They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner.
Apples flew everywhere.
Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding.
ALL BUT ONE !!!
He paused, took a deep breath, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.
He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight.
Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.
He was glad he did.
The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears ,running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly.
Groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping, and no one to care for her plight.
The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display.
As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.
When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl,
'Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?'
She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, 'I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly.‘
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, 'Mister....'
He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued,
'Are you Jesus?‘
She asked the question because she could not see the man.
Mark 10:46-52 has the story of Blind Bartimaeus
In this story, you have kind of the same situation.
A blind man hears Jesus, but longs to see Him.
Verse 51 says: And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.
10:52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
What did he do when he seen God
Bartimaeus followed Him.
Gen. 32:24
• And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
Jacob had been guilty of a great sin in his conduct toward Esau; but he had repented. His transgression had been forgiven, and his sin purged; therefore he could endure the revelation of God's presence.
To Jacob the divine touch at break of day revealed the One with whom he had been contending .... and, weeping and helpless, he fell upon the breast of Infinite Love, to receive the blessing for which his soul longed.
• Gen. 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
3:5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Standing on Holy ground
Exodus 33:9
And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses.
33:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.
Daniel 10:4-8
• And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;
• 10:5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
• 10:6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
• 10:7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
• 10:8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
• No strength
Steven
Acts 6:8
• And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
• 6:9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
• 6:10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
• 6:11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and [against] God.
• 6:12 And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon [him], and caught him, and brought [him] to the council,
• 6:13 And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:
• 6:14 For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.
• 6:15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
• Acts 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
Scripture Reading
Isa. 6: 1-3
6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
6:2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
Let’s now turn to Isa.6:1-3
6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died.....
When did Uzziah die?
• We will find that out in 2 Chron. 26:1-16
• Let’s read that. The story is pretty self explanatory.
• But look at this.....vs. 16 says that Uzziah got a big head
• Look at what happen next....vss.16-23
• He took his eyes off of God, and put it on himself.
• Again the question is, what year did Uzziah die? year 739
• Let’s turn back to Isa. 6:1-3....
Isa. 6
Isa. 6:1
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah was permitted ..... to look into the holy place, and into the holy of holies in the heavenly sanctuary.
The curtains of the innermost sanctuary were drawn aside, and a throne high and lifted up, towering as it were to the very heavens, was revealed to him.
An indescribable glory emanated from a personage on the throne, and His train filled the temple....
Isa. 6:2
Above it stood the seraphims:
each one had six wings;
with twain he covered his face,
and with twain he covered his feet,
and with twain he did fly.
Angels Fully Satisfied to Glorify God
The angel’s before the throne are so filled with reverential awe in beholding the glory of God, that they do not for an instant, look upon themselves with self-complacency, or in admiration of themselves or one another.
• Their praise and glory are for the Lord of Hosts, who is high and lifted up, and the glory of whose train fills the temple.
• .... the triumphant song of praise is echoed from one to another in melodious chant, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts."
• They are fully satisfied to glorify God;
• and in His presence, .... they wish for nothing more.
• In bearing His image,
• in doing His service,
• and worshiping Him,
• their highest ambition is fully reached
• {4BC 1140.3}
When we really truly see God,
it will lead to a Genuine Conviction of Unworthiness
Question: Who are you?
1 Peter 2:9
• But ye are a chosen generation,
• a royal priesthood,
• an holy nation,
• a peculiar people;
• that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
Jer. 1:5
• Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;
• and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Isa. 6:3
• And one cried unto another, and said,
• Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts:
• the whole earth is full of his glory.
• Angel’s were on either side of the mercy-seat,
• as guards round the great king,
• and they glowed with the glory that enshrouded them from the presence of God.
• As their songs of praise resounded in deep, earnest notes of adoration,
• the pillars of the gate trembled, as if shaken by an earthquake.
• These holy beings sang forth the praise and glory of God with lips unpolluted with sin.
• The contrast between the feeble praise which he had been accustomed to bestow upon the Creator, and the fervid praises of the angels,
• astonished and humiliated the prophet.
• He had.... the beautiful privilege of appreciating the spotless purity of Jehovah's exalted character. {4BC 1139.7}
Isaiah's Experience Represents Last-Day Church
• As the prophet Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord, he was amazed, and, overwhelmed with a sense of his own weakness and unworthiness, he cried,
• "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts."
• {4BC 1138.6}
• Isaiah had denounced the sin of others;
• but now he sees himself exposed to the same condemnation he had pronounced upon them.
• He had been satisfied with a cold, lifeless ceremony in his worship of God.
• He had not known this until the vision was given him of the Lord.
How little now appeared his wisdom and talents, as he looked upon the sacredness, and majesty, of the sanctuary.
• How unworthy he was! how unfitted for sacred service! His view of himself might be expressed in the language of the apostle Paul,
• "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Romans 7:24
The vision given to Isaiah represents the condition of God's people in the last days.
They are privileged to see, by faith, the work that is going forward in the heavenly sanctuary.
Isaiah had a wonderful view of God's glory.
He saw the manifestation of God's power, and after beholding His majesty, a message came to him to go and do a certain work.
He felt wholly unworthy for the work.
.... when he beheld the inexpressible majesty of God, he said,
"I am undone;
because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts”.
Isa.6:5
{4BC 1139.4}
John on the island of Patmos... Rev. 1:12-17
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks on like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Rev. 4:1-3
After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.
4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
As John viewed the scene in the Most Holy Place, he listened to the song of the angels, as they cried,
"Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory,"
In the light of this matchless radiance, all he could bear was his own inward defilement, with startling clearness.
His very words seemed vile to him.
{4BC 1140.1}
So what about when we come to the sanctuary
So what about when we sing the opening song,
The Lord is in His Holy Temple?
It is too true that reverence for the house of God has become almost extinct.
Sacred things, and places, are not discerned;
The holy and exalted, are not appreciated.
.... Is it not because the high standard of religion is left to trail in the dust?
God gave rules of order, perfect and exact, to His ancient people.
Has His character changed?
Is He not the great and mighty God who rules in the heaven of heavens?
Would it not be well for us often to read the directions given by God Himself to the Hebrews, that we.... may imitate their reverence for the house of God?
We have many reason to maintain a fervent, devoted spirit in the worship of God.
We have reason even to be more thoughtful and reverential in our worship than had the Jews.
But an enemy has been at work to destroy our faith in the sacredness of Christian worship.
{PP 252.1}
We should not do what Uzziah had done.
Remember 2 Chron. 26:16?
“But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction:
for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense”.
The place dedicated to God, should not be a room where worldly business, or conversation, is to be conducted.
Humility and reverence should characterize the deportment of all who come into the presence of God.
In the name of Jesus,
we may come before Him with confidence,
but we must not approach Him with the boldness of presumption,
as though He were on a level with ourselves.
There are those who address the great and all-powerful and holy God.... as they would address an equal, or even an inferior.
There are those who conduct themselves in His house as they would not .... do in the audience chamber of an earthly ruler, like the court houses of the world.
These souls should remember that they are in His sight, whom angels adore,
before whom angels veil their faces.
Remember what Jacob said when he woke up.
Gen. 28:16
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.
28:17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
God is greatly to be reverenced;
like Jacob beholding the vision of God, they will cry out,
"How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."
As Christ gave His wonderful lessons, Mary sat at His feet,
a reverent and devoted listener.
Rev. 5:11-14
5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, [be] unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
Closing: Remember when we first came to the Lord, how reverent we were when we came into the house of God?
If there is anyone listening to the sound of my voice, who feels that they have not given God His due reverence, please stand with me as I read the lyrics to a song that request that He takes us back.
Take me back
