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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/eric-mccullough/gospel/
I'll ask you to turn with me, please, to Isaiah and chapter 6. Appreciate the ministry of the Word of God. For the people of God, that's our life, that's our daily food. Now a little word in the gospel at the close, Isaiah, chapter 6 and verse 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. Above it stood the seraphim, each one had six wings. With Twain he covered his face, and with Twain he covered his feet, and with Twain he did fly.
And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. And the post of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Then said I, Woe is me, for I am undone. Behold, 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. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.
And he laid it upon my mouth and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?
Then said I, Here am I, send me. Verse 11,. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate. And over to the New Testament, the Revelation, and chapter 20.
The last book in your Bible, chapter 20, and verse 11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades. Death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Now a final brief reading from Luke's gospel in chapter 23. Luke 23, verse 33. And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Verse 39. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
For we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. He said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. The sun was darkened, the veil of the temple was rent in the midst, and when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.
And having said thus, he gave up the ghost. And I'm reading for this expression, Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man, and all the people that came together to that site, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts and returned.
And God, we know, will bless his word. The world in which we live, people are always looking for something different, something they've never seen before. We have read of three sites in the word of God.
Actually, the unknown, the unseen, is what keeps our travel agents in business. They're always delighted to sell you a package deal to something new, something you've never seen. I remember the first time I went to the West Coast, the city of Vancouver, for gospel meetings way back in 1974.
It was a two-and-a-half-day trip by train from Dubuque, Iowa, to Seattle and then up to Vancouver. For the first time, I saw the majestic Canadian Rocky Mountains. In all of their pristine glory, those purple-capped peaks of those mountains, and some of them covered with snow, and I thought of that hymn, How Great Thou Art.
When I considered all the world thy hands had made, and from that train window, I was made to bow and say, How great thou art. Something wrong if we can't appreciate the majesty of our Creator, the God that brought this world into existence.
No Big Bang Theory, as you young people here in school these days. He spake, and it was so. He commanded, and it stood fast. Think of the starry heavens, millions of stars. The Lord takes five words in the book of Genesis to tell us about them.
He made the stars also. Those galaxies, millions of them that have never yet been discovered. I understand our sun can contain over a hundred. Our world can be contained in that sun over a hundred million times.
Our mind is baffled at the work of our Creator. But I want to tell you, there are sights in this book that are more glorious than all of that. In Isaiah chapter 6, where we read, I want to think about a sight of His glory.
Then I want to think about a sight of His greatness. And then finally in Luke 23, a sight of His grief. All the people that came together to that sight. My dear brother Murray was telling us about it yesterday afternoon.
The place called Calvary, where the blessed Savior suffered, bled, and died to put away sin. What a sight. Chapter 6 of Isaiah is not the conversion of the prophet. The New Testament tells us these things spake Isaiah when he saw His glory.
But I want to apply it as the dealings of God with the sinner until that moment when he makes vital contact with Christ. I saw the Lord sitting upon the throne, he says. It was in the year that King Uzziah died.
I could take you back to the book of Chronicles and read to you about this man Isaiah that was smitten with that leprosy. And he died. And he never forgot that occasion. And if you're saved here today, you will never forget that moment.
How can you forget it? One moment in darkness, groping, trying to get released from the bondage of sin. I was a boy of twelve and a half listening to a little Scotchman named David Craig in Ireland. He preached for six weeks from Isaiah's prophecy.
Every night he gave out the same hymn. Out of the ivory palaces, into this world of woe, only His great eternal love made my Savior go. I can almost hear Him yet with His beautiful baritone voice above all the others in that crowded building.
He preached about a Savior for six weeks to this sinner. That's 77 years ago. I was twelve and a half. Now you know how old I am. But I'll never forget that Monday morning reading from chapter 53 of this same book.
I read that he was wounded for my transgressions I read. He was bruised for my iniquities. I was the sinner. The chastisement of my peace was on Him. And I knew that meant the punishment that He endured.
And I didn't finish reading the verse. It just dawned on me. If I'd been looking at my watch, I could have told you right to the second about five minutes after nine on a Monday morning, the 14th of March 1938.
A burdened sinner realizing if I die as I am, I'll be in hell fire forever. But I understood that He was wounded and bruised for me. Never forget it. How could you forget that moment? He said it was in the year that King Uzziah died.
He never forgot. Another thing the sinner realizes is that God is holy. Here are these angelic beings. Seraphim, guardians of the throne with six wings. With twain they cover their face. With twain they cover their feet.
With twain they did fly. And they're proclaiming the holiness of God at the throne. A little later we'll notice they're dispensing mercy at the altar. Those holy beings. God is holy. And you and I have to do with a God who hates sin.
He loves the sinner, but he hates our sin. He's holy. Heaven is a holy place. His only blood-washed ones are there. The ransomed and forgiven. Has there been that moment in your life when you understood why the Savior died?
That's all that matters. I've been trying to preach this message for nearly 60 years now. If I had my life to live over again, I would do the same thing. Maybe more than I have tried to do. I've preached in many parts of this world.
The West Indies and the UK and Australia and New Zealand and Malaysia and on and on. But it's the same message. There's a Savior for a sinner that will trust Him. Be a wonderful end to the conference of some boy or girl or older person would understand today that I have to do with a holy God.
Something else the sinner recognizes. You notice he says in verse 5, Woe is me, for I am undone. It's me. I'm the sinner. Have you ever discovered that? That you're nothing but a sinner. Mr. Frank Piercy, one of our preachers that was saved off the streets of Toronto years ago, he used to tell about the night God saved him.
He went up into his little room in the rooming house and he got down on his knees before the bed and he said, Oh God, I'm just a sinner. Every inch of me. Ever found that out? You're only a sinner. Nothing else.
And you know the longer you're saved, the more you learn your sinful nature. Doesn't get any better as you get older. I don't know why these brethren are always talking about how old I am. It's only a number.
My mother lived to be 105 and a half and my kids say, Dad, you've got 15 years yet. No way. Don't want it. But wonderful to know He's my Savior. I was the sinner. And when he was in that attitude, recognizing the holiness of God and his own sinfulness, it says, one day when I read this, the first word of verse 6 seemed to stand off the page.
Then, and not till then, when he realizes that God is holy and I have to answer to Him. And I'm sinful. Woe is me. Then flew unto the seraphim. He's in the right attitude now. And that seraphim with those tongs takes alive coal from off the altar and he says, Lo, this hath touched thy lips.
Thine iniquity is taken away. Thy sin is purged. He's at Calvary. That's where you get salvation. At the cross. Ever been there? Some years ago I went into the bus depot in Vancouver to get a ticket up to West Bank and the lady says, you going to Calgary?
I says, no, I've never been there but I've been to Calvary. She said, where's that? Imagine. A Canadian city. Didn't know where Calvary was. And so I had the joy of telling her what I've told you. There was a day when I got to Calvary.
This hath touched thy lips. Thine iniquity is taken away. Thy sin is purged. And then God calls him to his service. This isn't the language of the Lord Jesus, by the way, saying to the Father, here am I, send me.
This is Isaiah's response to the call of God for service. And he says, Lord, how long? And he hears the reply, until the cities be absolutely wasted, desolate. And the land, the houses without man, in other words, until there's no one else to listen.
A sight of his glory. Ever had a sight of glory? You know, glory is hard to explain. It's not like a rose. We look at a rose and that's beauty, but that's not glory. Glory is excellence that's displayed by deity.
It belongs to God. And God wants you to get a sight of his glory. But in Revelation where we read chapter 20, a great white throne. If there's anything that grips my soul at times with dread, I'm reminded of days when I was a boy and heard the old preachers tell about those that die in their sins.
They go down to hell. And then at the resurrection of damnation, body and soul will be reunited to stand there at the judgment of the great white throne and the books will be opened. I don't say it, but the old preachers used to tell us.
Loved ones will be there to add amen as you're condemned to the lake of fire. I wonder if there's some here and that's where you're going to be. Dead, small and great. Every sinner from Cain down through the centuries.
Great sinners. Men like an Adolf Hitler and a Joseph Stalin. And little sinners like boys and girls in Christian homes. They're going to stand held by the power of God at this great white throne of judgment.
The books are going to be open. At least three books. One is this one. The Bible says the words that I have spoken, the same will judge you in that day. Verses that you've learned in the Sunday school that could tell you how to be saved and you didn't get saved.
They'll add to your condemnation. Books of records. God is keeping records. They'll be judged every man according to their works. We used to sing that in the Sunday school when I was a boy. My God is writing all the time, time, time.
Every sin. Every act of disobedience. Every wrong thought. God has it all recorded. And you'll be judged. But then there's the book of life. You say what book is that? Well that's the book that contains the names of those who have trusted the Savior.
Is your name written there? On that page, white and fair? In the book of thy kingdom, is your name written there? Friend, that's all that matters. That's why we preach this message. There's a burning hell ahead of the Christ rejecter.
Everlasting torment. Whosoever, it says, as God scans the pages for your name, not written. Not written. Not written. You'll be consigned to that eternal penitentiary, the lake of fire, forever. I wish I could tell you it was just for a hundred years or a thousand years, but it's forever.
A lake that burns with fire. I hope there's no one here will ever be there. But then, I want to close just referring to Luke chapter 23. A sight of his grief. The greatest sight the world has ever seen.
My blessed Savior that left the glories of heaven took upon him, as we heard, the form of a servant made in the likeness of man, humbled himself. Why did he come? He came to go to Calvary. And most people only think about him around Christmas time as a babe in the manger or at Easter time when he rose from the dead.
But he came to die. And here he is hanging, nailed by hands and feet upon the old rugged cross. He'd been up all night. They had buffeted him. They had blindfolded him. They said, prophesy unto us who smoked thee.
They tore the hair from his cheeks. That's why I don't think the Lord Jesus had a beard. Jewish boys had a lot of hair on their cheeks. The most sensitive part of your face. They plucked the hair from his cheeks.
Man's inhumanity to man. They couldn't torture him enough. They scourged his back. That instrument of torture, that Roman lash with its pieces of metal and bone tied to those leather thongs. You know what the Bible says?
The plowers plowed upon my back. They made long their furrows. The farmers turned over that ground in the spring or the fall of the day and everything beneath is exposed to the surface. That's the way the back of my Savior was.
See from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. That e 'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown. They crowned him with a cruel crown of thorns. Mr. Darby suggests that it wasn't a crown that was placed on his head.
Those thorns were woven together and then wrapped around. What cruelty to my blessed Savior. They nailed him by hands and feet. And then when men had exhausted all of the enmity of their heart, God dealt with him.
From the 6th hour, 12 noon until 3 in the afternoon, God veiled that scene in darkness. And God punished him because of your sin and my sin. That's why I'm going to be in heaven. He took my place. He died for me.
Can you say that? When I was a boy in Ireland, I'll tell you this and I'm going to quit. I know everybody's tired, including the preacher. The summer we landed there just before the war, we'd gone over to visit my grandparents.
My mother's father had died and they thought they better make a trip before they're all gone. And so the first summer we lived in the city of Belfast and went to the Ebenezer Gospel Hall. My brother here knows where it is.
They had two sessions of Sunday school Sunday afternoon, over 200 kids each time. Big crowd of kids. One day there was a Sunday school teacher who said to her class of girls, I want you to learn this chorus and say it next Sunday when you come back and you'll get a prize.
And so the wee girl went home and her daddy was reading the Sunday paper and smoking a cigarette. She says, Daddy, I want you to help me learn this. She said, say after me, just as I am without one plea.
He said, just as I am without one plea. Then she said the next line, That thou bidst me come to thee, or that thy blood was shed for me, and he said that, and that thou bidst me come to thee, and he said that.
And then she said, O Lamb of God, I come, and he wouldn't say it. Now come on, Daddy, she says. We've got to learn this. We've got to win the prize. And she went over it two or three times. And finally the last time, as she said, just as I am without one plea, he repeated that line, and that thy blood was shed for me, he repeated that line, and that thou bidst me come to thee, he said that.
And then she said, O Lamb of God, I come. And the big man who had heard the gospel as a child, he began to cry, dropped the cigarette. He said, O Lamb of God, I come. And God saved him. O Daddy, she says, we'll get the prize.
We'll get the prize. And if you would come simply as a sinner, if never before, and trust my blessed Savior, you would know heaven is your home. Your sins would all be forgiven. Shall we pray?