Icon Church Elder, Ben Wishall, preaches on Isaiah 6:1-7 which is centered around God’s unimaginable holiness and helps us to rightly respond as believers in Christ.
- In Israel’s crisis after their king’s death, God gives His people exactly what they need, namely, Himself. God, through the prophet Isaiah, shows His holiness as a reminder of His sovereign rule and care.
- John Piper’s definition of holiness: “The root meaning of the word ‘holy’ is to cut off, or to separate from. A holy thing is cut off from something to be devoted to something else. The holiness of it consists of being not part of the common, not part of the profane, not part of the impure, it is devoted unto God.”
- If there is a single word that encapsulates who God is, it’s holy.
- Witnessing and acknowledging God’s holiness causes a response of self-abasement in His presence. However, God makes a way for sinners by standing in the gap through Jesus Christ to make us holy and righteous before Him.
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
COMMUNITY GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
- Have someone read Isaiah 6:1-7 to the group and pray for God’s guidance in your time together. Either from Ben’s sermon or from the text itself, was there anything you learned that you had not considered before? What does the text show us is true about God and then about ourselves, through Isaiah?
- When you take a moment to consider that God is infinitely holy how do you react? Do you feel like this is a truth you take for granted, or that causes confusion, awe, or some other reaction? Why do you think that is?
- What do we see about Isaiah’s reaction to being in God’s presence? How does this compare to our personal thoughts about God, His holiness, and our own standing before Him?
- Like Isaiah, when you’re suddenly reminded of your helplessness and sinfulness and go before the LORD, how can this passage and teaching remind you of God’s heart for you?
- In the sermon, Ben taught that Jesus fully realized the holiness gap between God and sinful humanity and willingly stepped into that gap to make a way for all those who would follow Him. When you consider your walk with God, how could you adjust your rhythms and habits to make this truth more real in your own life?
- Take time as a group to pray together, out loud, asking God to make His holiness more of a reality in your lives. One, so that we would be able to more fully adore Him and two, so that we would be able to better live our lives in the reality of our relationship with Him.