Unity ARP

A Vision of the Greatness of God for a New Year

Isaiah 6:1-10

12/28/97

“People are starving for the greatness of God.” (John Piper) Most do not realize that this strong desire is a driving force in their lives. As Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” What you and I need, the thing our hearts are longing for today is a vision of the greatness of God. Every yearning of our hearts is ultimately a yearning after God. Most preaching today is patently man-centered. The felt needs of individuals are exalted to the highest place and every sermon is geared toward trying to meet those needs. Why is it that people are still so empty after such preaching? Because what they really need is a clear view of the greatness of God, and instead all they hear about is how central man and his emotional needs are.

Preaching that aims at meeting the emotional needs of the members of a congregation will not accomplish its purpose. Pastor and author John Piper said, “Preaching that does not have the aroma of God’s greatness may entertain for a season, but it will not touch the hidden cry of the soul: ‘SHOW ME THY GLORY’”. Many people would tell us preachers that since so many people are hurting we should come down out of the heavens and get practical. In other words, these lofty types of sermons don’t do people any good because they don’t help people where they are hurting.

Piper did an experiment in his own church. He decided to preach on this passage of Isaiah to his congregation at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, without one word of application to the lives of the people. What he didn’t know was that one of the young families of their church had recently discovered that their child was being sexually abused by a close relative. It was incredibly traumatic. That family was there that Sunday morning for the message. A few weeks later Pastor Piper learned about the family’s situation and spoke with the husband. “John”, he said, “these have been the hardest months of our lives. Do you know what has gotten me through? The vision of the greatness of God’s holiness that you gave me the first week of January. It has been the rock we could stand on.”

It’s not that we don’t need practical application, we do. But we need God and we need a view of His greatness and glory. This is what we get in Isaiah chapter 6. This chapter is actually an account of the calling and commissioning of Isaiah as God’s prophet. God had an extraordinary mission for Isaiah and therefore he needed this extraordinary call to the work. This vision was overwhelming for Isaiah, sinful and mere human that he was. But this vision of God’s power, holiness, and sovereignty would give him the courage he needed to proclaim a hard message to a hard hearted people. He could not be afraid of these people or else he would back down from preaching what God wanted him to. For Isaiah this vision instilled in him the fear of God which is the ONLY thing that would enable him to overcome the fear of man. Isaiah is known to us today as one of the greatest of all the prophets. If we are ever going to do great things for God in our day, we must first have a vision of the greatness of God. We need this in order to build our faith and confidence in God and to instill the fear of God in our souls. As we study this passage now, may God grant that we would feel the weight of Isaiah’s vision.

First let’s look in verse 1 at -
I. THE VISION OF GOD ITSELF
Isaiah said that this vision came to him during the year King Uzziah died. Uzziah’s reign was 52 years long and was one of the most prosperous in Judah’s history, however the nation was beginning to weaken and decline. Now suddenly they were without a king. It was a critical time for the nation. During this unsettling time, Isaiah “saw the Lord.” But the Bible says that no man can see God. 1 Timothy 6:16 speaks of God, “who alone has immortality, dwelling in light which cannot be approached, whom no man has seen, nor can see.” How then did Isaiah see Him? Not with his physical eyes, because God, in His essence, has no form. He is pure spirit.

At the same time, though God is spiritual and invisible, the Bible does say that men will see Him. Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” How can man see God? By faith now we can see Him spiritually, and one day we will see Him face to face in heaven. The Jews in Jesus day, being blinded by their self-righteous pride, failed to “see God” in the person of Jesus Christ. John 1:18 says that, “No one has seen God at any time; the Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” (NKJV) Jesus said in John 14:9 to Philip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (NKJV)

It is those who are of a pure heart that will have the greatest sight of God and His greatness. Isaiah must have been pure of heart, although as we will see, he was not as pure as he could be and would be. Psalm 15:1 says, “LORD, who shall dwell in Your tabernacle? Who shall dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.” (NKJV) What is the state of your heart this morning? Is it pure? Have you guarded it from evil and fed it with the truth? Do you have a burning desire to know God and glorify Him? Then you will be blessed with an enlarged view of God and His greatness. 1 John 3:2 & 3 says, “We know that when He shall be revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure.”

Isaiah saw more than a spiritual sight of God here. He saw a “visible manifestation of the glory of God in human form.” (E.J. Young) Several times in the Old Testament, men were said to have seen God. These visible manifestations of the Lord are called Theophanies. Many believe that Isaiah’s vision was the pre-incarnate Christ. John 12:41, speaking of Christ, said “Isaiah said these things when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.” (NKJV) The word for Lord here is the Hebrew “adonai” — “the God who is able to carry out His purposes.”

Isaiah saw Him “sitting on a throne.” This signifies two things about God: 1) He is the sovereign King, 2) He is the Judge of all mankind. God wanted Isaiah to know that He was in charge. He alone controlled all the events of history and therefore, the future of Judah was in His hands. He wanted Isaiah to see Him as a Judge, who was ready to pronounce judgment on His unfaithful people. Isaiah went on to say that the Lord on His throne was “high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.” What a picture of majesty and glory! The Lord was in His heavenly temple. He is exalted above all. Habakkuk 2:20 says, “The LORD [is] in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him.” (NKJV) Our response to such greatness is to “stand in awe of him, and reverence him; be subject to him, and silently adore him.” (John Gill)

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God!” (NKJV) He is God! Therefore do not murmur or complain. He is God! Do not worry or be afraid. He is God! Silently adore and worship Him. He is God! Gladly submit to Him and obey His commands. He is God! Acknowledge His absolute sovereignty and right to do whatsoever He wants to do, whether is pleases your sinful, finite mind or not! Jonathan Edwards said, “The sole consideration that God is God, is sufficient to still all objections to his sovereignty.” When you see Him high and lifted up, you will cease to exalt yourself. When you see Him seated upon His majestic throne, you will not dare to accuse Him of being unfair in any way.

Today, I do not believe God is going to give you an actual vision as God gave to Isaiah, but as we hear His Word, faith comes. And by faith we see Him who is unseen. Listen to what the Puritan William Gurnall had to say about this: “Faith gives the soul a view of the Great God. It teaches the soul to set His almightiness against sin’s magnitude, and His infinitude against sin’s multitude; and so quenches the temptation. The reason why the presumptuous sinner fears so little, and the despairing soul so much, is for want of knowing God as great.” Do you hear what he is saying? If we can get a view of God’s greatness, our sins and our fears will begin to disappear. To the proud sinner who has no room for God, God is saying, “Know that I am God and can cast you into hell whenever I please.” To the weak and worrying Christian, God is saying, “Know that I am God. I will forgive all your sins, and strengthen you to face your trials and overcome your temptations.”

Let’s move on now to look at verses 2-4 of Isaiah 6, which describe:

II. THE COURT AND SURROUNDINGS OF THE TEMPLE

Isaiah said that “above the throne stood seraphim.” The seraphim were angelic beings that attended the throne of God. The name seraphim means literally “burning one”. Perhaps this refers to the brightness of their countenance or their “flaming zeal for God’s cause and interest.” (Gill) They each had six wings. Each pair of wings had a specific purpose. One pair were used to cover their faces. Though they were bright, burning ones, the brightness of Him who sat on the throne was too great and their creaturely eyes had to be shielded. This also was indicative of their reverence and awe for God. According to Dr. E.J. Young, the pair of wings covering their feet was “done as an expression of humility and unworthiness.” Only two were necessary for flying. With this pair of wings they speedily carried out the will of the Lord. Isaiah doesn’t say how many seraphim he saw. Daniel had a vision of God and in Daniel 7:10 he said, “A stream of fire went out and came out from before Him. A thousand thousands served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.” (NKJV)

Verse 3 indicates that the main occupation of the seraphim was to shout His praises. They cried out to one another, saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” In the Bible the number three denotes perfection. Holy, holy, holy - perfectly holy is the Lord. Holiness is presented in Scripture as His chief characteristic. Though God is love, the angels were not shouting “love, love, love is the Lord.” God’s holiness is “the entirety of the divine perfection which separates God from His creation.” (Young) It is His separation from all that is sinful. His eyes are too pure to look upon evil and our eyes are too impure to look upon Him.

Let me ask you, do you praise God like these seraphim? True and spiritual praise is the greatest service we can render to Almighty God. When you praise Him, do you praise Him for His holiness? Are you also seeking to live a life of holiness? God says, “Be holy for I am holy.” The more you get a view of God’s perfect holiness, the more you will see the need to be holy and the more you will want to be holy. Meditate on His holiness! Praise Him for His holiness!

“The whole earth is full of His glory.” There may be places where the eyes of men are too darkened with sin to see His glory, but every place on this planet has the dust of His glory upon it. As Dr. Young said, “This is His world, the wide theater in which His perfect glory is displayed.”

There is an even greater degree of glory that will fill the earth than that expressed by the creation, as great as it is. Habakkuk 2:14 says, “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (NKJV) Though the earth is full of His glory now, not every man is full of the knowledge of His glory. Therefore, as the gospel is preached in all the world, and God calls men and women to Himself, then shall the knowledge of His glory be known. The task of spreading the gospel of the Jesus Christ to all the world has been given to the church - to us here today. But many are not greatly concerned about it. That is because they have too low a view of God and His greatness. Isaiah was also called to preach, but he was not fit to proclaim God’s glory until He had experienced His glory through this vision. And so, as we will see, neither are we fit to proclaim gospel until we have seen His greatness and been broken of our human pride.

Verse 4 says, “And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of Him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.” When I read this passage the scene of a rock concert came to mind. There is something awe inspiring about a well done rock concert. I think that is why people are attracted to them. As I reflected back to some of the concerts I have been to in the past I realized that there were many similarities to the vision. God’s house was filled with smoke - the rock band’s stage is filled with smoke. God’s throne is high and lifted up - the stage is lifted up above the crowd below. The posts of the door of the temple were shaken by the loud voices of angels in heaven - at a rock concert the music is so loud that it shakes or “rocks” the place. The angels shouted and praised God - at a rock concert people are screaming and praising their gods on stage. People long to experience something that is awesome, but what a poor idolatrous substitute a rock concert is for God’s greatness and glory. They have a longing for God’s glory, but they don’t know it and so they seek to satisfy this desire in the world’s way. One final comparison - a rock concert leaves your ears ringing, but the concert of praise which Isaiah witnessed left the very depths of his soul shaken!

Like the apostle John in Revelation, who, when He saw a vision of Christ, fell at his feet as dead, Isaiah was undone. The word means “I have been made to cease, I am cut off, undone, doomed to die.” “NO ONE ALIVE today would go into a nuclear reactor without protective clothing. In a similar way, during Old Testament times merely being in the presence of God was regarded as being fatal.” (NIV Quiet Time Bible) Isaiah really thought the end had come for him. It is commonly thought today that in order to be a leader you need a lot of self confidence. However, in order to make Isaiah a leader God had had to crush all the self confidence out of him. Brothers and sisters, it has got to be the same with us if we are going to be useful to God!

Spurgeon said, “God will never do anything with us till He has first of all undone us.” Do you believe that? It doesn’t matter - just watch and wait and you will find that God is in the business of breaking us and squeezing every bit of self sufficiency out of us. Then, when we are made weak, He can be strong. A vision of His greatness leads to our total dependence upon Him. When we see Him as He is, then we see ourselves as we really are. Then we are ready to trust in His grace alone.

This account is not about Isaiah’s conversion, but his call to the ministry. He had already known the Lord and His mercy. He had already experienced forgiveness of sins, but when he was in the presence of God he had a new sense of his sin. He confessed, “I am a man of unclean lips”. The seraphim were praising God with pure lips. This Isaiah could not do because of his sin. We are not fit to offer praise to God until we confess our sins and are cleansed by the Lord. One of the very first things we ought to do when we enter the presence of God is to confess our sins. Also, Isaiah was a prophet, and his lips were consecrated to God for the purpose of proclaiming His message. Therefore he was more conscious of his sins of the tongue.

Isaiah went on to say “I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips”. If Isaiah was unfit to praise God, then it was even more true for the nation. The fact that Isaiah confessed their sins also is significant. Unless you and I are truly sickened by sin around us, it is doubtful that we will be stirred up enough to try to do anything about it. If we are not burdened about the sins of our neighbors and how they have dishonored the Lord, then we will not be burdened enough to proclaim the message of salvation to them. Isaiah said that he felt his own and his people’s uncleanness because, “my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” This has ever been the experience of all the godly - the closer they get to God and the more they know of Him, the more unworthy they feel.

Verses 6 & 7 tell us about the live coal which was put to Isaiah’s lips to give him a symbolical assurance that his sin was forgiven. We know that the only way sin is actually purged or taken away is by the blood of Christ. Symbolically, fire has purifying power. Isaiah may have felt that he had unclean lips but God wanted him to know that they were now clean, and therefore he could speak the Word of God with courage and confidence. In order for you as a Christian to be greatly used by God, you must not only be humbled, but you must regain an assured confidence - not in yourself, but in God’s love and mercy. Many Christians are hindered in their service to God by an unwillingness to believe that God fully and freely forgives all their sins. Have your sins been forgiven? Are you sure that you possess eternal life?

Verse 8 introduces the voice of God: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah was ready to do whatever God wanted him to do. He immediately and enthusiastically replied, “Here am I! Send me.” He responded before he even knew what God wanted him to do. As it turned out, it was to be a hard task. God wanted him to preach, not so that people would be converted, but so that they would be further hardened. In verse 10 God said, “Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes.” What about you? Are you ready and willing to do whatever God wants you to do with your life, and to go wherever He wants you to go? If you find that you are hesitant right now to lay it all on the line for God, to take His message of salvation to others, then you have missed the message this morning. You haven’t been gripped by the great majesty and holiness of God. My prayer for you is that God would open your eyes, that you might be undone, and then revived and ready to say with Isaiah, “Here am I! Send me.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 28th, 1997 at 8:53 pm and is filed under Glory of Christ Series, Sermon Text.