Sermons & Small Group Lessons: God is Holy

Oct 16, 2011

Pastor Miles

Isaiah 6:1-8

The holiness of God refers to His moral attributes & excellence that separates Him from others.
God's holiness is a loving holiness.

1. God's holiness refers to His moral perfection.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!"
(Isaiah 6:1-3 ESV)

2. God's holiness brings light & truth.

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for 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!"

(Isaiah 6:4, 5 ESV)

We are utterly exposed in the pure light of God's holiness. We see who we really are.
God becomes the standard by which we measure ourselves.

3. God's holiness demands atonement.

You who are of purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong,
why do you idly look at traitors
and remain silent when the wicked swallows up
the man more righteous than he?
(Habakkuk 1:13 ESV)

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."
(Isaiah 6:6, 7 ESV)

God's holiness separates us from Him.
Yet, God's holiness shows us the greatness of His grace in calling us back to Him.

4. God's holiness invites our response.

And 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."
(Isaiah 6:8 ESV)

No matter how far we have fallen, there is hope that His grace reaches us if respond to His grace in faith.

Q: What would our lives look like if we lived out this truth?
A: Transparent. Gratitude. Freedom from guilt.

Songs to ponder on His holiness

Holy - Matt Redman