Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
January 20, 2002 AM
Our Call To Serve... Here Am I Lord... Send Me
Reading - Isaiah 6.1-8
Our Sunday lessons this month have been about our challenge to Spiritual Excellence. For the lesson this morning we are going to note how God called a prophet... And thus how God calls US INTO SERVICE IN HIS KINGDOM. I sincerely hope that during the Sunday lessons this month you have heard God calling you into service in His Kingdom.
How does God call a prophet...
I think it is interesting in this narrative that before God calls Isaiah, it appears that God is saying... First... I need you to see something.... There are some things you need to understand.
So, Isaiah comes into the Temple and sees this fantastic vision.
Let's take what Isaiah saw there and see what we can learn about God's call to each of us in this new year. First and foremost we must understand that God still rules. Isaiah sees God seated on the throne. Forgetting this point always results in a life of frustration and disappointment. For the Christian... There can be no...
- Genuine happiness...
- No fulfillment...
- No meaningful life...
- No loyal service in the Kingdom if we forget that God is on the throne... or if we have enthroned someone or something else.
Remember, at Sinai it was... No other God's before Me. From the lips of Jesus it was... Love God with all your heart... mind... body... and soul. Love Me more than Mother... Father... Sister... Brother... Lands... Possessions, etc. Make no mistake about it... There will be no call from God until we see Him on the throne. I believe this is important for two reasons...
First... When we are called by God to accomplish a task... We must know that regardless of what happens... No matter what forces may oppose us, God is still God. This was the message of First Peter.... of Revelation, James, and the Hebrews letter. You see...
- Regardless of the persecution...
- Regardless of the things we are called to face and suffer...
- Regardless of how dark the night...
- No matter how painful the moment...
- No matter how insurmountable the problem ...
- No matter how great the evil...
- How hopeless the situation...
- How unfair the injustice...
- How difficult the trial...
God is still God... He is still on the throne.
Church... We must never forget that regardless of what may happen in our world today... Our God is not defined... determined.... or diminished... in any way... By what is happening here in our world. Hebrews 13.8 says...Jesus is the same yesterday and today and for ever. 2 Timothy 2 says... Even if we are faithless... He is still... (WHAT)... FAITHFUL. This vision is telling Isaiah and us here this morning that God is IMMUTABLE. He is our anchor in the time of storm... He is our foundation in the shifting sands of time. God help us to grasp what we sing... Change all around I see... Oh... Thou who changest not abide with me... AMEN?... AMEN!!
Secondly... Because God is still God... He is still in control. God is Sovereign... He is omnipotent... He has all power. Church... This is how David was able to respond to God's call. This faith fact is what enabled David to go up against such incredible odds and kill Goliath. Listen to his declaration in Psalm 103... The Lord has established His throne in heaven... And His Kingdom rules over ALL. There is nothing outside ALL. God works in ALL THINGS!! In Psalm 28.7, David says... The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart will give thanks to him in songs of praise. God help us to be like David... Knowing... That even with things like September 11th... God is still in control. God is still our strength and shield.
Daniel 4 says that... GOD... the MOST HIGH is sovereign over the kings of men... and He gives them to anyone He wishes. Folk... Never doubt that God is in control of this world and its governmental bodies. In Ephesians... Paul wrote... In Him we were also chosen... Having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will. Paul is assuring us that regardless of what is taking place... God is still in control. Just as it was in the time of Isaiah... So it is today...
- When things seem crazy...
- When things appear to be out of control...
- When evil seems to be winning...
- When there is confusion and misunderstanding all about us...
- When it seems to be the worst of times...
We must see God on His throne... Exalted... High and lifted up. We must know that He... not evil men... is in control. Can we see Him???... I pray that we can!!
Secondly... We must become awe struck with God's Holiness. Isaiah sees these six winged seraphim flying through the Temple crying HOLY! HOLY! HOLY!... is the Lord . The Hebrew word translated Holy is used 116 times in the Old Testament... It means...
- Set apart...
- Pure...
- Consecrated...
- Selected.
The root word means...
- Different...
- Totally different...
- Above earthly defilement...
- Beyond human comprehension.
Hosea 11.9 declares that... God is above all... He is free from mortal imperfections and failures. First Samuel 2.2 says... No one is as holy as our God. Scripture tells us that... God and His thinking is as high above ours as the heavens are above the earth. You see... Until we see God in the light of His absolute...Set apart HOLINESS...We are not ever likely to respond appropriately to His call.
Note here that... When Isaiah sees God as he really is... He sees himself as he really is... A sinner in need of cleansing and help from above. We hear him say... Woe to me!... I am ruined!... For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.
I want you to know that Isaiah is not the only individual to react in such a manner when they come to understood the ABSOLUTE HOLINESS OF GOD. Moses fell to his face when he realized who was speaking from the burning bush. Job becomes angry at God because of his loss and suffering... So, He demands an answer to his circumstances... Then God shows up and we hear Job say in 42.6... I abhor myself... I repent in dust and ashes... I speak no more
Remember Habakkuk?... Habakkuk is a witness to Nebuchadnezzar's carrying off the young princes of Judah in 605 A.D. He sees all kinds of injustices taking place, so he stands on his watch tower... Saying... God, I don't like what I am seeing down here. There is injustice all over the place and you're responsible for it. I'm going to sit right here on this wall until I hear from you... Until you explain yourself, why this is happening and what you're going to do about it. And then God shows up and Habakkuk says in 3.16... My lip quivered... My belly trembled... My bones were filled with rottenness.
One night the Apostles of Jesus caught a glimpse of His HOLINESS... The boat was sinking in the Sea of Galilee... Master, Master, Don't you care, we're going to drown!... Jesus awoke and says three words... Peace be still... And the sea was calm. Do you know what the Bible says next?... And they feared exceedingly... They were sore afraid... Saying what manner of man is this? You see... These disciples had seen something akin to what Isaiah saw... and... When compared to His great holiness, they were nothing. He was different... Totally different... He was above earthly defilement... Even the elements... The wind and the sea... Obeyed His will.
These same men had been fishing all night without any luck. Jesus comes suggesting that they try fishing on the other side of the boat. They did... and the net fills with fish to the point of breaking... And the boat begins to sink. Remember what Peter said in Luke 5.8... Depart from me... For I am a sinful man.
What are you seeing Peter...
- The awesome HOLINESS...
- The awesome set-apartness of God.
Saul... Later to be Paul... Experienced this same phenomenon. Traveling on the Damascus Road... He said... I was an all right fellow... I had a clear conscience before God... In the matter of the Law, I was above reproach. But then God showed up... Saul fell on his face crying... Lord... What would you have me do?
Audience...
-No wonder these men became great people of faith.
-No wonder they obeyed God's call...
-No wonder they gave their life completely to Jesus.
-No wonder they went into all the world with the Gospel.
-No wonder they said... Here am I send me... Use me... RIGHT?
Because they saw Jesus... They saw God and his holiness.
So, the question this morning is obvious... Have we seen Jesus?... Do we see Him right NOW??? Church...When we really see Jesus as did Isaiah...We will say, Here am I Lord…use me.
Thirdly... Before we can answer God's call... We must allow His cleansing.
One of the Seraphim takes a live coal from the alter and places it to Isaiah's lips. In pain, Isaiah is cleansed. Listen to me church... Genuine, authentic conversion is one of the most painful experiences we humans can go through.
You see... Before we can become God's person... We must allow Him to...
-Remove our sins....
-Remold... Remake... Reshape our lives... And this is not easy. If we think it is, we are on a collision course with God. But... On the other hand, if we will totally turn our lives over to His Remolding... Reshaping... Refining... and Remaking... Life will be an adventure... Life will be an adventure.
Listen to these Scriptures which affirm this fact...
First Peter 1.7... These trials, these sorrows, have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Hebrews 12.7... Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
Well... By this time, Isaiah is kneeling on the floor in pain... In humble submission. Then the call comes from God... Whom shall I send... Who will go for us? And through the pain, Isaiah says... Here am I... Lord... Send me!!
Have you ever noticed in Scripture... That most of the time, when God has some work to be done... Important work... That He calls INDIVIDUALS... Instead of groups. There are few examples in the Bible of God working through a committee. If you have ever been on a committee, then you understand God's wisdom... RIGHT?
God is looking... searching... calling one man to make a difference... Right here in Bella Vista. Listen to Ezekiel 22.30... I looked for a man... (JUST ONE)... Among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.
Do you think ONE INDIVIDUAL can make a difference in this church? God does... Jeremiah 5.1 has God saying... Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.
How about it church... Will we be the one?... Will we be the one this new year to...
- Talk to our neighbor about Jesus?
- Will we be the one to teach a Bible class?
- Will we be the one to visit a wayward member of the Lord's family?
- Will we be the one to visit the newcomers to our services?
- Will we be the one to visit the hospital?
- Will we be the one to select one of our senior members and see to their needs?
- Will we be the one to volunteer in the nursery?
- Will we be the one who will go on a mission trip... Or sponsor another who is willing to go.
- Will we be the one who will serve as a deacon in the Lord's church?
Will we be like Isaiah... Will we be the one to say... HERE AM I LORD... SEND ME... USE ME?... Let me be the ONE!!... LET ME BECOME... YOUR LIVING SACRIFICE... YOUR INSTRUMENT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Finally we must understand that God uses flawed individuals.
Isaiah sees himself... and us... those about him... as sinners... But he still responds to God's call.. He still accepts the challenge. Before we accept or reject God's call to service in this new year... I want us to understand that...
- God uses flawed vessels...
- God uses broken pots...
- God uses imperfect men... women...boys and girls.
We notice this sobering truth by examining some Bible greats... LIKE:
Abraham... Father of the faithful... Yet he was a liar. He lied about Sarah being his wife. He did not have faith enough to trust God to carry out his promise for a son... And took matters into his own hands.
Moses... Was a murder.... He became a reluctant leader... After saying... Here is Aaron send him. In arrogance he took credit for assisting Israel rather than give credit to God.
Rahab... Was a harlot.
David... Was an adulator... and... He was guilty of first degree murder in taking Uriah's life.
Peter... Was selected by Jesus to preach the first Gospel sermon... Denied Jesus three times.
Paul... Chosen to carry the Gospel to the Gentiles... Writer of most of our New Testament...
Was guilty of persecuting Christians... And acting with bigotry at Antioch.
Do we see a pattern here... I believe we do... God uses imperfect people to do His work. No... No... We are not proud of our flaws... our sins... our short comings... BUT...
- Regardless of our past...
- Regardless of our baggage...
- Regardless of the skeletons in our closets...
- Regardless of the ugly sins in our present...
God stands ready to cleanse us, purify me, forgive, and purge our sins with the blood of Jesus... No... Not just one time in the act of New Testament baptism... But every moment... Every day... As we continue to acknowledge our sins... and walk in the light.
Church... Will we accept the challenge?... Will we do God's work in Bella Vista?
Accept the challenge... Become a child of God by faith, repentance, and New Testament baptism.
Perhaps... We just need to understand this morning that God is still on the throne and that He will empower and enable us as His children to do His work.
Like Isaiah, maybe we need to be cleansed so we can go for the Lord. John says... Acknowledge your sins and He is faithful to forgive.
Perhaps... Like Isaiah, we just need to see God... Really understand who He is. Once we understand God's unimaginable love and GRACE toward us, we will find that His WORK will become unavoidable to us.
Right now... Respond to God's call... Come say... Here I am Lord... Use me...
As we stand and sing this song together...
Will you come??
