ENCOUNTERING HOLINESS

SERMON STARTER

          Holiness isn't something you do for yourself. It is something that God sovereignly ascribes to you. You cannot make yourself holy, only God does that. Isaiah is a So. Kingdom prophet, Judah at the time of Israel's defeat by the Assyrians. He served Judah from 745-695 B.C.  He has a vision of God and His holiness early in his prophetic ministry.

          This sermon involves holiness or sanctification. I have noted over the years of my life a few observations about this subject:

1. Holiness is similar to piety, where you assume the external robes of religion. Shades of Pharisee-ism. . .         

2. Women are required by religionists to be more holy than men. For example, women must NOT wear makeup, wear long dresses, have their hair coiffed in a tight bun.  Isn't this a lot like conservative Islam?

3. Dark and Middle Ages artists have painted holy people with bright halos over their heads. I lost mine a long time ago. . .

4. Moses saw the back of God's train as He passed by and Moses' face shone like 10,000 suns. His countenance frightened

his people, so he had to wear a veil for several weeks afterwards. Why did Moses' face lose its glow? Did he lose his holiness?

5. If a person tells you he's been sanctified, he probably hasn't been and isn't.

6. Its God's choice to call whom He will and place His approval on them. You mean I can't be "self-sanctified?"

          Sorry for my italicized sarcastic remarks. I can't help it. This subject has been so wrongly taught and misrepresented I am unable to restrain myself. In this sermon I attempt to let the text speak and to spin my teaching off the text.

 

Pastor Phil   <><<

 

 

Sheepfold Ministries, April 22, 2001

Pastor Phil Roland

 

ENCOUNTERING HOLINESS

ISAIAH 6:1-13

“God is Holy, distinct, apart from us.  In the face of His Holiness all we can do is cry out in our uncleanness and give ourselves to Him on a deeper level.  He is calling you.” Pastor Phil

 

ISAIAH’S RESPONSE WHEN HE ENCOUNTERED HOLINESS:

I.  W O E - Verse 5

   “Woe to me, I cried. . .”

      A. God Appears - Exodus 33:20

          “But,” God said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

            B. Man Quakes in God's Presence  

                   1. We are impure before the Majesty of God

                        2. God is Holy and hates Sin - Habakkuk 1:13

                         “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.”

                        3. God, who is Holy, Punishes Sin - Exodus 34:6, 7

                          “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to

                            anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to

                            thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he

                            does not leave the guilty unpunished.”

            C. We have fallen short of God's Holiness - 1 Peter 1:15 NIV

                "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;

                 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

                        1. The word, "Holy" simply means, "Separate"

                        2. Believer's aren't to look and sound like the world

            D. Encountering Holiness produces Godly Sorrow over Sin

               "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves

                 no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Corinthians 7:10

                   1. God purifies whom He calls into His service - Isaiah 6:6,7

                           "Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand,"

                                    a. Fire cleanses

                                    b. Fire purifies

                        2. God’s Forgives Sin When We Confess it - 1 John 1:9

                            "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us

                             our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

                        3. Confession is the work of man, Purifying is the work of God

                        4. We draw near to God first - James 4:7,8

                           "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from

                            you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your

                            hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

                                    a. Submit to God                 b. Resist the Devil

                                    c. Draw Near to God          d. Cleanse your Hands

                                    e. Purify your Hearts

 

ENCOUNTERING HOLINESS, cont., p.2

 

II.  L O - Verse 7  

      "The serephim took a live coal from the altar and laid it upon Isaiah’s mouth

        and said, “Lo! This has touched your lips, and your iniquity is taken away,

        and your sin is purged.”

            A. "Lo!" "See!" - We are born blind, longing to see

                        1. God touches Isaiah's mouth, purifying it, healing it

                        2. Jewish Altar of Sacrifice is seen as Purging, Purifying

                        3. God Heals Isaiah's Unclean Lips so he can preach the Word

            B. Sin begins with the eyes, drills thru the mind, ends up on the lips

              “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away

                perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let

                 your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make

                 level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve

                 to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”      Proverbs 4:23-27

                        1. Watch your Heart

                        2. Watch your Mouth

                        3. Watch your Eyes

                        4. Watch your Feet

            D. When we are under God’s awesome Gaze, we feel guilty!

                        1. Isaiah is like us: Guilty before God

                                    a. He had nowhere to hide!

                                    b. Neither do we!

                        2. Our Mouth Defiles Us - Matt. 15:11

                        “What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but

                          what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’”

            E. God's Eyes are always on us - 2 Chronicles 16:9 NIV

                "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen

                 those whose hearts are fully committed to him."

                   1. Keep your Eyes on Him

                        2. See what He sees

 

III.  G O - Verse 9

      “Go and tell this people. . .”

          A. God Calls Commissions and Sends

                        1. Isaiah is Commissioned as God’s Prophet to Go and Tell

                                    a. Isaiah surrenders to God's Will

                                    b. God sets Isaiah aside for His Holy Purposes

                        2. Expect Resistance to the Call and Mission - 1 Samuel 8:7

                          "And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all

                           that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have

                           rejected Me, that I should not reign over them."

                                    a. God's Prophets were rejected and occasionally killed

                                    b. Jesus was Rejected - Isaiah 53:3

                                       "He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and

                                        acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces

                                        from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him."

           

ENCOUNTERING HOLINESS, cont., p.3

 

            B. Isaiah Hears God's Call and Obeys - Verse 8

              ”Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And                                 who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

                        1. Availability - Here Am I

                        2. Willingness - Send Me

 

SOME THINGS ABOUT HOLINESS:

1. You cannot make yourself holy

2. It is impossible to make yourself holy by religious activities

3. Sanctifying you is God's job, yours is to live a blameless life

4. We are to be blameless before God

 

     Deuteronomy 18:13 - Blameless before God

"You shall be blameless before the LORD your God."

Heb. tamam = (ta-mam); entire); integrity, truth :- without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright (-ly),

 

Ephesians 1:4 -

"just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,"

Gr. dee-a- tasso from  (dia) and  (tasso); to arrange thoroughly, i.e. (special) institute, prescribe, etc. :- appoint, command, give, (set in) order, ordain.

 

2 Peter 3:14

"Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;"

 

5. We are to be blameless before men

 

Philippians 2:14,15 - Blameless before Men

"Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,"

 

1 Thessalonians 5:22

"Abstain from every form of evil."

ENCOUNTERING HOLINESS ,TEXT:

 Isaiah 6:1-13 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." 9 And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' 10 "Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed." 11 Then I said, "Lord, how long?" And He answered: "Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, The land is utterly desolate, 12 The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 But yet a tenth will be in it, And will return and be for consuming, As a terebinth tree or as an oak, Whose stump remains when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump."