As Marvin was talking in the
beginning, I got to thinking about how long it has been, 30
years. 1986, I moved to Franklin, Tennessee
and I didn't know God from a gourd. And looked in the phone book,
found the name of a church that suited me and went there. Had a tall, young, strapping
associate pastor by the name of Marvin Stoniker. And they
told me that night, said, we're having a Bible conference in
a week or so. And I never, I didn't know what
a Bible conference was. And if I'm not mistaken, I believe
there were 16 gospel preachers there. It was like a four-day
meeting. Bunch of them. Donnie Bell was one of them. I am so thankful, so thankful
that God sent me to that church and sent those 16 men my way
because I heard the gospel that weekend. I don't know when I
truly started believing it, but I heard it. And I remember telling
my wife, somebody finally told me the truth about God, who God
is. That's a God I can worship. That's
a God who's deserving of my worship. And just reflecting on that is
awful humbling to me tonight. This evening my message will
come out of the sixth chapter of Isaiah, but I'd like for you
to turn first with me to 2 Chronicles chapter 26. 2 Chronicles chapter
26. I want to briefly tell you about one of the greatest
earthly kings to reign in Judah since the days of David and Solomon,
and his name was Uzziah. And his name means help of Jehovah,
and or he that hears the Lord. Now, 2 Chronicles chapter 26
chronicles the life of Uzziah. That's what chronicle means. It means to write factual account
of important and historical events in order of their occurrence. And that's what this chapter
does. It chronicles the life of King Uzziah. Verse 1, we're
told that all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen
years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah.
And verse 3 confirms that, telling us that sixteen Years old was
Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. Beginning at the age of just
16, Uzziah reigned over Judah for 52 years, and the Lord blessed
him greatly. In verse 4 it says, And he did
that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all
that his father Amaziah did, and he sought God in the days
of Zachariah who had understanding in the visions of God, and as
long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. Uzziah was
blessed of the Lord, and it's very important for us to understand
that the Lord blesses, prospers, and helps many whom He never
saves. Verse 7, And God helped him against
the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gerbil
and the Mehumans. Verse 8, And the Amorites gave
gifts to Uzziah, and his name spread abroad even to the entering
in of Egypt, for he strengthened himself exceedingly. And there
is no doubt that the tribe of Judah felt very secure having
Uzziah as their king. Read on, verse 9, Moreover Uzziah
built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate and at the valley
gate. and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them. And
he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells, for he
had much cattle, both in the low country and in the plains,
husbandmen also, and vinedressers in the mountains, and in Carmel. For he loved husbandry, and moreover
Uzziah had a host of fighting men that went out to war by bands."
Verse 12 tells us that Uzziah had 2,600 commanders. and principal officers that headed
up his army. Verse 13 informs us that under
their hand was an army 300,000 and 7,500 that made war with
mighty power to help the king against the enemy. No doubt Uzziah
was a very able military leader, and under his rule Judah grew
and prospered and became a great nation. And he was motivated
and a progressive man who surrounded himself with brilliant men. Look
at verse 14. And Uzziah prepared for them
throughout all the host shields and spears and helmets and gabardins,
breastplates is what that is, and bows and slings to cast stones. And he made in Jerusalem engines
invented by cunning men to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks
to shoot arrows and great stones with them. And his name spread
far abroad for he was marvelously helped till he was strong or
dreaded by everyone. What a king this was. That's
what I want you to see. Who helped him? God helped him.
God was his helper. Remember what his name means.
It means help of Jehovah. Now let's introduce into the
story young Isaiah. He's the prophet who'd be quoted
more than any other prophet in all the New Testament. And as
a young man, he was of the royal line of the king. I didn't know
this before. Scripture tells us that Isaiah's
father, Amos, was the uncle of Uzziah. Isaiah was Uzziah's first
cousin. And Isaiah, from what I can tell,
was an official in Uzziah's court. a journalist of sorts. He recorded
all the things that Uzziah did. He was a press secretary for
the king, more or less. And Isaiah recorded and reported
all the great things that King Uzziah did, which pretty much
put him always in the king's presence. And I'm certain that
Isaiah, as a young man, lived happily and secure. Don't you
imagine? Without any worry. He had full confidence. complete
confidence in the abilities of his cousin, the king. You could
say that Isaiah, probably more than any other of God's prophets,
lived a privileged life. But something happened. And as it is with all things,
that something happened according to the will and the purpose of
God Almighty. Look at verse 16. But when he,
being Uzziah, was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction,
for he transgressed against the Lord his God. And he went into
the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And as arrived, a priest went
in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord that were
valiant men, and they withstood Uzziah the king. And they said
unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense
unto the Lord, but to the priests, the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated
to burn incense, go out of the sanctuary. For thou hast trespassed,
neither shall it be for thine honor from the Lord God. And
Uzziah got mad. He was wroth, and he had a censer
in his hand to burn incense. And while he was wroth with the
priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the
priest in the house of the Lord from beside the incense altar. And Azariah, the chief priest,
and all the priests looked upon him, and behold, he was leprous
in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence. Yea, himself
hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten him." And
in verse 21 we read, "...and Uzziah the king was a leper,
until the day of his death and dwelt in a several house, that's
a hospital, being a leper for he was cut off from the house
of the Lord. And sadly as it is often, dear
friends, with great and powerful men of the flesh, Uzziah's heart
was lifted up with pride and arrogance and he fell a great
fall and he died. And Isaiah was devastated. Uzziah
was not only his king, not only his relative, but he was Isaiah's
security. He was Isaiah's security in this
world. Now I want you to turn with me
to Isaiah chapter 6, verse 1. And in the year King Uzziah died,
I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up,
and His train filled the temple." I've quoted and read that verse
for years. And it wasn't until recently
that I realized I've been quoting it wrong. I hate that. I always quoted it in the year
King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting up on a throne high and
lifted up. But that's not what it says.
Look at it carefully. It says in the year that King
Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting up on a throne high and
lifted up. Isaiah also saw something else. What else did Isaiah see? He saw that the security that
he had in this life died. That's very important. God showed
him that there's no security in this life. But the security
that's found only in the Lord Jesus Christ, his brother Donnie,
Ably told us. Isaiah had to see the frailty. He had to see the weakness. He
had to see the death of his king before he could ever see the
King of Kings. Now, let me tell you something.
Let me say something, I should say, to those of you who are
yet without Christ. You will, too. If you belong
to God, if you're one of His, He'll strip you of any peace,
joy, comfort, security that you have in this world and in this
life. The real King is not an earthly King. The real King is
the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And He's the Lord Jesus
Christ. But your Uzziah is going to have
to die before you see the true and eternal King. And, you know,
we can make a king Uzziah out of anything. That's what mammon is. Mammon
can be anything that you worship instead of God. Anything that
you put before God can be mammon. It can be your wealth. It can
be your career. It can be your children. It can
be your spouse, parents, children. And the Lord Jesus said, you
cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot serve two masters. You'll love the one and despise
the other. It's impossible. It's impossible
to love two people the most. Isn't it? You can't do it. You're going
to love one more. It can only be one master. Possibly for the first time in
Isaiah's life, he finds himself without that worldly security
that men and women think they have. Maybe he begins to fret. Thinks about all the fringe benefits
that came with his close connection to his earthly king. I am certain this was a real
crisis for him. He'd lived in comfort and security
under the king for a 52-year reign. I don't know how old Isaiah
was at the time, but now he's afflicted with trouble. He was
deeply concerned. So what did Isaiah do then? He
began to seek the Lord. And friends, my experience has
been in this life that when men get into trouble, They'll do
one of two things. They'll run from the Lord or
they'll seek Him. Are you troubled? Are you afflicted
in your soul over your sin? Has God shown you that the things
of this world decay and soon fade away. Has God taken away
your King Uzziah? Will you trust in the things
of the world or will you lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven where moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do
not break through nor steal? The Lord stripped Uzziah of his
comfort, his security, and then Isaiah began to seek the Lord. God had already begun a work
of grace in his troubled heart. We don't seek the Lord and then
He shows us mercy. We seek the Lord after He's shown
us mercy and dealt with us in grace. 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. You see, in order for
depraved and wretched sinners to be saved, they must see the
Lord. You're going to have to see the
Lord. And listen to me closely. If you ever truly see the Lord,
you're going to have to see Him high and lifted up, sitting upon
a throne. That's where the Lord of hosts
is found. He's sitting on His throne in all power and in all
dominion. And many today profess to know
the Lord, but I know their Lord is not the Lord. You know why? Because he's not sitting on a
throne. The God of man's imagination
is pacing the portals of heaven, and he's wringing his hands,
and he's begging, and he's pleading. He's pleading for sinners to
believe in him, but he's not sitting on a throne. The God
of man's imagination. Oh, he's at the front of the
church. He's wishing and hoping that someone will come to him.
Others say that this God is watching us from a distance. I liked Bette
Midler until she sung that song. God's watching us from a distance.
No, I beg your pardon, Ms. Midler. He's not watching us
from a distance, hoping we make the right decision. He's on His
throne, and He's ruling, and He's reigning, and He's causing
all things to come to pass exactly like He purposes to do. The Lord
saw Isaiah, and He wasn't pleading with sinners. He was pleading
for sinners. Big difference. Big difference. And the Lord is sitting in authority,
and He's ruling, and He's reigning as King of kings. and Lord of
Lords. He's King Jesus. The Lord did not strive and labor
to make salvation possible. He made salvation a certainty
for His elect. And He's sitting on the throne
because His work's finished. That's why He's sitting. The
work's finished. It's done. He said on Calvary's
cross, It's finished. It's done. It's over. The Lord
of heaven and earth is not anxious. He's not waiting for someone
to love Him. He's working all things together for the good
of them that love Him, who are be called according to His purpose. And He's working all things together
in sovereign providence to save those whom He loved before the
foundation of the world. He's not trying to do anything.
He's sitting on His throne high. and lifted up. And God has exalted
him and given him power over all flesh, that he should give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." Notice also in verse 1 that when
Isaiah sees the Lord, his train filled the temple. Do you know
what this train is that filled the throne room of God? The Hebrew
word for train is shul. I think that's how it's pronounced.
S-H-U-L. And you know what it means? Skirt. Skirt. You remember that infant
thrown out in the field to die in Ezekiel 16? The Lord said,
Now when I passed by thee and looked upon thee, behold, thy
time was a time of love, and I spread my skirt over thee. and covered thy nakedness." Friends,
that skirt is the righteousness of God. That righteousness that
Donnie told us about a moment ago. That perfect righteousness. And it filled God's temple. And
it covers the chosen sinner and covers their nakedness. That
woman with the issue of blood, I've pictured her so many times
in my mind, I can just see her all bent over, spent all that
she had on doctors and just grew worse. But she said in her heart,
why? Because God had already done
a work of grace. God had already written some
things on her heart. And she said, oh, if I could
just touch the hem, the skirt of His robe, I'll be made whole. She touched him, the skirt of
his robe, and he said, Virtue has gone out of me. You know
what virtue is? Righteousness. It's gone out
of me, his robe of righteousness, his goodness, his holiness fills
God's heavenly temple. And look at verse two, And 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. Now the Word of God is very specific
about what angels are. I know what men today say about
them. They're not little fairies flying
around shooting arrows on Valentine's Day. I know that. They're ministering spirits sent
forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.
That's what Hebrews chapter 1 verse 14 says. And you might be interested
to know that the word seraph means minister of God. The Holy
Spirit here gives us a picture, a very good picture, of what
a true minister of the gospel is. Notice that these seraphs,
these ministers of God, had six wings. One pair to cover their
face, one pair to cover their feet, and one pair to fly. They cover their face, which
is expressive of their modesty and their humility. The true
minister of God looks upon Himself as less than the least. The chief
of sinners. And I'm convinced that true servants
of God will not be puffed up. They just won't be. They cover
their faces. They're ashamed of themselves
before a thrice holy God. conscious of their sinfulness
and their unworthiness to be in His presence. They cover their
feet conscious of their imperfections, the imperfections of their walk
before God, conscious of their imperfections of conduct and
conversation as ministers and servants in the sight of God,
regardless of how beautiful their feet may appear to others. And
with twain they do fly, denoting their readiness and their willingness
to run to and fro, to preach to sinners the everlasting gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a picture of what a true
minister should be. Verse 3, And one cried unto another,
and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole
earth is full of his glory. And this is the message. is holy and He can by no means
clear the guilty. Oh, are you guilty? That should cause you some concern
if you are. He has mercy on whom He will
have mercy. And the whole earth is full of
His glory. Not the glory of sinful men who
claim to save themselves. Then in verse 5 we see the clear
response of Isaiah who sees God upon his throne high and lifted
up. Then said I, woe is me. Woe is me for I am undone because
I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips for mine eyes have seen the King. The Lord
of hosts, not Uzziah, but the King of glory. And in the light of His holiness,
His glory, Isaiah sees the truth about himself. Have you seen
the truth about yourself? If you have, you'll say, woe
is me. I'm undone. I'm undone. If you have a marginal
Bible, you may notice that that undone means cut off. Oh, I'm
cut off. Cut off from fellowship with
God. Cut off. I'm undone from the
sole of my foot even to the top of my head. There's no soundness
in me. Nothing but sin, a man full of
wounds and bruises and putrefying sores that haven't been closed
or doctored. Some might say that's disgusting. No, it's not near as disgusting
as what we are by nature before a thrice holy God. It doesn't
even begin to compare with the repulsiveness that we must show
before God. Isaiah, he once looked upon Uzziah,
his king, and he felt good about himself. But now he sees the
king, the Lord of hosts, And now he knows that he's unclean
and that everybody that he dwells with is in the same condition. And he says, I'm in trouble. I'm in trouble. Woe is me. Misery. Sorrow. Distress. Wretchedness. Despair is mine. What am I going
to do? What am I going to do? Friends,
if you ever see the Lord, you too will say, woe is me. You
too will see that you're undone, that you're cut off. But here's
the best news I ever heard in my life. If you ever see the Lord, and you cry unto Him for help,
He will not leave you in your woe. Never one time did anyone
who came before the Lord Jesus and fell upon their face and
said, have mercy on me, none was ever denied it. None. I can't find anywhere in Scripture.
Can you? God will not leave you in your
woe. He won't leave you in your misery, your sorrow, distress.
For to see the Lord means that he's already begun to work desperately
wicked heart of ours. He's already crossed your path
with the gospel by one of his messengers. Now look at verse
6. 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. Now when you confess your sin
as Isaiah did, God sends a messenger. God sends a messenger with the
word of forgiveness and pardon. And with that live burning coal
of the gospel in his hand, that's what that represents, which he
had taken with the tongues, which represent preaching from off
that altar. That's what God's ministers do.
They take that burning coal from off the altar and they deliver
it up. And Isaiah says in verse 7, And
he laid it upon my mouth, and he said, Lo, lest I touch my
lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Touched and washed now are the
unclean lips. Gone are the bruises, the wounds,
and the putrefying sores of sin. And friends, that's the gospel.
That's the good news for real sinners. And to those of you
who are yet without Christ, oh my. And I was thinking today,
I pray that the Lord will enable me to preach knowing that men and women are
hanging by a thread over hell that don't know Christ. Oh, this
is serious, serious business. God, I hope God never allows
me to take it lightly. Let me ask you. Has the Lord
killed your earthly king? Do you see the Lord of lords
and the king of kings high and lifted up? Or will you continue to worship
the king of your free will? Will you continue to Put your
rest and security in that worthless king. Will you continue to worship
the king of self-righteousness or will you bow to King Jesus? Do you see that you're unclean?
Do you see that you're undone? Do you see that you're unworthy? Have you heard the burning words
of God's gospel? Has God, by the preaching of
the gospel, put the Word of Life upon your mouth and in your heart?
If not, may God grant it to be so right now. Thank you.