Isaiah 6 and Holiness

Note: The recording appears to be cut after the reading of Isaiah 6:1–4, so part of the lesson may be missing.

Isaiah 6, 1-4, 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 twain he covered his face, with twain he covered his feet, and with twain 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 post of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. One of her grandsons, Garrett, was a little fellow. He loved spending the night at our house, so he spent the night, and we went to bed, and the routine was I would tell a story or six, and we would sing, and we would pray together.

And so that night he was in the bed and Nanny was on one side and I was on the other and we were going through that process. And so I said, Garrett, what is your favorite psalm? I never had asked him that before. Without a hesitation he said, Holy, Holy, Holy. I said, that’s great. Let’s sing it. And in his Tennessee drawl he said, well, I only know the Holy, Holy, Holy part. But we sang it and when we got through I said you know what that’s the most important part God is holy and the prophet Isaiah was given an opportunity that he might be able to see in a vision get a glimpse of the God of heaven and earth sitting upon his throne in his infinite holiness and as he saw that vision so we can read what he wrote and we can get a glimpse too of the holiness of God notice in the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord men face the reality of death Hebrews 9 27 it is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment James 4, 14 tells us our life is like a vapor.

A student was walking across the parking lot in Memphis on a hot August day, and it came a little rain shower, and the vapor was rising up from the hot asphalt. He looked at me and said, what is that? I wanted to say, boy, where have you been all your life? But instead I said, that is your life. It’s like a vapor. You see it for a little while, and it vanishes away. And so men are subject to death. Methuselah lived to be 969 years old, Genesis 5, 27, and he died.

Men died. So Uzzah, the king of Judah, reigned for 52 years and he died. Earthly kingdoms rise and fall. Earthly rulers may sit upon the throne for a few days, some of them. At most a few decades. But there will come a day when that ruler is no longer there. And another has taken his place. But our God is eternal. He is without beginning or end. As Psalm 90 verse 2 tells us. He is from everlasting to everlasting. So earthly rulers rise and fall. But the king of heaven and earth. Still. He is sitting upon his throne. In sublime, complete, authoritative control. God was before the beginning. Genesis 1.1. God will continue after the end. He spoke and this world and all creation came into being. Psalm 33 verses 6 and 9. And he’ll speak the word.

And this world and all in it will cease to exist. The heavens will pass away of the great noise. The elements will melt with fervent heat. The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2 Peter 3, 9-11. But God, who was sitting upon the throne when the first kingdom of man arose, will still be sitting upon the throne when the last kingdom of man falls. So Isaiah saw God sitting. He saw Him sitting upon a throne. This indicates His sovereignty. The throne is the seat of highest honor. It is the place of divine dignity and absolute authority. And the Lord, Isaiah saw in the vision, was sitting. That word means to dwell, to remain, to abide. It is the place where he dwells. Sitting upon a throne now with men, the right to rule might be gained in various ways.

It may be that he gains that right by birth. I’m sure some of you could tell me I can’t But I’m sure some of you could tell me Who’s in line for the throne in England I don’t know that But I’m sure some do By birth this fellow is going to be the next one To sit upon the throne Some gain that right to rule by battle They go out on the battlefield And win the battle And they announce themselves now as king Some gain that right by betrayal That is they undermine the sitting ruler And then they take his place Some gain that right by ballot. That is, they’re voted into this position. Some gain it by bestowal. It’s simply given to them. One selected. But our God has His right to rule because He is God.

He sits upon the throne in that position of authority because He has the power of authority. This power, this right, this rule was not given to Him by another. He was not taken from another. It is not something that was passed on from another. He is the sovereign ruler of the universe because he is God. It is not because he somehow, someway kept perfectly the requirements of men that he might be God.

God is the one who makes the law that man must obey and by which man will be judged. And so he is the sovereign God because he’s the living God who is sitting upon his throne in heaven. And one of the characteristics of his eternal spirit is that he is infinitely holy.

I saw the Lord sitting upon the throne. Notice the next part. High and lifted up. He is the supreme God. He is far, far above any other. You might claim to be a king, you might claim to be a ruler. He is over all. He is supreme in his infinite power, in his unquestionable authority, and in his divine knowledge and wisdom.

He is exalted to sit upon the throne. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the world empire of Babylon. He was the king of the world. You remember when the three Hebrew youths, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. You may know them as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But their Hebrew names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. And they did not comply with the king’s order. And he’s going to throw them into the fiery furnace in Daniel 3.15. He said, who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? They had said, we’ll trust our God to deliver us. And Nebuchadnezzar said, who is that God? He thought he was above all, but he learned a different truth later on as Daniel had prophesied to him a prophecy.

Daniel was hesitant to tell him because he knew what it would mean to Nebuchadnezzar. And Nebuchadnezzar, because of his pride, was caused by God to live out in the pasture like an animal for seven times. That may mean seven months. He ate grass like an animal. He had the mind of a beast. He lived out in the pasture. He was wet with the dew from heaven. Then God gave him his mind again. And you know what Nebuchadnezzar said? He said, none can stay his, God’s hand, or say unto him, what doest thou?

Daniel 4.35. Brother Rex A. Turner Sr. Was a great Bible scholar. And he was convinced that Nebuchadnezzar was converted. I’ve taught the book of Daniel for a number of years at school. I think Brother Turner is correct. Nebuchadnezzar was converted. I think I may have said Daniel. He was convinced that Nebuchadnezzar was converted. I believe that’s right. And so Nebuchadnezzar learned the lesson. No mere mortal man, regardless of where he sits, sits in a position where he dares to question God or to challenge Him or to try to wrest authority from Him. Our God is sitting upon the throne as the supreme ruler of the universe. Thus his word is final. Isaiah 46.10 My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. God’s word is final. Sometimes men have the idea they can change that or ignore it.

But if we do not hear him, we will hear from him one day. What we hear will not be what we want to hear. We should hear him now and bow before him. He reigns supreme sitting upon His heavenly throne as a sovereign ruler there abiding. That should inspire in us all. It should prompt in us grateful obedience. It should cause us to want to bow down in willing and reverent worship. Notice what it says next. His train filled the temple. The train is the skirt of His robe. And it filled that kingly, heavenly palace. Suppose that a bride comes down the aisle. And when she gets down here, her train goes all the way back outside of this room.

And not only that, it reaches over and overflows into the pews. Well, we would be amazed at that, wouldn’t we? Hear the splendor of God. Shown by the fact that His train, the skirt of His robe, fill the heavenly sanctuary.

Our God has exquisite beauty. Magnificent loveliness. Beyond our ability really to comprehend. He is infinitely excellent. And He has manifested that splendor in His creation. The heavens declare the glory of God, Psalm 19. We lived in Memphis for 10 years. I’ve been at school for 24 years as an instructor. We lived in Memphis for 10 years and then we moved out to, I guess it would be called the country. And as we were in the process of moving, it got dark and I went outside and I looked up and I could see the stars.

I hadn’t seen the stars in a long time. It took me by surprise. You know, you don’t think that you don’t see the stars. And then you see them and there they are. It’s kind of the way sin works, isn’t it? And so I saw the stars and I just had to stop and think about the glory of God’s creation. And then when we would take our little grandchildren out at night to put them into their vehicle so they could go home, we would look up and I’d say, look at the stars. And maybe it’d be a full moon and I’d say that is the same moon that Jesus saw when He was upon the earth. That’s the same moon that Noah saw. That’s the same moon that Adam and Eve saw in the garden. God has put on display His magnificent splendor in His creation.

I came home after being gone for several days preaching and my wife said, I want to show you something. I didn’t know if that was good or bad. And usually it means the plumbing needs fixed or something, like it did the last trip. And so she took me by the hand, and I didn’t know what to expect. And we walked out to the back, and she said, look at my hummingbirds. And she had put up hummingbird feeders. There were little hummingbirds just flying around everywhere. And we were amazed at the beauty of these delicate little birds. And the beautiful world that God has made that is our home. Do you know that there are more than 350 variations of hummingbirds?

I didn’t know that. But there are. They come in different sizes. There’s one, just a little bitty one. There’s some that are larger. Some that are bigger. They come in different shapes. I didn’t know that. But they do. They come in different colors. We had one in the backyard that was green. And it looked like he was metallic. He was so shiny. And so now we have hummingbirds that come back every year. I saw one just the other day. And so the little hummingbird. God could have made a little ugly, plodding little thing to walk around with a squeaky, squawking voice.

But He didn’t do that. He made a hummingbird. We can see in God’s creation His glory. There is no place where one can go. And if he will but look, there is no place he can go and not see God’s glory in his creation.

There is no one who cannot see God’s glory in his creation if you’ll just open his eyes. I drove in yesterday evening. And as I watched the sunset, I thought how beautiful that is. I’m thankful I get to see another sunset. And we take those for granted. But even in the sunset, God is putting the land to sleep. It’s doing just exactly what God intended for it to do. So here is our God in His splendor, but notice the next part. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

And one of the magnificent mighty angels stationed there above God’s throne called out in a loud voice such that the power of His mighty voice shook the post, the foundations of the door. Verse 4. Shall we suppose that the continuous praise offered by the angelic host was such that it became a burden to them?

Do you think here in the very presence of the Holy God that they would look at this opportunity and grow weary of it? Do you think that there were those of the angelic host who were not present that day?

If you could call it a day in eternity. Because there was something else that was more important to them. Something else that brought more pleasure to them. And yet we as worshipers of God sometimes look upon the world and the love of the world keeps us from worshiping God.

1 John 2, 15-17 I stand up here and I see the countenances of those who are present. Not that I’ve seen that today, but I’ve seen it in the past. You’ve got some cousins over in Tennessee that sometimes are looking like, how long is this going to last?

I’ve had people do this before, you know. What’s really bad is when they bring a calendar, but that’s a different thing. Do you think any of the angels should have been there, but they weren’t there? Because something else was more important. Or, like those in Malachi’s day, Malachi 1.13, that they said, Behold, what a weariness it is. Oh, we wish we didn’t have to do this. You know what I’ve decided after preaching for 40 years? I’ve decided there are some brethren whose motivation is not that they love the Lord or that they have hearts overflowing with gratitude because He’s given them by His grace salvation. Or that they’re living in the hope of being with Him in His presence one day. Or that they love the souls of their fellow men and they want to bring everybody they can with them into heaven.

I’m convinced that some simply don’t want to go to hell. That’s the motivation. And so it becomes then, how little can I do so that I don’t go to hell? It’s not about going to heaven. It’s about not going to hell. Do you think there were those among the angelic host who were thinking how little Cam would do? Do I have to be there? I was there the last time. Do I have to be there this time? Oh, I see they’re looking upon this as a blessed opportunity. With two wings they hid their faces in reverence. With two wings they hid their feet in humility. And with two wings they were ready to fly swiftly in accomplishing God’s will. As Gabriel did, Daniel 9, 21, when he said, God sent him and he flew swiftly to Daniel.

Holy, holy, holy. One or three times. Why not just once? Is that not enough? Wouldn’t twice be sufficient? Holy, holy, holy gives the correct emphasis to express to our finite minds the fact of the infinite holiness of God. God is holy and thus separate from sin. Revelation 21, 27. Sin will not enter into His holy abode. If we would be holy and be in His presence, then we too must be separate from sin. But notice this last point. The whole earth is full of His glory. His infinite dignity and purity. His lovely and matchless holiness portrayed in His glory.

The whole earth. Isaiah saw a vision of the holy God. By inspiration it has been recorded for us. So that we can get a glimpse into heaven. There be inspired and amazed at the holiness of the great God of heaven and earth.

1 Peter 1, 15 and 16 quotes from Leviticus 11, 44 and 45. And it says, But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy, because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. There is no question about God’s holiness. That’s not the question. The question is, are we holy? And that will be all that matters when we come to that time of passing into eternity. When the Lord comes back if we’re still living. When that judgment day takes place, that will be all that matters. It won’t matter what color we were. It won’t matter how rich we were. It won’t matter how educated we were. It won’t matter what position we held in life. It won’t matter what my last name is. What will matter is, did I live a life of holiness?

Friends, you can begin that life today. You can be holy. That doesn’t mean sinlessly perfect. You can be holy. And you must be. If you’d be in the presence of the Holy God. Believe in Jesus as the Christ. John 8, 24. Turn from all your past sins in repentance. Acts 2, 38. Confess your faith in Him. Romans 10, 9 and 10. And be buried with Him in baptism. Romans 6, 3. From that watery grave then to arise. And walk in newness of life, verse 4. You’ll embark on that journey, that life of holiness, that if you continue faithfully, Revelation 2.10 will take you one day to that place where you can join the angelic host in proclaiming the holiness of the God who sits upon the throne in heaven. If that’s not what you are doing today, if you’re not ready for that time of passing, that return of the Lord.

You can become ready. We’ll be glad to have you. All it takes is for you to make that decision. Follow the Lord’s will. Let us know what your needs are. Won’t you do that? Come right now while we stand and sing.

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!