John, I'm wondering where my
place is, and I haven't even started. If you would please
turn in your Bibles, Isaiah chapter 6, Isaiah the prophet. I want to talk to you about five
things out of this chapter, so I won't be dealing with every
verse, but I would like to cover some things if at all possible.
And since Brother Bell was so nice to shorten his reading time
to one phrase, I'd like to read this chapter to you. I know you're
familiar with it, but I'll guarantee you there's a lot here you haven't
seen, and there's a lot here we won't know till we get to
glory, and some of it's precious. We may not see that. In the year that King Uzziah
died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne tie and lift it
up, and his train filled the temple." His presence filled
that place. Yea, it fills all things. Above
it stood the seraphim. This is the only place in our
Bibles this word is used, and it's used in the plural. And
the word literally means burners. is best viewed as a representation
of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. These seraphim each had six wings. With two he covered his face,
and with two he covered his feet, and with two he did fly. Four of those wings were used
to cover himself. We would do well to take heed
to that. 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 post of the door moved. Now, this is a vision that the
prophet is having. in which God is revealing to
his poor soul none other than our precious Lord Jesus Christ. The post 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." And he explains to us how this
came to be, knowing himself and his people to be unclean. Because
my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts, the Lord Jesus
Christ. 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 unto me, Lo, this has touched your lips, and your iniquity
is taken away, and your sin purged." Now, there is nothing in this
whole universe of a physical nature that can put away sin, only the blessed Son of God,
the Lord Jesus Christ, and his precious blood. Now, if the seraphims
in verse 2 are the same as in verse 6 and 7, then they do clearly
represent our blessed Savior. without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission of sins. Now verse 8, and I'll reserve
comment on this one. I want to come back and speak
to it more directly. Also I heard the voice of the
Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send
me. And he said, Go and tell this
people, hear you indeed, but understand not, and see you indeed,
but perceive not. Make the heart of this people
fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes. lest they
see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand
with their heart, and convert, and be healed.' Then said I,
Lord, how long? If this is how it is with preaching
and prophesying, how long?" And he answered, until the cities
be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and
the land be utterly desolate, until time is no more, and man
on this globe is no more. And the Lord hath removed men
far away and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the
land. But yet in it shall be a tenth,
a remnant, and it shall return, and shall be eaten as a teal
tree and as an oak, whose substance is in them when they cast their
leaves. So the holy seed shall be the
substance thereof." Now may we go back to verse 1.
And just for a few moments, look at some scriptures that speak
to this issue. I saw the Lord, the Lord. Now, just who is this that Isaiah
saw? I need but one statement out
of the Gospel of John, chapter 1 and verse 18, to settle it
forever. Would you look at that? Donnie, I meant to look at my
watch before I started, and I just totally forgot it, so you might
have to pull my chain at a certain point. John chapter 1, verse 18. This can be none other Isaiah
6-1, than the Holy Son of God Himself. No man has seen God at any time. But Isaiah said, I saw the Lord. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. There cannot be anybody except
Christ. None except Him. While we're
right here in John, if you'd flip over to chapter 12, verse
41, and if you'd like to put a little marker there, because
we'll come back to that chapter, I think, if I have enough time.
at the end of the, oh, about verses 9 and 10, I think it is,
in Isaiah 6. John 12, 41. If it is not enough in what we've
already covered to be absolutely certain that Isaiah saw none
other than the Son of God, this ought to seal it forever. Verse
41, John chapter 12. These things said Isaiah, when
he saw his Christ's glory and spoke of him." Of him. Now, we can debate that till
the cows come home, but there's nothing to debate. The Word of
God settles it completely, altogether. and entirely. Second thing is
in verse 5 of Isaiah 6, the prophet called himself undone
and unclean. This is tantamount to the prophet
being converted, the work of grace passing in the soul. Because over and over and over
again in our Bibles, when people saw God in Christ, the natural
result after that is to see ourselves. And it's repeated countless times
in our Bibles. Joshua in Joshua chapter 5. Oh,
I've got a list here somewhere. Job said, Behold, I am thine. And I abhor myself and repent
in dust and ashes. Daniel in chapter 10 verse 8
said, My comeliness melts within me. And when Mephibosheth was
brought to David's table, he said, What is your servant to
look upon such a dead dog as I am? And I tell you, I don't need
to tell you, but I must remind you, must remind myself, that
the religion of our generation knows nothing of these things.
But where God in the power of his grace is revealing Christ
to men, it is a natural occurrence, although it's supernatural. It
is just. The word for it is concomitant.
It is the natural sequel to finding out who God is, is to find out
who I am and how badly I need and must have the Lord Jesus
Christ. So what part of ourselves is
unclean? It would be easier to answer, what
part isn't? And there's no part that isn't,
none whatsoever. Let me read you a couple of scriptures.
I can't give you time to turn. No, I'm not going to tell you
where I'm going, because I'm going to read it and then tell
you. This is David. When you with
rebukes do correct man for iniquity, here's what happens. You make
his beauty to consume away like a moth. Surely, every man is
vanity. We cannot dispense with this
matter. It is part and parcel of how
God saves sinners. And if he saved me and if he
saved you, we must know something of these things. Paul said, almost
twenty years after he was converted, he said, Oh, wretched man that
I am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? This is not a one-time experience. This is a recurring experience
by the grace of God. What part is left clean? This time, if you'll turn with
me to the book of Leviticus, chapter 13, I want to read you
two verses of Scripture, and I'd like for you to see this
in your Bible. If it's not convenient for you and you have trouble,
like me, with shaking hands and being scared to death and all
that stuff, you can just listen. I won't get up yet. Leviticus
13. It's the chapter that deals with
leprosy. In the gospel accounts, as we
heard last night, The leper came to our Lord and he said, Lord,
if you will, you can make me clean. And the Lord Jesus said,
I will be clean. Leprosy in the Bible is the greatest
type of sin there is. And here we learn the gospel
secret of when that sin is removed. If a leprosy, I'm sorry, verse
12, Leviticus 13, If a leprosy break out abroad in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the
skin of him that has the plague, from his head even to his foot,
no matter where the priest looks, look what happens. I don't remember how long ago
I saw this, but here's a great surprise. If our sin is in every part and
faculty of our being, to include the precious will of man, then
the priest shall consider, and behold, if the leprosy has covered
all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean. That has to play. It's all turned white. He is clean. Clean all over. Yet, he goes
the rest of his days, he would turn to another scripture back
close to Leviticus, Deuteronomy 32. Let me read you a statement,
please. A man finds out who God is. And who he is, he confesses himself to be a
great sinner, the chief of sinners, the rest of his days. And if
my religion does not know something of this, something is wrong. Let me read you a statement.
Some of you have heard me read this before. Cut this out of
the Fayetteville Observer in Fayetteville, North Carolina,
many years ago. One of the largest Methodist
churches at that time in the city of Fayetteville. And it's a pretty sizable ad
in the newspaper, and the headline says, Will you come back to church
if we promise not to throw the book at you? If we promise to only tell you
out of this book what won't disturb you, what
you already believe, and for that matter, what we believe,
the explanation is, in our church, we believe in a loving and forgiving
God, not a holy and just God as well. Come and join us this
Sunday. when we open up the good book
in worship. Now, if that's not a confession
and an admittance that there's something in this book we're
never going to address, never. My friend, it's all or nothing. Did you find Deuteronomy 32?
It's got just one verse. This is a wonderful chapter.
It's called the Song of Moses. It's the Song of the Rock. There's
a whole lot here, but in verse 39, here's how God saves sinners. Deuteronomy 32, 39.
See now that I, even I am he, and there is no God with me.
I kill and I make a life. We're not talking about literal
things now, we're talking about spiritual things. I kill and
I make alive. I wound and I heal. Neither—this statement's just as important
as the other two—neither is there any that can deliver out of my
hand. You got me so excited I lost
my place. Let's see, Isaiah chapter 6.
So the question was, what part of us is unclean? The answer
is, no part of us. No part. It's either whole, complete,
entire, or it's not anything. in Isaiah 6 has to do with verse
6 and 7. 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 has touched your lips, and your iniquity
is taken away, and your sin is purged. Now, you know these things,
so I'm just going to remind you. That altar is a picture of Christ. The sacrifice is a picture of
Christ. The priest that offers it is
a type of Christ. Now listen, and the God to whom
it's offered is our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the fourth thing is in verse
eight. Let's read it again. This is
a very important statement. Also I heard the voice of the
Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send
me. Now the first thing that I call
your attention to is to the pronoun us. I underlined it when I was
reading it earlier, us. To my knowledge, there are only
three places in our Bible that God declares himself under that
term, us. The first one is in Genesis 1,
verse 26, where the Holy Three in One said, Let us make man
in our image. Man is made in the image of Christ,
not the other way around. The second time it appears is
in Genesis chapter 11. I don't remember the verses at
the moment. At the Tower of Babel, God in judgment used that term,
us. And here in Isaiah chapter 6,
the subject is redemption. And it is us. It is us. In the eternal council halls,
the Lord Jesus became the representative and surety of his people. And
this question is first and foremost to be applied to him. Whom shall
I send and who will go for us? And our Lord Jesus stands up
and says, Here am I. Send me. send me." These words also apply to the
prophet, I'm sure, but their primary reference is to our precious
Lord Jesus Christ. If you'll turn to Isaiah 43 for
a second, let me read you a statement that goes a long way in confirming
this. I'm going to read it without
comment if I can. I promised that at home and I
never do it, so I'm going to try to do better today. Verses
1 through 8, Isaiah 43, But now says the Lord that created you,
O Jacob, he that formed you, O Israel, fear not, for I have
redeemed you. I have called you by your name,
you are mine. When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you, and through the rivers they shall not overflow
you. When you walk through the fire,
you shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon you. For I am the Lord your God, the
Holy One of Israel, the Savior. I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for you. Since you were precious in my
sight, you have been honorable." Boy, we'd have to leave out a
whole lot of this Old Testament, wouldn't we? This is what God
sees. You have been honorable. By his grace in Christ, he does
not behold iniquity in Jacob. And I've loved you. Therefore
will I give men for you and people for your life. Fear not, for
I am with you. I'll bring your seed from the
east and gather you from the west. I'll say to the north,
give up, and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from
far and my daughters from the ends of the earth, even everyone
that is called by my name. where I have created him, for
my glory I have formed him, yea, I have made him, bring forth
the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that by the grace
of God have ears." Okay, I'm down to
point number five. That's all I've got. Not even
fourteen. Isaiah 6, verses 9 and 10. Now be sure you remember that
the person who said in verse 8, Here am I, send me, is none
other than our Savior and our Prophet, the Lord Jesus and Isaiah. And here are the conditions under
which they were to sail. And here, my friend, are the
conditions under which the gospel is to be preached to this day. Some things never change. And he said, Go and tell this
people. Hear you indeed, but understand
not, and see you indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart
of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their
eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears,
and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed." Surely these are not the conditions
under which men are to preach. Surely these were not the conditions
under which our Savior preached. You would think by the Christ
whom religion lifts up before men today, saved every person
he ever met. But you got to close all four
Gospels and shut both eyes to think that. The Gospel always
does two things, no matter when and where it is declared. and a savor of death unto death
to others. And the difference between the
two ain't found in this pulpit, nor in the hands of any man.
It's the work of God Almighty. All right, as you hang on to
John chapter 12. I want to read you just a few statements.
By the way, this issue, this matter, what Isaiah is prophesying, what
God is speaking to the prophet as well as to his son, the real
prophet, in verses 9 and 10 in Isaiah chapter 6, is
found repeated six times in the New Testament of our Bible. Now,
that's not enough times to convince anybody of a reasonable mind
that this is the declaration of this book, Old and New Testament
alike. It's found in all four Gospels,
it's found in the book of Acts, and it's found in the book of
Romans chapter 11. Here in John chapter 12, we'll
just take this as a sample of the Gospel accounts. Beginning
at verse 39, John chapter 12, Let me back up while I'm right
here and not have to repeat this. Back up to verse 37, because
here's something wonderful and yet awful at the same time. Our
Lord Jesus, verse 37 tells us, has done so many miracles, yet they believed not on him. The rich man that died just knew
if somebody went back from the dead, his brothers would believe.
Abraham said, if they believe not Moses and the prophets, they
will not believe though one rose from the dead. And the glorious
truth is, one did rise from the dead. That the saying, this is verse
38, that the saying of Isaiah the prophet, might be fulfilled. These are the opening statements
to the 53rd chapter of Isaiah on the suffering and death of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah asked God two questions.
Who has believed our report? Who believes our gospel? No matter
how often it is preached, how earnestly and sincerely it is
preached, Who has believed our report? And the second question
is the answer to the first one. Who believes our report? To whom
has the arm of the Lord been revealed? To whom has God revealed
His Son, who is the Savior of sinners, and who does not try
to save, He just simply saves. If He wanted to, He could save
all men. But He came to save His people. Let's read down that. Let's keep
reading. Therefore they could not believe,
because Isaiah said again, He has blinded their eyes. This
is straight out of Isaiah 6. He's blinded their eyes and hardened
their hearts that they should not see with their eyes, nor
understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should
heal them. These things said Isaiah when he saw Christ's glory
and spoke of Him. My goodness, how much plainer
can it be? I've already got one more scripture
on this very same issue. And if you believe what you've
just heard and read, oh, you want to know where it is, I'm
sure. Acts chapter 28. Acts 28. I reread these verses this morning,
and goodness, these are powerful statements. This unfriendly, unwelcome environment
into which the gospel must be proclaimed. is not something we ought to
be shocked about. It's illustrated in every book
of our Bibles, and specifically addressed, as we've already seen
in a great many places. Verses 26 and 27, the last chapter
of the book of Acts. The reference to Isaiah is in
the last words of verse 25, saying, Isaiah the prophet unto our fathers,
saying, Go unto this people and say, Hearing, you shall hear,
and shall not understand, and seeing, you shall see, and not
see, not perceive. For the heart of this people
is waxed gross, their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes
have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes. and hear
with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should
be converted, and I should heal them. Can I get one more scripture
in, Donnie? I'll pay you whatever it costs.
John chapter 9. I just want to ice the cake,
that's all. This is at the end of that chapter
when the Lord Jesus healed a man that was born blind. The Pharisees
grilled this man twice over, and he became more bold as the
chapter unfolded. And the Lord Jesus found him
in verse 35. They had kicked him out of the
Jewish religion. Our Lord sent to this man. This is the man
whom He gave sight who had never had sight. God can heal you and
me of the worst diseases known to man. And in this case, create
what was never there to start. We had a set of eyes. But he does not know who the
Lord Jesus is. Our Savior said, Do you believe
on the Son of God? And with utter honesty, the man
said, Who is He, Lord? that I might believe on him.
And the Savior said, You have both seen him, and it
is he that talks with you. And the man said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped. But here are
the verses I want you to see this morning. 39 and 40. And Jesus said, For
judgment I am come into this world. that they which see not
might see, and they which see might be made blind. And some
of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and they
said, Are we blind also? And our Lord said, If you were
blind, you should have no sin. The second blindness that our
Lord cured this man of, in John chapter 9, is the one that removed
all his sin. If you were blind, you would
have no sin. But now you say, we see. Therefore, your sin remains. That's the closest thing I could
find to Tennessee Orange. Thank you