The Message You Don’t Want to Hear

The Holiness of Our God

Scripture References

Primary text

• Isaiah 6:1-4

Other references

• Exodus 15:11
• Romans 5:8
• Psalm 35

Overview

Holiness is the most mentioned attribute of God—recorded 637 times—yet often the least embraced. Drawing from Isaiah 6, the message shows how an encounter with God’s “holy, holy, holy” both shakes and steadies us: exposing sin, initiating atonement, and calling for total surrender. When we grasp that the One who is utterly set apart also pursues us in love, the only logical answer is, “Yes, Lord—anywhere, anytime.”

Context

Isaiah’s vision occurs “in the year King Uzziah died,” a moment of national instability much like the anxiety many feel today. Against that backdrop God reveals Himself as enthroned, exalted, and completely other—redirecting fear toward worship.

Main Points

Holiness—God’s most repeated attribute

• Mentioned more than any other characteristic; repeated three-fold for maximum emphasis: kadosh, kadosh, kadosh.
• No parallel triple appears for mercy, justice, or even love.
• The preacher warns: this truth may unsettle us precisely because we need it most.

Isaiah’s vision: glory amid uncertainty

• King Uzziah’s 52-year reign ends; people feel “anxious, scared, unsettled.”
• Isaiah sees the Lord “high and exalted,” robe filling the temple, while six-winged seraphim—“burning ones”—cover face and feet in reverence.
• Even creation (doorposts, thresholds) trembles at the proclamation of God’s holiness.

What “holy” means: set apart, a cut above

• Hebrew root: “to cut/separate.”
• Illustration: Grandma’s fine china sits on a higher shelf, reserved for special purposes—unlike everyday dishes.
• God is separate from everything: self-existent, self-sustaining, perfectly pure, immutable, incomprehensible.
• Exodus 15:11 asks rhetorically, “Who is like You—majestic in holiness?” Answer: no one.

Human response: confession replaces comparison

• Isaiah’s first words are not praise but self-indictment: “Woe to me… I am a man of unclean lips.”
• He confesses his own sin before mentioning “a people of unclean lips,” contrasting with self-righteous habits of blaming others.
• Quote from Billy Graham: understanding holiness reveals “the depth of our sin.”

God initiates atonement—then and now

• A seraph touches Isaiah’s lips with a live coal: “Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
• Isaiah does not bargain; God moves first—mirroring Romans 5:8, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
• Jackie Hill Perry’s observation:

  “If God is holy then He can’t sin; if He can’t sin, He can’t sin against you—making Him the most trustworthy being there is.”

The only reasonable reply: “Here am I. Send me.”

• After forgiveness, God asks, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah answers immediately and unconditionally.
• True view of holiness produces full-life surrender: give, serve, love, forgive—whatever God wants.

Jesus—holy God in flesh for the unholy

• One chapter after Isaiah’s cleansing he prophesies the virgin birth (Isaiah 7), pointing to Emmanuel.
• Jesus, the blameless Lamb, became sin, died, and rose so the unclean could be made new.
• Worship erupts because the Holy One came for “broken, lying, lustful, ordinary people like us.”

Key Truths

• God’s holiness means He is completely separate and superior to all creation.
• Awareness of God’s holiness heightens awareness of our sinfulness.
• God always takes the first step in forgiveness; atonement is His initiative, not ours.
• Because a holy God cannot sin against us, He is perfectly trustworthy.
• Genuine encounters with holiness compel lifelong, whole-heart obedience.

Response

• Confess specific sins honestly before God.
• Trust God’s character when life feels unstable; He remains high and exalted.
• Surrender every area—time, talent, money, relationships—with a standing “yes.”
• Worship passionately, recognizing that only the holy God is worthy of ultimate praise.
• Share the news of Jesus’ atoning love; volunteer, give, and go wherever He directs.

Closing

The same God who shook the temple in Isaiah 6 now stands ready to shake our complacency. His holiness exposes but also cleanses, and His love pursues us while we are still unworthy. The preacher’s final charge: fall on your knees in repentance or face in worship, then rise with Isaiah’s words echoing:

“Here am I. Send me.”

Prayer

“Heavenly Father, I give You my life. Jesus, forgive my sins, save me, make me new. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so I can know You, serve You, and live for You. My answer is yes—anywhere, anytime. Thank You for new life; I give You all of mine. You are holy, holy, holy. In Jesus’ name, amen.”