Send Me Part 7 - Audio

Bakersfield First Assembly

Send. Me. Isaiah 6:1-8 (NIV) – [1] In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. [2] Above him were seraphs, 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 seraphs 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!” 1. Calling “The nation needed the Lord, and the Lord wanted a servant to minister to the people. Isaiah volunteered to be that servant. He did not discuss his call with the Lord, as did Moses and Jeremiah but accepted the appointment and made himself available to his Master.” (Wiersbe) Ephesians 4:1 (NLT) – [1] Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2. Confession 1 John 1:9 (NKJV) – [9] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Romans 10:9-11 (NIV) – [9] That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. James 5:14 (NIV) – [16] Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. “A seraph peels off from his flight path around the throne, diving straight for Isaiah. He’s holding a burning coal that he took from the altar with tongs, but not because it is hot. After all, a seraph himself is a burning one. He took this coal with tongs because it is a holy thing. It belongs to the place of sacrifice and atonement and forgiveness. But this holy thing touches Isaiah’s dirty mouth, and it does not hurt him, it heals him. What we must see, in the context of the whole Bible, is that this burning coal symbolizes the finished work of Christ on the cross.” (Ortlund) “Isaiah only acknowledged his hopeless condition—he did not plead with God or make vows to God—and God then went into action. Confession must precede cleansing.” (Constable) 3. Cleansing Leviticus 16:11-12 (NIV) – [11] Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. [12] He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. “When Isaiah’s lips were touched with a live burning coal, however, he was told that his sins were forgiven. It wasn’t the coal that cleansed him, but God. In response, Isaiah submitted himself entirely to God’s service. No matter how difficult his task would be, he said, ‘Lord, I’ll go! Send me.’ The painful cleansing process was necessary before Isaiah could fulfill the task to which God was calling him. Before we accept God's call to speak for him to those around us, we must be cleansed as Isaiah was, confessing our sins and submitting to God’s control. Letting God purify us may be painful, but we must be purified so that we can truly represent God, who is pure and holy.” (Life Application Bible) “Fire, in its symbolic use, is also spoken of as purifying—the emblem of a healing process effected upon the spiritual natures of persons in covenant with God.” (New Unger’s Bible Dictionary) Leviticus 6:12-13 (NIV) – [12] The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. [13] The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out. 4. Conversion “God’s purging agent touched Isaiah’s mouth, and the angelic messenger assured the prophet that he had been completely cleansed of his uncleanness. We might call this Isaiah’s conversion experience.” (Constable) 5. Consecration “Consecration refers to persons or things being separated to or belonging to God. They are holy or sacred. They are set apart for the service of God.” (Holman Bible Dictionary) Leviticus 20:7-8 (NIV) – [7] “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. [8] Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy.” 6. Commissioning “The vision produced deep conviction of sin in the prophet, then brought him to the place of confession. This was immediately followed by cleansing. Only then did Isaiah hear the call of the LORD. He quickly consecrated himself to the Lord and was given his commission.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary) Numbers 27:18-20 (NIV) – [18] So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him. [19] Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. [20] Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him.