And Eustace turns into this dragon. 00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:11.259 His skin starts to go scaly, 00:29:11.660 --> 00:29:13.759 and he turns into this fire-breathing dragon, 00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:15.279 but he hates the person that he's become. 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:16.660 He hates the dragon that he's become, 00:29:16.819 --> 00:29:18.379 and he's desperate to be free, 00:29:18.460 --> 00:29:19.559 but he can't free himself 00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:21.299 until he meets Aslan. 00:29:21.420 --> 00:29:22.599 Aslan's a picture of Jesus. 00:29:23.259 --> 00:29:25.000 But how does Aslan heal Eustace? 00:29:25.740 --> 00:29:26.900 He takes his claw, 00:29:26.980 --> 00:29:29.259 and he puts his claw under the dragon's skin, 00:29:29.319 --> 00:29:30.559 and he tears it off, 00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:31.480 and it's painful, 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:33.299 but it's liberating. 00:29:34.119 --> 00:29:36.559 Eustace is restored to a human being again 00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:38.980 through the painful liberating process 00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:39.839 of being humbled. 00:29:40.559 --> 00:29:41.700 Friends, why is it painful? 00:29:41.700 --> 00:29:43.900 Because the part of our identity, 00:29:44.039 --> 00:29:45.019 the part of us that says, 00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:46.120 Kevin, you are great. 00:29:46.340 --> 00:29:47.039 You are awesome. 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:47.920 You are amazing. 00:29:48.019 --> 00:29:49.080 You're the center of the world. 00:29:49.460 --> 00:29:50.840 That part needs to die, 00:29:51.259 --> 00:29:52.400 and that's always painful. 00:29:53.160 --> 00:29:54.620 Friends, notice thirdly and finally, 00:29:55.120 --> 00:29:57.519 notice the specificity of God's grace. 00:29:58.779 --> 00:29:59.900 I don't know if you know people 00:29:59.900 --> 00:30:02.500 who for every ailment in the world, 00:30:02.620 --> 00:30:05.799 they've got one kind of blanket remedy, right? 00:30:06.279 --> 00:30:07.319 You've got a headache? 00:30:07.680 --> 00:30:08.920 He has Panadil, right? 00:30:08.920 --> 00:30:12.580 You've got blood pouring out of your eye sockets? 00:30:12.940 --> 00:30:14.120 Here's Panadil, right? 00:30:14.560 --> 00:30:17.840 You've got an appendicitis? 00:30:18.080 --> 00:30:19.380 Take some Panadil, right? 00:30:19.640 --> 00:30:21.100 And if that doesn't heal it, 00:30:21.180 --> 00:30:22.400 you've got a gallbladder infection? 00:30:22.620 --> 00:30:24.100 Burn it, just take some Panadil, right? 00:30:24.220 --> 00:30:25.440 And if that doesn't heal it, 00:30:25.539 --> 00:30:26.779 you're not taking enough Panadil. 00:30:26.880 --> 00:30:27.900 Just take some more, okay? 00:30:29.420 --> 00:30:32.860 Friends, Jesus does not just give us Panadil. 00:30:32.859 --> 00:30:36.779 Jesus comes and specifically deals 00:30:36.779 --> 00:30:38.699 with the things in our lives 00:30:38.699 --> 00:30:40.500 with the brokenness of our lives, 00:30:40.639 --> 00:30:42.139 and he deals with it very specifically. 00:30:42.299 --> 00:30:43.299 Look at what happens here. 00:30:43.959 --> 00:30:45.559 Notice how specific and particular 00:30:45.559 --> 00:30:47.039 God's redeeming grace is. 00:30:47.719 --> 00:30:49.740 God's painful, liberating grace from the altar 00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:52.500 touches the very aspect of Isaiah's life 00:30:52.500 --> 00:30:55.359 that is in most need of deep healing and redemption. 00:30:56.079 --> 00:30:57.199 He touches his lips. 00:30:58.159 --> 00:30:59.159 And what that means is that 00:30:59.159 --> 00:31:00.539 God doesn't dish out Panadil. 00:31:00.539 --> 00:31:03.500 Friends, when Jesus Christ comes to you and I, 00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:05.460 he's going to put his finger 00:31:05.460 --> 00:31:07.399 on the very aspects of our lives 00:31:07.399 --> 00:31:08.740 that are most broken, 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:10.180 most awkward, 00:31:10.619 --> 00:31:11.680 most painful, 00:31:12.279 --> 00:31:13.180 the parts of our lives 00:31:13.180 --> 00:31:14.940 that we most want to cover up 00:31:14.940 --> 00:31:16.980 and hide and pretend aren't hurting. 00:31:17.619 --> 00:31:19.359 Jesus is going to pull out a stethoscope 00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:19.920 and say, 00:31:20.139 --> 00:31:21.799 let's see how that's doing. 00:31:22.319 --> 00:31:24.079 And he's going to bring the fire, 00:31:24.200 --> 00:31:25.000 the coal of the altar, 00:31:25.059 --> 00:31:25.759 and he's going to say, 00:31:26.139 --> 00:31:27.980 let me bring my healing grace 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:29.339 to that area there. 00:31:30.539 --> 00:31:32.579 Jesus is like a master physician 00:31:32.579 --> 00:31:34.159 that's going to apply his grace 00:31:34.159 --> 00:31:35.220 to the areas of our lives 00:31:35.220 --> 00:31:36.159 that we most need it. 00:31:36.879 --> 00:31:38.879 Friends, where do you need God's redeeming grace? 00:31:39.799 --> 00:31:40.680 Your insecurities, 00:31:41.500 --> 00:31:42.299 your fears, 00:31:43.319 --> 00:31:44.139 your anger, 00:31:45.059 --> 00:31:45.779 your addictions, 00:31:46.220 --> 00:31:47.000 your relationships, 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:48.700 your hurts, 00:31:49.599 --> 00:31:50.440 your agonies, 00:31:51.099 --> 00:31:51.740 your doubts. 00:31:52.579 --> 00:31:54.460 What are the idols of your heart 00:31:54.460 --> 00:31:56.579 that keep you so consumed 00:31:56.579 --> 00:31:57.460 and far from God? 00:31:57.460 --> 00:31:59.460 Jesus Christ 00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:01.120 doesn't want to just give you a pen at all. 00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:02.460 He wants to come 00:32:02.460 --> 00:32:03.600 and touch that area 00:32:03.600 --> 00:32:03.900 and say, 00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:05.180 let me set you free. 00:32:06.299 --> 00:32:07.880 God brings the coal from the altar 00:32:07.880 --> 00:32:09.279 and he touches the very aspect 00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:10.140 of Isaiah's life 00:32:10.140 --> 00:32:11.559 where he needs God's grace. 00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:13.200 Friends, 00:32:13.240 --> 00:32:13.740 it's painful, 00:32:14.019 --> 00:32:14.360 but oh, 00:32:14.420 --> 00:32:15.180 it's so necessary. 00:32:16.220 --> 00:32:17.460 God isn't out to hurt us, 00:32:17.480 --> 00:32:18.460 he's out to heal us. 00:32:19.220 --> 00:32:20.420 God's not out to blame us, 00:32:20.460 --> 00:32:21.519 he's out to redeem us. 00:32:22.140 --> 00:32:22.360 Friends, 00:32:22.420 --> 00:32:23.299 will you let him do that? 00:32:23.900 --> 00:32:24.799 Will you let Jesus, 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:25.379 the king, 00:32:25.539 --> 00:32:27.319 come and touch the areas of your life 00:32:27.319 --> 00:32:28.859 that you most want to keep hidden, 00:32:29.460 --> 00:32:30.599 want to keep covered up, 00:32:31.019 --> 00:32:32.159 want to keep away from him? 00:32:32.899 --> 00:32:34.379 Jesus wants to bring healing there. 00:32:35.299 --> 00:32:36.779 Isaiah's life radically changes 00:32:36.779 --> 00:32:38.759 the day that he sees the glory of God. 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:39.919 He sees God 00:32:39.919 --> 00:32:40.579 and what does it do? 00:32:40.700 --> 00:32:41.960 It leads him to see himself. 00:32:42.539 --> 00:32:43.579 And when he sees himself, 00:32:43.700 --> 00:32:45.019 he doesn't hide or deny 00:32:45.019 --> 00:32:45.639 or blame 00:32:45.639 --> 00:32:47.119 or blame his parents, 00:32:47.480 --> 00:32:48.500 he acknowledges 00:32:48.500 --> 00:32:49.440 and he confesses. 00:32:49.839 --> 00:32:50.659 And in doing so, 00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:51.299 he encounters 00:32:51.299 --> 00:32:51.799 unbelievable, 00:32:52.619 --> 00:32:53.460 transforming grace. 00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:54.299 Isaiah says, 00:32:54.299 --> 00:32:54.960 I am ruined. 00:32:55.440 --> 00:32:56.000 God says, 00:32:56.059 --> 00:32:56.720 you are saved. 00:32:57.359 --> 00:32:58.000 What about you? 00:32:58.879 --> 00:33:00.379 Have you encountered Jesus this way? 00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:02.220 Have you seen the Lord Jesus 00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:02.940 in such a way 00:33:02.940 --> 00:33:03.599 that allows you 00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:04.819 to see yourself afresh? 00:33:05.720 --> 00:33:07.059 God wants to heal us. 00:33:07.579 --> 00:33:08.579 He wants to change us. 00:33:09.019 --> 00:33:10.039 Why don't we come to him now 00:33:10.039 --> 00:33:11.279 and ask him to do that? 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:11.980 Let's pray. 00:33:13.720 --> 00:33:14.220 Well, Jesus, 00:33:14.799 --> 00:33:16.419 amazing that every passage of the Bible 00:33:16.419 --> 00:33:17.980 speaks your gospel grace. 00:33:20.359 --> 00:33:20.759 God, 00:33:20.819 --> 00:33:21.139 on one hand, 00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:22.240 if we're honest with ourselves, 00:33:22.500 --> 00:33:23.480 we must confess 00:33:23.480 --> 00:33:24.539 that we need your grace. 00:33:24.940 --> 00:33:25.180 And yet, 00:33:25.220 --> 00:33:25.360 God, 00:33:25.420 --> 00:33:26.140 you haven't come here 00:33:26.140 --> 00:33:26.839 to shame us. 00:33:27.539 --> 00:33:28.460 You haven't come to 00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:30.200 tell us how terrible we are. 00:33:30.559 --> 00:33:31.819 You've come to heal us. 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:33.360 You've come to lift 00:33:33.360 --> 00:33:33.940 the burden 00:33:33.940 --> 00:33:34.960 off of our shoulders, 00:33:35.079 --> 00:33:35.500 the burden 00:33:35.500 --> 00:33:36.420 that weighs us down, 00:33:36.500 --> 00:33:36.819 the burden 00:33:36.819 --> 00:33:38.180 that keeps us awake at night, 00:33:38.440 --> 00:33:39.259 the burden 00:33:39.259 --> 00:33:40.140 that we have tried 00:33:40.140 --> 00:33:40.680 to shed 00:33:40.680 --> 00:33:42.180 in 10,000 different ways 00:33:42.180 --> 00:33:42.759 but cannot. 00:33:43.519 --> 00:33:44.059 You, God, 00:33:44.099 --> 00:33:44.819 have come to shed 00:33:44.819 --> 00:33:45.700 that for us. 00:33:46.960 --> 00:33:47.279 Jesus, 00:33:47.400 --> 00:33:47.640 I pray, 00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:48.460 come and do that. 00:33:49.380 --> 00:33:50.380 Come and help us. 00:33:50.380 --> 00:33:52.300 Help us to see you. 00:33:52.540 --> 00:33:53.520 Help us to see ourselves. 00:33:54.120 --> 00:33:55.600 Help us to encounter your grace 00:33:55.600 --> 00:33:57.300 in your wonderful, 00:33:58.100 --> 00:33:58.700 redeeming, 00:33:59.400 --> 00:33:59.780 healing, 00:34:00.520 --> 00:34:01.180 liberating, 00:34:01.760 --> 00:34:03.000 freeing name I pray. 00:34:03.720 --> 00:34:04.000 Amen. 00:34:04.800 --> 00:34:05.080 Amen. 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:05.240 00:34:05.240 --> 00:34:35.219 Thank you.