James MacDonald
February 6, 2003
10:30 am
Message Summary
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). These words echoed throughout Moody Church this morning as Pastor James MacDonald led the congregation in the words forever spoken by the angels in the presence of God. Out of all of His perfect and true attributes, holiness is at the center of God and that is why it is the chosen word to praise God forever.
Opening to Isaiah 6, MacDonald spoke on “Experiencing the Holiness of God,” a view of God of which the church has lost sight. The evangelical world has grown leaps and bounds in church size and programs and in Christian books and music, but as MacDonald put it, “there has been a hollowing out of convictions. When you compare yourself with the other boats in the water, we fail to see how far we have drifted from the shore. The shore is the holiness of God.
The first verses of Isaiah 6 tell of the vision that God gave to Isaiah at the time of his calling. What he saw was God seated on the throne with His robe filling the temple. The angels before God proclaimed “Holy, Holy, Holy” and Isaiah was shaken in the presence of God. Seeing the holiness of God he saw how greatly he fell short and could only say, “Woe to me!” We have lost our sense of awe in the presence of the Almighty and holy God.
As MacDonald went through the text, he pointed out the main idea of each verse. Isaiah 6:1 shows that God is infinite holiness. Tragedies abound in our world, but God is seated on the throne! He is settled and completely in control of the whole universe. Isaiah 6:2 talks of the angels who cover their faces with their wings in the presence of God. “They are always serving, but never seeing God,” stated MacDonald. In the same way we cannot look on the holiness of God, but we are to serve Him with our lives. The next verse shows the repetition of the words spoken by the angels. Holiness is the core attribute of God and is the only attribute spoken three times.
In Isaiah 6:4, Isaiah trembles at the voice of God. When we come into the holy presence of God, how often do we tremble? This whole vision that Isaiah had is what we have lost sight of in the church. “We have hallowed self,” stated MacDonald, “and hollowed out holiness.” The holiness of God reveals our sinfulness as we see in Isaiah 6:5. And unless we can speak the words of Isaiah in the presence of God and say that we are “unclean,” we will never get anywhere with holiness. When we feel that we are in a comfortable place that is when we don’t see our utter depravity in comparison to the holiness of God.
MacDonald summarized the words of encouragement that come from Isaiah 6:6-7. “Only now, after seeing holiness, can we truly revel in grace.” Am I ready to meet the holy God? “The call to holiness is a crisis,” noted MacDonald. Turning from sin is essential. Also MacDonald pointed out that God cleanses us for holiness. We are saved, but that doesn’t mean we coast through the rest of our Christian lives. We need to be actively pursuing holiness. “What are we purged and cleansed for?” challenged MacDonald, “I hear the call, Be Holy for I AM Holy!
MacDonald concluded with three ways we can grow in holiness. First of all, we must recognize our tendencies and end cheap grace and cheesy God theology. Secondly it is vital to repent of our love for pleasure over purity and holiness. And most importantly, pursue holiness. With all our hearts, we must strive after the holiness of God. We need to get our lives in the proper perspective before we can have the right perspective of God. “First the sin, then the Savior,” added MacDonald. The only way to be holy is to experience the holiness of God.
Student Response
In his message, MacDonald gave an illustration of a small boy looking up at Mt. Everest. The boy just stands there with his mouth open in total awe of what is before him. This is how we are to be in the presence of our holy God. There are no words that we can use to describe the awesomeness of God. Large churches, great programs, inspiring music and challenging Christian books are all wonderful things, but how far have we come from the absolute holiness of God? Do we busy ourselves with these things that we forget the God we serve and love? We need to get back to the place where when in the presence of God all that we are able to utter from our lips is, "Holy, Holy, Holy."
—Allison Hlad, Senior, Communications/Print Media major