The Call of Isaiah: A Divine Encounter
Introduction to Isaiah 6
Today, we're going to chapter six, and we're going to read beginning in verse one and we're going to read through verse eight. I do invite everybody that would like and that is able to stand with me in honor of the reading of the word of God.
The Vision of God's Glory
Isaiah chapter 6, beginning in verse one. The word of God says, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings. With two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.' And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke."
Isaiah's Response of Humility
So I said, "Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts."
God's Purification
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth with it, and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged."
The Call and Commission
Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me."
Prayer for Understanding
Father God, thank you for your word. And God, today as we break open your word and continue to worship, God, I pray you speak to our hearts. I don't know each person in here, what they're going through in their life, but I know when we break open God's word, it penetrates our hearts. And today, I just pray that you use your word in the hearts of believers that are here. And God, I do also pray if there's anybody listening today that's never fully trusted in you, Jesus, as Lord and Savior, I pray today would be the day of salvation for that person. We love you. We pray it all in Jesus' name. All God's people said, amen. Hey, you may be seated.
The Supernatural Call of Isaiah
Here in this passage, we read about the call of Isaiah. And I tell you, Isaiah, when he got called by God, it was glorious. It was supernatural. It was incredible. You know, when I thought about the call of Isaiah and the way that Isaiah got called, what we read about in the Bible, I just, God started putting on my heart a lot of things about when God calls.
God Calls at Any Age
And one thing I thought about was this about the call of God: God can call you at any age. Whether you're young, whether you're old, God can call you to his plan for his purposes. Whether you're 10, whether you're 20, whether you're 80, God can call you. Now, Isaiah, we know that his ministry was likely about 60 years. So, that tells us something. That tells us that when he got called by God, he would have been a relatively young man. I don't know the exact age Isaiah got called at, but I don't know. He might have been a teenager. Don't think because you're a teenager, God can't call you. God can call a teenager. God can call a child. He might have been around 20. I don't know what exact age Isaiah was, but we do know when we consider that he got called around the year King Uzziah died and he had a ministry of about 60 years, he would have been a pretty young person if he lived an average human lifespan when God called him.
Examples of Young Callings
And you know, I also think about Samuel. Do you remember in 1st Samuel 3, when God called Samuel at night, he kept hearing someone calling him and he kept thinking it was Eli, and he would get up and he would walk down and find Eli and he said, "Here I am, for you called." And Eli said, "I didn't call you. Go back to bed." And he went back to bed. And then it happened again. And then Samuel came to Eli again. Y'all remember the passage, right? Samuel went to Eli again. And Eli said, "No, I didn't call you. Go back to bed." So then Samuel went back to bed again. And then a third time God called him. And this time Samuel went to Eli and told him, "Called, here I am." And Eli perceived that God was calling him and told him what to do. God called Isaiah at a pretty young age. God called Samuel at a young age. God can call you at a young age.
The Call of Mary
You know, think about Mary. God called Mary to be the mother of God, to hold Jesus, our Lord and our Savior, in her womb. And although we don't know the exact age, it's believed she was a young teenager, very likely when God called her to give birth and to be a virgin that would give birth to Messiah, the Son of God. God can call you at a young age.
God Calls the Elderly
I tell you what else, God can also call you at an old age. Y'all remember Moses? Moses had been in Egypt for 40 years, and then he fled, and then he had been in Midian for 40 years. He was probably right about 80 years old when God called him to go where? To go back to Egypt to go to Pharaoh to say, "Let my people go." God called Moses at age 80. In other words, the greatest work God did through Moses was in his years 80 and after. Don't think because you're old, God can't still use you. God can use you. And if you have breath, God can work through you. Joshua, when he was 80 years old or thereabouts, once again, God used him as well and called him when Moses died to lead Israel into the promised land.
A Universal Call
Whether you're young or whether you're old, no matter what age you are, if you're sitting here today and you're 20, God can call you and work through you for mighty things. If you're sitting here today and you're 80, God can work through you. Don't ever think God can't use you right now. Right now, where you're at, God can call you at any age.
God Calls in Diverse Ways
And I tell you what else, God can call you any way he chooses. There's all kinds of ways. I mean, God might speak to you through a song that's honoring God. God might use a person to speak through you. Here in this passage, we see Isaiah gets called to be a prophet, and it's in a glorious way. It's in a supernatural way. If God chooses, he can call you to something in a glorious and in a supernatural way.
Isaiah's Supernatural Vision
It says there in the passage we read, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple." This is what Isaiah is sharing that he saw. He saw the Lord high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the whole temple. Above it stood seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory." And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
The Majesty of God's Presence
When God called Isaiah, it was supernatural. When God called Isaiah, it was incredible. It seems that Isaiah was likely in the temple. Unless this is just all a vision, but it talks about that he saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and then the train of his robe filled the temple. I don't know for sure. You'll read a lot of commentaries where it talks about he was in the temple. Now, he could have also been anywhere and he just gets this vision from God and he sees the temple. But regardless, we see Isaiah is there, and it seems like he's worshiping in the temple, but then he gets brought to a heavenly court where he sees the Lord and he sees seraphim.
A Glorious Encounter
What a spectacular, glorious way God chose to call Isaiah, a supernatural way. And he sees these seraphim with these wings, and it seems that they're in the presence of God. So they're covering their body parts and all so forth, covering their face, very likely because of the glory of God, being in the holiness of God. And with the other two wings, they had six wings, they're flying. And then we see that they all begin to praise God. So Isaiah, as he's being called by God, this is what God allows him to see. And these seraphim are praising God, saying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory." And it says the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of the Lord. What a glorious way, magnificent way, supernatural way that God called Isaiah.
God Calls in Simple Ways Too
God, if he wants, when he calls somebody to something, he can call them in a supernatural way. He can call them in a glorious way. We know that Paul, one calling is a call, once you're a believer, God can call you. But we know the ultimate call is the call to salvation. Amen. That's the ultimate call. And that's a call from God. When you turn your life over to Jesus Christ, that is the ultimate call, giving your life to Jesus. But after you're a believer, God will call you to fellowship. And also as a believer, God will call you to areas of service. It might be to preach. It might be to missions. It might be to all kinds of things.
Paul's Dramatic Conversion
Here we see where Isaiah is being called to be a prophet of God. And it's in a supernatural way. But the Apostle Paul, you remember the Apostle Paul, his call to salvation, it was glorious, too. You remember Paul had been persecuting the church, right? And they had all scattered. I think Acts 8:4 says the believers went everywhere preaching the word because they were being locked up. They were being beaten. They were being killed. And when they scattered in Acts 9, we read about Saul, or who we know as the Apostle Paul, who had been persecuting the church. He didn't like it, the way believers were scattering and preaching the word. So, he went there to Damascus to track them down. And he had a plan to lock them up. But God had another plan. Amen. And y'all remember what God did in a supernatural way. This is the call to salvation. He sees a light as he's on the way to Damascus. This heavenly light and a light shone around from heaven. Then he fell to the ground. I got to imagine Paul was in awe, and he heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting." So, God called Paul in a very supernatural way as well. Like Isaiah got called to be a prophet in a supernatural way, Paul got called to salvation in a supernatural way. It was a heavenly brilliance, and it was the Lord talking to him.
The Simplicity of the Disciples' Call
But God can also call in a simple way. Now, I don't think any call of God is simple is not quite the right word because when you're hearing from God, it's not simple. But you know, you read some passages about the disciples being called that it's not some heavenly light. Sometimes somebody will say, "Man, I don't have a great testimony about when I got saved because I was just whatever. I was in church and I heard the gospel." It's still a great testimony. God called you and saved you. You got a testimony. You know, the disciples, you read about a lot of them, and it was pretty simple sounding when they got called.
Peter and Andrew
Matthew 4:18-20. Watch what it says. And Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Then he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed him.
James and John
Now, there's nothing simple. If the Lord sitting on earth and telling you to follow me, I'm not saying that's simple. That's the Lord, and any call of God is not simple. But you didn't see some dramatic light or brilliance or this or that. He just said, "Follow me." Matthew 4:21-22, it says, going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.
Matthew
So you see, you got someone like Paul that there's this glorious heavenly brilliance, someone like Isaiah where he sees this vision of the Lord sitting high and lifted up. Then you got James and John where he just says, "Follow me. Come." Matthew 9:9. When he called Matthew, as Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office of all places. And he said to him, "Follow me." So he arose and followed him.
Trust and Obey
God can call you whatever way he wants to call you. It can be simple. It can be supernatural. But either way, when God calls, it's always best to trust and obey.
Personal Testimony of God's Call
You know, I think about when again when I think about a call of God, I first I think about salvation. That's the first and most important and ultimate call. You got to trust in the Lord to go to heaven. When I got saved, I had felt God dealing with me for several years. Honestly, when I met my wife, that's when I started hearing a lot of truth from her, from her mom, and we started going to church, and I was hearing the full gospel preached. Although I grew up in church, I never really heard the full gospel preached. I never heard about being born again. I never heard about salvation. It was more works-based. I wasn't saved. But I remember I started hearing the full gospel preached, but I kept saying, "No, I'm good." I had a lot of Sundays I sat in church and I gripped the pews. I had a lot of Sundays I remember God putting on my heart to go, but I didn't go. I had a lot of times where I felt like I've got to surrender, but I didn't surrender. But praise God, I kept hearing the gospel. Crystal kept sharing it. Her mom kept sharing it. I kept hearing it preached. And when I got saved, it was glorious in the sense that God called me, but it was simple. It was three days after my dad died, and I was sitting on the shores of Carolina Beach early in the morning, and I just cried out, and I said, "Lord, I need you. I'm ready. I'm surrendering to you. I'm giving my life to you. I'm placing my full faith and trust in you, Jesus, as Lord and Savior." There was no brilliance. There was no, you know, vision that I saw. Now, it was still glorious because God saved me. But believe me, when God calls you, whether it's to salvation or to fellowship or whatever it is, some specific area of service, it's not always supernatural. But when you know he's calling you, it's best to trust and obey.
The Call to Fellowship
After I got saved, I started to have a call to fellowship. I didn't know that's what it was, but I yearned to get closer to the Lord because when you truly get saved, you're going to want to grow closer to Jesus. And Christians struggle with it. And Christians sometimes will struggle, the flesh and the spirit war against each other like Galatians says, like Paul writes in Galatians. But when you get saved, you should have a desire to want to draw closer to Jesus. And when you feel that tug, that's that call to fellowship, that call to get in the word, that call to pray, that call to grow closer to Jesus.
The Call to Preach
And I remember I felt that call. And as I got in the word of God and immersed in the word of God, that's when God began to call me to preach. But you know what I did again? I ran. I kept running for four years because I had a great career. I loved my career. I knew how. And I thought, "Pastor, who, how can I be a pastor? You know what I've done?" But God just kept calling. And I'll tell you, after running for four years, and many of y'all have heard, I worked for the Boy Scouts. I was going to be a CEO. I went down to Lexington, Kentucky with Crystal, got the position to be the CEO of a large Boy Scout council of 55 counties. It had 25 full-time staff. It was my dream, but I knew I'd been running from God. And I remember building up to that interview, I just kind of, no, no, I'm good. No, no, no. I don't. No, no, I don't. Because I wanted what I thought I wanted. What I thought I wanted wasn't the best thing, but that's what I wanted. And then I remember when I got back home, sitting out and I had ran for four years, sitting out on our porch early in the morning, and I just felt God all over me about you're running. You got to trust me. And that was after running for four years. And I remember crying out on that back porch, "Lord, if you give me a sign that I," I said this to God. I said, "If you give me a sign, I promise you I'll trust you. If you give me a sign that there is a ministry position, I'll give it all up and I'll trust you."
A Supernatural Confirmation
What God did next was supernatural. I don't know why he did it, but it was amazing. I was sitting in McDonald's with the pastor I'd met hundreds of times once a week, sitting in McDonald's, and I told him how I'd battled the call many times, and he had just prayed. But that day when I was sitting at McDonald's, I said, "You don't understand, Pastor Dwight. I know I'm running from God." And he looked at me and he said, "Joshua, I don't know if you're called or not, but if you are, I know somehow someway God will work it out for your family. You might not have much, but you'll have a roof over your head, and you'll get to eat something. And Joshua, if you know that you're called, there's almost a 99% chance that a position in ministry, family ministry pastor, is going to be opening up at our church. And Joshua, if you know that you're called, it's yours."
Experiencing God's Glory
What happened next? I can't put it into words other than it was from God. All I saw was brilliance everywhere. Heavenly brilliance, glory of God. I was, I just remember being in awe and looking up, and I don't remember being in McDonald's. I don't remember people were all around me. I just remember a heavenly brilliance all around me. The best peace and joy. Not anything I've ever felt in this world. I felt moments of being in the presence of God. This was being in the presence of God in a supernatural way. And I don't know why God did that, but it was being in the presence of God in a way that's like the glory of the Lord. And I just remember just being stuck and in awe. It says here in this passage, Isaiah was undone. If you dig into that Hebrew word, it seems to mean silent or dumb. Like he's just like, "Okay, I'm in the awe of God. I just can't do anything." That's how I felt. I was just in total awe. And then it went away, and I was in McDonald's. But when God, and then I answered the call. God did that, and finally after that moment, I called up, and I resigned my position. Then I answered the call.
God Calls Anyone from Anywhere
God can call in all kinds of ways. He can call whatever. He can call you in glorious fashion. He can call you in a supernatural way. But he could also just call you where you just feel him telling you to trust in him, and you trusted him, and there's nothing supernatural other than you're hearing from God. But there's no brilliance. God can call you whatever way he chooses. And I tell you what else about the call of God: God can call anyone from anywhere.
A Personal Transformation
You know, if God can call me to preach, God can call anybody. I didn't surrender my life till age 27. I didn't grow up reading the Bible. I grew up in church. I grew up in the Catholic church, but I didn't grow up learning the Bible. I wasn't saved. And when I got to college and out of college, I was partying, and I was closing down the bar. I wasn't living for God. But then God called me. I tell you, if God can call me, God can call you. Don't ever think God can't call you. God can call anyone. And oftentimes God uses the people that you humans wouldn't necessarily think would be used. God can use anyone and call anyone.
The Example of Paul
Think about Paul. Paul was persecuting Christians. He was leading the persecution of the Christian movement. And God did what? God saved him. Sometimes we can judge people, and we can say, "Man, I can't stand that person." You know what? God loves them, and God wants to save them if they'll turn to him. The person sometimes we might have in our heart, "Man, I could never like that person." Well, you know what? That's who Jesus died for. And Jesus died for you, for me. He even died for Paul, who was killing and persecuting Christians, who, at the stoning of Stephen, they laid his clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. If God can use Saul, who we know as the Apostle Paul, to become possibly the greatest evangelist ever, God can use anybody. Amen.
Mary's Humble Calling
You know, when I think about Mary, she was beloved by God. She must have been an incredible young lady, but I mean, she was a simple young teenager from a simple ordinary town. And God called her to be the mother of Jesus. God can use anyone. He can use you. He can call you. And he can call anyone from anywhere. She was just from an ordinary town, a simple little town.
Feeling Unworthy
One thing that stands out to me about Isaiah is how, when we read this passage, he felt unworthy. Have you ever felt unworthy when God called you? Or maybe when God's called you to salvation, maybe you're saved, and you remember feeling, "I'm not worthy." Or maybe right now you haven't answered the call to salvation, and you feel not worthy. Guess what? None of us are worthy. But he made a way for us to be made worthy.
Isaiah's Confession
And Isaiah, watch what he says in this passage. It says, "So I said, 'Woe is me, for I am undone.'" Isaiah has just seen this vision. He's seen the Lord high and lifted up. He's seen the train of his robe filling the temple, signifying his greatness. He sees these seraphim flying around these heavenly creatures, and he sees them praising God, saying, "Glory to God. The whole, the posts of where he's at are shaking because of the voice." He says, "Woe is me, for I'm undone." Again, the New King James says undone. The ESV says lost. The NIV, CSB, NASB says ruined. The KJV says undone. The NE says destroyed. That Hebrew word, it means most likely to be silent. In other words, he's just been in the glory of God, and he is dumbfounded. Then we can finally talk. He goes on to talk, and he says, "I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips." In other words, Isaiah is saying, "I'm not worthy to be in his presence." Have you ever felt not worthy?
God's Cleansing Grace
He says, "I'm not worthy." But watch what God does. Verse 6: Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar, and he touched my mouth with it, and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips. Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged." And guess what? Just like he made Isaiah worthy, God made a way for you and for you and for you and for you and for me and for all of us to be made worthy. And that way is through faith in Jesus. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Personal Reflection on Worthiness
I remember when I got called to salvation, I didn't feel worthy because I knew how sinful I was. But guess what? When Jesus saves us, and we're forgiven by the blood of Jesus, all those sins, they're washed away. As far as the east is from the west, no, you're not worthy. No, I'm not worthy. But that's why Jesus came. He made a way for you and I to be made worthy. And he might be calling you right now as a believer to something in your life. I don't know what it might be. It might be to missions. It might be to preach. It might be to homeless ministry. It might be to women's ministry. It might be to children's ministry. I don't know what it is. But when he saved you, he made you worthy. Yeah, you're not worthy in your own right, but he made you worthy.
Responding to God's Call
I guess the question I want to ask today as we close is when we think about Isaiah being called and saying, "Here am I, send me." What about you? Are you trusting God as he calls you? Is God calling you to something right now? And are you trusting him with it? Maybe God's calling you to salvation, and you've been fighting it, and you're still fighting it. Maybe you've grown up in church all your life, but you know you're not saved. If God's calling you to salvation, whether you've grown up in church or not, trust in Jesus today. It's not just about knowing Jesus. It's about saying, "I'm a sinner, and I know only you can forgive me," and calling on Jesus fully, saying, "Forgive me of my sins, and Jesus, I'm trusting in you as Lord and as Savior."
Call to Fellowship
And what about if you're a believer, is God calling you to fellowship, to a closer walk with him? And as he's doing that, are you trusting him and pursuing him in the word, pursuing him in prayer, being in church, serving God, trying to grow closer to God, or are you just pushing it away, saying, "No, I don't need to listen to that."
Call to Service
And finally, when we think about this passage where Isaiah is called to be a prophet, I think something we're reminded of as a believer is that God will call us to different things for his purposes. Is God calling you to something right now, believer? Is he calling you to something? I mean, is God putting on your heart, "I'm calling you to be a pastor," and are you trusting him? Maybe God's putting on your heart, "I'm calling you to the mission field," and you know he's calling you, but you struggle like, "How can I go to another country? How can I go somewhere else?" He calls people all the time. God's call can be radical. Maybe God's calling you to men's ministry. Maybe it's to women's ministry. Maybe he's calling you to a prison ministry. Maybe it's to a homeless ministry. Maybe it's to children's ministry. Maybe it's to youth ministry. Is God calling you to something right now? And if he is, are you trusting him?
The Battle of Obedience
You know, I remember when God called me to preach, it was, I called it the battle to my wife Chris. I said, "One day, I need to write a book called the battle because I was in a battle." What I didn't realize is the battle that came after I answered the call. When the enemy attacked me, I went into darkness. But when you're running from God's call, whatever it might be, you're going to be miserable. It's going to feel like a battle because you know you're not being obedient to him. If you're a believer and you're running, you're going to be miserable. And I remember those years I was running, there were a lot of moments things happened. One time I remember waking up after a dream and looking, waking Crystal up and telling her in the middle of the night what had happened. I had been in my dream, and I was on a stage in a church, and my back was turned to the congregation. And every bit of me was saying, "I'm running from God. God's trying to tell me to quit running." And I remember being in a service where Pastor Dwight preached this passage, Isaiah 6. And the whole sermon, I just knew I was running from God. I knew God was calling me to preach, but I was running. And I remember it came to invitation time, and I felt like I needed to get up at invitation to share that God's called me to preach. But I didn't get up, and I was miserable. Interestingly, another guy got up who was a few years older than me, and he got up to share, and the pastor shared that this person, he named his name, feels called to preach. And I remember thinking, man, why can't I trust God? Praise God. He didn't give up. And he worked supernaturally to finally for me to answer the call.
Final Invitation
But as we leave today, I just want to say, is there something God's calling you to? And are you saying, "Here am I. Send me." Father God, thank you for your word. And Lord, right now, I just pray as we sing and as we have invitation and a chance to respond. Although I don't know how you're working in hearts, I believe with every fiber in me, you're working in some hearts today. And I just pray that right now, as we're worshiping and as the Holy Spirit's moving, if you're working in some hearts today, whatever way it might be, if you're working in believers' hearts right now for a calling, some calling, I pray you would give them the boldness to come forward, more importantly, most importantly to you and to share with you, "Here am I. Send me." And God, I pray if you're calling someone to fellowship or to some specific thing that right now as we just do business with God and as we continue to worship, I pray people will flood this altar and call out to you. I pray people would come forward and just pray with one another. And most importantly, I pray as we pray and as we worship, they just respond in obedience to you. And God, I pray if there's one that you're calling to salvation, that they come forward today to share, "I'm ready to trust in Jesus." Most importantly, they call on you, but that they come forward to share that good news. God, we love you, and I just pray you use this time for your purposes. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.
