His Holy Presence

 A. W. Pink wrote:
"The god of this century no more resembles the Sovereign of Holy Writ than does the dim flickering of a candle the glory of the midday sun. The god who is talked about in the average pulpit, spoken of in the ordinary Sunday school, mentioned in much of the religious literature of the day, and preached in most of the so-called Bible conferences, is a figment of human imagination, an invention of maudlin sentimentality. The heathen outside the pale of Christendom form gods of wood and stone, while millions of heathen inside Christendom manufacture a god out of their carnal minds."
 
We don’t need to develop in our minds an idea of what God is like we need to go to the scriptures and let God show us who He is. This morning I want us to look at an example in the Bible of a prophet who saw God. I want us to look at the presence of God and the powerful results of His presence. You see in our world today we think we can see God and nothing happen. We think we can usher in the all mighty presence of Jesus Christ and walk away the same as we walked in. This is not how it happened in the Bible and this is not how it is today when we really sit at the feet of the Most High God and see Him as He is. Jesus Christ is a life changer; He exposes the truth and sets the captives free. He is powerful and mighty, His love cannot be equaled, His protection is sufficient and His hand is true. He will forever change a man when a man truly sees Him, even a glimpse is enough to transform a mean, stubborn, self-centered man into a loving preacher man ready to shout His glory from the roof-tops and proclaim His gospel daily. I know this because I am that man. Jesus has transformed me, and this morning He is ready to transform you. He is ready to adopt you into His family and love you like you have never been loved. If you already know Him, then He is ready to mold you and shape you; He is ready to develop you. Jesus Christ is ready to touchdown in His house today and provide life. Are you ready to receive the blessing? Are you ready to surrender? Are you ready to see Jesus? May you empty yourself today of all the world throws at you. May you allow God total control of your life this morning. He is all He proclaims to be and He will do all He proclaims to do. 
 
Isaiah 6:1-8
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:
    “ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
      The whole earth is full of His glory!”
 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said: “ Woe is me, for I am undone! Because 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.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “ Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” 8 Also 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.”
 
Let us examine four aspects of God’s presence:
 
I. God’s presence comes with CERTAINTY.

1. The Lord was sitting on the throne. v1
2. The throne was high and lifted up. v1
3. The train of His robe filled the temple. v1
4. Seraphim cried out Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. v3
5. The doorposts shook. v4
6. Smoke filled the room. v4

 
This is the throne of God, let me say it again this is the throne of God. His robe filled the temple, doorposts shook, and smoke filled the room.  Seraphim cried Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. It sounds more like a Third Day concert than typical Sunday morning worship service. But do not mistake the most important part of this scripture; there was a presence in this throne room. The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ was present.   There is no doubt Jesus has a mighty presence. It is something we can’t explain, but it is something when experienced leaves no doubt. The presence of God is unmistakable. There is no recipe, there is no order of worship, there are no rituals to follow to ensure the presence of God; it simply takes a heart of worship, a surrendered soul, and then a whole lot shaking starts going on. Mitchell testifies of a time he watched the presence of God overwhelm a young lady at an FCA camp. Mitchell was a leader at the camp and at the evening praise and worship service the presence of the Lord began to fall down in the auditorium and the young people were in a massive state of worship. Mitchell said, ‘He noticed this young girl sitting down and just crying out to Jesus.” He said, ‘the worship service had lasted a couple of hours, but it certainly didn’t seem like it.’ The young girl was lifting her hands and just crying out to the Lord. He never was able to speak to her that night but the next day she was in his group. What Mitchell discovered the next day floored him. The young lady was completely deaf. The night before she experienced the almighty move of God without hearing a single note, she didn’t hear the speaker, there were no interpreters at the praise and worship service, except for Jesus Christ and He was all the young lady needed. God’s presence is overwhelming and powerful. You see the throne room was like that with Isaiah. The presence of the Lord was unmistakable and Isaiah saw the Lord. When Isaiah saw the Lord, immediately He saw himself. You see the presence of the Lord places a mirror in front of us that leads to conviction.
 
II. God’s presence comes with CONVICTION.

1. Isaiah saw his own condition. So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips,” v5
2. Isaiah saw the condition of his environment. v5

 And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
 
When we experience the presence of God almighty first we must understand there is no mistaking the presence.  Additionally, it is impossible to appear or act large and in charge in the presence of God. Humility is immediate. We know and understand just how small we are in His presence and we also understand how big He is. Problems fade away, issues dissolve and He becomes the focus. John fell on his knees in Revelation 1 when he saw God and he further declares that he fell as if dead. When we find ourselves in the presence of God almighty we see ourselves as the wretched souls that we are. We also see the world for what it is. Isaiah said he was a man of unclean lips and that he dwelled in the midst of people of unclean lips. You see Isaiah was brought into the presence of God and He came face to face with his condition and the condition of the world. We have become so tolerable of things as Christians because we no longer find ourselves in the presence of Jesus Christ. We are a people that no longer yearn for the altar, for a place we go to meet with the Lord. Most of our homes don’t have an altar. Many of our churches have service after service with none of God’s people at the altar. The altar is a place we can come and see Jesus. When we see Jesus, we then see ourselves. We should embrace the presence of Jesus and the mirror it brings because it ushers in the cleansing power of Jesus Christ. Please look at what happened to Isaiah after he looked into the mirror. He was cleansed.
 
III.  God’s presence comes with CLEANSING.

1. 1. The altar is sometimes scary. v6-7                                                   
   2. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, …
   3. The altar provides freedom. v7

                     …Your iniquity is taken away
                     The altar is purifying. v7…And your sin purged.
            4.  The purification is laser guided. v7
                     …Behold, this has touched your lips;
 
When we are drawn by the almighty presence of God to a purifying altar, it is many times scary. Think about Isaiah, here comes a seraphim with a hot coal that he has taken from the altar and he is going to place it on his lips. That would scare me to death. But we must understand that even though it is painful, the result is worth it. It is worth it because the scripture says in verse 7 your iniquity is taken away. At the altar, we find freedom. At the altar, we find purification. This purification is exactly what we need. It is laser guided. Please note that Isaiah said he was a man of unclean lips and the coal was placed on his lips. God’s purification is perfect and it is precise. We must understand that God purifies us for a reason. He cleanses us so He can send us out. We must be willing to go, we must surrender all.
 
IV.  God’s presence comes with a CHARGE.
​     1. We must make ourselves available to Jesus, if we are to be used by Jesus.  
         v8Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send, And who  
         will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here I am!...”
     2. We must be willing to go where God sends us. v8  
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In closing let me say finding the presence of Jesus requires you to deny yourself and surrender your heart to the pursuit. It will be at times scary, at times painful, but always rewarding. Jesus will show you who you are and provide the means to reconciliation. You can know Him and experience His love, but that will be up to you. He is here; He is waiting. If you are here today and you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then today, this moment is the moment of salvation and Jesus will set you free. If you know Jesus, but you haven’t been in His presence for so long, please come to this altar and experience His presence. Allow Him to purify you and then to send you out. Please don’t hesitate. If you would like me to pray for you and with you I would be honored. You come now and grab my hand and we will go to the Lord in prayer. If you just need to be alone with Jesus come and pour your heart out to Him, come and see His almighty presence. 

Today: 

1. How do you know when you meet with God?
2. How do you know you He is speaking to you?
3. How do you know He hears you?
4. Discuss an encounter with Jesus that you can identify with point I. God's presence comes with certainty.