Not Holy, But Holy Holy Holy

I was listening to Pastor James MacDonald one time in his daily airtime message at www.walkintheword.com. He was giving a message from Isaiah 6:1-13. My attention was particularly captured when he emphasized the words chanted by the seraphs,


3".....Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."


It is not holy, not holy holy, but holy holy holy! Pastor James mentioned that during those times when they want to emphasize something they would repeat the words. So the word holy was said three times. This is the only attribute of God that is repeated three times in Scriptures. Sometimes, we forget that God is holy. We overemphasize that He is loving, merciful, gracious....but we forget that He first and foremost is holy. Holy in His love, Holy in His mercy, Holy in His justice....

It's funny how we sometimes become proud that we think of ourselves as holier than other people. We said, "I am better than them. I go to church more often than them. I pray more than them." But we are comparing ourselves to others. I am convicted by Pastor James sermon that we ought to compare ourselves to God's holiness. He is the Standard. Then we, too, will be humbled just like the Prophet Isaiah.

5 "Woe to me!" I (Isaiah) cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Then we would have no reason to be proud of our "holiness". We won't be feeling much better than others because of all the "holy things/deeds" we are doing. We will be humbled. And the Lord will be the One to cleanse us....and then we will be ready to serve Him.

6 "Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

8 "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

May we recognize our holiness in the light of the holiness of God. May we truly see Him as the standard for our holy lives.

Isaiah's Commission

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

9 He said, "Go and tell this people:
" 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'

10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed."

11 Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?"
And he answered:
"Until the cities lie ruined
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
and the fields ruined and ravaged,

12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.

13 And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."

- Isaiah 6:1-13, The Holy Bible, New International Version