Thursday night during our weekly prayer gathering at one of our homes, our weekly prayer that this church meets on Thursdays. Thankfully, I was actually at that one and I'm sorry for missing so many. But the closing hymn we sang was Holy, Holy, Holy. Interestingly, the Lord, through that hymn, struck up a conversation amongst ourselves about the holiness of God, His Trinitarian nature, as well as the cherubim and seraphim in that hymn. As we know, those lyrics were taken from this very sixth chapter of the book of Isaiah that we will be studying today. And when the pastor asked me Friday if I would speak on his behalf, I admit I was very scared, but it didn't take too long to pray about what I should teach on because of how this hymn struck up so much conversation as we experienced true koinonia at this prayer gathering. So today we're going to be teaching Isaiah chapter 6, verses 1 through 7. And I've entitled this sermon, The Trisagion, Holy, Holy, Holy. So let us begin with a, though it's not necessary today, but let us begin with a brief, a very brief overview of this grand book and chapter. During the early church, the book of Isaiah was known as the fifth gospel. I could imagine how the apostles used this book as their gospel and how they lived out this message amongst their ministry. Though I'm not teaching through the entire book and certainly not even teaching the entire chapter today, I'll name a few of the many important themes within this book of Isaiah. We see the naming of Emmanuel, chapter 7, verse 14. The promise of the Davidic child, chapter 9, verses 6 through 7. the suffering of the servant, chapter 52.13 through chapter 50 through 3.12, and the proclamation of comfort, chapter 61 verses 1 through 3. The book of Isaiah is shaped by theological, literary, and historical forces. And having enjoyed teaching through the book of Revelation years ago, I can appreciate the similarities here in Isaiah 6 with the book of Revelation. One scholar described this chapter, chapter 6, as this, and I quote, The theological thrust of the book flows out of Isaiah's vision of the Holy One of Israel, and the expectation that His manifest presence and glory is a mere text that shapes the message of the whole book with its motifs of Yahweh's kingship, God's cleansing of Isaiah, Israel's defilement and hardening, Isaiah's proclamation of judgment and salvation, the desolation and decimation of Zion, and the small remnant, the holy seed," end of quote. Another commentary reads this way. We find Isaiah's narrative of his vision of the holy, glorious, exalted, almighty king. He narrates a theophanic experience in verses one through four, in which he saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted. Hear the seraphim proclaiming Yahweh's holiness and glory. and experienced the phenomena of smoke and an earthquake. When he became aware that he had seen the King, the Lord of hosts, he confessed his defilement and that of his people. The book of Isaiah presents the reader with Yahweh's exaltation in holiness and glory. He is the King over all creation." So let us read first the entire chapter and then we will exegete the first seven verses and the seven verses only. In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with a train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, having six wings, and two He covered His face, and with two He covered His feet, and with two He flew. And one called out to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. And then he said, Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts, Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, Behold, this has touched your lips, and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven. And then I heard a voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, here I am, send me. And he said, go and tell this people. Keep on listening, but do not perceive. Keep on looking, but do not understand. Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed. Verse 11. Then I said, Lord, how long? And he answered, until cities are devastated and without inhabitant. Houses are without people, and the land is utterly desolate. The Lord has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. Yet there will be a 10th portion in it, and it will be, again, be subject to burning, like a terebinth of an oak whose stump remains when it is felled. The holy seed is the stump. Thanks be to the word of God. Father, we thank you for your living, powerful word, which is sharper than any two-edged sword. Father God, we thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to gather today as your church. We thank you, Father, for choosing your elect and drawing them to your Son. Father, we pray that you would be glorified with this message. Christ God Almighty, thank you for the redemptive work that you finished on that cross. for the saints, for your elect. Christ, we pray that you would be exalted high and almighty with this message, not that you need me nor this message, but I pray that I would not fall short in doing so. Holy Spirit, thank you for your gifts that have you given so many people in this church. Holy Spirit, you are the helper and the comforter, Lord. Holy Spirit, I need your help. I cannot do this without you. We ask these things in the name of Jesus, who is the Christ, amen. Over the centuries, various scholars have divided this 13-verse chapter into various ways. But to fit this chapter into one Sunday sermon today, I will be teaching only through verses 1 through 7. I actually probably should have asked the pastor to have Julie lead us in that song, Holy, Holy, Holy, just before we would preach this message. But today's message is entitled, as I told you, I already forgot that, excuse me, but verses one through seven is going to be Isaiah's vision, and then the rest of the chapter would have been Isaiah's commission. And every one of us have a great commission. In verse one, Isaiah said, in the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofted and exalted, with a train of his robe filling the temple. This word, Uzziah, means the power of Jehovah, or my strength is Jehovah. Bear in mind that similarly to Romans 1.16, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Oh, may God help us love both the power of the gospel and the authority of His scriptures. Before King Uzziah's death in 739 or 740 BC, he reigned for 52 years. Under his reign, Israel was blessed with divine favor. They were benefiting from much praise and prosperity. Though Isaiah was a successful earthly king, he was dying of leprosy. What a horrific way to die, as Israel was dying of their own spiritual leprosy, their own unrepented sins. Uzziah sought God for a while, but when he was strong, he grew proud. As we all have had those prideful days, haven't we? I know I have. Perhaps maybe that's why the Lord stopped my heart two years and two months ago. But it was to his own demise. It's recorded in 2 Chronicles 26.5 that he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God. And as long as he sought the Lord God, the Lord God made him prosper. 2 Chronicles 26.16 says, for when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction. For he transgressed against the Lord, his God, by entering the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Uzziah later died a leper, and Israel has never been the same since. Though I am a big supporter of Israel, as far as speaking in the context of a nation of a country, but we must be honest with ourselves. As a nation, the nation of Israel as we know it today, is a nation that is dying like a leper. Today they foster the spirit of Antichrist that John warned about in 1 John, including homosexual parades in Israel, shouting, we're here, we're queer, get used to it. One of my friends who graduated from Master's Seminary, the Lord's using him as a street herald. His name is Zephaniah, of all names. Him and another fellow Christian from America, of all names, his name was Daniel. Zephaniah and Daniel from the USA went to Israel, they've actually asked me to go back with them, to preach the gospel in the streets of Jerusalem and other cities. only to have their lives seriously threatened and endangered. What a Kodak moment this is. One of their pictures shows an Israeli police officer with a fully automatic machine gun walking up to them as they're preaching, telling them to stop. The nation of Israel then had followed King Uzziah to their demise. In some ways, that sounds like the USA today, unfortunately. Israel and the U.S. share many similar ungodly characteristics as we as nations from the highest levels of legislative jurisprudence have legislated lawlessness against God. In verse 1a, beginning in the exposition of the text, in verse 1a, Isaiah said that he saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofted and exalted. Isaiah saw the Lord. This is known as a theophany. A theophany is a visible manifestation of God. John was like John being in the Spirit on the island of Patmos in the book of Revelation. Isaiah saw the Lord just like John did. However, this was not a face-to-face encounter like we have with each other right now. It is here that the Lord granted Isaiah a transforming vision of his glory. In spite of the wickedness of the earth, the Lord in his omnipotence was still on his throne." Oh, God is on his throne. The word Lord here is the Hebrew word Adonai, which is, by the way, as you probably agree, another song was made after this. Beautiful song. That's probably one of the few songs that I like that would be titled as contemporary. It is a beautiful song, but I happen to like holy, holy, holy much better because the Lord is holy, the Lord God Almighty. But this Hebrew word Adonai is a noun masculine and is used 438 times in the scriptures. So much for this blasphemous heresies of the novel and the movie called The Shack, which blasphemously features God as a woman. This Adonai, the noun masculine, refers to God's sovereignty, that God is sovereign over all things, ruler and king over everything. He said the Lord was sitting upon a throne. This word sitting is the Hebrew word. Again, my Hebrew and Greek, I have, you know me, I have poor English, let alone speaking Hebrew and Greek properly, pronouncing it. But what I hope and pray to do is that I would just do it accurately and truthfully, but this is the Hebrew word yashav, which means to sit down, specifically as a judge, in ambush, in quiet, by implication, to dwell and or to remain. This word throne is the Hebrew word kaseh, which is a seat of honor, a throne with royal dignity, authority, and power. My dear friends, if you were sitting in a federal courthouse as a defendant, who walks in out of the judge's chambers, they still call him the magistrate. They still call him your honor. It's a seat with dignity if he's an honest judge. Can you imagine God's throne, God's throne room, God's seat? Can you imagine the white throne of judgment that Jesus Christ will be sitting upon? Friday, when I was asked to preach today, I told my wife, maybe I'll preach an exposition on the great white throne judgment. And Lori was wise. She says, you know, you probably shouldn't. And I says, why not? And she says, because they may not ask you to come back. Preaching something so judgmental the very first time. And then I thought about what happened the day before on Thursday. Very providential conversation about who is holy, holy, holy. Back to the text in verse 1b, he said that the Lord was lofty and exalted. Some of your translations may say that the Lord was lifted high, exalted all over. Matthew Henry said, See God sitting upon his throne, and that throne high and lifted up, not only above other thrones, as it transcends them, but over other thrones, as it rules and commands them. Isaiah saw not Jehovah, the essence of God, no man can see that, or can see it, but Adonai, his dominion. He saw the Lord Jesus. So this vision is explained that Isaiah now saw Christ's glory and spoke of him, which is an uncontestable proof of the divinity of our Savior. One commentary reads this, He sits upon a throne, a throne of glory, which we must worship, a throne of government, under which we must be subject, and a throne of grace, to which we may come boldly. This throne is high and lifted up above all competition and contradiction. Imagine this scene, church, when Isaiah sees the Lord high and lifted up. He was hearing the trisagion, holy, holy, holy. He saw the seraphim and gained a sense of God's glory. Later we'll revisit this word, trisagion, of what it means and how it can be applied in our life. Verse 1c says that with the train of his robe filling the temple. This train is the Hebrew word shul. It is a noun masculine again, which is the robe in him worn only by the high priest. And Jesus Christ, by the way, is the highest priest. Hence the hymn of his raiment fills the glorious temple. It represents the glory and the majesty of our Lord. The other day from that pulpit, the other pulpit, it was read that a woman tried to touch his garment, the hymn of his garment, just to touch Christ's garment, would heal her. Because that's how holy this hymn and this train was. One scholar said this, See his temple, his church on earth, filled with the manifestations of his glory. His throne being erected at the door of the temple, as princes sat in judgment at the gates. His train, the skirts of his robes, filled the temple, the whole world, or rather the church, which is filled, enriched, and beautified with the tokens of God's special presence. see the bright and blessed attendance of his throne and by whom his glory is celebrated and his government served above the throne as it were hovering about it or nigh to the throne bowing before it with an eye to it the seraphim stood the holy angels who were called seraphim burners But he makes his ministers a flaming fire. They burn in love to God and zeal for his glory and against sin. And he makes use of them as instruments of his wrath when he is consuming fire to his enemies. I was an enemy of Christ once. Whether they were only two or four, or as I rather think, an innumerable company of angels, what Isaiah saw, it is uncertain." Isaiah's vision of verse 1 prepares us for the climax of verse 7, but now we'll go to verse 2. Verse 2 says, Seraphim stood above him, each having six wings. With two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. New-agers and contemporaries have a skewed view of what angels are. We also talked about this Thursday night, and what cherubims and seraphims look like. They describe them as little people with fat bottoms, playing a harp, sitting on a cloud, or chubby little cartoon characters, etc., etc. Though these seraphims share some similarities with the four creatures seen in Revelation 4-6, they are not the same. These seraphims in verse 2 are the Hebrew word seraph. It is a masculine noun, again, which means that they are a fiery serpent, a poisonous serpent. They are the burning effect of poison. That's what that means in the Hebrew. But the cherubim are different. Though they represent the righteousness of God's government, but their wings are not the wings as seen in artwork that fly them around. No, they are not for flight, but rather their wings are for protecting. As one scholar said, quote, the seraph searches, the cherub protects. The seraph speaks of burning holiness, the cherub of inflexible righteousness. The seraph active, the cherub passive. Yet we find both in Ezekiel and in Revelation living creatures that combine the characteristics of both seraph and cherub. One is, therefore, inclined to believe that we see symbolic personifications of divine qualities rather than actual personalities. These seraphims represent the burning holiness and judgment of Almighty God. The burning holiness and judgment of Almighty God. They are angelic flames, as one said, of pure nuclear-powered praise. as the scriptures also refer to God, is an all-consuming fire. I can only imagine the seraphim's six wings as the following. Two wings folded downwards, two wings folded over their faces, and two wings raised for flight. In verse 2c, Isaiah saw him covering his face with his wings. The seraphim covered his face out of a profound reverence for the Lord. He could not or would not dare to look at God's glory. As Matthew Poole said, he durst not presume to look directly upon him, and judged himself neither able nor worthy to behold the brightness of his glory. Another said it this way, quote, The seraphim, showing their faces veiled, declares that they are ready to yield obedience to all God's commands. Though they do not understand the secret reasons for His counsels, government, or promises, all vain glory, ambition, ignorance, and pride would be done away by one view of Christ and His glory. Close quote. I love the five solas. They're more than tattoos, bumper stickers, and t-shirts. They are principles, the five pillars of the Reformation. One of them, obviously, is Sola Dea Gloria. These seraphims were sinless, unlike us. They were sinless, so giving God all the glory came natural for them. But we humans are sinners. And those of us that are born again, we are now sinners that are saints. Therefore, we require regeneration and the Holy Spirit to enable us to not to deny ourselves and give God all the glory. I struggle with this. I admit. Sometimes I fall short. It's called sin. Amen? But thank God. He grants us repentance. Verse 2D says, and with two he covered his feet. This covering his feet had different meanings, and this is speculation, again, speculation only. First, it could mean, and many scholars actually said this, that it could mean and be a reference to his secret parts, including legs, which means it should teach us modesty. Modesty. Cross-references are Deuteronomy 28.57, Isaiah 12.20, Isaiah 36.12, Exodus 4.25. Years ago, ashamedly, when I was an immature Christian, if I was a Christian, I used to wear short pants, tank tops, and flip-flops to church during Sunday service. but never again, because modesty is not just for women, it's also for men. And no, we don't have to wear a business suit, but modesty is important. Secondly, his feet were not worthy of the dignity and majesty of the Lord. His feet were not worthy. Again, that was speculation. Verse 2E says, And with two he flew. With two he flew. This means he was always ready, and is always ready to move or to execute God's commandments, the Lord's commandments. Daniel 9.21. Daniel's a great book as well. I love that one. Reading that along with Revelation is powerful. Verse 3 says, verse 3, and one called out to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. And the whole earth is full of his glory. Not just the earth, but the whole earth is full of his glory. And verse 3a, breaking it down, this verb, and one called out or one cried out in the Hebrew is a commission to preach, proclaim, or pronounce. Similarly, pastors preach, proclaim, and pronounce from the pulpit, as we're doing here today. And evangelists and heralds do the same in the streets or the public marketplace. Though our methods may be different, every Christian is to somehow preach, proclaim, or pronounce the glorious gospel. And I know many here that are faithful in distributing gospel tracts and sharing their faith with others and sharing the gospel with others. And I would encourage you to keep glorifying God that way, keep exalting Christ that way, keep edifying the church that's out on the streets that way, so that the lost may be found. Keep up the great work of kingdom building. Whether it be the commission of a seraphim lifting their voice, or Christians lifting our voices today, or the rest of the Lord's church lifting their voices later in glory, there will be an eternity of lifting voices and singing praises all to his glory. In Matthew 28, also known as the Great Commission, in verses 19 through 20, it says, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. In part, that is what we do next door in our Sunday school class. Our under-shepherd, who I'm preaching under today. Pastor Allen disciples us, we're discipling. Sometimes we're all involved in that interaction, discipling each other. Sometimes we're sharpening our swords, and sometimes it gets pretty active in there, and sometimes the sparks are flying as we're sharpening our swords, amen? But that is important that we engage in biblical discipline, yeah, biblical discipline too, but biblical discipling. In verse 3b, the seraphim cried out a set of three holies, and they cried out unto one another, singing in consort to the praise of the Lord. Because God is not just holy, my friends. He is holy, holy, holy. This word holy is the Hebrew word kadosh, which means to be sacred, moral, God by eminence, an angel, a saint, a sanctuary, or the Holy One. Do we know that the scripture says in Hebrews that you cannot see heaven without holiness? We have to be holy. As Peter said, be holy for he is holy. These three holies reveal more than God's Trinitarian nature. They underscore the degree of His justice, sacredness, morality, holiness, majesty, and being set apart. These three holies are not mere repetition like some of your modern Christian music. They are with great emphasis. Perhaps it's accurate to refer to this Trisagion hymn as a Trisagion hymn or service. A Trisagion is a triple invocation declaring that God is holy, holy, holy. Today, most invocations heard at various events across the land are man-centered, but this Trisagion here was 100% God-centered, Christ-exalting. Trisagions were common in the early church and still are today in our more orthodox churches, including but not limited to at the conclusion of a rite of burial. Oftentimes my prayers are a trisagion in nature. is I will spend time praying to and through each distinct person of the Trinity. Oftentimes I ask the Holy Spirit specifically to fertilize the soil before spreading the seeds and heralding the gospel in the streets. Friday, Saturday, and today I begged, I didn't ask the Holy Spirit, I begged the Holy Spirit, the Helper, to enable me to teach this sermon, that it would be led by the Holy Spirit. Have you ever given, let me ask you church, have you ever given a Trisagion prayer Thanksgiving? Regretfully, I've taken my salvation for granted. When is the last time we've given thanks to each distinct person of the Trinity for their ordo salutis? Throughout the scriptures, the Godhead is working in agreement with each other. the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If we had the time today, we would see a prophetic portrait of salvation later in this chapter. Nevertheless, salvation is the monergistic work of the Godhead. Even the baptism, the water baptism, and ordinance of the Lord's Church includes all three distinct persons of the Trinity in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The late F.C. Jennings said, in this threefold description, we may again see God manifested as we remember the still clear revelation of Matthew 28, 19. And here in this antiphonal cry, not a mere repetition for emphasis. but the recognition of a trinity of divine persons, each of whom is hymned as holy, and at the same time, in view of John 12, we must remember that it is Jesus' glory on which Isaiah looks. And this threefold description only says that, in him all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, oh, the depths of God in Christ." One scholar said that the essence of this proclamation is that God is completely and totally holy, in every way distinct and wholly apart from all that He rules. Yes, through this threefold description, God is made manifest and glorified, and Christ, whom reconciled His Church to the Father, is exalted. This seraphim leads a cadence where no doubt every seraphim was in unity with every beat, not that there was a beat. Similarly, when those that are saved, that are born again, that regenerate, when they die and go to heaven and be in glory, there won't be any contemporary Christian music in heaven, my friends. There won't be any entertainment. But Christ's remnant will be with their bridegroom, perhaps singing a Trisagion in nature theology from their lips. All of them will be in unity. Everyone saved in this sanctuary will be in unity. And none of them, none of us will be complaining about the noise or that the sermons are too long. No man will be praised and no one will receive credit. And every, each and every praise from our lips will go to Yahweh. Aren't you looking forward to that day and glorification when we will no longer have sin? I couldn't imagine that. Verse 3d says that the whole earth is full of his glory. If the whole earth is full of his glory, then can you imagine his glory later in heaven? Who said Christianity is boring? Look at my friends Zephaniah and Daniel in Israel. Who says Christianity will be boring in heaven? Oh, how blasphemous are these heathens that say, I don't want to go to heaven unless there's partying there. You won't want to party. You'll be wanting to praise God, believe me. Thanking God that he saved a wretch like me from the flames of hell by his love. Not only will the Lord judge the entire earth, but He will save His elect from all corners of the earth. His glory will be revealed and He will be glorified in both His judgment and salvation of others. The Bible speaks of the splendor of God's holiness, Exodus 15.11, and the incomparability of God's holiness, Isaiah 40.25. But wait, let's go to verse 4 to see what happens as a result of the seraphim crying out to God's glory, crying out the glory of God. Today, this would be breaking news on television. It would be on Section A, Column 1 of every metropolitan newspaper. Verse 4 says, And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of Him who called out while the temple was filling with smoke. This shaking was most likely a massive earthquake, which represents God's judgment and God's wrath. According to John chapter 3, every human being that is not born again is already condemned and the wrath of God abides upon them. God's wrath awaits them. But thanks be to God for the good news. Matthew Poole described this trembling of these thresholds as this, the posts of the door together with the door itself, as if the door was to be removed and the temple thereby to be exposed to the view and rapine of profane persons. Such violent motions were commonly tokens of God's anger." Verse 4b says that while the temple was filling with smoke, this could be a token of God's omnipresence. However, it says in 1 John that no one can actually see God, and that no one can even hide from God, Hebrews 4, 13-15. Then perhaps that is why his vision was filled with smoke, so that he could not actually see the face of God, and that is so that he could not hide from God. which he cannot. He was forbidden to actually see God. He could not run, nor could he hide. Just as the smoke prevented Isaiah from seeing God, the shaking and movement of the doorpost and the threshold prevented Isaiah from entering into the presence of the Lord. S.E. Jennings said this, Everything was moved, for in contrast with this earth nothing is incenate in that sense. So the prophet's awestruck sight, the very foundation of swing, was in response of awe to his glory. This was an antiphon to the utter ascription of the intelligence of heaven. Let me say that again. It's beautiful. I quote a lot of people because I'm not worthy of quoting. I'm not good enough to be quoted. So I quote a lot of people. This was their antiphon to the utter ascription of the intelligence of heaven. Continuing, though this vision is very much about God's judgment, my friends, the dying state of Israel, and preparing Isaiah to be a prophet, hell will be full of smoke as well. Part of me almost thought about omitting this from the sermon this morning, and I'm going to go ahead and still say this because the doctrine of hell is very important. that God would save a wretch like me and us, and save us from God's wrath, and save us from the flames of hell by His love. But the Bible describes, and this is something to give us to be thankful for, and another reason why we should share the gospel with those that are lost. But the Bible describes hell as the following, which is an eternity of fire and brimstone. This is all scripture, folks. Flames of fire, a furnace of fire, a fiery hell, a burning wind, a judgment of fire, an eternal hell, eternal fire, pits of darkness, a fiery oven, unquenchable fire, eternal punishment, and a lake of fire. And the punishment in hell is described as the following. A smoke of your torment, the weeping and gnashing of teeth, Eternal death, eternal destruction, eternal torment, no rest day and night, where your worm does not die and the fire does not quench. But thanks be to God for salvation. Thanks be to God for the glorious gospel, the good news, which is the remedy through the death, burial, and resurrection of Lordship of Jesus Christ. I thank Christ for his atonement. That's what this sermon is about. That's what Holy, Holy, Holy is about. And that's what these verses are all about. The atonement of Christ upon that cross. It's more than a John 3.16 love story. Next in verse 5, Isaiah said this, Then I said, Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips. I live among a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Before this divine theophanic encounter, Isaiah might have thought that he was somebody. He might have thought that he was important. But once he had this close-up encounter with God's glory, he got humble real quick. He realized then, woe is me, because he was unworthy to stand before the worthy king and his glory. What would you do if you saw God's glory that close up? It's interesting that Isaiah's first words recorded here in his book was, woe is me. This woe is the Hebrew word, oy. It is a passionate cry of grief or despair. He's passionately crying with grief and despair. He wasn't just saying it louder like I was right now. As one commentator said, as sincere as his worship has always been, Isaiah has not been a man in love. His profession of faith has been orthodox but empty, with little heart-awareness of the grandeur of God. Unlike the seraphim, Isaiah's lips are unclean. In fact, he is no better than anyone else. I know some professing Christians, and I know that you know them as well, that may attend various churches all over the place, or maybe we only know them through social media, but they're orthodox, but empty. They're orthodox and empty. They have much knowledge, but no zeal. They have no love for the lost. They lack love for each other. They have no desire to grow in holiness. I'm glad to hear our pastor talk a lot about holiness just recently. They don't even seem to have a need for Allah and love for their own local church. Oh, let that not be any of us here ever. During Thursday night's prayer, a few nights ago, we heard our pastor. I was eavesdropping. It's okay to eavesdrop when we do corporate prayer. But he said this in his prayer, quote, how can we say we love the bridegroom, but not his bride? Close quote. During the Q&A session at a conference, Charles Leiter said the following. Charles Leiter, by the way, co-labors and ministers with Paul Washer. And he said this during the Q&A, quote, I remember a time years ago when I was around a group of guys who were all solid in doctrine, but cold as can be. He then added, I remember writing in one of my notebooks, oh God, put me with men of a burning heart, not cold, carnal doctrinarians. Close quote. Yes, doctrine is important. That's why we belong to a full confessional church with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. Doctrine is important, and yes, theology matters. Did you know there's a hashtag on social media that says hashtag theology doesn't matter? There's a war going on, folks. There's also a hashtag that says hashtag theology does matter. But let us never grow cold, my friends. Let us always provoke each other unto good works. Church, we have to be so thankful for what we have and our salvation. We have to be so zealous about it, too. Back to Isaiah. In Isaiah, verse 5, Isaiah goes on to say, I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips. I like what Charles Spurgeon said. What will he say on Judgment Day? Nothing in my hands I bring except simply to that cross that you cling. That's all I can plea on that day. Lord, I've got nothing. I have unclean lips. I'm among a generation of unclean people. Some of your translations say I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips. Lord, I am duped. I am undone. I am ruined. This phrase, I am done in the Hebrew means Isaiah is realizing that he is dumb or silent or that he has fell or that he will perish. that he has been cut down and destroyed. That's a strong word, this undone. The unsaved will come to the understanding that a just God will crush them and condemn them in their sins. But God's elect, his blood-bought, repented church, his bride, will come to know God's love through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am that person that is undone. I am that man of unclean lips. I am that son of perdition, the child of wrath. I am the one who is storing up wrath for that day of judgment. And tell 1991 that he saved a wretch like me, granted me repentance, regenerating my heart, turning my heart of stone into a heart of flesh. The word unclean in the Hebrew means Isaiah was foul. In a religious sense, he was defiled, polluted, that he is ethically and religiously impure and unclean. Earlier, we scratched the surface of the doctrine of hell, but thanks be to God for the remedy for our sin problem, the solution to our sin problem, the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the good news, the good news, But he doesn't only judge himself here. It says in verse 5b, I am living among a people of unclean lips. He doesn't just point at those other people. Look at them, Lord. He says first that he was sinful. And then he says, and they are too. Today, the world or even some professing Christians will say, well, that's judgmental. But understand this, Isaiah cares enough for those around him to confess their sins too, except we only have one mediator and one intercessor, and that is Jesus Christ, as he will soon be sent out to proclaim God's message to them. What happens next is amazing. Imagine seeing seraphims in flight above you, and then all of a sudden, one of them peels off from its flight path, flying or descending right for you. Verses six through seven. Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, Behold, this has touched your lips, and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven. In verse 6, the seraphim utilized a pair of tongs to retrieve a hot coal from the altar. But take note, the seraphim didn't need to use these tongs. Remember back in verse 2, the Hebrew word for the seraphim was seraph, which means he was a burning poison himself. Though this burning seraphim used tongs to pick up the red hot burning coal, he then held the coal in his own hand. The coal had a holy significance. It belonged to a place of sacrifice, atonement, and forgiveness. This coal is a picture of Christ on his altar, the cross. J. Alec Moitur said this, In the Old Testament, fire is not a cleansing agent, but is symbolic of the wrath of God, His unapproachable holiness, and the context of His holy law. The live coal which was brought to Isaiah was fire from the altar. The perpetual fire on the altar went beyond symbolizing divine wrath, for the altar was the place where the holy God was accepted and satisfied by a blood sacrifice. It holds together the ideas of atonement, propitiation, and satisfaction required by God and for the forgiveness, cleansing, and reconciliation needed for His people. And this is achieved through substitutionary sacrifice and brought to Isaiah, encapsulated in the single symbol of the live coal." Folks, this is an amazing historical prophetic moment. In the transition between verse 6 and verse 7, the seraphim transfers this burning hot coal from the fire over to Isaiah's lips. This is a portrait of how God's wrath, which Isaiah was under, was placated by Christ for his elect. So much more happened on that cross than just a death, burial, and resurrection. When Christ was nailed to that cross, God poured out His wrath and fury against Jesus in exchange for punishing His elect, His church. And He, Christ, atoned for the sins of His church. At that point, Christ's propitiation, the word halasmos, fully appeased the wrath of God, fully appeased God's wrath for His elect. Christ expiated sin and forever removed the stain of sin for His church. Christ reconciled the sinner to His Father. Christ placated God's divine wrath as He covers and remits sin, as He annuls the power of sin. I like what Wody Bachman said. It says that it pleased the Father to crush and bruise His only Son. So if you think So please the Father to crush His only Son. What makes you think we'll slide from our sin? This is another reason why I despise these unbiblical altar calls seen in churches today in various crusades. They rob God from His glory. They steal this altar with these altar calls. They fraudulently impersonate Christ. His altar, the cross, the seraphim, and a holy altar such as this was hijacked. And these unbiblical altar calls that we see. Thank God we don't do that here. The truth is, a biblical altar is a place where something is to be slayed and slaughtered. A biblical altar is a place of atonement. A biblical altar is a place of sacrifice. So if we're truly to walk forward for anything, we should walk forward to die. Though I don't want to see anybody do that. As Paul Washer said, he said this angrily in a sermon I watched. He would be pounding on the pulpit and he said this loudly. He said, now go out into the mission field and die. And he said that loudly and angrily. I love Paul Washer, but I don't think I'd want to be under his teaching every Sunday. Matthew Henry said this, the live coal may denote the assurance given to the prophet of pardon and acceptance in his work through the atonement of Christ. Nothing is powerful to cleanse and comfort the soul but what is taken from Christ's satisfaction and intercession. The seraphim placing this hot coal in Isaiah's lips is a beautiful picture, a beautiful portrait of Christ as Christ propitiates or expiates the sins of those that repent and trust in Him alone for salvation. One commentary reads this. The vision of the Lord was full of grace and glory. The majesty of the Most High was manifest in the upper lifted and occupied throne, in the solemn chanting of the seraphim, and by the earthquake which made the very foundations of the thresholds tremble. The revelation of grace is as remarkable as his glory. In answer to the prophet's cry of need, one of the singing seraphims bears to him a live coal from the altar, and his sin is expiated." I do not know the exact time when Isaiah was saved. Some scholars believe it was before this event. Some believe it was during this event. Either way, it doesn't matter, regardless of your position. We can know for certain that this is when he was truly consecrated, truly anointed, and appointed as a prophet to preach a specific message. Matthew Poole said this, For Isaiah had been a prophet before this time, and was now called, not in general to his prophetical office, but to the delivery of this special message. Let's keep the coal going while it's still hot. Let's keep moving while the coal's hot. In verse 7, the last verse, Isaiah says this. He touched my mouth with it and said, Behold, this has touched your lips, and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven. Let's examine these three verb actions here. First, he laid it upon Isaiah's mouth. Secondly, his sins were taken away. And thirdly, his sin was purged. He was forgiven. Notice that God did this. God did this. It does not say that Isaiah chose God. It does not say that Isaiah accepted Jesus. It does not say that Isaiah made a decision for Christ, etc., etc. What happened to Isaiah was the monergistic work of the Lord. God touched Isaiah's lips. God did this. Isaiah's sins were not only taken away, they were purged. They were purged. It is the Hebrew word kapar. This word kapar means that his sins were covered, expiated, placated, counseled, cleansed, forgiven, pardoned, and purged away. Isn't that glorious good news that Christ does this for his church? As Isaiah was reconciled to his Father through the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ, the one who was, the one who is, and the one who is to come. The one that is the Alpha and the Omega, the author and finisher of our faith. The way, the truth, and the life to the Father. And nobody comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ. He was in the Old Testament, He's in the New. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And these are just some of the simultaneous effects of salvation. We haven't even began the lessons of repentance and sanctification. There's no time for that. Regardless of whether you believe Isaiah was saved before or here, we can be certain of this. A salvific cleansing is a one-time incident, but a progressive cleansing for the purpose of sanctification will follow sanctification. We will continually grow in that way, Lord willing, Holy Spirit willing. Ladies and gentlemen, in closing, may I ask you this. Has your sins been expiated? Has Christ declared you righteous before the Father? And if so, then Church, let us ask ourselves this, how is our sanctification doing today? Are you continually growing in holiness? I don't know if I should say this, because if I'm wrong, the pastor can correct me, now or even later. But we know that we can know that salvation is monergistic. It is the work of the Godhead alone, and we have nothing to do with that. I did not choose God. I did not make a decision. I didn't have a choice in my first birth in November of 1950, October of 59. I had no choice that I would be born. I had no choice where I was going to be born. And when I got saved in November of 1991, when I got born again, I still had no choice in that matter. It is a monergistic work of the Godhead. And I know we all agree on this, but pastor, am I right for saying this or am I wrong? I believe sanctification can be synergistic, Lord willing, Holy Spirit willing, that he does that work in us, but we do have to respond because we are commanded to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Regarding sanctification, our confession states this, our confession of faith. And I would encourage you to read that chapter on sanctification and our confession of faith, and read the many, many cross-reference verses. This sanctification is throughout the whole man, yet imperfect in this life. Lord knows, asks my wife. There abide still some remnants and corruption in every part, wherefrom arises a continual and irreconcilable war, the flesh lusting against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh." My dear friends, are you engaged in that war? Constant war, the spirit against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit. Do you struggle with sin? I do. Let us not give up. Let us continue as a church to be engaged in this continual war. There's a reason why Paul said, put on the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a reason why Paul said, put on the full armor of God from the top to the bottom in Ephesians 6, 10 through 20. Father, we thank you, Lord. I pray, God, you will use this, Lord, to encourage us, to exhort us. I pray, God, that we would continue to grow in your grace and knowledge. I pray, Father God, that this honored Jew that Christ was exalted, I pray, Lord God, that we would never lose our first love, that we would never become cold, carnal doctrinarians, that we would always have a love and zeal for each other and even a benevolent love for the lost, for those that are out in the world. Lord, help us grow in strength. Help us grow individually, mature as individual Christians. God, if it's your will, I pray that we would grow in numbers too, that you would add to this church with more people as well. We thank you, Lord. We pray that for all the many sick people in our church, from our pastor to other people, People like Janine that are suffering of serious physical soreness from falling to the flu that our pastor is suffering. Lord, it's because of that sin in the Garden of Eden, that first sin by our first relative Adam, that we are now byproducts of sin. We will all get sick and one day we will all die. But thanks be to God that we can be saved by the last and final Adam, who is Jesus Christ. High, exalted high, and lifted up. Thank you, Christ, in Jesus' name, amen.