April 30, 2017
Welcome to Hillandale Christian church. If you're visiting with us, we'd love for you to fill out one of our connection cards on the bulletin place that in the offering plate a little later in the service. We're doing our worship order a little different this morning. And so I'm beginning now with what is literally a call to worship. So if you are out in the four-year, we're calling you in to worship this morning if you can hear my voice cuz we're going to prepare our hearts for worship by beginning the sermon right now because the beginning of the sermon really lends itself to kind of being a call to worship for us this morning. And so I want us to start out with scripture and reflection on scripture or passage this morning is Isaiah chapter 6 verses one through seven. So listen to the word of the Lord in the year that King Uzziah died. I saw the Lord high and exalted Seated on a throne and the train of his Temple the train of his robe filled the temple above him or seraphim each with six wings with two Wings. They covered their faces with two they covered their feet and with two they were flying And they were calling to one another holy. Holy holy is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory at the sound of their voices the doorpost and the threshold Shook and the temple was filled with smoke. Woe to me I cried. I'm ruined. I'm a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the king the Lord Almighty. Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it. He touched my mouth and said see this has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away and your sin atone for
It's an amazing passes that were familiar with but I want us to kind of soap it up and let the Majesty of this moment in the life of Isaiah hit us the way it must have Isaiah in the original Hebrew and he would have understood this when the word Glory there. It means wait. And so the glory of the Lord is his is wait and and that word weight really speaks to the idea of the permanent versus of vapor, you know, James talks about human life and the things of this world being almost like a vapor that passes so shortly. He were first this is to the substantial versus the unimportant the real versus the unreal the imagery There is almost like something of substance in weight in in in contrast to something that's not of substance or wait, like if you took a stone a heavy stone or a boulder rolled from a mountain and went into a pond or you drop the heavy Stone into water that water would give way because of the weight of the Stone. And the glory of the Lord comes into Isaias presents in such a way that he realizes everything else is nothing. It's vapor. It's are the gravity the weight of the Lord's presence comes in and everything else makes room everything else adjust itself the way the water moves out of the way for the stone when is strapped into it? If you drop a stone on thin ice what happens? The ice breaks and gives away everything adjust to the glory of the Lord. The waiting displaces the thin the light the temporary the shakeable trembles in the presence of the unshakable. You see this imagery throughout scripture in Exodus 19 when God's presence comes down on Mount Sinai the whole Mountain. This monstrosity of Grant I climb to the top of Mount Sinai before miles of stone going to the top and when God's presence comes down this whole thing shakes. Trimble's because even the stone of Mount Sinai is no match for the weight of the glory of the one true God even Earth itself were told trembles and shakes at the presence of the glory of God. The gravity of the reality of who is in Acts 2 when his Spirit comes down to the upper room about the early church. The room shakes and trembles because of his presence. Hebrews 12 uses this imagery and talks about the fact that God is calling us and inviting us and shaping us to be part of an unshakable Kingdom. This world is shakeable and temper and if we're not careful there many temporary things that we can grab onto and hold on to them as if they are eternal. And God is pleading and begging and instructing and calling and challenging us again against to see the wisdom of grasping and holding onto and longing for that which is eternal and permanent. God himself grabbing on to those things that are unshakable. In this passage God moves from concept which we adapt as we need to reality which requires us to adapt I mean think about it often. We we have a belief in God. I hope in God, but if we're not careful, it can be this concept that we manage. So that wind scripture challenges our beliefs there's times in which we stay. Well, you know, I want to be a good Christian. I want to follow God and everything, but I just don't think I can believe that.
I don't I don't know that I can believe that's what we just kind of edit. our concept because we're not dealing with the one true real God, I think at times like that. So we pick and choose what we're going to believe from scripture and what we don't believe scripture what we say. Well, I'm just going to leave that be or our practices, you know, we say look I'll I love God and I loved the church everything that I got a life. I've got plans after I take care of my own Financial wishes and desires and if there's some left over to the church after I plan my vacation and in my calendar the way I want if there's time I might volunteer for VBS certainly not going to plan my life around church activities. I'll play my church activities around my life. Is it healthy? If you're not careful God is this idea this hope that you like but you're not going to rearrange my whole life.
Isaiah I think may have been in that boat and then this moment is a moment when he says
Oh. I am undone. God is more real than anything. I have ever planned around or wanted or desired or sought the gravity of Glory the weight of the reality of God said it just changes everything for Isaiah. His view of history is view of the world is view of Eternity his view of himself. All of it changed just like that. When he lets the reality of God's presence of his glory. Be real to him.
Until just before the Lord's presence.
Changing everything about himself his beliefs. His practices is very selves. We're told In this passage that Holy Holy Holy call out the flying angels again. It's a familiar passage, but please Look at that for a moment. Think about this moment that Isaiah is experiencing.
There are flying angels in the room that he's in. I mean, what would we do if the rooftop open and suddenly there were flying angels here half of us would probably maybe won't be under the pews. stream Lord What's going on? We would be petrified and terrified to make the other half and have their phones out going. I'm going to have more hits on YouTube than anyone ever. He's in this simple and there are flying angels in the temple with him and they're crying out. Holy holy. Holy now again, think about it is this rooftop opened and Angels were suddenly flying above us. We'd be pretty interested in what they had to say when we Would there be anybody going out whatever listen honey where we're going to eat lunch today? No, we would be they would have our full attention and the Angels Cry Out. Holy holy holy in the Hebrew. Holy refers to infinitely unique superlative quality Brilliance and beauty. There's nothing greater. Nothing grander is akin to the word Glory. It's this quality of God that surpasses everything else. So his holy wisdom is greater and grander and more beautiful than any wisdom. We could ever imagine his holy beauty is greater and more beautiful and more breathing than anything we can imagine his holy love is greater and grander than any love we can imagine and the angels are crying out about God's holy holy holy.
Nothing greater nothing grander. Nothing Superior to God. There in his presence all the time. And when they get Isaiah's presents, that's the first thing they want to say. Here's what you need to know about God. No one greater. No one grandeur. No, one more loving. No, one more beautiful. No, one more Majestic, holy holy. Holy the glory of God his weight the reality of God his Grandeur Nothing Compares. Nothing. And so angels in their wisdom say so here's what we're going to do. We're going to fly around and praise God, holy. Holy. Holy the angel say
Magnitude in the Hebrew is conveyed by repetition so I can Genesis 14 scripture talks about a deep pit. But in the original Hebrew it what it does to convey that it was a really really deep it was is repeat the Hebrew word more than once 2nd Kings does the same thing about gold and so to convey the truth that it's really impressive beautiful gold in Hebrew. They repeat the word in order to magnify or to convey the magnitude of what it is. It's so funny. I thought that little remnant of language technique I think still exist in English language, right don't we do that we say do you like someone so or do you like like so-and-so Don't wonder why do we do that? Why do we why do we say I really need need that. What do we what do we double a words sometimes to convey that you know, I really like like her Maybe that's some little trace of the Hebrew language in the English because that's what they did to convey the intensity or the magnitude of something. They repeated that word. And so they repeat it more than once. It's a pit pit or gold gold. And this Holiness is the only tripling of a word in scripture. Holy holy. Holy is the Lord God Almighty. The Angels can't say enough about his goodness and his Grandeur in his holding us. They repeated over and over and over in the original Hebrew. It's not just three times it is there simply repeating that over and over so you could argue that it's that is Limitless number of times because they simply keep saying holy holy holy holy holy holy holy holy. Holy is the Lord God Almighty.
Now this passage invites us to do a couple of things. And the first thing we're going to do right now just a moment. The other will come to during the time of the sermon little later it invites us to respond appropriately to the glory of God. Took his weight to his significance to the gravity of who he is like the Angels it invites us to worship. If we're not careful, our relationship of God can be one like I said earlier where he's this concept or this idea or this belief or even a cherished hope but it became becomes this concept that we manage. And so how many times have you talked to someone or had this happened in your own life where you followed God or you came to church Faithfully. Are you read your Bible or you prayed because there was something that you needed from God or something you wanted from God. There was a gift God's got this Limitless bank account. This little is resource. And so I'm going to go to church. I'm going to read my Bible. I'm going to pray. I'm going to to call out to God. I'm going to follow God in order to See my friend healed. In order to get into the school that I desperately want to get into that. I'm convinced will make all the difference in my entire life in order to get the girlfriend or the boyfriend that I really want or save the marriage that is on the Rocks. That's why I'm going to do these things. You ever do that yourself? You ever know anybody? Who does that? And then what happens if you don't get into the school that you were convinced was the best thing that could ever happen to you. Or that boyfriend or girlfriend that you prayed earnestly about him went to church. I mean every Sunday what if they don't return? affection
ever know somebody that says why I tried Church once right. I tried God once I used to go to church but then God didn't come through. There was this this thing that I really wanted really needed and I didn't get it until I no longer. worship God
this passage unravels that sort of Miss understanding about God and humans. As if he's a concept that we manipulate to get what we want as if somehow we're waiting or than him. Is it somehow we're the ones with some gravitas to herself? We're the ones of substance man is the center of the world. And I'll follow God if he will be my assistant. If you would answer my prayers and and blessed my life the way I want it blessed then then I'll give him some attention. This passage is a call to worship God.
Whether your life is the way you think it should be right now or not. Whether you think he's answered the prayers that you've offered to him. or not whether you think he's come through or delivered in the ways that you think he should come through or deliver or not. It's an invitation like Isaiah to be overwhelmed by the reality of God.
God is .
Will you set word for reason? He is the ultimate there's nothing greater. He is Holy. There's nothing in this world in our own lives in our experience that we could place above him. And so we're invited to worship him Psalm 96 says worship him in the beauty of his holiness. That's what the angels are doing regardless of everything else. They were saying this one thing we know to be true. Holy holy holy. God is good. God is loving God is wise even more than we can comprehend or understand. and even when we don't see that as clearly as we want or we don't see it at this time, we trust it will see it at another we trust and what we know to be the revealed character of God revealed through Christ revealed to scripture reveal two passages like these
So I call you to worship this morning. Don't worry about how you sound. Don't worry about who's sitting next to you. Don't worry about how we sound up here leading worship. Just focus on God. and join the angels in singing
we're going to continue.
looking at Isaiah 6
and I I promised the first half was more than half of the sermon.
By the way by way of Simply sharing an announcement as you return to your seats, we had a successful event on Friday and Saturday here raising funds for our mission trip in June in Mexico. And we thank everyone who helped participating that those funds raised will help everything about that trip which includes things like a free eye clinic that will occur in the whole week were there last year we gave out did examinations and provided over 300 pairs of glasses to those in need in the area or working in built for homes and ran VBS all week. So we're excited. We've got 18 folks going from the church here to be part of that mission work in Mexico in June. So we appreciate that very much. We want to continue looking at Isaiah. Chapter 6 and again, I love this passage of so I want to read through it again. And then quickly kind of make one more observation before we share time of communion together because this kind of is almost like an extended communication what we're going to do right now, Isaiah 6 in the year that King Uzziah died. I saw the Lord high and exalted Seated on a throne and the train of his robe filled the temple above him where seraphim each with six wings with two Wings, they cover their faces with two Wings, they covered their feet and with two Wings, they were flying and they were calling to one another holy holy holy is the Lord Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory at the sound of their voices the doorpost in the threshold Shook and the temple was filled with smoke woe to me. I cried I am ruined Prime a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the king the Lord Almighty. Then more the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand when she had taken with tongs from the altar. With it. He touched my mouth and said see this has touched your lips your guilt is taken away. And your sin is a toned for Isaiah says in response to this moment. Woe is me and for a proper to say that that is a curse. He is completely overwhelmed. He is completely dismantled his completely undone in the presence of God's holding us everything. He thought about himself or about goodness or being a decent person or being on top of things or having a plan for life or not being as bad as the next fella all those sorts of convictions went right out the window when he saw the Holiness of God. He said,
I'm done for
woe is me. He's overwhelmed. I can't emphasize that enough that enough the language in the Hebrew. He is completely unraveled In This Moment. It's humility based on reality. You know, sometimes we have a false humility about us. Oh, no. Don't say that. I don't do that. Well, but we're really thinking yeah, I'm pretty good, you know. But this moment for Isaiah is a moment where reality comes into focus with great clarity and humility based on reality is what he's in. In This Moment and it's a good thing. Sometimes we over protect ourselves from maybe but we don't want to have a low self-esteem. We will we don't want to think poorly of ourselves. There's a movie called Spanglish that I remember lying from years ago where a woman is just being awful to her family and her husband who is striving to be good to her despite how awful and Unfaithful she's being and her mother kind of buses that are about it and her mom said something about home, but you're the daughter said something to her mom like home mom. You know what I just got such low self-esteem lately, you know what once you get off my case and the mother looks at her to sign some time with low self-esteem is just the truth.
sometimes you have to look in the mirror and say I'm done for What was me? I don't have an excuse that is good enough for my on Holiness in the presence of God's holiness. Who of us could come into this moment with Isaiah and say well you may be up the creek, but not me here. I stand I'm as good as they get. All of us like Isaiah in the presence of God's holding us simply fall down with humility based on reality. there is from our end an insurmountable gap between us and God's holiness.
We Stand judged already before the Holiness of God just like Isaiah I mean the truth is Isaiah was all that and a bag of chips he was from a royal family the kingdom had been in turmoil the king had passed he was a rising leader. He probably thought it's about time I'm going to get things right all these other people have screwed things up. Finally. I can be a charge I'm going to do it right if we could just get this person to quit or this group to quit do we ever slip into that sort of thinking look I'm telling you right now all of our problems are the fault of the Republicans. If we could just get all of our problems are the fault of the Democrats if we could just get. if the government would just if teachers would just if we just had more money if we could just do this or if you could just read Oprah's new book if you could just if you could just The problem is always this other group and we always have some way that we're going to push up our sleeves and solve the problem ourselves. And Isaiah was no exception because he was an up-and-coming leader an impressive young man and then In This Moment, When he sees the Lord telling us.
Well, what was me?
I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips. It's not just not me and Isaiah. It's I don't know of anyone. There's no one not just I'm done for we're done for Humanity is done for Israel is done for we disobey God for decades. We refuse to hear from him. And now that I'm in his presence he is just in judging us. Woe is me Isaiah says job says the same thing in chapter 42 when Jobe after all the posturing of his friends and all the discussion about who's right and wrong. He's suffering should be suffering what he did wrong God's presence shows up. And what does job say I Repent in Dust & Ashes Any Falls before got? He's speechless when God shows up. There's no argument to be made. There's no well, I did better than this other person and hey, I thought if I did this that you would do this didn't win their you didn't come through for when you're in God's presence all that evaporates. Peter gets a glimpse of it and Luke Chapter 5 when Jesus comes into his presence. What does he say? As soon as he gets just a glimpse through Christ who he says get away from me depart for me. I'm not a holy man. I'm an Unholy man. I know what happens to the Unholy in the presence of the Holy get away from me. I will be there will be nothing left. That was the worldview. That was the understanding at that time for fire was judgement when Isaiah saw that angel pick up this live coal that had to be picked up the Angels like I'm touching on prongs tongues. I'm not going to he had to be overwhelmed by that moment. I mean, he sees these flying angel coming toward him with a live coal. In a number is 11 the Judgment of God comes upon Israel in the form of Fire. He understood what's going on here. This is Holy and I am not and here comes fire to end me. I'm toast. This coal is going to be the end of me because what else happens with God's holiness.
Are we tempted to think that way sometimes that God's holiness means he is so separate. So righteous Soul pure compared to us that that it'll just snuff us out that his Holiness will just be pure judgment that if I go into the presence of a pure and holy Gods I will die right there on the moment and then fall down preachers that preach that right. repent God's plan is to strike down all those who do not measure up. Until I say it's thinking this is it. It's over. What was me and here comes the angel with the with the fire? I'm judged. I'm judged In This Moment.
Yet. Expecting rightly deserve judgement instead. He receives cleansing.
I don't think we appreciate the turn that that moment is In this passage. When Isaiah believes rightfully, I'm judged. I'm guilty. What was me? I'm on Den. I'm a man of unclean lips in the presence of a holy God. Of course, it's the end for me. And yet this Angel, but he thinks it's the end touches his lips. He thinks I'm not I didn't evaporate. I'm not instantly dead. I'm not on the ground stiff and motion was what's going on and the angel says your sins have been at on for
amazing moment
celebrate that atonement here in a few moments around this table. See because God came to Earth another time and he shook the Earth another time in Matthew. 27 it talks about Jesus on the cross that says from noon until 3 in the afternoon Darkness came over all the land. This is the moment when Jesus on the cross, he's already had his Moment In the Garden when he said to God the Father Louis me. I am undone. I can't drink this cup. Is there any other way I mean, I know what it means. I'm going to be send in Your Righteous you're good at I'm going to be evil every impure thought every horrible selfish thing everybody that needs paid for I'm going to drink that cup. What was me? And yet he submits to the father not my will but yours be done and on the cross that atonement happens.
It says a couple vs. Labor later about 3 in the afternoon. Jesus cried out in a loud voice Eli Eli Lama sabachthani, which means my God my God. Why have you forsaken me and when Jesus had cried out again a loud voice he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom the Earth. Shook the Rock's split.
God's presence was there. Accepting Christ sacrifice on the cross accepting the atonement for our sins. And I'm just a few moments as we take the communion. Like touching a live coal to our own mouth when we eat the bread when we drink the juice were remembering or celebrating what God has done this amazing unexpected. Turn at a moment when we worship God for his Holiness because it merits it regardless of anything else and a moment when his Holiness makes us realize our on Holiness and our need for him when we think he should show up and just judge us all he shows up. But we know that Christ came not to judge not to bring judgment but to Bear judgement. breath and so we celebrate we celebrate Christ. We celebrate what he did. We celebrate communion. We celebrate the great grace that God shows us. And I'm going to invite you. Backup deletus and worship during this song. If you've got a decision to make or prayer need invite the folks who are prayer team, they'll be upfront. They'll be some in the back and I'll be in the back for a decision. But let this song just be a real joining of that worship. We had earlier just worship God. Worship Christ in these next few moments as we prepare our hearts for communion at the end of this song Ben will come forward and he's going to lead some scripture and lead us and reflection as we prepare for communion itself use this moment to also prepare your hearts as you sing it again. If you have a decision, I'll be in the back or prayer folks will be here for prayer needs. Do you want to just answer please stand?