If you would take your Bibles
and turn with me to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 6,
I want to begin by reading what will be a portion of the text
that we will look at today. The title of the message is Holy,
Holy, Holy. Isaiah chapter 6, I want to begin
reading in verse 1. In the year of King Uzziah's
death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty, exalted,
with a train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above
Him, each having six wings. With two he covered his face,
and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one
called out to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts. The whole earth is full of his
glory. And the foundations of the threshold
trembled at the voice of Him who called out, while the temple
was filling with smoke. Then I said, Woe is me, for I
am ruined. It was A.W. Tozer who said years
ago, these profound and penetrating words, the most important thing
about you is what comes into your mind when you think about
God. That is the pivotal issue for
every one of us here today. You will never understand yourself
until you first understand who God is. You will never understand
sin. You will never understand salvation. You will never understand sanctification
until we first understand who God is. We will never have an
accurate worldview until we first view God and understand who He
is. God is the ultimate paradigm
through which we see everything. I agree with R.C. Sproul that
theology proper and the study of God is the ultimate hermeneutic
through which we must see everything. I can never know my true spiritual
state nor my need for grace until I first know who God is. I can never have a proper understanding
of myself. In fact, I will always be self-deceived
about my own spiritual state until I first understand who
God is. Everything in life hinges upon
the knowledge of God. In fact, salvation is called
knowing God. Our eternal destiny hinges upon
knowing God and knowing who God is. And so I want to ask you
one more time, when you think of God, what is your first thought of
God? A right view of God leads to being right with God. A right
view of God leads to right living. A high view of God leads to high
and holy living. A low view of God leads to low
gutter living. A faulty view of God leads to
faulty living. Everything hinges in our relationship
with God. So I want to ask you again, what
comes to your mind when you think of God? You cannot be wrong here
and right anyplace else. Of all of the attributes of God,
the one that is primary and the one that is preeminent is the
absolute holiness of God. This is what should first come
to our minds. Thomas Watson, the great Puritan,
once wrote, quote, holiness is the most sparkling jewel of his
crown, close quote. In other words, the holiness
of God is the crown jewel of the divine diadem. Sovereignty
is the scepter in His hand. Righteousness and justice are
the foundation of His throne. Truth drips from His lips. Love fills His heart. Omnipotence
is in His arms and in His hands. Omniscience is His eyes and His
ears. But the crown jewel of all of
the attributes of God is His holiness. Every attribute of
God that will be presented in this series is defined first
by His holiness. Stephen Charnock, another great
Puritan, writes, His justice is holy justice. His wisdom is
holy wisdom. His arm of power is a holy arm. His truth is a holy truth. His name which signifies all
of His attributes is holy. Everything about God is holy.
His Son is holy. His Spirit is holy. His Word
is holy. His will is holy. His judgments
are holy. His ways are holy. about God is defined by His holiness. There's nothing more important
in any of our spiritual lives here tonight, this morning, than
for us to come yet again and to drink from this text that
speaks to the holiness of God. This is the Mount Everest text.
This is the signature text in the Bible. If I had one opportunity,
which I do, to speak to you on the holiness of God, this is
the text. And so as we look at this today,
I want us to walk through this passage down to verse 8. And
I want to set before you some headings that will serve as landmarks
along the way to help us walk through this passage of Scripture.
I want you to notice first the dramatic confrontation. That is in verse 1, this scene
begins with an extraordinary vision that is given to the prophet
Isaiah, a vision of God, a vision of the holiness of God, and this
vision is in reality a divine confrontation. One that shook
Isaiah to the very core of his being. Verse 1 begins, in the
year of King Uzziah's death, the year is 789 BC, and it is
a year of national crisis. Uzziah has been king of Judah
for the last 52 years. He was a boy king. He assumed the throne of Judah
at age 16. And for the last 52 years, as
long as Uzziah has been upon the throne, there has been met
much success upon the nation. Commerce has flourished. The
military has been built up. And the hand of God has been
upon Uzziah for good. But toward the end of his career,
pride began to fill Uzziah's heart as he looked around and
he saw all the accomplishments that God was bringing to pass.
Uzziah lost sight of the holiness of God and he assumed that all
of this was happening because of his cleverness and because
of his leadership skills and because what he brought to the
table and he lost sight of God and he became drunk with his
own power. And he wanted to overstep his
own parameters as king, and to enter into what only the priests
could do, and to go into the temple of God, and to cross the
line, and to make sacrifice. And the priest warned him and
said, do not do that. And he pushed him aside with
no regard for the holiness of God. And he arrogantly strutted
into the holy place. And as soon as he did, God struck
him with leprosy. And he lived the final years
of his life as a leper, as an outcast. And He is the poster child for one who would disregard the
holiness of God. The whole nation was shaken.
The throne is now empty. Where will they look? To whom
will they turn? And it is in that context of
this national crisis that Isaiah comes into the temple in Jerusalem. He is a diplomat. He is a statesman. He is in the process of becoming
a prophet. And he begins to seek the Lord
and he looks to God. And as he comes into the temple
in this traumatic hour of uncertainty and crisis, he unexpectedly is given a vision
of God. We read in verse 1 that he writes,
I saw the Lord. This vision would define the
rest of his life and the entirety of his ministry. He said, I saw
the Lord. You'll note the word Lord is
capital L, lowercase O-R-D. As opposed to verse 6, Lord is
all capital letters. All capital letters signify the
name for God, Jehovah or Yahweh. But in verse 1, it is upper and
lower case, which signifies the Hebrew name Adonai. God is so
immense, God is so eternal, God is so high and lifted up, that
on even one name for God is sufficient to communicate the awesomeness
of all that God is. He is a God of many names because
He is infinite perfection. In this name in verse 1, I saw
the Lord. God reveals Himself to Isaiah
in the temple uniquely as Adonai. The name Adonai means the sovereign
one. The one possessing supreme authority
over the nations, and over kings, and over princes, and over judges,
and over the poor. Of the One who controls the weather,
circumstances, and events. Of the One who is Lord over every
molecule of the universe. He but speaks and it comes to
pass. He but issues a decree and it is fulfilled. This is
whom Isaiah sees, I saw the Lord. Sitting on a throne. not sleeping on a couch, not
snoozing in a bed as if he is passive or a mere spectator of
what is taking place upon the earth in this hour of history,
but one who is seated upon the throne. The throne is the seat
of government for the universe. The one who sits upon this throne
has all authority in heaven and earth. That He is sitting on
a throne means that heaven and the universe is being run, not
by a democracy, but by a theocracy. The government of one. That God
is presiding and ordaining and decreeing and controlling and
governing and ruling and reigning over earthly kings and kingdoms.
This throne is the highest apex of the universe. It is the dominant
control point. of all that there is. In John
chapter 4, John is caught up into heaven and he immediately
sees a throne. And everything in heaven is measured
by its proximity to this throne, under the throne, above the throne,
around the throne, next to the throne. going to the throne,
coming from the throne. Everything in heaven is measured
by its proximity to the throne and everything in the universe finds its proper place in right
relationship to this throne. This throne is dominant. This
throne does not seek permission, it gives permission. Lofty and exalted. Towering over all other thrones. Transcendent over heaven and
earth. Elevated above time and eternity. Towering over the flow of history. No one His equal. No one His
peer. No one on His level. The Most
High God. And note, would you read in verse
1, with the train of His robe filling the temple. The greatness
of an ancient king was measured by the size and the length of
his train. The greater the king and the
greater his kingdom, the longer was his train. And earthly kings,
as they had these long flowing trains, as they would enter into
the throne room, and as they would mount the throne, there
would be attendants who would come behind them to pick up the
train so that he could ascend his throne. And then others who
would come to stand before His throne would be subjected to
this impression of His majesty and of His authority because
of the train. But as Isaiah now sees the Lord
sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, the train of His robe
filled the entire temple. The picture here is of unlimited
sovereignty. Many diadems upon His head. Unrivaled,
unequaled, unparalleled, uncompromised, unyielding, the blessed and only
sovereign. Listen, none of us here today
can even begin to comprehend just how sovereign God is. However sovereign you think God
is, is still understated. Psalm 33 verse 8. Let all the
earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the
world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke and it was done.
He commanded and it stood fast. The Lord nullifies the counsel
of the nations. He frustrates the plans of the
peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands
forever. The plans of His heart from generation
to generation. You know what that means? With
God, there is no plan B. There is no plan C. God will
not amend or alter His plans for anyone or for anything. All
of history is His story. Psalm 93, verse 1, the Lord reigns. He is clothed with majesty. Psalm
97, verse 1, the Lord reigns. Let the earth rejoice. Let the
many islands be glad. Psalm 103, 19, the Lord has established
His throne in the heavens and His sovereignty rules over all. This is the vision that Isaiah
receives as he is caught up into the throne room of God and will
define everything about his life. What comes into your mind when
you think of God? We must come to understand that
our God rules and reigns in the heavens, that He is high and
lifted up. All that matters, ultimately,
is what God decides to bring to pass. I want you to note second,
beginning in verse 2, the devoted chorus. As Isaiah was caught
up in this vision of God, he sees above the throne of God
an extraordinary sight and he hears an extraordinary chorus. Notice verse 2, Seraphim stood
above him. Seraphim are an order, a special
order of angelic beings. They are there to guard the glory
of God and to promote the holiness of God. They are above Him, not
above Him in order or above Him in authority, nor above God in
reign, but above Him that with antiphonal praise there might
be a volley over the throne of God day and night, day and night,
unceasing of what we will read in verse 3. The name seraphim
means the burning ones. And because they are in the very
presence of God, they are always on fire for God. The closer one
draws to God, the less lukewarm you become. And these in the
immediate presence of God, they are full of energy and fervency
and fire and intensity and ardor and devotion. No one is lukewarm
in the presence of God. There is no apathy, there are
no stoics in the presence of God. Only zeal from God. The seraphim are the burning
ones. They are on fire for God. Notice,
each having six wings. With two, He covered His face. Who can stand in the immediate
presence of God and look upon His blazing, blinding glory without
being blinded? They cover their eyes because
they stand in the immediate presence of God. It would be easier to
stand upon the surface of the sun barefoot and look directly
into the ball of fire that is known as the sun while standing
upon the surface of the sun than to stand in the immediate presence
of God and not be overwhelmed with His blazing glory. And with two, He covered His
feet. It was an expression of humility and homage. A recognition of being completely
unworthy of being in the presence of one who is so holy and perfect. And with two, he flew. They are like hummingbirds, if
you will, ready just to dart out as soon as God but gives
the Word. And with these two wings, they
are ready to carry out the orders of the Lord in serving Him. They are not sluggish. They are
not slow to do God's bidding because they are in the immediate
presence of God and God must but speak the Word and they are
ready to dash out and dart out from His immediate presence and
carry out whatever assignment would be given to them. And verse
3, and one called out to another and said, holy, holy, holy is
the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His
glory. Over and over again, endlessly,
without end, they continue to cry this out to God in recognition
of His absolute holiness. We will never pick up the Bible
and read that the angels are crying out, love, love, love. Or truth, truth, truth. Although
God is perfect love and God is inflexible truth. But the one
attribute of God that is singled out above all of the attributes
of God is the absolute holiness of God. And it defines the other
attributes. His love is holy love. His truth
is holy truth. It is repeated three times, holy,
holy, holy. It is a figure of speech. It
is a literary device. Meaning holy, holier, holiest. That God is holy. God is holier
than anyone else or anything else, but that God is the one
single most holiest being in the entire universe. That is
what is being communicated here. And the word holy, what does
the word holy mean? The word holy comes from a Semitic
root, which means to cut, which means to separate. Like taking
a piece of paper and just cutting it in half where the two sides
are separated. That God is so infinitely holy
that He is set apart from all of His creation. There's a primary and there's
a secondary meaning. The primary meaning is that God
is so set apart from His creation that He is transcendent, He is
majestic, He is high and lifted up, that He is wholly other than
us, that He is utterly separated from us, He is totally set apart
from us, He is totally distinct from us, He is totally different
from us. We're not even in His league. And there is a vast chasm that
separates holy God from all the works of His hands. And even in heaven, there will
be a crystal sea around the throne that will forever even separate
God from all of His glorified, redeemed creation. Holy, holy, holy. The secondary meaning of holy
means to be set apart from all impurities, to be morally perfect, to be
blameless, to be sinless, that all of his thoughts are
pure and perfect. All of His ways are unmarred
by the corruption of sin. Every choice, every decision
that God makes is absolutely perfect. His promises will never
fail. His will can never be resisted.
He is absolutely holy. And the whole earth is full of
His glory, that this holiness overshadows the entirety of His
creation, and the glory of God is simply His holiness going
public. Holiness is the sum and the substance
of all that God is. It is all of the perfections
of God. It is the Alpha and the Omega
of His perfect being. 1 John 1 verse 5 says, God is
light and in Him there is no darkness at all. Exodus 15 speaks
of the majesty of His holiness. Leviticus 11, I am the Lord your
God, I am holy. Psalm 89, God swears by His own
holiness. Psalm 30, the saints praise Him
for His holiness. Everything about God is holy.
His being is holy. His name is holy. His habitation
is holy. And because God is infinitely,
perfectly holy, God hates all sin. And God opposes all sin. And every sin in the history
of the universe will be personally, fully, and directly punished
by a holy God. No sin will ever be swept under
the carpet as if it didn't happen. No sin will ever be discarded
and there be no punishment of that sin. If a judge ever knowingly
and willingly lets a guilty man go free, the judge is an accomplice
in the crime. God is a holy God and He cannot
overlook any sin. Every sin will either be punished
in hell or punished in Christ. upon the cross, but every sin
will be directly, immediately, fully punished by God in full. We have no idea how holy God
is. What is the effect of this holiness
upon those even in the immediate presence of God? What is the
effect of God's holiness upon heaven itself? Look at verse
4, "...and the foundations of the
thresholds trembled." Oh, heaven begins to revibrate
with the magnification of the holiness of God. I understand
there was an earthquake here a couple of days ago. Everybody
is in a tizzy. nothing compared to being in the presence
of the holiness. The very pillars and posts of
heaven begin to shake. The very foundation and the floor
of heaven begin to shake. There is swaying, there is rocking,
there is heaving, there is quivering, there is trembling because of
the manifestation of the holiness of God and everyone in His presence
comes under the sway of this holiness. And at the end of verse
4, the temple was filling with smoke. Folks, this is not a casual
worship service. They're not humming Kumbaya. Not if you've seen God. Not if
you've seen the holiness of God. I mean, you'd sit up straight. You'd be at attention. You'd
be on the floor. You'd be hanging on. There is no boring worship service
when you are in the immediate presence of God. The whole temple in heaven, the
throne room is filling with smoke as the Shekinah glory of God
is filling up the inner circle of heaven. When you think of God, what first comes into your mind? It will define everything else
in your life. You tell me what you believe
about God, I'll tell you everything else about your life. It is the interpretive key that
unlocks every door in your life. Look at verse 5, number 3. The deep conviction. The foundations of the thresholds
are not the only thing that are shaking. The thing that quaked
the most in the building was Isaiah. Look in verse 5. Then I said, woe is me for I
am ruined. Now this word woe sounds very
archaic and it's not like a man on a horse saying, woe. That's
not the meaning. The word woe means cursed, judged,
damned. You'll find the word used six
times in the previous chapter in Isaiah 5. Every one was a
pronouncement of divine judgment upon unlawful practices in the
nation Israel. Six woes in Isaiah chapter 5. Woe unto you! Woe unto you! Judged, cursed, ready and fit
to be damned. And now the seventh woe. Isaiah
pronounces upon his own head. Isaiah is a man who is converted. Isaiah is a man who has been
reckoned the righteousness of Christ who would die for his
sins at this point. But Isaiah realizes that in the
presence of the holiness of God, that he has woefully fallen short
of God. and that he deserves to be accursed. He said, for I am ruined. I can't
live in the immediate presence of the holiness of God without
being increasingly aware of my own sin. The word ruined
means undone. I am undone. I am disintegrating. I am shattered into pieces. I
am devastated. I am destroyed. I am broken.
I am ruined because of this awareness of God's holiness in my own unholiness. And then he says, because I'm
a man of unclean lips. He would say, Isaiah, you A man
of unclean lips? That's the one thing you have
going for you, Isaiah. You open your mouth and you speak
like no one else in Israel can speak. You're a counselor to
the king. You're a statesman. You're a diplomat. You have a
command of the language. Isaiah says, you do not know
my heart. My tongue, even the most important
part of my body that is most used by God is corrupted and depraved and sinful. Previous to this, perhaps Isaiah
felt comfortable as he lived his spiritual life comparing
himself to the Egyptians or to the Assyrians or to other fellow
Jews, and as he would compare himself to others, Isaiah no
doubt looked to be very good, but in this defining moment,
as he steps into the light of God's holiness, Isaiah does not
see Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, or other fellow Jews, or Canaanites,
or anyone else sinful around him. All Isaiah can see is God,
and compared to God, I am the chief sinner. 1 John 1 says, if we say we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Isaiah's
own self-esteem is shattered. His own self-perception is smashed. He sees that with his tongue
he is unfit to praise God as the seraphim are. He is unfit
to call out, holy, holy, holy, because his own tongue is contaminated
with sin. And the reason it is, is because
man speaks out of the abundance of the heart. And I live among a people of
unclean lips. Israel is the chosen nation of
God. Israel is the elect nation. Israel is the crown jewel of
God's economy. The Egyptians are pagan. The
Assyrians are heathen. The Babylonians are ungodly and
unworldly. Israel has had the covenants.
Israel has had the promises. Israel has had the law. Israel
has had the prophets. Israel has been favored by God
like no other nation. God has revealed Himself to this
privileged people of Israel. He has come down upon them in
the tabernacle and revealed Himself in the temple. This nation has
been favored by God like no other nation. on the earth, but in
this moment, as Isaiah sees the holiness of God, he recognizes
this is a decadent society. And I live among a people of
unclean lips, whose lives fall short, and it's
not just okay. And here's why he sees as he
does. For my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of hosts. My friend, it will change your
life to see God. It will change your self-perception.
It will change how you see the world. It will change how you
see your nation. It will change when you see anything
and everything in this world. The holiness of God is the ultimate
paradigm through which you finally see correctly. Look at verse 6. I want you to
see fourth, the divine cleansing. Because this holy God is a God
of holy grace, holy forgiveness, holy love. It was in this moment of confessing
his sin to God that Isaiah found grace with God. Look at verse 6, then, meaning
in that very moment, immediately, instantly, then one of the seraphim
flew to me with a burning coal in his hand. If I had been Isaiah,
I'd have been crawling under the temple. Here is this seraphim,
a burning one, on fire, picking up a burning coal and flying
across the throne room, headed my way. God has already said to Adam,
in the day that you eat of this fruit, you shall die. God said
through Ezekiel, the soul that sins, he shall surely die. Paul
would later write, the wages of sin is what? It's death. What must be going on in Isaiah's
mind? It's over. Do you remember the
death angel that flew through Egypt the night of the Passover
and the firstborn of every son? Immediate death. Immediate death. Where there was not blood put
on the lintel of the door. One of the seraphim flew to me
with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar
with tongs." Isaiah has no place to hide. There are no fig leaves
that he can hide behind. He is naked before God. He is
exposed before God. His sin is out in the open before
God. Verse 7. He touched my mouth with it. That burning coal is pressed
to the lips of Isaiah, that most sensitive part of the body, red
hot coal beginning to cauterize the lips The smoke begins to
ascend from Isaiah's own lips and the seraphim said, behold,
this has touched your lips and your iniquity is taken away and
your sin is forgiven. There is only one who can forgive
sin and that is God and God alone. All sin is ultimately against
God. Even if I sin against you or
you sin against me, that is only secondary because it is God's
holiness that is violated. It is God's Word that is broken
and only God can ultimately forgive sin. in the fullest and truest
way. And Isaiah hears these words
that are the greatest words to have for any sinner to ever hear. These are the greatest words
that you will ever hear come into your ear as well because
of the holiness of God. To hear these words, your sin
is forgiven. You remember when they took the
paralytic in Mark chapter 2 and they removed the roof and they
lowered the paralytic down in front of Jesus? And Jesus addressed
the greatest need in that man's life, and it was not for physical
healing. It was for a spiritual healing.
And Jesus said to that man, Son, your sins are forgiven. That is what the gospel is. That
is the good news of the cross. That is what salvation is. It is God saying to us, your
sin is forgiven. Now Isaiah's sins have already
been forgiven eternally, judicially, the moment he entered into the
kingdom. But every moment of every day as we live our spiritual
lives, we who have been eternally forgiven by God still need daily
forgiveness, parental forgiveness. We no longer stand before God
as the judge of heaven and earth. We know Him as our Father now
and we need parental forgiveness. That is what Isaiah is receiving
here. And how painful is the process. There is no cheap grace. Repentance and confession and
restoration always comes at a painful price. If there is not the mourning
over sin, there is no true repentance. Blessed are they who mourn, for
they shall be comforted. This burning coal symbolizes
the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sin that
will come exclusively through His substitutionary death upon
the cross. There is no cleansing in the
fire itself, just as there is no cleansing in the baptismal
pool. There is only one thing that
can remove sin and that is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that
makes me white as snow. No other fount I know. Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission of sin. He is the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world. The blood of Jesus cleanses us
from all sin. That is what is taking place
here. You need to be forgiven of your
sin. You don't need a plus on your
life. You don't need a little push. You need forgiveness. I need forgiveness. And it is
found exclusively in confessing my sin to God, and it comes through
the Lord Jesus Christ. Very quickly, the last thing,
verse 8, the decisive call Up to this point, Isaiah has seen
God and has heard the seraphim, but now it is time for him to
hear the voice of God. He has felt the burning coals,
he has heard the angels' pronouncement, and now for the first time, he
will hear God speak to him. Look at verse 8, then I heard
the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will
go for us? God is not asking for the purpose
of receiving information. God knows everything. God never
learns anything. Because God has foreordained
all that comes to pass. The point of the question is
to drive deep into Isaiah's heart. That Isaiah would search his
own soul and search his own life. Whom shall I send and who will
go for us? This is a question of grace.
and that God is quick to forgive, and God is quick to enlist and
to employ those who have been forgiven. Then I said, Here am I. Send me. To say, Here am I, is different
from saying, Here I am. Here I am reveals your geographical
location. Here I am. Here am I signifies,
Lord, I'm willing. Lord, I'm available. Lord, I
am cleansed. Lord, I am ready. Lord, use me. Anyone who has seen the holiness
of God and who has confessed their sin and been forgiven by
God is is ready to be used by God to go out into the world.
And if you're not saying to God, here am I, send me, you've never
seen God. You've never really confessed
your sin. You've never received the Lord's
forgiveness. Because if you had, your heart
would be so full to overflowing, you would be sitting unready,
God send me, God use me. This is an amazing thing. That
God takes polluted people and makes them His prophets. That
God takes sinful people and He makes them His spokesmen. He
takes shattered people and makes them His servants. And God took
a man with an unclean mouth and gave him an uncommon calling. Do you see yourself in this passage? Would you say to God today, here
am I, send me? Would you say to the Lord, God,
I am ready. God, I want to be used. God,
I am eager. I am ready. To be at that point,
you would have to first see God as Isaiah did, and have this
dramatic encounter with the living God, and to hear the choruses
of the angels cry out this truth, holy, holy, holy. You would have
to feel something of the ground shaking beneath you as you would
be in the presence of this holy God, and for the fear of God
to be in you, and reverence and awe to be in your heart. And
you would have to say to God, woe is me, for I am ruined. I'm
a man of unclean lips. If we confess our sin, He is
faithful and righteous to cleanse us of our sin. Would you say to God, I am a
sinner. I need forgiveness. I say to you this day, there
is only one Savior. There is only one who can take
away your sin. There is only one who can wash
you and cleanse you. And that one is God's Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Come, let us reason together,
says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
they shall be white as wool. There is a fountain filled with
blood, drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunge beneath
that flood, lose all their guilty stains. Say to Christ, I'm a great sinner.
Say to Christ, I have sinned and fallen short of Your glory.
Say to Him, I need Your forgiveness. Say to Him, I surrender my life
to You. I repent of my sin. And He will
say to you, your sin is forgiven and your iniquity is removed. Do you think you could go to
heaven without your sins being forgiven? Do you think this holy
God would receive polluted, depraved, wicked, evil? sinners into the holiness of
His presence? The answer is no. But if you
will come to that fountain filled with blood, if you will come
to the Lord Jesus Christ, if you will confess your sin, if
you will believe upon Christ, He will wash you, He will cleanse
you. And one day when you die, He will usher you into the presence
of this infinitely holy God, and He will present you faultless
before the throne of grace. There is only one who can present
you to God acceptable, and that is Him who became sin for you
upon the cross and without the shedding of blood there is no
remission of sin." What would keep you from coming
to Christ? What would hold you back? Why do you tarry? Why do you hesitate when He is
so ready and eager to forgive you? Let us pray. Father, we are overwhelmed with
this encounter that Isaiah had with you. And it would be the
same for any one of us here today. We vicariously can easily find
ourselves in this very passage. And we stand where Isaiah stands
with unclean lips, unclean hearts, unclean lives. It is true of everyone in this
building. It is true of everyone on this planet. And Lord, we
thank you for the grace and the forgiveness that is found in
Christ alone. May there be those here today
who will come to Christ and receive His forgiveness for the very
first time. And may we all When we think of you, think of your holiness, and may
we see every other attribute as marked and defined and distinguished
by your holiness. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.