5 Things Sinners Must Have

Q: What does the Bible say about idols in our lives?

The Bible teaches that all idols must be removed as they interfere with God receiving glory, as seen in Isaiah 6:1-8. In Isaiah 6:1-8, we see God removing the idol of King Uzziah from Isaiah's heart, demonstrating that any person or thing we hold dear can become an idol if it distracts us from giving glory to God. The lesson is that God will not share His glory with anyone or anything. Isaiah admired Uzziah, but when Uzziah became prideful and sought to approach God on his own terms, God judged him. This narrative emphasizes that we cannot approach God outside of Christ, our High Priest. It is essential for Christians to examine their hearts for idols and seek God's help in removing them, as God desires our complete devotion.

Q: How do we know God's holiness is essential for our salvation?

God's holiness is essential because it demands that justice be satisfied, which Christ accomplished through His sacrifice. Romans 3:25 teaches us that God set forth Christ as a propitiation for our sins, declaring His righteousness. God's holiness necessitates that justice must be satisfied when dealing with sin. If Christ had not fulfilled the law’s demands through His perfect life and sacrificial death, we could not be declared righteous. His holiness ensures that our salvation does not compromise His justice. God’s character is such that He cannot overlook sin; therefore, He orchestrated a plan of salvation that fully satisfies His justice while allowing Him to be merciful to those who believe. This understanding of God’s holiness is crucial for grappling with the extent of our salvation in relation to His divine nature.

Q: Why is confession of sin important for Christians?

Confession is vital as it acknowledges our unworthiness and need for God's grace, leading to spiritual healing. Isaiah’s confession of being 'undone' in Isaiah 6 demonstrates the necessary humility that comes from recognizing our sinful state before a holy God. He states, 'Woe is me! For I am undone,' which reflects a deep understanding of personal unworthiness. This confession goes beyond simply admitting wrongdoing; it involves recognizing one's total dependence on God's mercy. When we confess, we are acknowledging not just our actions but the very nature of our hearts. 1 John 1:9 reassures us that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us. Confession restores our relationship with God, purging our conscience and helping to maintain our walk in faith.

Q: What does it mean to have our consciences purged?

Having our consciences purged means being cleansed from sin through Christ's sacrifice, enabling us to serve God faithfully. In Isaiah 6, the seraphim purged Isaiah's sin by placing a live coal on his lips, symbolizing the cleansing power of Christ’s sacrifice. Hebrews 10:22 teaches us that by Christ's blood, our hearts are sprinkled from an evil conscience. This purging process is both positional and experiential; it assures us that our sins are washed away, and it equips us to serve the living God. With a purged conscience, we can approach God boldly. It is crucial for believers to understand that this cleansing is not just from guilt but a transformation that empowers us to live righteously and serve Him effectively.

Q: How are we called to serve God?

We are called to serve God after being transformed and equipped by Him, as demonstrated by Isaiah's response in Isaiah 6. In Isaiah 6:8, after Isaiah has had his idols removed, received a divine revelation, confessed his sin, and had his conscience purged, he responds willingly to God's call, saying, 'Here am I, send me.' This progression highlights that true service comes only after a personal encounter with God and His mercy. God is actively involved in calling us to serve, and this calling is not about our abilities, but about His empowerment of us after a profound transformation. This serves as a reminder that anyone who goes forth to proclaim the Gospel must first be sent by God. Our service is a response born out of gratitude for our salvation, made possible through His grace.

Isaiah chapter 6. We'll begin reading our text
in verse 1. Isaiah chapter 6 verse 1. 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
two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet,
and with two he did fly. And one cried unto another, and
said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth
is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved
at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with
smoke. Then said I, 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. 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
thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard
the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I sin, and who will
go for us? Then said I, Here am I, sin me. There are five things here that
sinners must have. That will be the title of this
message, Five Things Sinners Must Have. First of all, all
of our idols must be removed. The sinner must have all of our
idols removed. Isaiah 6 1 says 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 Isaiah admired King
Uzziah very much Scripture tells us that Isaiah I mean Uzziah
was a good king he began his reign when he was 16 years old
and he reigned for 52 years and And Isaiah was brought up and
taught concerning the greatness of King Uzziah. And he not only admired King
Uzziah and saw the goodness of this king and all that he accomplished
in the kingdom, but he was related to King Uzziah. He was blood
kin to King Uzziah. And between the fact that King
Uzziah was such a good king and so admirable, and so one that
was worthy to be admired. And the fact that he was actually
related to Isaiah, he had become much of an idol to Isaiah. The Lord used King Uzziah to
show Isaiah that there is but one God. After all the good that
King Uzziah had done, his heart was lifted up within him. He
got filled full of pride. Scripture tells us that what
he did was, is he went in to the temple and decided that he
didn't need a priest. He decided he could go into the
temple and burn incense unto the Lord Himself and just bypass
the priest. This was the same as if a man
attempts to approach God outside of Christ, our high priest. We
can't come to God any other way but in a high priest. It was
not the place of the people to approach God. It was the place
of the priest to approach Him. And thus God taught us that we
need a priest. And so for this the Lord smote
the king so that he was a leper until the day of his death. And
he dwelt in a separate house and Jotham the king's son was
over the house judging the people of the land. He was a good king,
God prospered him, but when he was lifted up in pride and decided
he could bypass the priest, God smote him with leprosy. And he
had to live outside of the camp in another house, and the kingdom was given to somebody
else to rule and to reign. And so Isaiah was shown, we can
have no no other gods but God. We can't come to God outside
of Christ, our High Priest, and we can't look to anyone else
as Isaiah might have been looking to King Uzziah as being dependent
upon him, doing the very thing that he'd been prophesying to
the people against. So the Lord takes him away. The
Lord removed his idol because God will have no rivals. If those
persons and things which we hold dear interfere with God receiving
the glory which is His, God will take away our idols, our comforts,
our strengths, our assurances. For we must behold that God alone
is our Lord and our Savior." So importantly, it's important
as seeing the mortality and sinfulness of this beloved King. And Isaiah saw that God will
have no rivals. God will have no rivals. So,
first of all, we must have our idols removed. Secondly, we must
be given a divine revelation. Isaiah says, I saw also the Lord. How did Isaiah see the Lord?
Isaiah 1.1 says this is the vision of Isaiah. He saw a visual appearance
and tells us exactly what it looked like. This is how God
made it appear to Isaiah so that Isaiah could comprehend something
of the glory of God. Does God really sit upon a throne
as we see a throne? I don't know, but that's the
only way we can comprehend him is by him revealing to us that
his is a throne. So we understand something of
a throne and a dominion. And he even made a throne, an
earthly throne, so we could understand. He gave us the language to understand
how he communicates with us. Because our comprehension of
Him is so minuscule and so bare. But the important thing to get
is this. This was revealed in Isaiah by God. This is how we
see by the eye of faith. It's through revelation. We have
to have God reveal Himself in us. We behold Christ by revelation
from God just as Isaiah beheld Him. Isaiah was sent forth to
tell what he saw, and through his word, the Lord divinely revealed
Christ to others. That's why we preach Christ.
We preach this word, and through it, God gives a revelation in
the heart of His people. That's what happened. Isaiah
had prophesied before this, and he spoke the truth. He didn't
speak a lie. He was the Lord's prophet. But
it very well may be, this appears to be a conversion right here.
But I believe what it is, is that he had it from the book
to the brain, like a lot of folks have it. But now he's got it
from heaven to the heart, is what he's having happen right
here. And so, it says here that he had this vision, I saw also
the Lord. This is what Paul said, I'm not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God. This is how God's gonna save
through the God is the power of God the dynamite of God to
everyone that believe it to the Jew first and also to the Greek
for therein in this gospel is the righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith. It has to be revealed, the righteousness
of God. That's what I was talking to
you about earlier. I'll tell you something about
when He makes this revelation, we behold the righteousness of
God. We'll look at this more in a moment. But the righteousness
of God has to do with His holiness and Him being just and right
in everything He does. Before He reveals this to us,
We can stand up and preach. We may say some true things,
but our balances are all out of whack. Our measures are all
out of whack. That's what the Lord said. Sinful
man deals in unjust measures, because we think that man somehow,
in our carnal understanding, when we're spiritually dead,
a man thinks that he somehow has a part in this thing, that
he somehow can do something with a bargain with God to help him
out, that he needs to do something to steady the ark, like Uzzeth
thought. But the fact of the matter is,
when He reveals His righteousness, He reveals to us that He don't
look to a man, a sinful, wicked creature that's unjust in everything
He thinks and does. He don't look to a man to perform
righteousness. He looked to His Son. The covenant,
the everlasting covenant between God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit, not dependent upon man whatsoever.
He comes and makes this covenant in our hearts revealing to us
that He's righteous, that He saves in righteousness, that
He's just in what He's done and merciful in what He's done. And
He's done it in a manner that's according with His holiness.
Well, who is this Lord that he saw? John tells us it was Christ. Turn over to John chapter 12.
He says, I saw the Lord. Who did He see? In John 12 verse 36, We read this, while you have
light, believe in the light that you may be the children of light.
Now who said that? These things spake Jesus and
departed and did hide himself from them. But though he had
done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on
him. that the saying of Isaiah, the prophet might be fulfilled,
which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom
hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Now we know that came
from Isaiah 53. But now read on. Therefore they
could not believe, because that Isaiah said again, He hath blinded
their eyes and hardened their heart, that they should not see
with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted,
and I should heal them. That's what he says right here
in this sixth chapter. These things said Isaiah when
he saw His glory and spake of Him." So he saw Christ Jesus
the Lord. That's who he's talking about.
He saw. And it's His glory that we're going to see here is what
he saw when he beheld Him. Now, how did Isaiah see the Lord
Jesus Christ? What did he see when he saw Him?
Everything Isaiah saw about our Lord is how you and I must behold
Him by divine revelation if we would believe on the true Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. This is how we've got to see.
First of all, he saw Him sitting. Look there. Isaiah 6 and verse
1, I saw also the Lord sitting. Having accomplished and finished
His work, He was seated. He was seated. The Lord Jesus
finished the work God gave Him to do. The Lord Jesus Christ
fulfilled the covenant obligations He entered into before the foundation
of the world. He fulfilled everything the prophets
said of Him and all that the law foreshadowed of Him. As the
obedient servant of God, he obeyed the law in precept and in penalty.
And when he had by himself purged our sins, when he had by himself
completely, totally purged the sin of everyone that he represented,
he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. His work
is finished. He accomplished the work He came
to do. That's how we've got to see Him.
We've got to see Him as being a successful, triumphant, victorious
Redeemer. He put away the sin of His people.
Then secondly, He said, I saw Him sitting upon a throne. We've
got to see Him as He is. Jesus Christ the Lord is living. He lives and He is seated upon
a throne. He is the Lord of Lords. Every
lord that you've ever seen on this earth or heard about or
read about on this earth or any king you've ever heard about
or read about or studied about on this earth, he's the lord
of that lord and he's the king of those kings. He's the lord
of lords and the king of kings. reigning with God the Father
from His heavenly throne. And this is what He said, to
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne,
even as I also overcame and am set down with My Father in His
throne. This is God, triumphant, victorious,
with dominion, reigning, ruling, seated on a throne. And then
Isaiah says here, I saw Him high. We have to see Him as who he
is as God. This is not baby Jesus born in
Bethlehem that's made out of some, that you see the image
of some plastic model. This is not who we're talking
about. That's a disgrace to who they see. This is God Almighty.
This is the Son of God. This is the one who is one with
God, one in the Trinity. This is God. We've got to see
Him as all victorious, seated. We've got to see Him on His throne,
reigning and ruling. We've got to see Him high. This
is God Almighty, all powers in His hand in heaven and on earth.
And we've got to see Him lifted up. He saw Him high and He saw
Him lifted up. We must see that God the Father
is well pleased with Him and that by God the Father He was
and is lifted up. He's the preeminent captain,
the author and pioneer of faith, the faithful one as we saw in
Hebrews last week. He faithfully obeyed and gave
himself to be lifted up on the cross. He said, and if I be lifted
up, I will draw all men unto me. Do you see all men coming
to Him? We see every one of them that
He was talking about coming to Him. He wasn't talking about
all men as in everybody in this world, but He said all those
that He paid His life's blood for. He said, I'm going to draw
them to Me. They have to be drawn to Him.
And He was lifted up on that cross and God the Father is so
well pleased with Him. God the Father lifted Him up
glorified from the grave to sit on His right hand. He's pleased
with Him, satisfied with Him. Listen to Romans 1 verse 4. He's
declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit
of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. When God resurrected
Him from the dead, lifting Him up, the Father was saying what
He said when the Son obeyed Him at the day of His baptism. He
received from God the Father honor and glory when there came
such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. That's what He said when He lifted
Him up to sit down at His right hand. Oh, Victor, he accomplished
it. He accomplished the redemption.
Do you know what that is? Do you know what redemption is?
It's purchasing something. It's buying something. The price
was his blood, and he paid the price and bought it. This ungodly doctrine of Christ
bought everybody and died for everybody without exception.
When's the last time you bought something and didn't take it
home with you? When's the last time you bought something and
you go into a store and you pick out what you want, you pay the
price that it said, and nobody's going to tell you, you can't
walk out of there with it because you bought it and it's yours.
It's yours. You take it home. You're the
rightful owner of it. He's the rightful owner of it. And it
says here, in His train, His robe filled the temple. And this
is how we have to see Him too. This train, this robe has to
do with His dominion and glory as our King Priest. as our king
priest. His high priestly dominion reaches
not just around his throne in heaven, it fills his whole temple. It fills heaven and earth. It
fills heaven's glory and it fills the church that he gave himself
for and purchased with his own blood. This dominion as king
and priest is his. And his train filled the whole
temple. That's how Isaiah saw it. Isaiah beheld judgment poured
out upon King Uzziah. He tried to bypass this one and
he saw judgment poured out upon him. And Isaiah beheld Christ
the Lord high and lifted up, seated upon the throne of judgment.
And Isaiah beheld his judgment reaching all the way to the hearts
of men. This is what the psalmist said.
The Lord is in His holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven.
His eyes behold. His eyelids try the children
of men. Habakkuk said, but the Lord is
in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence
before him. The psalmist said in another
place, he ruleth by his power forever. His eyes behold the
nations. Let not the rebellious exalt
themselves. So not only did Isaiah behold
that the Lord Jesus Christ, the fullness of the Godhead, is the
King, Priest, and Judge upon His throne, but he heard it declared,
and he heard it declared just how He rules and judges. Look
here in verse 2. These are the things that we
must have revealed in us. Who He is, and what He's doing,
what He's done. Verse 2, above it stood the seraphims. Each one had six wings, and with
two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet,
and with two he did fly. And one cried unto another and
said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth
is full of his glory. These sinless, righteous seraphims,
representing representing the heavenly, those that are heavenly
and righteous and holy. They covered their face and their
feet at the presence of His holiness. But they flew to declare something. They flew to declare the majesty
and goodness of their Lord. because the heavenly host is
not concerned with self, but with the glory of their Redeemer.
So it is with Christ's messengers. My gospel commands you and me
to cover our face and our feet, to mortify the pride of this
sinful flesh. Through this gospel, God makes
his messengers want to fly to declare his holy character and
his accomplished salvation. So they did cry out in agreement.
And here's what they cried. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts. The whole earth is full of His
glory. It was not by His love that God
made His covenant with David. Did you know that? Look with
me at Psalm 89. Psalm 89. They didn't cry. Love, love, love. And when God
made His covenant with David, He didn't say, I swear by my
love for you. Look what He said. Psalm 89,
35, He swore by something far greater than love, far greater
than love. The chief attribute of God is
what He swore by. The very essence of God is what
He swore by. Psalm 89, 35, Once have I sworn
by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. Shall not the
God of the earth do right? Shall not the judge of the whole
earth do right? The love of God for His children
is a holy love. It's altogether different from
a sentimental love. God is holy in choosing to save
sinners in Christ. He's holy to do that. That is
exactly what the Apostle Paul concluded when he answered men's
objections to God's electing grace, when he said, Nay, but,
O man, who art thou that replies against God? Shall the thing
formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Can God not in his completeness, in his holiness, choose whom
he will to save and pass by whom he will? What's a worm gonna
say to holy God? What's a vile sinner gonna say
to holy God? The one who knows he's a vile
sinner and knows he's a worm won't say anything. The one who
don't will murmur against him till the day God sends him to
hell. That's exactly right. God's holy in saving sinners
in perfect righteousness. Holy in justice and thus holy
in mercy. Turn to Romans 3. If we miss
this, brethren, we miss the heart of the Gospel. If you miss this,
you miss the heart of the Gospel. If God is to remain holy, then
His justice must be satisfied towards even those He saves. The one who takes their place
must meet God's measure of holiness and Christ did that. He died
to satisfy holy justice and he satisfied it. God's holiness
is what made God raise him from the dead according to his word
to his son. God's holiness is how we know
that every sinner for whom Christ made atonement shall be called
to faith in Christ by the Holy Spirit because God's holy God's
holiness will not judge them when he's already poured out
judgment on their substitute and their redeemer. That's double
jeopardy. That's pouring out justice twice. That's not being holy. God's
holy. They being dead in sins must
be brought to spiritual internal life by God alone. And he promised
his son and he's holy to make good on that promise. Romans
3.25 says, let me turn over there. I want to read something else
to you that I don't have written down. Romans 3. Listen, Romans
3.20. Or 19, We know what things soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before
God. Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law
is the knowledge of sin. That's why it was given. It was
given that our sins might become exceedingly sinful. But they
won't become exceedingly sinful until God gives us an ear to
hear what that law says to us. But it says here then, but now
the righteousness of God without the law is manifested. You want
to see the righteousness of God apart from your obedience to
the law? Quit looking to ourselves. Quit looking to what you call
your obedience to the law and look to Christ. Because now the
righteousness of God apart from the law is manifested and it's
witnessed by the law and the prophets. even the righteousness
of God which is by the faith of Jesus Christ unto all and
upon all them that believe for there's no difference. Brethren,
you've got to understand that this is the faith of Jesus Christ
and not faith in Jesus Christ. Listen to me now. The righteousness
of God is not manifest by something I do. The righteousness of God
is manifest by what Christ did. Christ came and He satisfied
the Holy Law's demand towards me. He satisfied it and thereby,
because He's just and because He is God, God is just to save
me, God is just to show mercy to me because God Himself satisfied
His own justice Himself. Abraham saw it when he was going
up the mountain and Isaac said, here's the wood, here's the fire,
where's the lamb? The law says we have to have
a lamb. The law's a witness. The law's
a witness. The law's a witness to the fact
that we have to have a lamb if we're going to come to God. And
Abraham said, my son, God, not you and not me, son,
God, God will provide. Himself, in the person of His
Son, the Son of God in human flesh, God will provide Himself
a Lamb to satisfy His own justice, to fulfill His own law, to honor
and magnify His own law. He will do that, Son. And the
righteousness of God in being a just God and a Savior, that's
wherein His love is magnified. He's holy. What was Darius' dilemma? Daniel, he loved Daniel. He loved
him with his heart and soul. And these wicked men came and
got Darius to pass a law that said that if Daniel prayed at
a certain time during the day, he'd be cast into the lion's
den. And they came and they said, we found Daniel praying. And
here's what's Darius' dilemma. How can I be a just king and
deliver Daniel out of the den of the lions? And yet how can I spare him?
Because I love him and I won't spare him. There wasn't any way
he could do both of those. Because only God can do that.
The righteousness of God is I will sin myself. I will come myself
in the person of my son and I will satisfy my justice. I will lay
down my life on behalf of my people and I will purge them
of all their sin. I will answer to the laws demands
on their behalf and I will satisfy justice and in so doing I will
be a just God and a Savior. Let me get back over here and
read on with me. Look over there at Romans 3. Romans 3.25. Whom God set forth
to be a propitiation, a mercy seat, a place of mercy through
faith in His blood. Now that's talking about our
faith. We believe in Him. We believe what He did. To declare
His righteousness. This is why He set Him forth.
To declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that
are passed through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say at
this time, His righteousness that He might be just and the
justifier of him that believed. Where's boasting then? Can we
boast in anything then? If God is the one who justified
us and that He's the one in whom mercy and truth have met together,
can we boast in anything? It's excluded. It's excluded. He even comes to us dead in trespasses
and sins and He gives us this revelation of what He's accomplished
or else we won't even believe on it. And He gives us faith
to believe Him. I'm getting off track here. Let
me keep going. Alright, we've got to have our idols removed.
We've got to have our idols removed and we're our idol. We are our
own king until God dethrones us. We must have the glory of
Christ revealed in us by God. He said, I saw the Lord. And
we must be made to confess what we are. Look here. Isaiah confessed
what he was. Verse 4, And the posts of the
door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was
filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! For I
am undone, I am cut off, 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. Woe is me, for I am
undone." That's what he said. I'm cut off. I see I'm cut off
from God. I'm a man of unclean lips. I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. When was it
that Isaiah saw himself this way? Look at verse 5. For mine eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of hosts. Have you confessed this of yourself?
This is much more than simply confessing I have sinned. Much
more. Hear what he's saying now. This
is the confession that I am undone. Undone is not simply something
I have done. It's what I am. Out of the abundance
of the heart, the mouth speaks, the Lord said. He said, it's
not what you put in your mouth. It's not what you touch or don't
touch. It's not what you eat or don't eat. It's not what you
drink or don't drink that defiles you. Before you ever did or didn't
do, you was defiled already, He said. It's what comes out
of the defiled heart that defiles a man. It's the heart that's
defiled. That's what's got to be made
new. It's the heart within a man. Isaiah beheld that there was
none to help him. He beheld the total ruin of the whole human
race. This is whatever sinner is in
the flesh. Job was brought to this place
where Isaiah was brought. Job said in Job 42.5, he said,
I've heard of thee by the hearing of the ear. I've heard about
God before. But now mine eye seeth thee,
wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. Is this what you are? The Lord said, they that are
whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick. I came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Brother
Hyming is a honored, notable eye physician, optometrist, right? He works on people's eyes. You
know who goes to see him? People who can't see. A man that
can see don't go see him. A man who can't see goes and
pays him a visit. You know who goes to see this
physician, the great physician? A man who's sick. A man who's
in need of a physician. A man who knows only Christ can
heal him. Without this revelation of Christ
high and lifted up, a man may look to the law and truly believe. He may look to the law and look
to his religion and truly say, as Paul said, this is what I
thought, Paul said, as touching the law, blameless, blameless. A man can really do that. He
can really do that. He may look to other men and
sincerely say, be sincere in it. and see nothing wrong in
saying, Lord, I thank you. I thank you that I'm not like
other men. I'm not like this public, and I pray, and I give
tithes, and I'm thankful I'm not like you. But when the Holy
Spirit reveals Christ the King, then we go down to what we are,
the dust. The dust. We bow in subjection
when we're made to behold Christ the Lord of the army of heaven
and the inhabitants of the earth, the Lord of hosts. Oh, I wish
we could see Him. I pray God give us a revelation
to behold who this is we're talking about. We won't be near as cocky. We
won't be near as full of ourselves in the day when His name is pronounced. and every knee bows. We won't
be near as lofty in our own estimation of ourselves when He comes forth.
And this is a confession that continues with a believer. It
continues once a man is converted. Paul said, this is a faithful
saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners of whom I not was, but am Jesus. I am chief. You know what I am,
standing here before you? I am chief of sinners. As much as I'd like to say to
you, I'm a lot better than the day the Lord revealed Himself
in me. All I can say to you is, I see my sin more now than I
ever have. I abhor myself and what I am
in my flesh more than I ever have. Here's the fourth thing. We must
have our conscience purged. We must have our conscience purged.
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. And he laid it upon my mouth,
and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity
is taken away, and thy sin purged. He said, I'm a man of unclean
lips. And the seraphim brought this
live coal and put it upon his lips and said, this has touched
thy lips. Thy sin is purged. Where do we say sin comes from?
It comes out of the heart. That's taking place here. When
our idols have been removed by God, when our Lord Jesus Christ
has been exalted before our eyes, when we've been brought to confess
what we are, then our God applies his mercy and grace to our heart.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth's
not in us. If we confess our sins, He's
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us,
cleanse us, cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This live coal
represents the gospel message. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquities
pardoned, for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for
all her sin. This gospel has to be taken directly
from off the altar of fire. It has to be received directly
from Christ our altar, who in His own body sacrificed Himself
under the fiery wrath of God, that He might pardon our sins,
cleanse us by the power of God unto salvation. Mercy and grace
flows from Him. The good news of His mercy and
grace comes to us only when Christ the Lord is praised, when He's
exalted in our midst. And then as this live coal is
put upon His tongue and applied to Him personally, it represents
the effectual cleansing of Christ's blood when it's applied by the
Holy Spirit to the sinner's heart. This live coal was laid directly
on His mouth. It came into contact with Him. Christ was made sin. He was made
the sin of His people. The sin of His people He took
upon Himself intimately. upon Him in His own body. And
just as He was made sin, we're made the righteousness of God
in Him. Do you want to just be declared
righteous or do you want to be made righteous? Do you just want
to have His righteousness imputed to you? You want to be made righteous.
We have to be made the righteousness of God to enter in. Yes, His
righteousness is charged to us, but He makes His people righteousness. Beginning, first of all, when
He creates a new spirit within them, when they're born of the
righteous seed of God, created anew in righteousness and true
holiness. This lie of coal touched His
mouth and what was said to Him? Thy sin is purged. Your sin is
taken away. If we're going to enter into
that, we have to be made a new creation. We have to be made
a new creature so that we can behold what He's accomplished
and what He's done and how He's purged us of our sin. And that
all our righteousness is in Christ our Lord. All our holiness is
Christ our Lord. All our wisdom. He's all to us. If He's going to be made all
to us, this has got to happen. We've got to have our conscience
purged. Until then, we'll go on doing all kinds of works.
that appear righteous to us, that look righteous to the carnal
man, to the carnal religionist. But this is what the Lord said,
through the Hebrew writer, How much more shall the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works, from dead works,
to serve the living God? And this is the purging of the
conscience, brethren. He said, He laid it upon my mouth
and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thy nickery is
taken away, and thy sin is purged. You want me to show you where
that happens? Look at Hebrews 10. Look at Hebrews
10, verse 16. This is what Isaiah is describing.
This is what happens when the Holy Spirit brings the coal from
Christ our altar, from His sacrifice and applies it to our heart.
Look at Hebrews 10, 16. This is saying the same thing.
This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, saith
the Lord. I will put my laws into their hearts. And in their
minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will
I remember no more. Now where remission of these
is, there's no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren,
boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new
and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the
veil, that is to say, through his flesh, And having Him as
our high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with
a true heart. That's what Isaiah is being given
here, a true heart. In full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. That's what
is purging of his conscience is taking place here. And his
body washed with pure water, with that coal from off the altar.
That's what's taking place. And then the fifth thing, the
fifth thing. We must have God Almighty call
us and send us to serve Christ our King. Isaiah is being called
to serve the Lord as his prophet. Some are called to serve as his
pastors, but all are called and sent of God to serve as his witnesses. Verse 8, Also I heard the voice
of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then, then, after all this had
been done, then said I, here am I, send me. After God has
made us willing in the day of His power, Then He calls on us
to willingly volunteer to be His servant. He said, I heard
a voice saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? Who's
willing to go for us? God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. Who's willing to go for us? No
one has ever gone forth as a witness of God's Son who's not been sent,
called and sent by God. Nobody. Many have gone forth
of their own accord. And a great many do so in our
day. But listen to the Word of the Lord. Jeremiah 23. You've
got to see this. Listen to the Lord's Word about... Now listen, for the believers
sitting here this morning, Make your calling and election sure.
Seek God's Word on these things. Ask God, do I know you? Am I
truly yours, Lord? Give me the assurance that you
give in the heart. Because there have been many
that have ran that he hadn't sent. Listen to what he says
of these false prophets. Verse 20, the anger of the Lord
shall not return until he have executed, until he have performed
the thoughts of his heart. In the latter days ye shall consider
it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets,
yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet
they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel
and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have
turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. Now you hear what he's saying?
If they had stood in my counsel and preached my word, they would
have told me to turn from their own doings, from their own will,
that's in religion and out of religion. If you think that what
made the difference is something you did religiously, you're just
flat wrong. You're just flat wrong. He said
if they would have been my prophet, that's what they would have told
me to turn from it, that's evil. Am I a God at hand, saith the
Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret
places that I shall not see him, saith the Lord? Do not I feel
heaven and earth, saith the Lord? He said, you think you can do
something to please me when I see your heart? He said, I got to
do it. I've got to give a heart that's
new. I'm a God of far off. I see everything, he said. He
said, these prophets haven't told you that. Have I heard what
the prophets said? That prophesy lies in my name
saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed? How long shall this
be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? Yea, they
are prophets of the deceit of their own heart which think to
cause my people to forget my name By their dreams which they
tell every man to his neighbor as their fathers have forgotten
my name for bail The prophet that hath a dream let him tell
a dream and he that hath my word let him speak my word faithfully
Now listen to what he said, for what is the chaff to the wheat?
What's the chaff to the wheat? said the Lord, is not my word
like a fire and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
Therefore, behold, I'm against the prophets, said the Lord,
that steal my words, every one from his neighbor. Behold, I'm
against the prophets, said the Lord, that use their tongues
and say, he saith. Behold, I'm against them that
prophesy false dreams, said the Lord, and do tell them and cause
my people to err by their lies and by their likeness. Yet I
sent them not, nor commanded them, therefore they shall not
profit this people at all, saith the Lord." You see, the way to
recognize the excellency of words and the craftiness of false prophets
is when the power of God is divorced from the will of men. Do you
hear what I said? When the power of God is separated
from the will of men. When men speak of your choice,
but say nothing of the fact that it's by God's power alone that
you choose him, then they've come not with gospel fire, not
the gospel hammer, but with stolen words and false dreams, lies
and likeness. And he says, I didn't send them.
I didn't send them. The discerner of the heart is
the word of God. The man who has it, he's going
to tell a man, turn from your deceitful ways. Turn from your
deceitful choices. Turn from your deceitful will.
Because a man cannot run. A man will not go until God has
called him and sent him himself. Until he's taken away our idols
of our will and our flesh until he's revealed Christ the Lord
of glory High and lifted up sitting upon his throne having accomplished
our redemption until he has he has spoken this in our heart
and made us confess what we are to we've seen seen our nakedness
and that we're cut off from God and undone and that our heart
is deceitfully wicked and until God has called us in power and
grace and said, who will go? Who will go? Until He's made
us willing in the heart, none will go and none will speak the
truth. And all you have to do, if God's given you spiritual
discernment, is listen. Just listen. Just listen. Are you being told what you should
do? Are you being told that there's
something you can do to please God? There's something you can
do to please God. It's cast your care on His Son
and look to His Son who is the perfection of righteousness.
But I'm not going to tell you you can do that without God doing
a work in you. If I have, you'll leave out of
here looking to your faith instead of to the faithful one. You understand
that? This dynamite, this hammer, this
gospel word is set forth and men's will is made to be nothing
except when God Himself, the power, makes us willing to come
to Him. Then we willingly come to Him.
We can't do anything else. We wouldn't want to do anything
else. Don't have any desire to do anything else. Cannot do anything
else but come to Him. But it's because of His power.
Do you see that? I can't tell you to make a choice.
and just leave that with you. Because I know what I am in the
flesh. And I know that if somebody tells me that in the flesh, all
people have to do is say, you know, you've made a lot of good
choices in your career. And you've really got a lot of
accolades that you've accomplished by your choices and the choices
you've made in life. And we begin to believe that.
We begin to be puffed up, swell up, go, well, you know, we try
to act humble, you know, well, But inside we're going, yeah,
you're darn right I am. I'm a smart, wise man. Well,
if I preach that to you as being the gospel, you'll leave out
of here filled with the same pride and think you've accomplished
something. Same way. We got to be shut up
to the power of God. That's the only way we're going
to cast ourselves on His mercy. And this is not where we begin
and then we move on past that. We just begin to hear more and
more and more about His perfect will and His perfections and
His excellences and what He does. And we rejoice more and more
in Him. And that's how He mortifies His flesh. He causes us to behold
Him and turn from ourselves. And we quit looking at the waves.
We quit looking at the most helpless thing there is, which is our
will and our flesh. And we look to Him who is all-powerful.
And then when He's called in this man, through this Gospel,
we volunteer. Look what Isaiah said, verse
8, Then said I, Here am I. Send me. I'll go. I'll go. I'll go. It's not going to be
easy, Isaiah. I know. I'll go. You're going
to face opposition constantly. I'll go, Lord. I trust you. I
see you. I don't have any strength in
myself. I'll go. If you go with me, I'll go, Moses said. If you're
going with us, we'll go. We don't want to take a step
unless you're going with us. But if you're going with us, here
am I. Send me." That's what he makes
us willing to do. He takes away our idols. We've
got to have it. We must have it. We must have the glory of
Christ revealed in us. We must be made to confess what
we are. And we must have our conscience
purged from dead works to serve Him. And we must be called by
Him and sent by Him. And these five things which God
does through the Holy Spirit is what He does when He makes
a sinner a servant and a saint. That's what He does. And may
He cause us to cry out for His mercy to do this in us. and our
children, and ourselves, and to continue to do it in us, to
continue to do it in us for the rest of our life, rest of our
life. All right.

5 Things Sinners Must Have

What does the Bible say about idols in our lives?

How do we know God's holiness is essential for our salvation?

Why is confession of sin important for Christians?

What does it mean to have our consciences purged?

How are we called to serve God?

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5 Things Sinners Must Have

What does the Bible say about idols in our lives?

How do we know God's holiness is essential for our salvation?

Why is confession of sin important for Christians?

What does it mean to have our consciences purged?

How are we called to serve God?

Sermon Transcript

About Clay Curtis

Comments

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