“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD ALMIGHTY” (Outline)
June 19, 2011 -
Pentecost 1 / Trinity Sunday -
ISAIAH 6:1-8
INTRO: The Lord God Almighty called Isaiah to be his prophet. Isaiah proclaimed the words that the Lord God Almighty gave him to proclaim. For 45 years Isaiah proclaimed judgments and blessings from the Triune God. From beginning to end the Bible declares our Lord God Almighty to be triune. True Christians know, believe, and confess faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our God is three Persons but only one God = triune (trinity). Moses proclaims the awesomeness of God after Israel walks through the sea on dry ground. "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you-- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?" (EXODUS 15:11). God guides us to learn more about our Triune God: ”majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders”. “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD ALMIGHTY”. I. Our sinfulness overwhelms. II. God’s forgiveness overcomes us.
I. OUR SINFULNESS OVERWHELMS US.
A. Verse 1a. Isaiah places himself in the midst of human history. Many try to reject God’s word.
1. Historians recognize the kings of Israel and Judah as part of history. Isaiah lived at this time.
2. Verse 1b. The hem of the Lord’s robe fills the temple of the Lord: a glorious vision.
B. Verse 2. Seraphs are angels. Seraphs are divine beings created to worship the Lord.
1. Why six wings? With two wings they flew. With the other (4) wings they hid their face, feet.
2. Even God’s angels come to worship the Lord in humility and respect. They hide behind wings.
C. Verse 3. Isaiah saw the Lord. Isaiah saw the seraphs. Now Isaiah hears their words of worship.
1. Verse 4. The seraphs worship with thunderous words of praise. God is “holy, holy, holy”.
2. Verse 5. Isaiah’s sinfulness overwhelms him. He is unholy, sinful. God is holy, sinless.
D. We are no different than Isaiah or any other sinner in this world. Each one of us has been conceived and born with and into a sinful world. By nature we are sinful, wretched beings. None can escape the sin which we inherit from our first parents, Adam and Eve. Today, mankind is not always ready to admit the sin that infects us all. All too often sin is denied: “People are generally good at heart”. Sometimes sin is rejected outright: “Everyone is doing it, it is okay”. Some sins are now reclassified as sicknesses. Not one of these excuses can remove the inheritance that is ours by birth. "The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time" (GENESIS 6:5). All our thoughts are always tainted, infected by evil.
E. Today’s world often thinks much more of itself than it should. We often blame others for anything evil that happens. After all, we are too perfect to do anything bad. This is the result of our selfish and self-indulgent society. We are so stuck on ourselves that we do not care much about the feelings or opinions of others. It is just the opposite for those who truly serve the Lord God Almighty. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, the Messiah. The crowds came out and were ready to make John the Messiah. John would have none of it. "And this was his message: ‘After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie’"(MARK 1:7). John always wanted to become less so that Christ would become more. Oh, if only there were more believers like John today.
F. The disciples of Jesus also realized their unworthiness in the presence of an awesome God. None of them grabbed for any glory. It was Jesus who chose them. It was Jesus who called them to a life of hum-ble, self-sacrificing service. One time the disciples had fished all night. They caught nothing. Jesus sent them out in the morning. The boats were so full of fish they began to sink. "When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’" (LUKE 5:8). Like Peter, we can and do only and always admit, “I am sinful”. We are only sinful all the time Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Compared to the sinlessness of our God our sinfulness is overwhelms us.
II. GOD’S FORGIVENESS OVERCOMES US.
A. The Lord God Almighty is giving Isaiah a vision to encourage and strengthen him in his ministry.
1. During his 45 years of ministry one bad king after another went from bad to worse.
2. Verse 5. Isaiah realized that no one could see God and live. Isaiah was sinful, God holy.
B. Verse 6. Seraph (angel) also has the root meaning of “fiery being”. Note the irony of God here.
1. The “fiery being” uses a tong to pick up a fiery coal from the altar.
2. But this fiery coal would not harm the lips of the prophet Isaiah.
C. Verse 7. Isaiah’s sins are forgiven. They are removed. Intentional and unintentional sins are gone.
1. God’s complete and perfect and powerful forgiveness overcomes all of Isaiah’s sinfulness.
2. Verse 8. The law shows Isaiah his sin. God’s gospel forgives. Now Isaiah is ready to serve.
D. The gospel of God is the one and the only reason any believer can or will do anything that is right in God’s sight. Our challenge today is to correctly handle God’s word of truth. We always need to hear God’s law that shows us our sins. Then we will appreciate God’s gospel that shows us our Savior. With-out recognizing sin no one will see a need for a Savior. Without a desperate need for a Savior there is no motivation for Christian living. "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed" (1 PETER 2:24). Our lives are infected and tainted by sin. Jesus’ wounds heal our disease. By the blood of Jesus our sins are forgiven. Now we are ready to live lives of love for the Lord God Almighty who first loved us.
E. It is only God’s gospel that changes our hearts. This is the powerful energy of the gospel. It is only God’s gospel that changes anyone’s life. In our selfish and self-serving world the believer will stand out as being different. God’s gospel moves us to live lives of love for others. "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers"(1 JOHN 3:16). God is love. God loves to show mercy. When needed God shows his judgment. There is a heaven and there is a hell. God’s eternal judgment is reserved for those who reject the triune God.
F. Believer we dare not think that any of us are ever better than anyone else in this world of sin. We are sinners from the very second that our life begins (moment of conception). By the miracle of God’s grace we are saved from our sins. Not one of us can earn any forgiveness. None of us will ever have enough money for a down payment to remove any sin. We are saved by God’s grace. "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst" (1 TIMOTHY 1:15). Yes, like anyone and everyone else we are the worst of sinners. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord almighty. Like sinners everywhere our sins are forgiven. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord!
CONC: “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD ALMIGHTY”. These were the thunderous words of worship and praise of the seraphs. These are the words Isaiah heard. With these words Isaiah was strengthened to continue long years of faithful service to the Lord. “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD ALMIGHTY”. These words remind us of our overwhelming sinfulness. These words also remind us of God’s overcoming forgiveness. "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 CORINTHIANS 3:18). The Lord God Almighty has called us out of darkness to live in his light. We are now the living, shining lights in this sin darkened world. May each of us live and reflect the Lord’s glory. May others see in us the Lord’s glory rather than our glory. May others be moved to confess “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD ALMIGHTY”. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
PENTECOST 1 rdgs: GENESIS 1:1-2:2; 2 COR. 13:11-14; MATTHEW 28:16-20; (PSALM 150)
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