Here are some of the phrases we’ve sung this morning:
Holy, Holy is our God Almighty
Holy, Holy is His Name Alone!
Holy, holy, holy! LORD God Almighty
All Thy Works shall praise Thy Name
in earth and sky and sea
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty
God in three Persons blessed Trinity!
Only Thou art holy there is none beside Thee
Perfect in power in love in purity
And we cry Holy, Holy, Holy. And, we cry Holy, Holy, Holy.
And we cry Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lamb!
Looking at the verses of the song Holy, Holy, Holy these past couple of weeks some of the phrases just seemed to jump off the pages at me.
Holy, Holy, Holy. We read about that phrase in our responsive reading this week.
In both of the passages from Isaiah and the Revelation of Jesus Christ those words were being said by a particular group of beings. Who were they?
Isaiah - the seraphim
John - the four living creatures
These are creatures that, if we came face to face with them, we would faint or die of fright.
Why do the creatures say Holy, Holy, Holy instead of just Holy?
Do they see and understand the Trinity?
Is it because His Holiness is overwhelming?
I don’t imagine that these creatures were ever instructed to announce the Holiness of God in that way but that it just springs out of their hearts from being in the presence of the Lord God Almighty!
Deuteronomy 4:24, 31a, 10:17a
“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God … the Lord your God is a compassionate God … the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God.”
2 Chronicles 30:9, Ps. 47:7a,
“The Lord your God is gracious and compassionate … God is the King of all the earth …”
1 Cor. 10:13, 1 Tim. 4:4, 1 Jn. 1:5, 4:8
“God is faithful … God is good … God is light … God is love …”
Ex. 15:3, Ps. 10:16, 11:7, Joel 3:16
“The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name … The Lord is King forever and ever … The Lord is righteous … The Lord is a refuge …”
Nahum 1:2
“A jealous and avenging God is the Lord; The Lord is avenging and wrathful. The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies.”
1 Cor. 7:25, Jas. 5:11, 2 Pt. 3:9
“The Lord is trustworthy … the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful …
The Lord is patient …”
We never see the Lord described as, “just, just, just” or “love, love, love” or “mercy, mercy, mercy” only “Holy, holy, holy”!
Holiness encompasses all of His incredible attributes: Righteousness, Justice, Love, Mercy, Power, Compassion, Patience and the list goes on and on …
Isaiah 6:3, Rev. 4:8
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts … Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty …”
Imagine the absolute Power of His Holiness!
Do you realize that the Lord being The Ultimate Power of the Universe can either be horrifying or an amazing comfort?
Imagine you’re on a battlefield there are only two combatants - one is a kid with a Daisy BB gun, the other is an Abrams Tank. That tank is either a horrifying object of doom and destruction or a great comfort. It all depends on where you are … inside the tank or outside with a daisy BB gun.
Now, a tank, even an aircraft carrier can be destroyed. God’s power is so absolute and above all other powers that it is indestructible!
The same thing applies to His love, His mercy, His judgment, His knowledge, His eternal being, ALL OF HIS ATTRIBUTES ARE ABOVE AND BEYOND AT A SCALE WE CANNOT EVEN UNDERSTAND!
But, many of us, even those who claim to be Christians, treat Him like some kind of genie in a bottle.
God the vending machine or the 911 number.
Isaiah 40:28
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.”
Now, the difference in this illustration about the boy and the tank is that on a battlefield the tank commander will probably not open the hatch and invite you in for safety! But the Lord God, the Almighty, the Commander of Heavens Army sent His one and only Son to make a way for you to come into the safety of His Kingdom!
One other difference is that the treads will never fall off of the King of Kings. There are no armor piercing rounds that can penetrate the hull of the Kingdom of God. You are safe but even in that safety you are aware of the unimaginable power of the one and only true God who is Holy, Holy, Holy!
Do you know that the phrase “fear the Lord” occurs 80-90 times in the Bible?
The Bible says in
Proverbs 1:7a, 3:7-8
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge … fear the Lord and shun evil, this will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones!”
Fearing the Lord is good for you, not just here on earth but eternally good for you!
OK. So, let’s take a look at another phrase in the song and it’s kind of the other side of the same coin.
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee!
It’s like a coin with awestruck, reverential fear on one side and adoration of the Lord on the other side!
This is a good description of the Holiness of God and our adoration of God in one Scripture!
1Chronicles 29:11-14
“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.
“Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.
“Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.”
All the saints adore Thee.
This past week was St. Patrick’s Day. What makes a person a saint?
The phrase “the saints” occurs 55 times in the NASB Bible.
Ephesians 1:1b
“To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:1b
“To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi …”
Colossians 1:1a
“To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae …”
So, according to the Bible saints are those who are faithful in Christ Jesus. It’s as simple as that. If you have entrusted your eternal soul to Christ for salvation, if you have forsaken your life of sin and are living faithfully for Jesus you are a saint!
“Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee”
We must all ask ourselves, “Do I adore the Lord?”
The first and greatest commandment is
Matthew 22:37
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. This is the first and greatest commandment.”
Tell the story of the sinful woman from Luke 7:36-50
Think of the word adoration …
Luke 7:37-38, 44-47,
“A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.
“As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
“Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give Me any water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
“You did not give Me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing My feet. You did not put oil on My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet.
“Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven - as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
That is adoration!
This woman’s adoration was incredible!
She knew that the Pharisees despised her.
The alabaster jar filled with perfume which was worth a year’s wages was most likely her dowry. Without this dowry there was very little chance that she would ever get married.
The men who attended the dinner at Simon the Leper’s home went for the food and conversation.
This woman went to worship out of adoration for Jesus the Messiah who had forgiven her sins.
When you came to church today was it out of obligation or even lifelong habit or was it to worship and adore Jesus because of the forgiveness of your great sins?
When you die do you hope to go to a place that is magnificent, where there is no crime or other worldly worries or do you desire to be in the presence of the One we adore?
Is the main attraction to see those you love who died before you or to see the One who died for you?
These questions are a glimpse into your and my spiritual conditions?
You see, Holy, Holy, Holy and Adoration go hand in hand. If we really know the Lord for who He really is we will truly adore Him.
When we were attending the church in Owego there was a young lady who used to sing a song called Adore and it went …
Adore, adore, adore. Jesus I adore You.
And I used to think in my mind that she might be saying …
A door, a door, a door. Jesus I adore You.
When you adore Jesus it opens a door to Jesus!
Closing remarks
