The Holiness of God

Good morning!

Isaiah 6:1-3

Prayer (3:16 on 3/16)

I woke up yesterday with a nasty crick in my neck

Heard geese, looked up (pain)

Know what I was reminded of? Whole earth full of his glory

One of the ways God chooses to reveal himself to us is through his creation

Psalm 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Romans 1:20 – For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Just think about everything that had to take place when I saw those geese

Muscles: so much tissue working in unison

Nerves: even the pain, how the nervous system is put together (touch, love)

Eyes: sight

I can see the birds through an invisible gas, 

contains just the right amount of oxygen 

(enough that we can breathe but not so much that one spark causes the atmosphere to explode in a fireball, 

This shield around our planet that protects us from the rays of the sun, the ball of gas located just the right distance away that heats our planet without cooking it

Im looking through the air to the geese, flying in a V

To my knowledge how they do this is still unknown to science, man can’t figure it out but funny enough the birds didn’t have to ask us how to do what they do, they just do it

Why? B/c their Creator made them that way. The whole earth is full of his glory 

(there’s nowhere you can turn to escape what God has done for you)

C. We began a journey together at the beginning of this year to seek and better understand the nature of God

Who he is, why he does what he does, and why he’s worthy of our worship

This has been a series for us (deliberate) but can I tell you a secret: it’s never going to stop

The slide on the screen will change next week but our goals will not change

We pray to God that he would continue to teach us more and more about himself

That we would continue to take steps of obedience to be more like him each and every day, that he, by the work of the holy spirit, would conform us to the image of his son each and every day

We pray that we never forget who it is that’s doing the work

What’s going to happen to us if we ever begin to think that it’s our own doing that these good things happen to us?

v.1

Actual history

Its important that we trace Isaiah’s vision to a specific time in history

Uzziah reigned over Judah, the southern kingdom for 52 years

Long era of national prosperity

2 Chr. 26:5 – He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper. 

Uzziah followed what the Lord would have him to do and achieved military victories and personal fame

But prosperity does not mean you’ve been living right

Uzziah has a sickness that has grown inside of him

2 Chr. 26:16 – But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense

Uzziah believes that b/c of what he has done and is doing he is bringing merit to the situation

He has become infected with pride, the original sin

The very sin that got the devil thrown out of heaven B/c he wanted to sit on the throne of God

Uzziah is now committing by believing that the role God has given him is not enough

He thinks he knows better than God

Prov. 16:18 – Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall

Uzziah is stricken with leprosy, removed from his throne, buried in a field instead of in the royal tombs of Jerusalem

<get personal: PRIDE is going to be the death of you>

VI. This is the time when Isaiah is called by God to be a prophet

v.1

The Lord is sitting in the exact place a king belongs, but this is not an ordinary throne

Holy of holies, cube-shaped room within the temple

Ark of the covenant, once a year on the day of atonement the high priest would enter, burn incense, and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial animal on the mercy seat of God

Separated from the rest of the temple by a veil, why?

Where heaven and earth meet

Isaiah is given this vision he sees the temple but he sees what’s beyond the temple as well

Gets a glimpse of the presence of God in a supernatural way, sees what is taking place beyond what his eyes can see

God is in the temple and beyond, he is seated on a throne high and lifted up and his royalty greater than all the kings of the earth

Even train of his robe fills the temple, 

v.2

Seraphim, fiery angels, cover their face and feet b/c of the glory of God; even they (eternal) cannot be in his presence without humbling themselves

V.3

What is holiness?

It’s important we know this because if you google “holy” you’re going to get an incomplete definition

“Sacred” or “set apart for God” which is correct when you’re talking about how we are to act

But if you are describing God as holy then saying God is set apart for God that doesn’t make any sense; gotta go deeper than the front page of google

God is holy (that’s our word) - root word is “well” or “whole” (motion circle)

The holiness of God is his utter perfection, his wholeness, and his complete transcendence over his creation

God is holy (once? No – holy, holy, holy – 3x) his holiness is complete, perfect, it permeates all things

Is it any coincidence that a triune God (Father, Spirit, Son) would use the number 3 for emphasis? I don’t think so

We are one in one, God is 3 in one, he is holy, holy, holy

His holiness is so far and above anything that we can achieve ourselves

Tozer: “God has made holiness the moral condition necessary to the health of his universe.  Whatever is holy is healthy; evil is a moral sickness that must end ultimately in death.”

God is holy, in him is life –––– sin is unholy, and the wages of sin is death

Death destroys God’s creation and so God, being holy, and just, will destroy death

If God were to allow evil, the cause of death, to go unpunished then he would not be just; death is antithetical to who God is

So when we (sinful nature) see God’s wrath poured out against unrighteousness it looks bad to our corrupted selves but in truth it is a holy act of preservation

B/c God is holy – and his holiness, his wrath, and the health of his universe are inseparable

God’s wrath is his utter intolerance of whatever degrades & destroys, he hates sin so much b/c it pulls his image bearers (you, me, and them) away from him and there’s no life apart from him 

(Sin is a sickness that is killing his kids and no good father can stand to see his kids hurting)

A holy God hates sin, or else he would not be holy

A just God requires that the penalty for sin be paid, or else he would not be just

But a merciful God delayed the payment

And a gracious God clothed himself in humanity and bore the penalty for our sins on the cross

He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God

The whole earth reveals the glory of the lord of hosts, the God who does battle against iniquity b/c iniquity is an affront to his character

Holy, holy, holy……v.4

What will you do when the foundations of your world begin to shake?

When the house you have built begins to crumble and your sins are laid bare before the presence of God?Isaiah, a man who has grown up in a prosperous time (probably a good kid & an A student), sees the holiness of God and suddenly realizes that he is woefully inadequate to stand in his presence

v.5

This is what happens to each of us when we encounter God

Even if we grew up in church, went to vacation bible school, sang all the songs and watched all the veggie tales 

The holiness of God is shocking to us because we are not all that

If you’ve ever heard someone say “even if God is real when I meet him I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”

I have bad news friend (it’s not gonna work out for you)

What will you do when your sins are laid bare before the throne of God?

Big or small, even the ones you think nobody knows about or aren’t that big of a deal (there are no Junior Varsity sins against a perfect, holy God)

Drugs, pornography, pride, gossip – anything that is unholy

Some of us (yes, us) began by thinking this pet sin is a cat: it’s ours, we could manage it, we could tame it

but it turns out that this cat is a lion and we’re not playing with it, it’s playing with us

Isaiah is undone, what will he do about it?

VIII.V.6-7

Our sin requires atonement

It is unholy, and it separates us from God; we have incurred a debt that we cannot pay and trespasses against a perfect God require payment, he won’t excuse them

How do imperfect people atone for their sins?

Can we keep the law? No

Can you do enough good deeds? You can do a lot, but how do you know you’ve done enough

Jesus Christ is the only propitiation for that sin debt

Big bible word: payment that satisfies

It’s a common lie, been told countless times over the centuries, that Jesus was a great moral example and that alone is the key

Just be a good enough person, do your best to do what Jesus says

If the only good thing you can name about Jesus was that he was a moral exemplar for humanity then you’re still dead in your sins

Church people, don’t miss this:

Just b/c you’re here if you don’t know Jesus your position in this building doesn’t mean anything

But your sin has been atoned for

Isaiah’s vision was a coal touching his lips

But for you and me the atonement came as the man Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God <gospel>V.8

Isaiah was so shocked at the holiness of God and the weakness of his own flesh that he could do nothing but lament

But when his sins are atoned for, this is his response (eager)

Eager to go forth and do what the lord has asked of us

The atonement, Jesus Christ bearing the penalty of our sins, has given us freedom

Freedom from the wage of sin (death) and freedom to an abundant life

The abundant life does not begin when we die, it begins when you surrender your this life to Jesus

That’s why Jesus says to be born again, it’s not a metaphor, you are not who you used to be and you don’t have to act like it

Set free from the death that separates you from God

Free from the shame that holds you back

Free from the paralyzing fear that prevents you from enjoying the presence of our heavenly father

Free to worship him in his presence

Free to come to him with your needs b/c he knows them, he knows that you’re sick, you’re tired, you’re anxious, overwhelmed, these things don’t surprise him

They grieve him, and he wants you to give these to him b/c he gave himself for us

Not that you would have to earn your way into his presence but so that you can be holy through him

This is my last question to you this morning: 

What is it that you’re holding back from God?

What is it that your pride has you fighting? B/c if you were honest you’d acknowledge that it’s a losing battle

It’s a battle that you’re not going to win and you’re fighting it tooth and nail anyway but unfortunately it’s not even something you have to fight in the first place

It’s already been won

Because when Jesus on the cross pulled up on his hands and pushed up on his nail-pierced feet and cried out IT IS FINISHED, he meant that sin would have no power and death would have no claim over those who would put their lives in his hands

B/c the cross counted for you, and if you would just believe that then you would be free

That day the sky was darkened and the earth quaked at the wrath of God being poured out on sins

The veil separating us from the presence of God was ripped from top to bottom (not bottom to top)

And we no longer have to go to the temple to meet God b/c his holy spirit lives inside those who call on the name of Jesus

Bring that thing, whatever it is that you’re fighting, to the foot of the cross and leave it there

When you come to the altar don’t take that thing with you b/c I promise that Jesus knows what to do with it better than you do

Let me invite you to come and behold a holy God, to come to him freely not as a slave out of duty but as a child out of love

Let me invite you to raise your voice in praise and worship to God the creator of heaven and earth, the God who loved you to pull you out of your sin and shame and bring you into his presence

Let me invite you, if you never have before, to give your life to Jesus

Let today be the day

Prayer (ABC)

Invitation