A Portrait of True Worship Isaiah 6:1-8 (NKJV)

Transcription

1 Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, August 10, 2014 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister A Portrait of True Worship Isaiah 6:1-8 (NKJV) Please turn with me in your Bibles to ISAIAH chapter six. And let's read verses 1-8. ISAIAH 6:1-8 (NKJV) 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory! 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: 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 my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts. 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us? Then I said, Here am I! Send me.

2 I N T R O D U C T I O N Right at this very moment we are in the presence of Almighty God, for He has promised, That where two or three are gathered together in His Name, there He would be also. (Matthew 18:20) But I often wonder if we truly recognize that we are in the presence of GOD and if we truly understand and appreciate what it means. * When JOB encountered the holiness of GOD he cried out, Behold, I am unworthy. (Job 40:4 NIV) *When THE PROPHET HABAKKUK experienced the holiness of GOD he said, I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. (Habakkuk 3:16 NIV) THE HOLINESS OF GOD caused Adam and Eve to hide from God to cover their shameful nakedness. WHEN MOSES ENCOUNTERED THE HOLINESS OF GOD AT THE BURNING BUSH he took off his sandals for he knew he was on holy ground. THE HOLINESS OF GOD caused the Israelites to keep a safe distance from the base of Mt. Sinai for fear that God would strike them dead. THE HOLINESS OF GOD caused Peter, James and John to fall to the ground in reverence on the Mount of Transfiguration. THE HOLINESS OF GOD caused the apostle John to fall at Jesus' feet as though he were a dead man. Time after time we read in the scriptures that when one encountered the HOLY PRESENCE OF GOD they were never the same.

3 ********************************************************************************** T R A N S I T I O N I N T O I S A I A H 6 ********************************************************************************** The prophet Isaiah prophesied during the reign of four kings over a period of sixty years. One of the kings who reigned during Isaiah's time was King Uzziah. In a time when many of Israel's kings were wicked and rebellious towards GOD, King Uzziah distinguished himself as a godly king. Uzziah became king when he was just sixteen years old and he ruled over the nation for 52 years. America has had 10 presidents over the past 52 years. Can you imagine having just one president for 52 years? But as we learn in VERSE 1 of our text, King Uzziah has died, leaving the Israelite people in a state of deep mourning and uncertainty over what the future may hold. It was during this time of national mourning that GOD gave the Prophet Isaiah an incredible vision that would become a life-changing experience. As we look at this passage more closely we are going to see A Portrait of True Worship. **************************

4 First of all, I would have you to notice... I. True Worship Should Cause Us To Recognize The HOLINESS of GOD (vs. 1-4) 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory! 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:1-4 New King James Version) 1. As far as we know, ISAIAH had believed in GOD and worshiped GOD his whole life. But for the very first time he recognizes the holiness of GOD in a way he had never known before. 2. Let's look through ISAIAH'S eyes for just a moment and try to visualize the awesome glory of GOD that he saw that day. (A) First of all, Isaiah saw the HOLY POSITION OF GOD. (v.1) v. 1 I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. The earthly throne of Israel was now empty as a result of King Uzziah's death. But Isaiah is greatly comforted as he sees GOD, THE KING OF ALL CREATION seated upon His heavenly throne. I remind you that this same God Isaiah saw seated on His throne, high and lifted up is the same GOD you and I have come to worship this morning.

5 It should give us great comfort to know that no matter what is going on in our personal life...or in our nation...or in the world... that GOD still reigns upon His heavenly throne. But not only does Isaiah see THE HOLY POSITION OF GOD... (B) Isaiah sees THE HOLY PROTECTORS OF GOD (v. 2) v. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings; with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. When I refer to the serpahim as the protectors of God I do not mean to imply that God is weak and needs the seraphim to protect Him like body guards. SERAPHIM along with their angelic counterparts THE CHERUBIM were unique beings used to guard or protect the holy presence of GOD. You see, they were not protecting GOD from man, they were protecting man from the all-consuming, holy presence of GOD. Notice the seraphim had six wings each. Isaiah saw THE HOLY POSITION OF GOD. He saw THE HOLY PROTECTORS OF GOD. -TWO WINGS covered their faces, symbolizing that the holiness of GOD is so incredibly awesome that no one can look upon the face of GOD and live. -TWO WINGS covered their feet, symbolizing that they were standing upon holy ground when in the presence of GOD. -AND TWO WINGS were outstretched in flight symbolizing the lofty height of GOD who sat exalted upon His throne.

6 (C) Isaiah heard THE HOLY PROCLAMATION ABOUT GOD. (v. 3) v. 3 And one cried to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. In the Hebrews language, emphasis was added to a word by repeating it more than once. For example, to say something was big would be to emphasize it to the first degree. To say something was big, big would be to emphasize it to the second degree. But to say something was big, big, big was to emphasize it to the third and highest degree. When the seraphim proclaimed Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty they were emphasizing the holiness of GOD to the third and highest degree. Do you know one day you and I will hear the seraphim make this same proclamation in heaven. John writes in Revelation 4:8 (NKJV) The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, Who was, and is and is to come! 3. When we worship each week we do not see a vision of God's holiness such as Isaiah saw here in Isaiah 6. But in our minds and hearts we should visualize the awesome holiness and greatness of our GOD. TRUE WORSHIP SHOULD CAUSE US TO RECOGNIZE THE HOLINESS OF GOD

7 Secondly... II. True Worship Should Cause Us To Recognize Our Own UNHOLINESS (vs. 5-7) 5 So I said: 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 my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts. 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged. (Isaiah 6:5-7 New King James Version) 1. Isaiah was a good man. He was a godly man. He was a righteous man who proclaimed the prophesies of God. And yet when he was in the presence of the HOLINESS OF GOD, he recognized his own UNHOLINESS. Henry Blackaby says, An exalted view of GOD gives us a realistic view of ourselves. 2. When Isaiah saw himself in the presence of the ALL-HOLY GOD he cried out Woe is me, for I am undone. To say woe is me was to pronounce judgment upon oneself. To say for I am undone meant I am ruined, or I have come unraveled. ANALOGY: Have you ever pulled a threat on a sweater or a coat and watched it un-ravel? Have you ever snagged a piece of furniture on your carpet and watched the carpet start to un-ravel?

8 3. In the presence of GOD'S HOLINESS, Isaiah felt himself coming completely un-raveled. -He saw God's holiness and recognized his own unholiness. -He saw God's perfection and recognized his own imperfection. -He saw God's sinlessness and saw his own sinfulness. -He saw God's righteousness and saw his own wretchedness. 4. Compared to his fellow Israelites, Isaiah seemed very holy and righteous; but when in the presence of the ALL-HOLY, ALL-RIGHTEOUS GOD, Isaiah felt filthy dirty. So much so, he proclaimed in verse 5, I am a man of unclean lips! The words of one's lips reflects the condition of one's heart. 5. Brothers and sisters, none of us should ever come into the HOLY PRESENCE OF GOD with our heads held high and our chest puffed out as though there were anything about our holiness and righteousness to be proud of. 6. When we truly worship GOD and we see our own unholiness in the light of His holiness, we should have that same sense of dirtiness that Isaiah felt that causes us to cry out woe is me. 7. In fact, when we compare our unholiness to the holiness of GOD we will wonder how we could even come into the holy presence of GOD. We can't by our own merits. But we can because of the WONDERFUL GRACE OF GOD. vs. 6,7 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said, 'Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.

9 True Worship Should Cause Us To Recognize THE HOLINESS OF GOD. True Worship Should Cause Us To Recognize OUR OWN UNHOLINESS. And finally... III. True Worship Should Compel Us To Render HOLY SERVICE (v. 8) 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us? Then I said, Here am I! Send me. (Isaiah 6:8 New King James Version) 1. I want you to notice the voluntary nature of Isaiah's response to God. 2. God's call is to all His people. He says, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? 3. After recognizing GOD'S HOLINESS and his own UNHOLINESS, Isaiah responds, Here am I! Send me! He considers it an honor and a privilege to serve the ALL-HOLY GOD! 4. True worship should compel you and me to render holy service also. When you and I realize that it is only by GOD'S GRACE that unholy you and me can even come into His Holy presence, we should consider it a privilege and an honor to DO ANYTHING GOD ASKS US TO DO and to GO ANYWHERE HE ASKS US TO GO.

10 C O N C L U S I O N A.W. Tozer once said, "So necessary to the Church is a lofty concept of God that when that concept in any measure declines, the Church with her worship and moral standards declines along with it. The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders its high opinion of God." I think one reason our worship grows dull and boring at times is because we have such a small view of GOD. We must never drag GOD down to our level by thinking of Him as nothing more than the big man upstairs, or some old, feeble, celestial grandpa who is too weak to get up off His throne. We miss the true essence of worship if we fail to see the greatness, the majesty, and the awesomeness of GOD. How Great Thou Art Oh Lord, my God When I in awesome wonder Consider all the works Thy hands have made I see the stars I hear the rolling thunder Thy power throughout The universe displayed Then sings my soul My Saviour, God, to Thee How great thou Art How great thou Art Then sings my soul My Saviour, God, to Thee How great thou Art How great thou Art