SERMON: HERE AM I. SEND ME

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Isaiah 6:1-8

 

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;

    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

 

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

 

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “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.”

 

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

 

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

 

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

 

            -- for the last few months, the Secretary of Defense has been promoting a new message to inspire the U.S. military during these uncertain times with conflict in Iran and the extended deployments that have negatively impacted so many service men and women

            -- it includes inspiring videos and a tour of military installations by the Secretary of Defense, where he speaks to the active duty members and to potential recruits – the videos have gone out on TV and in social media – Facebook, YouTube, Instagram

-- the purpose of this push by the Department of Defense is to honor the service of current members – to highlight military sacrifices throughout our history – and to inspire young people and potential recruits to join the armed forces – it is to secure enthusiastic support for the various conflicts we find ourselves in

            -- all of the messaging from the Department of Defense in this initiative – whether that’s in the speeches from Secretary Hegseth – the videos on social media – or the messages that the Department of Defense has pushed out – all of them are focused around Isaiah’s response to the call of God from verse 8 of this passage

-- when God says in verse 8, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” – Isaiah responds, “Here I am. Send Me”

-- that response – “Send Me” – has become the core ethos and core message for the Department of Defense in its outreach to the armed services

 

            -- without a doubt, that response – Send Me – is inspiring – it represents the moment that a single individual stands up and says, “I am here – I am willing – I will go forth to do what you have called me to do”

            -- it is a call that is reflected in Christ’s command for us to pick up our cross and to follow Him – but we have to ask ourselves what mission God is calling Isaiah to respond to? – we have to ask ourselves for what purpose did Isaiah stand up and say, “Here I am. Send me”?

 

            -- if you watch the videos from the Department of Defense or listen to any of Secretary Hegseth’s speeches, you get the impression that God is calling Isaiah to battle – to fight God’s enemies – to stand up for God in service above self

            -- but is that true? – that’s what I want us to look at this morning, because there are concerns when Bible verses or Bible messages are taken out of context and used for purposes that do not match their intent – and that is a very common critique of the Christian nationalist movement

            -- so, this morning, I want us to look at three things to set the context and background of this message – the Call of Isaiah – the Commission of Isaiah – and the Communication of Isaiah

 

II.  The Call of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8)

            -- first, let’s look at the call of Isaiah – Isaiah 6:1-8 – look back with me at verse 1 and let’s read the first part of that verse

 

Isaiah 6:1a In the year that King Uzziah died…

 

            -- Isaiah opens this chapter with the statement that King Uzziah has died – King Uzziah was one of the better kings of Israel and Judah – for the 52 years that he reigned, he had tried to follow the Lord and lead the people in the way they should go – and he was very successful as king

            -- under his reign, Judah prospered – their borders were expanded -- the people of Judah became wealthy and secure – they lived in peaceful, prosperous times – but, as so often occurs when we are living in times like this, we can stray from following the Lord like we should

– we forget the source of our prosperity and our peace – and we can become prideful – believing that what we have is ours because of who we are and what we have done – and this prideful attitude began to permeate the nation of Judah – they turned away from following God – they put their faith in their own strength and even began worshiping idols – their devotion to God became merely ritual – religious acts with no true heart

            -- Uzziah was reflective of this prideful bent and turn away from God – and in his pride and in his desire for power, he attempted to usurp the priesthood – going as far as offering incense in the temple, which was forbidden for him to do

            -- when the priests confronted him and rebuked him for doing that which was dedicated solely to the priests, a great earthquake shook the ground – and Uzziah fled into the sunlight – where he discovered he had been smitten with leprosy as punishment for his sins

– for the last twelve years of his reign, Uzziah lived separated from the people of Judah – and his son Jotham served as coregent

-- but even though the people had strayed from God – even though they had turned away from Him – the nation of Judah was still prosperous and in peace throughout the reign of Uzziah

-- so, when Uzziah died after serving as king for 52 years, it introduced chaos and turmoil – it was a time of change – the foundations in Judah began crumbling as the nations around them rose in power and threatened their way of life

-- it was in that moment – when the ground was shaking beneath their feet – that God called Isaiah

 

-- look back at verse 1

 

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;

    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

 

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

 

            -- in some fashion, Isaiah was taken to the throne room of God – whether this was simply a vision or whether Isaiah was physically relocated there, we do not know – but he tells us here that in the year King Uzziah died – in the midst of the concern and the worry that encompassed the nation of Judah – he saw the Lord, high and exalted, and seated on His throne

            -- Isaiah describes the throne room of God in a similar fashion to how John described it in the Book of Revelation – God was seated on His throne – and above him were seraphim – a specific type of angel – these seraphim had six wings – with them, they covered their face – they covered their feet – which in the Hebrew, is a euphemism for their nakedness – and with the other two, they flew

            -- the seraphim led worship around the throne, calling out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty – the whole earth is full of His glory”

            -- this very scene was a message to Isaiah and to us – that when times are uncertain – when it looks like all is lost – when we are worried and alone and frightened with what is happening to us and to our world – God is still secure on His throne – He still reigns in righteousness and power – and His holiness sets Him apart from all of creation

 

            -- verse 5

 

Isaiah 6:5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “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.”

 

 

            -- when Isaiah saw himself in light of the majesty and glory of God, he cried out, “I am ruined” – other translations have this as, “I am undone” – when we see God, we realize our true self

            -- I’ve had conversations with people before about God and I’ve had some tell me, “When I get to heaven, I’m going to tell God this or that” – and I’m like, “No, you won’t” – because when you get to heaven and you see God, the only thing you can do is fall to your knees or fall on your face before Him

            -- even John, Jesus’ beloved disciple, when he saw Jesus on Patmos – John fell on his face in fear

            -- seeing God like Isaiah did – seeing God in His word – puts us in a rightful place and reminds us that there is a God in heaven and we are not Him

            -- Judah had forgotten that – and Isaiah, even though he was a godly man and righteous prophet, saw himself for who he was in that moment

            -- one thing I want you to notice here in verse 5 – Isaiah says, “I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” – notice that – Isaiah sees himself as unclean in the sight of God – and he also realizes that the nation of Judah and the people of Judah – were unclean in the sight of God, too – which is going to be the reason for his calling as a prophet and messenger to the people

 

            -- verse 6-7

 

Isaiah 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

 

 

            -- Isaiah’s confession of unrighteousness and repentance led to the atonement for his sins – just as our confession of unrighteousness and our repentance leads to the atonement of our sins and salvation through Jesus

            -- when Isaiah cries out, “I am ruined,” – one of the seraphim flew to him with a live coal in his hands – which he had taken from the altar before the throne of God – he touched the coal to Isaiah’s lips – and removed his guilt, atoning for his sin

            -- this process of events that we see displayed for us in Isaiah is going to be the heart of his message to the nation of Judah – to be saved, you must first become aware of your sinfulness in light of a holy God – you must confess and repent of your sin – and you must turn back to God for salvation and atonement – or judgment will come upon you

            -- that is going to be the message that Isaiah carries forth from this point on – and note that this is individual and corporate – repentance and atonement must be done personally and nationally – for both individuals and nations will be judged on the Day of the Lord

 

            -- verse 8

 

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

 

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

 

            -- so now we see the call from God and the response from Isaiah – God calls from His throne, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” – and Isaiah responds, “Here am I.  Send me.”

            -- I want you to notice a couple of things in this verse– first, who is pronouncing the call? – it is God – it is God who is calling Isaiah to go – it is God who asks the question, “Whom shall I send?” – the calling is to accomplish the purpose and mission of God – not the purpose and mission of the leaders of Judah

            -- and it is to God that Isaiah submits – “Here am I – Send me”

            -- and notice that the calling and the response comes only after repentance and atonement – and now that he has been cleansed of his sin and his guilt, Isaiah is capable of responding in faith to the call of God, “Send me”

           

            -- but what is the calling? – what is Isaiah being sent to do?

            -- this verse and this response of Isaiah has been taken out of context for millennia – we use it to inspire people to missions – we use it to inspire people to go forth into ministry – we use it to inspire people to get up and get off the pews and go out into the world

-- the Department of Defense right now is using this verse to inspire the armed forces to go forth and make war on behalf of the U.S.

-- but is that what this means? – when God says, “Who can I send?” – and Isaiah responds by saying, “Send me” – what is God sending Isaiah to do?

            -- that brings up the next section – the Commission of Isaiah – Isaiah 6:9-13

 

III.  The Commission of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-13)

            -- verse 9-13

 

Isaiah 6:9 He said, “Go and tell this people:

 

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;

    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’

10 Make the heart of this people calloused;

    make their ears dull

    and close their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

    hear with their ears,

    understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed.”

 

11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”

 

And he answered:

 

“Until the cities lie ruined

    and without inhabitant,

until the houses are left deserted

    and the fields ruined and ravaged,

12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away

    and the land is utterly forsaken.

13 And though a tenth remains in the land,

    it will again be laid waste.

But as the terebinth and oak

    leave stumps when they are cut down,

    so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”

 

            -- God tells Isaiah to go and tell – and that is the calling of all of us – we are called to go and tell others about God – as we learned in our sermon series in the Book of Acts, our calling is Acts 1:8 where Jesus tells us that we will be His witnesses to the world of the gospel and the good news of salvation through Him

-- this is the same calling that God gives Isaiah here – “Go and tell – go and tell this people – the people of Judah – the people who are religious on the outside but far from Me on the inside – My message – call them to the awareness of their sins and their unrighteousness – call them to repentance – call them to salvation – call them back to Me”

 

            -- the message is always the same – the problem is the heart of the audience

            -- in this case, God tells Isaiah to go and tell the people, but to know that they will be ever hearing, but never understanding – ever seeing, but never perceiving – their hearts are calloused – their ears are dull – their eyes are closed

            -- and because of this, they cannot respond to the gospel – they cannot see with their eyes or hear with their ears or understand with their hearts – they are unable to turn and be healed – because they have chosen to turn from God and to go their own way

 

            -- both Jesus and Paul used these verses to explain why the people were not responding to their message – at the end of the Book of Acts – Acts 28:17-28 – Paul is in Rome and calls together the local Jewish leaders and shares with them the gospel message – some of them believed, but the majority refused – they disagreed and left as Paul shared the good news about Jesus’ death and resurrection – about the forgiveness of sins and the atonement that comes through Him

            -- as the Jews left Paul, he quoted these verses as an indictment against their hard hearts that refused to acknowledge their sins and the offer of salvation through Jesus – and he told them that because they refused to see and hear and understand, the message would be carried to the Gentiles

 

            -- the truth of these verses is shown in Jesus’ parable of the sower from the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke – Jesus tells the story of a sower who goes out spreading seeds – spreading the word of God – spreading the message of salvation

            -- some of the seed lands on rocky soil and the birds eat it up – some lands in shallow soil, and it quickly springs up, but withers away – some lands in the thickets and weeds, and the message is choked out by the world – but some falls on fertile ground, where it grows up and produces a harvest

 

            -- God’s message to Isaiah here is that when he goes and tells the people the message of God, the majority of them will have hardened hearts and will refuse to hear the message and see the word and understand what is being given to them

            -- in other words, God is telling Isaiah here that his ministry will not be fruitful – and that as he goes and tells the message of God to this unclean people, that most will not respond in confession and repentance and faith

 

            -- Isaiah is rocked by this – he cries out, “How long, Oh God – for how long will this happen?”

            -- and God responds in verse 11 – “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant – until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged – until the Lord has sent everyone far way and the land is utterly forsaken”

            -- the people will not respond, even as their peace and prosperity falter – even as their world breaks down around them – even as foreign enemies come into their land and conquer their nation and lead the people into exile

            -- a few will remain – a few will be the good soil that receive the word with joy and faith – a remnant will survive – but judgment will fall on the rest

 

            -- so, even though Isaiah faithfully proclaims the word of God to the people of Judah – even though he calls the people of Judah to come back to God – to confess and repent of their sins – to abandon the idols – to turn back to the true worship of their God – his words will fall on deaf ears – until disaster and tragedy overtake them and they face the judgment for this sins

            -- the rest of the Book of Isaiah contains the message that God has given Isaiah to go and tell – the message and the response of the people are always the same

 

IV.  The Communication of Isaiah (Isaiah 5:1-7)

            -- as an example of the message that God is calling Isaiah to go and tell the people of Judah, turn back to Isaiah 5 and let’s look at the communication of Isaiah – Isaiah 5:1-7

 

-- verse 1-7

 

Isaiah 5:1 I will sing for the one I love

    a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard

    on a fertile hillside.

2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones

    and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

    and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

    but it yielded only bad fruit.

 

3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,

    judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more could have been done for my vineyard

    than I have done for it?

When I looked for good grapes,

    why did it yield only bad?

5 Now I will tell you

    what I am going to do to my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge,

    and it will be destroyed;

I will break down its wall,

    and it will be trampled.

6 I will make it a wasteland,

    neither pruned nor cultivated,

    and briers and thorns will grow there.

I will command the clouds

    not to rain on it.”

 

7 The vineyard of the Lord Almighty

    is the nation of Israel,

and the people of Judah

    are the vines he delighted in.

And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed;

    for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.

 

            -- similar to the other prophecies in the Book of Isaiah for the nation of Judah, the message that has been given to Isaiah here is to help Judah understand their situation by comparing them to an unproductive vineyard

            -- keep in mind that the overall message that Isaiah is given to go and tell is for the people to recognize their sin – confess and repent of their sin – and turn back to God in faith for atonement and salvation

            -- so, in this passage, we see Israel pictured as a vineyard – many times in the Bible, God uses the vine as a picture of the nation of Israel and their relationship with Him

            -- in this case, Isaiah tells the people that his “loved one” – God – had a vineyard – Israel – that he planted on a fertile hillside

            -- notice it was fertile – it should have produced fruit – it was a perfect place and perfect environment for fruitfulness

            -- God cleared the land of the stones – He removed the people of the land ahead of Israel – this is a reminder that God cleared the land of Israel of all its inhabitants before the people came into the promised land

            -- He planted the land with the choicest vines – the chosen people of God

            -- He built a watchtower on the vineyard – He prepared for the harvest – He did everything necessary to make the people fruitful – but when He looked for good grapes, He only found bad fruit

            -- this is the sin of Israel – this is the sin of Judah – bad fruit represents their rejection of God – their turning away from Him – their chasing after idols and reliance on religious rituals rather than true faith and abiding in Him

 

            -- beginning in verse 3, God asks, “What more could I do? What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it?”

            -- God had given Himself to the people – out of all the nations on earth, God had chosen the people of Israel as His own – He had led them out of Egypt – through the Red Sea on dry land – and to the Promised Land – He had given them a land of milk and honey – He had given them Himself

            -- but the people turned away – instead of good fruit, they produced bad fruit -- He looked for justice but saw injustice, for righteousness, but heard cries of wretchedness – they continually rejected Him, even though He had done everything for them

            -- their sins were evident to all – and now, God says, they are going to face the judgment for their sin

 

            -- He says He will take away their hedge of protection – He will break down their wall – He will make the land a wasteland – He will send drought and plagues upon the land and the people

            -- He goes on in Chapter 5 to say that He is going to send other nations against Israel – He is going to raise up armies to conquer them – to destroy their towns – and to lead them into exile – the people and the nation would suffer the consequences of their sins

 

            -- this is the message that Isaiah was given for the people of Judah – this is the reason he was sent – when Isaiah stood up and said, “Here am I. Send me.” – this was his mission – this was his calling -- this is the communication of the prophet to the people – repent and return to God or face His judgment

 

            -- Gary Smith gives a fitting conclusion to this prophetic parable – he notes:

 

“The prophet’s role, and each reader’s responsibility, is to warn others of God’s impending holy judgment and to persuade the ungodly to change their ways.

 

“Like Isaiah, preachers, teachers, and parents need to weep over the evil that pervades this world. It is especially sad when friends, neighbors, fellow workers, children, and fellow church members do not classify their evil deeds as sins against God.

 

“People need to communicate their deep sadness, explain the just demands of God, encourage people to humble themselves, and warn of irresistible judgment for those who do not glorify God. There is no hope for those who ignore, scorn, or reject God (5:12,17,24). One day an Almighty Lion will roar over them (5:29).”

 

V.  Closing

-- During the Revolutionary War, there was grave concern about the behavior of American troops -- In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams wrote about there being “too much corruption…in this infant age of our Republic.” -- He then stated, “Virtue is not in fashion. Vice is not infamous.”

-- This heavy concern was again noted when Benjamin Rush whispered a question to Adams while they sat together in Congress – Rush asked Adams if he thought America would succeed in the struggle for freedom

-- The future president replied, “Yes, if we fear God and repent of our sins.” [Source: John Adams, David McCullough, 2001, p.160]

 

-- Here am I.  Send me.

 

-- this response from Isaiah to God does not mean what the Department of Defense implies – the response, “Send me,” is not a call to go and attack an enemy – it is not a call to stand up for our country – it is not a call to war

-- it is a call for the repentance of a nation and an unclean people – when God asked the question, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” – the purpose was to go and tell the people that they were unclean – that they were sinners and unrighteous in the sight of God

-- to go and tell the people to see who they truly were in light of the glory and majesty of the King – to recognize their sin and to confess their sin and to repent of their sin

-- for if they didn’t – if their hearts were too calloused to respond – if their eyes and ears were closed – if they failed to repent and turn back to God for the atonement of their sin and the removal of their guilt – they would face punishment and judgment – even exile from the Promised Land

 

-- this is what is meant in this passage – and when Isaiah cries out, “Here am I.  Send me.” – it is the cry of someone who knows who they are in God – it is the cry of someone who has been in the very presence of God – who knows their sin – and who has been cleansed by the grace of God

-- it is the cry of a forgiven sinner to an unrepentant nation to turn and come back to the Lord

-- that is what this means – and that is why we are here – to step into Isaiah’s shoes and to go and tell the people that a Savior has come, who has paid the price of our sins and transgressions by giving His own body and blood as an atoning sacrifice for us all – and to call the people to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus for salvation and eternal life

-- Here am I.  Send me.

 

-- let us pray