Your God is too Small

And I would just like to introduce our guest preacher this morning, Reverend Dr. Bob Ackroyd.

! He's no stranger to the islands, but it's appropriate to give him an introduction. Bob came from the east coast of America and came over to study history, the history of the nations of the United Kingdom.

And in doing that, he found the God of history and his son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that's been a great benefit to the free church down through the years.

Bob has served on numerous committees. He was chairman of the mission board.

He was on a number of other committees as well and has done great work in the church, becoming moderator in 2023.

He's also been involved in prison ministry in Edinburgh, ongoing in that prison ministry.

And it's been amazing to hear what he's been doing there and the way that he's been taken in by the prisoners.

It's wonderful to see that the Lord's people are able to go into these situations and provide help to people who are in need.

So we are so grateful that he's been able to join us today and he will now take over the service.

And I've asked him to go to the main door after the service where he can meet with you.

And one thing I would say is, if you've ever been at a camp with Bob, don't be surprised if he knows your name.

Absolutely amazing the way he's able to remember people.

So if you, and that's decades ago, people who have been at camp with him decades ago, he still remembers their name.

Bob, I'll hand over to you.

Thank you, Margo.

Well, may I add my welcome and warm good morning to you.

I was asked specifically by our principal to convey the greetings of Edinburgh Theological Seminary.

I think you may be familiar with Ivor Martin, so he sends his warm greetings to you all.

And we at the seminary are delighted to serve the church.

And it's a great privilege on an occasion like this to be able to preach here and to share fellowship with you all.

So let us, we're going to, I should say, Murdo mentioned camp.

I'll put a plug in.

I'm leading a camp this summer in Renfrew.

If there are any senior boys and girls, particularly boys, S3 and above.

If you're interested in go-karting and escape rooms and hill climbing.

Anyway, camps are a great ministry of this church.

And if you're a young person here or you're parents of young people and you haven't considered camp,

maybe this year might be a great opportunity of sending some of the young people of this congregation of this town to camp,

even for the first time.

Let's worship God.

We're going to sing to his praise.

We're going to sing from Psalm 67.

It's the first version of that psalm in the Scottish Psalter.

And that's on page 300.

And the tune is Selma.

And we sing those familiar words.

Lord, bless and pity us.

Shine on us with thy face.

That the earth, thy way, and nations all may know thy saving grace.

Let's join our voices together in the praise of God.

Amen.

For the earth, thy way, and nations all may know thy saving grace.

Let people praise thee, Lord.

Let people all be praised.

Oh, let the nations be glad

In songs their voices raise.

Thou just say, people judge

On earth, through nations all

Let people praise thee, Lord.

Let them praise thee, both great and small

In earth, thy fruit shall yield

Our God shall bless him stand

God shall us bless

And shall live thee, unto earth

God shall live thee, unto earth

We've joined our voices in praise.

Let's now unite our hearts in prayer.

Let us pray.

Father in heaven, we thank you for that open invitation

And that vast promise given

That you will be the blessing to all the nations

That as we ask for your blessing upon ourselves

We ask that blessing might overflow

It might overflow into the lives of our families

Into the lives of our communities

Into the life of this nation

Into the nations of this earth

We thank you this morning as we join in worship

We join with your church

From the north and from the south

The east and the west

In all nations, in all continents

Where the name of the Lord Jesus is exalted

And the gospel of the Lord Jesus is heralded

So Lord, we pray that you would indeed

Be merciful to us

You are great and good

You are high and holy

And you have come down now to our level

You have come down to experience life firsthand

So we have in the Lord Jesus

A sympathetic high priest

Who knows, who sees, who cares

Who has walked this way before

So we thank you that when we come to you now in prayer

You understand

You understand the human condition

You understand the human frailty

You understand the struggles

And the trials and the troubles

That are characteristic of this life

And not only do you understand

But you are able

You are able to do above and beyond our asking

Beyond our imagining

Because you, O God, are great in power

Great in might

Great in holiness and righteousness

And Lord, we pray

That by faith we may lay hold of you

That our trust may be rooted in you

In your Son, the Lord Jesus

And that the Holy Spirit himself

Might work in such a way

That the words that are written on a page

Might be words that are imprinted upon our hearts

And lived out in our lives

We thank you that though we are weak

You are strong

Though we are often foolish

You are altogether wise

We are so aware of our inconsistencies

And our limitations

But you are perfectly consistent

And you are limited by nothing

And no one

So Lord, we thank you

That whether from this pulpit

In this place

Throughout this town

Throughout this island

Throughout this nation

Throughout this world

You have promised

That you will accompany

The proclamation of your word

With your presence

With your power

With your blessing

We ask, Lord, that you might exceed

Our expectations

That you might exceed our asking

And that certainly

You might exceed our deserving

Because we come to you

In that name

Which is above every name

At the name of Jesus

We know that one day

Every knee will bow

We know that one day

Every tongue will confess

But until that day comes

We bow our knee

We confess with our tongue

That you are Lord

And we want and long to see

Many more come to that same

Saving knowledge

Where they too will bow their knee

In glad adoration

Where they too will confess

With joy

The Lord Jesus Christ

As their Lord

So hear these our prayers

And answer us

According to

Your rich mercy

Your infinite resources

That are found in Jesus Christ

Your Son

Our Savior

Amen

Well, I want to speak

To the young people here

And I'm sure

You have heard this word before

I'm sure that your parents

Will have told you

That you are precious

And maybe parents

If you haven't used that word recently

Remind your children

That they are indeed precious

There's a verse

That I want to share with you

In the Bible

From Isaiah

This is from Isaiah

Isaiah 43:4

Chapter 43, verse 4

For those of us older

With Bibles

Isaiah 43, verse 4

Isaiah 43:4

Tells us something

Very important

But before I tell you

About the verse

I want to give you

An illustration

So this ring

That is on my finger

If I look inside

I see a number

And that number is 14

And next to the word

Number 14

Is a capital K

So this tells me

That this ring

Is 14 carat gold

Gold is a precious metal

And if I took this

If I wanted to

If I wanted to sell

This ring

I could take it

To a merchant

The merchant would weigh it

And would give me cash

Based upon the amount

Of gold

And the amount

That this ring weighs

But this ring

Isn't precious to me

Because it's made of gold

Let me tell you

A little bit about this ring

You see this ring

Was given twice

And inside the ring

There are two dates

If I can see

With my limited vision

Now

R-E-S

Plus D-A

8-20-55

So the 20th of August

1955

Ruth Evelyn Spooner

Gave this ring

To Dennis Ackroyd Jr.

My mom and dad

What is it

44 years later

And the other inscription

Inside the ring

Is H-J

Plus

R-A

5-24-99

So this ring

Was given by my mother

To my father

And then this ring

Was given by my wife

To me

She put this ring

On my finger

On the 24th of May

1999

So this ring

Is doubly precious

To me

Not because it's

Made of gold

But because it was

Given in love

My mother

To my father

My wife

To me

Love

You see

The Bible

Tells us

Something very important

And young people

I want you to hear this

Because this is not

What I'm saying

Nor even is it

What your parents

Are saying

And all that's

Very important

But God says this

About you

Because you are

Precious in my eyes

And honored

And I love you

So young people

And not so young people

God has something

That he wants you

To know

He wants you

To know

That in his eyes

You are

Precious

Infinitely

Valuable

You are honored

In his sight

He loves you

You see

If you believe that

Something remarkable

Happens

If you believe

That God knows you

And loves you

That you are

Precious in your sight

In his sight

It changes everything

Changes how you think

Changes how you feel

It changes how you live

And I want to say

I know this is

A children's talk

But as an adult

I'm now 58

I've come to realize

That actually

God means

What he says

I should have realized

That a long time ago

But actually

He means

That I am precious

That I am honored

And that I am loved

And he means that

For you

You are precious

You are honored

You are loved

Sometimes we find it

Difficult

To take God

At his word

He doesn't mean me

He doesn't mean people

Like you know

If he really knew

Well he does really know

But he does say

And when you think

Today

Parents

Somehow

Say to your children

You heard what the preacher

Said today

I want you to know

That you are precious

To me

Because words matter

Words that have

Meaning matter

And God's word

Matters to me

God's word

Matters to you

And no matter

How young you are

This morning

I want you to know

Without a shadow

Of a doubt

That God says

You are precious

To him

You mean so much

Because you are

So valuable

And if you believe that

I guarantee you

Your life

Will be changed

By that truth

So may God bless

To us

His word

Precious

Honored

And loved

I'm now going to lead us

In the Lord's prayer

Let's join our voices

Our Father

Which art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done

On earth

As it is in heaven

Give us this day

Our daily bread

And forgive us

Our debts

As we forgive

Our debtors

And lead us not

Into temptation

But deliver us

From evil

For thine is

The kingdom

The power

And the glory

Forever and ever

Amen

Amen

Well as we

Now turn again

To sing to God's praise

We're going to sing

From Psalm 103

As the young people

Will make their way

To their Sunday school classes

This is page 135

Psalm 103

And we're going to sing

To the tune

Before the throne

Praise God my soul

With all my heart

Let me exalt his holy name

Forget not all his benefits

His praise

My soul

In song proclaim

Psalm 103

Let's join our voices

In praise

The Lord forgives

To all your sins

I'll guilt your sickness

And distress

Your life he rescues

From the grave

And ground you

In his tenderness

And ground you

In his tenderness

He's got this fight

In his strength

From his unending

Source of good

So God just like

The evil strength

To youthful maker

Is renewed

The Lord is known

For righteous hands

And justice to them

God and what?

To Moses he made known his ways, his mighty deeds to Israel's sons, his mighty deeds to

Israel's sons.

The Lord is merciful and kind, to anger slow and full of praise.

He will not constantly prove, for in his anger hide his face.

It does not punish our misdeeds, or give our sins their just reward.

Our greatest love, as high as heaven, who warms all those who fear the Lord.

Who warms all those who fear the Lord.

Let's turn together to read in God's word.

We're going to read from Isaiah chapter 6.

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

Isaiah 6 is one of these great commissioning chapters where God is calling and equipping

and giving to one of his people a clear message and a clear ministry.

The time frame, if you're interested, as a history person, I like to know dates.

We're looking at 738 BC.

This is a golden age for Judah.

This is a time in which the nation is going well.

Military, politics, economics, all seem to be going great.

And in the midst of this, the king dies.

The king dies, but the real king still lives and speaks.

So let's read together Isaiah chapter 6.

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up.

And the train of his robe filled the temple.

Above him stood the seraphim.

Each had six wings.

With two he covered his face.

And with two he covered his feet.

And with two he flew.

And one called to another and said,

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of his glory.

And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called.

And the house was filled with smoke.

And I said, woe is me, for I am lost.

For I am a man of unclean lips.

And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.

For my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

And he touched my mouth and said, behold, this has touched your lips.

Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us?

Then I said, here am I, send me.

And he said, go and say to this people, keep on hearing, but do not understand.

Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.

Make the heart of this people dull and their eyes heavy.

And blind their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears.

And understand with their hearts and turn and be healed.

Then I said, how long, O Lord?

And he said, until cities lie waste without inhabitant and houses without people.

And the land is a desolate waste.

And the Lord removes people far away.

And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again,

like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.

The holy seed is its stump.

Amen.

And may God add his own blessing to this reading from his word.

We're not going to sing again.

We're going to sing from the Scottish Psalter, Psalm number 93.

Psalm 93.

And we'll sing to the tune of Stroudwater.

You'll find this on page 354, near the back of our psalm books.

The Lord doth reign, and clothed is he with majesty most bright.

His works do show him clothed to be, and girt about with might.

Let's join our voices together to sing to God's praise.

The Lord doth reign, and clothed is he with majesty most bright.

His works do show him clothed to be, and girt about with might.

The Lord doth is all so stabbing shed,

But yet can not depart.

Thy throne is fixed, of old and found,

From everlasting heart.

The bloods, O Lord, have lifted up,

They lifted up their voice,

The bloods have lifted up their rays,

And made a mighty noise,

But if the Lord that is on high, is more of might by fire,

a noise of many waters is our great sea willow's eye.

Thy grace to glory, everyone, in faithfulness excel,

and holiness forevermore thy hearts become a thrill.

Whenever I get a chance to visit London,

one of the places that I always go is the British Museum.

A few years ago they had an exhibition, and it was entitled,

Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria, King of the World.

Now in the 7th century BC, the Assyrian Empire was a big deal.

And within the Assyrian Empire, Ashurbanipal was a big deal.

I don't know about you, but I can go months without thinking about the Assyrian Empire,

and years can pass without giving much attention to the emperor, the king, Ashurbanipal.

It reminds us, even as a historian, we forget these great figures of the past.

Empires rise and fall.

Kings come and go.

Presidents and prime ministers fade in the memory.

We encounter in Isaiah 6 something different by far.

Someone different by far.

This is no ordinary king.

This is no ordinary empire.

This is no ordinary encounter.

And as we see in Isaiah 6, and in a few moments hopefully we'll look into Matthew's gospel,

into the New Testament,

I think we are reminded of something profound here.

That whatever our vision and understanding of God is,

whatever our apprehension,

by definition, your view, your God, my God, is far too small.

The God who is, is far greater than any estimation, than any evaluation.

Whatever picture we have in our minds,

whatever ideas we have in our hearts,

is far too small.

There was in the 1950s, a short book was published,

which was entitled,

Your God is Too Small by J.B. Phillips.

And he began that book with this quote,

We can hardly expect to escape a sense of futility and frustration

until we begin to see what he is like and his purposes are.

God will inevitably appear to disappoint the man who is attempting to use him as a convenience,

a prop, or a comfort for his own plans.

God has never been known to disappoint the man who is sincerely wanting to cooperate with his own purposes.

God is great.

God is great.

God is big.

He's far bigger, far greater, far more powerful than we can ever imagine.

Isaiah encounters the living God in the temple.

As he goes, he sees something that is beyond his comprehension.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up,

and the train of his robe filled the temple.

You see, our God is great.

Great in power.

Great in authority.

Great in majesty.

Great in glory.

Great in holiness.

Great in his plans and his purposes.

Our great God appears to us here on the pages of scripture to bring a sense of awe and wonder.

You see, we're told that when Isaiah went to the temple, that the Lord didn't fill the temple.

It wasn't the robe of the Lord that filled the temple, but it was the train,

or in the other translations you have the word hem.

You know what a hem is if you have a pair of trousers or a dress.

The hem is just the very bottom of the trouser leg, the very bottom of the dress.

It's just a small piece of fabric that just brings the piece of cloth to an end.

It's quite insignificant.

And Isaiah is saying, I saw the Lord, and the very hem of his robe filled the temple.

Which means that our God is so great, so big, that even the hem fills this magnificent building of the temple.

And he went on to describe how great our God is.

That he is a God who is great in holiness, a God who is great in glory, and a God who is great in redemption.

We encounter the seraphim, and if you're interested in angels, the only place in the Bible that we read of the seraphim is here.

These angelic servants who are attending God and who are singing this chorus of praise only appear here in scripture.

The angels serve.

They are messengers.

They are servants.

They exist to do the bidding of God.

And here they are telling us, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of his glory.

Now the Lord of hosts is one of many descriptions.

And notice that it's the personal name of God, L-O-R-D in capital letters.

Hosts can refer to the heavenly bodies, the stars and the moon and the sun.

But most likely what's emphasized here is that the hosts refer to the angelic army.

And that God is the commander-in-chief of the armies of heaven.

He has the authority to call the angels to do his work, to prosecute his plans, and to achieve his purposes.

So what do we have here?

We have a God who is all-powerful, who has all resources, who accomplishes and achieves whatever he plans and purposes.

This is our great God who we encounter today.

We encounter him, yes, on the pages of scripture, but we can encounter him personally and powerfully.

And when we encounter this God as he is, he never disappoints.

He never discourages.

He never lets us down.

He's far greater than we ever imagined that he could be.

One of the great writers in the history of the church back in the 1700s was a man called John Owen.

John Owen was a man with a big brain.

He wrote many volumes of theology.

But he admitted, he said, we speak much of God.

The truth is we know very little of him.

We know so little of God because it is God thus to be known.

One of the great theological minds said, actually, we know so little.

God is so great and our knowledge is so small.

But what we know fills our hearts with wonder, with awe, and with expectation.

So this great God who is the commander-in-chief of the angelic armies, what he says they do,

we're told that he is great in holiness.

He is set apart from this world.

He is distinct from this world.

He is distinct from the ways of this world.

He is completely set apart.

And if we are one of his people, we likewise are set apart.

A holy God and a holy people go together.

Distinct and separate.

Separate from the ways of this world.

Separate from the standards of this world.

Separate from the spirit of this age.

This holy God.

And whenever the Bible repeats something, it repeats something for emphasis.

It's like how you might, if you're studying and you're reading your textbook and you come across a passage,

you might highlight it.

You might underline it.

You might put a post-it note.

Why?

Because this is important to remember.

And when God, in his word, repeats, holy, holy, holy, this God is set apart from this world.

He's the creator.

We're the creature.

He is high and exalted and we are low and humble.

But notice that not only is he a holy God, but that this God is glorious.

This world that he has created is filled with his glory.

Now, in the Bible, this word glory means a heaviness or a weightiness.

That our God is substantial.

He's significant.

He's not light.

He's not ephemeral.

But he is substantial and significant.

The holy God.

The glory of God.

And then almost immediately we see that this holy and glorious God is a God on a mission.

And a God who has come to achieve something remarkable.

Because the holy God and the God whose glory fills the whole earth is the God who is involved in redeeming a people.

This word redemption is a theme that goes through the whole scripture.

The idea of redemption is payment of a price to set someone free.

The Lord Jesus put it so succinctly.

He said, whoever sins is a slave to sin.

Sin and slavery go together.

That's not how the serpent sold it in Genesis 3.

The serpent sold sin as sin brings freedom, but it never does.

The world sells sin.

Sin brings satisfaction and happiness.

It never does.

Our flesh will try to convince us that sin brings some form of fulfillment or joy, but it never does.

Sin always brings slavery.

But Jesus went on to say, of course,

But if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Sin and slavery, Son and freedom.

And throughout the scriptures, the children of Israel and Egypt, we hear, after the coming of Jesus, exile, captivity, bondage, slavery,

our God is a redeeming God who pays a price to set his people free.

Because the immediate reaction of Isaiah, it's not so much of awe and wonder, but of woe and dread and fear.

The foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

I lived in Japan for two years, and I remember one morning waking up, and the whole house was shaking.

And I thought, boy, it seems like a train.

It must be rumbling right past the house.

It's shaking the house.

I didn't know the train line was so close.

It wasn't a train.

It was an earthquake.

And you kind of felt like you were on the open sea, but you were in a building.

You were on land.

I can't explain the feeling, but you just, it was, once you realized what was happening, it was terrifying.

You know, this idea, everything is now shaking.

Everything was shaking in the temple.

And you could understand that Isaiah was petrified.

He was terrified.

What's happening here?

And notice his reaction.

And I said, woe is me.

I'm in trouble here.

You see, when we encounter God as he is, not as we imagine him to be, not as we hope that he might be,

but as we encounter the God who is holy and glorious and majestic and large,

the natural reaction is, I'm in trouble.

We're in trouble.

And he says exactly that.

I'm a man of sinful lips.

And I live among a people of sinful lips.

So what Isaiah is saying, I am in trouble and we are in trouble.

The God who creates and the God who is glorified and the God who is holy, he encounters us.

And when he encounters us, we now see ourselves in his light.

We now see ourselves in his truth.

And we realize that we are not right.

He's holy, but we aren't.

He's righteous, but we aren't.

He's pure, but we are not.

Woe is me.

I'm in trouble here.

And notice what happens.

Just very succinctly.

One of the seraphim, remember they're singing that angelic chorus, breaks off, as it were,

and flew with a burning coal in his hand to Isaiah.

He had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth and said, behold, this has touched your lips.

Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.

The movement, the direction of travel here is essential.

The problem is Isaiah.

Isaiah.

The problem is the people.

But the solution is God's.

You see, I'm very much, as I now teach, I teach at ETS, and I preach occasionally on Sundays.

And I'm very much aware that you have to not only be content that what you're saying is correct, and that's very important,

but you have to ask yourself as a teacher or as a preacher, what am I saying and how am I being heard?

Because very often I find that when I preach or teach, that people hear things that I'm not saying.

And the reason why we hear things that the preacher isn't saying is because we have these thoughts already in our minds.

We have these deep-grained thoughts in our minds.

And one of those thoughts is, I need to try harder.

I need to do better.

I need to fill in the blank.

I need to read the Bible a bit more.

I need to pray more regularly.

I need to be a better husband.

I need to be a better parent.

I need to.

And you see, so often those thoughts are in our minds.

So even when the Bible says something differently or the preacher says something differently,

we just repeat what we know, what we think we know to be true.

But we see here in very vivid picture language,

the problem is ours, but the solution is God's.

Isaiah isn't able to fix the problem.

The only thing that Isaiah can do is identify the problem.

We can identify our problem, but we can't fix it.

God fixes it.

God provides an answer to our problems.

God fixes what we have broken.

God solves what we cannot solve.

So I want you to see it.

Even if we find it difficult to believe, see the image here.

The angel takes the coal from the altar.

The solution goes from God to the people.

And God provides a way that sin is atoned for, that guilt is taken away.

Guilt and sin go together.

Guilt and shame go together.

The first thing that happened when our first parents sinned was they felt shame.

They felt shame because they were guilty.

They disobeyed a clear command.

They were told sin will bring freedom.

Sin brought guilt and shame and separation.

But the gospel undoes the fall.

The gospel unravels this consequence of sin so that no longer is there guilt, no longer is there shame, no longer is there separation,

but rather a sinful person, a sinful people have now been reconciled to God by God.

It's remarkable.

The God who is so great that the very hem of his garment fills the temple.

The God who is so great in holiness that his holiness and glory fill the whole earth.

And the God who looks down in mercy and takes the initiative to solve that great problem of human sin,

of human guilt, of human separation, of human despair.

This is our God.

This is God in his glory.

This is God in his greatness.

And Isaiah introduces us to this magnificent God.

In the 19th century, God raised up some remarkable characters.

He raised up people that went to the ends of the earth with the gospel, like Hudson Taylor went to China.

He raised up pulpit ministries like C.H. Spurgeon in London,

where he preached to 6,000 people every Sunday morning, every Sunday evening.

There were stories told where the Metropolitan Tabernacle was filled,

and that there were queues outside the door to come in.

Spurgeon said to the congregation,

Can I please ask every converted person here to leave,

so that your seat might be filled with those who are not yet Christians?

That's remarkable.

A remarkable, a 6,000 seat venue was so full that the preacher said,

Can I ask those who are already Christians to leave,

because there are people outside who are not yet Christians who want to come in?

And the third character that strikes me is D.L. Moody, the American evangelist.

He had a fourth grade education.

That means at age 10, he left school.

He wasn't well educated, but he was eager to learn.

And if you're eager to learn, and you're converted by Christ, watch out.

Because this man, without a formal education, became a powerful preacher of the gospel.

He described the gospel in these three, you see,

he describes the simple message of the gospel in simple terms.

He said, The gospel is three R's.

One, we are ruined, ruined by the fall.

Two, we are redeemed, we are redeemed by the blood.

And three, we are regenerated by the spirit.

Sin brings ruin.

But the gospel brings redemption, brings regeneration.

And this young man, D.L. Moody, for the next 40 years of his life,

he preached Jesus to 100 million people in person.

Not educated, not refined, but he had a passion in the gospel,

and he had a vision of how great God was, and how great God is.

So God redeems, and God restores, and God renews.

That's the gospel of Jesus.

And what we find in Isaiah chapter 6,

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

we find that there's a vivid link between Isaiah 6 and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, the link we see is in Isaiah itself.

You'll notice in the first verse we're told,

I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up.

If you move forward in Isaiah to Isaiah chapter 52 and verse 13,

Isaiah 52 · chapter mention

the final of the four servant songs,

Isaiah 42, Isaiah 49, Isaiah 50, and Isaiah 52, 53,

the introduction to the final servant song begins this way.

Behold, my servant shall act wisely.

He shall be high and lifted up and shall be exalted.

The same words that introduce the vision of Isaiah in chapter 6

are the same words that introduce this final song of the servant in 52 and 53.

This same servant who will be crushed.

This same servant who will be bruised.

This same servant who will be pierced.

Pierced for our transgression, bruised for our iniquities.

The chastisement of our peace is upon him,

and by his stripes we are healed.

So the God who is high and lifted up in that vision in the temple,

and the suffering servant who is high and lifted up,

but lifted up not on a throne but on a cross,

lifted up not to public adoration but to public ridicule and scorn.

And we see this vital link between the vision of Isaiah 6

and the suffering servant of Isaiah 52.

And we are reminded that we have an exalted and a risen and an honored Jesus,

that he is high, that he is lifted up,

that he is powerful, that he is holy,

that he is glorious, that he is able.

You see, what is seen in picture language in Isaiah 6

is now seen in personal language in Isaiah 52 and 53.

The coal taken from the altar,

the atonement for sin,

the taking away of guilt,

is now found in a person.

And that person is Jesus.

He is the means by which God redeems

and restores and rescues and renews.

So as you read Isaiah 6,

you have to read Isaiah 6 along with Isaiah 52 and 53.

But I'd like to notice one final connection.

And you'll notice on the order of service

that the text was from Matthew chapter 9.

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

Let me just read a few verses from Matthew 9,

from verse 18 to 26.

While he was saying these things to them,

behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him saying,

my daughter has just died,

but come and lay your hand on her and she will live.

Jesus rose and followed him with his disciples.

And behold, a woman who had suffered

from a discharge of blood for 12 years

came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment.

For she said to herself,

if I only touch his garment, I will be made well.

Jesus turned and seeing her, he said,

take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well.

And instantly the woman was made well.

And when Jesus came to the ruler's house

and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion,

he said, go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.

And they laughed at him.

But when the crowd had been put outside,

he went in and took the girl,

took her by the hand and the girl arose.

And the report of this went through all that district.

I was struck in Isaiah chapter 6

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

by this vision of the hem of the robe filling the temple.

How great God is.

And I was struck in Matthew chapter 9

Matthew 9 · chapter mention

by this woman who had suffered for so many years

that she had the faith simply to touch the hem of the garment of Jesus,

just the fringe of his robe.

She somehow felt, she somehow knew,

she somehow was confident that if she just touched

the very edge of his garment,

that she could be made whole.

This is how great Jesus is.

This is how powerful he is.

You see, becoming a follower of Jesus

is not the measure of your confidence in him.

Many of us, myself included,

our faith is variable.

Sometimes it's weak.

Sometimes it's strong.

Sometimes we can be overwhelmed with doubts.

We can be uncertain.

We can be confused.

So you see, for me,

being a follower of Jesus

is not the strength of my faith,

not the strength of my commitment,

not the depth of my understanding.

But my identity as a follower of Jesus

is based upon the strength of his commitment,

based upon the strength of his power,

based upon who he is and what he can do.

Because this woman touches the very fringe,

and she's made whole.

How is that possible?

How can just a simple touch

heal one who had suffered for so long?

How can a simple act of faith

transform the human heart,

change the human mind,

change the very direction?

I don't know how that's possible,

but I know it is possible.

I don't know how he does it.

But just as this woman who reached out in faith,

because that's the key,

Jesus identified her faith.

She had enough faith to touch the hem.

She had enough knowledge to reach out.

So this morning,

it's not how much you know.

It's not how strong your faith is,

but who is the object of your faith?

Where do you find your confidence lying?

Is your confidence in yourself,

how much you understand,

how much you've been able to do,

or is your confidence in the one

who can make you whole,

who can make you clean,

who can fix what you have broken,

who can restore what you have lost?

Even if your faith is so small like the woman's,

and you feel like I can just barely touch

the hem of his garment.

The moment she touched,

she was made whole.

And when we reach out in faith to Jesus,

with the weakest,

with the most limited understanding,

watch what he can do.

Watch his power,

his authority,

his capacity,

his ability.

And I want you to know

that we have a strong savior this morning.

Our faith might be weak,

but his power is strong.

Our commitment might be variable,

but his commitment is persistent,

personal,

and he will bring his people home.

He has the ability not only to forgive us,

but he has the ability

to strengthen us along the way,

and to make sure that not one of us is lost.

I mentioned the connection between Isaiah 6

and Isaiah 52.

In each of the four gospels,

the commissioning of Isaiah 6 is mentioned

at one point or another.

In each of the four gospels,

the final servant song of Isaiah is quoted.

And I think what we are told there

is that the vision of the exalted Lord

in the temple

and the vision of the suffering servant

is found nowhere else

than in the person and the work

of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew wants us to know that.

Mark wants us to realize.

Luke wants us to know.

And John wants to make it crystal clear

that the Lord who is high and exalted

is the same Jesus

who is lifted upon the cross

so that all men, women, boys, girls

might see, might perceive,

and might respond to him.

Our God is so great.

Our gospel is so great

because our Savior is so great.

He's great in power.

He's great in authority.

He's great in love.

He's great in mercy.

And even if you feel,

I can but touch that hem of his garment.

My faith is so weak.

My life is so inconsistent.

And yet, if your faith rests upon him,

he is consistent.

He is powerful.

He is committed.

If you like music,

if you like classical music,

one of my favorite pieces

is the Hallelujah Chorus.

And the Hallelujah Chorus,

one of the great verses

that is quoted from Revelation,

says,

The kingdom of this world

has become

the kingdom of our Lord

and of his Christ.

And he shall reign forever and ever.

All the ancient emperors,

all the ancient kings

have faded into obscurity.

But our king,

our Lord,

lives and rules and reigns today.

He will reign forever and ever.

He is king of kings.

He is lord of lords.

He is all-powerful.

He is all-present.

He is all-merciful.

He is all-loving.

So how big is your God?

How big is your Savior?

Is he big enough

to take your sin away?

Is he powerful enough

to renew your heart?

The Bible says yes.

He's big enough.

He's powerful enough.

He's gracious enough.

He's able and he's willing.

I've worked for many years,

as Murdo said.

I've been in and out of prison

for the last 25 years.

I remember one.

We used to have young offenders

under 21s at Edinburgh Prison.

And I remember this boy.

I mean, he must have been.

He was 16,

but he looked like he was 12.

You know,

came up to hear on me.

And one of the jobs that we,

one of our responsibilities

as chaplains

is to introduce ourselves

to new admissions.

And you could tell

this guy had never been

in jail before.

He just was stunned.

And I introduced myself

and I said,

I'm one of the chaplains.

Is there anything

I can do to help you?

And he said,

yes, there is.

Can you take me home?

And I said,

I can't do that.

You see,

I wanted to help him,

but there was so,

but I couldn't do that.

I couldn't say,

right,

well,

I'll just take you back

to your house.

I'll just take you back

to your mom,

take you back

to your family.

But I couldn't do that.

You see,

we have in Jesus

a Savior who is willing

to help

and able to help.

He has all power,

all authority,

all wisdom,

and all grace,

and he's willing

to help you.

He's willing to forgive

and able to forgive.

He's willing to transform.

He's able to transform.

That's how great he is

and that's how good he is.

I mentioned

that quotation

from J.B. Phillips,

and I'm reminded

of,

at the end of that book,

he put it this way.

He said,

many people

have a vague,

childish affection

for a half-remembered Jesus,

but they've never used

their adult critical faculties

on this matter at all.

They hardly seem

to the paramount importance

of his claim to be God.

Yet if for one moment

we imagine the claim

to be true,

the mind almost reels

at its significance.

The Jesus who walked

past this woman

and she reached out

and touched,

he is God in the flesh

with all authority,

with all power,

with all honor,

with all glory,

with all holiness.

God has come down.

He's come down

on a mission.

He's come to seek.

He's come to save.

He's come to bring us

so that we might go

from where we are

to where he is.

your God

is too small

and so is mine.

Your Savior

is too small

and so is mine.

But we encounter

a great Savior

with great power,

with great affection,

with great capacity.

And even though

our faith

is so small,

when you have

a small faith

in a great Savior,

watch out.

Watch out for what

he can do in your life.

Watch out for what

he can do

through your life.

Watch out for what

he can do

in the life

of this congregation,

in the life

of this town,

because he is that big.

He is that great.

He is that gracious.

And he is that merciful.

I saw the Lord

high and lifted up

and the hem

of his robe

filled the temple.

Let's pray.

Father in heaven,

I thank you

for each one of us

gathered here.

Lord,

we recognize

that we are weak.

We recognize

that we have sinned.

We recognize

that we are

a people

of unclean lips

and that we are

in desperate need

of your grace,

of your strength,

of your wisdom.

Father,

we come to you

in humility,

but we come

to the one

who is high

and exalted.

We come to you

in weakness,

but we come

to the one

who is strong.

And I pray

that you might give

to us that faith

of that woman

who had suffered

so long.

one day,

the same as the next,

one month,

one year,

time after time.

And for many of us,

life is hard.

Help us to reach out

in faith to Jesus.

And for those of us

who have been

walking the path,

remind us

that we need him

as much today

as we ever have.

We continue

to need his grace.

We continue

to need his strength.

We continue

to need his love.

We continue

to need his mercy.

But we thank you

that we have

a Savior

who is great

in power,

great in love,

who is both able

and willing.

And our prayer

is in the name

of Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, we're going

to sing our final

item of praise,

which is Psalm 124.

That's from

the Sing Psalms version.

And we're going

to sing to the tune

Old 124th.

So Psalm 124.

we'll sing

these words

to God's praise.

If God the Lord

had not been

on our side,

let Israel say,

had not the Lord

been near

when foes attacked us,

filling us

with fear.

Let's join our voices

in God's praise.

Please.

When the wrath against us reached its height,

Our ivory had been swallowed in their spite.

We would have been enveloped by the flood,

O malarettes and torrents would have gone,

The waters would have carried us along,

But praise the Lord, for he has set us free,

And has long left us to their cruelty.

We have escaped just as our captured bird,

Out of the flowers met us being set free.

The snare is come, we are of liberty,

Our help is in the name of God the Lord,

To reveal the earth and heavens by this word.

Let us pray.

And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

The love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,

Rest upon, abide with us this day and forevermore.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.