The Glory of God

Good morning friends, if you'd like to grab your Bibles, if you haven't got them open, I'd be very grateful if you did.

More than me being grateful, it's actually crucial that you have your Bibles open.

We want to see God's glory, we want to see God's glory in the face of Christ, and we get that by gazing upon the Word of God.

So let me pray.

Father God, we have just been warned from John 12 about the unbelief of the Jews who saw the Lord Jesus in all his glory, they saw his miraculous signs, they did it in their presence, and yet, Father, they did not believe.

Their eyes were blind, their hearts were dead, and so Lord, we pray that you would rescue us from such unbelief, from an inability to hear, from an inability to see your glory.

And as we come now, particularly, Father, I ask, Lord, that you would help us to be amazed at who you are.

We ask, Lord, that you would give us that appropriate awe and reverence as we understand who you are.

And if our view of you, Father, is smaller than who you are, Lord, I pray that you would so bless us with insight this day that our lives would be changed.

We pray, Lord, that we might respond as Isaiah did, woe to me, I am ruined.

So bless us with such humility, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

In the United States, you can buy a Jesus doll, pre-packaged, with a sawn-off shotgun.

That's right, Jesus doll, sawn-off shotgun, buffed up, no shirt, just a pair of tight little shorts, lovely shotgun there.

Now, if that's a bit butch for you, that's not the image of Jesus you want.

You can buy the huggable Jesus.

He's obviously much softer, and you can push him and squeeze him at certain points, and he says nice things to you, much like some of the teddy bears that we got at home.

You push him and says, I love you, and all sorts of nice things like that.

And so you can get the huggable Jesus, which you push, and it'll say nice and cute things which make you feel good.

It's particularly helpful if you're feeling a little low.

You can't help but think that in much of modern Christianity, we have domesticated God.

You can't help but think that bit by bit, God's majesty has been chipped away with, and now he fits into nice little Christian products which sit on our shelves,

which I pull off the shelf in order to give me a little bit of a boost when I'm feeling a little low.

Jesus has been turned into a social worker who wants to hear from me how I'm feeling more than anything else.

So I want to ask you this morning, what does the glory of Christ mean to you?

What does the glory of Christ mean to you?

You see, the big problem is that when you make little of God's majesty and his glory,

then you make little of your sin and your brokenness.

The two are connected, intertwined.

You cannot separate them.

And I believe that this is the reason why much of the Christian church today is dying, dead, or impotent.

So let me suggest to you that revival happens, and let me be frank,

I want revival to come to St. Paul's and to my life and to yours.

Revival happens in our lives when we see God majestic in holiness,

and when we see ourselves as disobedient dust.

Brokenness, repentance, unspeakable joy of forgiveness,

the taste of the magnificence of God,

a hunger for his holiness,

to see these things more and to live them more and more.

That is revival.

And it comes from seeing God.

So let's do that now.

Isaiah chapter 6.

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

If you have not got a Bible,

there should be one in the pews in front of you there somewhere.

Or shift seats now

to be with someone who's got one on their lap.

And let us gaze at the glory of God.

Isaiah 6, verse 1.

Isaiah 6:1

In the year that King Uzziah died,

I saw the Lord sit 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.

There are at least seven glimpses of God

in those first four verses.

So let's look at those seven things.

Firstly, God is alive.

King Uzziah is dead,

but God lives on.

Psalm 90, verse 2.

Psalms 90:2

Before the mountains were born,

or you brought forth the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting,

you are God.

God was the living God

when this universe banged into existence.

He was the living God

when Socrates drank his poison.

He was the living God

when Captain James Cook

first put his boot on Australian soil.

He was the living God in 1966

when Time magazine put out a front cover

which said,

God is dead.

And he will be the living God

10 trillion ages from now

when all of our collective puny potshots

at him

against his reality

will have sunk into oblivion

like a pebble in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

He is alive.

In the year that King Uzziah died,

I saw the Lord.

There is not a single head of state

in all of the world

right now

who will be ruling in 100 years.

The turnover in world leadership

is 100%.

In a brief 120 years,

this planet will be populated

by more than 10 billion new people,

brand new people,

and all of us

and the current 6.5 to 7 billion of us

at the moment

will have vanished off the face of the earth

just like Uzziah.

But not God.

He never had a beginning

and therefore depends on nothing

for existence.

He will never have an end.

He always has been

and he always will be

alive.

Secondly,

I saw the Lord seated

on a throne.

We see that God here

is authoritative.

It is no mistake

that throughout the Bible

there is no vision of heaven

where you ever catch

a glimpse of God

ploughing a field,

cutting the grass,

shining his shoes,

filling out reports

or loading a truck.

Heaven does not require maintenance.

God is never at his wit's end

in his heavenly realm.

He sits.

And he sits on a throne.

All is at peace.

All is in control.

The throne is his right to rule.

We do not give God authority

over our lives.

He has it

whether we like it or not.

What utter folly

it is to act

as though we had any rights

to call God into question

or his authority

into question.

Few things,

I believe,

are more humbling.

Few things give us

more of a sense

than the raw

of the raw majesty of God

than that he is

utterly authoritative.

After him,

there is nowhere to run.

There is no appeal.

Nowhere else to turn to.

Thirdly,

we see here

that God is all-powerful.

The throne

of his authority

is not one

among many thrones.

It is high

and lifted up.

I saw the Lord

seated on a throne

high

and

exalted.

That God's throne

is higher

than every other throne

signifies God's

superior power

to exercise

his authority.

no opposing authority

can nullify

the decrees

of God.

What he purposes,

he accomplishes.

God says a little later

in Isaiah 46,

I make known

the end

from the beginning,

from ancient times,

what is still

yet to come.

I say,

my purposes

will stand

and I will do

all that

I please.

in Daniel 4.35,

speaking about God,

he does

as he pleases

with the powers

of heaven

and

the peoples

of the earth.

To be gripped

by the all-powerful

sovereignty of God

is either

marvellous

because he's

with you

or

absolutely

terrifying

because he's

against you.

indifference,

my friends,

to his

all-encompassing

power

simply means

that you have

not seen

God.

The sovereign

authority

of the living

God

is a refuge

full of joy

and power

for those

that are his.

fourthly,

we see that

God is

magnificent,

he is

gorgeous,

he is

glittering,

he is

dazzling.

I saw

the Lord

sit on a

throne,

high and

exalted

and the

train of

his robe

filled the

temple.

Now you

may have

sat up

all night

and watched

the wedding

of Charles

and Diana

back in

1981

as many

Australians

did

and I

remember

on that

day

as a

kid

trying to

work out

why I

was up

all night

but also

the talk

I remember

when she

came out

of the

carriage

and the

train

of her

dress

just kept

going

and of

course

there was

a number

of women

in the

room

just going

ah,

ah,

ooh,

ah,

look at

that

and I'm

like

it's a

dress

you know

as a

kid

it's a

dress

but I

still see

it now

25 feet

long

it seemed

to have

covered

all the

steps of

St.

Paul's

Cathedral

in London

at that

time

but what

would it

mean

if she

walked

in

and she

kept

going

and the

train

of her

dress

filled

the

choir

stalls

the

pews

the

pulpit

everything

and it

was all

made

from one

fabric

what would

you say

then

wow

and that

the fact

that God's

robe fills

the entire

heavenly temple

not St.

Paul's Cathedral

in London

the entire

heavenly temple

means that

God

is

incomparable

in splendor

he is

magnificent

he is

dazzling

the fullness

of God's

splendor

shows itself

in so many

ways

in this

world

one

little

example

is the

species

of fish

who live

in the

dark

dark

dark

depths

of the

ocean

that we

cannot

even see

with our

physical

we cannot

go there

you need

machines

to go there

and take

photos

of these

things

these

species

of fish

have their

own

built

in

lights

some

of them

have got

lamps

which hang

from their

chins

some

of them

have

noses

which

glow

some

of them

have

eyes

which are

kind of

like

headlights

they can

see

around

in the

darkness

they are

spectacularly

weird

and beautiful

and there's

not just

one or

two

there is

thousands

of these

species

down there

why

are they

there

when I

can't get

my fishing

line to

them

why are

they there

and why

are there

thousands

of them

there

because

God

is

lavish

in

his

splendor

and his

creative

fullness

spills

over

into

excessive

beauty

and if

that is

the way

the world

is

how much

more

magnificent

must this

God be

who thought

it up

and brought

it into

being

just by

a word

and

therefore

fifthly

God

is

revered

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

no one

knows

what these

strange

sixth wing

creatures

with feet

and eyes

and intelligence

are

they never

appear again

in the Bible

at least

not under

the name

seraphim

one thing

is for sure

given the

grandeur

of the

scene

and the

power

of these

angelic

hosts

we had

best not

picture

chubby

winged

babies

fluttering

around the

ears

of our

Lord

according

to verse

four

when one

of these

creatures

speaks

the

foundations

of the

temple

shake

and if

I ask

Samira

to turn

this

speaker

up

right

now

as far

as he

could

go

I

could

not

do

that

here

at

St.

Paul's

Chatswood

even

with the

aid

of

this

thing

there

are

no

puny

or

silly

creatures

in

heaven

only

magnificent

ones

and

the

point

is

this

not

even

they

can

look

upon

the

Lord

nor

do

they

feel

worthy

enough

to be

in his

presence

to even

leave

their

feet

unexposed

to leave

their feet

exposed

they

cover up

in his

presence

great

and as

good

as they

are

untainted

by human

sin

as they

are

as

powerful

as they

are

as

splendid

as

they

are

they

revere

their

maker

in

great

humility

and

if

one

of

these

creatures

was

to

appear

at

the

foot

of

your

bed

tonight

in

all

its

brilliance

and

all

its

power

you

would

want

to

die

in

its

presence

with

the

fear

would

be

horrendous

how much

more

will we

shudder

and quake

in

his

presence

who

cannot

even

endure

the

splendour

of

one

of

his

creatures

oh friends how far have we moved away

from the glorious and splendour of this God

when Australian Christian television puts out little jingles like

when we get to heaven what do you think he'll say

he'll say g'day

I don't know what he'll say but it won't be g'day

six God is holy

and they were calling to one another

holy holy holy

is the Lord almighty and the whole earth

is full of his glory

what to say about that

the possibilities of language to carry the meaning of God

eventually run out

and it spills over the edge of the world into the vast unknown

the word holy carries us to the brink

and from there the experience of God is beyond our words

there is nothing more to say

the reason I say this

is that every effort to define the holiness of God

ultimately winds me up

coming straight back to the first point

and saying God is holy

means

that he's God

God is God

the root meaning of the word holy

is probably to cut or to separate

a holy thing is cut off and separated

from common

we would use the word secular use

earthly things and persons are holy

as they are distinct from the world

and they are devoted to God

and so the Bible speaks of things like

holy ground and holy assemblies

and holy Sabbath

and holy nation

and holy garments

and holy city

and holy promises

and holy men

and holy women

and holy scriptures

and holy hands

and holy kisses

and I'm not sure what a holy kiss is

the only definition I can describe

between a kiss and a holy kiss

is probably two minutes

that's all I can work it out

I'm not really sure

but

almost anything can be holy

providing it's separated

from the common

and it's devoted to God

but what do you do

when you apply that definition

to God himself

from what can you separate God

in order to make him holy

the very godness of God

means that he is separate

from all that is not God

God is one of a kind

in a class of himself

in that sense he is utterly holy

and then in the end

all you've said is that he's God

or if the holiness of man

derives from being separated

from the world

and devoted to God

to whom

is God devoted

so as to derive his holiness

no one but himself

it is blasphemy to say

that there is a higher reality

than God

to which we must conform

in order to be holy

God is the absolute reality

beyond which

there is only

just more of God

when asked for his name

in Exodus 3

he said

I am who I am

that's it

to me

that doesn't seem

terribly helpful

I am who I am

his being and his character

are utterly

undetermined

by anything

outside of himself

he is not holy

because he keeps the rules

he wrote the rules

God is not only holy

because he keeps the law

the law

the law is holy

because it reveals God

he is absolute

everything else

is derived

from him

in the end

God is holy

in that he is God

and he is not man

he is incomparable

his holiness

determines

all that he is

and he does

and he is determined

by no one

or anything

you can call it

his majesty

you can call it

his divinity

you can call it

his greatness

you can call it

his godness

you can call it

his value

you can call it

whatever you like

but in the end

the language

runs out

in the word

holy

we have sailed

to the end

of the world

of language

and we've got

nowhere else

to go

and so what

do we do

when we sit

there

at the end

of the world

when all

of our language

and all of our

trying to understand

who this god

is

have a cut

220

but the lord

is in his holy

temple

let all the earth

be silent

before him

there is

nothing

more

to add

but before

the silence

and the shaking

of the temple

and the filling

of smoke

we learn

a seventh

and a final

thing about

this god

holy

holy

holy

is the lord

almighty

the whole

earth

is full

of his

glory

this god

is glorious

the glory

of god

is the

manifestation

of his

holiness

god's

holiness

is the

incomparable

perfection

of his

divine

nature

his glory

is the

display

of that

holiness

okay

god

is glorious

means that

god's holiness

has gone

public

it's on

facebook

it's in the

newspapers

it's everywhere

that's what

it is

it's gone

public

his holiness

has gone

public

in leviticus

10 3

god says

among those

who approach

me

i will show

myself

holy

in the sight

of all

people

i will be

honoured

or another

translation

i will be

glorified

when god

shows himself

to be holy

what we see

is his

glory

when the

seraphim

say the

whole earth

is full

of his

glory

it is because

from the

heights of

heaven

you can

see all

the world

you can

see the

whole universe

and you

can see

this universe

reflects the

splendor and

the holiness

and the glory

of this god

from down

here the

view of

this god

is limited

and it's

largely limited

because we

have exchanged

the glory of

god

for things

that

give me

frills right

now

according to

romans

Romans 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

and so

the curtain

of heaven

is open

and is

i gets

a peek

and what

does he

do

verse 5

woe

to me

i cried

i am

ruined

woe

to me

i am

ruined

not

don't hear me

wrong when i

say this

god

i've done

things i

shouldn't have

done and

things that i

did do i

shouldn't have

done and

didn't do

things i

should have

done and

sinned against

you and

against people

and other

things so

woe

to me

i am

ruined

for i'm

a man

of unclean

lips

and i live

among a

people of

unclean

lips

and my

eyes have

seen the

king

the lord

almighty

and what

happened a

little bit

earlier in the

scriptures what

does it say

you may not

gaze upon

the lord

and live

is i

expected to

die in the

presence of

this god

in chapter

five isaiah

pronounced woes

this amazing

thing happens

in chapter

five he

pronounced woe

after woe

after woe

curses on

the people

of israel

because they

as it says

in verse

12 there

have no

regard for

the deeds

of the lord

no respect

for the work

of his hands

but isaiah

gets a glimpse

of the glory

of this god

and what does

he say

hang on a

bit just

hold that

thought these

people over

here need

to see this

forget about

their woes

forget about

their curses

woe is

me

having been

confronted with

the glory of

god isaiah

goes downward

in humility

he knows

that he's

not god

when he's

confronted with

god

and friends

is that not

the experience

of peter

that we saw

in this

service last

week with

the kids

talk

he's been

out fishing

catches nothing

jesus takes

him out

gets a load

of fish

up on the

boat and

he doesn't

go wow

fantastic

all this

fish i can

finally buy

that house

i can finally

get off and

finish my

masters of

fishing i can

finally get the

superannuation

thing sorted

out and i can

go and retire

down to egypt

or somewhere

else

forget the

fish

fish

he looks at

jesus and

this is how

when simon peter

saw this he

fell at jesus

knees and

said go away

from me lord

i am a

sinful man

peter saw

glory and

we're confronted

with jesus

peter's own

sinfulness is

the thing that's

exposed again

the apostle john

had a similar

experience revelation

chapter one i

turned around to

see the voice that

was speaking to me

and when i turned i

saw seven golden

lampstands and

among the lampstands

was someone like a

son of man dressed

in a robe reaching

down to his feet and

a gold sash around

his chest his

head and his

hair were white

like wool as

white as snow and

his eyes were like

blazing fire his

feet were like

bronze glowing in a

furnace and his

voice was like the

sound of rushing

waters in his

right hand he held

seven stars and

out of his mouth

came a sharp

double-edged

sword his face

was like the sun

shining in all

its brilliance

when i saw him

i fell at his

feet as though

dead

this is the same

john

who used to lean

against jesus

and when he sees

jesus in all his

resurrected glory

it's not

g'day

he falls down

as though

dead

and then he

placed his right

hand on me and

said do not be

afraid i am the

first and the

last i'm the

living one i was

dead and behold

i'm alive forever

and ever

i'm not dead

i'm still reigning

but it ought not

be a surprise to

find that peter

and john's

experience is the

same as that as

isaiah because

they got a glimpse

of the same

god

did you see what

was read out to

us mike read out to

us a moment ago

from john

John 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

isaiah said this

because he saw

jesus's glory and

spoke about him

isaiah got a glimpse

of jesus

this one that we

just spoke about

is jesus

not the little

package jesus with

the sawn off

shotgun not

huggable jesus

the real jesus

isaiah saw jesus

glory in chapter 6

jesus is god's

holiness gone

public what

isaiah saw is

what peter saw

and what john

saw and this

same jesus is

the one who

calls you and

me to follow

him if the

magnificent

creatures in

the throne room

throne room

approach with

caution with

reverence and

awe and respect

how much more

you and me

in following

the one

this one

jesus

but you know

what the great

news is

is when jesus

says to his

disciples

praise in the

hearing of his

disciples father

the time has

come to glorify

your son

let let your

holiness really

go public now

and he went

to the cross

and in that

jesus humbling

himself to the

death of the

cross is the

reason why we

can stand in

his presence

god in his

ultimate display

of glory is the

reason why we

can actually stand

and gaze upon

his glory and

not be crushed

due to his

perfect humility

and perfect

sacrifice we no

longer need to

fear this god

is judge when

osiah called

out i am

ruined god

deals with that

situation by

atoning for his

sin so that he

can stand in his

presence

in the boat

jesus says to

peter don't be

afraid he says

exactly the same

thing to john

don't be afraid

it is only

possible to stand

in his presence

because god makes

it possible for us

to stand in his

presence god wants

to dwell with

people like you

and me and the

safest place in

the world and i've

said this a number

of times i want to

keep coming back to

it the safest place

in the world is at

the foot of the

cross with your

face in the dust in

humble submission

that is what gets

the gaze of the

sovereign eternal

god that is what

draws his attention

it is my hope and my

prayer that this

church that we

will get such a

glimpse of the

glory of christ

that we will

declare war on

pride let us be

vigilant my friends

let us never forget

that it is humility

that draws the gaze

of this glorious god

it is humility is the

only way that we can

stand in the presence

of this glorious god

it is not our small

groups it is not our

budget it is not the

size of our church

it's not how great the

music is it's not the

strength of the

preaching it's not the

number of congregations

it's not how precise

our liturgy it's not

how well people people

speak of us it's not

even how well we speak

of our history it is

not the eloquence of

our prayers this is

what is i god says at

the end of isaiah this

is the one i esteem in

other words this is the

one who draws my

attention this is the

one who i look highly

upon he who is humble

and contrite in spirit

and trembles at my

word

i am thoroughly convinced

that there could be no

effective christian growth

in our lives

that there can be no

effective ministry or

mission flowing out of

this church without the

cultivation of humility

in the heart and the

weakening of pride in our

lives and so friends

someday this all

powerful sovereign god

will blow

and he will turn away

every single completing

glory and he will make

his holiness known in

awesome splendor to every

creature but there is no

need to wait you see we

don't have to be satisfied

with the cheap frills now

we don't have to exchange

god's glory for something

else

osiah job ezekiel jeremiah

peter john and many of you

have humbled yourselves to

go hard after the holy god

and have developed a taste for

his majesty

and so to you and all the

rest who are just beginning

to know it and just beginning

to feel it

i hold out this promise from

god

this god who is

ever alive

authoritative

all-powerful

spectacular

gorgeous

revered

holy

and glorious

from

is

is

is

what the high and

lofty one says

he who lives forever

whose name is holy

i live in a high

and holy place

but also

with him

who is

contrite and lowly

in spirit

in order to revive

the spirit of the lowly

and to revive

the heart of the

contrite

amen

to

so

the

the

it

we

know

the

the