I Saw the Lord

Text

Isaiah 6:1–7 ESV

1 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. 2 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. 3 And one called 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 shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am 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!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

I want to take the words from verse one and use them for the title of this message.

I SAW THE LORD

Oh, what a sight that must have been.

Can you imagine with me for just a moment at how glorious that would have been?

He was High and Lifted up.

The train of His robe filled the Temple.

The Temple shook at the sound of His Thunderous Voice.

What a vision.

What a vision about would be.

I can Only Imagine

Mercy Me is a Christian music group that wrote a song that made them famous called “I can only imagine”.

Here are the lyrics for the first verse and the Chorus:

I can only imagine What it will be like When I walk by Your side I can only imagine What my eyes would see When Your face is before me I can only imagine Yeah

Surrounded by Your glory What will my heart feel? Will I dance for You Jesus Or in awe of You be still? Will I stand in Your presence Or to my knees, will I fall? Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine I can only imagine

The songwriter was trying to imagine what it would be like to see the face of the Lord.

I can only imagine myself what it will be like since my sins have been washed away.

However, Isaiah tells us what it is like if you have not had your sins atoned for.

Isaiah testified and said. “I saw the Lord”.

His reaction was not to dance.

It wasn’t to sing.

It wasn’t to rejoice.

When Isaiah found himself in the presence of a Holy God.

His immediate response was to say, “Woe is me”.

WOE IS ME!

Why you ask?

Because he said, I have unclean lips,

and I’m surrounded by people that have unclean lips,

and I have seen the King.

In that moment, Isaiah thought, I will surely die.

I don’t deserve to see a holy God and live.

I’m not worthy.

I have unclean lips.

God did not kill Isaiah though.

Instead, he solved the problem.

One of the Angles took a hot coal from the altar

Then he touched the lips of Isaiah

Then he told him, your sins are taken away and atoned for.

After this atonment, Isaiah was able to use those previously unclean lips to be a mouthpiece for God Himself.

It was through those lips we got the words of God found in Isaiah 53 where God told us that it is by His stripes we will be healed.

This along with many other prophesies about Jesus.

I wonder what you would feel today if you saw the Lord?

Imagine for a second that Jesus descended upon this church tonight sitting upon His throne.

And the train of His robe filled this whole house.

And the church was filled with smoke,

And He spoke to us, and it shook the very foundations and walls of this place.

Would you dance?

Would you sing?

Or would cry out WOE IS ME?

for I AM LOST and UNDONE...

The difference in wearing the label of a Christian,

And living a life that is Christ-like.

The primary difference between one who is wearing the label, and one that is living the life is Lordship.

Who is the Lord?

If you are only following your will, and your ways, then you are the Lord.

If that is the case, then when you see the true Holy Lord of all on the throne,

And you see His robe fill the temple.

And His voice shakes the walls

And a cloud of smoke fills the room

You will find out real quick that you are not Lord at all.

You are lost. You are undone. You are unclean.

I am here tonight to ask you to take a self-test.

Put yourself in the shoes of Isaiah for a moment.

Imagine seeing His face.

The face of the one that created a trillion suns and a trillions of galaxies.

And imagine what you would do in His presence.

Would you dance?

Would you sing?

Would you Cry WOE IS ME?

Imagine if you SAW THE LORD.

Moses - And Joshua

When Moses first saw the Lord in a burning bush,

He took off his shoes because he knew the ground was holy

God began to speak to Moses face to face the Bible Says,

And yet, he was the meekest man that ever lived.

When Moses came off that mountain,

the glory of God caused his face to shine so bright that they had to put a veil on his face.

This didn’t come overnight.

This was a process that took many years of devotion to the presence of the Lord.

Moses originally tried to hide his face when he saw that burning bush,

But later, Moses asked God to show him His glory.

What took Moses from hiding to seeking?

I believe it was the Tabernacle of meeting.

Tabernacle of meeting

There was a tabernacle of meeting where the Bible says people could seek the Lord.

The Bible says that Moses went into that tent and spent time in the presence of the holy God.

I’m sure he did this often, if not daily

It says that every man waited at the door of their tent

and watched whenever Moses met with God in that tent.

When I try to imagine this scene,

I can see all the tents facing the center like God told them to do.

I can see bright red orange glow coming from inside that tent

where Moses met with God during the night.

I can see a silhouette of Moses lying prostrate on the ground before God’s presence.

I can see him staying there for hours and hours not wanting to leave

until God tells Him it is time to rest.

Joshua’s meeting

One day the Bible says that Joshua the son of Nun

went into that tabernacle of meeting with Moses.

I can imagine now seeing them both lying there on the floor

bowing before a Holy God.

Then the Bible says that Moses went back to his own tent,

but Joshua stayed there.

Exodus 33:11 ESV

11 Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

In was in that tent that Joshua SAW THE LORD.

It was there that Joshua had to bow down before the King of Kings

Could you confidently enter the Lord’s presence today?

Would you dance

Would you sing?

Or would you cry WOE is ME?

Maybe there are seasons where you felt like you could dance

Maybe there are seasons where you felt like you could sing

Seasons that you fan into the presence of the Lord

But maybe there are seasons where you find yourself avoid his presence

because you feel unclean

and undone.

That’s how Isaiah felt.

Isaiah 6:5 ESV

5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am 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!”

He saw the Lord, but he didn’t have time to clean himself up

He didn’t have time to fix all his faults and failures

He just had to cry out WOE is me.

Friend, let me remind you that God is longing for you to cry out “Woe is me” to him.

It is in your weakness, he can be strong.

He wants to be your Savior

He longs to be your helper and Redeemer

We resist his presence sometimes because we feel unclean

But let me just tell you there is no where else you can get cleaned up

If you want to be clean, you’ve got to get into the presence of Jesus.

Let’s look at a clear example of this in the New Testament:

Luke 5:12–14 ESV

12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

First of all, notice the condition of the leper.

Luke 5:12 ESV

12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”

He is full of leprosy, and he is unclean.

Now according to the Law in the OT, this man was supposed to be quarantined outside the city.

He was supposed to keep away from people

He was supposed to stay out of sight because he was dirty

He was diseased

and He was unwanted in society

But this man made up his mind

That if I’m going to change my circumstances

I need to get to the city while Jesus is there

I know I’m told by other people that I am not worthy to be there

I know I’m told my place is out on the edge of town

But Jesus is in the city

and I don’t want to miss my chance

There is nothing this man could have done to cure his leprosy outside the city

His situation was set in stone

He could do nothing to clean himself up

He could do nothing to cure his ailment

He was utterly hopeless and alone

If he wanted to change that

He had to go See the Lord

Come on, you know there is no one else that can help you overcome your trials

Your storms, your addiction, your depression, your disease, your anxiety, your fears, or your failurs.

You can try everything in this world, but nothing will satisfy you

You will still be alone and unclean

The Woman with the issue of blood tried everything under the son for 12 years

but just one touch of the hem of his robe

and she was made clean

Real change can only happen when you go See the LORD

That’s exactly why the devil tries to keep you alone and unclean

feeling ashamed and unworthy

He wants you to cry WOE is ME

That’s fine with the Devil

Just so long as you to cry that out in the presence of the Lord

Because When Jesus hears your cry

You better get ready

Because the dirt is come off

The shame is going to fade away

the situation is about to change

The second thing I want you to notice is his position.

he fell on his face.

Luke 5:12 ESV

12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”

You’ve got to lower yourself willingly.

Isaiah said that he saw the lord HIGH and lifted up.

You’ve got to Lift up the Lord

and Lower yourself.

Because at this point you know in your heart that you are nothing with Jesus.

It takes humbleness.

So, the leper fell on his face.

he got low.

Then he cried out his “Woe is me” statement.

Lord, if you willing, can you make me clean.

First, is asking if cleanliness is a matter of God’s will

And second he is asking if cleanliness is a matter of God’s ability

And the and clear and concise answer comes in verse 13…

Jesus says, I can, and I will.

Luke 5:13 ESV

13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.

Today, I want you to know that being clean is God’s will

He wants you to turn from sin

It doesn’t matter how many times you have seen the Lord

If you have never repented of your sins

or if you have repented 100,000 times for the same sin

Ask him again today..

Lord, if you are willing, can you make me clean.

As long as the question stays the same

The answer remains the same.

I can, and I will.

Does God’s ability to clean diminish over time?

Does his power to wash away sins ever get weaker?

Would he be God if he couldn’t do something?

What about his will?

Does he not have a soverign will?

Do we not pray for his will to be done, not ours?

Would God ever flip-flop between two positions, and waver like a politician?

If it is God’s will, it is God’s will

and His will is for you to be clean

And he has the power to do it, and always will.

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

he is FAITHFUL

That means he doesn’t ever say, well, not this time. I won’t do it.

No.. He is Faithful to forgive us our sins.

But we have to get into his presence

We have to go See the Lord.

Not the doctor, not the drug dealer, not the package store, or the theripist

If we want to be clean, we must go See the Lord!

When Jesus reached out an touched the leper, the Bible says he was immediately cleansed.

Luke 5:13 ESV

13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.

It didn’t take days, weeks, months or years.

It wasn’t a 12 step program

It wasn’t after 19 payments of 19.99

One TOUCH of the master’s hand is all it took!

Closing

The Spirit of the Lord is in this place just like it was in Temple with Isaiah, and in that tent with Joshua thousands of years ago.

Jesus is walking in this place, just like he was walking through that city where he met the leper 2000 years ago.

You don’t need to wait for another chance to meet him

He is here in this place.

His will hasn’t changed

He wants you to be clean

His power hasn’t weakened

He can make make you clean

There is no mess he can’t clean up.

Don’t wait until it is too late.

If you get to know Him here,

You won’t need to cry “WOE IS ME” when you see Him on Judgement day.

When He steps out on that cloud to call us home,

You ought to rejoice instead of mourn.

You ought to find hope in that, instead of fear.

Cry WOE is me today, or Cry Woe is me when Jesus returns.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather do it today

Have you seen the Lord?

When is the last time you got into His presence and didn’t want to leave?

When is the last time you didn’t care about tacos, and what’s on TV, but knew you just had to be in His presence?

Look at what the angels do in the presence of the Lord

Could we do what they do for just a minute?

Could we cry “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord”?

Would you join me in that cry?

Isaiah 6:3 ESV

3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”