Holy is the Lord God Almighty | Pastor Tim Notz

Devotional

Day 1: When the Train Fills the Temple

Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a throne, His robe’s train spilling through the temple like liquid glory. Seraphim flew above Him, voices shaking doorposts as smoke filled the space. The fabric of heaven’s King couldn’t be contained—every corner flooded with divine weight. Earthly crowns pale beside His majesty. [02:09]

This vision declares God’s total ownership. He isn’t a distant ruler but the One whose presence invades every crack of creation. The same glory that overwhelmed Isaiah still fills kitchens, offices, and hospital rooms today. Holiness isn’t confined to sanctuaries.

Many of us compartmentalize God’s presence. We limit Him to Sunday mornings or crisis moments. Yet His train still spills into your commute, your laundry room, your silent tears. Where have you boxed out His nearness this week?

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.”
(Isaiah 6:1, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal one ordinary space where His glory is actively filling your life today.
Challenge: Write “His train fills this too” on a sticky note. Place it where you most need this reminder.

Day 2: Wings Covering, Voices Shaking

Six-winged seraphim shielded their faces and feet before God’s throne. They didn’t sing about love or mercy first—their anthem began with “Holy, holy, holy.” Each syllable rattled the temple’s foundations. Even heaven’s highest beings trembled in raw reverence. [04:34]

Holiness isn’t God’s hobby—it’s His heartbeat. The triple repetition in their cry signals supreme perfection. Angels model what we often neglect: awe precedes understanding. We approach God casually, forgetting He’s both Father and consuming fire.

You check Bible verses on your phone while scrolling social media. You mutter prayers between Netflix episodes. What if you prepared to meet Him like the seraphim—intentionally, urgently? When did you last physically posture yourself to honor His holiness?

“Above him were seraphim… With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’”
(Isaiah 6:2-3, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one distraction that dilutes your reverence during prayer or worship.
Challenge: Set a 3-minute timer. Sit in silence before speaking to God today.

Day 3: Coal on Unclean Lips

Isaiah crumpled when holiness exposed his sin: “I am ruined!” A seraph didn’t comfort him—it seared his lips with a blazing altar coal. Pain purified. Only then could Isaiah hear God’s question. Mercy came through fire, not coddling. [05:29]

God’s purity doesn’t negotiate with our compromises. The coal wasn’t punishment but preparation. Like surgery removing cancer, holiness cuts to heal. We want grace without the burn, but scar tissue often marks our growth.

You’ve nursed secret habits, sharp words, or private bitterness. What if today’s discomfort is heaven’s scalpel? Will you let the fire that exposes also cleanse?

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand… With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’”
(Isaiah 6:6-7, NIV)

Prayer: Name one sin aloud. Ask for the coal’s cleansing over that specific area.
Challenge: Write that sin on paper. Burn it safely as a act of surrender.

Day 4: Where Were You When I Laid Foundations?

God interrogated Job for four chapters: “Where were you when I hung the stars? Can you command dawn’s arrival?” He listed lions, ravens, snow stores—proof that every creature’s survival depends on His direct command. Sovereignty isn’t theory. [15:22]

Our complaints often flow from forgetting who’s really in charge. Job’s story rebukes both atheism and the “God’s-my-genie” mindset. The same voice that bound Pleiades also numbered your tears last night.

You’ve questioned God’s fairness in loss, delays, or unmet longings. What if His “no” or “wait” protects like a parent stopping a toddler from grabbing a knife? When has His restraint later revealed mercy?

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions?… On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone?”
(Job 38:4-6, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for one past “no” you now recognize as protection.
Challenge: Text a friend: “God’s in control” with a specific situation they’re facing.

Day 5: Here Am I, Send Me

Purified Isaiah stood empty-handed until God asked, “Whom shall I send?” No resume. No debate. His response was instant: “Here am I.” The man who’d trembled at holiness now volunteered for the hardest assignments. Fire births courage. [43:05]

God doesn’t purify us for museum displays. Clean lips get dirty again speaking hope to addicts, serving soup to the homeless, forgiving family wounds. Your greatest usefulness begins where self-reliance ends.

You’ve prayed “Change my circumstances” more than “Change me.” What if your current season isn’t about comfort but commissioning? Who needs the version of you that’s been through the fire?

“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!’”
(Isaiah 6:8, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to highlight one person He’s preparing you to serve this week.
Challenge: Write “Send me” on your mirror. Act on the first prompt to help someone today.

Sermon Summary

The account draws a vivid contrast between human pageantry and divine majesty. A royal wedding train serves as an entry point to Isaiah 6, where the train of the Lord fills the temple and reveals a glory that overwhelms any human symbol of splendor. Seraphim surround the throne, crying holy, holy, holy, and the presence of God shakes the temple as smoke and fire make his holiness plain. Confronted by that holiness, humanity’s sin surfaces. The cry of woe arises not from mere guilt but from sudden, penetrating sight of God’s purity.

The sermon links that vision to the discipline of transformation. Drawing near to God exposes habits, entertains conviction, and initiates growth. Scripture from Job reframes suffering under the banner of divine sovereignty, asking who can question the one who sets the seas, numbers the clouds, and shapes mighty creatures. The text proposes that pain and loss fit inside a larger, inscrutable governance that ultimately redirects what the enemy intended for harm into redemptive ends.

Purification appears as a concrete act in the altar coal imagery. A seraph touches the prophet’s lips with a live coal, removing guilt and marking a child of the king. The coal both cleanses and commissions. Purging precedes purpose, and being made holy is not an end in itself but preparation for mission. The response that flows naturally from vision and cleansing is a willing send me. Lives that have been touched by God move from inward safety to outward service, from private repentance to public witness.

Practical urgency concludes the message. Worship, regular devotion, community accountability, and the discipline of daily time with God stand as the means of sustained change. Testimony of contemporary healing underscores an ongoing supernatural work that refuses to be boxed into past patterns. The closing summons insists on personal repentance, persistent dependence, and a readiness to be sent out as agents of God’s holiness and love.

Key Takeaways

1. God's overwhelming majesty fills creation Seeing the Lord in Isaiah turns small images of glory into pale shadows. The vision insists that God’s presence literally fills the space of worship and reality, making every human claim to greatness relative and temporary. This awareness invites awe that reorders priorities and choices toward what lasts. [02:09]
2. Holiness exposes and purifies sin Encounter with divine holiness reveals unseen compromises and surfaces grief over personal impurity. That exposure hurts because it is honest, but it also opens the only pathway to real change when met by atonement. Purification does not shame; it repairs identity and frees the mouth for true praise. [35:53]
3. Sovereignty shapes suffering's meaning The questions spoken out of the whirlwind place suffering under a larger fabric of purpose and order. Rather than moral blame or cosmic randomness, sovereignty reframes trials as occasions for dependence, attention, and divine redirection. This perspective does not erase pain but locates it inside a God who governs oceans, storms, and living things. [12:39]
4. Respond with daily surrender and service Cleansing aims at commission; the altar coal prepares lips to speak and hands to go. Spiritual change requires repeated, ordinary practices of drawing near, confessing, and choosing obedience each day. The long fight against entrenched habits yields to persistent devotion and community support, then blossoms into outward mission. [43:05]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:23] - Gratitude for those who serve
[00:44] - Royal wedding image and train
[02:09] - Isaiah's vision of the Lord
[04:34] - Reading Isaiah six aloud
[06:21] - Call to transformation and change
[12:05] - Lessons from Job on sovereignty
[16:27] - God’s power over creation
[25:26] - Seraphim and the holiness of God
[40:16] - The coal that purifies and marks
[43:05] - Whom shall I send send me
[56:54] - Commitment prayer and response

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Isaiah 6:1-8 (ESV)
- Job 38:1-4; 40:1-2 (ESV)
- 2 Chronicles 7:1-2 (ESV)

Observation Questions

In Isaiah 6:1-3, how do the seraphim respond to God’s holiness, and what physical effects accompany their worship?
What specific examples of God’s sovereignty over creation does He use to confront Job in Job 38:1-4 and 40:1-2?
How does Isaiah’s reaction to encountering God’s holiness (Isaiah 6:5) contrast with his response after being purified (v. 8)?
The sermon shared a testimony of healing where a woman’s brain tumor disappeared after prayer ([32:52]). How does this illustrate God’s ongoing supernatural work?

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think the seraphim used a coal from the altar—not another object—to purify Isaiah’s lips (Isaiah 6:6-7)? What might the coal symbolize?
God’s questions to Job emphasize His authority over creation (Job 38-41). How does this perspective reframe suffering or trials as something under God’s governance rather than random or meaningless?
The sermon states, “Purification does not shame; it repairs identity and frees the mouth for true praise” ([35:53]). How does cleansing from sin enable both worship and mission?
In 2 Chronicles 7:1-2, God’s glory fills the temple after Solomon’s prayer. How does this relate to the idea that encountering God’s holiness exposes sin and compels surrender?

Application Questions

Isaiah’s immediate response to purification was “Send me” (Isaiah 6:8). What is one area of your life (e.g., relationships, work, habits) where you sense God asking you to say, “Here I am”?
The sermon emphasizes daily habits like prayer and accountability ([53:50]). What specific time or method could you commit to this week to “draw near” to God consistently?
Reflect on a situation where you’ve questioned God’s fairness or sovereignty (like Job). How might His authority over creation (Job 38:4) reshape your trust in His purposes today?
The altar coal both cleansed Isaiah and marked him as God’s servant ([42:11]). Are there areas of hidden sin or compromise you need to surrender to God’s “fire” for purification and purpose?
The sermon urges moving from “private repentance to public witness” ([43:05]). Who in your life needs to hear about God’s holiness or faithfulness, and how could you initiate that conversation?
The pastor shared a story of selling his home to follow God’s call ([46:46]). What tangible step of surrender (time, resources, comfort) is God asking of you to align with His mission?
If encountering God’s holiness exposes sin, how could you create “space” this week (e.g., fasting, silence, Scripture) to let Him reveal areas needing repentance?

Sermon Clips

What I want us to understand a little bit of today is that god is sovereign over all. That means he is the king of kings. He is the creator. He makes the rules and you and I don't. And and that doesn't always preach well. People don't like to hear that. People think, oh, brother, you you should be preaching love to us. I am. I am because I'm helping you grow up. We've gotta grow up. We've gotta change. We gotta realize that he's on the throne. You're not on the throne. And if you are, you need to get yourself off that throne. [00:12:39] (41 seconds) #GodIsSovereign

He's looking at him. He has seen him. And and probably if he was in his flesh, he would have died immediately, but I believe he was in the spirit. But even at that, he senses the awe. He senses the power. He senses the glory, the holiness of God, and he realizes right there as he sees God, I'm about to die. I'm ruined. It's over. I've realized that the closer that we get to god, the more our sin is revealed, the more our sin is exposed and that is not a bad thing. It is one of the greatest things you can do. This side of heaven is to draw close to God and let him change you. [00:36:05] (49 seconds) #DrawNearBeChanged

So whether there's a cloud or there's not, we we in the New Testament, we as new believers get to sense his presence all the time. Anytime that we draw close to him, you'll sense his presence. That's the same thing as that glory cloud. I've heard other people say they've they've seen things even here, and I don't know. I don't know. But I'm not gonna put God in a box and say, well, he did it that way, but he'll never do that again. No. Be careful. Be careful. He's sovereign. He can do anything he wants to do. Don't get don't get on your pulpit and and and beat it and say, this this is god and he'll never go any further than that. [00:29:48] (35 seconds) #GodBeyondLimits

And this is a bold statement and I I realized because a lot of people have been through some heavy things. We've all seen death. I just got back from from my uncle's funeral. We've seen death. Death isn't fair. Not not in our eyes, but it is in god's. You realize without death, you and I would have lived in sin forever? But if you know Jesus Christ and you die, you get to break away from that and live in eternity and live free, absolutely free of all sickness and death and disease and sin and everything else. [00:18:39] (39 seconds) #LifeBeyondDeath

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Holy is the Lord God Almighty | Pastor Tim Notz | 05/03/2026