More Holy Than the Holiest Holiness

Introduction:

Hold Up The Bible

This Book is badly worn…the binding is broken…it is literally falling apart.

It is so full of notes in some places that I can barely read the words that are typed on the pages.

This book is by far my most cherished possession.

This Book and I have been through a lot together.

I have preached hundreds of messages with the help of this Book

I have officiated weddings with the help of this Book.

I have officiated funerals with the help of this Book.

I have officiated baptisms with the help of this Book.

I have shown many people the way to salvation in Jesus Christ with the help of this Book.

I have counseled the hurting with the help of this Book.

I have ministered to hospital patients with the help of this Book.

God used this Book to help me walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

God used this Book to help me as I have mourned the loss of loved ones.

God showed me the depth of my sin through this Book.

God showed me the way to be saved from sin through this Book

God continues to show me the Awesomeness of who He is with the help of this Book.

I love this Book

Show the spine of the Bible

What does this say?

Holy Bible

Why Is The Bible Called Holy?

Because it is sacred

Because it is God’s Truth

Because in it are the Words that lead sinful man to salvation

Because it helps us to see the Holiness of the God who gave it to us.

Many have tried to destroy God’s Word to us, but they cannot succeed.

What is the Standard for Holiness?

How could this precious gift that God gave us be anything but Holy?

God is totally set apart from His creation, He is perpetually perfect, He is marvelously merciful, He is generously gracious, He is amazingly almighty, and He is lavishingly loving.

He is more Holy than the Holiest Holiness.

In today’s message, we are going to focus on the Holiness of God.

Pray:

Text (Stand and Read):

Isaiah 6:1-7 (NASB)

1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.

2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3 And one called out to another and said,“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts,The whole earth is full of His glory.”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.

5 Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.

7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

Message:

Holy Presence

The Lord

In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord.

Probably in the area of 750 B.C.

Uzziah was 16 when he became king and he reigned for 52 years.

He was one of the few Kings of Judah that the Bible tells us did right in the sight of God

He was very successful, however, and unfortunately his success led to arrogance.

He thought he did not have to follow God’s ordinances regarding the burning of incense in the temple and God inflicted leprosy upon him.

The leprosy caused Uzziah to be cut off from the people and his son Jotham ruled in his place.

Jotham became the official king of Judah after Uzziah’s death, and he also is said to have done right in God’s sight.

In the year Uzziah died, Isaiah had the vision that we are studying this morning.

Isaiah says that he saw the Lord.

He saw God, let that sink into your minds for a moment before we move on.

He saw the Lord!!!

He saw the Creator of all things.

He saw the infinite, all-knowing, all-present, and all-powerful God.

He saw the Great I Am.

The Throne

The Lord was sitting upon a lofty and exalted throne.

It was a majestic vision to say the least.

We know that no one can see God’s fullness and live.

Exodus 33:20 (NASB95)

But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”

This is therefore a limited vision of God, but absolutely magnificent none the less.

The Temple

The vision was in God’s temple.

Normally God’s presence in the temple was found in the place called the “Holy of Holies”

The Ark of the Covenant was located in the Holy of Holies, on top of the ark, was the Mercy Seat, and on that seat was the place where God normally manifested His presence while in the temple.

In this case, however, the manifestation of God’s presence could not be contained in the Holy of Holies, and the train of His robe filled the entire temple.

Have you ever seen a bride’s gown with a monstrously big train?

She is standing at the altar and her train extends half way back to the church exit.

What a beautiful picture this becomes when we watch a bride adorned in a beautiful gown.

We are often taken aback at the beauty of such a moment.

God’s train did not only go half way back to the exit, it filled the entire temple.

Let’s close our eyes for a moment and try to picture this magnificent vision that Isaiah is having.

We have the One True God, exalted on His throne, and the train of His robe is enormous…its train filled the temple.

Holy Worship

Seraphim

Seraphim are literally “fiery ones.”

They are heavenly beings with a fiery appearance.

Appearance

6 wings

2 cover the face

2 cover the feet

2 are used to fly

By covering themselves with four of their wings, we have a picture of humility before God.

The focus was not them, but the Holy One.

When truly standing in the presence of God, ones posture becomes humility.

Their Voice

The voice of these creatures is so powerful, that is shakes the doorposts, or the thresholds of the temple.

Their Declaration

And what was being said?

God was worshipped.

Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is filled with His glory.

Holy, Holy Holy

“More holy than the holiest holiness.”

Perfectly holy

What is holiness?

When speaking of God’s Holiness, we are referring to His perfect purity.

God is perfectly pure.

We are shown this kind of reverent worship of God in Revelation 4 as well.

The four living creatures worship God night and day.

What do they say?

Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God, The Almighty, Who was and Who is and Who is to come.

One may read this and say, “That sounds really boring, they just stand before God and continually worship Him?”

That’s really what heaven is like?

On the contrary.

Have you ever been caught up in a moment of worship?

It is an amazing feeling, and you cannot get enough.

On one hand, you are thinking about the awesomeness of what is happening, it cannot be explained, and it cannot be reproduced. It is beyond human understanding.

On the other hand, you are thinking that you don’t ever want to stop.

Here on this earth, we are always interrupted, and we are forced to stop.

We live in a world of distractions, and our enemy loves to use distractions to interrupt our worship of God.

However, in heaven, we will not have that problem. We will be in God’s Holy Presence for all of eternity, and our worship of Him will never be interrupted.

Holy, Holy, Holy...

Is the Lord of Hosts (Yahweh-Sabaoth)

He is the Lord of all armies. He is ruler over all powers.

This is just one of the many names we find in the Bible that describe the God we serve.

Do You Ever Think About the Many Names of God?

Almighty; Almighty God; Almighty Lord

Blessed

Deity

Everlasting God

God Almighty; God Most High; the God of Abraham; God of heaven; God of hosts; the God of Isaac; God of Israel; God of Jacob; God of our fathers; God of peace; God of Seeing; The God of the living; the God of truth; God of vengeance

Holy; Holy One; Holy One of Israel; Holy One of Jacob; Holy place

I Am; I Will Be

King of glory

Living God; Lord Almighty; Lord God; Lord God of hosts; Lord of Hosts

Majesty; Master; Mighty God; the Mighty One of Jacob; Most High; Most High God

Rock

Sovereign God; Sovereign Lord; Spirit of God; Spirit of the Lord

Yahweh

God is so vast, so big, so complex, so amazing, so awesome.

There are not enough names to describe God.

Think about all of these names…they are all True of God.

He is, “More holy than the holiest holiness.”

Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts...

The Whole Earth is Full of His Glory

The long train of His robe filled the temple, but in reality, His glory fills the entire earth.

He is everywhere.

Two truths at the same time.

1. God is everywhere, all the time.

Psalm 139:7–10 (NASB95)

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.

If I take the wings of the dawn,

If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

Even there Your hand will lead me,

And Your right hand will lay hold of me.

One of the things that I did not share about my testimony is something that happened to me at a kitchen table.

Shortly after I got to the Philippines, I was sitting by myself at our table. In this moment I had this distinct feeling that God was asking me a question.

I heard the words, “where are you going to run to next?”

I ran from God to from Texas to Minnesota, and from Minnesota to the Philippines.

In both instances, He was there.

By His grace, I am not running from Him anymore. He is showing me how to run to Him.

There is no where that we can go that is away from God’s presence.

He is all-present.

He is here in our midst right now, and He is also in the midst of every other church that is worshipping Him, right now.

Whatever we endure, whenever we endure it, and where ever we endure it, He is always in the midst of it…ALWAYS!!!

2. He sometimes appears in a local place. In these instances, He is not limiting His all-present attribute.

He is merely showing mankind a small glimpse of His presence among them.

We call these times “the appearance of His Shekinah Glory.

Shekinah Glory

The Tabernacle Completed

Exodus 40:34–35 (NASB95)

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

The Temple Completed

1 Kings 8:10–11 (NASB95)

It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord,

so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

Isaiah (today’s text)

Isaiah 6:4 the temple was filling with smoke.

Isaiah saw God sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted.

The train of God’s robe filled the temple.

The worship of God thundered throughout the temple and the door posts were shaking.

The temple was filling with smoke, it was the Shekinah Glory of God

It was all too much to bear for Isaiah.

What was his response?

“Woe is me, for I am ruined!”

Holy Unworthiness

Sinful Men Before Holy God

Isaiah Declares:

“Woe is me, I am ruined.”

Listen to the way that the Good News Translation states this verse.

Isaiah 6:5 (GNB)

I said, “There is no hope for me! I am doomed because every word that passes my lips is sinful, and I live among a people whose every word is sinful. And yet, with my own eyes, I have seen the King, the LORD Almighty!”

There is no hope.

I am doomed.

I am rotten to the core.

My life is surrounded by others who are also rotten to the core.

I have seen the King, the LORD Almighty, and now I realize what a no good sinner I am.

Eyes Saw / Heart Understood

Isaiah’s eyes saw, and then his heart understood.

When we are before the King, the LORD Almighty, we must all proclaim as Isaiah did.

We have not hope.

We are doomed.

We are rotten to the core.

We are surrounded by rottenness.

There is nothing good about me.

But God...

Romans 5:8 (NASB95)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Your sins are forgiven.

Holy Pardoned

Your Iniquity Is Taken Away

One of the Seraphim flew to Isaiah.

He touched Isaiah with a burning coal.

He declared that Isaiah’s sins were forgiven.

Have your sins been forgiven?

Just as Isaiah’s sins were forgiven him, ours can be as well.

There is a Savior…His name is Jesus.

Isaiah also writes about Him.

Remember, this vision was seen approximately 750 years before Jesus was born.

Isaiah was given prophecies specifically about Jesus Christ’s life.

They are all fulfilled just Isaiah recorded them.

Listen to the words that this prophet wrote about Jesus.

Do they sound familiar.

Messianic Prophecy

Isaiah 53:5–6 (NASB95)

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has strayed from God, we have all chosen to live according to our desires rather than His.

But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

Did these things happen?

Yes they did.

Jesus was pierced for our sins.

He was crushed for our sins.

He was severely beaten for our sins.

We are all dirty rotten sinners in need of a Savior.

We have a Savior.

He took the weight of every sin.

He paid the penalty for every sin.

He offers every person forgiveness for their sins.

But God

Ephesians 3:1, 4-5

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).

Verse 1

Just like Isaiah, and every other person that has ever lived, we stand completely destroyed before the Holy God.

We were dead in our trespasses

We stood condemned, and we destined for eternal punishment in Hell.

Verses 4 and 5

But God...

But God, who rich in mercy and great in love made us alive together with Jesus Christ

By his grace we are saved from what we deserve.

We are saved from eternal punishment and given eternal life

Imagine

Our sin ruined us.

How could we ever stand before the Holy God in that condition?

We could not

But God made a way, and it is the only way.

Have you chosen to follow God’s way, or are you still without hope, are you still doomed?

Choose hope and be forgiven.

Application

In closing, let’s stand together and sing a song that I hope you all know.

If you know it, please join me, if not, listen and think about the words and worship Him.

He is more Holy than the Holiest Holiness.

I Exalt Thee

For Thou, o Lord, art high above all the earth Thou art exalted far above all gods For Thou, o Lord, art high above all the earth Thou art exalted far above all gods

I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee I exalt Thee, o Lord I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee I exalt Thee, o Lord

For Thou, o Lord, art high above all the earth Thou art exalted far above all gods For Thou, o Lord, art high above all the earth Thou art exalted far above all gods

I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee I exalt Thee, o Lord I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee I exalt Thee, o Lord

We exalt Thee, we exalt Thee We exalt Thee, o Lord We exalt Thee, we exalt Thee We exalt Thee, o Lord

He is still on his lofty and exalted throne.

We are invited to go before His throne.

Let us draw near with confidence before the throne of grace, so that we may find mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Are you still without hope, are you doomed?

Go before God’s throne of grace, ask Him to forgive you, and receive His hope.

Are you filled with hope and forgiven?

Go before His throne of grace and thank Him for the hope you have been given.

Either way, I invite you to join me there, at His throne, in prayer.

Pray