Where He Sends

Text: Isaiah 6:1-8

Focus: The Calling of Christians

Function: To help people embrace their call

Form: Story telling

Intro: I remember being in a large Stadium with 20,000 other pastors and we got to participate in what the speaker called a “Rapture drill.”

Now, I am not sure of his theology around the timing of what he was saying, but I am pretty sure of the outcome.

He was speaking from Revelation Chapter 4 and it is a cognate passage to this one.

John the Apostle sees the throne room of heaven and the Seraphs flying around God.

It is an awesome picture.

We see this crystal sea with all the souls of humanity standing on it.

There is this great Throne upon which the power of God is sitting.

There is an Emerald Rainbow acting as an arch over the Throne.

There are flashes of lightning and peals of thunder eminating from this place.

Overhead are angels flying and there is a symbolic picture that partially informs our theology of the holiness of God, and evil's inability to stand up to the scrutiny of God's presence.

It is described in the concept of these angels, who, according to systematic theology, have no free-will and therefore no chance to choose to rebel against God, the demons were the ones who were forced to follow Lucifer during his rebellion, who, simply because they are not the manifest embodiment of God's self are forced to cover their feet and eyes in the presence of almighty God.

If they are free from sin, and they can't survive the majesty of God, even though they are flawless, how much worse is it for us, who were born into a broken, less than perfect world?

And again, partly, it is the basis for the atonement. The systematic theology teaches that only God is perfect and God is so powerfully perfect, that any imperfection, especially the brokenness of sin and rebellion would die in God's presence.

That is probably why several biblical authors and actors were so shocked when they saw God, or one of God's angels because they knew that in God's presence, God's holiness would kill them.

But at the end, when we all stand before God, it won't be that way anymore.

We will have finally experienced the reality of our redemption.

And so, the rapture drill. One side cried out “Holy, Holy, Holy” and then the other side, and since there were thousands and the acoustics were right, it was an amazing sight.

We were loud enough for the building to actually shake and for a moment, I had a glimpse of what that event, the event that Isaiah described would be, was, like.

I remember Jerry Brenneman preaching for me once and he was frustrated about a Televangelist who said “God was talking to him while he was shaving.”

And Jerry just wanted to know if the Televangelist stopped shaving out of respect for God when God spoke to him.

The idea is that being in the presence of God is transformational.

That is why, I believe, that gathering together for sincere worship is so important. Our God is awesome and God is worth our praise!

It connects us back to our perfect, divine, parent: God.

And look at what happens to Isaiah in the passage.

He too, sees God in all God's glory and it is so intense, he wonders why the experience itself has not killed him.

Jerry was perplexed at the Televangelist because his reaction was different than Isaiah, Daniel, John, Ezekiel, Job, Solomon, Moses and the other Biblical actors who to a man or woman, -every single one of them- when they sensed the majesty of God, the fell down exclaiming their own brokenness and sin.

That is the proper response.

And look at what happens when Isaiah assumes that position of humility before God.

God touches him with this burning coal and forgives his sin.

The burning coal, throughout the OT prophets, represents God's Word.

Not the static word for them, which was the first 5 books of the Bible, the law of Moses, the Torah.

But the living and alive Word that is still being written for them.

And it is. Some would say that the book of the Acts of the apostles is still being written.

John, changes the meme a little bit, but in a profound way.

God spoke and the worlds were created.

Daniel heard the voice of God and it sounded like the collection of a myriad of voices at the same time.

That Word of God is referred to in the NT as the Rhema word of God.

The spoken power of God that created the universe. The Rhema is when God spoke and POW! The universe snapped into existence.

It is a completely different word in the Greek for Jesus being the Word of God.

That word is Logos and my best description is that it is God's personal selfie.

It is the incarnational form of God more commonly known to us as Jesus the Nazarene.

But that isn't the first time Jesus appeared to humanity. Jesus appeared to Abraham at the oak of Mamre, Jesus appeared to Moses in the burning bush. Jesus appeared to Daniel and his friends in the fiery furnace and Jesus appears and dwells inside Isaiah as this burning coal that when it touches him it transforms him into a person wherein Jesus can live.

Last Sunday, we celebrated Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, the coming of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit comes into us when we embrace Jesus.

How did Isaiah embrace Jesus?

With a simple statement of humility.

I am a man of unclean lips.

John says what 1 John 1 says, he confesses his brokenness and God comes inside of him and saves -heals- him.

I am convinced, to put it simply, that salvation is our acknowledgement of our need for Jesus to restore us to the life God created us to have.

And it comes from the simple expression of reverent humility.

And what happened? As soon as God cleanses him, God calls him.

We are closing the sermon with a hymn that refers to this great passage.

But the Chorus is a little muddled.

The words read: “I will go, Lord, IF you send me.”

Again, I like the position of humility that the song's author expresses. If. He refuses to assume his own greatness.

But here is the thing that I see.

It isn't really an “if.” It is a where, or a when, you send me.

This passage is deeply personal to me.

I remember a young lad of 12 years of age. Me.

I was at a youth conference revival sort of thing a the bible college for which my dad worked.

I wasn't old enough, but being as it was a block from my house and no one was watching me, I snuck in. I didn't think that I would get in trouble for being in Church.

The preacher spoke from this passage and he put out a call for people to join with Isaiah and say to God: “Here I am! Send me?”

I was moved, deeply and when he gave an invitation, I wanted to be the first to the front.

17 years later I was deeply distressed and in prayer. Don't think me some sort of saint because I pray a lot.

I am not really disciplined about it. I believe that we should spend more time praying when we feel called to it instead of making it some sort of mechanical Mike action. But, then, that works for me and as soon as I say it, someone else will find value in more structure.

But the point was, God and I were talking and all of a sudden I was whisked, in my mind, to the ceiling of that auditorium. It felt like I was standing there with Jesus, up in the rafters, among the lights, and I witnessed that young man, me, making this promise to God 17 years before.

I stake my Pastoral calling in part on that highly spiritual event in my life.

Here I am, Lord, send me.

Yet for years, my favorite Hymn has been “When I survey the wondrous Cross.” I love it because the glory goes to God, and no one else.

Then it changed to “The Wonderful Cross” which is the same hymn, with a Chorus of surrender added to it.

But recently, my favorite is based on this passage. The song we are to close with.

And I tell you why.

The cross is a pretty scary image. It reminds me of my sin and guilt.

Now, Isaiah's confession of his own brokenness, I believe, is key to this miracle and vision and his calling.

But look at the song, because in the song, just like the passage, God is not calling people to war, to fight or to “take a stand against evil.”

Nope, God called Isaiah. God called me. And God calls you to be radical proclaimers of God's grace, love and mercy.

These are not words of judgment, fury and sinfulness. Nope, the calling is to bring people back into the love and family of God.

It is not a calling to shame them for their mistakes, but a call to heal them, to feed them fine food and wine

One of our Hope Cookie bakers shared this with me and it meant so much to the men in the room at prison.

She said something like: “when I bake Chocolate Chip cookies for my boys, because I love them, I use Ghiradelli Chocolate instead of Hershey's or Nestles. Don't those men deserve the same love?"

Yes they do!

God has given us both the power and ability to heal a hurting world. Will we go?