Wednesday 21 May 2014

Read: Isaiah 6:1-7, Proverbs 16:6

Has all this talk about God's holiness caused you to shake in your seat? Have you cried out in fear as we have studied the incredible holiness of God? Have you been trembling at the realisation of your own sinfulness before an all powerful, perfectly holy God?

Walk Moment

Studying God's holiness should help us to understand how He would have us live. As we see that God is just we must also be just. As we see that God is gracious we must also show grace to others. Think about how you are reflecting the character of God in your life.

As we study God's holiness in Scripture we see that this is actually the only adequate response. When we are confronted with the incredible holiness and wonder of God and remember our own sinfulness and wretchedness before Him our only possible response is to fall before Him in worship, reverence and fear. We ought to be afraid of God's holiness and His just judgment.

We see that even the prophet Isaiah responds this way to the holiness of God. In Isaiah 6 he has an incredible vision of the Lord seated on His throne, surrounded by angels. The angels cry out praises to God with voices so loud that the doorposts and thresholds shake, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole Earth is full of His glory."

How does Isaiah respond to this incredible vision of God's glory and His Holiness? He cries out, "Woe to me!" You can almost hear the terror and fear in his voice. He realises his own sinfulness, that he lives amongst sinful people and yet he has beheld the Glory of God. Isaiah cries out in fear because as an unholy man he cannot stand before a holy God.

Discussion Questions for families and groups

1. Why do you think that Isaiah is worried about the sins of the people and not just his own sins?
2. Should we care about the sins of others in our congregation? Why or why not?

As we study God we too should have a right fear of God's holiness and just judgment. This doesn't mean that we don't have confidence in the saving work of Christ. If we have saving faith in Jesus then we know that we stand before God justified and that Christ has taken our judgment for us. Still, standing before a Holy God is something that should cause us to tremble at our own sinfulness and praise God for His grace to us through Christ. This is what Proverbs meant by "through the fear of the Lord, man avoids evil."

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

• Pray that God would give you and others in your church a healthy understanding of His Holiness. Pray that He would reveal to you sins in your life and that He would empower you to overcome them.
• Pray for the MOPS group as they meet at ChristLife this morning. Thank God for the many community mums who are involved in this ministry. Pray that their time together would be encouraging and enjoyable and that they would see the love of Christ at work in the church mums. Pray that they might turn to Christ and put their faith in Him.