SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 6:1-7 (ESV)
DATE: 1-7-18
It’s good to be with all of you at Gateway Church this weekend. And one thing I want you to know — even if it’s your first time with us or if you’re worshiping at our North Main campus —I want you to know is that God loves you and I love you too.
SERIES INTRODUCTION
And we’re beginning a brand new series this weekend. So let me layout where we’re headed over the next few weeks.
Our nation’s pledge of allegiance ends with “one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Yet one thing we can agree on is that our country isn’t living up to its pledge. We’re not indivisible — we’re a nation divided. Just this week, the Courier ran an article titled “Divisiveness puts America at Risk.”
We divide ourselves by political parties, genders, socio-economic brackets, educational backgrounds, the color of our skin, and so much more — we’re a divided nation.
And though we say we want liberty and justice for all — not everyone in our nation experiences liberty and justice. The unborn child doesn’t experience the same liberty and justice that a born child does — so there you go — time to upset some folks — and neither does the black man — black men do not experience the same liberty and justice as his white counterpart.
Now could the reason for our division — the reason we’re not an equal opportunity nation when it comes to liberty and justice — could our division be because we’re no longer a nation under God — many would say we never were a nation under God.
But what does that even mean — to be under God — and just who is this God we’re to be under?
So that’s where we’re headed — we’re going to explore what it would mean for us to be one nation under God — and even if our nation refuses to live up to its pledge — which is the trajectory it’s been on for quite some time — if our nation refuses to be under God — what would it mean for followers of Jesus — especially those of us who live in the US — what would it mean for us to be a people who are under God as we live in a nation that isn’t?
In the coming weeks, we’ll look at what God has to say about race — as division over race is something our nation has always struggled with.
In two weeks, we’ll look at God’s view of life — what does God say about the dignity and value of life? Who exactly should be included when we say “liberty and justice for all” — whose life matters to God?
And we’ll end this series by looking at God’s view of marriage — another divisive topic in our nation — still boiling hot even two years after our Supreme Court redefined what marriage is according to our nation’s laws.
But today we start with God, because what He says on these topics should matter most to those who follow Jesus. And this series is going to challenge all of us because — even for the Christian — it’s easy to allow things other than God to become the primary reason why we believe what we do. But I hope you’ll stick with me over the next few weeks and allow the One who lived, died, rose from the grave, and currently reigns and rules as King of kings in Heaven — Jesus Christ — be the One who influences how you think about these topics.
And one final note. I know not all of you believe in God — and I don’t want to lose you — but I do want to challenge you.
Because if God is not your starting point — if what you believe doesn’t begin with God and His Word — then where do your beliefs come from? Meaning, why do you believe what you do about the race issues we have in our nation? Why do you believe what you do about life and who matters — whether we’re talking about women who’ve been sexually abused, the unborn, the elderly, or black men. Why do you believe what you do about marriage?
If you don’t believe in God, you’ve got a few options. The first is cultural norms — you’ve submitted yourself to the cultural norms of our day. You don’t realize it, but you’re just going along with the crowd — cultural beliefs is your final authority.
Another starting point is the environment you grew up in — whether that be your parents, grandparents, growing up in the foster system or whatever — your experience is your final authority. That’s why some of you are Cleveland Browns fans. Let’s be honest. You’ve got no other reason to be a Brown’s fan other than the fact your dad was — or your uncle —so you’re a fan. And the same can be true for why you believe what you do about marriage, life, and race.
Another starting point is science. You’ve put your faith in science — or at least — when it’s convenient. Because science has told us a lot about when life begins. But it hasn’t told us much about things — like — that being gay is due to a person’s genetics. And why is science what you want to bow down to? I mean — what if science found — not a gay gene — but a racist gene — would that make racism OK? Surely not. Even science submits to some greater authority.
Another starting point is mercy. You believe what you do because you really love people and you hate to see someone not picked for the team — or not able to be with the person they love — or whatever it may be — you’re just a really kind person. And so — you believe what you do — because of how you want others to feel.
And — finally — your starting point may be a reaction against religious oppression. Let’s face it — the Christian church doesn’t have a squeaky clean history. No religion — or nation for that matter — does. And you don’t want anything to do with organized religion because they’ve made some choices — some cruel decisions — and so — it’s not that you disagree with God — it’s that you disagree with how people following God have treated others.
But all of us have a starting point. All of us have reasons why we believe what we do. None of us have beliefs that were birthed out of a sterile lab — where we came to our conclusions without outside influences.
And I hope to show you why beginning with God is the only starting point that gives us any real hope of seeing progress in our nation when it comes to these topics. I hope to show you that only if we’re “under God” — either as a nation or simply as followers of Christ — that only under God — with Him as our authority and starting point — will we ever experience the words of our pledge of allegiance come true. Only under God will liberty and justice be for all.
So let’s discover who this God is we’re to be under.
ANNOUNCE THE TEXT
If you have your Bible please turn with me to Isaiah chapter six. We’ll be looking at verses one through seven.
And — if you’re a guest with us — something we like to do at Gateway is let you ask questions. So if you have a question during the sermon, you can text your question to the number printed on the handout you were given on your way in or you can submit it on the Gateway app.
RE-ANNOUNCE AND READ THE TEXT
Here are the words found in Isaiah chapter six. Beginning in verse one.
“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.”” (Isaiah 6:1-7 ESV)
PROPOSITION
Here’s the big idea for today — and really — for the entire series. “If God is holy, all that He establishes is holy.” If God is holy — which is what we see in our text — then all that He establishes is holy — therefore — we must allow God’s definition of what is holy be our definition of what is holy.
First, what do I mean by “holy”? The word holy can mean a few things. One definition is “moral excellence.” So if God is holy — He’s the definition of what it means to be morally excellent. This would also mean His view of race, life, and marriage are the definition of moral excellence on these topics no matter what you — or I — or anyone else thinks.
Why? Because we’re not above God when it comes to moral excellence. We’re not even close. I mean — if we were morally excellent — we wouldn’t have the divisions we have — we wouldn’t have the crimes we have — if we were morally excellent we wouldn’t have hashtags like “Me too” or children being trafficked for sex or a need for locks on our doors. But we’re not morally excellent.
Someone might say “we’re OK — or good” — but I don’t know of anyone who’d make the claim that we — humans — are morally excellent. There’d be too many caveats if they did — too many — well not those folks — they haven’t figured it out yet — but we over here — we’re the morally excellent ones — and we’d be right back to divisions again — just now the division is over who is morally superior.
But one thing that should surprise you — and I hope it does — is that though none of us are morally excellent — and though we’ve never met anyone who is morally excellent — we can all imagine there being someone morally excellent, can’t we? Though we fail to live up to this ideal we have in our minds — an ideal our hearts long to produce — though we fail — we can all imagine someone who never looks at a woman as nothing more than an object. Who never turns away a child in need. Who never puts a value on a person based on the color of their skin. We can all imagine a person like that —can’t we — but one thing all too evident — is we’re not that person.
And maybe the reason why we can imagine that such a person exists is because He does. And if He does, what He says should matter to us most when it comes to moral excellence.
So let’s look at our text and — in it — we’ll see that God is morally excellent — that God is holy — that the person we all can imagine — actually exists. Look with me in verse one of Isaiah chapter six.
MAIN POINT 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. ” (Isaiah 6:1-4 ESV)
Now a few things about this vision Isaiah is having. First, we have a timeframe as to when this all took place. It was in the year that King Uzziah died — which was around 740 BC. Now why does this matter?
Well Uzziah was one of the nation’s better kings. He flamed out a bit at the end of his life, but — overall — Uzziah was the kind of king you’d want to be under. You felt protected under his kingship. There was a sense of security — even with threats from enemies you’d still have an assurance that things are gonna be OK because Uzziah is on the throne.
And then he dies. And those enemies know it.
So imagine the anxiety. Imagine the uncertainty. Imagine the hopeless feeling because the king — you depended on — is dead.
And it’s in this moment that God gives Isaiah a vision. And the point of the vision is this: A great king may have left his earthly throne, but the King of kings is doing just fine.
So don’t worry about the enemies. No need to be anxious. Do you need some certainty? OK. How about this? God is still on His throne. Earthly kings come and go — Republican presidents come and go — Democrat presidents come and go — even nations come and go — but the King of kings — well — He ain’t going anywhere.
And then Isaiah catches a glimpse of what it’s like around the King — the capital “K” King’s — throne.
Angels are worshipping God. And they’re worshipping so loudly — maybe so passionately — but because of their worship — the Temple is shaking — like an earthquake is happening because of the angels’ worship.
And do you see the words of their worship? What are they saying? What’s coming out of their mouths as they praise God?
They cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3b ESV)
This God — their King — the Eternal One who reigns and rules over all time and all places and all things — is holy. And He’s not just holy. But He’s holy, holy, holy.
The only attribute of God — the only characteristic of God — that gets a three peat — is God’s holiness. The angels aren’t crying out love, love, love — though God is love. They don’t cry out just, just, just — though God is just. They don’t cry out mercy, mercy, mercy — though God is merciful. They cry out holy, holy, holy — because God is so far superior when it comes to His moral excellence that our imaginations of a morally excellent person don’t even come close to how morally excellent God actually is.
SUMMARY OF MAIN POINT 1
But this God — this King — this One whom the angels are worshipping in Heaven right now — is holy, holy, holy. He’s the very definition of moral excellence. And because of this, what He says on any matter — on any topic — including — as we’ll see in this series — what God says about race, and life, and marriage — is the definition we must submit ourselves to. For His definition — His Word on anything — is the final word. No other definition will be more morally excellent than His. No other definition will even come close.
So let’s look at Isaiah’s response to this close encounter he has with God.
MAIN POINT 2
Look with me in verse five. “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.”” (Isaiah 6:5-7 ESV)
We see two things in these verses — confession and cleansing.
Confession. When Isaiah encounters God, he thinks he’s a dead man. “Woe is me,” he says. “I’m ruined. I’m done for. This is it.” That’s what Isaiah’s saying. He confesses that what He thought about God — wasn’t even close.
I know some of us have studied the Bible and theology — which means the “study of God” — more than others — but do you realize that none of our thoughts about God come even close to who He really is? Some of us may be closer than others, but in actuality — none of us really fathom His love and mercy. We’re all tiptoeing in God’s grace when His grace is infinitely deep. We’re like toddlers in understanding His justice, we shy away from His wrath, we treat His commands as options — but if we had a vision — like Isaiah’s — we’d all sing a different tune.
Isaiah next confesses both his — and the people’s — uncleanness. Isaiah says — “We’re all in trouble here — doesn’t anyone get it — can’t you see just who it is we’re dealing with here? We’re utterly hopeless — we’re lost” — that’s his reaction to encountering the God who is holy, holy, holy.
And in the midst of this hopelessness hope is given. Grace is offered. Cleansing takes place. One of the angels takes a coal from the altar and touches it to Isaiah’s lips. And the angel tells Isaiah that his guilt is taken away — his sins have been atoned for — they’ve been paid for.
So it’s not that Isaiah isn’t guilty or sinful — he is — what we see is the grace, forgiveness, and mercy of God as Isaiah is cleansed of his sin so he can stand in the presence of a holy God.
And this cleansing is something we must all experience. Before we allow God’s moral excellence to be the starting point for our views on race, life, and marriage — we must first confess our need to be cleansed of our sin. We need to be set free from our guilt — from our lack of moral excellence — and this cleansing begins with confession. And whoever confesses their sin — and their need to be cleansed — experiences the wonderful gift of God’s guilt cleansing — paying for your sins in full — grace.
But know this: No one will stand before God without this cleansing. For He is holy, holy, holy and He cannot — and will not — allow unholiness to be in His presence. But if you’re cleansed of your sin and guilt — if you’re made holy by God — you must submit your view of all things — including your views of race, life, and marriage — you must submit your views of what is morally excellent to God’s view of what is morally excellent as revealed in His Word.
CHRIST CONNECTION
Now I want to end our time by looking at nine implications about God’s holiness because I want to drive home what God’s holiness means for us. We’ll go through them quickly.
First, God’s holiness is incomparable — nothing compares to God’s holiness — nothing comes close. In Exodus we read, “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15:11 ESV)
The questions demand one answer. No one — no one is holy like God. In the book of First Samuel we find this again. “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2 ESV)
God’s holiness is incomparable — nothing compares to His moral excellence.
Second, God’s holiness is seen in His name — God’s name is holy. In the book of Ezekiel we read, “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.” (Ezekiel 36:22-23 ESV)
God says He’s about to do something for the Israelites — but not because of them — what He’s going to do is for the sake of His holy name. Did you know that sometimes God blesses you and it has nothing to do with you or what you’ve done? It has to do with Him wanting to honor His holy name. You just happen to be the vessel through which He honors His name.
Third, we see God’s holiness in His judgments. In the book of Amos we read, “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’ (And — yes — God just called some women cows — the Bible’s a lot more interesting than most people think.) 2 The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that, behold, the days are coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks. 3 And you shall go out through the breaches, each one straight ahead; and you shall be cast out into Harmon,” declares the Lord.” {Amos 4:1-3 ESV)
Judgment is coming — there is no escape — for God has sworn by His holiness that the day of judgment is coming.
Fourth, God is worshipped in Heaven because of His holiness. In the book of Revelation, we catch glimpses of the worship happening in Heaven and one common — repeated — phrase — just like in Isaiah’s vision — are the words “holy, holy, holy.”
Fifth — we’re to praise God because of His holiness. Praise isn’t just for Heaven for — as Psalm thirty says — “Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.” (Psalm 30:4 ESV)
The saints of God — people who follow Jesus — are to worship Him because He is holy.
Sixth, we’re to fear God because of His holiness. In another vision of Heavenly worship — people ask, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Revelation 15:4 ESV)
The word “fear” — here — means to be in awe of — to be mesmerized — and — yes — to be frightened by. There’s not one person in the Bible who experiences the holiness of God and doesn’t get frightened to their core — not because God yells “boo” — but because in catching even the tiniest glimpse of God’s holiness they realize just who this God is they worship and how unholy and how deserving of judgment they are.
Seventh, we’re to magnify God because of His holiness. We saw this in our last verse. We’re to glorify — to magnify — to make much of God because He is the definition of holiness — He is morally superior to everyone and everything — so we should raise Him up as the standard by which everything else is measured.
Eight, we’re to imitate God’s holiness — and this is really the point of the rest of this series — we’re to imitate God’s holiness. Peter writes, “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”” (1 Peter 1:13-16 ESV)
We’re to be holy because the God who has rescued us is holy. So His standard of moral excellence is now our standard. And this is true for anyone who follows Jesus. What He says about anything — including race, life, and marriage — is now your moral standard on the topic. It’s not up for debate. And if you do debate God, it demonstrates that you’ve not fully submitted yourself to Him — which means you’re rebelling against Him.
And finally — number nine — we see God’s holiness best displayed in Jesus — Jesus is God’s holiness in high definition.
We see God’s holiness displayed in Jesus’ nature, His birth, His baptism, and His death. About Jesus’ nature the book of Hebrews says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:1-3a ESV)
Jesus is the exact imprint of God’s nature — and since God is holy — we see God’s holiness in Jesus.
About Jesus’ birth we read, “And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy — the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35 ESV)
In Jesus’ conception we see that He is holy.
Regarding His baptism Matthew writes, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17 ESV)
Where do we see the holiness of Jesus here? We see the Spirit of God — the Holy Spirit — again, but we also see God being pleased with Jesus and we see John’s reluctance in baptizing Jesus. These clues point us to something being different about Jesus in His baptism — and that something is His holiness.
And about Jesus’ death Paul declares “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)
Jesus did not sin — He was completely — absolutely — one hundred percent — holy.
As one pastor has said, “When you contrast Jesus’ birth with ours — His holy birth with us who, as David, says, were “brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5b ESV)
And when we compare Jesus’ holy baptism with us who are told to, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38b ESV)
And when we notice the difference between Jesus’ death — His holy sacrifice — with us who “were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” (1 Peter 1:18b-21 ESV)
What we find is that everything we see about God’s holiness is found in Jesus. And how we must respond to God’s holiness culminates in who Jesus is and how we must respond to Him.”
CONCLUSION
How are you responding to the holiness of Christ? Are you resisting Him or submitting to Him?
Because God is holy, all that He establishes is holy.
Earlier I mentioned that we all have a starting point for why we believe what we do. How does your starting point measure up to this holy God we’ve encountered today? Can you see how your starting point doesn’t even begin to compare to God? How the moral excellence — of where your beliefs begin — fails to measure up to the moral excellence of God?
Next week, we’ll look at our holy God’s view of race — a topic our nation is deeply divided over. I hope you’ll join us then.
Let’s pray.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for being more morally excellent than we can imagine. Father, all of us long deeply to know that there is Someone morally excellent. Someone who doesn’t show prejudice based on skin color, gender, age, socio-economic background, and so forth — and yet — for many of us — it’s all just a dream.
But You are the reality. Help those of us who long for liberty and justice for all to seek You — the only morally excellent Person. Help us to confess our moral corruption — our guilt — our sin — as we seek forgiveness in Your Son, Jesus.
And then, Father, teach us to submit our thoughts, our politics, our views, our lives to You. Jesus gave His whole life for us — and in return — we’re to give our whole life to You — not allowing anything or anyone to have greater authority over us than You.
So help us — those who follow Jesus — to submit ourselves to Your final Word on all topics. Especially as we look at the topics of race, life, and marriage in the coming weeks — help us to have our views shaped by You.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
BENEDICTION
God is holy. May you go submitting all of who you are to the only One who is morally excellent. Amen.