Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

This week the Holy Spirit is leading up to explore the theme of Holy.

Today let’s testify about the Lord Almighty being Holy!

In today’s scripture, Isaiah 6:1-3 (NIV) the Prophet Isaiah testified…
[1] In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. [2] Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. [3] And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Consider…
I am struggling with the meaning of Holy as it pertains to God. So I asked Google what does it mean to say God is Holy.

I found one response from the Lifeway Gospel Project, which says…
The Hebrew word for “holy” literally means “separate” or “set apart.” This is helpful for us because it means, at least in part, that when we’re talking about God’s holiness, we’re talking about His absolute purity. He is unstained by sin and evil. He is perfect in every way, and perfectly good all the time.

I also read Rev Tom Brown of Covenant Grace, three word definition of God’s Holiness…

• God is SEPARATE, which means is unlike us; He is unique to Himself; He is in a category of His own.
• God is TRANSCENDENT, which means every individual aspect of God is so uniquely glorious that it cannot be fully measured or comprehended. He is beyond the limits and borders of every other thing; He is greater in every way than all else.
• God is PURE, which means every aspect of God’s being is altogether faultless, proper, and impeccable.
  
Reading these two Google search results help me understand why I struggle with the word Holy as it pertains to God. My struggle is trying to to find finite words that capture the essence of an indescribable God!

Artist Chris Tomlin expressed my thoughts of a Holy God…

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creations revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky
And You know them by name
You are amazing, God
All powerful, untameable
Awestruck, we fall to our knees
As we humbly proclaim
You are amazing, God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go?
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light?
Yet, conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable
You placed the stars in the sky
And You know them by name
You are amazing, God
All powerful, untameable
Awestruck, we fall to our knees
As we humbly proclaim
You are amazing, God
You are amazing, God

I think the Prophet Isaiah in today’s scripture is letting us know that there are no earthly words that adequately describe God, thus He HEARD Heavenly Angels say HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the Lord Almighty!

Allow me to marinate in that for a moment. The scripture says these Angels covered their faces and feet, and flew around saying HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the Lord Almighty! This suggests to me that God is so magnificent that it’s impossible to…

• stand in His presence
• look into His presence
• experience the fullness of His presence

This reminds me of Moses’ experience in Exodus 33:18-23 (NLT), which reads…
[18] Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.” [19] The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. [20] But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.” [21] The Lord continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock. [22] As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. [23] Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.”

I hear the hymn…

Holy, holy, holy!
Though the darkness hide Thee
Though the eye of sinful man
Thy glory may not see
Only Thou art holy
There is none beside Thee
Perfect in power, in love and purity

God told Mosses, “no one may see me and live”, and the hymn verse says the eye of sinful man cannot see God’s glory. Yet, a couple verses after today’s focus scripture, Isaiah says He saw the Lord. Isaiah 6:5 (NLT) testifies…
[5] Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Isaiah’s initial response reveals, being in the presence of a Holy God should shine a light on just how sinful we are. Jesus said that’s why some people avoid Him. He said in John 3:19-21 (NLT)…
[19] And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. [20] All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.
[21] But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

This makes me also see God’s Holiness as a brilliant revealing light where darkness cannot exist. Thus, it’s understandable that Isaiah would fear for his life after seeing the Lord. Yet, we see God’s mercy, in that Isaiah didn’t die. And even more amazing, we see God’s grace. Isaiah 6:6-7 (NLT) said…
[6] Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. [7] He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

Notice, God didn’t remove Isaiah from His presence, rather He fixed him so that he could remain. This should sound familiar, because that’s what Jesus did for us. Romans 3:22-24 (NLT) explains…
[22] We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. [23] For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. [24] Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

Reading Paul’s words also reveals God’s Holiness is the highest standard. This means He is who we should measure ourselves against. Yet, like God did with Isaiah, rather than remove us from His presence for falling short of His glorious standard, He extended grace to make us right in His sight, through Jesus Christ.

Don’t miss the fact that a Holy God made an unholy you and me right with Him. God didn’t, and doesn’t, change His Holy standard, He just removed our guilt and forgave our sins through Christ.

Ephesians 2:3-5 (NLT) emphasizes…
[3] All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. [4] But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, [5] that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

The Holy Spirit is emphasizing God is perfectly Holy and He doesn’t need to, nor will He change for us. Instead, He is changing us to be Holy like Him. Thus why 1 Peter 2:9 (NLT) declares…
[9] But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

I am being led to close with 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NLT) which prays….
[23] Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

The main message today is to recognize that God is Holy! And we are sinners saved by His grace, which will allow us to see His face and live.

Today’s Song is…
Holy Is The Lord

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)