Mhm Good morning and welcome. This is pastor lucy painter with their daily insight in chapter to the book. The cloister of Rowland being trans biography of martin Luther based on reports, martin Luther's reaction when he was called upon to lead his first communion. He says that the day began with the chiming of the cluster bells and the chanting of Sams 96 all sing unto the Lord a new song Luther took his place before the altar and began to recite the introductory portion of the mask until he came to the words to the monastery. We offer unto thee the living, the true, the eternal God Batten says that later martin Luther related that experience inside.

And these words, I was utterly stupefied and terror stricken. I thought to myself with what tongue shall I address such majesty. Seeing that all men ought to tremble in the presence of even and other prince who am I that I should lift up my eyes and raise my hands to the divine majesty. The angels surround him at his note, the earth trembles and shall I am miserable little Pickney say, I want this. I ask for that, for I am dust and ashes and full of scene and I'm speaking to the living eternal and true God! The terror of the holy, the horror of infinite smart martin Luther like a new lightning bolt and only through a fearful restraint could he hold himself at the altar to the end.

Okay, yeah, I don't know how many of us can genuinely say that we have this kind of attitude towards God, that the mayor imagination of his greatness. The mayor mention of his name humbles us to this level. You know, sometimes we talk about God, we address and even approach him as if there's nothing much to it and that is why we are addressing this issue in this service to bring us back to the realization of the greatness of God, to wake our consciousness to what it means when we say that God is Holy and how we are supposed to respond to this. So walk with me in this service, the protocol of this series of his prices, the prophet is a year says in Isaiah 6125 that it was in the ear.

King josiah died that I saw the Lord, he was sitting on a lofty throne and the train of his robe filled the temple attending him were my reset of hymns, each having six wings with two wings. They covered their faces with two, they covered their feet and with two, they flew, they were calling out to each other. Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Heaven's army. The whole art is filled with his glory. Their voices shoot the temple to its foundations and the entire building was filled with smoke. Then I said, it's all over, I am doomed for I am a sinful man. I have filled the lips. I live among a people with feel the lips yet I have seen the king, the Lord of heavens are so you know is a a reviews a central fact of heaven and the kingdom of God that there is unoccupied throne in heaven.

And I know sometimes you say uh this is just a figure of speech. There are so many times when we read the bible we say it might be symbolism, it might be a figure of speech and there's probably no real throne in heaven. But I want you to notice how many people in the bible saw this same drone, the prophet Mika. Mika saw it, job saw it. David saw it, the sounds of cora saw it as an the Israelites saw it, Jeremiah saw it, executives saw daniel and they are opposed to john. Also this throne envisions. So I want to believe that there is a throne in heaven that is occupied and I want us to know that this is a real symbol of serenity. It is a seat of authority, a power that the whole universe must answer to.

And Isaiah says that he who sat on it was high and lifted up. He was majestic. He was exalted in honor and dignity and his robe filled the entire temple. I don't know if you realize the heaviness of this statement that his robe filled the temple that it covered the entire flaw until there was no room left for anyone else to stand in. So great was the extent of the Lord's glory that it is spread out so far that the Seraphine attending to him help to hoover above him that they would not dare trend on the train of his robe, that they had to cover their faces and feet as they sang. The Lord's holiness. This is the kind of holiness we are talking about. This is the presence before which we go every day.

If the Seraphim who spent every minute of their existence in this glorious presence could not trend on the train of the Lord's robe. If they could cover their faces and feet in reverence to the glory of the Lord, how much more must we do? How much more must we tremble at his presence? How much more respect must we accord this authority with? How much more reverence must we then respond to the holiness of our God? This is why we are talking about the protocols of being in such a humbling presence. What has been in the presence of the Lord means to us? What attitude do we go before the Lord with? Yeah. What does the mention of his name draw out of us? Do we ever take time to reflect on this to prepare as we do before?

We approach kings? Presidents, Our bosses. Does it mean anything to you that you can approach the throne of God and talk to him? You see the Seraphim as sinless as they are concealed themselves in acknowledgement of their waterless nous and nothingness in the presence of God. They acknowledge that only he is pure and set apart from every other being. And so they use the four wings to conceal themselves ensure of humility and adoration and to express their willingness to serve the Lord for wings, for ventilation and adoration, And two for service and vigor. And this is the realization that mary had when she chose to spend her time at the feet of jesus as mother concerned herself with service.

She knew that when secret reverence takes first place, genuine service follow suit without struggle. She knew her service would be better when she was deeply reverent and humbled in the presence of the Lord. So I just, I just wanted to post there and let it sink. You know, if you read the rest of the book of Isaiah, you realize that he refers to God as the holy one of Israel because he had a vision of his holiness and it made a lasting impression on him that image that vision had been permanently impressed in his heart and every time he would be before the Lord after this is a a was accurately aware of his own unworthiness and sin before God. He never lost respect for the holiness of God. And I know until we gather feeling of our own inadequacy before God until we are consumed with a kind of reverence we see in is a year, the Seraphim and in martin Luther as we began at the, at the at in the beginning of this episode.

I don't think we can really say that we have the same conviction about God's presence and holiness. We cannot really say that we have known him to the same level because when you get to know before whom you stand, when you grow conscious of the holiness before which you got every day, when you let that realization sink in it and winds you, it renders you, it gives you an experience. You can never forget. It fills you with fear and adoration of the Lord. It changes your attitude towards worship. It changes your attitude towards the Lord's holiness, calling out the name of the Lord stops being a normal thing for you. Going before his presence stops being a stops being an unconscious routine for you. You never again lose that sense of all at his glory. You begin to approach his throne with humility.

You begin to treat his presence with uttermost respect and reverence. You become consumed with unceasing worship. You become conscious of how you worship. You begin to make an active effort to walk in holiness yourself, you worship the Lord the way he who is most holy deserves to be worshiped. When you understand how you're supposed to worship, you approach him the right way. When you become conscious of his presence, you have called him the honor he deserves. When you understand the protocol of being in his presence shall um this is pastor, lucy painter with your daily insights. And this is protocol Of his presence day three mm. Hmm.