I Saw the Lord in His Holiness

Please turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 6:1-9. That is the text for this sermon.

There was an incident that occurred while I was living in Michigan. At one o'clock one morning, I did not know why I woke up, but I felt strongly compelled to pray. A persistent feeling of something evil permeated the air. I prayed for about an hour, not understanding why I was praying. Then, exhausted, I feel asleep.

A few hours later, I did the things I routinely did every morning. I fed my cats, took a bath, made a cup of coffee, and turned on the television. It was a day I doubt any American will ever forget - September 11, 2001. I turned the TV on just in time to to see the plane hit the second tower of the World Trade Center.

I stayed very close to my TV that day. My heart went out to the people of New York, who were experiencing incomprehensible trauma. But when the plane hit the Pentagon, it became personal. My brother John sometimes works there. To say I was alarmed is putting it very mildly. Six anxious hours later, I learned that John called our father in Florida and told him he was a mile from them Pentagon when the plane hit. (Later John asked me to pray for the family of one of his best friends, who was killed at that time.) Relief that he was safe was tempered by sadness over the loss of life, and anger toward those who had murdered all those people.

There are those who would have the people of America, especially the Christians, cower in fear in the face of terrorism. this we must not do. Certain misguided people think they will be martyrs if thy kill themselves and others for their religion. They think murder is their ticket to paradise. That is not true. A martyr is by definition a witness for his faith, not a killer for it. What these people are doing is nothing but committing murder and suicide, and when they face God, they will be judged. But the religious leaders who mislead them into committing murder will face a far greater judgment, and a far worse punishment in hell.

Satan has been allowed to unleash terrorism in America, but Christians must have courage, and not give in to fear. As Proverbs 29:25 says, "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." If we truly trust the Lord, we will not need to fear any man. According to Proverbs 9:10, it is "the fear of the Lord" that "is the beginning of wisdom." If we reverence God and follow His ways, we will have no fear of what any man can do to us, as a nation or individually. If we believe God is in control, there is no reason to fear anyone.

We must not fear man, but we must reverence God in His holiness. As we look at Isaiah's vision in chapter 6:1-9, I want us to catch our own vision of God's holiness as it really is. First, we will see in verses 1-4 that Isaiah saw the Lord in His holiness, and not as people usually conceive it. Next, in verse 5, we will see that Isaiah saw himself as the sinner he really was before God, and learned he could not measure up to the standard of His holiness. Then in verses 6 and 7, we will see Isaiah's sin purged, and finally in 8 and 9, we will watch as the Lord calls him and sends him out as His Prophet.

I. The first and most important thing - Isaiah saw the holiness of God. He saw it as it really is, and not as men ordinarily conceive it. This can clearly be seen in verses 1-3: "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord, sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Holiness is a concept that is hardly understood or even considered today. We live in an age of extremely lax morality in which almost anything goes. It is an age in which Christians and others who wish to live decent moral lives are condemned by their peers as holier-than-thou Legalists or Pharisees. Of course, it must be admitted that there is a lot of Legalism and Phariseeism in the church these days. The Bible, in no uncertain terms, condemns a holier-than-thou attitude.In the Gospel of Matthew 5:20, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself said, "That except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

As Isaiah saw, God is truly holy. He will deal with the self-righteous in His own time and in His own way. But this is beside the point: God will not accept as an excuse for your sin and immorality what others say and do. Others will not pay for your sin. Unless you accept by faith the payment of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for your sin, you must bear your own judgment before God and pay for your own sin in hell. Others must pay for their own sin.

I fear for this generation. We do not understand the holiness of God. Those who say, "You cannot legislate morality" are wrong. Every time a law is passed by a legislature, some kind of ethical principle is legislated, whether good or bad. But that is beside the point: God has already legislated all the morality needed to guide our lives on earth, to be found in His Word, the Bible.

Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, seated on a throne. The name for God here is Adonai, which in Hebrew means Master or Ruler. He is the Master and Lord of all. There is no one even close to being his equal in power, might or brilliance; because He created all and rules all. All sovereignty is His, and His alone.

His train filled the temple, and above it stood seraphim, "burning ones." These are referred to in Psalm 104:4, which is quoted in Hebrews 1:7. Referring to to God, the Psalm says, He maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flame of fire. The Hebrews passage tells us that the One Who made the seraphim is the Lord Jesus Christ.

These are angels of fire, burning in their love for God, and burning in their hatred for sin. They cried out, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory."

Holy is the Father.

Holy is the Son.

Holly is the Spirit.

God is holy, utterly separate from sin, and He will not share His glory with any of His created beings.

The scene in verse 4, "And the posts of the door moved at the voice of Him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke," is reminiscent of what happened when Jonathan Edwards, on July 9th, 1741, preached his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. The pillars of the church shook, and people violently seized them or the pews, desperately trying to prevent themselves from falling into hell. This is a picture of what Isaiah was going through when he saw the Lord. Isaiah was not thrilled at seeing the holiness of God up close and personal: He was scared!


II. This brings me to my second point: In seeing the holiness of God, Isaiah saw himself as the sinner God sees. He saw himself as God saw him and as He sees the rest of us, and from seeing His holiness, he knew he could not measure up to God's standards. Unlike many people, Isaiah had the good sense to be afraid. In verse 5, he tells us, "Then said I, Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell with a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."


Isaiah was one of the greatest prophets the world has ever known. He was without question a true man of God, or he would not have been entrusted with this vision or the true prophetic ministry he had. Yet he knew better than anyone else that he was a filthy sinner, a man of unclean lips. I am no sure whether this was Isaiah's salvation experience. It may have been.


Isaiah compared his righteousness with the holiness of God and saw that he was sinful and unholy. This is the only right judgment to make. As he stated later, in 64:6, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." God's judgment is the only one that really matters. Comparing yourself with another sinner might make you feel good, but no real good ever comes
of it. That standard of comparison is totally useless. The Apostle Paul, in II Corinthians 10:12 demonstrates the absolute uselessness of all such comparisons when he says, "For we dare not make ourselves of that number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves; but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."


Sinners comparing themselves with other sinners will not make them righteous before God, because they are still sinners. Throughout the Bible, God's standard of holiness is Himself. He mean it when He says, "be ye holy, for I am holy."


The reason the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth was because we are sinners, born to rebel, and cannot possibly meet God's standard of holiness. God the Father sent God the Son, Who had come to meet the standard for us. The Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is God, but also human. He is the One Isaiah prophecies of in chapter 53: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."




III. Thirdly, we see from the text that Isaiah saw his sin was purged. Verses 6 and 7 of our text tell us, "Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thy iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged."

Isaiah complained of being a man of unclean lips who dwelt with a people of unclean lips, and the times in which Isaiah lived were probably much like our own. Our language is covered with filthy speech. The world is full of cursing, taking the Lord's Name in vain, smutty jokes and innuendo. It permeates our culture. Hollywood movies are full of blasphemy and sex talk. What is needed today is a few live coals in our mouths to purge away our sins of speech. At the very least, I'd like to see a few bars of soap used to wash out the mouths of a few of those so-called "entertainers" whose filthy and offensive language defile the airwaves.

Are we really "one nation under God?" American language does not show it. By the way: "Jesus Christ" is not a cuss word! He is our Savior and Lord, and you will not be held guiltless if you take His Name in vain! Christian, you must clean up your act, and take a stand against filthy language and blasphemy.


Your sin must be purged by the cross of Calvary. Any other means of redemption is false. There is no other way. Every altar the Jews built at the direction of God was for sacrifices typical of the greatest one ever made; the sacrifice of Messiah on the cross. A hot coal from the altar was a picture of that redemption that was to come. Only the fire of God can purge sin.. Old Testament sacrifices were taken by fire. in the Scriptures the Holy Spirit is often symbolized by fire. As the sacrifices symbolized the future atonement by the Lord Jesus, so in symbolism grace was shown to Isaiah when the burning coal touched his lips. From then on , he would be a Prophet of God, and His Spirit would direct his speech.


Isaiah would never be the same again. If God has truly purged your sin,you will never be the same again. If you say the Lord has saved you, and your life has not changed, you are a liar. If you can be like a pig and wallow in the filth of sin as you did before, something is very wrong with your "salvation." If there is no repentance, there is no salvation. As John the Baptist commanded in Matthew 3:8, the people must "bring forth fruits meet for (Appropriate to) repentance." In Matthew 7:20, Jesus said of false prophets, "By their fruits ye shall know them." One who claims to be saved, yet continues to habitually bear the rotten fruit of sin and the works of the flesh, is not saved, but is a liar.




IV. My final point is, Isaiah saw the Lord send him out as his prophet. Verses 8 and 9 read, Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I: send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but understand not, and see ye indeed, but perceive not."


As I said before, I am not sure whether or not this was Isaiah's salvation experience (it is possible it was), but it was certainly a call. For Isaiah, it was is call to the prophetic ministry. For the nation of Israel, it was a wake-up call. Isaiah did his job as God's Prophet, warning the nation of the holiness of God and of sin and its consequences. His prophecies showed that people their Messiah, who would be the Savior of the world. Tragically, Israel stayed asleep.

Today America has many preachers great warning of the holiness of God and sin and its consequences. The story of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the gospel of His death, burial and resurrection, is told in pulpits, and on television and radio all across America and around the world. Yet the world is degenerating more and more into sin. American Christians are asleep, living like the rest of the world. They are in a stupor induced by entertainment, money, and luxury.

The church is sleeping and refuses to wake up. Beware for as Hebrews 23:29 tells us, "Our God is a consuming fire."


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