See the Workings of the Triune God!

1st Sunday after Pentecost, 5/30/21 Isaiah 6:1-8 See the Workings of the Triune God! I. He confronts us with his holiness. II. He purifies us with his forgiveness. III. He motivates us to serve him. When discussing the basics necessities of life, we often refer to food, clothing, and shelter. Go without any one of those three, and life is miserable. It can even threaten your existence on this earth. But there is an element that is even more basic than those three, and that’s oxygen. In fact, oxygen is so essential to life that life can’t exist without it. Plants, animals, and human beings cannot live without oxygen. But you didn’t come to church today for a lesson on biology. I’m fairly certain you already knew how essential oxygen is to life. You came here to celebrate the truth that the one true God is the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He, and he alone, is the God who has worked out what we need most of all—life with him, a saving relationship with him. In other words, just as oxygen is essential to our lives here on earth, the workings of the triune God are essential to our life with him. But that’s probably something you don’t consider very often. In fact, like breathing oxygen, you may barely give it a thought. God’s word before us this morning from Isaiah 6 encourages us to ponder, believe, and appreciate how the triune God works in each one of us. We see it in the way that he worked in his Old Testament prophet Isaiah. This event in Isaiah’s life encourages us to see the workings of the triune God. Let’s take a look together as we ponder this portion of God’s word. I. Have you ever wanted to see God? I’m guessing each one of us has, perhaps more often than once. We read the accounts of how God revealed himself to his people in various ways, especially in the Old Testament, and we wish that we could have that experience as well. Recall how Moses asked God to reveal himself, and the Lord allowed Moses to see his glory as it passed by him. What a sight! If only we could see God! If we could finally lay our eyes on him! Just once! On the basis of this event in his life, Isaiah would tell you to be careful what you wish for. Listen again to the details. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.’” In four short English words Isaiah tells us that he experienced what we may have wished for many times: he saw the Lord. It’s likely that the Lord appeared to him in a vision. But he saw the Lord, nonetheless. But that’s not all he saw. He also saw angels. He calls them seraphs, which are probably a special class of angels. This is the only time the Bible uses this word. They had six wings and what they did with their wings indicates something important about their relationship with the triune God. With two they covered their faces and with two they covered their feet. This is an act of humility before the holy God. Think about that. Angels are holy, but even they are impressed being in the presence of the holy God. Imagine how Isaiah felt as a sinner seeing the holy God. But that’s not all. He heard the seraphs proclaiming the holiness of the Lord. “Holy, holy, holy!” Surely that’s a reference to the Trinity. He felt the temple structure shake. He could smell holy smoke, perhaps even taste it. In short, he received a multi-sensory impression of the holy God. And it overwhelmed Isaiah. Not so much with awe. But with terror. Listen again to his terror-filled words, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” When a sinful human being sees the holy God, his first reactions are not joy, exhilaration, appreciation, and comfort. It’s mortifying terror because, in an instant, the sinner realizes that his sins not only separate him from God, they make him deserving of eternal punishment. In the presence of God, Isaiah was confronted with the hell that he deserved. Not at all an enjoyable experience. Bottom line: God’s holiness and sinful humans are not compatible. On their own, sinful human beings have no relationship with the holy God. And we are absolutely powerless to do anything about it. We’re helpless. Hopeless. II. Have you ever experienced unrelenting pain? If so, you also felt helpless and, perhaps, hopeless. There was nothing you could do to get any relief. Your only option was to seek the help of a medical expert with the prayer that he or she could do something to offer you some relief. The Lord knew the predicament Isaiah was in. Isaiah felt crushed by his sinfulness. And, in his compassion and love for sinners, for Isaiah, the Lord didn’t allow Isaiah to suffer long. He did something to bring Isaiah divine relief. Listen again to Isaiah describe it. “Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’” A multi-sensory experience of the holiness of the triune God had caused Isaiah’s despair. So, the Lord used a multi-sensory experience to remove Isaiah’s spiritual pain. The altar for burnt offerings was located right there in temple where Isaiah was receiving this vision. He watched as one of the seraphs removed a burning coal from that altar and then touched Isaiah’s lips—not to burn his lips, but to purify them. Why was there so much concern about purifying Isaiah’s lips? Because the Lord was calling Isaiah to be his prophet to his people. His calling was to tell them the words that God shared with him. The sweetest words any sinner can hear are the words of forgiveness. And that’s what Isaiah heard from the seraph. “Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” The holy triune God had nothing against Isaiah. His sins had been removed. There was now peace between the sinful Isaiah and the holy God. In fact, the Lord provided Isaiah with the holiness he needed to be in the presence of the Lord. That’s the triune God’s highest desire—to speak words of forgiveness to sinners. When the sinner realizes that he stands condemned before the holy God and knows there is nothing he can offer to make peace, God announces that peace which only he can give—the full and complete forgiveness of sins. Where there was once fear and despair, there is now hope and joy. That’s what the triune God does. III. Having laid the foundation for Isaiah’s relationship with him, the Lord now reveals his will and his plans for Isaiah. But he doesn’t tell Isaiah what he wants him to do. He doesn’t obligate Isaiah to do anything. That’s not how the triune God works. Instead, he desires willing service out of love and appreciation for what he has done. The Lord’s spiritual concern for sinners wasn’t limited to Isaiah. He had an entire nation of people on his mind and heart, a nation of people that desperately needed to hear God speak to them. And so he asked, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” By impressing on Isaiah his forgiveness, the Lord had equipped and motivated Isaiah for special service in his kingdom. And Isaiah didn’t hesitate for a moment. “Here am I. Send me!” That was an amazing response given what the Lord was calling him to do. In the verses that followed Isaiah’s response, the Lord shared with Isaiah how difficult this calling would be. The people would refuse to listen to the words Isaiah would speak to them. Their hearts would become hardened in sin and unbelief. But there would be eternal blessings. God would use Isaiah to speak some amazing promises of the Savior: that he would be born of a virgin, that he would be pierced for our transgressions, that he would form a kingdom from people all over the world. Those words would accomplish what God desired. Some would listen and believe. Some would remain faithful to the Lord. And the Lord would guard and keep them in his kingdom on earth and, eternally, in heaven. And so Isaiah went out and served the Lord faithfully as his prophet, a fact which shows the workings of the triune God. In contrast to Isaiah, it’s easy for us to become complacent in our Christianity. It’s easy for our Christianity to become comfortable. The truth that the triune God works in us quickly becomes a dusty dogma that theologians discuss, but has little practical implication for our daily lives. If you’re prone to think that way, think again! The holiness of God confronts us every sinful day of our lives. It reminds us that we are worthy of nothing from our God other than eternal punishment. And when the triune God has done that alien work in us, then he purifies us with his forgiveness. As people who trust in Jesus as our Savior we live in the forgiveness of sins. That’s the highest will of the triune God—to assure sinners of their forgiveness. With our guilt removed and the mantle of Christ’s holiness surrounding us, we now are perfectly positioned for God to use us in his kingdom. The question for you to ponder is, “What gifts and opportunities do I have?” As soon as you make that determination, reply as Isaiah did. “Here am I. Send me!” That’s when you’ll see the workings of the triune God. Amen.