So let's read Isaiah chapter 6 verses 1 to 7.
And with two they were flying and they were calling to one another,
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty.
The whole earth is full of his glory.
At the sound of their voices, the doorposts and the thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
Woe to me, I cried, I am ruined, for I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips.
And my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.
Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
With it he touched my mouth and said, See, this has touched your lips.
Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.
Blake, you're very welcome this morning. Come on ahead.
Blake's wife, Devon, is teaching this morning in with the little ones, so it's great to have you.
Blake is a student at Southern Baptist Seminary in the US, and he's been part of the team this week helping us out.
So I'm going to pray for you and for us, and then preach.
Okay, very good.
Father God, we thank you for your people, your servants, and we thank you for Blake.
We pray for him and for us that we would know the work of your Spirit in our lives,
so that as we hear your words, it would be like a power at work within us,
changing us and helping us to grasp and see how great you are,
how holy you are, and all that you have done for us in Christ.
Father, help us.
May we not leave this building without an encounter with you, the risen Almighty God.
We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Thanks, Blake.
Thank you so much, Johnny.
Let me get my stuff up here.
I want to dump things out on the floor.
It's an absolute honor to be with you all this morning.
We've had a great week.
It's just as we've read this text,
and I think if we're all honest,
this is a very odd piece of Scripture right here.
I feel like this is so unlike,
not I feel, I know,
this is so unlike anything we experience on a regular basis.
To the point, I think, where a lot of times when we read texts such as these,
it's almost as if, you know, did this really happen?
Is this real?
Is this myth?
Is this legend?
Or are these historical realities?
And obviously, we believe them to be,
and they are historical realities,
but the way this vision occurs with Isaiah is so lofty,
it is so high,
that I believe that we are supposed to,
through this text,
be brought to a point,
just as Johnny said,
where we would encounter God.
And so, I want to tell you today,
my main application for us
in preaching this sermon
is just that we would look at who our God is
and be absolutely blown away
with His power,
with His holiness,
and with His grace,
and with His holiness what He has given us.
And so that is what I hope that you were able to get today
from this text
in just seeing how exalted our God is.
And I really want to examine it
in really three sections.
We'll look at the vision,
what Isaiah sees,
we'll talk about that.
Then we'll talk about the creatures,
the seraphim and Isaiah as well,
their reaction to the Lord.
And then we'll talk about the grace of God.
And so, as we see right here,
as you've read,
it talks about King Uzziah.
And so Isaiah,
living around 700 years before the birth of Christ.
That's a long time,
long time ago.
It seems so far removed from us.
He's living so long ago,
and Isaiah,
this king who had been living for a while,
had died,
so it's probably a really anxious period
of what's going to happen next,
what's going to happen in our nation.
And Isaiah is in here,
not sure completely why,
probably to worship,
probably to minister,
as a prophet.
And Isaiah,
this righteous man,
as he comes in,
sees something like no one has ever seen.
He sees the Lord
sitting upon a throne.
And I want to pay close attention
to all these details in the vision
because I think they're very important.
One, that He is on a throne.
He's not on a chair.
That our God does not simply sit at a chair
like we do in a room.
He's not just sitting at the head of a dinner table.
He's not just the CEO
who is the board of directors
who has an important position.
That our God is the sovereign King
of the universe.
And He is upon His throne
ruling with complete control
over His entire creation.
And He is so high and lifted up.
I just love the way this pictures Him here
on this throne lifted up.
I mean, if you think about atheism,
materialism,
which we've encountered a lot this week in Ireland,
same in the United States,
a lot of secular thinking going on.
And the bottom line of atheism
and materialism and naturalism,
the bottom line is that this throne in heaven
doesn't exist.
That there is no God
that we are accountable to.
But this passage tells us
there is a God who is on His throne,
who is the judge,
who is the Lord,
and we are completely accountable to Him
because He has created us.
It says the train of His robe
filled the temple.
You know, in old times
when kings would be sitting on their throne,
they would have these huge,
ridiculously long trains
on their robes as they sat.
And the thing is,
when you're sitting in one of these huge robes,
it's hard to move around
for the kings in the old times.
Because they didn't have to move around
because everyone was at their disposal.
Everyone was serving them.
And I think this is the picture we have of God here
of not that He can't move
because He can,
but that everyone is in submission to Him.
Everyone is in service to Him.
Because why?
Because He is the King.
And we are mere subjects.
And then we see these seraphim.
You may have read the seraphs
in your translation.
Same thing.
And I just find these angelic creatures
so fascinating.
Because, you know,
every time,
when we think about angels,
I think a lot of times
we're tempted to think very,
you know,
maybe they're pretty or they're cute
or they have a halo on their head.
But every time we see angels in Scripture,
it's terrifying.
People are scared.
They're scared for their lives.
And here we have these seraphim.
Literally,
their name means burning ones.
That these creatures are so powerful
that the way that Isaiah is describing them
is they're on fire.
And this is not even God.
These are God's servants.
And these seraphim,
these burning ones who are powerful,
who their sole purpose
is to worship God forever.
It says that they're covering themselves.
They have six wings,
but with four of them,
they're covering their bodies.
They're covering their face.
They're covering their feet.
Why are they doing this?
You know,
if we think to Exodus,
when Moses encounters that burning bush,
what does God command?
He commands,
take off your sandals,
for the place you are standing
is holy ground.
When Joshua,
in Joshua chapter 5,
encounters the commander
of the armies of the Lord,
who seems to be God Himself,
this commander of the armies of the Lord
says,
take off your sandals,
for the place you are standing
is holy.
So this is the presence of God,
and the feet
are a humble part of the body.
So these seraphim,
they're shielding themselves,
and they're shielding their faces,
because the sheer holiness
and glory of God,
they can't even behold to look at it.
And these are angels.
So we see their reaction.
We've not even got to the Lord's power.
This is just these angels.
And they say to each other
this beautiful statement,
which we're all so familiar with,
and we sing in songs,
holy, holy, holy
is the Lord of hosts,
the Lord of hosts,
the Lord of armies.
That's what this means.
He's the commander of armies.
This is a powerful God.
This is not a God you can tame.
This is not a God you can bring
under your control.
That He is over all,
and He is not simply holy.
He is not simply doubly holy.
He is holy, holy, holy.
And this repetition is just simply
lifting up God to a level
that is above everything else.
And so we talk about holiness,
but what does that even mean?
You know, what does that even mean?
What does it even mean to be holy?
And the way I think
it's really fit to describe it
is it comes really with two qualities.
One is a quality of morality.
In that God is morally perfect.
He is completely,
His existence is moral perfection.
There is no stain.
There is no dust.
There is no speck to His character.
But He is flawless in who He is.
And there's a relational quality.
Into where our God,
the King,
is separate from His entire creation.
That He is with us,
but at the same time,
He is not like us.
He is transcendent.
He is so far above us.
And this is what we see of our God
in His holiness.
And so just as we see this vision,
I know it's like,
wow, this is so abstract.
But I think we need to try to picture
these things in our minds.
Because every time God shows up in Scripture,
it seems the way He is described,
words cannot do it justice.
But here we have the Lord.
Holy, holy, holy.
Then we see the reaction here.
We've already seen the reaction
of the seraphim to Him.
They're speaking and saying His praises.
But it says that when this angel speaks,
it says in verse 4,
the foundations of the thresholds shook.
I mean, what if this room,
if an angel came in this room,
and the room just began to shake to a point
where you think the building is going to fall?
The doorposts are going to give way
that these angels are so powerful.
And so you think these angels are powerful.
What about the power
of the one sitting on this throne?
This is their reaction to Him.
These are their words.
But when we think about the Word of God,
it is to a level
that is so unimaginably above this.
I loved you read 2 Corinthians 4, 6.
God, who said,
let light shine out of darkness,
has shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of Christ.
It literally takes the very Word of God
to save us.
His power.
That when God speaks,
even...
Oh, and I love this in the Bible.
Inanimate matter responds to Him.
That creatures that we would...
Things that we would not...
Not creatures.
Things that we call not living
respond to God.
One of my favorite passages
in the Scripture
is Psalm 97, 5.
It says that the mountains
melt like wax
before the Lord.
When you think about Mount Everest
and how many people try
to champion up to the top of that hill
and post their flag
and take a picture
and they pay so much money to go
and they go to this mountain
in this majestic piece of God's creation.
It's terrifying.
I don't know if there was a movie
a while back called Everest.
And I don't know if any of you have seen that,
but it's terrifying at points
how this mountain can just swallow you.
It's so great.
And so many people have died
simply at the hand of this mountain.
And this is a mere piece of God's creation.
A mere piece of His power.
And when God,
He approaches Mount Everest,
it's just like a candle melting in His way.
This is our God.
We think about Jesus
when He's coming into Jerusalem
and the disciples are proclaiming Him.
Hosanna, Hosanna!
And the Pharisees rebuke them
and try to quiet them.
Jesus says,
if you quiet them,
even the rocks will cry out.
And I just love this
about how the creation responds to God.
And so when thinking about this,
I mean, how in the world
is a mere human going to fare
in God's presence?
I would say it's going to be
quite startling.
That's what we see in Isaiah,
of Isaiah here.
I just want to read these words again.
That this fountain,
the temple is shaking.
It's filled with smoke.
I believe it's filled with the very glory of God.
And in verse 5,
Isaiah makes this statement.
And I said,
Woe is me,
for I am lost.
Your translation may say ruined.
Cut off.
For I am a man of unclean lips
and I dwell in the midst
of a people of unclean lips.
Why?
Why is this His response?
He says,
For my eyes have seen the King.
My eyes have seen the Lord of hosts.
You see, this is what happens
when we encounter God.
If you have truly encountered God,
this is your first response.
As you realize
exactly who you are.
And this is what Isaiah is realizing here.
You know,
I find in life that
about the time I get
of one sin under control
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
God reveals to me
something else about myself.
Well, now you've got this,
but look at this pride
you have over here.
Look at this,
a little bit of hatred in your heart
towards this person.
And as He reveals these things to us,
we experience this godly guilt
that sometimes it's really debilitating.
And the conviction is strong
and we're discouraged
because, oh,
we're so imperfect compared to God.
But can you imagine
not having a taste,
but all of your sin
revealed to you at once?
And I believe this is what Isaiah
is experiencing right here.
He is seeing the fullness
of his cursed nature before God
because he is standing
and seeing himself
in the reflection of God's glory
and he is,
what he would say,
worthless.
Woe is me!
He's saying,
I'm cursed!
He's saying,
I'm going to die!
Death is the condemnation
right here before this god.
I'm lost.
I'm cut off.
I'm ruined.
And I love what he says.
This is so telling
of who we are
born in our sin.
He says,
I'm a man of unclean lips.
Just as these seraphim
are crying out,
holy, holy, holy,
Isaiah is saying,
I'm not worthy
to say
what those angelic creatures
are saying.
I'm not worthy
to even speak.
I'm not worthy
to even look.
The only thing I deserve
is death
before this god
because he is so far
above me.
You know,
I remember when I was
seven years old,
before then,
the previous two years,
so I'm obviously
very young,
I was five and six years old,
my parents were continually
telling me about the gospel
and I knew that I needed it.
I knew that was right.
I knew there was a god
and I knew I needed
to be saved,
but I just didn't really
understand.
I just didn't really
understand sin
and my dad kind of
recognized that
and so he kind of
put it off.
He said,
you know,
let's wait,
let's see
until you truly
understand this.
I remember when I was
seven years old,
it was some night,
it was in February
and I was
walking down the hall
just a regular night.
Nothing special
had happened that night.
I walked in my
bathroom,
I shut the door
and I remember
when I walked in that room,
I don't know what happened,
but all of a sudden
everything that I had
ever heard about Scripture,
specifically about sin,
made sense to me
and I remember
being terrified
in that bathroom
because I finally
understood exactly
what my sin
is going to bring forth
and I realized
I was destined for hell.
I knew it
and I started weeping
and so my dad
and mom had heard me
in the bathroom
and I was crying
and I remember just
but I knew
my dad had taught me
if you call
on the name of the Lord,
if you call
on the name of Jesus
and what He has done,
you will be saved
and so I didn't
waste any time.
I'm going straight for it.
I'm crying,
Lord, would you save me?
And I remember
I was still crying
because I remember
it was just emotional.
I mean,
of me recognizing this
and remember
we went in the living room
and we celebrated
and it was great
but it didn't happen
apart from me
coming undone.
And that is the truth
for all of us.
to experience salvation,
God first
has to bring us
to a point
where we are undone,
where we recognize
who we are before Him.
This room is full
in all of us
of idolatry
that we probably
don't even know we have.
Of lies that we've told.
Of unfaithfulness
in our thoughts
to our spouses.
In coveting others.
And oh,
we could go on and on.
I don't have to speak
of these things
because we know,
you know personally
where you struggle.
You know the sin
that easily besets you.
And even in your mind
right now,
you go straight to it.
To the sin
that you struggle with.
And we know these things.
And an encounter
with this holy God
reveals them.
We can't hide.
We can't hide from Him.
And His omnipresence,
His omniscience,
and Him knowing all things.
And just I want to say
for a believer,
if you have recognized
your sin
and put your faith
and trust in Christ,
there is something
to holiness
and seeking holiness
that produces something
that nothing else can.
You know,
we always need to be reliant
on the grace of God.
If you've been to any
of the talks this week,
we talked about grace alone.
And as part of the Tim team,
as part of the Bible talks
that we're given.
But I'm convinced
that the only thing
that will draw you back
to the grace of God
is seeking to be holy.
Not because you can
earn your salvation.
Obviously, that's impossible.
But as we seek
to live a holy life
and we seek to tame
our tongues better,
as we seek to constrain
what we're watching
on television,
because we want to honor
God with what our eyes
are seeing.
And when we're doing
all these things,
the more we seek holiness,
the more we're going
to realize how much
in need of the grace
of God we are.
And I'm convinced
that seeking the holiness
of God is the only thing
that will continually
draw you to your knees
so that we will see
our need for grace.
And so as we're thinking
about all these things,
I'm going to make,
you know,
just a connection here
about Christ.
I want to give four examples
of Christ in the New Testament
and responses of things
to Him.
You know,
obviously we see that
Jesus says the rocks
will cry out
if the disciples don't.
We see that,
you know,
when He is out on the water
with His disciples
and there's a storm brewing
and they're crying out to Him
because they think
they're going to die
if the storm is so bad.
Jesus simply speaks
and the entire sea
is like probably
a sheet of glass.
No storm,
no wind,
it's just quiet.
We see creation
responding to Jesus
this way.
When Jesus encounters
demons in Mark,
there's at one point
where this demon
shrieks out
and he says,
what are you to do with us?
Oh,
Son of the Most High God,
have you come to torment us
before the day of judgment?
The demons
recognize who Jesus is.
The demons recognize
this Holy One of God
and are worried
that He is going to send them to hell.
We see Peter
when he calls Peter.
I find this one of the most
fascinating places in Scripture.
Jesus gets in the boat
with Peter
and says,
Peter,
cast your nets.
And what does Peter say?
He says,
Lord,
we've been fishing all day.
We ain't caught anything.
You know?
But,
you know,
if you tell me
to put the nets out,
I will.
And so Peter puts these nets out
and what does he do?
He brings in this huge
haul of fish.
And what's Peter's response?
Does he say,
oh,
wow,
that's great.
Or,
man,
this is exciting.
Oh,
we're going to eat for a month.
Oh,
I'm not going to have to fish for a month.
He doesn't say any of those things.
He sits there and he says,
depart from me,
for I am a sinful man.
Oh,
Lord.
Peter's interaction with Jesus
is seeing his sin.
And then I say,
one of the most intense
encounters with Christ
in Revelation 1
when John sees Christ,
the Lamb of God.
And John says,
when I saw him,
I fell at his feet
as though I was dead.
You know,
what is so beautiful about this,
and I just find it to be
one of the greatest conundrums,
is that Jesus
is this King.
He is this Lord of hosts.
Specifically in John,
chapter 12,
we don't just know this
from the canon of Scripture.
I mean,
if you think of Scripture as a whole,
we know Jesus
is the Word became flesh.
He's the exact imprint,
the exact radiance of God
according to Hebrews 1.
He is Colossians 1.15,
the Creator of all things.
All things are created by Him,
for Him,
through Him.
But we,
not only know that
from the whole witness of Scripture,
but we know this
because John,
in his Gospel,
in chapter 12,
quotes Isaiah 6.
Specifically,
he quotes verses 8-13.
I won't read those,
but in this,
Jesus quotes this Scripture.
John records it.
And after the Scripture
of Isaiah 6 is recorded,
John says,
something very interesting.
He says,
Isaiah spoke of this
because he saw His glory.
John 12.41.
And contextually,
John is talking about Christ.
And what I want you to know today
is this same King,
this same Lord of hosts,
walked on this earth.
And we are accountable to Him.
And this is what I say
in about every single evangelistic conversation I have.
And I've said it this week several times.
When I've talked about who Jesus is,
basically it comes to this point.
I say,
what are you going to do with Jesus?
Because our lives demand a response.
No one encounters this God
and leaves without responding.
There's a response that has to be to Jesus.
And I ask you today,
what has been the response in your life?
Have you recognized this sin
that this passage is talking about?
Has it gripped you like this?
So that you need an atonement of some sort.
You need a Savior.
How are we going to respond to Jesus?
We see then this grace of God.
In verse 6, it says,
One of the seraphim flew to me,
having in his hand a burning coal.
He had taken with tongs from the altar.
He touched my mouth and said,
Behold, this has touched your lips.
Your guilt is taken away
and your sin atoned for.
I mean, can you imagine
Isaiah's rejoicing at this point,
realizing he's not going to die.
He's not cursed anymore.
The Lord is telling him,
You're forgiven.
But how in the world does this happen?
How is God justified in doing this?
And I think we know this answer.
But isn't it crazy
that 700 years
before Jesus was even born,
God's plan
in sending His Son
is so sure
that He can forgive Isaiah
on the spot
because of His faith.
He can forgive him
because the work of Christ
is coming.
And what is so crazy
about who Jesus is
is that God becomes a man.
And Christ,
being fully man,
fulfills these traits of holiness
that you and I never can.
We just never can.
But we see Jesus' entire life,
we see the moral perfection,
we see it in Him
honoring His parents.
In the way He treats others.
The way He responds to those
who cannot help themselves,
who cannot do anything,
who are poor,
who have leprosy.
We see the way
that He defeats Satan
in the wilderness.
Forty days fasting,
overcoming those three temptations.
We see Him overcoming
temptation in the garden.
As He poured out Himself
to God in prayer
that He might be able
to go to the cross.
And we see not a speck
in Christ's character
as a man.
And He does all this
and He dies.
And I want to say this
this morning.
Let me be honest with you
about something
so long in my life
up until I was about
probably 18, 19 years old.
My dad's a pastor.
I've heard the gospel
millions of times.
Right?
But there came a point
in my life
where I knew Christ.
I was following Him.
But there came a point
of recognition
when I was about
18 or 19 years old.
I'm so used to hearing
the gospel
that I forgot
how ridiculous it is.
Of how crazy
what we believe is.
We literally believe
God became a man.
He lived a sinless life.
He was crucified
on a cross
becoming a curse
for our sin
and bearing the wrath
of God.
And we believe
He was raised
from the dead.
We believe
He was raised
from the dead.
And that is ridiculous.
That is crazy.
And I think
it's fine to admit
that is really
hard to believe.
I would be lying
to you
if I said
I didn't have doubts
about these things.
But I'm trusting
in God
because I know
this is the reality.
I know He's real.
But I think
we never need
to let it be lost
on us.
How amazing
the resurrection
of Christ
is
in His life.
And that it was
His blood
that was shed
for us
that is the only
reason that Isaiah
can be forgiven
right here.
In simply
throwing himself
to the mercy
of God.
And abiding
in the righteousness
of Christ.
I don't know
where everyone is
in this room today.
But my prayer
is you understand
your sin.
That you're not
getting out of it.
There's no way
around it.
There's not enough
charity you can do.
I had a guy
tell me this week
I tried to do
a lot of charity
and I had to tell him
that's great
but it's not going
to save your soul.
It won't.
He's commanded us
to repent
and believe the Gospel.
Believe what Christ
has done.
Just to mention
something about
this coal.
Puts the coal
on his lips.
This hot
flaming coal
and I love
what Charles Spurgeon
some of you
may be familiar
with him
some of you
may have no idea
who that is
and that's
perfectly fine.
It doesn't matter.
But I want to read
this quote
by Spurgeon.
He says
the Lord
who is a
consuming fire
can only be
fitly served
by those
who are on
fire
whether they
be angels
or men.
These angels
are burning
but you know
what the truth
is for us?
We can only
serve God
when we have
truly been
had that moment
of salvation
that we read
in 2 Corinthians 4
where God
has shown
into our hearts
and He has
set us on fire
for His glory
that we would
be filled
with zeal
and love
for Him
and love
for others
to proclaim
the hope
that is in this.
Even as we've
been here
there have
been things
happened this
week
that are just
the epitome
of living
in a cursed
world.
And there's
hurt
and there's
pain
and there's
anxieties
and there's
stress
and there's
sin in our
lives
but God
has come
to heal
He's come
to restore
He has come
to atone
for us.
And so my
question today
is maybe you
have experienced
this but
maybe it's
time to
reflect again
on how
powerful our
God is
and ask
am I living
a life that
is set on
fire for the
glory of God
for this
holy God
and as I'll
close I'll
just mention
this
it doesn't
stop here
for Isaiah
the Lord
commissions him
to go
preach
to go
preach to a
people he
says who
won't listen
and the
same is
for us
when we
believe upon
the Lord
Jesus Christ
he commissions
us
commissions us
to love him
with all his
heart
to abide in
his grace
but he
commissions us
to proclaim
the gospel
and so I
pray today
that you
would be
amazed
by the
holiness
of our
God
the power
of our
God
and that
the rest
of this
week
the rest
of your
life
would be
constrained
by him
and that
with all
your heart
that because
of his
grace
that you
would live
a life
commissioned
and sent
just to
please him
and to
tell others
to tell
everyone
about this
because a
man being
raised from
the dead
is not
something to
keep to
ourselves
would you
pray with
me this
morning
Lord I
just thank
you so
much
you were
so good
to us
oh God
I thank
you that
we have
this recorded
for us
to read
just about
oh your
beauty
we love
you God
we thank
you that
you have
paid the
penalty for
our sin
Lord I
pray that
you would
save
save and
advance your
kingdom God
through these
churches I
pray for all
the churches
in this area
and in this
network God
that you would
use them to
honor yourself
that they would
be holy and
that at the
last day
because of
Christ they
would be
presented holy
and blameless
before you
Lord I
pray all
this in
the name
of Jesus
Amen