Sermon: Authentic Holiness Text: Isaiah 6:1-8 Video: hvbc.net/~hvbcnet/currentsermon.php We live in a Photoshop society. What does that mean? We live in a time where magazines, billboards, computer ads, TV commercials, and even personal photos attempt to alter our view of reality. Graphic designers use Photoshop on their computers to make girls look skinner, guys look more muscular, skin look clearer, and so on. The average person can even use Photoshop to make their profile pictures look better. We don’t know what’s real anymore. Everything seems counterfeit. This idea has also crept into the church. Today in the American Church, some believers hold to counterfeit holiness. When it comes down to it, we’re kind of afraid of the very word “holy.” It’s used in phrases like “holier than thou,” which seems to paint a picture of a legalistic person. This is a person no one really wants to be around. “Holy” is also a common adjective used before one’s cuss word of choice. Therefore, we don’t use the word that often and when we do we use it wrong. In the same way, we are afraid of offending the visitor or unbeliever by talking about God’s holiness. So instead we create a different definition of holiness…a counterfeit holiness. This type of fake holiness surrounds us so much so that we wouldn’t know what to do if something of genuine holiness popped up. God is above all holy, but he has a history of being rejected by man when shows up, starting with Adam and leading up to the ultimate rejection of Christ by his own people. However, there are many great examples in scripture of man responding to God’s holiness. We’re going to look at one today, found in Isaiah 6. The first eight verses of this chapter do an excellent job of showing us how man should respond to God’s holiness. Read Isaiah 6:1-8 There are three major responses that Isaiah had when we came face to face, so to speak, with the authentic holiness of God. Isaiah responds first with glory, second with guilt, and third with gratitude. 1. Glory Isaiah was caught up in a magnificent vision of God’s throne as well as oncoming judgment, which no doubt struck him with shock and awe. He responds in glory. What would you have done? Normal people would have run. Isaiah stood there. 2. Guilt Isaiahs holiness was contrasted with true authentic holiness, which clearly caused him to feel guilty of his own sinfulness. How do you deal with your guilt? Do you hide it? Its natural not to think about it. Isaiah admitted his sinfulness: Woe is me! 3. Gratitude God atoned for Isaiahs sins. Isaiah was absolutely filled with gratitude when he encountered Gods forgiveness, which resulted in him responding to God’s mission. How do you respond to Gods forgiveness? Isaiah didnt ask how long it would take, or what the conditions would be, but joyfully exclaimed: Here am I, send me! You must respond to Gods authentic holiness. Do you spend time in awe of the glory of God or shy away from it? Do you admit your sins before a holy God or sweep them under the rug? Do you respond to God with gratitude and follow His mission for your life or follow your own ways? Ask yourself. Have you photoshopped God? Have you photoshopped Him into a God who is okay with the TV Shows you watch, the talking heads on CNN or Fox News that you listen to more than you listen to God? Or how long you watch TV? Have you photoshopped Him into a God who is okay with the things you look at online, or the things you post online, or the time you spend online? Have you photoshopped Him into a God who is okay with your secret sins? No. We must know God authentically, in his true holiness. I challenge you to expose yourself to God. It might be painful, but it’s what you need to do. Look at Isaiah. The encounter was so eye opening and life changing for him that he responded to God with a focused attitude of joy. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want to have true joy? Don’t you want to do something meaningful with your life? You can expose yourself to God’s holiness today: through prayer, through personal study of His Word. Don’t shy away. Don’t leave it for another time. Do it today. Authentic holiness is not distant. It’s here now, and if you let it, it will change your life. Expose yourself to God. Respond to God. See how He changes you.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 20:29:13 +0000
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