Skip to main content
Isaiah 6:1-8

Who Will Go?

  • Matthew Dodd
  • Weekend Messages
  • March 12, 2017

“What does God want us to do with our lives?” God has a plan for our lives and He is still calling people into His service. The question is, “Who will go?”

  • Sermon Notes
  • Scripture

Who Will Go?

Isaiah 6:1-8 

Introduction

ILLUS – Malina’s conversation with her preschool/ballet friend after watching Swan Lake. 

1. Graduation is just three months away. All graduates will be asked the same question, “What are you going to do after you graduate?”

2. A better question is, “What does God want us to do with our lives?”

3. God has a plan for our lives and He is still calling people into His service. The question is, “Who will go?”

READ Isaiah 6:1-8

I. We Need a Biblical Vision of God (1-4)

A. God is King (1)

1. King Uzziah became king when he was 16 and he reigned 52 years over Judah (2 Chronicles 26).

2. Judah was blessed because Uzziah walked uprightly.

a. Judah experienced financial prosperity.

b. Their cities were fortified. They had peace.

c. They had an elite army of over 307,500 soldiers.

3. But when Uzziah died Judah felt vulnerable, insecure.

a. In US History, 10 presidents in 52 years

b. Isaiah felt insecure, so God gave him a vision.

4. Isaiah “saw the Lord”.

a. “Lord” – Adonai means “sovereign”, “master”

b. “sitting on a throne” – He is King of kings

c. “lofty and exalted” – Transcendent, Eternal

d. “train of His robe filling the temple” – Majesty

5. Judah’s throne was vacant, but the throne of heaven was occupied… it was, is, and always will be!

6. The Apostle John declared that Isaiah saw Jesus Christ seated on the throne; a preincarnate appearance of God the Son!

John 12:41, “These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.”

7. The Apostle Paul gave us additional insight… 

Colossians 1:16-17, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” 

APPL – We live in troubled times. (July 4th in Portland. Hope in God!)

Psalm 146:3-5, 10, “Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit departs, he returns to the earth;
in that very day his thoughts perish. How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God; The Lord will reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!”

B. God is holy (2-4)

1. “Seraphim” means “to burn”.

a. They are only mentioned here in the Bible.

b. Seraphim burn in their zeal for God.

2. Seraphim have six wings.

a. Two wings cover their eyes – forever reverent

b. Two wings cover their feet – forever submitted

c. Two wings to fly – forever serving

3. Seraphim forever proclaim the excellencies of God

a. Not merely stating facts or declaring truth

b. They call out to one another from the heart!

ILLUS – Cheering for a high school football team

4. Holiness is foundational to our understanding of God

a. “Holy” – “to be set apart, unique, distinct”

i. Set apart from creation

ii. Set apart from evil

Habakkuk 1:13, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil”

b. Repeated 3 times – God is without peer, complete

i. The word “holy” is the only attribute of God that is repeated three times in the Bible.

ii. So, holiness is the defining attribute and helps us understand God’s character and actions.

5. “Lord of hosts” – Lord of the armies is fighting for you

6. “The whole earth is filled with His glory” – Where?

a. Then: Creation, the Temple, and Israel

b. Today: Born-again Christians! You and me

2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same
image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

7. Foundations trembled, the Temple filled with smoke 

Transition – But the doorposts and thresholds were not the only things shaking. Look at Isaiah!

II. We Need God’s Forgiveness (5-7)

A. All of us have sinned (5)

1. Compared to others, Isaiah was a righteous man!

2. In Isaiah 1-5, Isaiah pronounced judgment upon Israel because of their sin.

3. Now that Isaiah has seen the holy King of all creation, notice what Isaiah did not say…

a. “God needs me! I make heaven more heavenly!”

b. “God, why did you make me this way?”

c. “So, here’s why I deserve to go to heaven…”

4. Isaiah said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!”

a. Compared to others, he was righteous. In God’s presence, he called down a cursed on himself!

b. Isaiah literally declared he was coming apart at the seams! Why? 

5. “Because I am a man of unclean lips”

a. Isaiah didn’t cover up his sin or make excuses.

b. Isaiah confessed his sin without reservation.

c. But why this confession?

Matthew 15:18-20, “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. For out of the heart come
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. These are the things which defile the man.”

ILLUS – Foul-mouthed drunk at the Portland waterfront on the 4th of July / confronted about my mouth in high school 

6. “For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts”

a. Typically, God reveals our sin to us bit by bit.

b. Here, Isaiah received rare revelation.

c. At that moment, Isaiah knew two things: God is holy and he is not!

APPL – And we are in the same boat with Isaiah!

Romans 3:10-12, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned
aside, together they have been become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.” 

B. If we confess our sin God is faithful to forgive (6-7) 

1. God did not leave Isaiah to grovel and self- destruct.

2. God immediately dispatched one of the seraphim with a burning coal to cleanse Isaiah.

Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in
time of need.”

3. Notice how quickly cleansing came after confession! 

1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

APPL – Have you confessed your sins to God asked Jesus to be your Savior?

Romans 10:13, “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

III. We Must Answer God’s Question (8)

A. It’s time to “get in the game”

1. Isaiah heard God’s voice for the first time. With his sins forgiven, now he was ready to hear God’s call.

2. God was looking for someone to be His ambassador.

a. Isaiah didn’t hear a job description with benefits.

b. Isaiah heard an invitation, “Who will go?”

3. Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send Me!”

a. No reservations

b. No conditions

c. Isaiah knew the God he was serving!

i. He is the King of kings! Holy God!

ii. He is the Lord of heaven’s army!

d. Isaiah also knew what God had done for him!

e. Isaiah knew he had been created and cleansed for this purpose, to glorify God with his life.

APPL – God has cleansed you so that you may serve Him! He will not reject you! He didn’t tell Isaiah to sit down and be quiet! He wanted
to use him! Look at the Apostle Paul’s response to God’s grace…

1 Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than
all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” 

APPL – But you may be wondering, what has God called you to do? Simply this, SHARE JESUS AND MAKE DISCIPLES!

Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even
to the end of the age.”

ILLUS – Using your spiritual gifts… the Care Team.

B. Remain true to the calling

1. Isaiah’s calling wasn’t easy. Read the end of Isaiah 6.

2. Here’s the problem. After we know where God has called us, the challenge is remaining true to the call.

3. Distractions, discouragements, difficulties, failures? Leave the results to God.

ILLUS – Lessons learned while planting a church in Dallas, Texas

4. Even success can keep us from remaining true to God’s calling.

ILLUS – Uzziah failed to remain true to the call

2 Chronicles 26:16, “But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the Lord his
God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense at the altar of incense.”

5. Be faithful even in the little things.

6. Run the race set before you and finish well!

2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for
me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved
His appearing.”

Conclusion

God is calling. Will you go?

Isaiah 6:1-8    NASB

1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood
above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3 And one called out to another and said,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory.”
 
4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
 
5 Then I said,
“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
 
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and
said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” 8 Then 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!”
Audio

DonateLike this sermon?

If you enjoyed the sermon and would like to financially support our teaching ministry, we thank you in advance for partnering with us in sending forth the word.

Donate

We have a service in progress. Would you like to join our live stream? Join The Live Stream No Thanks