IF
NOT YOU, WHO WILL IF NOT NOW, WHEN?
Isaiah
6:1-10
Introduction: Certain dates,
places, and events in our lives are unforgettable, for example, 9/11. It was
December 28th, 1984, in a city called Cuttack in one of the Eastern
states of India. It was the National Missionary conference of the Union of
Evangelical Students of India, similar to the URBANA college students
conference here in the USA.
Thousands
of college students from all over the world gathered on that somewhat cold
winter evening to hear Dr. Theodore Williams, who was passionately preaching on
the theme of, “The Risen Lord for a Dying World.” The Biblical text was from
Isaiah 6th chapter. At the end of the message, he challenged the crowd
saying, who will go and tell of the Risen Lord to the dying world? Hundreds
went forward and committed their lives for the task of sharing the gospel.
There
was a newly born-again young man of nineteen years who also responded to the
call. He was committed to preaching the good news of the gospel all of his life.
With his newfound zeal and excitement after giving his final year Bachelor of
Science degree exams, without even waiting for results, he joined an international
mission organization.
After
having served as a missionary with that organization for twenty years, in 2005 along
with his family, migrated to the USA. After obtaining his Masters in Divinity,
he served as a pastor for eight years in a Congregational Church. Currently, he
is serving as a pastor of Hope Church in Sharon. That young man was no one else
but me speaking to you today.
I
shared my story with you to emphasize the fact that the call of God in Isaiah
Chapter six became my call for missions and changed my life forever. If you pay
close attention to the Holy Spirit this morning and listen to the same appeal
that went out in the seventh century, B.C perhaps you too can find your life’s
calling. I title this message: If not you who will, If not now when? Let’s hear what the Holy Spirit has to
say to us today.
The passage begins with, “It was the year King Uzziah died,” What do we know about
king Uzziah and his death, and why is it so significant? After the death of Amaziah, his son Uzziah
was appointed to be the next king of the Southern Kingdom at the age of
sixteen.
He
reigned from 792-740 BC. At first, he did right in the sight of the Lord by
removing the high places, fortifying Judah and building up Jerusalem. He was
wealthy and had a strong army ready for battle. God helped him to be
successful. But his strength became his downfall.
He
acted presumptuously by entering into the temple to burn incense which was the
prerogative of the priests. Azariah, the chief priest, along with eighty
priests, followed him into the temple and told the King to leave immediately.
Uzziah refused to leave. While he was still enraged, God struck him with
leprosy. He remained a leper in his house until he died in 740 B.C
Judah
was in rebellion against God during that time. They became unfaithful to God
through their Idolatry. The rich were getting more powerful, and the poor were
denied justice. People were calling good evil and evil good. There was no fear
of the Lord in the land.
They
even mocked God, saying, “Hurry up and do something. We want to see what you
can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan, for we want to know what
it is.” Isaiah 5:19. Into that unruly, and unholy environment, God commissions
Isaiah to call them to account. This commission came to Isaiah in a series of visions,
including a three-dimensional vision.
I. Isaiah’s Vision of God’s Holiness (An Upward
Vision.)
Vs 1-4, “I saw the Lord
sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the
temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered
his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one
called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole
earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the
voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.”
Isaiah
in his vision saw God on his lofty throne surrounded by seraphim. The seraphim are an order of angelic beings.
Each had six wings, with two they closed their eyes indicating that they could
not gaze on the glory of God. With two they covered their feet, indicating
their humility, with the other two they flew indicating their service to God.
They
called to one another saying, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole
earth is full of glory. Imagine the amount of power released as they spoke to
one another. The foundations of the temple were shaken and the entire building
was filled with smoke. In a sense, Isaiah had a glimpse of God’s Holiness. How
do we understand God’s Holiness?
The holiness of God is not one of many attributes of God but the essence of who God
is. It is like the face of God. It is the absolute perfection and sinless
nature of God, from which all the other attributes flow. The Hebrew word qadach, the Greek, hagios,
means distinct, and separate. Our God is incomparable and He is uniquely
different, that’s why He is called Holy.
Exodus
15:11, “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord— glorious in holiness, awesome
in splendor, performing great wonders? Hannah, in her prayer, declared, I
Samuel 2:2, “No one is holy like the LORD! There is no one besides you; there
is no Rock like our God.” The Psalmist says what a holy and awe-inspiring name
our God has. Psalm 111:9. This frightening upward vision of God’s Holiness led
Isaiah to look at his sin.
II Isaiah’s Vision
of his Own Sin (An Inward Vision)
Vs.
5, “Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have
filthy lips,” When Isaiah saw the holiness of God, he came under a tremendous
conviction of the LORD, and he began to see his sins, so he cried out saying,
Finished! I am all done; I am a sinful man with filthy lips. What a
self-realization of his sinfulness? Isaiah saw his glaring sinfulness because
he saw God’s holiness. It is like when we come into the light; our flaws become
more visible.
I
wonder how many would admit these days that they are sinful? Whether we agree
or not, we are sinful, not because we sin but because we were born in sin.
(Psalm 51:5) Only Adam and Eve were created perfect, without sin, but later on,
they fell and sinned against God.
The
second Adam was conceived sinless, born sinless and remained sinless, but the
rest of us are born in sin, live in sin and by the grace of God we are forgiven
and can be forgiven. How do people react when they encounter God’s holiness? When
Moses saw God’s Holiness, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at
God.
In
the NT, when Peter saw for the first time Jesus’ power, he fell to his knees
before Jesus and said, “Oh Lord, please leave me—I am too much of a sinner to
be around you.” Luke 5:8. When John the evangelist saw for the first time saw
the glorified Jesus in heaven, “he fell at his feet as if he were dead.” Rev 2:17
In our
passage, Isaiah said, “I am doomed.”
Having
an encounter with God is a powerful thing. No one can stand justified in their
sins. The Holy Spirit will convict us of our sins and lead us into repentance.
Isaiah’s upward and inward vision paved the way for an outward vision of the
world.
III. Isaiah’s
Vision of the People’s Sin (An Outward Vision)
Vs.
5, “I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD
of Heaven’s Armies.” God opened his eyes to see the sins of the people all
around him. Then something interesting happened; one of the seraphim flew to
him with a burning coal from the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips and said,
“See, this coal has touched our lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins
are forgiven. I want us to see the progression of events here:
A heavenward vision brought an introspection of sins, which in turn opened his
eyes to see the sins of the world. Seraphim cleansed his guilt with the fire
from the altar of God. Then and then only, the prophet was ready to be
commissioned. He heard the Lord’s Call.
IV. If not you who will, If not now when?
Vs.
8-9, “Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this
people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” And he said, “Yes,
go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully but do not understand. Watch
closely, but learn nothing.”
Whom
should I send and who will go for us, has been the call of our Trinitarian God
since mankind sinned against God in the garden? He has been calling people to
go and bring His other lost children home so that they too will once again
enjoy a harmonious relationship with Him and with one another. As a
nineteen-year-old young man, I heard that call and responded.
If
God’s voice was to come to us through a lightning bolt this morning saying,”
Whom should I send and who will go for us, how would you respond? Let me say how
many may respond, saying, “send my wife, husband, brother, sister, neighbor, or
my pastor, but not me.”
But
God is not speaking to them right now unless they are in the service today. He
is speaking to you directly, and how will you respond? Some here might say, I
am too young and I am going to school, I just got a new job, and I am busy with
my career and have not tome for it, let me think about it when I retire. Others
might say I got married and busy building a family.
That
was not how Isaiah responded, just like any other obedient servants of the Lord
in the Bible his response was, “Here I am. Send me.” Then God gave him a
specific message of what to say to the rebellious nation of Judah. Oh, dear
friends, the world cannot wait until you and I and the church of Jesus Christ
take their own sweet time to bring good news to them.
Every
day millions are dying and entering hell without Jesus. Who will tell them of
his love? If not you, who will and if not now when? Is there a right age to
respond to God’s call? You have no excuse to say, I have never heard the call
of God; you have just heard it loud and clear. The destiny of many depends on
how you will respond to that call today. Amen!
