May grace and peace be multiplied to each of you tonight in the knowledge of God and of Jesus, our Lord. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, you are holy, holy, holy. The whole earth is filled with your glory. You are sovereign. and you reign over heaven and earth. You have established your throne in the heavens and your kingdom rules over all. And yet you are a God of sparing mercy, amazing grace, and loyal love. You have demonstrated these ultimately through the person and work of your son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. In his name we do ask now that you would open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things from your word. Help us tonight to lay aside all filthiness and rampant wickedness so that we may receive with gentleness the implanted word that is able to save our souls. And help us to be doers of your word and not hearers only lest we deceive ourselves. In Jesus name, amen. My assignment tonight is Isaiah chapter six. Permit me to read verses one through eight. 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. 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. And one called to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord host. The whole earth is full of his glory. And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called and the house was filled with smoke. 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. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said, behold, this has touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, who shall I send and who will go for us? Then I said, here I am. Send me. Amen. Isaiah chapter six, verses one through eight records Isaiah's life transforming vision of God and call to prophetic ministry. It is the dramatic testimony of a sinful man who had a violent encounter with the holiness of God, but lived to tell about it. Somehow, God lifted Isaiah's gaze above and beyond his physical surroundings. And he received a vision of God that changed his life immediately, completely, and permanently. But this personal testimony is on record for us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to call each of us tonight to a high view of God. No, we don't need to try to recreate the supernatural experience that Isaiah has in this text, but we do need, desperately need, the resulting view of God that Isaiah had as a result of this experience. A.W. Tozer wrote that the greatest need of the moment is for lighthearted, superficial religionist to be struck down with a vision of God high and lifted up with his train filling the temple. The beginning of his book, The Supremacy of God in Preaching, John Piper writes about preaching this text as a somewhat pastoral experiment one Sunday. He worked his way through the narrative here lifting the glory and majesty and sovereignty of God in the text and preach the passage without any word of application for his members. He just wanted to see, the test was, would the proclamation of the greatness of God be enough to meet the needs of the people? Not long after, He discovered that there was a family in the service that day who had recently discovered that their child had been abused by a relative. The father stopped John after service one day and told him, these have been the worst months of our lives. But do you know what has seen me through? It was that vision of the holiness of God you gave us at the beginning of the year. He added, it has been a rock upon which I've been able to stand. Really, that's the take home truth of tonight's message. Your view of God is everything. Jeremiah chapter 9 verses 23 and 24 says it this way, thus says the Lord, let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might, or the rich man in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he knows and understands me, says the Lord. that I am a God of steadfast love and righteousness and justice, for in these I delight, declares the Lord. I repeat, your view of God is everything. You may be wise, you may be rich, you may be mighty, but if you don't have a proper view of God, you have nothing. It is only when God is seen as he truly is that everything else in life comes into proper perspective. And so tonight, would you consider with me three elements of a high view of God that we learned from Isaiah's vision. First, God is sovereign. John 4 verse 24 says God is spirit. First Timothy chapter 6 verse 16 says that God dwells in unapproachable light. No one has seen or can see. First John 4 12 is just blunt. No one has ever seen God. Isaiah says, I saw the Lord. What did he see? There's a hint, I think, in the wording of the text. God is called Lord in verse one. He is called Lord in the antiphonal chant of the angels in verse three. There's a different font. in whatever translation you have in your lab which is the translators hint that different Hebrew words are being used here. Lord in verse 3 is Yahweh the self-existent one. The I am that I am. But in verse 1, Lord translates Adonai. The sovereign one. Isaiah did not seek God's essential nature, but he saw a vision of the sovereign majesty of God. That's supported by the fact that verse 1 says he saw God sitting on a throne. In verse 5, he just bluntly says, my eyes have seen the king. John chapter 12 verse 39 and 40 claims that the rejection of Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah 6 and 10. But then in John 12 41, Isaiah says, these things Isaiah said because he saw or beheld his glory. John claims that what Isaiah saw was a Christophany, a pre-incarnate vision of the Lord Jesus Christ seated on his heavenly throne. And here in these opening verses, Isaiah gives us a descriptive definition of the sovereignty of God. What do we mean when we say God is sovereign? His authority is based upon the fact that the Lord is eternal. Would you note that verse 1 begins by dating this vision. It was in the year the king Uzziah died. Isaiah was the ninth king of Judah. He took the throne at the age of 16 and reigned for 52 years. Second Chronicles chapter 26 verse 15 says, he was marvelously helped by God. I don't even know what that means, but I like it. He was marvelously helped until he became strong. and was lifted up in pride to his own destruction. He disobeyed God's command and violated God's holiness trying to intrude on the priestly ministry. God struck him with leprosy. And he died in isolation. Isaiah said, it was in the year that Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. Hallelujah. In about a month, one way or another, the president, who is said to be the most powerful man in the world, will have to give up his position of authority. And when he moves out of the White House, God will still be on the throne. He is eternal. Moses says, Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations before the mountains were brought forth or ever you had created the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. Not only is the Lord eternal, but the Lord's sovereign authority is transcendent. Isaiah indicates this by locating his The infinite height of his throne, he is high and lifted up. There may be kings on other thrones, but no earthly throne is on God's level. Psalm 46 verse 10. Be still, give up, quit striving and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted on the earth. In a real sense, that promise, that prediction is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians chapter two, verses nine through 11 says, therefore God has highly exalted him and has given him the name that is above every name. So that at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. All hail the power of Jesus name. Let angels prostrate fall, bring forth the royal diadems and crown him Lord of all. The Lord is eternal, the Lord is transcendent, and the Lord is majestic. In the ancient world, kings would display their glory, their greatness, their majesty by the length of the train of their robes. Isaiah says, I saw the Lord in the train of his robe filled the whole temple. In this beautiful sanctuary, over the years you have hosted, no doubt, wonderful weddings with brides coming down the aisle. with their train of their bridal dress following them. What's the longest bride's train you've ever seen? Isaiah said, when I saw the Lord, his train, his trailing majesty consumed, he blanketed the temple with his glory. You should know Jeremiah chapter 13 verse 22, where God says, if you ask, why is all of this evil and judgment come upon you? I'll tell you, it is because of the greatness of your iniquity that your skirts are uncovered and your heels are bare. It's a symbolism for judgment. You think you are great, God says, I will pull up your skirts and show you are just a man. While God pulls up men's skirts in judgment, the train of his robe fills the temple. God is sovereign. Secondly, God is holy. Unfortunately, holiness is the most neglected attribute of God in the contemporary church. We love his power, we love his love, we love his wisdom, but we don't wanna talk about or think about his holiness. Which in a real sense means we don't truly want to worship him. Holiness is the central, defining, foundational attribute of God. The word used to describe God more than any other in the scripture is the word holy. In fact, God is so holy that anything in scripture associated with God is called holy. His name is holy. His people are holy. His temple is holy. His word is holy. Hersey Sproul was right. Any attempt to understand God apart from holiness is idolatry. Here Isaiah doesn't define God's holiness as much as he describes it. He describes the holiness of God by pointing away from God in the real sense to the seraphim. Here the holiness of God is seen in the seraphim's posture and in the seraphim's praise. On one hand God's holiness is put on display by the seraphim's posture. Verse 2 says, above him stood the seraphim, literally burning ones. Term is used for fiery serpents throughout the scripture. Here, it refers to an order of angelic beings to some degree. They are like humans. They have faces and feet and hands, but these cannot be mistaken as mere humans. I mean, the term itself suggests Isaiah is saying that I saw above his throne people, but they looked like people on fire. And the other distinction, of course, is that they have six wings with which they did two things. With two of those six wings, they flew. Verse six indicates that they flew to carry out any divine assignment given. But outside of that, the language here suggests that they hovered above God's throne. Verse 1 says, God's throne was high and lifted up. And then verse 2 says, above him stood the seraphim. It seems that Isaiah is describing here, if I may, some supernatural secret surface. guarding the holiness of God's throne from intruders. But that's just two wings, they had four left. And this is the remarkable part, saints. If with two wings, they guarded God's throne from others, with the other four, They guarded themselves from God's throne. With two wings, they covered their feet. Remember in Exodus chapter three, Moses sees the bush burning that is not consumed and he Desires to get a closer look, and the Lord speaks from the bush. Ezekiel 3, 5, and says, take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. The angels recognize that they are on holy ground. They don't have sandals to take off, but they veil their feet. And with two wings, they veil their face in a real sense. These holy angels cannot stand to look directly at God or have God look directly at them. I want you to think about that. When Isaiah sees the Lord, he says in verse five, woe is me. That's the appropriate response when a sinful person meets the living God. But the seraphim are not sinful. They're holy angels who here most likely are defending the holiness of God's throne from sinful intrusion. But this is a picture of the holiness of God. God is not just separated from sin. He is separated from all creation. So holy is God that the holy angels that serve him to be guarded in his holy presence. But not only is God's holiness displayed in the seraphim's posture, it is displayed as well, verse 3, in the seraphim's praise. Antiphonally the seraphim called one to another and sing, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is filled full of his glory. In the first sentence, holy means God is not like us. And in the second instance, it means he is morally perfect. 1 John 1.5 says it this way, God is light. 1 John 1.5, and in him, there is no speck of darkness at all. Would you notice They don't just sing that God is holy, they sing he is holy, holy, holy. To call God holy once is enough. To call God holy twice is emphatic. But to call God holy three times is superlative. They are saying that God is so holy that our minds cannot fully comprehend it and our words cannot fully express it. He is holy, holy, holy. And for the record, there is no other attribute of God that is mentioned in scripture in triplicate like this. The Bible never says God is good, good, good. Or loving, loving, loving. but he is holy, holy, holy. Revelation chapter four verses eight and nine says that the living creatures who also have six wings with eyes and within and without never stopped singing, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty who was and is and is to come. coupled to that statement of his holiness is a statement of his glory. I think this is an even more remarkable line than the first. The whole earth is full of his glory. If you go home and check the news tonight, just for a few minutes, you'll see that the world is filled with corruption and crime and chaos and evil and wickedness and perversion. But the angels do not base their view of God by the breaking news of the day. They view the holiness of God as inextricably tied to the glory of God. Because God is infinitely holy. It shapes everything else that they see. And they declare the whole world is filled with his glory. Exodus 15, 11 says it this way, that God is majestic in his holiness. Verse four says, and the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. been some powerful singing tonight in this worship service, but nothing like this. The threshold shook. The house was filled with smoke. The picture here is that Isaiah was trapped in the dark with God. It is arguable to say that Isaiah was closer to God than any man had been since the fall. And yet, the language is meant to say that even in this vision of God, he was so far away. Quickly, there is a third attribute to see here. The God we worship is sovereign, the God we worship is holy, and the God we worship is gracious. I want you to note that there is a shift in focus of heavenly furniture in the text. The focus of verses one through four is the throne. The focus of verses five through eight is the altar. Thank God both are there. If there was throne but no altar, this would have been a living nightmare of judgment, wrath, and condemnation. Praise God, there was throne, and altar, guilt and forgiveness, holiness and grace. We see God's grace at work in Isaiah's contrition. He says, woe is me. This is more than regret, sorrow. This is a word of divine judgment. He declares judgment on himself. Because I am lost, I'm ruined, I am undone. Why? Because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Isaiah knew that what the seraphim sung was true. But he couldn't join in the song. Worthy worship cannot be offered by unclean lips. That was a personal problem and a corporate problem that doomed Isaiah. Because he says, mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. I got to move on to the end here, but let me just linger here for just a moment and bottom line what's happening in the rest of this text. Isaiah, Isaiah thought he was about to die. Isaiah, I saw the Lord, it's not the contemporary, you know, I saw the Lord and you get a book deal and go on tour and become rich. In scripture when people saw the Lord, they concluded I'm gonna die. Exodus 33 20 God tells his friend Moses you cannot see my face because if you see my face you will not live Judges 6 22 Gideon says alas for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face In Judges 13, 22, Samson's parents said, surely we will die for we have seen the Lord. We read John's revelation of the glory of Jesus on the island of Patmos. And we say, that's so wonderful. I wish I could have been there. That's not what John said. John says, Revelation 1, 17, when I saw him, I felt like a dead man. In scripture, when people saw the Lord, they thought they were going to die. And that's what Isaiah thought. But mercy spared him. And we see not only his contrition, but his cleansing, verses six and seven. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said, behold, this has touched my lips. Your guilt is taken away and your sin is atoned for. Friends, this is just a shadow. of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in his righteous life, atoning death and triumphant resurrection. We are cleansed by God's will. We are cleansed by God's work. We are cleansed by God's word. Then there is in verse eight, Isaiah's commission, where we see that grace is free, but it is not cheap. That sixth verse says, the angel took the burning coal off the altar with tongs. I want you to think about that. The seraphim literally means burning ones, but the burning ones wouldn't dare touch the burning coal. They used tongs to take it off the altar, but then placed it Isaiah's lips. Oh friends, grace is free but repentance is costly and painful and rightfully so because God not only wants to spare us and forgive us, he wants to cleanse us so that he might use us. So in verse 8 Isaiah is holding his burning lips and overhears a heavenly conversation. Whom shall I send? Who will go for us? There's no indication that Isaiah is a part of this conversation. He overhears a heavenly dialogue and all he knows is I should be dead right now. But God has spared me. God has forgiven me. God has cleansed me. So he puts in and says, Lord, if you need someone, here am I. Send me. I pray that, but when I pray that, I want kind of a detailed itinerary of where you're sending me, Lord. Isaiah didn't wait to get the details of the contract before he signed. He will find out in the following verses, and this is not a good assignment, but it didn't matter. Because God spared him, because God forgave him, because God cleansed him, it didn't matter what the assignment was. Lord, if you need someone, here am I. Send me. And if the Lord has spared you and forgiven you, and cleansed you by the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, may that be your prayer. Here am I. Send me. I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice and it told thy love to me, but I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to thee. Here's my verse. Consecrate me now for thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine. May my soul look up with a steadfast hope, and may my will be lost in thine. Draw me nearer. Nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died. Draw me nearer. nearer blessed Lord to that precious bleeding side. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, would you forgive us for looking in the wrong direction? for truth and hope and joy and life and peace. May we look to you, our creator, our sustainer, and our redeemer. May we see that you alone reign in sovereign authority over heaven and earth, no matter what the circumstances around us may be. May we see that you are perfect and infinite in holiness. And thus you are the righteous judge who will do right. Lord, over the course of this weekend, as we fellowship around your word, would you cause us anew to be amazed by your grace to us. In Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray these things. Amen.