SERMON: HOLY COMMUNION
CONTEXT/INTRODUCTION: Isa 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. (Look Up) 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. (Fly) 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.(Yell!) 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. (Stumble & Cough) 5 Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. (Fall Hard) 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: (Hiss) 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. (Ouch!/Tremble&Relief) TRANSITIONAL-STATEMENT: We must be ever aware of our true state before a Holy God. Then will we truly evaluate ourselves and appreciate the honor of Communion. For an important way of knowing Christ deeply is understanding His holiness! 1.GOD’S-HOLINESS: Of all the attributes of God . . . holiness is the one that seems to take center stage. Most of you know that in the Hebrew language to repeat a word is to emphasize it. For example if you said a stone was big it would mean one thing. If you said the stone was big big . . . you would mean it was a really big stone. If it was big, big, big, it would mean that it was a gigantic boulder. In Isaiah 6 and in Revelation 4 the angels declare that God is "holy, holy, holy". This is the only attribute of God that is emphasized in this way. God is never called "Love, love, love," or "mercy, mercy, mercy". Isaiah has a vision. And there are several things that happen in this vision. The first thing we notice is His greatness. Read Isaiah 6:1-4 again. Notice the details of Isaiah’s vision: God was on the throne. Uzziah may have died, but God was still on the throne. The throne was high and exalted which means that it is greater and exceeded all other thrones. The train (just the train) of His robe filled the temple. I don’t know why it is but when a bride walks down an aisle her dress often has a long "train". Some of you remember the wedding of Diana and Prince Charles. Diana’s train was so long that there were people there to carry the train of her dress! Why? It is a symbol of royalty. The train of God filled the entire temple! His royalty far surpasses anything we have known or can imagine. At his side were angels. Their job was to give glory to the Lord. We know that these angels were beings that were without sin. They were pure, yet, with their six wings they cover their face and feet. True worship only begins when we stop and gasp at the wonder, power, and otherness of God. Worship begins when we catch of glimpse of holiness. Thats why a worship needs some form of praise to start with. God says He dwells in the praises of His people”. Not in our worship. Our worship is us being transported to dwell with Him!! God enters praise, we enter Worship. If you have forgotten what there is to praise God about, how about something simple and always fitting - God’s holiness! True, we worship His holiness, but the other side of holiness, is the mystery that we are able to live through it!! Eph 2:12 That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. We should be destroyed, yet His mercy, which is here “But now” and it should bring us a great shout of praise! AMEN!!? The symbols of the angels creatureliness are covered in the presence of the magnificent God! We make a mistake when we imagine that God’s goodness is simply higher than that of the best human. It is in a class all of it’s own. Even the best people are flawed people! God’s purity makes the sinless angel’s blush and seek cover. The angels praise the Lord with the "three times holy". They declare that He is supremely holy. The shaking of the doorposts simply adds to the sense of awesomeness and power. Mt 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. These images are designed to point us to a majesty in God that should provoke reverence and awe. As alsways without Jesus our fear would come to pass, and He would destroy us! If this seems unfair, or makes no sense then you do not understand holiness at all. This mystery of surviving this holiness is what we want to celebrate this Communion Sunday! Ro 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 (we’re)Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Will you become undone? Will you fall down in humility? Do you understand the gap that should exsist between you and your creator? Will you live your life in daily evaluation? 2.GOD’S-PROVISION: Once Isaiah realizes his sin, notice what happens, Read Isaiah 6:5-7 again. The word “atonemennt”does not occur in the Authorized Version of the New Testament except in Rom. 5:11, where in the Revised Version the word "reconciliation" is used. In the Old Testament it is of frequent occurrence. The meaning of the word is simply at-one-ment, i.e., the state of being at one or being reconciled, so that atonement is reconciliation. Thus it is used to denote the effect which flows from the death of Christ. But the word is also used to denote that by which this reconciliation is brought about, viz., the death of Christ itself; and when so used it means satisfaction, and in this sense to make an atonement for one is to make satisfaction for his offences, and, as regards the person, to reconcile, to propitiate God in his behalf. We read about this burning coal and we are prone to say, "Ouch!" The angel takes a hot coal and touched it to Isaiah’s mouth. Why? He cauterizes the sin. Perhaps you have been to the Doctor and had something cauterized. Cauterizing is the process of sealing a wound or destroying abnormal or infected tissue with a heated instrument. God cauterizes Isaiah’s lips.He eliminates the impurity. Isaiah’s guilt is taken away but it is not shrugged off. God doesn’t say, "Aw, let’s just forget it!" Instead he tells Isaiah that his sin "is atoned for". In other words, it was paid for. How? It was paid for in Jesus. How can that be, you ask? Isaiah lived many hundreds of years before Jesus. But the promise had been made. The plan was in place. God forgave Isaiah on the basis of what Christ was going to do hundreds of years later. Just like He is willing to forgive you and I on the basis of what He has done many hundreds of years before us. 1Co 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? When Jesus (the sinless Son of God) died on the cross, He paid for our sin. God’s justice is satisfied (sin is punished) and He is also able to extend mercy (on the basis of Christ’s substitution). The reason we are called children of God is not because we are good . . . but because we are forgiven. No Christian is born into God’s family, everyone of us were adopted by God! We are forgiven not because we were among the best of the class but because Christ died for our sin. After Isaiah sees God’s majesty, is confronted with His sin, finds forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ . Tell me, where is the angel applying that burning coal to you right now? Right now God is wanting to purify, conqueor and cover a sin in your life! We must be ever aware of our true state before a Holy God. Then will we truly evaluate ourselves and appreciate the honor of Communion. For an important way of knowing Christ deeply is understanding His holiness! Will you become undone? When we measure our lives by God’s standards we see ourselves truly. Yes, it often hurts. And facing the truth is painful. We must accept responsibility for our own behavior. But the amazing thing about the gospel is that it tells us that because of what Christ has done on our behalf, if we admit our sin and turn to Him for mercy... we will find it. Our Holy God will cover us with Christ’s righteousness. Indeed, God is great and He is good. Let us devote the rest of our lives to giving Him thanks Ro 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 (we’re)Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Do you appreciate the mercy that allows you near God? Do you take grace for granted? Ask yourself: Is communion a sobering thought? Will I become undone? Will I answer God’s call to holiness?
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