So once again with the help of
God I would like you to turn with me to Isaiah chapter 6 and
the text you'll find in 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. Chapter 6 of Isaiah is the vision
that Isaiah had of God seated on the throne. And as he sees
the Lord seated upon the throne high and lifted up, as he as
he contrasts that with the throne of Uzziah that is now empty,
as he sees that God is still on his throne and he's lifted
high above the earth and that his train or the that garment,
that long garment that he is wearing fills the temple symbolizing his presence and authority over
the whole earth. And not only does he see the
vision of God and his greatness and his authority and his power,
but he sees those angels, those seraphims who worship him. And not only do they worship
him, they worship them with their faces covered. They veil their
faces in reverence. They cannot look upon the holy,
holy, holy God. They cover their feet, which
symbolizes humility, and they fly. They fly in his presence,
ready to do his service, his beckoning call. The angels of
God are ministering spirits that God created to to minister and
to serve him and to serve his people. And in heaven they sing
the praises of God. Heaven sounds the anthem of holy,
holy, holy Lord God of hosts. And the whole earth is filled
with the glory of God. And so this is contrasted with
this earthly kingdom that continually ceases. It is continually changing
as men take to the throne and they die and another takes their
place. Isaiah sees this kingdom that is an unchanging kingdom
that is high above the earth. It is never changing. It is a
holy, eternal kingdom separated from this earth. And he sees
the king of kings having all authority and all holiness, the
sovereign God. And in his presence, Isaiah feels
his uncleanness, feels his sin, feels his unworthiness and he
cries out, woe is me for I am undone, I'm literally being pulled
apart at the seams, I'm so full of sin I'm breaking at the seams. I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean
lips. The scripture tells us that out
of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and the Bible
tells us that our hearts are deceitful above all things and
desperately wicked and so our lips are contaminated by sin. It says my lips are unclean. What I speak is unclean. What comes out of me is uncleanness. And I dwell in the midst of a
people. It's not only me that is sinful,
but it's every person that is around about me. They are corrupted
by sin. And as heaven, he sees, is so
elevated away from this sin. Heaven is holy, a holy place. Nothing that can defile can enter
into the presence of a holy God. And even the angels veil their
faces at his presence. We see what a contrast that is
with this King Uzziah. We have this holy God, the creator
and sustainer of heaven and earth. And then we have this king. A
king who experienced the great blessings of God. A king who
was helped by the Lord God and made him to prosper. gave him
wisdom and understanding, gave him the ability to rule, gave
him the ability to structure his kingdom and to succeed and
to advance materially and prosperity, he was prosperous. And he gained
land for the people of Israel. He sought God. When he sought
God, God caused him to prosper and God helped him. He became famous. He was faithful. But as with many of the kings,
as with many famous and prosperous people, they were drawn aside
in pride by their prosperity. and the blessings that God bestowed
upon them caused them to sin, caused them to step over the
line. Have it with Hezekiah. Hezekiah,
filled with pride, showed the people of Babylon all of the
riches. Have it with Nebuchadnezzar as he looked at all of Babylon
and he said, is not this great Babylon that I've built? filled
with pride, forgot that it's God who gifted him and gave him
the ability, gave him the position and authority to reign. But God
showed him and punished him for his pride. Think of Solomon. All that the Lord used him for
and blessed him with. Yet his heart was drawn aside
by strange women and he went after their gods. Think of David
and how the Lord blessed him and prospered him and used him. And yet with the authority that
he had he became lazy and relaxing on the roof, falls into sin,
commits adultery and murder and deceit. and others also. When they walk with the Lord,
they walk in his ways, the Lord helps them and prospers them.
But when they become lifted up in pride, they turn aside from
the ways of God and they go their own way. It says, for he was marvelously
helped till he was strong, who was helping him. The holy, holy,
holy God was leading him and guiding him and directing him,
helping him to run his kingdom. And yet when he was strong, his
heart was lifted up to his destruction for he transgressed against the
Lord and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon
the altar of incense. He was a king. The priestly office
was reserved for the line of Aaron and the priests and the
Levites. He wasn't able to step over that
boundary. He had his sphere of work. but pride took hold of him and
he stepped over that boundary that God had made and he committed
sin by entering into the temple and offering up incense to God which was not lawful,
it was not right for him to do and the priests come in and they
rebuke him but he becomes angry with them and the Lord smote him with leprosy
in his forehead. Can you imagine? You can see why it says the priests
tell him to go out but the Bible says he hastened himself to go
out. as he realised what was taking
place, that the Lord was now bringing immediate judgment upon
him because he had done that which was not lawful, he'd stepped
over that boundary, committed sin against a holy, holy, holy
God by profaning his temple. And God immediately strikes him
with judgment and he lives the rest of his life as a leper. As we saw recently, leprosy made
someone ceremonially unclean. He was never, ever, ever able
to step into that temple again. He was an outcast. He lived in
safe houses, houses for lepers for the rest of his life. You
imagine, you're once this great king experiencing the blessing
and favour of God daily. You're winning wars, you're building
buildings, you're digging wells, you've got multitudes of cattle. The Lord is helping you. But
then because of your sin, because you become lifted up with pride,
you step into a sphere that was not yours or right for you to
take. And the Lord judges you immediately and separates you. and you become a leper for the
rest of your life. Often isn't it people remember
the bad things that we do. Though this was a good king,
though he was a good king yet we remember that sin that he
committed that he was lifted up with pride and he trespassed
against the Lord and he did that which is not right and he died
a leper. We read in verse 25, so Isaiah
slept with his fathers and they buried him with his fathers in
the field of burial which belongs unto the king for they said,
he is a leper. And Jotham his son reigned in
his stead. And so he died a leper, never
to set foot in the temple again because of his uncleanness and
because of his rebellion. And as all this is taking place
and then comes to an end, Isaiah has this great vision of the
holy, holy God, the unchanging God, the Lord of hosts who is
constantly being worshipped by his angels. God is not like us. He's not a man like us. the unchanging eternal spirit
who is not bound by space or time, who's not limited in any
way, who is ever present, who is all-knowing, who is unchanging. And as Isaiah looks at this vision
of the unchanging holy, holy God, He gives us a glimpse of what
we can't see but we view by faith. It's essential as Christians
that we have a right view of God. Isaiah has a view of heaven. and is able to view God and to
write down the things that he witnessed so that you and I don't
have to create gods of our imagination. We see what happens round about
us to those who imagine what God is like. Those who don't
have the word. or to other countries and they
created gods of their own minds. They make gods out of God's creation. They make gods out of rocks,
gods out of wood, gods out of the sun and moon and the stars,
gods out of people. See in our own land how various
people are worshipped. man has this void inside of him
by which he must look up to and worship something or someone
and without the scripture revealing to us who God is we go off and
we worship all the manner of things. God's creation tells
us that there is a creator, it tells us that he is all mighty
and all powerful But his word tells us in more
detail about him. It reveals his personal nature,
his character to us. If Isaiah never revealed to us
what he saw, what would we think of God? How would we know what
takes place in heaven? We would just think that God
is just a king, like an earthly king. who is able and corrupt
and ever-changing. One minute he's good, one minute
he's bad, he's inconsistent. But the scripture tells us that
he is not inconsistent, he's perfectly the same all of the
time. He is holy, holy, holy. And he is unchanging. In the Prophet Micah chapter 3 verse 6 it says, For
I am the Lord and I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are
not consumed. And so God is unchanging and
as we saw in with Moses that God reveals himself as Jehovah,
the I Am, the eternal, self-sufficient, self-existent God that is independent
from any needs of anybody. As we live in dependence upon
him, he is high and lifted up and holy. And as Isaiah sees him 4,000
years ago or so, is still the same. He has not
changed. His holiness has not diminished
in any way. His righteousness has not diminished. His power has not diminished.
His life, his existence has not diminished in any way. As holy
as he was 2,000 or 6,000 or an eternity ago, he ever will be.
is completely unchanging and he cannot change. And he will
not change. He cannot change because his
name doesn't change. Jehovah. And his word is an unchanging
word. The Bible tells us itself heaven
and earth will pass away but my word will not pass away. His holiness is an infinite holiness. The angels say holy, holy, holy. They are declaring that this
holiness is infinite, without bounds, without measure, that
God is so separate from sinners. Nothing in his presence defiles
and that no defilement is able to even enter into his presence. The scripture tells us that he's
angry with the wicked every day and he cannot even look upon
sin. And so as we have to have a right
view of God and as we have a right view of
God that gives us a right view of ourself. You see, if we see
that the Lord is high and lifted up, that his train, that his
long garment that he wears, that the king wears, fills the whole
temple, that his power is unwavering, it's unlimited, that his presence
is omnipresent, all present at every place. And so as we look
at God, and we meditate upon the holiness and the greatness
of God what does that do? That shrinks you and me down
into our right place. It shows us who we are. If you've
ever come into the presence of a famous person I don't know
whether you felt this feeling Sometimes it happens when you
meet somebody who's extremely wealthy that you suddenly elevate
them on this platform that they are so great and you are so insignificant. You come and we say it's like
star shook. that we're unable to process
what is happening in front of us when we come face to face
with somebody who is exceedingly famous or is someone who is so
wealthy we are starstruck. But how much more should we be
starstruck when we come into the presence or come in to meditate
upon the one who created the stars. who is holy, holy, holy. And so a right view of God gives
us a right view of ourself. Immediately, Isaiah cries out,
woe is me. Immediately he realizes that
he is nothing in the sight of this holy, holy, holy God. That he has no power, no ability,
no authority, he is completely nothing in the presence of this holy
God. And so he cries out, woe is me, for I'm undone. I'm being pulled apart at the
seams. If God is unchanging, that means today he is exactly
the same as he was. that nothing has changed about
him. We come into the New Testament,
we come face to face with God manifest in the flesh. We come
face to face with the beloved son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. we see that the Lord Jesus Christ
was able to walk amongst sinful people. We read that this man
is a friend of tax collectors and sinners but there are times
in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ that he reveals his glory
We saw this morning of those blind men who viewed by faith
the Lord Jesus and cried out, Thou Son of David, have mercy
upon us. And the Lord Jesus healed them. He showed his power. He showed that he had that ability
to do what only God could do. But in those times of manifesting
his power, his glory is still veiled. If we think of a tree,
a tree's glory is that which is seen, that which is on show. And so Christ, as he walked this
earth, his glory was veiled. His power was seen. but his glory
was veiled. Remember when Simon Peter saw
the, we looked at it at the Sunday school this morning, when Simon
Peter had been fishing all night And he comes back in the morning
and the Lord Jesus asks him, can I use your boat? Because
the crowd is so dense. And can I use your boat so that
I can preach from the boat? And Peter allows him to preach
from the boat. And then after the sermon, after
the message is finished, Jesus tells him to launch out into
the deep and let down your nets for a catch. Peter obeys the
Lord Jesus, even though he had been fishing all night. But Peter, after he catches a
multitude of fish, he sees the Lord Jesus Christ in another
light. He sees him in his glory. for he immediately cries out
depart from me oh lord depart from me for i am a sinful man
oh lord similar words to what isaiah says woe is me for i am
undone because i'm a man of unclean lips and i dwell among a people
of unclean lips peter says depart from me oh lord depart from me for i am a sinful
man and so there are times when Christ's glory is seen by faith. At the time when it was seen
specifically was when the Lord Jesus was transfigured upon the
mount. As he takes Peter, James and
John up to the mountain in Matthew 17, he was transfigured before them.
And after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James and John, his brother,
and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured
before them. His face did shine as the sun
and his raiment was white as the light. And behold, there
appeared unto them Moses and Isaiah talking with him. Then
answered Peter and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us
to be here. If thou wilt, let us make here
three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Isaiah.
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and
behold, a voice out of the clouds which said, this is my beloved
son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him. And when the disciples
heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched him
and says, arise and be not afraid. And so here we see the transfiguration
of the Lord Jesus Christ as his glory is displayed, as he shines
as a light. The Bible tells us in the other
chapters as he becomes as white as the snow. that he is shining. Just as Isaiah saw the Lord high
and lifted up, this veil was taken and the glory
of Christ was seen by these three men. And they were afraid, especially
when they heard the voice, the voice of God. This is my beloved
son. hear ye him, in whom I am well
pleased, hear ye him. If we go to the book of Revelation, chapter one, we see here another
vision similar to what Isaiah sees, but he sees the Lord Jesus
Christ. From verse 12, And I turned to see the voice
that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment
down to the foot, and girt about the paps or the chest with a
golden girdle. And his head and his hairs were
white like wool and white as snow, and his eyes were as a
flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned
in a furnace. and his voice the sound of many
waters and he had in his right hand seven stars and out of his
mouth went a sharp two-edged sword and his countenance was
as the sun shineth in his strength and i saw him and fell at his
feet as dead And he laid his right hand on me, saying unto
me, Fear not, for I am the first and the last. And so he has this
image of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in how Christ would appear,
but having various types of the Old Testament all compressed
into one. He sees Christ as the great high
priest in the temple. He sees him walking amongst the
candlesticks which we see are the seven churches, that Christ
is amongst the churches, that he is the great high priest,
he is the head of the church. And he sees him walking in the
midst of these candlesticks like the Son of Man, the Son of God. the Messiah, the one who was
given as a substitute for the sins of his people, the one who
laid down his life as the Lamb of God. He sees him as this high
priest clothed in this long garment down to his foot with a golden
girdle. His hairs were like wool and
white as snow. The scripture tells us That the
white hair is a symbol of wisdom. That Christ is the Alpha and
Omega. He is the eternal God that even
at the foundation of the world he was there all things were
created by him and for him. And so as he sees this image
of Christ filled with wisdom that he is the eternal son of
God and his eyes were as a flame of fire. Fire symbolising holiness
and a penetrating look as he penetrates into the hearts of
every single one as his look, nothing is hid from him. Everything
falls down at his presence. And so he sees this high priest
full of wisdom with eyes burning with fire and his feet like unto
fine brass as if they burned in a furnace and his voice the
sound of many waters, his authority. And in his right hand seven stars
which are the churches and out of his mouth goes the word of
God. The scripture tells us that the
word of God is powerful. It is sharper than any two-edged
sword. that he's able to bring sinners to himself, he's able
to cut them down and he's able to defeat his enemies by his
word. But when John sees this image
he falls down as dead. You see the holiness of God immediately has an effect upon
sinful people. And as God affected Isaiah in
the Old Testament, and as Jesus' transfiguration affected the
apostles in their gospel today, and as Christ now seated at the
right hand of the Father lifted up the one who was dead and is
alive again and lives forevermore, he has not lost any of his holiness. He has not lost any of his power.
He has not lost any of his authority. Although we have images portrayed
of an effeminate Jesus who has no strength, who is just a loving
person, Christ is love. God is love. Yet he is holy. He is just. and he must punish
sin and no sinner is able to stand in his presence. And the
only way to approach this holy God is to approach him the way
that he has commanded for himself to be approached. Not like Uzziah
who said I'm the king let me do whatever I want. I will approach
God and I will do what I want. Anyone who approaches God in
his own way will suffer the consequences of that. As Uzziah was hit with
leprosy and separated from the worship of God for the rest of
his life, so those who come to God by another way will also
be separated from him. They will remain in their uncleanness
and their sinful condition for time and for eternity. so the only way to approach God
is to come to him through his beloved son who brought about
the new covenant, the new covenant in his blood that he became the
great high priest, he became the sin for his people, he gave
his life a ransom for sinners so that this just holy God could
be approached by pouring out his wrath upon his own beloved
Son, who was holy, who is righteous. And the only way that sinners
may approach this God is to come to him through the new and living
way, through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Great High
Priest. That is the only way. for a sinner to approach a holy
God, for God to forgive their sin in Christ Jesus. And so God hasn't changed. Just
because we have the Lord Jesus Christ in the gospel has not
changed the holiness of God. He still is holy, holy, holy. And today the angels sing in
his presence. Just because our view of God
has diminished doesn't mean that God himself has changed one little
bit. It is for us to return back to
the word and find out who God is and when we understand who
God is then we will understand who we are and it's for us to
draw from the word of God not to put into the word of God.
It's for us to draw and to find out about God and to meditate
upon God and to meditate upon his Son the Lord Jesus Christ
and all that Christ has done for his people. We do not deserve
the least of his mercies but in his wrath he has remembered
mercy and given us his Son the Lord Jesus Christ that we who
are sinful are able to approach him who is holy through our mediator
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And one cried unto the other
and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole
earth is filled with his glory. Well, may we cry out with Isaiah,
woe is me for I am undone because I am a man or a woman of unclean
lips. I dwell amongst a people of unclean
lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. And
then he has this blessed promise. As the angel comes down from
heaven and says, Lo, this has touched thy lips. Thine iniquity
is taken away and thy sin. is purged. What a blessing. That is the only way that sinful
people can enter into God's presence with their sin being purged,
done away with in Christ Jesus, burned up as it were under the
wrath of God in his Son as the Lord Jesus Christ cast behind
his back and remembered no more. May the Lord add his blessing.
Amen. Our concluding hymn is from Gatsby's
667 to the tune 766. In mortal honours, rest on Jesus'
head. My God, my portion and my living
bread. In him I live, upon him cast
my care. He saves from death, destruction
and despair. 667. God my portion, and my living
bread. In Him I live, upon Him clasp
my hand. He saves from death, destruction,
and despair. In each deep distress The Lord
my strength and glorious righteousness ? With thee all, and daily make
this ? ? Sovereign goodness known. ? ? By every need thee which
he will set free, ? O will His blessing ever let
me die? In Him that dwells a treasure
o'er-divine, and precious grace ? Praise his majesty adore ? ?
Live in his honor ? ? All his words appeal ? ? Hark where his
voice is heard ? ? All his will is still ? Almighty God, we... bow before
Thee, we acknowledge and we have seen Thou the holy, holy, holy
God, high and exalted, almighty and all-powerful and we pray
that those thoughts may put us into that right place before
Thee, that Thou take away any pride and any self-righteousness
that we have and that we may confess that we are sinners in
thy sight. We thank thee, Lord, for the
Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee that he is the
gift of God and we pray that, Lord, we may trust in him, that
we may believe in him, upon him, that we may be saved. We pray
Lord for Henry and Millie as it is their last Lord's Day in
England. They hope to travel on Wednesday.
We pray for them in these last few days as they go to missionary
service. We ask that they may know thy
blessing, thy help and Lord that thou use them for thy honour
and glory and for the advancement of thy kingdom. To then Lord
we pray, dismiss us with thy blessing, and now may the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, with
the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit, to be with
us each now and for evermore. Amen.