Duet. 48 "That very day the Lord spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”
As I read this passage this morning, I was reminded once again of God's Holiness, faithfullness, love, mercy, and grace. Moses broke faith with the Lord and did not treat him as HOLY. Unfortunately, that is something that I all to often can do myself. I try to do things MY way and NOT the way of the Lord. When I think that my way is the right way and I go by my own selfish motives, I am not treating God as Holy. In verse 52 we see that the Lord even though Moses did these things, still allowed him to see the promise land. How kind and merciful of God. He could have struck Moses down long before and not even allowed him to the see the land the Lord had promised Israel. And now here we are many generations later, after the death and resurection of Christ and Lord is revealing Himself to us and giving us glimses of His glory!!! AND because of Christ's work on the cross we will be able to "cross-over" into the "promise land" of Heaven and receive the gift of enternal life with our HOLY GOD!!! I can't wait!!! May I live with an ever awareness of His Holiness, may I seek to be holy, and may I keep living for THAT day when we will meet Him!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Finale
"We, in our arrogance, measure sin by its effects within the created order and upon us. Isaiah sees more clearly: sin is to be measured by the majesty and purity of the One against Whom it is necessarily perpetrated" (F. Seay).
Do I see my sin clearly? Am I intensely aware of my sin and know its effects? Will I cry "Woe is me!?" Or am I blinded and complacent? I pray that my response would be one that sees sin as it is and how disgusting it is to ou Holy Perfect Lord! As I write I am convicted that I so often and sluff off the seriousness of my sin. Which only leads to more sin. My God is a HOLY, HOLY, HOLY God!!! I am the exact opposite, I am weak, it is frightening...and should command my reverence.
But here is the good news of the gospel: The infinitely Holy God is also a gracious and merciful God! AMEN! There is now therefore NO, zilch, nada, condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When I confess and repent, HE FORGIVES! Nothing I did, caused or earned this.
"It should also be noted that "Isaiah does not plead for mercy, nor does he make great vows if God will but deliver him. All of the evidence makes it appear that he considers his case hopeless. Yet out of the smoke comes a seraph with a purifying coal. God does not reveal himself to destroy us, but rather to redeem us" (Oswalt, 184). In other words, Isaiah is redeemed and forgiven at God's initiative, not his own."
The Holy God of Israel reveals Himself to redeem us, TO REDEEM US!!! NOT DESTROY US!!!! He is Holy, I am not, I should be dead. What a loving merciful Father we have!!! I could go on and on...Thank you Lord that you are HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, may my lips glorify your name and NOT the name of Jordan or the evil one!
Scott thanks for opening up this discussion and providing the article! I really enjoyed this and was convicted, blessed, and made even more aware of what a Holy God we serve! I look forward to doing something like this often!!!
Do I see my sin clearly? Am I intensely aware of my sin and know its effects? Will I cry "Woe is me!?" Or am I blinded and complacent? I pray that my response would be one that sees sin as it is and how disgusting it is to ou Holy Perfect Lord! As I write I am convicted that I so often and sluff off the seriousness of my sin. Which only leads to more sin. My God is a HOLY, HOLY, HOLY God!!! I am the exact opposite, I am weak, it is frightening...and should command my reverence.
But here is the good news of the gospel: The infinitely Holy God is also a gracious and merciful God! AMEN! There is now therefore NO, zilch, nada, condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When I confess and repent, HE FORGIVES! Nothing I did, caused or earned this.
"It should also be noted that "Isaiah does not plead for mercy, nor does he make great vows if God will but deliver him. All of the evidence makes it appear that he considers his case hopeless. Yet out of the smoke comes a seraph with a purifying coal. God does not reveal himself to destroy us, but rather to redeem us" (Oswalt, 184). In other words, Isaiah is redeemed and forgiven at God's initiative, not his own."
The Holy God of Israel reveals Himself to redeem us, TO REDEEM US!!! NOT DESTROY US!!!! He is Holy, I am not, I should be dead. What a loving merciful Father we have!!! I could go on and on...Thank you Lord that you are HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, may my lips glorify your name and NOT the name of Jordan or the evil one!
Scott thanks for opening up this discussion and providing the article! I really enjoyed this and was convicted, blessed, and made even more aware of what a Holy God we serve! I look forward to doing something like this often!!!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Day Six: Isaiah Sees His Mission
Please forgive my tardiness in posting. I was kicked out of the house for a chunk of the day, then was at my brother's place.
The quotes that Storms utilized in this article were outstanding. The quotes used in today's portion were a great example.
"Having believed with certainty that he was about to be crushed into non-existence by the very holiness of God and having received an unsought for, and unmerited, complete cleansing, what else would he rather do than hurl himself into God's service?" (Oswalt, 186).
The word received again implies a gift. It promts me to return to the thought in the first section. He has given Himself to a people. But I will refrain. You already know my thoughts on that. In light of this quote and the truth contained therein, we would rather do nothing other than hurl ourselves into God's service. Yet so often we drift. So my question for you (and myself) is this: What would you rather do than hurl yourself into God's service? Where are those pockets of nominal christianity? Charnock called it practical atheism. His stance was that when we hold back from the Lord certain areas of our lives, we are acting as if there was no God (more specifically, we deny His being a just God who will judge). For me, as you know, I struggle with my tongue. I began cursing as a joke, what seemed to be a small compromise in my eyes. But that's how sin grows. With one small compromise here, another there, and then BANG! You're deep in it and have no clue how you got there. Well, that's what happened to me, and now I have lost control over my tongue. Isaiah 6 hit me hard, that Isaiah, a prophet, would say that he was a man of unclean lips! "Of all the things to say," I thought to myself, "why lips? Why say something that will expose my folly?" But I deperately need the Lord to intervene in my life and show me my sin, for otherwise, I am a blind man. I take solice in the fact that God still used to Isaiah in mighty ways with his mouth. I pray that same thing for me. That as I lead worship, wherever and for whatever group of people, that the Lord would use my lips in mighty ways. That he would purify my tongue so that it could be used for His glory.
Another thing mentioned in the article is something I really appreciated. "Personal transformation is the product, not so much of seeing the ugliness of sin as seeing the beauty of the Savior. Isaiah was awakened to the horror of his sin only because he saw the holiness of his God." In the past, I have sought to see how foolish and sinful I am and we are as the human race, and it has been helpful. But This makes even more sense. When seeing the beauty of the Lord, I realize instantly how unworthy I truly am. I want to see the Lord, that I might be undone in His presence. That seems to be the surefire way to see the Lord and sin as one ought.
"Calvin concludes that man is never sufficiently "touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state, until he has compared himself with God's majesty" (I:3)."
Gentlemen, it has been my distinct honor to discuss these things with you. Your points were well-formed and provoking, causing me to dwell more fully on the issues mentioned in the article. Thank you for your involvement in this study. I pray that even whoever might stumble upon this blog would recognize more clearly the holiness of God and be undone as a result. As I end this post, I will leave you with a quote from Stephen Charnock on the holiness of God that I read this morning.
When we take a picture of man, we draw the most beautiful part, the face, which is a member of the greatest excellency. WHen God would be drawn to the life, as much as can be, in the spirit of his creatures, he is drawn in this attribute, as being the most beautiful perfection of God, and the most vauable with him... his holiness is his beauty (2 Chron. 22:21);--"should praise te beauty of his holiness."
The quotes that Storms utilized in this article were outstanding. The quotes used in today's portion were a great example.
"Having believed with certainty that he was about to be crushed into non-existence by the very holiness of God and having received an unsought for, and unmerited, complete cleansing, what else would he rather do than hurl himself into God's service?" (Oswalt, 186).
The word received again implies a gift. It promts me to return to the thought in the first section. He has given Himself to a people. But I will refrain. You already know my thoughts on that. In light of this quote and the truth contained therein, we would rather do nothing other than hurl ourselves into God's service. Yet so often we drift. So my question for you (and myself) is this: What would you rather do than hurl yourself into God's service? Where are those pockets of nominal christianity? Charnock called it practical atheism. His stance was that when we hold back from the Lord certain areas of our lives, we are acting as if there was no God (more specifically, we deny His being a just God who will judge). For me, as you know, I struggle with my tongue. I began cursing as a joke, what seemed to be a small compromise in my eyes. But that's how sin grows. With one small compromise here, another there, and then BANG! You're deep in it and have no clue how you got there. Well, that's what happened to me, and now I have lost control over my tongue. Isaiah 6 hit me hard, that Isaiah, a prophet, would say that he was a man of unclean lips! "Of all the things to say," I thought to myself, "why lips? Why say something that will expose my folly?" But I deperately need the Lord to intervene in my life and show me my sin, for otherwise, I am a blind man. I take solice in the fact that God still used to Isaiah in mighty ways with his mouth. I pray that same thing for me. That as I lead worship, wherever and for whatever group of people, that the Lord would use my lips in mighty ways. That he would purify my tongue so that it could be used for His glory.
Another thing mentioned in the article is something I really appreciated. "Personal transformation is the product, not so much of seeing the ugliness of sin as seeing the beauty of the Savior. Isaiah was awakened to the horror of his sin only because he saw the holiness of his God." In the past, I have sought to see how foolish and sinful I am and we are as the human race, and it has been helpful. But This makes even more sense. When seeing the beauty of the Lord, I realize instantly how unworthy I truly am. I want to see the Lord, that I might be undone in His presence. That seems to be the surefire way to see the Lord and sin as one ought.
"Calvin concludes that man is never sufficiently "touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state, until he has compared himself with God's majesty" (I:3)."
Gentlemen, it has been my distinct honor to discuss these things with you. Your points were well-formed and provoking, causing me to dwell more fully on the issues mentioned in the article. Thank you for your involvement in this study. I pray that even whoever might stumble upon this blog would recognize more clearly the holiness of God and be undone as a result. As I end this post, I will leave you with a quote from Stephen Charnock on the holiness of God that I read this morning.
When we take a picture of man, we draw the most beautiful part, the face, which is a member of the greatest excellency. WHen God would be drawn to the life, as much as can be, in the spirit of his creatures, he is drawn in this attribute, as being the most beautiful perfection of God, and the most vauable with him... his holiness is his beauty (2 Chron. 22:21);--"should praise te beauty of his holiness."
Friday, February 1, 2008
Ay de Mi!
"Isaiah's experience is instructive in another respect. This man was already aware of his sinfulness and had made great strides in his growth in spiritual things. But now, in the unmediated presence of the Holy God, he sees himself as filthier than ever before."
We are always in the presence of the Holy God and should constantly see ourselves as flithy rags, worth nothing. I am not saying to be condemned, but we need to realize who we really are. God sees, hears, knows everything and is always with us . "In the presence of a Holy God, I am so small, frail and weak..."This should cause us to fight sin harder and to come and to make every moment one that glorifies Him. However, I can so easily say or do something that does not.
We are always in the presence of the Holy God and should constantly see ourselves as flithy rags, worth nothing. I am not saying to be condemned, but we need to realize who we really are. God sees, hears, knows everything and is always with us . "In the presence of a Holy God, I am so small, frail and weak..."This should cause us to fight sin harder and to come and to make every moment one that glorifies Him. However, I can so easily say or do something that does not.
There is so much in this section that is convicting. Matt. 12:34 as Daniel quoted is such a powerful and challenging verse and the same thing is said of the evil man in Luke 6:45. The analogy of a sponge being squeezed, is one that paints a clear picture of what this looks like. When a sponge is squeezed whatever comes out, is what is already in it. When we are squeezed or in different situations, what will come out? What have we "soaked" ourselves in? Will we have basked in the Holiness of God and exude a glorifying attitude or response? Or will we have basked in ourselves and exude a selfish evil response? I pray it is not the latter!!!
Day 4ish
Please forgive my tardiness in writing ...
"Second, although God is holy and therefore transcendent, he is not remote. The infinite loftiness of God, implied by the reference to his holiness, does not entail his aloofness."
What a great truth this is! Our God who is supremely Holy, Holy, Holy, and so high above, is at the same time transcendent. He is WITH us! Every moment of the day, He does not come and go and go and come. He dwells with us, we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. This should cause us to tremble and shake with reverent fear and praise. We are not our own (1 Cor. 6:19), when looked at by God He sees the righteousness of Christ and His perfect life of obedience. It does not get better than that! But at times our worship and praise can become so dull and apathetic. When that happens we are not having a proper fear of the Lord or true gratefulness.
"You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!" Ps. 22:23
That is a command, to praise and stand in awe of Him. I pray that we would not become complacent or take for granted this gift. Our praise is Perfected by Christ, we have nothing to offer, but we have every reason to worship the One who is WORTHY! of our praise.
"Second, although God is holy and therefore transcendent, he is not remote. The infinite loftiness of God, implied by the reference to his holiness, does not entail his aloofness."
What a great truth this is! Our God who is supremely Holy, Holy, Holy, and so high above, is at the same time transcendent. He is WITH us! Every moment of the day, He does not come and go and go and come. He dwells with us, we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit. This should cause us to tremble and shake with reverent fear and praise. We are not our own (1 Cor. 6:19), when looked at by God He sees the righteousness of Christ and His perfect life of obedience. It does not get better than that! But at times our worship and praise can become so dull and apathetic. When that happens we are not having a proper fear of the Lord or true gratefulness.
"You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!" Ps. 22:23
That is a command, to praise and stand in awe of Him. I pray that we would not become complacent or take for granted this gift. Our praise is Perfected by Christ, we have nothing to offer, but we have every reason to worship the One who is WORTHY! of our praise.
Out of the mouth
James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. This goes to all those like me who have big mouths!
I find that I am convicted of this not when I am with other big talkers but when I am in the presence of someone who is really listening. It is at those moments I am convicted. This pales to the experience of Isaiah ... but I do find it interesting that he SEES the Lord and yet comments on his unclean LIPS rather than his eyes. Why is that? Why is it that he sees God's holiness and comments on his lips? Anyone have an idea? I would expect him to say something more like, "Woe am I, for I am a man with an unclean heart or mind or some essential aspect of his being ... but why his lips? Sproul mentioned that it was because he was a prophet ... ok ... I can see that ... but it is not fully satisfying.
Maybe this could be a reason. Can any of you look into my heart? Do any of you see my mind? No, you don't know my thoughts. By what means are you able to look into them? Through my actions and words ... for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Mat 12:34). This passage compounds the issue. It doesn't say that what is in the heart comes out through the mouth in equal messure. It says that the mouth speaks from the ABUNDANCE of the heart. I visualize a popcorn machine at the theatre. The kernels pop inside of the metal pan but they won't flow out until the cantainer is completely filled with popped corn. Then from the ABUNDANCE of corn in the pan the lid spews (or should I say speaks) popcorn. Thus, if our lips are unclean ... how much more our hearts!
I find that I am convicted of this not when I am with other big talkers but when I am in the presence of someone who is really listening. It is at those moments I am convicted. This pales to the experience of Isaiah ... but I do find it interesting that he SEES the Lord and yet comments on his unclean LIPS rather than his eyes. Why is that? Why is it that he sees God's holiness and comments on his lips? Anyone have an idea? I would expect him to say something more like, "Woe am I, for I am a man with an unclean heart or mind or some essential aspect of his being ... but why his lips? Sproul mentioned that it was because he was a prophet ... ok ... I can see that ... but it is not fully satisfying.
Maybe this could be a reason. Can any of you look into my heart? Do any of you see my mind? No, you don't know my thoughts. By what means are you able to look into them? Through my actions and words ... for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Mat 12:34). This passage compounds the issue. It doesn't say that what is in the heart comes out through the mouth in equal messure. It says that the mouth speaks from the ABUNDANCE of the heart. I visualize a popcorn machine at the theatre. The kernels pop inside of the metal pan but they won't flow out until the cantainer is completely filled with popped corn. Then from the ABUNDANCE of corn in the pan the lid spews (or should I say speaks) popcorn. Thus, if our lips are unclean ... how much more our hearts!
Day Five: Isaiah Sees Himself
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!"
Isaiah 6:5
After seeing the Lord, Isaiah saw himself very clearly. "Seeing God does not produce rapture or giddiness or religious flippancy. It produces terror and self-loathing." Isaiah realized then more than ever how truly sinful he was. The thing that always catches me about Isaiah's experience here is the curse that Isaiah calls down. "Woe is me!" He calls a curse upon himself! I believe that we (and when I say we, I mainly mean me, Scott) can take a lesson from this. We are a prideful people. We spend as much time as possible exalting ourselves, many times at whatever cost is necesary. Isaiah, when he saw the Lord, pronounced a curse upon himself. He was utterly humbled in the presence of the holy God. This was a big reason that I desired to begin studying the holiness of God. When we see who God is more clearly, we see ourselves more clearly. In light of God and who He is, I am less than nothing. I want to, no, I need to be reminded of that every second of every day. When Isaiah, a prophet, sees God, he sees that he is "a man of unclean lips." What is it that we are seemingly good at, that we need to be reminded that we are "unclean" in that area? I believe that God has gifted me to lead worship with my voice and my piano. But the thing that I need to remind myself of is this: apart from the grace of God, I am a man who's songs are profane. Only by the active obedience of Christ can my worship be pleasing to a holy God.
I'll probably have more to share later, but for now, I must refrain from writing.
Isaiah 6:5
After seeing the Lord, Isaiah saw himself very clearly. "Seeing God does not produce rapture or giddiness or religious flippancy. It produces terror and self-loathing." Isaiah realized then more than ever how truly sinful he was. The thing that always catches me about Isaiah's experience here is the curse that Isaiah calls down. "Woe is me!" He calls a curse upon himself! I believe that we (and when I say we, I mainly mean me, Scott) can take a lesson from this. We are a prideful people. We spend as much time as possible exalting ourselves, many times at whatever cost is necesary. Isaiah, when he saw the Lord, pronounced a curse upon himself. He was utterly humbled in the presence of the holy God. This was a big reason that I desired to begin studying the holiness of God. When we see who God is more clearly, we see ourselves more clearly. In light of God and who He is, I am less than nothing. I want to, no, I need to be reminded of that every second of every day. When Isaiah, a prophet, sees God, he sees that he is "a man of unclean lips." What is it that we are seemingly good at, that we need to be reminded that we are "unclean" in that area? I believe that God has gifted me to lead worship with my voice and my piano. But the thing that I need to remind myself of is this: apart from the grace of God, I am a man who's songs are profane. Only by the active obedience of Christ can my worship be pleasing to a holy God.
I'll probably have more to share later, but for now, I must refrain from writing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)