A Dirty Mouth

Preached at Perfected Praise Worship Center

Oklahoma City, OK

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Bishop@perfectedpraisewc.org

www.perfectedpraisewc.org

TITLE: A DIRTY MOUTH

SCRIPTURE: ISAIAH 6:1-8

I don’t know how you feel this morning, but I feel truly blessed to be here. This is the first Sunday of a new month, beginning of the final quarter of the year. We have already transitioned into Fall and the month of October ushers in an exciting time of year for the next 90 days or so. It is a blessing to be at PPWC this morning. It is here in the midst of God’s house where we are able to join with other brothers and sisters in Christ to receive gifts from God – join together in worship – Praise – Fellowship – thanksgiving.

You and I come into this house this morning and we are able to encounter the Living God through the Word and today we also celebrate this first Sunday with sacraments. Majority of the time this sanctuary is filled with Praise. However, despite all the wonderful ways that God reveals Himself to us, we have to admit that we are not privileged to see God in all His fullness.

• Sure, we look forward to the day when we do

• That glorious day when Christ parts the clouds and comes again to take us home

• But for now, we rely on faith

• For most of us that’s enough

At times, even those who are known and referred to as ‘heroes of faith’ longed to see God and when they were not able to see Him face to face, with their own eyes, they encountered stumbling blocks on their faith journey.

• Remember Jesus’ disciple by the name of Thomas?

• Thomas will forever be associated with doubting - he needed to see and to touch His Savior to believe – he required something more tangible

• But our God responds, “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO DO NOT SEE, YET BELIEVE”

• But is Thomas really different from us?

My brothers and sisters, how do you think that you would react if Jesus suddenly appeared in all His glory, right here in this very Sanctuary this morning? Would you be frightened or excited?

• Maybe you would feel a certain sense of vindication, thinking, “Well, that shows all those foolish unbelievers, doesn’t it?

• I guess we know where they’ll end up, don’t we?

• You might even be thinking: Well, it’s certainly about time, Lord! We’ve been praying ‘Thy kingdom come’ for centuries!

• What took you so long?

• What would our reaction be?

This morning, however, we hear of a man who did get to see God - even though it was a vision - yet he saw the Almighty in all His heavenly glory. Isaiah didn’t enter the temple in Jerusalem that day expecting this to happen. Oh, I wish I could stay there for a while. This Major Prophet was living a life of faith, just like you and me today, walking by faith and still believing and trusting. It would be most likely that Isaiah is there in the Temple celebrating Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement.

• The day when the Jews, God’s chosen people go to the temple, and the priest passes through the general courtyard, into the Holy Place, and then into the Most Holy Place, the Holy of Holies

• Into the place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept

• The place where God promised to dwell with His people

• There the blood of the sacrifice would be sprinkled on the ark

• By that blood God’s people, His children, were forgiven their sins and welcomed back into God’s family

But this day that Isaiah entered the Temple was a bit different for him. For as he is there gathered with the other worshippers to watch as the priests parts the curtain and enters the Holy of Holies, he is allowed to see what he only was able to imagine. He sees with his very own eyes that which you and I long to see - he sees God, face to face. He sees:

• Almighty God

• Creator of all things

• The Great I Am

• In all His Splendor, Majesty, and Glory

Isaiah has seen much, but nothing like this - During the lifetime of Isaiah, he would see the FALL OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL -- He would see Judah experience its last “GOLDEN AGE” when Uzziah and Jotham reestablished Judah’s borders -- He would see the time of King David and King Solomon. As a matter of fact, we see in our text that Isaiah’s vision in Chapter Six begins with the death of King Uzziah. History also records that Rome was probably founded during this same time.