Greatness of God #03
The Greatness of God #2
Follow up to Week 1 Preview of Week 2
Discussion Time
Tell a small group around you …
1) have you ever had a time where you experienced God’s Word, his presence, or his work in a meaningful way? Or have you ever been overwhelmed with an understanding of Who God is or what he does
2) Quote Psalm 48:1 – Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, in the City of our God, his Holy Mountain
3) Share 1 person each answers to Activities 1 and 2 on pp 9,10,11
4) What are 3 ways being gripped by God’s greatness impacts our lives? Mind, Will, and Emotions
5) Why should we memorize scripture? Ps 119:10-16
6) Give me some of your tricks to memorizing scripture
7) What scripture thought or idea was most meaningful this week?
8) Of the things you previewed, which is most interesting to you and why?
9) Questions you had about things you studied this week
This past week’s Memory Verse –
Psalm 48:1 – “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the City of our God, his holy Mountain”
This week’s Memory Verse –
Isaiah 6:3 – “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory.”
Mountain Top in Isaiah this week
Isaiah 6:1-8
I don’t have time to preach this but let’s break it down
What IS Holiness? The word means separate from the ordinary or profane. When used of us it implies connection with God or his divinity.
God is holy, and people or things and actions maybe holy by their connection to or association with God
An early Jewish Hymn is found in Exodus 15:11Exodus 15:11 (NIV)
11 “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
God is the HOLY ONE …
But listen to me …
in your times of Greatest Need
In your times of Greatest Doubt
In your times of Greatest Fear
In your times of Greatest Failure
Look to God, Cry out to God and he will reveal his Holiness to you
READ Isaiah 6:1-8
1. The Holiness of God: Reveals something
No matter where you are in life
No matter what you facing, good or bad, you need an understanding of God that only comes in his presence.
Isaiah was a relative, probably nephew of Uzziah. He most likely had looked up to him. Now, Uzziah had died. His Hero was gone, he was fearful of the future, he was probably frustrated by Uzziah’s sin and leprosy
Well, Isaiah was in the right place - The Temple of God, seeking God's presence.
So, what enabled him to go on in spite of the trials, attacks, and potential captivity that he faced?
the Holiness of God, on display for Isaiah was a Once in a lifetime Revelation
The Holiness of God reveals …
A. His Character - Who He Is
What does it mean to be "Holy"? - set apart - unique - like no other, without peer,
What do we NEED to know about God from this revelation to Isaiah?
1. He is On the Throne -
But God Surpasses all Authority, He is the ultimate Judge, Protector, Defender, Sovereign
He is "Adonai" - that is the "dominion" of God - Jesus, NOT the "essence" of God - The Father - John 12:41 - "Isaiah … saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him."
2. He is High and Lifted Up
Uzziah died broken down but God is lifted up
3. His Train Fills the Temple
His train Fills the Temple - you need to understand his expanse
a. Heaven is his throne
b. The world or Universe is his Temple
c. The Earth is his footstool
The "train" is simply the skirt or hem of his garment. But from his Throne his train, the hem of his garment, his overflow, FILLS the Universe
4. He is Worthy of Praise -
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY
Not simply 2 angels calling across to each other, but it says "Seraphs"
a. I envision innumerable pairs of Angels calling out to one another, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, the Whole Earth is Full of His Glory!"
CAN YOU HEAR THEM?
b. Why HOLY, Holy, Holy? Could it be that they looked at Father, Son, and Spirit and cried out for each? Possibly, but even then
it's a continuous chorus of praise,
a never-ending litany of worship to the One who Sits on the Throne
The Holiness of God Reveals His Character
B. The Character of Man - Who I Am
God's presence is a Sufficient Teacher
God's presence is a Complete Revealer
1. "Woe" - passionate cry of grief or despair
Upon seeing The Lord - Isaiah was immediately Dethroned
2. "Ruined" -to cease, cutoff, destroy - i.e.
"I'm a dead man" or "I'm History"
3. "Unclean Lips" - ethically, religiously, ritually, locationally, impure
C. The Love of God for His People
Michael Peterson - Love me exactly like I am, but he loves me too much to leave me this way
1. Touched My Mouth – he would bother if he didn’t love
2. God's Love evident in his Response to Isaiah's Cry
He sent one from his presence to respond to Isaiah’s Cry
3. Jesus Did not come to condemn you.
a. NO, he came sent from the Father's presence because you are already condemned
b. When you stand before the Holiness of God, your wretchedness is plain to all, and you condemn yourself.
But God doesn’t Reveal himself for informational purposes
He is Desiring TRANSFORMATION
2. The Holiness of God Requires …
A. Repentance
Coming into God's presence requires the Response of 180* CHANGE
1. Change Who you are
2. Change What you are
3. Change Where you are
How would YOU feel if you saw God like Isaiah did … High up, Expanse, Smoke, Quake, Perfect
The Hebrew Word that Isaiah uttered is translated for us "WOE" but an actual pronunciation of the Word in Hebrew is "O'EE"
Would you REPENT?
Would you CHANGE?
(some of us would need to be changed)
Confession is a by-product of God's presence!
God Revealed himself and Isaiah confessed
B. Redemption and Restoration by God
I am Powerless to make the necessary change.
I am in need of the Move of God in my Life
V 6 - Then one of the seraphim flew to me
V 7 - Your Iniquity has been Taken Away
1. Definitions
a. Iniquity - "perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or consequence, or punishment of iniquity"
b. Taken Away - "soor" - turn aside or turn in unto; to depart, depart from a way; to be removed; to come to an end
c. sin was taking us in a direction and God touched us and he "turned us aside" to go another way
d. we were taken off OUR way and put on another way, by The Way
e. Like an infectious cancer or sore it has been removed. The picture of the angel cauterizing (burning) or killing the infectious growth
f. the power that sin had over us, the lineage of the Old King in our life, has come to an end because Isaiah saw the true King Ruling and Reigning, High and Exalted.
2. "Touched My Mouth"
I hope you didn't miss this, but the TOUCH is a key point
1. Some of us don't Experience what God has because we don't allow him to TOUCH US
2. Cleansing with coals from the Altar sounds difficult, even painful. However, God's fire can either be Cleansing or Consuming.
God's Holiness requires Repentance and Restoration,
But God's Holiness also Requires …
C. Resonance
1. Definition – Resonance - "Richness or significance, especially in evoking an Association or Strong Emotion"
2. in Acoustics Resonance is - "Intensification and prolongation of Sound, especially of a musical tone, produced by SYMPATHETIC VIBRATION
3. Resonance comes when …
You get close enough to God that His Song begins to vibrate your Strings to play
4. Resonance IS WHEN
1. Two Heartbeats Become One
2. His Path, becomes mine
3. His Passion becomes my Passion
5. How does it happen?
a step 1 - He saw God As He is -
>to see him you must be in his presence
>the easiest way into his presence is through worship
>“Come into his Presence with singing”
>“Enter into his courts with Praise”
b. step 2 - He saw Himself in honesty – as he was
c. step 3 - Experienced God's Love/Cleansing/Forgiveness Poured Out in Unmerited Favor
d. step 4 He - HEARD God's Heart
THIS is WHERE it breaks down for MANY of us. We don't stay long enough to HEAR. We don't pay attention long enough to hear.
There is a PURPOSE for his Presence -
Shhhhhh - LISTEN - If you Listen … you will hear his Heart
f. The heart of God is to …
1) cleanse
2) forgive
3) Include US in the Process
God Said … "Whom will I Send" >send - "to send, to stretch out, to let loose"
God wasn't talking to ISAIAH he was just having a Heavenly discussion that he allowed Isaiah to Eavesdrop in as he experienced this glimpse of Heaven.
This was Father, Son, And Spirit in Conference with the Hosts of Heaven all around
"Who will Go for US"
DEFINE - go - "to go, walk, come, depart, to DIE, LIVE, Manner of LIFE"
i.e. "who will DIE TO SELF, … live for me, … and change the manner of life to God's Mission with Me
e. step 5 - Realigned his LIFE to Resonate with Christ
“Here am I, Send ME”; "HERE" is NOT a statement of position - like saying "I'm right here" But it means "Behold … See … Look at me"
Isaiah, if you will, had his Hand in the Air saying "LOOK, LOOK, Jesus, over here, Pick Me, I'll go, choose me, choose me Please, cut me loose and I will stretch out for you! I will die for you, I will live for you, I will change my way to your way, I will GOOOOO"
Here Am I … Choose Me
And in verse 9 God says
Go and Tell