A CALL WITH A CATCH

Isaiah 6

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

January 8, 2006

On this Sunday, we’ve had the joy of the ordination and installation of new officers in our church. It is a very special Sunday for these Deacons and Elders. In fact, this calling is very special.

After all, these are the leaders of our church. Their names are now on the back of our bulletin covers. Their pictures will be found on the bulletin board in the foyer. These are the up-front people who will make major decisions that affect the health and well-being of our church. These are the people on the forefront of ministry in the church, affecting the lives of so many, from: visitors, short and long-term members, missionaries and mission areas from Newport to Bangladesh.

But while there is a sense of privilege, prestige and prominence, there is also a catch to all this … in fact, there are several. Many an Elder or Deacon, months after ordination and installation, has made the statement, “When God called me to this, I had no idea what I was getting into!”

In fact, the very same can be said for every Christian. God calls us into a loving relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ. We find such grace to be amazing and such love to be incomparable and unlimited. But while salvation is most wonderful indeed, sanctification and service involve the death of our stubborn wills and our selfish ways. And that’s when we say to ourselves, “I didn’t expect this!”

God’s call is a most wonderful thing, but it is also a sobering thing for us to think about. So let’s consider a “Call with a Catch” as we review Isaiah’s call and consider our own, by asking ourselves some very important questions.

DO I HAVE A SENSE

OF GOD’S GREATNESS, HOLINESS AND MAJESTY?

Isaiah’s ministry lasted 40 years and it began with a vision. When Isaiah was worshiping the Lord in the Temple, he had a vision of the heavenly Temple, and there he saw a visible manifestation of God. He tells us first that he saw “the Lord”, a special Hebrew word meaning “Sovereign,” as in the true King. The Lord was thus found “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple.” [i]

In addition, “Seraphim” were seen, a name which means “burning ones.” This perhaps refers to their burning devotion to the LORD. These angelic beings covered their faces because God’s glorious and radiant presence was so utterly overwhelming. They covered their feet as an act of modesty and humility. They also flew, moving about in service to the LORD Almighty.

If this were not enough, Isaiah heard them calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” This three-fold repetition is the strongest form of emphasis, enforcing the fact of God’s absolute perfection and purity.

The name “LORD of hosts” refers to God as the supreme Commander in Chief over all His armies, both in heaven and on earth. These angelic beings also spoke of God’s glory being fully manifested throughout the earth. Here, we may think of Paul’s statement on this subject: “For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” [ii]

Finally, there was smoke and the shaking of the foundations of the thresholds. This is somewhat reminiscent of the time when God revealed Himself in an awesome way to Moses and the Israelites on the top of Mt. Sinai. [iii]

When I read such an account, I honestly tremble inside, first because of God’s greatness, but also because, quite frankly, so many in the church today seem to have lost sight of the immense greatness of God. For example, I recently received news of a new approach in a Presbyterian Church located in the South. This church is trying a café approach to worship, inviting people to come and sit at tables with coffee and donuts and to worship in this casual setting. What bothers me about this is that such an approach to people invites a casual approach to God.

Reflect if you will, on a far different attitude on worship as expressed by A.W. Tozer:

A great Christian of nearly 300 yrs ago, Nicholas Herman of Lorraine [Brother Lawrence] said that in his early Christian life he determined to cut through the tangle of religious means and ‘nourish his heart on high thoughts of God.’ I have always treasured that expression. A cultivation of God through prayer, humble soul-searching and avid feasting upon the Scriptures would go far to awaken the church.

As long as God is considered to be very much like the rest of us, except a little higher and a little greater, there won’t be any great amount of holy fear among church people. In my opinion, the great single need of the moment is that lighthearted superficial religionists be struck down with a vision of God high and lifted up, with His train filling the temple. [iv]

Oh, that all of us would be “struck” with such a vision of God! But when we do have a sense of God’s greatness, holiness and majesty, then yet another question should arise in our minds:

DO I RECOGNIZE MY SINFULNESS BEFORE GOD,

AND HAVE I CONFESSED MY SINS,

TRUSTING IN CHRIST FOR MY FORGIVENESS?

When Isaiah saw the LORD, he was immediately afraid that his sins would bring immediate judgment. You see, when you get that close to the High and Holy One, the vivid contrast between God and ourselves is shattering to the very depths! A great chasm exists and we know it!

Isaiah was undone, ruined, lost! Isaiah knew at that moment that he could never measure up to God’s standard of holiness. And one of the worst offences was that which had flowed from his mouth. He was a man of defiled lips, of hurtful words, and of damaging innuendo. And he was willing to confess just that!

There is grace for those who come before God with such humility, honesty and true repentance. On the Day of Atonement, when sacrifice was made to atone for sin, coals of fire where taken inside the Most Holy Place, behind the veil, where the Ark of the Covenant was found.[v] In Isaiah’s vision, a seraph delivered a hot coal to blot out Isaiah’s sin and take away his guilt. And the very same God of mercy is ready to blot out sin and take guilt away, when we acknowledge in sincerity and humility the unbearable burden of our own sin and guilt, and when we turn in utter reliance upon Jesus Christ.

Long before C.S. Lewis ever existed and the Chronicles of Narnia were ever written, a Puritan named John Bunyan wrote the book, The Pilgrim’s Progress. It is an allegory describing the journey of a man named Christian, of how he left the City of Destruction and arrived safely in the Celestial City.

Christian starts out his journey in rags, signifying the inadequacy of our own personal effort to earn God’s favor. Christian also has a tremendous load upon his back, the burden of sin and guilt that each of us bear. But Christian would not bear this load forever. As Bunyan tells the story:

… the highway up which Christian was to go, was fenced on either side with a wall, and that wall was called Salvation. Up this way therefore did burdened Christian run, but not without great difficulty, because of the Load on his back.

He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending, and upon that place stood a Cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a Sepulchre … just as Christian came up with the Cross, his Burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do, till it came to the mouth of the Sepulchre, where it fell in, (to be seen) no more.

Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said with a merry heart, He hath given me Rest by his Sorrow, and Life by his Death. Then he stood for a while to look and wonder; for it was surprising to him, that the sight of the Cross should thus ease him of his Burden. He looked therefore, and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks. [vi]

Dear friends, the more we see God, the high and holy One, the greater we see ourselves and the burden we bear. But those in humility need not fear: for there is rest by Christ’s sorrow, and there is Life by His death and resurrection!

III

DO I SERVE GOD, NOT ONLY ON THE MOUNTAINS,

BUT ALSO IN THE TRENCHES?

The LORD invited Isaiah to listen in on the discussion held in the heavenly Court. As he listened, Isaiah found an opportunity to serve the LORD. “Here am I! Send me,” he said ever so enthusiastically. Isaiah, of course, was thrilled. An opportunity to be called and commissioned by the LORD of hosts, the awesome God who had freed him from his great burden of guilt, well, what greater opportunity could there ever be?

And to his utter delight, Isaiah heard the LORD say, “Go, and say to this people …” Isaiah was in … he would be a prophet, a spokesman for the King. (This is better than having your name on the back of the bulletin, isn’t it?)

But that’s when Isaiah learned he had a hard road ahead of him. God told him that the people

would not listen to Isaiah. Their hearts had become hardened and callused. These rebellious, proud and hypocritical people wanted nothing of being honest with themselves and honest with God, nothing of repentance, and for this reason judgment would fall, and it would fall hard. The cities would be laid waste, and the survivors go into exile under Babylonian domination.

Oh, a remnant would eventually return, out of which would grow again the nation, just as new shoots can appear from a stump. But Isaiah’s message would largely be one of judgment on a rebellious, stubborn people, on a people who deserved it.

For Isaiah, then, his prophetic ministry was not all that glorious. To be sure, there were the times of prophesying and predicting better times for Israel, and especially with the coming of the Messiah, the LORD’s Anointed One. But most of Isaiah’s ministry was not to be found on the mountaintop; it was to be found in the trenches with a people who had shut their eyes, shut their ears, shut their minds, and shut their hearts.

God calls each Christian to some form of ministry, and there are various forms that the ministry may take. Some are called to be elders or deacons, while others are called to different forms of service. But for all, sometimes that service is a matter of tremendous joy and delight, something that we truly enjoy doing. However, at other times, it is a matter of stress and strain. It is not always pleasant.

While most of us would prefer the former, reality tells us it will largely be a matter of both. And this should not surprise us, as this was true of our Lord Jesus. And if it is true of Him, why should it not be true of us? Should we, as His servants, presume to expect more than the Master?

Furthermore, it is precisely in these times when a kind of spiritual surgery takes place within us, as the Vinedresser prunes us and shapes us in such a way that we become more like Christ and we bear more fruit in our lives, far more fruit than we would otherwise in times of ease and pleasure. [vii]

Preaching to his congregation one Sunday on this very subject, Presbyterian minister Dr. Clarence Macartney spoke of a simple illustration and yet also of a profound truth:

A traveler in Africa saw one of the large butterflies of the tropics struggling to free itself from the cocoon. He took pity on its struggles and with his knife cut the cords at which it was straining, and it came safely and easily out. But all the brilliant coloring was gone! The anguish of the struggle was necessary for that. The beautiful colors of the soul are won in the struggle with, and the victory over, trial and adversity. [viii]

As far back as 740 B.C., Isaiah received a “Call with a Catch.” He had a vision of the LORD of hosts, and found far more of this God than he had ever known before. He saw himself for who he truly was, a sinner falling so very far short of God’s standards, and yet found grace and mercy sufficient enough to lift his burden of sin and guilt. He accepted the offer of serving the LORD as a prophet, and found himself both challenged and changed in his ministry.

Yes, “A Call with a Catch.” Centuries later, may we find no less than the same in our lives today!