The One True God (Kenya 6 - 2023)

What do you think of God?

Is he your friend? Your father? Your provider?

What you and I think of God is really irrelevant and unimportant. What God thinks of Himself is what matters.

The most important thing in life is to have a real relationship with the real God.

We are going to find out in an incident that took place, in the life of a man named Isaiah, over 2500 years ago with our real God.

Isaiah spoke for the Lord to the people of Judah during the reigns of four kings of Judah. Over this period of about forty years, the Assyrian empire was expanding. Nations joined together to fight Assyria, but Assyria finally conquered Israel and most other nearby countries. Thousands of people were led away as prisoners. And although the kingdom of Judah wasn’t completely conquered, it had to pay heavy taxes.

The book of Isaiah can be divided into three parts.

1-39 tells us about WHO God is - it helps us gain perspective.

40-55 tells us about how God treats His people. In Chapter 53 he prophecies about Jesus. It’s a glimpse of God’s plan for restoration.

56-66 tells us about God’s faithfulness, not only to Judah, but to ALL People.

To me, the entire book is a great way for us to get a perspective of God!

I want to focus on the first 11 verses of chapter 6:

Isaiah 6:1–11 CEV

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I had a vision of the Lord. He was on his throne high above, and his robe filled the temple. 2 Flaming creatures with six wings each were flying over him. They covered their faces with two of their wings and their bodies with two more. They used the other two wings for flying, 3 as they shouted, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord All-Powerful! The earth is filled with your glory.” 4 As they shouted, the doorposts of the temple shook, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 Then I cried out, “I’m doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.” 6 One of the flaming creatures flew over to me with a burning coal that it had taken from the altar with a pair of metal tongs. 7 It touched my lips with the hot coal and said, “This has touched your lips. Your sins are forgiven, and you are no longer guilty.” 8 After this, I heard the Lord ask, “Is there anyone I can send? Will someone go for us?” “I’ll go,” I answered. “Send me!” 9 Then the Lord told me to go and speak this message to the people: “You will listen and listen, but never understand. You will look and look, but never see.” The Lord also said, 10 “Make these people stubborn! Make them stop up their ears, cover their eyes, and fail to understand. Don’t let them turn to me and be healed.” 11 Then I asked the Lord, “How long will this last?” The Lord answered: Until their towns are destroyed and their houses are deserted, until their fields are empty,

There are a few things I want to pull out of this scripture for your consideration.

God is Holy

Isaiah begins by telling us the exact year that this incident took place in his life.

Isaiah 6:1 CEV

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I had a vision of the Lord. He was on his throne high above, and his robe filled the temple.

Was that an important year? It was if you were King Uzziah!

It was important to Isaiah, because something happened that changed Isaiah’s life that he could point to the exact date, the exact hour, and the exact minute to when it happened and what had happened.

You have to understand the background of the story to see why it was such a big deal.

So what’s the big deal with Uzziah? Who was he?

- He was one of the more successful kings of Judah.

- He had strengthened the defense of Jerusalem, turning it into a fortified city that was able to fight off her enemies.

- He had led the nation to economic prosperity.

God had favored the land with peace, prosperity, and security, but then Uzziah died.

In this culture when the king died your country was at its most vulnerable. This is when enemies would attack.

Well, Judah had an enemy at their doorstep named Assyria who had plans to conquer Judah and take the people into captivity.

A giant cloud of fear had blocked out the sunshine of joy and the people didn’t know where to turn or who to turn to and that is when this happened.

Isaiah 6:1 (NLT)

1 It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne...

Isaiah saw something for the first time that no one else in history had ever seen. He saw the creator God of the universe, the King of all Kings, and the Lord of all Lords sitting, not on an earthly throne, but on an eternal throne. This is the King that he saw.

There are two kings in verse 1.

A king who has died and a King who lives,

a human king and a divine King,

a mortal king and an immortal King.

What God is reminding Isaiah of is this –

The most important king in Isaiah’s life was not the one who was being buried, but the One who can never be buried.

What Isaiah saw then is what God wants us to see now.

These were troubled days for Isaiah and the nation of Judah. A good king died and Judah is facing invasion from an Assyrian army that is far more powerful than they are.

When things are looking down that is when we need to look up.

When Isaiah saw God in His Glory, he saw clearly what we need to see today and that is God is on the throne.

He is in complete control.

We may face terrorist attacks, dismantling of our faith filled culture, a sinking economy, a mountain of debt, increasing persecution, spiritual hostility, and in short, trials, troubles, and tribulations, but in the midst of it all there is a sovereign God on the throne.

When terrorists say they hate us, when doctors say, “You have cancer”, when the boss says, “You’re fired”, there is a God who is high and lifted up who is in complete control and knows exactly what He is doing.

Isaiah 6:2–3 CEV

2 Flaming creatures with six wings each were flying over him. They covered their faces with two of their wings and their bodies with two more. They used the other two wings for flying, 3 as they shouted, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord All-Powerful! The earth is filled with your glory.”

I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this is the single most important picture of God you will find in all of the Old Testament, because now we learn what it is that really makes God – God. These angelic creatures called “seraphim” cry out continuously,

Isaiah 6:3 (NLT)

3 ... “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!

No man upstairs here. No good ‘ole boy god here. No god is my homeboy here. This is a God who is Holy.

Seven out of every twelve references to the name of God in the Old Testament refers to God as “Holy.”

That adjective is used for God more often than all of the other adjectives in the Old Testament put together.

The chief attribute of God is not mercy, grace, love, compassion, power or knowledge.

The chief attribute of God is holiness.

The central meaning of the Hebrew word for “holiness” is “separate” or “separateness.”

It comes from a Semitic root that means “to cut” like cutting an object in half so you can separate the two pieces. It refers to something that is completely and totally separate from everything else and everyone else.

He is a God that is so far different and so far distinct from every creature that the only way He can be described is “holy.” He is one of a kind. He cannot be compared with anyone else or anything else, because there is no one and nothing else like Him.

There is no one like God. He alone is holy. He is to be seen differently, related to differently and treated differently than anyone else and anything else.

Do you know why the word “holy” is repeated three times? It is not because God is deaf.

In Hebrew poetry, repetition is the method you use to emphasize something. When we want to emphasize something we underline it, italicize it, put it in bold print or put an exclamation point after it.

The Jewish people in order to emphasize something used the method of repetition. When something was mentioned three times it was to elevate it to the greatest degree and give it the greatest importance.

Only once in the entire Bible is any characteristic of God elevated to the third degree.

Only once is a character trait of God mentioned three times in succession and that trait is not love, mercy, grace, or justice; it is holiness.

If you do not see God primarily as a God who is holy then you have the wrong view of God.

That is why we are told in this verse:

Isaiah 6:3 (NLT)

3 ...The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

Think about that. His glory doesn’t just fill the temple. It fills the entire earth!

There is nothing more dishonoring to God than trying to put Him into your little box or my little box.

When it comes to God not only do you have to think outside the box, but you can’t even have a box!

To get up close and personal we need to see God the way He really is - God is Holy!

What else can we learn from this scripture? God is Holy and...

We Are NOT Holy

As soon as Isaiah sees the real God notice his reaction.

Isaiah 6:4–5 CEV

4 As they shouted, the doorposts of the temple shook, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 Then I cried out, “I’m doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.”

When Isaiah looked through the window and saw a God on His throne in all of His holiness that window became a mirror that showed a man and all of his sinfulness.

That is what happens when we see the real God. We see the real us. We will never see ourselves for what we really are until we see God for who He really is.

A pastor was having a conversation with a man who was 83 years old. His name was John. Someone in this pastor’s church asked the pastor to go talk to John about God.

John lived alone and minded his own business, was a decent man, a good neighbor and had never even gotten a traffic ticket. He didn’t bother anybody.

When the pastor tried to talk to him about his need for Jesus Christ, for a solid hour, this man adamantly told the pastor how good he was, how decent he was, how righteous he was and finally in indignation pounded his fist on his knee and said, “If my righteousness is not good enough for God then He will just have to send me to hell.”

That pastor could not help but look at him and say with a broken heart, “You’re righteousness is not good enough for God.”

Can I tell you what I have discovered in my own spiritual walk?

The more I know of God the less I think of me.

Most of us live in two extremes. We are either full of God and empty of ourselves or we are full of ourselves and empty of God. When Isaiah saw who he really was, he didn’t like the picture. He said,

“I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips.” (Isaiah 6:5, TNIV)

The word “ruined” means “to come unraveled.”

When Isaiah saw God for who He was and then saw himself for who he was he literally said, “I’m coming apart. All of my so-called goodness, integrity, and decency is nothing compared to God’s holiness. When God is high and lifted up we will be low and taken down.

Notice what happens next. When we get honest in our relationship to God...he gets merciful in His relationship to us.

Isaiah 6:6–7 CEV

6 One of the flaming creatures flew over to me with a burning coal that it had taken from the altar with a pair of metal tongs. 7 It touched my lips with the hot coal and said, “This has touched your lips. Your sins are forgiven, and you are no longer guilty.”

What you see here is a perfect illustration of the truth, “God loves the sinner, but hates the sin.” What Isaiah hates in himself God hates even more, but God’s love for the sinner is greater than His hatred for the sin. Isaiah is cleansed and Isaiah is forgiven.

The one thing that has to happen for you and me to have a relationship with this God is we have to get real. We have to see Him for who He really is and we have to see us for who we really are.

God is Holy and we are not. We need a touch from Him to even stand in His presence. This touch only comes because of Grace.

If God is gracious even in His Holiness. How should we be in our unholiness.

The scripture also teaches us that we should see that...

Grace Motivates God and His People

Notice what happens in verse 8.

Isaiah 6:8 CEV

8 After this, I heard the Lord ask, “Is there anyone I can send? Will someone go for us?” “I’ll go,” I answered. “Send me!”

Once you see God for who He really is you will want to surrender everything you are to everything He is because you understand GRACE!

I love this part because my heart has cried out to God for the same thing!

Isaiah responds the way we all should,

“Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8, ESV)

Most people when God says, “Whom should I send? Who will go for Us?” They don’t say, “Here am I. Send me.” They say, “There he is. Send him.”

I can remember a missionary on furlough coming to visit The Metropolitan Church of the Nazarene in the Turner area of KCK. They told stories about lost people in parts of the world we’d never heard of before. I remember my heart broke as they showed us pictures of how poor they were and the relief the missionaries were bringing not only physically, but spiritually.

My sister was especially touched to the point that she wanted to become a missionary. Her heart was so burdened that as a child she was willing to say, Here I am, send me.

As kids we understood what is was like to hear the voice of God and be willing to answer.

It seems to me that as we all get a bit older it's all too easy to look to someone else to answer the call of a Holy God.

The truth of the matter is that the measure of the depth you have in your relationship to God is how surrendered you are to Him, because the deeper your relationship the greater your surrender.

Here is how you will know that you are hitting on all 8 cylinders in your relationship with God. It doesn’t matter what God asks you to do you will do it even if it means failure or death.

When you see God the way He really is and the way you really are you will see others the way they really are!

People are in need of the same relationship with God that you now have.

You say you want them to have a relationship with God that you have?

Then you will do everything in your power to make it happen even when you know that for most people it won’t, because notice what else He says to Isaiah.

Isaiah 6:9–11 CEV

9 Then the Lord told me to go and speak this message to the people: “You will listen and listen, but never understand. You will look and look, but never see.” The Lord also said, 10 “Make these people stubborn! Make them stop up their ears, cover their eyes, and fail to understand. Don’t let them turn to me and be healed.” 11 Then I asked the Lord, “How long will this last?” The Lord answered: Until their towns are destroyed and their houses are deserted, until their fields are empty,

What God is telling Isaiah to do?

He is telling Him to:

Go talk to people when they won’t listen.

Go preach when they won’t respond.

Go knock on doors even when they will be slammed in your face.

Why would Isaiah agree to take the job?

Why would Isaiah agree to do what God told him to do even though he knew the message would fall on deaf ears and his ministry, at least from a human viewpoint would be a failure?

Because Isaiah finally understands that in our relationship with God we are not called just to be fruitful. We are called to be faithful.

Faithfulness is our business. Fruitfulness is God’s business.

What matters in the end for every one of us is that we have a real relationship with a real God and we were faithful in that relationship to do whatever it was that God asked us to do.

If the real me is to be rightly related to the real God then because God is holy I must be holy too, which is exactly what one of the twelve disciples wrote 800 years after Isaiah had this experience with God.

1 Peter 1:15–16 CEV

15 Always live as God’s holy people should, because God is the one who chose you, and he is holy. 16 That’s why the Scriptures say, “I am the holy God, and you must be holy too.”

Do you know what that means?

WE are supposed to live surrendered to Christ. That’s our only hope of Holiness. The blood shed by Christ is the only way for us to be made Holy.

This is why a Holy God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die for the one thing that keeps us from being holy and being rightly related to the One who is holy and that is sin.

He raised Jesus from the dead to prove that through Him we can have a real relationship with the real God that will last for all eternity.

God is Holy.

We are not.

Grace is what makes us Holy. Not our own works.