A Visit to the Throne of God

A Visit to the Throne of God Spring Valley Mennonite Church; July 24, 2022; Isaiah 6:1-6 I've been thinking this week about profound, life-changing experiences, times when one's life is never the same afterwards. An example would be when each of us initially and personally placed our faith in Jesus. Then as we mature in our faith, we often experience significant spiritual events which determine a change in our focus in life. For Moses it was the burning bush. For Gideon it happened when he was threshing wheat while hiding in a wine press. Jacob wrestled with an angel and was never the same afterward. Isaiah's life was profoundly affected on the day he saw the Lord on His throne. How do you visualize God's "Throne of grace"? If we could visually visit God as He sits on the Throne of Heaven, what would we see? This morning I want to lead you through an encounter with God found in Isaiah 6, the remarkable vision Isaiah had into the Throne Room of God. By examining this scene, perhaps we can learn more about the God we worship, and our response to Him. Join me as we look into the experience of a young prophet-to-be. I. WHAT ISAIAH SAW Isaiah 6:1: "In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne..." It was in the same year that Uzziah passed that God gave Isaiah a vision which profoundly changed and commissioned this young man. This vision ignited an inner fire that enabled Isaiah to fearlessly proclaim God's judgment while also giving him insight into the future reign of Messiah Jesus. This book is not strictly chronological, as I would place the first five chapters after the experience of chapter 6. I believe we are observing here the calling and commissioning of Isaiah as a prophet of God. In the 6th chapter, Isaiah was escorted into the very throne room of God in heaven. Let me clear up a potential bit of confusion about whom Isaiah saw. The Bible in multiple places tells us that man cannot view God the Father and live. Yet in multiple places, like this passage in Isaiah, we are told that God was seen. The solution lies in the nature of the Trinity. God is One in essence, but three-fold in personality and functionality. We worship the Unseen God, the Father, Whose fully revealed glory is so consuming that it is unapproachable by sinful man. Yet God has clearly revealed Himself to man, most fully in the incarnation, the earthly life of God the Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said that "He who has seen Me has seen the Father", making claim that He and the Father are equally God. But what about before Bethlehem? Since the Father is said to "dwell in unapproachable light," at each time God is seen in the Old Testament, including this one in Isaiah 6, we are observing a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel of John describes how the people would not believe in Jesus by the words of Isaiah 6:10. John 12:41: "These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him." John clearly states that Isaiah saw Jesus! When the Bible says that Jesus, after His resurrection, sat down at the right hand of the Father, He was only returning to the throne where He had been before. This truth has great implications for us today. As we study the life of Jesus as presented in the Gospels and contrast it with His heavenly glory seen in Isaiah 6, we begin to understand God's love for us. Philippians 2 puts it like this: "...although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Jesus laid aside His glory to become a man and live among sinful men-and to die as a sacrifice for our sin. I believe this vision of Isaiah gives us a picture of Jesus in all His majesty on the Throne of Heaven. "I saw the Lord" This is the Hebrew "Adonai." Whereas God's personal name is YHWH, like my personal name is David, His functional name-Adonai-is what He does, like my functional name and title is "Pastor". Adonai is the most exalted title used of God in the Bible. It means "Sovereign One" or "Master". Get the picture: Here is Isaiah, anticipating the death of his King, perhaps Uzziah's health had deteriorated to the point that he could die any day. This was the King who has been in control of the nation of Judah for 52 years. Isaiah, as well as all Judah, was filled with uncertainty and apprehension. God then appears to Isaiah as "The Sovereign Master of the Universe" seated upon His Throne in Heaven. God is not disturbed or walking up and down wringing His hands at the death of the king of Judah-He is calmly and majestically seated on His throne. Understand what this means to us: not matter how great the crisis might be here on earth, or how great the crisis might be in your life, God is still seated on His throne in heaven; He remains the Sovereign Master of the Universe. God remains "Adonai-Sovereign Master". He has not changed. He promises to meet the needs of all those who come to His Throne of Grace. This view of God is to bring peace and confidence to us in uncertain days. Psalm 46:1 tells us that God is "Our refuge and strength; a very present help in times of trouble". God supplied a vision to Isaiah to refocus his life to be God's Prophet. What else did Isaiah see, and what can we learn about worship from his vision? II. YHWH ON HIS THRONE "In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple." Here in the United States, we are unfamiliar with the ceremonial aspects of royalty. Even today, and even more in Isaiah's day, the clothing of a monarch demonstrated their majesty and status. In is fascinating for we Americans to watch the pageantry of the English Royalty, like the occasion of a royal wedding; but can we imagine what it is like when they might crown a new King or Queen, which may happen fairly soon. The Queen of England is 96 years old, and next year will have reigned for 70 years! I understand that one of the first television specials ever aired in the 1953 was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. The majestic gown she wore received special attention as it took four people to hold the train off the floor. Note the robe which the Lord Jesus is wearing in this scene: the train of His robe spilled down over the sides of the throne; down the sides of the great throne room and billowed around to fill the whole temple! This was the way God revealed Himself to Isaiah-one author describes this as "Persuasive Majesty". Let me skip down to a phrase in verse 3 where we read "The whole earth is filled with His glory." Now notice in verse 4 about how "the temple was filling with smoke." Smoke is a visible symbol of God's glory. We remember the scene on Mount Sinai at the giving of the Law, described in Exodus 19:18: "Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and it smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently." I want you to get the picture of the Majesty of God which Isaiah saw, the same Majestic God who sits on the same throne today! God has not changed; His magnificence still fills the Temple of Heaven; and His glory still fills the earth. Let your mind grasp the greatness of God Almighty! He is beyond anything we could ever imagine in Majesty and glory! As we think of the awesome scenes of God's creation: as we view the vast and mighty oceans, the excellent grandeur of mountain heights; the night sky filled with stars; a sunrise of sunset so beautiful that it takes away your breath; when we gaze upon the wonders of nature, UNDERSTAND that what we see is the visible expression of the glory of God. Psalm 19:1: "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." But these things are just a shadow of the fullness of His glory! This magnificent glory of God was what Isaiah was privileged to see. Oh, that we might catch a glimpse of Almighty God this morning and be moved to worship our Sovereign Master! How insignificant Isaiah's problems seemed in light of this vision! How petty were his concerns and worries over the nation. God desires this morning for you to gaze upon His Magnificent Greatness and to worship Him for He alone is worthy-not because of what He might do for you, but for who and What He is! Understand this, brothers and sisters, life is not about us. Life is about God and what He is doing. And we have the privilege of being along for the ride! That is not all Isaiah saw: He also saw--- III. THE ANGELIC GUARDIANS Verse 2 expands upon the vision: "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. Isaiah observed heavenly creatures, a type of angel, especially created for the task of hovering above God's throne to extol His holiness. The name--"Seraph"--of these special creatures comes from the word meaning "burning". God is described in described in Deuteronomy 4:24: "For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." The appearance of these being is reflective of God's burning holiness. God's Holy Spirit, as He inspired Isaiah's recording of this heavenly scene, was sure to include the description of these angelic beings. The Spirit revealed that they had three separate sets of wings. When we think of wings, immediately we think of what? What do we think of when we hear of wings? Flying! The Seraphim have one set of wings for flying. That is expected. But notice: they have two other sets of wings which are just as important: with one set they covered their faces. With another set they covered their feet. In the very creation of these angels whose privilege it is to be closest to God, we see an expression of the exceeding holiness of God. When God creates something, He does so with a purpose. He didn't make the seraphim with 2 non-flying sets of wings by mistake. I believe that there is an object lesson to be learned: angels created to be near the throne need to cover their eyes: this is the lesson of reverence. God is so exceedingly holy that these angelic eyes are not allowed to look directly upon Him, but were created with the ability to cover their eyes from the consuming holiness of God. In Exodus 33 we read of how Moses desired to look directly at God's glory; God only allowed His back to be seen. Even that glance caused Moses' face to glow for days afterward. What does this say about how we approach God in worship and prayer? Are we properly reverent? Reverence seemingly is forgotten today. Where the first set of wings speak of reverence, the second set of non-flying wings speak of humility. Feet are functional. They are not for beauty. They get dirty as we walk. Biblically, feet represent our "creatureliness" if that be a word. It was with a lowly sense of unworthiness that the seraphim covered their feet. The nearer we get to God the more we should sense our own unworthiness and our limitations. We are never to casually and carelessly approach God, but with humility. Pride separates us from God. Humility is the only pathway to approach God. When Moses approached the burning bush, God told him to take off his sandals for he was standing on holy ground. By doing so, Moses was demonstrating that he was earthly, created for the earth, and although the seraphs were not of the earth, they were created. For them to cover their feed demonstrated a necessary humility for a creature in the presence of the Creator. Remember it was pride that caused the fall of Lucifer. Continuing on, "What did Isaiah hear in this vision?" IV. WHAT ISAIAH HEARD But as interesting and instructive is the form of the Seraphim, it is their message that is of primary importance: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory." There is something very Jewish about this text: in English when we want to emphasize something in writing, we might underline it, or perhaps put it in capital letters, or enclose it in quotation marks. In Hebrew the technique for emphasis is in verbal repetition. Jesus used this device when He wanted to make an important point by saying, "Truly, truly I say to you." The older versions read, "Verily, verily I say to you." Often in scripture something is repeated twice to give it special emphasis. But it is on a very rare occasion that something is repeated three times; in such cases it is something extremely important and even "earthshaking". The only attribute of God ever raised to the THIRD level of importance is the HOLINESS OF GOD! God is not said to be holy. He is not said to be holy, holy. He is said to be HOLY-HOLY-HOLY! God is not said to be love, love, love; not mercy, mercy, mercy; not justice, justice, justice. He is Holy, Holy, Holy. Look at verse 4: even the inanimate parts of the heavenly temple had the response of trembling to the announcement of the Seraphim! The foundations trembled while temple filled with the smoke of God's glory. But if there was anything trembling in that scene more than the doorposts, it was Isaiah himself! V. ISAIAH'S RESPONSE An amazing scene was revealed to Isaiah, who was being prepared by these events for his ministry. But just as this vision of the heavenly throne was given to Isaiah for a purpose, hopefully this morning God has opened our eyes to this scene for a purpose. God's Word is always meant to transform. Hebrews 4:12: "For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thought and intentions of the heart. What are we to do with this scene which reveals the magnificence and awesome holiness of God? Dare we simply yawn, and say, "My, My, how interesting" and then go on like nothing should change in our lives? If that is your response, dear people, then you simply are not hearing what God is saying. How did Isaiah respond? "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." Understand that Isaiah was not an evil person. He most likely was among the most devoted of God-followers. At that moment, Isaiah not only saw God, but he became aware that God saw him. What a terrifying revelation to be found standing before Almighty God! "Woe is me!" he cried out. This response was extraordinary, for "Woe" is a pronouncement of doom. It was often by a prophet to pronounce doom upon a nation or people for their sin, as we saw in chapter 5. Understand what Isaiah is doing her? He is pronouncing doom upon himself! "Woe is me! Not only have I seen God, but God has seen me." His conclusion? "I am ruined" says this translation, because no one understands what is meant when we say, "I am undone". But "undone" best describes what Isaiah experienced in the presence of God. "I am completely revealed and everything in my life is open and upon display before a Holy, Holy, Holy God." Let me ask you a question: how embarrassed and distressed and extremely uncomfortable would you be if all your innermost thoughts and struggles and all your sins were flashed upon a screen for everyone to see? How would you feel? None of us would feel like we could ever lift our heads again! Whatever reputation we had would be ruined. But imagine being fully exposed before Almighty Holy God! Do you get a glimpse of how Isaiah felt? Isaiah saw his sin, and cried out in terror, and with honest agreement with what God revealed to him, for when Isaiah saw God clearly for the first time, he also saw himself. He saw the terrible disparity between his unholiness and the holiness of God. His unworthiness and sin overwhelmed Him. That is what happens when we meet God. When we meet God, we quit playing the comparison game. Yes, our sin may be less apparent that the next man's sin, but we stand before God alone. What are the lessons on worship we learn from this visit to God's throne room? The first is the Majesty and awesomeness of God. He is so much more awesome and magnificent that we can imagine. Second, we learn of the reverence and humility with which we approach God. We are not to carelessly and thoughtlessly and casually "skip" into God's presence. We must prepare to worship, giving God the respect and reverence He deserves. We are to approach God completely aware of His holiness, absolute consuming holiness. It is at this point that we understand the magnitude of what Jesus Christ has done for us. His blood has removed the penalty of our sin. We have free access to the Holy presence of God. The veil of separation caused by our sin has been torn. We have been given the sure certainty of an eternal home free from sin. But we are to come humbly and reverently to worship our majestic God and Savior Jesus Christ. But we need to be sure that we have removed the barriers that any of our daily sins have created between us and God. We cannot be casual about our sin but confess that which the Holy Spirit reveals. Then we can truly worship God in spirit and in truth. 2