Pick Me, Pick Me!
Notes
Transcript
Who Me? Yes You!
Who Me? Yes You!
Let’s Recap:
Isaiah 2: The problem was IDOLATRY
Sin causes SHAME
Shame, when confronted by a Holy God results in FEAR
Chapter 3: Because Israel was rebellious, God was bringing a DROUGHT.
What were the things being removed?
Basic Necessities
Leaders - Pillars of Society
Men - (7 Women to 1 man)
Women - the outward trappings opf beauty
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
“ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
Make the heart of this people dull,
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is a desolate waste,
and the Lord removes people far away,
and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
And though a tenth remain in it,
it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
whose stump remains
when it is felled.”
The holy seed is its stump.
What do you notice right away?
The Glory of God
When did Isaiah get this vision? anyone want to guess the year? @739 BC
Who was Uzziah?
King Uzziah was an immensely popular and successful King
Uzziah began his reign when he was only 16 years old, and he reigned 52 years.
He neutralized the Philistines, a longtime enemy of Israel
He made the Ammonites pay tribute to Judah, placing them in submission
He expanded the boundaries and borders of Judah
The name of Uzziah became an international sensation
Towards the end of his life however, he became prideful
He charged into the temple holy place to offer incense
The high priest rebuked him, but he would not listen
God struck him instantly with Leprosy
He lived the remaining 7 years of his life in isolation
His son, Jotham, ruled under him
Jotham was not a popular king…
He was a weak and evil king
So when Uzziah died in 740 BC, there was a public outcry.. concern
“Oh, the king has died… what will happen now?”
They were concerned about what lies ahead
Where was the Lord in all of this? STILL SITTING ON THE THRONE!
Many are fretting about the upcoming election… If you are a Christian you can’t possibly vote for Bump? Right?
Many people are asking themselves: Are there any 2 worse possible candidates than the 2 in front of us? Come quickly Lord Jesus, Come!
And there are followers of Jesus bemoaning what will happen if their candidate does not win.
In fact, cancel culture and the politics of fear have shuttered conversations faster than Homeowners in Fla during Hurricane Season.
Where was the Lord in all of this? STILL SITTING ON THE THRONE!
Now, what three things does Isaiah note about God?
seated on a throne
high and exalted
train of His robe filled the temple
seated on a throne:
Is there anywhere else that we get a similar picture of God on a throne?
How do you respond when face to face with a Holy God?
How did Isaiah?
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Describe Isaiah’s response for me?
self-aware
humble
understood what it meant to be a sinner face to face with a Holy God
What was God’s response?
Provided restoration, forgiveness, righteousness
Do we see this modeled anywhere else in Scripture?
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Isn’t this what Jesus accomplished on our behalf? In the same way God restored Isaiah, God desires to restore you - Will you cry out woe is me! For I am lost when you are face to face with a Holy God?
I can not stress this enough this morning… As I was praying yesterday, God placed this heavily upon my heart to convict me - and to challenge you. Are You Ready?
I am not trying to lay a guilt trip on anyone, however, the second part of today’s message is useless without the first...
What sin do you need to confess - right now! What is the Holy Spirit shining a spotlight on - right now! Right now I want to invite you to come forward. there are people on both sides here ready and willing to pray with you and for you… Come. Let us not pretend that we are invincible or that we are smarter than Our Creator - come… come....
After Isaiah is restored...
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
Now I notice something interesting...
The younger we are, the easier it is to volunteer.
Why is that?
I think a couple reasons:
Disappointment of a couple kinds:
we volunteer and aren’t picked - so we stop offering our help
we volunteer and it turns out not to be what we were hoping for
we volunteer and its a catastrophe
We volunteer for the wrong reasons
We volunteer because no one else is - and someone has to do it - right! And we end up doing something we are not qualified or interested in because we just want to serve...
Here we have God - in an audible voice - calling out for someone, anyone - and Isaiah responds: Here I am, send me.
This is why I said our response to the first part of the message was so important to t esehcond part of the message:
You can’t hear God’s Voice is you are stuck in your sin and your stuff!
However, after God takes care of ridding you of your sin and your stuff, then to paraphrase Rick Warren: You have a calling and that calling should drive every area of your life.
How do I know? Well, what did Paul tell the church at Ephesus in
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
You have been called by God… You have been called by God… You have been called by God… You have been called by God… See it is not a matter of if you have been - its a matter of what - what have you been called to do?
Not sure? Well, see Jack Derrico, take 5 Spiritual Gift Assessments, and we will plug you in wherever we really need the help!
Uhhhhhh, NO!
Nothing wrong with plugging in somewhere until you understand where God is really leading you, however, if you want to know God’s calling for you life - you need to pray!
Do you have a desire to know what your calling is?
Do you know that God will use everything you have been through, the good and the bad, in order to glorify Himself?
Do you know that God will make Jesus known through your obedience and the power of the Holy Spirit!
Craig Groeshel notes a couple things I want to remind us of this morning:
Calling is about WHO you are before WHAT you do! (who b4 do)
who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
Don’t get stuck on the What, focus on the Who - who is God calling you to be?
Calling is as much who you are becoming as it is what you are doing.
Holy—Set apart—Different from world!
Bible never talks about your calling for a career—Become like Christ.
What am I called to DO? Who am I called to BECOME?
And this is the problem with relying upon SG Assessments
Groeshel also reminds us that If CALLING is ONLY about a DO, it can become confusing!
So, I used to think I was called to preach.... thats what I was to do.
Then I was called to marry Jean - or she was called to marry me - whatever...
those things both look a little different, don’t they?
I accepted a call to direct teh SNHRM. Again, very clear DO, yet very different!
While I am called to preach, to be a husband, to provide leadership and stability to an organization and to shepherd, however, more than that is a call to a HOLY life!
To be a pastor (DO), I must first live faithfully for Jesus, because that is who I am!
My Calling isn’t about something important I do in the future, it’s about my faithfulness to Jesus today.
Your calling isn’t about something important that you do in the future, it’s about your faithfulness to Jesus today!
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
We see this principle at play in
2 bros (James/John) ask Jesus favor!
What is the favor?
When you’re on throne—Sit next— Is that Important?
How does Jesus respond?
Want to be a leader—Servant—Want be first—Last!—(Who b4 Do)
What you DO will not always be glamorous. In fact, in most cases it may be the opposite. When we pick up in
And he said, “Go, and say to this people:
“ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
Make the heart of this people dull,
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is a desolate waste,
and the Lord removes people far away,
and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
And though a tenth remain in it,
it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
whose stump remains
when it is felled.”
The holy seed is its stump.
Isaiah is given a message for the people that isn’t going to be easy to hear.
They are deaf, dense, spiritually blind. Isaiah is to tell them it isn’t going to change until only a stump remains.
Anybody here ever have to be the bearer of bad news? Back in the day at WSM...
When I went to WB...
At the NRM...
Even this morning, here at this service, sometimes people won’t respond to the Good News until they have digested the bad news...
Good thing our calling is not about what we do, it is about who we are becoming in Christ. I am not the same person I was in my early days at WSM. In fact, I am not the same person I was when I left the 717 in 2010.
Why? Because even though I was called to various places to DO, God was busy shaping me into WHO I am today. I want to suggest, He is busy doing the same for you.
The question is:
When God says “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” are you busy trying to make excuses why you can’t do it, or are your ready to see what God has in store for you next?
I am sure it wasn’t comfortable for Isaiah, and we are not called to comfort - although it is nice. Reality folks, our comfortable Christian culture sometimes prevents us from experiencing WHO God has called us to be!
God is more concerned w/who you are becoming than what you are doing.