The Call of Isaiah: Qualification

Greetings again my Brethren.  This month we will begin to look at “A Personal Call” another  qualification  in the revelation of service taken from Isaiah 6:8. In our lives everything we get from God is personal and must be viewed as God has personally created things for our personal need and growth and development along the way He has for us to go.  Even the things we would call bad and reject as something from Satan to destroy us, oh no God knows all things and creates all things for us personally.  Some verses from Isaiah that some Christians wish was not in the Bible, like,  “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: ⁶ That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. ⁷ I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”  (Isaiah 45:5-7) They really do not play into the their doctrine because they shared the truth that God creates ALL things even the thing we call bad. We must whole heartily embrace this truth if God will be able to use us to reach our neighbors and friends, and the world.  In Isaiah 6:8 we find the dilemma, the appeal, and the response of man, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”  (Isaiah 6:8) Ever since man was lost in sin in the garden God has had this dilemma, “whom shall I send.”  In all of the billions of people on the earth you would think finding someone to send would not be a dilemma for God, but God cannot send just anyone oh no God must send someone who has qualified, who has been approved, who has been prepared by God through His dealings and judgments. In Luke the sons of thunder (James and John the sons of Zebedee) wanted to sit on each side of Jesus in glory, but Jesus told them boys my speaking it is not the way you get to side on my left or right hand in glory. “They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. ³⁸ But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? ³⁹ And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: ⁴⁰ But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.”  (Luke 10:37-40) We are the one that prepares our place beside Jesus in glory, not Him.  We qualify for our place in glory by drinking from the cup of shame, misunderstandings, and humiliation of the cross and by being baptized into the death of Christ (see Romans 6:4-5) not His life.  There is no other way to be prepared for His glory. God’s appeal then is, “who will go for us?” It is one thing to find someone to go, but to get them willing to go is another thing altogether.  God has many Christians in the pipeline for service at different levels of development, but to get them to go (after their training is completed) will probably take God more prompting and persuading.  Even God knows it is rare to find a man who has a heart to leave their comforts and ease behind to face adversity, confusion, and maybe even death. You know some people if they know too much they will not want to go, so God will keep His cards close to His chest and look for a man who has blind faith to go even if they do not know.  Now God can use that person.  Isaiah was that type of man and in spite of not knowing , he replied, “Here am I; send me.”  When we go we never know the extent of how God will use us.  The knowing truly is not important, but what is important is who you know.  In time God will let you know what you need to know to do that which He wants you to do.  When going do not get hung up on the details and facts too much.  Plan and coordinate your going, you would be silly and foolish not to, but there is much God will not let you know (remember it is a mystery) and as you go you will discover what God wants you to know.  So what kind of man or