Here I Am (Isaiah 6:1-8)

Here is our first Wednesday night sermon.

Isaiah 6:1-8

Josh Broward
March 3, 2010

There are some short moments in time which forever change our lives. The day I became a Christian was one of those days. I had rejected God for several years. Then one day, I was overwhelmed by the presence of God. I had two powerful sensations: 1) God was right, and 2) I was wrong. I confessed my sin, and I asked God to change me and to lead me in his ways for the rest of my life. I have never been the same.
This is one of those moments for Isaiah.
Isaiah has a vision of God in his Temple, and he is overwhelmed by God’s glory and holiness. Isaiah knows that God is right and that he is wrong. God forgives him, and God burns away his sin.
Then, God asks Isaiah one of the most powerful questions in the Bible: “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8).
Most of us stop with confession and forgiveness. We know that God is right. We know that we are wrong. We know we need to confess. We know we need God to forgive us. We know we need God to change us. But then we stop.
But God doesn’t stop. God keeps moving forward. There is a progression for God. Confession --> forgiveness --> transformation --> sending.
“Whom should I send? Who will go for us?” God is a sending God. God doesn’t just forgive us and change us. God will never rest content until all the earth experiences his glory and celebrates his love and grace. God is on an unshakable mission to give forgiveness and healing to every person in every place in the world.
Paul’s shocking experience was similar to Isaiah’s. There was blinding light. There was confession of sin. There was forgiveness and healing. There was sending. Later, when Paul was writing to the church in Corinth, Paul explained that we all go through this same process:
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors. God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
God is calling us to be his representatives in the world. God is asking us to live so that people see God in our lives. God is asking us to speak in ways that help people hear God’s calling for them. “Who will go for us? Whom shall I send?” What is your answer?

Isaiah said, “Here I am. Send me.” HERE I AM. That’s a very simple sentence, but each word is very important to our response to God’s calling.

HERE.
Sometimes, we say, “Lord, if I were over there ... Lord, if I had a different job ... God, if only our church were bigger ... God I could talk for you if I were in a different situation ... God I could help people get to know you if the people around me were nicer or kinder or smarter ... God if only I were on a real mission field, instead of just teaching English or being a student ... If only I were there in that other place.”
Do you think God doesn’t know where you are? Do you think God doesn’t know what your life is like? God knows where you are, and God is calling you to be his messenger right here where you in your life right now.
Sometimes it’s easier to go all the way around the world to be God’s messenger than it is to cross the street to be God’s messenger. Sometimes it’s easier to be God’s messenger in another country than in our own classroom or in our own apartment building.
God is calling us. What will you say? HERE I am. Send me.

I.
Sometimes we want to say, “Send somebody else.” We’re like Moses: “God, I can’t go. Send my brother Aaron.” We tell God, “Not me - send somebody smarter ... Not me - send somebody richer ... Not me - send somebody prettier ... Not me - send somebody who speaks English better ... Not me - send somebody holier.” The root of all of this is feeling like we aren’t good enough. But God says, “I know who you are, and I know who you will become. I want you. You go for me.”
But other times, we say something a little different. Instead of saying, “Here I am,” we say, “He ain’t there.” We say, “God it’s not fair to expect me to go if he isn’t going.” But here’s the thing. Other people’s failure does not change our responsibility. No matter what others do, God is calling us. What will you say? Here I am. Send me.

AM.
Sometimes we say, “Here I was. Oh, God remember when I was there. Remember those good times when you sent me and I went. That was so good.” Was is never enough. God is a present-tense God.
Sometimes we say, “I will be here. One of these days, I’ll do it. After I graduate ... After I get this promotion ... After I retire ... When I get a new job ... When I start making some more money ... When my kids grow up ... Then I’ll do it. Then, I’ll say, ‘Yes,’ God.” Later is never good enough. Later almost never comes.
Now is the time. Respond now. Live this moment, this day, as God’s representative.
God is calling us. What will you say? HERE I AM. SEND ME.