Sermon #22                                                            Series:  Isaiah

 

          Title:       The Making Of A Prophet

          Text:       Isaiah 6:8

          Subject:  Isaiah’s Prophetic Call

          Date:      Sunday Evening - September 10, 1989

          Tape #

 

          Introduction:

 

          I am often asked, “What is the call to the ministry?  How can I know if God has called me to preach the gospel?’  The answer to those questions is found in Isaiah 6.  Here we have a detailed account of Isaiah’s call to be God’s spokesman and Isaiah’s response to God’s call.  The climax of this passage is verse 8.  Isaiah has seen the Lord in his glory, confessed his own sin and experienced the joy of redemption and forgiveness by the blood of Christ.  Now we read, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?  Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

 

          Now listen carefully to my introduction.  It is as important as the message itself.

 

1.   The Lord our God has decreed from eternity to save a great multitude of sinners for the glory of his own great name; and they must be saved - (Eph. 1:3-6; II Thess. 2:13-14).

 

          They are elected, adopted, and predestinated heirs of God.  We do not hedge when it comes to the preaching of God’s sovereignty in grace.  Election and predestination are Bible terms in which we rejoice.  God’s elect must be saved.

 

2.   The Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed that elect multitude, God’s chosen seed, and must have them with him in heaven for the satisfaction of his soul’s travail (Isa. 53:9-12; Heb. 2:13).

 

          Christ did not shed his blood in vain.  The cross of Christ shall never be discovered a miscarriage.  Every sinner for whom atonement was made shall be with Christ in heaven.

 

3.   God the Holy Spirit sovereignly, irresistibly regenerates, calls, and preserves every sinner chosen by God and redeemed by Christ (Ps. 65:4; 110:3; John 6:63).

 

          “Salvation is of the Lord.”  Grace never fails.  The Holy Spirit has been sent into this world to savingly apply the benefits of Christ’s finished work to those for whom he lived and died.

 

4.   Every sinner who comes to God by faith in Christ shall be saved (John 6:37-40; Rom. 10:9-13).

5.   But no sinner can or will be saved apart from the preaching of the gospel (Rom. 10:14-17).

 

          “The word of this salvation avails not until it is declared in the ear; it must be published, or men cannot hear it; and not hearing, they cannot believe; and not believing, they cannot be saved” - (C.H. Spurgeon).

 

Proposition:  The men and women of this world are perishing all around us for lack of knowledge; and it is our responsibility, yours and mine, to tell them how God saves sinners by his dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Note:  All of God’s people are missionaries, people sent  on a mission.  And our mission in this world is to preach the gospel of Christ to all men.  Tonight, I am calling for some volunteers, volunteers sent of God, to tell the world about God’s dear Son and his saving grace.  I am calling for us to give ourselves up to our Savior, to be used of God wherever and however he sees fit to use us.

 

Divisions:  Look at Isaiah 6:8.  I want to show you three things in our text.

1.   The Call of God.

2.   The Response of Faith.

3.   The Commission Given.

 

I.      First, I want us to look at THE CALL OF GOD which Isaiah heard - “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”

 

          Here is a man, nothing more than a man, a man clothed with human flesh, incumbered with human weaknesses, and corrupted with human sin.  But he is a man called of God, clothed with divine grace, and sent with divine authority.  Who is this man called of God?

 

A.  He is a man chosen of God.

 

          Notice the wording of the text, the Lord said, “Whom shall I send?”  It is as though in the eternal counsel a question was once raised, as though the Lord had said, “Who shall be the chosen man, who shall be the object of my love, through whom the unsearchable riches of Christ shall be proclaimed?’  Election, you see, is the fountain head of all divine mercy and divine work (Eph. 1:3-4).

 

1.   There is an Election to Salvation (II Thess. 2:13-14; I Pet. 1:2).

2.   There is also an Election to Specific Service in the Kingdom of God (John 15:16).

 

B. The question also implies that the person called of God is one who cheerfully, willfully, voluntarily responds to God’s gracious call.

 

          God says, “Whom shall I send?”  That question speaks of God’s will.  But he also says, “Who will go for us?”  And that question speaks of man’s will.

 

          Now listen to me - Though man is not saved by his will, he is not saved without his will, or against his will - (Ps. 110:3).  The sovereign grace of God, and the purpose of grace in predestination, do nothing to violate the will of man or destroy the responsibility of man.

 

1.   Salvation is determined by the will of God - but salvation only comes to those who are willing to trust Christ.

2.   Even so, it is God’s will that determines who will preach the gospel - but no man is sent of God to preach until he is made willing to go.

 

          Spurgeon said, “The true worker for God must be impelled by divine election, but yet he must make and will make, by divine grace, his own election for his work.”

 

C. That man who is called of God represents God, as an ambassador represents his king - (II Cor. 5:18-21).

 

          The Lord says, “Who will go for us?”  Who will go to represent and speak for God?

 

1.   We are sent into this world as the representatives of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

 

          We are all (all who believe) God’s witnesses to perishing sinners.  I am a public preacher of the gospel.  But you are all witnesses of Christ, called and sent of God, in your own sphere, to tell out the wonders of redemption and grace in Christ.

 

2.   God’s ambassador carries God’s message - Substitution (I Cor.  2:2).

3.   And God’s ambassador is armed with God’s authority - “Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”

 

          I want everyone of you to hear the call of God - “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”  And I want you to respond to God’s call like Isaiah did.

 

II.   So, secondly, let’s consider THE RESPONSE OF FAITH.

 

          When Isaiah heard God’s gracious call, he responded, “Here am I, send me.”  The response of faith is always the same.  It asks no questions, considers no costs, and offers no conditions.  It is a free, voluntary, unqualified surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ - (Gen. 22:1).

 

          Note:  In the Kingdom of God, all service is voluntary.  That which is given as the result of a preacher priming, pumping, pulling, pushing, and promoting is not of God! 

 

          -Giving - Church attendance - Witnessing - Etc.

 

A.  Isaiah was a man who knew and felt his own unworthiness to serve his God - (v. 5).

 

          No one will ever be useful in the cause of Christ who entertains flattering notions of his own worth, ability, and importance.

 

          Illustration:  “Broken pieces” (Acts 27:44).

 

God will never use that which is not broken (Ps. 51:1-17).

 

          Let me remind you of the way in which Isaiah was broken.

1.   He saw Christ in his exalted glory - Redeemer King! (v. 2).

2.   He saw the Holiness of God (v. 3).

3.   He experienced the joy of Pardoning Mercy by Blood Atonement (vv. 6-7).

4.   And Isaiah had a sense of God’s presence!

 

B. Isaiah was a pardoned sinner, given opportunity to be of some service, he knew not what, and he seized the opportunity - “Here am I, send me.”

 

          It is as though he said, “Lord, I do not know where you may be pleased to use me, or how, but, O my great God, if you will use me in anyway, for anything, at anytime, Here I am.”

 

·         His response was one of gratitude.

·         His surrender was unreserved.

·         His commitment was an act of faith.

 

III. Thirdly, here is THE COMMISSION GIVEN - “Go, and tell this people.”

 

·         Tell them what you have seen, heard, and experienced.

·         Tell them of sin and judgment - (vv. 9-12).

·         Tell them of sure mercy and salvation for an elect remnant - (v. 13).

 

Application:

 

1.   You and I have been called and sent of God to preach the gospel to this generation - (John 20:21).

2.   Whatever God gives us the opportunity and ability to do, he has called us to do -

 

·         David - “Is there not a cause?”

·         Paul’s Macedonian Vision - “Come over and help us.”

·         Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.

·         The Widow’s Oil and Meal.