God Is Holy

Ai Transcript

Amen. Thank you, Mark.

If you would, why don't we stay in Isaiah, open your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 6. That's where we'll be this morning. Isaiah chapter 6.

When we kicked off this series a couple weeks back, asked the question, what comes to your mind when you think about God? I said, finish the sentence. God is... We had all sorts of wonderful answers. God is holy. God is love. God is awesome.

said God is infinite. God is merciful. Well, the next day we talked about this same question at my GC. We went around and filled in the blank. God is, and again, a lot of really strong theological answers. God is merciful. God is good. God is consistent. I like that one.

But then we had a couple answers that were raw. I love raw. God is distant. God is small.

God is not my priority. The more I thought about that, that A.W. Tozer quote from a couple of weeks ago, what comes to your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you. I just don't know if I think it's true. The Bible says even the demons have good theology and yet they tremble.

The more I've thought about it, the most important thing about you may be not be what you think, but what you believe deep down in your heart. Like the Christian philosopher James K.A. Smith says, we are not just thinking things. We are not brains on a stick. We are what we love. You are what you love.

you love. So what comes out of your heart when you ponder God that may just be the most important thing about you. Ask yourself that question. I'll give you a minute. Write it down.

Be honest with yourself that this isn't a theology quiz. What comes up out of the depths of your heart in your deepest place? What comes out when you contemplate God?

Is he really good?

Is he near? Is he distant? Can he be trusted?

Is he angry? What comes up from the deepest place within you as you contemplate? And then here's the second question. Is he holy?

Is he holy? How you answer that last question, is God holy, I believe has massive implications for your life.

Jackie Hill Perry goes so far to say this, and I think she's spot on. What is lurking behind our unbelief, so our lack of trust, what is lurking behind our unbelief is the idea that God is not holy. I mean, think about this for a second. If God is holy, if he is holy, well then he cannot sin.

If God cannot sin, he cannot sin against you. And if God cannot sin against you, then can't he be fully trusted? Again, it's so easy when we contemplate God for many of us, especially for those of us who have been hurt by people. We find it hard to trust people. It's quite natural to project that on God.

We may say God is awesome, we may even think it, but in all reality, many of us believe deep down that God is really just maybe a better image of ourselves.

So yeah, in your mind, you might know all the right answers. He is loving, infinite and good. He is self sufficient and self existent. But, sometimes the longest journey is that 18 inches from your head to your heart. My hope this morning is that we would behold a holy God.

And as we behold God in His holiness, we would believe in our deepest place that God is holy, holy, holy. And by the grace of God, as we behold and believe this holy God that we ourselves would become holy.

So if you're not already there, Isaiah 6 is where we will begin this morning. We'll start here in verse 1. And that's my outline for you note takers. Behold, believe, and become. We'll spend most of our time beholding.

Verse one, in the year that King Uzziah died, let's pause here for a minute. I want to give a little context before we jump into what the prophet Isaiah is about to share. He's about to share a lot.

I want to pick up from where we left off last week before we come into the context of King Uzziah and the story of Israel. Last week, if you remember, Moses encountered God, the self-existent one, the one who needs nothing. After Moses sees a bush on fire, yet not burning, as he curiously makes his way over, he's told to take his

sandals off because the place he is standing is holy ground. God is holy. This is where we're headed this morning.

The holiness of God, so buckle up. The holiness of God, wrecked me this week. John Calvin says this, if a preacher is not first preaching to himself, better that he falls on the steps of the pulpit and breaks his neck than preaches that sermon. Friends, I am first preaching to myself this morning.

Well, that's your God revealed to Moses who he is, namely, I am who I am or another way to say God is. Moses goes back to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, out of slavery. The great I am doesn't just talk the talk. He walks.

the walk. He does what he says. And so, yes, God rescues his people. And after they cross the Red Sea, Moses finds himself back at the mountain where he first encountered God at the bush. As God meets Moses on the mountain, this scene is terrifying.

Mount Sinai is trembling, thunder, lightning, dark and threatening clouds, fire, smoke, and the sound of a loud trumpet. This is no ordinary earthquake. The people of God, Israel, are warned to not even touch this mountain because the God that just saved them is utterly holy. Then Moses goes up.

the mountain before this holy God and there the Lord gives Israel his law. This is not basic instruction before leaving earth like how some people understand the BIBLE. No, it is covenantal revelation from the God whose holiness shakes the earth. And this holy God tells Israel that if they obey his covenant, if...

They follow his law. Then they themselves will become God's own holy nation. Later in Moses's life, he's so captivated by the holiness of God that he prays this bold, audacious prayer. Lord, show me your glory. And God's like, yo, Mo.

Can't do that. You can't see my face, for no one can see me and live. But he does set him up in a rock, covers him with his hand, and lets him glimpse just the backside of his glory. Even Moses, the friend of God himself, cannot stand to be fully exposed before the fullness of divine holiness.

Often when Moses would come down from the mountain after meeting with God, his face was radiant, shining brightly with reflected glory. Israel wasn't able to handle it. So Moses would put a veil over his face. That is how weighty, fearsome, holy the presence of God is.

And most of us know how the story of Israel ends up, right? They don't keep the law. They don't live up to the covenant. They don't obey God. They fail and they fail and they fail some more. Fast forward to 1 Samuel after the Ark of God has been captured. Phineas's wife, she gives birth to a child. And on this baby dedication, she names him.

meaning God's glory has departed from Israel.

Well, the glory of God eventually comes back through people like David and his son Solomon. Eventually they build the temple. But again, it's not long before even the kingdom is divided. And apart from a few solid kings who understand God's holiness and call to people and call the people to serve this God, to become...

a holy nation. Most of these kings from the north to the south are just brutal. Brutal. They worship the gods of their surrounding nations. They don't see God as holy and so they do not become God's holy nation. And then this 16 year old cat, Uzziah, shows up on the scene.

I mean, what were you doing at age 16? I was just trying to stay eligible in school so I could play baseball. But even that was hard because I was trying to memorize and play Madden on my PS2 and watch Shaq and Comey dominate the NBA. had too much going on. Not Uzaya. Uzaya at age 16 becomes king. King of Israel.

Back to our passage in the year that King Uzziah died. This was a big deal. King Uzziah probably makes the top five of the list for Israel's greatest kings. So this year that this king died would have thrown this nation into a frenzy.

political turmoil. He reigned over Israel for 52 years. Could you imagine? It's like Queen Elizabeth longevity. Early in his life, he was marked by nothing but godliness. This was a holy man.

zealous for the God of his forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. He brought innovation and prosperity to the land of Israel, only second to people like David and Solomon themselves. But unfortunately, his life didn't end the way it began. At the end of his life, he lost sight of the holiness of God.

He decided, I'm a pretty good king. The priest needs some help. Why don't I take the role of what the priest should do? I can go in there. Fearing God simply means to take God at His word, to take God serious.

Proverbs says that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. At some point in Uzziah's life, he stopped fearing God. He got too comfortable with God. That's what wrecked me this week. He forgot, and I pray we don't, that God is holy.

And because of that, his final days were marked with shame and disgrace as God struck him with leprosy. A bad end to an otherwise great life. But like Tiger Woods, even with a tragic ending, everyone still remembers who Uzziah once was. And so in his passing, Israel is grieving. And then God shows up to the prophet Isaiah.

in a vision. Look with me at verse one again. 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. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings.

With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew, and one called to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with...

Smoke.

The prophet Isaiah is given a vision of the Lord high and exalted on his throne. If you were here with us during our revelation series, maybe some of this sounds familiar.

And what this meant to, to Isaiah is that the Lord in verse one, capital L lowercase O R D this is Adonai or the sovereign Lord showing Isaiah and us that even amidst political turmoil, God reigns in majesty over all things.

Then the train of his robe fills the temple. This stresses the overwhelming weight of his glory and his presence. We also see the seraphim standing above him as heavenly attendants, emphasizing that even the most exalted creatures are not self-existent.

They exist to serve this self-existent sovereign king. And as they cover their faces, because even they can't look at God's holiness, it's that bright. God doesn't have light. God is light. And what does one of them do? The only thing you can do in the presence of God. Praise him. Holy.

Holy... Holy...

Then the thresholds shake while the temple fills with smoke. Picture the scene, this vision, showing us loud and clear that Isaiah is standing before the Holy Lord. Verse three, L-O-R-D, all caps. The covenant name of God, Yahweh. Holy, holy.

pastor theologian. This was his wheelhouse and I've listened to many asproul sermons over the years. And though like we said in our first sermon in this God is series, we are not called to rank the attributes of God. Remember, all that is in God is God. But I do love what Dr. R.C. brings out.

There's no other attribute in the Bible that is given this thrice language. Never do we see love, love, love is the Lord God Almighty or justice, justice, justice is the Lord of hosts. But we do have this phrase, holy, holy, holy is the Lord.

Now, if you know me and you get texts from me, if I'm ever excited and want to emphasize something, I may throw down like 50 exclamation marks as my high school teacher rolls over in her grave.

But we have ways to emphasize things in our culture, to say this is important. Maybe for you, you embolden your font, or you use italics, or you begin to speak real slow when you're about to say something.

Well, in ancient Judaism, happens when words get put on repeat. And in big moments of redemptive history, this is what we see. Awake, awake.

Moses, Peace, peace. Abraham, Abraham. If you read in the gospels, you'll see this with Christ Jesus himself. Right, he says, truly.

Truly, it's the Greek word, amen. Jesus is such a good preacher, he's not gonna wait for the crowd to say amen. Real talk, I don't even know if Jesus would get an amen if he preached in this church. Just saying.

So what does he do? He says it prior to the sermon. Amen, amen. What we translate truly, truly. He's saying lock in. Lock in. What I'm about to say is going to transform your life.

But get three repeats. Now this is more than an emphasis. It's the highest amplification. So when we hear holy, holy, holy, we know this is a holiness in which nothing can compare. Now what does holy mean?

Great question. Again, R.C. Sproul says, term holy, as it is used in the Bible to describe God, refers to both his nature and his character. So let's flesh that out. Regarding God's nature, holy, holy, holy refers to his greatness, his transcendence, his otherness.

Regarding his character, holiness refers to his purity, his ethical and moral excellence. Theologian Matthew Barrett says, his holiness is the supreme, highest, greatest good that can be imagined.

And if Anselm is right, which I quoted a couple of weeks back, that God is a being in whom none greater can be conceived. And it's also true that God is a being in which, in whom none holier can be conceived. Holy, holy, holy. This word literally means set apart.

Set apart. Set apart. Set apart.

wife, Holly is the best neighbor. know we have, we know so many of our neighbors because of Holly. Well, this week I got a ring on the doorbell and I opened the door to meet one of my neighbors for the first time, an older gentleman who lives down our street, Terry. He came to drop off his mom's China.

She she she's been passed for some time and though he's never used them, he also has felt weird about selling them to a stranger. So of course, give them to Holly. Now these dishes are no ordinary dishes. I don't know how many times we are going to eat off these plates or drink out of these cups, but let me tell you, it will only be for a special occasion. These dishes are set apart.

Not for Joey to eat his mac and cheese and hot dogs on. Well, God is set apart on a whole nother level. God is holy par excellence. In His transcendence, His holiness is utterly other. Holy, holy, holy. And in His purity, His holiness is moral and ethical perfection.

God is light in him. There is no darkness at all. Holy, holy, holy. And like Mark mentioned last week, when we see God rightly, we begin to see ourselves rightly. And friends, there's nothing that threatens us more than the holiness of God.

But unless you behold God as holy, you can't truly believe deep down in your heart, in your deepest place, that He is holy. Which takes us to our second point. Believe. We behold, then we believe. Look with me at verse five. Isaiah six, verse five.

After Isaiah encounters the Holy God, verse five, I said, woe is me for I am lost. From a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Like I said, nothing threatens us more than the holiness of God.

Because when you encounter this God, holy, holy, holy, you also see how much you fall short of His glory. In His light, our darkness exposed. Do remember when Peter becomes a follower of Christ?

Peter, who becomes this apostle and amazing leader in the early church, he's fishing all night, catches nothing. Then Jesus is on the shore, tells him, put out your net for a catch. Peter, probably so frustrated, like, dude, I fish for a living. You're a rabbi. Are you telling me how to do my job? But like a respectful Jew that Peter was, he says, at your word, rabbi. I'll do it.

And in that moment, if you remember, he catches so many fish that the weight of them causes his boat to begin to sink. But that's not the only thing sinking in this moment. Do you remember what Peter says to Jesus? Jesus, who is the exact imprint of God, holy, holy, holy, like Isaiah before him, Peter says, depart from me.

Leave. Get away from me, for I am a sinful man.

Have you encountered the Holy God?

Have you encountered this holy God? Have you seen God rightly and in doing so see yourself rightly? One of my fears in the American church and is one of its pastors is that so many people sitting in the pews and preaching from the pulpits have never experienced God as holy, holy, holy.

We might have all the right answers as to who God is, but our hearts have not been undone by his holiness. But when we behold God in all his holiness, we begin to believe deep down in our hearts, our deepest place that God is holy.

Holy, and this, changes everything. Which leads to our third point, our application this morning. Become. Look with me at verse six. Become.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that 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 is atoned for. The burning coal is a sign that sinners like Isaiah.

like you, like I cannot survive the holiness of God unless God himself provides atonement. The altar points to sacrifice, the cleansing points to forgiveness, and then this whole scene, is merely a shadow pointing us to the fulfillment that we have in Jesus.

who as the holy, holy, holy Son of God becomes a man, takes on flesh, and by his sinless life and sacrificial death on the cross brings atonement once and for all. Atonement at one.

with God, in other words, making sinful people like you and I stand in the presence of Almighty God.

you

And as we behold God in His holiness and then we believe that God is holy, we become. By faith and faith alone, we become God's holy people.

Be holy as I am holy. That's what Peter says.

Yet that is our application. But the problem, I think, is people see a text like this, pull up their bootstraps, and in their own strength try really, really hard to be holy. And praise God for striving after holiness. The author of Hebrews says, without it, no one will see the Lord.

But we must realize because of the gospel friends, we are already God's holy people. Peter says, you are a holy nation. Paul calls Christians saints, holy ones because of the gospel. have been sanctified. We have been set apart. We are holy.

And yes, we're called to more holiness. We're called to continue to be sanctified. God wants to see radical transformation in all of our lives. By the grace of God, we'll look more like Jesus tomorrow than we did today. But all of this is possible because you are already set apart. You are holy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we are spirit-filled saints. Would you look at yourself in the mirror and see? Saint. The call now is to be who we already are in Christ.

Imagine if we lived out our calling as God's holy nation, a church who didn't just know the right things about God, but believed in our hearts that God is holy.

Because of that, he can be taken at his word. He can be trusted. A holy people who rightly fear their holy God. The people who, like the author of Hebrews says, are grateful because we've received a kingdom that cannot be shaken. And thus, a people who offered to this holy God.

acceptable worship with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire. Let's behold, believe, and become. Amen. Amen. Let me pray.