Grab your Bibles tonight. Isaiah chapter 6 is where we're going to be. A fairly familiar passage, but maybe a little bit of a novel take on it. Isaiah chapter 6. We're going to read verses 1 through 8 together. I invite you to stand together with me out of respect for the reading of God's Word. In Isaiah chapter 6, beginning in verse 1, the Word of God says this, 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. And 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 to 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. Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a lie of coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips. Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard a voice from the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I, send me. A familiar passage, but tonight I want us to consider this, thankful for my Lord. Thankful for my Lord. Father, I pray in these brief moments as we study your word together tonight, Lord, that you would help us to have open and ready hearts. Lord, sometimes in the midweek, we're tired. We bear the burdens of the work week. But Lord, I ask that by your grace, you would give us a special attentiveness tonight to your word, that your Holy Spirit would have free reign to take your word and speak to our hearts. Help us to hear and heed all that you have for us. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Christians ought to be the most thankful people in the whole wide world. I mean, after all, we as Christians understand who the good things come from. Amen? We also, as Christians, have a unique perspective of what we really deserve. We understand that even the hard things are working together for our good and for His glory. Truly, Christians ought to be thankful. Our church, for one, am thankful and grateful for this season that we are in, this season of Thanksgiving that allows us to focus on this truth. A little aside, don't rush past Thanksgiving to get to Christmas. We ought to take a season and just be thankful, amen? I know David Weirich will tell you otherwise on Sunday when he talks about his Christmas trees and lights. But don't rush past this season, amen? Christians ought to be a thankful people. But I think sometimes we talk often about all the things that we should be thankful for. And while that's true, the Lord led me tonight, I want to focus our thankfulness tonight on the one who makes everything and anything possible. And so tonight, I want to look at Isaiah 6 and focus our hearts on being thankful for my Lord. Look with me, Isaiah 6 in verse number 1. Isaiah wrote this, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord. I'm going to stop right there. I want to submit, number one, how I am thankful for God's unchanging presence. I am thankful for God's unchanging presence. Isaiah opens this chapter referencing a great pain. It is the year that King Uzziah died. Now often we gloss right over this, right? I don't know that I've ever really heard a message where a preacher spent a whole lot of time on that phrase. Typically we jump that phrase to get to the Lord. High, lifted up upon his throne. But I want you to think about it, because that phrase there is significant. God didn't need filler to make the Bible a certain length. No, He gave us that phrase for a reason. Uzziah was one of the best kings the southern kingdom ever had. If you remember a little bit of your divided kingdom history, the northern kingdom pretty much had all bad kings. If you read about a king from the northern kingdom, they were called Israel, pretty much all them jokers were bad. Now, the Southern Kingdom was a little bit different. It went by Judah. And the Southern Kingdom had a number of what we would call good kings mixed in with some bad kings. Now, Uzziah was one of those good kings. He was one of those great kings of the Southern Kingdom. The Bible says that Uzziah sought the Lord and that God blessed his reign. Now, I want to give you this, 2 Chronicles 26. If you want to read a little bit more about Uzziah, 2 Chronicles 26 has a great one-chapter summary of his reign and his life. And you can add that to your Bible study this week. But what you're going to find is Uzziah was 16 years old when he came to the throne. And as a 16-year-old young man, the Bible says that he sought God and God blessed him. And it's really awesome to see what Uzziah did. God blessed him and gave him great victories. God allowed even some really incredible inventions to be developed during Uzziah's reign. There was almost like a renaissance that occurred under this king. Uzziah lived a good life, but he died a bad death. Later in his life, Uzziah, for whatever reason, decided that being a king wasn't enough. And he wanted to be a priest, too. And so Uzziah intruded into the priest's office, intent on doing things that were not his to be done. When the priests withstood him, in essence, he looked at them and said, don't you know who I am? Well, the problem was he forgot who the Lord was. And the Bible says for his intrusion that the Lord struck him with leprosy. and that he died in that unclean and afflicted state. Can you imagine the state of the nation? We had this great king. He did so much good. He brought revival and renaissance to the land. This good man who died this bad death. Can you imagine the darkness, the grief, the conflict that Isaiah and the nation were going through? And yet in this time of great darkness, in this time of great difficulty, in this time of emotional and internal turmoil, Isaiah was able to say, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord. I don't know about you church, but I'm thankful for the fact that God is always there. Hebrews 13 in verse number five reminds us, let your life, your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have. For he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. When Jesus commissioned the apostles in the church in Matthew 28, he ended it with these words, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even into the end of the world. Amen. I'm thankful for the fact that God is always there. That He's there on the mountaintop, amen? But He's also there in the valley, including the valley of the shadow of death. What did the psalmist say? For thou art with me. I'm thankful for the fact that God is always there. His presence is unchanging. I can always run to Him because He's always there. I can always find shelter in Him, because He's always there. I can always find strength in Him. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, because He is always there. I can always return to Him. Tonight, you might be following far off. But praise God, when we draw nigh to God, He draws nigh to us. The psalmist said in Psalm 46 in verse number 1, God is our refuge and strength. What a very present hell in trouble. I am thankful. I am so thankful for the fact that God is always there. And I can always find Him when I need Him. Psalm 145 in verse number 18, the Bible says this, the Lord is nigh, He is near, He is close to all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. Isaiah said in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord. May we be thankful tonight. for God's unchanging presence. But Isaiah said, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. And above it stood the seraphims, each one had six wings. With twain he covered his face, and 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 Lord moved to the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. As I look at Isaiah 6 tonight, I'm not only thankful for God's unchanging presence, I am so thankful for God's unchanging person. I am so thankful that the person of my God does not change. Malachi 3 in verse number 6 reminds us, for I am the Lord, I change not. Likewise, the writer of Hebrews reminds us in Hebrews 13 in verse number 8, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. You know what I'm thankful about? I'm thankful for my God's unchanging position. And my God still sits on a throne that is high and lifted up. Psalm 113, beginning in verse 4, the Bible tells us the Lord is high above all nations and is glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God who dwelleth on high? My God still sits on a throne high and lifted up. He alone is sovereign. He alone is the ultimate authority over all there ever was, over all there is, and over all there ever shall be. I love the imagery here. The Bible says in verse number one that he sits on the throne high and lifted up and his train fills the temple. Think about that. His train fills the temple in heaven. You know what that tells us? That tells us that there is room for no other but our God. No, not room for another in heaven above, not room for one from hell beneath, or room for one from earth in between. Isaiah 45, beginning in verse 5, the Bible tells us this. I am the Lord, and there is none else. There is no God beside me. I girded thee, though thou hast known me not, that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the west that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. Thankful for God's unchanging person. My God is seated on His throne. It belongs to Him. And I am thankful no matter what election takes place, no matter what war breaks out, no matter what power may rise or fall, that God is on His throne. And that will never change. Thankful for my God's unchanging position. I'm thankful tonight for my God's unchanging holiness. The word holy means to be sacred or to be set apart. My God is a holy God. He is completely set apart from sin. He is completely set apart from any weakness or limitation. He is holy. In 1 Samuel 2, in verse number 2, the Bible says this, I'm thankful tonight that my God is a holy God, and that will never change. That means that I can trust Him, that He will always do what is right. It means that I can trust Him because He will always know what is best. This means that I can rest in Him because He is never petty, He is never impatient, He is never short-sighted. He is holy. He is holy, holy, holy. And I can trust Him. Give you a little insight here. Why? Holy. Holy. Holy. See, in English, when we want to intensify something, we'll slap either an adjective or an adverb with it. So it's kind of like the kid when they need to get a certain word count, and they go to like, it was a very, very, very, very, very, very, very good book, right? That's what we do in English. We slap an adjective on it or an adverb on it to try to show like, this is something to intensify it. In Hebrew, What they do to intensify is they repeat it. They repeat it. You find this repetition. By the way, you see this a lot in Psalms, where it will repeat things. And we see that this is done to add emphasis. You'll notice in the New Testament, where Jesus will say, verily, verily, Jesus didn't have a stutter. What he was doing was adding emphasis, drawing attention. Hey guys, listen up. Barely, barely, I say unto you, sit up, take note. But here we see a unique construction where something is not just repeated twice. Something is repeated three times in a row. And these angels, These highest of angels, these seraphs, fly around the throne, six wings, two cover their feet, two cover their face, two they fly, and with their mouths they cry one to another, holy, holy, holy. Consider this tonight, there is such grandeur to God's holiness that even the highest of angels cannot look upon Him. There is such a splendor to God's holiness that is so humbling that though the ages will roll, the angels never become accustomed to it. You say, preacher, how do you know this? Well, Isaiah chapter six happens, we'll say sometime in B.C. 700, some odd number. I want to fast forward to A.D. 90. The Apostle John is on the Isle of Patmos and he's given a magnificent vision, the revelation of Jesus Christ. And here we are some 800 human years later. Revelation 4 and verse number 8 is John is drawn into heaven and the four beasts had each of them six wings about them. Does that sound familiar? And they were full of eyes within and they rest not day and night saying, oh say it with me church, holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come. 800 years has passed. And these angels still fly around the throne. Holy, holy, holy. I'm thankful for my God's unchanging holiness. Men may change, but my God does not. He is seated on His throne. It belongs to Him. His holiness is beyond what we can imagine. The Bible says there in verse 3 again, one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. I'm thankful for my God's unchanging glory. You see, holiness is who He is. Glory is how we experience it. The word glory means weight. Weight. A heaviness. You ever known somebody to walk into a room and the whole thing just change? My God is one of such unchanging holiness and honor that His presence, His person produces a weight that cannot be denied. The Bible says that the pulse of the door moved at the voice of Him. Human language falls short in its description. I'm going to tell you, if you've gotten a glimpse, you know what I'm saying is true. If you've gotten a glimpse, you know that a glimpse is not enough. Consider this, the angels cannot look upon it. Consider this, Moses could not handle even the hind part of God's glory passing by. His face glowed. John, the revelator, fell dead at his feet. And I'm going to tell you, church, this is why true worship can never get old. How could it? How could it? So long as God keeps revealing more of himself, more of his holiness, more of his glory to us, I'm thankful for His unchanging person. I'm thankful for His unchanging presence. In the year that King Uzziah died, what a terrible, terrible time that must have been. I saw also the Lord. Thankful for His unchanging presence. Thankful for His unchanging person. Look with me at these last several verses. Then said Isaiah, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thy iniquity is taken away, thy sin is purged. Read this verse in unison with me. Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I. Send me. Thankful, number one, for God's unchanging presence. I'm gonna tell you, no matter where you are, He is there. Tonight, if you're in the fiery furnace, He's there. Tonight, if you're in the valley of the shadow of death, He is there. Tonight, if you're on the mountain, He is there. He is there. He is there. Thankful for His unchanging presence. Thankful for His unchanging person. Finally tonight, consider with me, I am thankful for God's unchanging program. This high and holy God is looking for lowly people like you and I to serve Him. Really, it's quite incredible to consider it. I mean, there's a reason I haven't been tapped. for a cabinet position yet in the Trump administration. I am but a lowly peon. My name is not even on anybody's radar anywhere. Except it's on the radar of the high king of heaven, whose train fills the temple, who is holy, holy, holy. This God desires for me to serve Him. I'm going to tell you, we have it backwards in our culture today. Our culture mocks God and thinks so little of God. Well, if God's so good, what about this? And if God's in control, what about this? And they mock God and they think so little of God because they have it backwards. You know why they think so little of God? Because they think so stinking highly of themselves. And here's the problem. Did you notice what happened? When Isaiah started with wow to God, he went to whoa on himself. You see, the problem is culture today wants to look at self and go whoa, look at me. And I'm gonna tell you, if you start with wow right here, you're gonna look at God and go whoa. We possess nothing. We possess nothing that he should need us. Psalm 144 verse 3 reminds us, Lord, what is man? That thou take his knowledge of him or the son of man, that thou make us to count of him. We possess nothing that he should need us. We possess nothing that he should want us. Romans 3 and verse number 10 reminds us there is none righteous. No, not one. And yet. The high king of heaven is looking for people like you and I to share him with the world. I'm so thankful tonight that there is a place for me in the program of God. I'm going to tell you, it might not always be an easy place. Isaiah's place was not an easy place. You follow the ministry of Isaiah. His was one like Jeremiah. You will preach and proclaim and call the people, but they're not going to really listen to you. In fact, tradition holds that Isaiah was the one referenced in Hebrews 11 that was sawed asunder. That's what tradition, not the Bible, but that's what tradition holds. That Isaiah was eventually sawed in half for his trouble. It may not always be easy, but I'm going to tell you, it's always worth it. Because He is worthy. He is worthy. He is worthy. And I'm so thankful that there is a place for me in God's program. I'm reminded tonight that God is not looking for people of great ability. Moses couldn't speak real well. David was a lowly forgotten shepherd. Jeremiah was a child when he was called. Isaiah had unclean lips. None of the apostles had a seminary degree. The little boy only had a small lunch of a few fishes and loaves. Yet God is not looking for people of great ability. Rather, He is looking for people with great availability. Isaiah said, Here am I. Here am I. Send me. When I consider the high king of heaven, who am I that I should be loved by him? Who am I that I should be cleansed by him? Not with a coal from off the altar, but by the precious blood of his dear son. Who am I that I should go for him? Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5 in verse number 20, now then we are ambassadors for Christ. You know, I'm not being tapped by Trump for any of those positions either. He's not going to send me to some foreign country. Why? Because I'm nobody. And yet the high king of heaven has chosen you to be his ambassador. You know, when you go to work tomorrow, you go there as the ambassador of Christ. When you go to the store, you go there as the ambassador for Christ. When you're out mowing or raking leaves, you're there as the ambassador of Christ. We are His ambassadors. And by the way, you want to talk about this, I not only get to serve Him now, I get to serve Him forever. Revelation 22 verse 3 reminds us, And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. I'm so thankful that there's a place in God's program for me. I'm thankful for God's unchanging program. I'm thankful for my God, amen? Thankful for His unchanging presence. Thankful for His unchanging person. Thankful for His unchanging program. The message tonight is simple. In our great season of thankfulness, when we are thankful for so many things, Let's not forget to be thankful for our Lord.