WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.580 Good morning. Last week we wrestled with a pretty 00:00:04.580 --> 00:00:07.839 big question. One that we often ask whenever 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:12.000 we're feeling like we're being called by God. 00:00:12.599 --> 00:00:16.859 And that is, why me? Because sometimes we feel 00:00:16.859 --> 00:00:19.260 unqualified. Sometimes we feel like we're not 00:00:19.260 --> 00:00:21.559 the right choice or maybe we're not the best 00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:25.480 fit. And we go through our brains and we look 00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:27.539 at all the things we've done wrong in our life 00:00:27.539 --> 00:00:30.699 or the things we haven't done and we say, there's 00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:33.640 no way that God could use me, so we disqualify 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:41.179 ourselves. And then we ask the question, why 00:00:41.179 --> 00:00:45.780 not now? After looking at stories of people like... 00:00:46.009 --> 00:00:50.049 Jeremiah and Moses and Ruth and all those people. 00:00:50.189 --> 00:00:52.130 And I shared with you a little bit of my story. 00:00:52.590 --> 00:00:55.909 We asked the question, why me? And then I hope 00:00:55.909 --> 00:00:59.829 we answered that one. And then we asked, why 00:00:59.829 --> 00:01:05.090 not now? Why not do what God is calling us to 00:01:05.090 --> 00:01:10.030 do? Why not answer the call now? Because... The 00:01:10.030 --> 00:01:12.709 truth we saw was that God doesn't always call 00:01:12.709 --> 00:01:15.629 the qualified, but he always qualifies the called. 00:01:16.810 --> 00:01:21.590 And I do still believe that that's true. And 00:01:21.590 --> 00:01:25.069 today I want us to ask another question. And 00:01:25.069 --> 00:01:28.989 it's along the same lines, but it's a little 00:01:28.989 --> 00:01:34.250 bit different. And it's what now? Because we 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:37.370 asked, why me? We answered that. We asked why 00:01:37.370 --> 00:01:39.430 not now? Hopefully we answered that as well. 00:01:39.569 --> 00:01:42.109 And now we're looking at this idea of, well, 00:01:42.209 --> 00:01:47.510 what exactly is it that I need to do now? Maybe 00:01:47.510 --> 00:01:50.930 it's a where do I need to go now? What do I need 00:01:50.930 --> 00:01:55.950 to say now? Who do I need to be now? What now? 00:01:56.769 --> 00:01:59.890 What is the call? And what does it actually look 00:01:59.890 --> 00:02:03.200 like to say yes to God? And so to answer that, 00:02:03.219 --> 00:02:05.019 I want us to look at a man in the Old Testament 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:09.000 who said yes, but he only said yes to God after 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.800 being completely floored by the holiness of God. 00:02:12.900 --> 00:02:15.759 And so we read in Isaiah chapter 6, verses 1 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:17.240 through 8. We're going to read through this, 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:20.819 and as I try to do every Sunday, we'll pray over 00:02:20.819 --> 00:02:24.379 that text and then our handling of it. So let's 00:02:24.379 --> 00:02:28.159 read this passage in Isaiah. In the year that 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:30.560 King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:33.340 a throne. high and lifted up, and the train of 00:02:33.340 --> 00:02:37.460 His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the 00:02:37.460 --> 00:02:41.719 seraphim, and one called to another and said, 00:02:41.800 --> 00:02:47.599 Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:50.819 earth is full of His glory. And the foundations 00:02:50.819 --> 00:02:54.159 of the threshold shook at the voice of Him who 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:56.539 called, and the house was filled with smoke. 00:02:56.699 --> 00:03:03.080 And I said, Woe is me. For I am lost, for I am 00:03:03.080 --> 00:03:07.580 a man of unclean lips. And my eyes have seen 00:03:07.580 --> 00:03:11.960 the King, the Lord of hosts. Then one of the 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:14.439 seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning 00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:16.759 coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar, 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:20.139 and touched my mouth and said, Behold, this has 00:03:20.139 --> 00:03:22.719 touched your lips. Your guilt is taken away, 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:28.960 and your sin is atoned for. And I heard the voice 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:32.840 of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:37.819 will go for us? Then I said, here I am, send 00:03:37.819 --> 00:03:42.599 me. Let's pray for our understanding and transformation 00:03:42.599 --> 00:03:45.780 from this passage today. Father, we thank you 00:03:45.780 --> 00:03:48.520 for your word. And we thank you for the way that 00:03:48.520 --> 00:03:52.240 the word is able to connect to our minds and 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.000 transform our hearts. And so God, we pray this 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:57.919 morning that you would use this word to break 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:00.919 through our hearts. To show us something, to 00:04:00.919 --> 00:04:03.520 tell us something that we need to know so that 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:06.259 we can live lives that give you glory, that we 00:04:06.259 --> 00:04:09.139 can live those abundant joy and purpose -filled 00:04:09.139 --> 00:04:12.599 lives that you want us to have. God, I pray that 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:15.060 as we look through this scripture this morning 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:17.759 and as we have a conversation about what it looks 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:20.620 like to actually say yes to you and what you're 00:04:20.620 --> 00:04:24.560 calling us to do, God, I pray that our minds 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:30.389 would see your glory. And that our only response 00:04:30.389 --> 00:04:36.470 would be to serve. To say, here I am, God. Send 00:04:36.470 --> 00:04:39.930 me. I pray for us as individuals that we would 00:04:39.930 --> 00:04:42.990 individually give our personal lives over to 00:04:42.990 --> 00:04:46.709 you. I pray for us as a congregation that we 00:04:46.709 --> 00:04:50.290 would, as a unit of people striving to do your 00:04:50.290 --> 00:04:52.589 will in this earth, that we would give our lives 00:04:52.589 --> 00:04:56.110 to you. And God, I pray that in everything we 00:04:56.110 --> 00:04:59.240 do, We look at how good you've been and we say, 00:04:59.379 --> 00:05:03.660 I have no other choice but to serve. God, here 00:05:03.660 --> 00:05:06.459 we are. We pray that you send us today. In Jesus' 00:05:06.579 --> 00:05:11.980 name, amen. So Isaiah's calling doesn't start 00:05:11.980 --> 00:05:14.439 with a command. It actually starts with a vision. 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:19.199 It starts with this glimpse of God's holiness, 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:22.759 this glimpse of God's majesty. What we see in 00:05:22.759 --> 00:05:26.240 verse 1 is, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne. 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:29.579 High and lifted up. I want you to imagine that 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:33.939 you walk into this building and all you can see 00:05:33.939 --> 00:05:37.420 is just like bright lights and shining and gold 00:05:37.420 --> 00:05:40.079 and splendor on this stage. And you look a little 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:42.660 bit closer and you finally adjust your eyesight 00:05:42.660 --> 00:05:47.339 to where you can see. And what you see is LeBron 00:05:47.339 --> 00:05:55.259 James. And you're like, that's, that. That's 00:05:55.259 --> 00:05:57.439 the guy that people call the greatest basketball 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:00.600 player of all time. He's not. But that's him. 00:06:01.500 --> 00:06:06.980 He's here in our presence right now. You would 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:11.660 be awestruck. You would probably, some of you 00:06:11.660 --> 00:06:13.980 might faint. Some of you would like start to 00:06:13.980 --> 00:06:15.959 fangirl and you'd get your phone out. I was at 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:18.500 the Atlanta airport yesterday and I saw this 00:06:18.500 --> 00:06:21.560 famous comedian's truck and I only know it was 00:06:21.560 --> 00:06:24.279 his truck because... It could only be his truck. 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:27.420 And so I'm like walking and I'm like taking a 00:06:27.420 --> 00:06:29.560 video of his truck. Because I'm like, that's, 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:35.720 you get, you know, awestruck. You're captivated. 00:06:35.980 --> 00:06:38.980 And that's what happens to Isaiah here. He sees 00:06:38.980 --> 00:06:45.100 God in all of his glory. High and lifted up. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:48.819 And before Isaiah ever hears God's voice, he 00:06:48.819 --> 00:06:51.459 sees this glory, he's floored by it, and the 00:06:51.459 --> 00:06:53.600 word I want you to hold on to this morning is 00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:58.100 captivated. He's captivated. I want to tell you 00:06:58.100 --> 00:07:01.740 a story that kind of reminded me as I was preparing 00:07:01.740 --> 00:07:05.339 this lesson of this captivation. See, this past 00:07:05.339 --> 00:07:08.240 week, on Friday, I had the honor of officiating 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:11.920 my high school best friend's wedding in New York. 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:16.500 And as I was preparing what I was going to say 00:07:16.500 --> 00:07:20.120 and the thoughts that I was going to give, I 00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:23.759 was thinking about the way he's going to look 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:27.500 at his bride as she walks down the aisle. And 00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:29.819 it actually, I mean, it transpired. I'm standing 00:07:29.819 --> 00:07:33.699 there and he looks at her and just waterworks. 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:39.350 I mean, he can't hold it together. Because that's 00:07:39.350 --> 00:07:41.310 a beautiful sight. And married men, you know 00:07:41.310 --> 00:07:44.230 what I'm talking about. Or maybe when you have 00:07:44.230 --> 00:07:46.069 your first child and you see that baby and you 00:07:46.069 --> 00:07:48.370 hold it in your hands for the first time and 00:07:48.370 --> 00:07:51.350 all you can think about is, I'm going to protect 00:07:51.350 --> 00:07:53.170 and I'm going to love and I'm going to care for 00:07:53.170 --> 00:07:57.889 this person. And so I'm preparing for this wedding 00:07:57.889 --> 00:08:02.730 and it made me think about the first time I ever 00:08:02.730 --> 00:08:09.579 saw my wife, Eliza. Well, actually, I heard her 00:08:09.579 --> 00:08:12.079 before I saw her. Because if you've met her. 00:08:12.180 --> 00:08:14.540 Is she in here? Okay. She's not in here. If you've 00:08:14.540 --> 00:08:19.319 met her, she's pretty loud. And like in a good 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:21.939 way. Like she's got one of those big, bold personalities 00:08:21.939 --> 00:08:25.060 that really like brings life and fills a room. 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:28.259 And so we're in the rotunda at Faulkner. And 00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:31.540 it's the toga party. And there's like a lot of 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:34.440 people in this small space. And so I shouldn't 00:08:34.440 --> 00:08:37.690 be able to hear her. But I can, and I'm like 00:08:37.690 --> 00:08:40.090 on the other side of the room, and she's way 00:08:40.090 --> 00:08:42.309 over there, and I hear her. And finally, like 00:08:42.309 --> 00:08:45.950 I make my way towards this sound, and I see her, 00:08:46.070 --> 00:08:57.210 and I was captivated. And I knew that there was 00:08:57.210 --> 00:09:01.509 something special about her that I wanted. Now, 00:09:01.570 --> 00:09:03.370 in full transparency, I had a girlfriend at the 00:09:03.370 --> 00:09:09.059 time. Like the good gentleman I am, I shoved 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:11.820 those feelings of captivation into a locker and 00:09:11.820 --> 00:09:15.039 locked it shut for a while. But the first chance 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:20.360 I got, as soon as I could, before waiting, I 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:23.240 mean as soon as I got the opportunity, I made 00:09:23.240 --> 00:09:27.039 my move. Because I knew then, and I still know 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:29.919 now, that I want to do everything I can for the 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:32.120 rest of my life to stay in the good graces of 00:09:32.120 --> 00:09:39.370 that girl. And that's what I imagine being in 00:09:39.370 --> 00:09:42.830 the presence of the glory of God would be like. 00:09:43.470 --> 00:09:46.970 You see this glory. You see this majesty. You 00:09:46.970 --> 00:09:50.710 see this beauty that's high and lifted up. It's 00:09:50.710 --> 00:09:55.120 almost blinding. And for some, maybe even crippling. 00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:59.179 And you're so shook by it that all you can think 00:09:59.179 --> 00:10:02.340 is, I want to stay near that. I want to be with 00:10:02.340 --> 00:10:06.100 this glory. And that's what I see here with Isaiah. 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:10.980 I see Isaiah caught up in the glory of God. And 00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:13.419 I love Eliza, but she doesn't compare to God's 00:10:13.419 --> 00:10:16.580 glory. And you love your children, you love your 00:10:16.580 --> 00:10:19.000 grandbabies, but they don't compare to God's 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:22.700 glory because you know what God's done. For you, 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:26.799 hopefully. And maybe you've experienced the goodness 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:32.019 of God. And so this glory of God is what Isaiah 00:10:32.019 --> 00:10:35.860 is caught up in. He's caught up in something 00:10:35.860 --> 00:10:38.639 infinitely more glorious than anything he would 00:10:38.639 --> 00:10:40.740 have ever seen on this earth. Something more 00:10:40.740 --> 00:10:44.440 powerful, far more captivating, far more worthy 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:48.990 than anything else or anyone else. And I don't 00:10:48.990 --> 00:10:50.669 think we talk like this enough as Christians. 00:10:50.750 --> 00:10:54.570 We don't talk about how God is meant to captivate 00:10:54.570 --> 00:10:58.210 us. We don't talk about how God is this presence. 00:10:59.190 --> 00:11:03.929 He's this being that is worthy of our awe. That's 00:11:03.929 --> 00:11:08.549 worthy of our attention. A preacher named Rick 00:11:08.549 --> 00:11:11.350 Ashley, he said this a few weeks ago in a sermon. 00:11:11.830 --> 00:11:14.870 Could I suggest that the biggest problem in the 00:11:14.870 --> 00:11:18.679 church today is not lawlessness. It's awelessness. 00:11:19.940 --> 00:11:24.500 We're not bad, we're just bored. We are losing 00:11:24.500 --> 00:11:28.259 our capacity to be overwhelmed by the spectacularness 00:11:28.259 --> 00:11:31.240 of Jesus. And when our vision of Jesus' greatness 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:38.919 wanes, so does our courage. Maybe you remember 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:45.090 the first time you saw your spouse. You can think 00:11:45.090 --> 00:11:48.429 about that time where you were like, I want him 00:11:48.429 --> 00:11:52.509 or I want her because they were just so good 00:11:52.509 --> 00:11:54.789 looking or they just had a personality that you 00:11:54.789 --> 00:11:58.750 gravitated towards. And in that moment, we call 00:11:58.750 --> 00:12:01.889 it the honeymoon phase. All you can think of 00:12:01.889 --> 00:12:05.330 is how awesome they are. But then you get home 00:12:05.330 --> 00:12:08.350 after the honeymoon and you see the way they 00:12:08.350 --> 00:12:11.610 put the toilet paper roll on the thing. You know 00:12:11.610 --> 00:12:13.759 what I'm talking about? Eliza does it wrong, 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:20.159 by the way. Love her. Mean it. And all of a sudden, 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:26.019 that awesomeness, it's like, yeah, this is what 00:12:26.019 --> 00:12:30.440 I'm in. And over time, you know, you get used 00:12:30.440 --> 00:12:32.220 to that person being there and you don't have 00:12:32.220 --> 00:12:33.980 to fight for them to be there anymore, you know, 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:37.179 because they're stuck with you. We've got three 00:12:37.179 --> 00:12:39.000 kids and a mortgage. They ain't going nowhere. 00:12:39.100 --> 00:12:43.240 You know what I'm saying? And so. It becomes 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:46.000 routine and it becomes this thing that's normal. 00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:52.320 And you lose that sense of wonder. You lose that 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:59.460 capacity to be amazed by them. And then it becomes 00:12:59.460 --> 00:13:01.720 a lot easier to be irritated by them, right? 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:08.059 And even sometimes to walk out. And that's what 00:13:08.059 --> 00:13:10.059 happens with our relationship with God, is it 00:13:10.059 --> 00:13:14.259 not? When we're first saved, we're like, man, 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:17.860 God is glorious. God is awesome. God is so good. 00:13:18.019 --> 00:13:20.879 He's so merciful. He's so amazing. But then a 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:23.379 couple years go by and all we can think about 00:13:23.379 --> 00:13:25.519 is, man, I just really didn't like that song 00:13:25.519 --> 00:13:28.620 today at church. And then next week it's, I really 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:30.559 didn't like the sermon, so I'm just going to 00:13:30.559 --> 00:13:32.960 stay at home and I'm going to do a live stream 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:36.720 from another church. And then it becomes, well, 00:13:36.740 --> 00:13:41.389 I don't really need to read my Bible, do I? And 00:13:41.389 --> 00:13:44.850 then it shows up in our actions where instead 00:13:44.850 --> 00:13:49.669 of loving our neighbor and seeking to save the 00:13:49.669 --> 00:13:55.110 lost, we just try to do our own thing. It's not 00:13:55.110 --> 00:13:59.919 that we're bad. We're just bored. We've lost 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:02.980 our sense of amazement at the glory of God. And 00:14:02.980 --> 00:14:06.639 that's what Isaiah sees is the glory. And so 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:09.320 right here, he's in the honeymoon phase. He's 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:12.799 excited. He is captivated. And all he can think 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:16.980 about is I'm going to live to serve him. I want 00:14:16.980 --> 00:14:20.080 you to think about serving Jesus. We don't just 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:22.159 follow Him because it's logical, although it 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:25.399 is. We follow Him because we have seen and we 00:14:25.399 --> 00:14:27.899 have hopefully experienced something glorious. 00:14:29.139 --> 00:14:32.840 You can try to live for Him without having seen 00:14:32.840 --> 00:14:37.340 His goodness. But it's really hard. Think about 00:14:37.340 --> 00:14:40.700 some of the sacrifices and the hardships and 00:14:40.700 --> 00:14:42.620 the pain and the struggles and the persecution. 00:14:46.269 --> 00:14:49.370 I'm not captivated by the one. If I'm not chasing 00:14:49.370 --> 00:14:52.389 the one who is on the throne, who is the reason 00:14:52.389 --> 00:14:54.950 that I do have to face these things and that 00:14:54.950 --> 00:14:57.330 I do have to endure these things, then what's 00:14:57.330 --> 00:15:03.110 the point? To put it in a more maybe relatable 00:15:03.110 --> 00:15:06.289 way, do we have any runners in the room? Anybody? 00:15:06.570 --> 00:15:10.690 No? Okay, maybe this isn't relatable. Okay. Okay, 00:15:10.789 --> 00:15:13.610 let's think about this. Last night, It's like 00:15:13.610 --> 00:15:17.909 1 a .m., and I'm driving home from Atlanta, and 00:15:17.909 --> 00:15:22.230 I am exhausted. I'm really ready to be in my 00:15:22.230 --> 00:15:27.230 own bed. And so I'm driving, and I had to go 00:15:27.230 --> 00:15:29.250 to the bathroom. I drank a lot of energy drinks 00:15:29.250 --> 00:15:32.289 at this point. And so I needed to pull over. 00:15:33.190 --> 00:15:36.049 But the thought was, if I pull over, that puts 00:15:36.049 --> 00:15:39.429 me back five minutes or so from getting into 00:15:39.429 --> 00:15:44.710 my bed. And my bed. Sounds awesome right now. 00:15:46.090 --> 00:15:50.129 And so I'm driving through the dark, through 00:15:50.129 --> 00:15:52.769 the winding turns up the mountain. I'm holding 00:15:52.769 --> 00:15:58.870 it in, suffering, so that I can get to my bed 00:15:58.870 --> 00:16:04.049 a little bit sooner. When I live my life with 00:16:04.049 --> 00:16:07.509 Jesus in the forefront, with Jesus as the destination, 00:16:07.730 --> 00:16:10.370 as the finish line, that life in the new creation 00:16:10.370 --> 00:16:13.879 with God as the finish line, it makes it a little 00:16:13.879 --> 00:16:19.840 bit easier to keep on going, right? And so now 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:23.279 Isaiah has seen the glory of God. And I want 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:25.820 you to notice what happens next. Because seeing 00:16:25.820 --> 00:16:28.419 the glory of God, experiencing this thing that 00:16:28.419 --> 00:16:30.840 not many people have gotten to experience before, 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:33.659 it doesn't inflate Isaiah's ego, it actually 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:36.059 deflates him. And I want you to see what he says 00:16:36.059 --> 00:16:42.320 in verse 5. Woe is me, for I'm lost. I'm a man 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:45.600 of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:52.600 a people of unclean lips. Friday, Easton got 00:16:52.600 --> 00:16:55.440 to meet his favorite NASCAR driver. I'm not going 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:57.320 to say who it is because I might upset some people 00:16:57.320 --> 00:17:04.480 in here. And he didn't go up to this driver and 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:06.660 say, it's Ryan Blaney. He didn't go up to Ryan 00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:10.829 Blaney and say, I'm... I'm awful and I don't 00:17:10.829 --> 00:17:12.809 deserve to be in front of you and I don't deserve 00:17:12.809 --> 00:17:15.130 to get to fist bump you and get an autograph. 00:17:15.930 --> 00:17:19.230 Because that's not our normal response. Our normal 00:17:19.230 --> 00:17:21.349 response is to fangirl and be like, I'm your 00:17:21.349 --> 00:17:26.049 biggest fan. I love you so much. But what Isaiah 00:17:26.049 --> 00:17:30.250 does is he says, I'm an awful person. And I don't 00:17:30.250 --> 00:17:36.470 deserve to experience your glory. I'm not worthy. 00:17:38.690 --> 00:17:41.650 He's so overwhelmed by the glory of God that 00:17:41.650 --> 00:17:44.529 he starts confessing his sin. And I want you 00:17:44.529 --> 00:17:46.990 to see what God does next. He doesn't look at 00:17:46.990 --> 00:17:49.890 Isaiah and say, get your act together. Quit feeling 00:17:49.890 --> 00:17:52.250 sorry for yourself. Quit whining. He doesn't 00:17:52.250 --> 00:17:59.349 do that. What God does is he cleanses him. He 00:17:59.349 --> 00:18:02.500 doesn't say go. get your life right, and then 00:18:02.500 --> 00:18:05.200 you can come experience the glory of God. He 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:07.460 doesn't say, hey, all those sins that you just 00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:10.559 mentioned, yeah, okay, go back out, drop them 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:15.259 off, and then you can come back in. God's not 00:18:15.259 --> 00:18:17.420 waiting. We talked about this last week a little 00:18:17.420 --> 00:18:19.180 bit. He's not waiting for you to get it right. 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:22.819 He's not waiting for me to have it all figured 00:18:22.819 --> 00:18:28.599 out. He never has. Because if He did, well, we'd 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:33.440 all be out of luck. And I want you to listen 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:37.759 to the words that God says in verse 7. Your guilt 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:44.460 is taken away. And your sin atoned for. Now, 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:47.859 there's two things there. We, a lot of times 00:18:47.859 --> 00:18:50.039 in the church, talk about our sin being taken 00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:53.319 away. And we're, oh God, we're so grateful that 00:18:53.319 --> 00:18:56.200 you've redeemed us and you've forgiven us. But 00:18:56.200 --> 00:19:00.920 we still hold on to the guilt. And what God tells 00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:04.279 Isaiah here is, not only have I redeemed you, 00:19:04.380 --> 00:19:09.180 but you don't have to feel guilty anymore. That's 00:19:09.180 --> 00:19:12.319 good news. Because if you've walked through life 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:16.299 carrying all of the feelings of guilt from the 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:19.359 bad things you've done, it gets heavy, right? 00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:25.539 And that journey home gets a little bit harder. 00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:28.440 When you're shouldering that load of guilt. And 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:32.480 so not only does God redeem him, but he removes 00:19:32.480 --> 00:19:34.859 the burden from his shoulders as well. If you 00:19:34.859 --> 00:19:36.799 weren't here last week, I want to try to sum 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:40.900 up the message for you in one phrase. You don't 00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:44.099 have to be perfect before God can use you. And 00:19:44.099 --> 00:19:46.779 I do fully believe that's true. If it weren't, 00:19:46.779 --> 00:19:53.400 I would not be here. And neither would you. But 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:56.720 you do have to be convicted by God's glory. That 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:59.680 is something that has to happen. You've got to 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:03.680 be captivated and convicted, brought to your 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:07.140 knees by the goodness of God. You have to see 00:20:07.140 --> 00:20:12.180 God for who He is, mighty, worthy, awesome, and 00:20:12.180 --> 00:20:15.279 confess your sins. You do have to receive the 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:17.619 atonement for those sins. And that's what we 00:20:17.619 --> 00:20:20.200 see happen here in Isaiah's case. And everyone 00:20:20.200 --> 00:20:23.279 else who God uses for his good works. Isaiah 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:26.740 had to deal with his sin honestly before God 00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:32.259 could use him powerfully. And now that the sin 00:20:32.259 --> 00:20:34.759 has been dealt with, we come to the key moment 00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:37.400 in this passage. And one that you may have heard 00:20:37.400 --> 00:20:42.579 before. Where God says, whom shall I send? Who's 00:20:42.579 --> 00:20:46.740 it going to be? Who's up for the task? Who's 00:20:46.740 --> 00:20:50.019 worthy? Whom shall I send? And Isaiah's response 00:20:50.019 --> 00:20:53.980 is, here I am, send me. There's something really 00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:56.740 huge happening here. Isaiah says yes before even 00:20:56.740 --> 00:20:59.000 knowing what it is that God is trying to send 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:01.960 him to do or where God's sending him to go. He 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:06.059 doesn't ask, well, where is it, God, again? He 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:08.079 doesn't say, well, how long do you need me to 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:12.700 go there? How hard's it going to be? Is it going 00:21:12.700 --> 00:21:18.579 to be cold or warm? Are there beaches? Is there 00:21:18.579 --> 00:21:22.359 a target? And I will not lie to you. I'm picking 00:21:22.359 --> 00:21:24.799 on Eliza. She's going to be so mad at me. Eliza 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:26.740 asked me when we talked about moving here. She's 00:21:26.740 --> 00:21:31.319 like, how far away is the nearest target? I genuinely 00:21:31.319 --> 00:21:35.940 have no clue, honey. Go to Ingalls. Isaiah doesn't 00:21:35.940 --> 00:21:39.000 ask those questions. He doesn't say, how hard 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:40.839 is it going to be? How much do I have to give? 00:21:41.019 --> 00:21:43.299 How long am I going to have to be there? He doesn't 00:21:43.299 --> 00:21:48.619 even ask why. And I do believe the reason why 00:21:48.619 --> 00:21:52.559 is this. Once you have seen the holiness of God, 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:55.859 once you've experienced the grace and the goodness 00:21:55.859 --> 00:21:59.319 of God, obedience becomes the only reasonable 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:06.210 response. It's the only way to respond. When 00:22:06.210 --> 00:22:11.190 you experience greatness, you want to do everything 00:22:11.190 --> 00:22:15.130 you can to stay in the presence of greatness. 00:22:16.410 --> 00:22:21.329 If you put Drew Brees, who is the greatest quarterback 00:22:21.329 --> 00:22:24.589 of all time, you can quote me on that, right 00:22:24.589 --> 00:22:27.289 here on this stage, I'm going to get as close 00:22:27.289 --> 00:22:28.589 to him as possible and I'm going to tell him 00:22:28.589 --> 00:22:30.509 every reason why I should be his best friend. 00:22:31.109 --> 00:22:33.450 Everybody needs a personal pastor. I will be 00:22:33.450 --> 00:22:37.150 your personal pastor, Drew, because you want 00:22:37.150 --> 00:22:39.029 to do everything you can to stay in the presence 00:22:39.029 --> 00:22:41.829 of greatness. And so when I see the goodness 00:22:41.829 --> 00:22:44.710 of God, when I experience this awesomeness, I 00:22:44.710 --> 00:22:50.349 want to do what I can to stay with Him. Paul 00:22:50.349 --> 00:22:53.849 says it this way in Romans 12, verse 1, I appeal 00:22:53.849 --> 00:22:58.390 to you, therefore, well, oh, I didn't have this 00:22:58.390 --> 00:23:01.019 one in the slides. That's why. I appeal to you, 00:23:01.059 --> 00:23:03.420 therefore, brethren, to present your bodies as 00:23:03.420 --> 00:23:06.819 a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, 00:23:07.019 --> 00:23:12.740 which is your spiritual worship. When we witness 00:23:12.740 --> 00:23:14.819 or experience something amazing, our instinct 00:23:14.819 --> 00:23:18.079 is to worship. You go to the concert and you 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:20.220 take the videos that you're never going to watch 00:23:20.220 --> 00:23:24.339 again. You see your favorite ball team win and 00:23:24.339 --> 00:23:26.160 you jump up and down and you throw your drink 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:28.799 in the air and you shout and you scream and you 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:31.599 holler. You know, the high school team, they 00:23:31.599 --> 00:23:33.559 win the state championship and so we throw a 00:23:33.559 --> 00:23:35.880 big parade. Your kid that you thought may never 00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:38.319 get through high school graduates college. Your 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:39.960 son that you thought was just going to be playing 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:42.039 video games in your basement forever gets married. 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:44.539 You see these things and you throw these big 00:23:44.539 --> 00:23:52.059 celebrations. So when we see the glory of God, 00:23:52.220 --> 00:23:58.750 we experience that redemption. When we receive 00:23:58.750 --> 00:24:03.069 that atonement. And when He says, the burden 00:24:03.069 --> 00:24:05.470 of your sin doesn't have to weigh you down anymore. 00:24:08.529 --> 00:24:13.730 Why would we not celebrate that? Why would we 00:24:13.730 --> 00:24:15.809 not throw parties for that? Why would we not 00:24:15.809 --> 00:24:19.250 throw the parade, take the videos, rave about 00:24:19.250 --> 00:24:23.559 it on Facebook? That is the response. What Isaiah 00:24:23.559 --> 00:24:26.519 does and what Paul teaches is that we don't just 00:24:26.519 --> 00:24:29.500 worship with words. We worship with our lives. 00:24:30.819 --> 00:24:35.880 Every day, every step, every word, every task 00:24:35.880 --> 00:24:39.700 is meant to be worshiped to God. It's meant to 00:24:39.700 --> 00:24:44.359 proclaim the goodness of God. Present your bodies 00:24:44.359 --> 00:24:51.680 as a living sacrifice. My life in service to 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:55.829 God. is worship. And that's my natural response 00:24:55.829 --> 00:24:59.750 for all that He's done. Not just in my life, 00:24:59.809 --> 00:25:02.490 but all around me. I've seen God's goodness, 00:25:02.589 --> 00:25:05.650 and I have no choice but to live a life that 00:25:05.650 --> 00:25:09.470 glorifies Him. And Jesus puts it like this in 00:25:09.470 --> 00:25:11.430 Luke 9 .23, and this was our scripture reading. 00:25:11.549 --> 00:25:13.809 If anyone would come after me, if anybody wants 00:25:13.809 --> 00:25:16.809 to be near me, if they want to live in my presence, 00:25:16.890 --> 00:25:19.450 if they want to be my follower, then let them 00:25:19.450 --> 00:25:24.650 deny themselves. And take up their cross daily. 00:25:25.029 --> 00:25:31.470 And follow me. Do what I do. Say the things that 00:25:31.470 --> 00:25:42.670 I say. Go the places I go. Be like Jesus. Just 00:25:42.670 --> 00:25:46.869 like I did when I was captivated by Eliza. When 00:25:46.869 --> 00:25:50.039 you encounter something glorious. You want to 00:25:50.039 --> 00:25:54.240 do everything you can to stay close to it. I 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:56.900 don't know about you guys, but I want to stay 00:25:56.900 --> 00:26:01.180 close to Jesus. Because I know where my salvation 00:26:01.180 --> 00:26:04.440 lies. Not only that, but I know where my hope 00:26:04.440 --> 00:26:08.359 lies. I know where my joy lies. When life makes 00:26:08.359 --> 00:26:11.079 zero sense, it makes sense when I know who's 00:26:11.079 --> 00:26:14.599 leading it. So I want to stay close to Him. I 00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:17.819 want to see and experience the full glory of 00:26:17.819 --> 00:26:20.920 God for eternity. And I've experienced that grace 00:26:20.920 --> 00:26:24.259 and goodness and I hope you have. My response 00:26:24.259 --> 00:26:27.900 from that experience is to live in service to 00:26:27.900 --> 00:26:32.759 Him. That's my worship. And the Christians in 00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:34.319 the room that have been Christians for a long 00:26:34.319 --> 00:26:37.900 time can tell you it won't always be easy. In 00:26:37.900 --> 00:26:41.690 fact, most days it's not. You won't always get 00:26:41.690 --> 00:26:45.150 it right. I'll fail. In fact, I fail every day. 00:26:45.789 --> 00:26:48.609 Just ask Eliza how many times she wishes I would 00:26:48.609 --> 00:26:50.529 have kept those feelings shoved in the locker. 00:26:53.309 --> 00:26:57.369 But you live this life in pursuit because you 00:26:57.369 --> 00:27:03.490 want to be in the presence of glory. And we keep 00:27:03.490 --> 00:27:07.970 going because God is worthy. Because we have 00:27:07.970 --> 00:27:12.740 seen. And we have experienced His glory. And 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:15.960 because of that, we have no other response but 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:23.259 to be captivated and pursue. So what now? What 00:27:23.259 --> 00:27:28.160 do we do with that? God's calling us all to something. 00:27:30.619 --> 00:27:34.140 Every one of us has a different thing. But what 00:27:34.140 --> 00:27:37.319 do you do with that calling? What's your response 00:27:37.319 --> 00:27:41.339 going to be? If your response isn't yes, if it's 00:27:41.339 --> 00:27:45.740 not here am I, send me, then I need to ask myself, 00:27:45.960 --> 00:27:49.519 have I experienced the glory of God? Because 00:27:49.519 --> 00:27:52.839 if I have, then I'm going to do it. If I have 00:27:52.839 --> 00:27:57.599 experienced the amazing nature, glory, goodness, 00:27:57.940 --> 00:28:01.180 worthiness, awesomeness of God, then I'm going 00:28:01.180 --> 00:28:06.019 to want to follow Him. No matter where you are 00:28:06.019 --> 00:28:09.750 in your faith journey. Whether you're a new believer 00:28:09.750 --> 00:28:11.869 or you've been a Christian for 80 years, the 00:28:11.869 --> 00:28:14.829 question is the same. What has God put in front 00:28:14.829 --> 00:28:18.410 of you right now, today, that you're supposed 00:28:18.410 --> 00:28:23.829 to say yes to? Is He calling me to serve in a 00:28:23.829 --> 00:28:27.410 new ministry? Is He prompting you to reconcile 00:28:27.410 --> 00:28:31.430 with someone? Is He putting someone on your heart 00:28:31.430 --> 00:28:35.480 that you need to tell about Jesus? Is he asking 00:28:35.480 --> 00:28:38.420 you to mentor a young parent or disciple a new 00:28:38.420 --> 00:28:42.279 believer? Is he calling you to lead, to give, 00:28:42.359 --> 00:28:47.400 or to go? You don't have to have all the answers. 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:51.819 In fact, I have found that the less details I 00:28:51.819 --> 00:28:53.599 know, the better, because I'm an overthinker. 00:28:55.440 --> 00:29:01.339 You just have to say, here am I. Send me. To 00:29:01.339 --> 00:29:03.099 the believers in the room, maybe you've already 00:29:03.099 --> 00:29:06.740 asked the question, why me? And now you are asking, 00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:10.039 what now? You've been asking yourself, what is 00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:11.880 it that God wants me to do? Where is it that 00:29:11.880 --> 00:29:13.480 he wants me to go? Who is it that he wants me 00:29:13.480 --> 00:29:17.779 to be? The answer that I'm going to give you, 00:29:17.819 --> 00:29:22.819 it's simple. It's surrender, trust, and act. 00:29:24.579 --> 00:29:26.880 Surrender your life to the will of God. Surrender 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:30.089 your life to his awesomeness. Trust. that He 00:29:30.089 --> 00:29:33.849 does have your best intentions in mind. Trust 00:29:33.849 --> 00:29:38.970 that He is the provider of life, of joy, of peace. 00:29:39.789 --> 00:29:43.349 Trust that He is faithful to His promise to redeem 00:29:43.349 --> 00:29:48.630 His people and act on that. Don't wait to feel 00:29:48.630 --> 00:29:51.049 more ready. Don't wait to know every step. God 00:29:51.049 --> 00:29:54.970 is simply asking for your yes, for your here 00:29:54.970 --> 00:30:00.200 I am, send me. If there's something specific 00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:03.059 that God is placing on your heart today, whether 00:30:03.059 --> 00:30:05.660 that's a person, a ministry, a decision, today 00:30:05.660 --> 00:30:09.740 is the day to respond. And now to the non -believers 00:30:09.740 --> 00:30:13.579 in the room. To the skeptics. To the seekers. 00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:17.420 You might be feeling kind of like Isaiah did. 00:30:18.180 --> 00:30:20.819 When he says, woe is me. I'm not good enough. 00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:27.829 I'm not worthy. My life's a mess. Good. You are 00:30:27.829 --> 00:30:31.109 in the perfect position to receive and experience 00:30:31.109 --> 00:30:37.089 the grace and goodness of God. Jesus came to 00:30:37.089 --> 00:30:41.809 atone for our sins. Just like God atoned Isaiah's 00:30:41.809 --> 00:30:45.529 sins. Jesus came to cleanse us. He came to forgive 00:30:45.529 --> 00:30:48.869 us. He came to give us a new purpose and abundant 00:30:48.869 --> 00:30:53.410 filled life. You're not disqualified. You're 00:30:53.410 --> 00:30:59.089 not too late. You're never too far gone. Whether 00:30:59.089 --> 00:31:02.009 you need to take a first step toward Jesus or 00:31:02.009 --> 00:31:04.509 you need to make that next step in obedience, 00:31:04.990 --> 00:31:11.349 we want you to hear this question. What now? 00:31:13.690 --> 00:31:16.950 What are you going to do? Are you going to take 00:31:16.950 --> 00:31:20.609 the steps? Are you going to answer the call? 00:31:21.690 --> 00:31:26.230 And God is waiting for the answer. Here I am. 00:31:27.130 --> 00:31:30.470 Send me. If there's anything that you need, if 00:31:30.470 --> 00:31:33.470 you would like to understand more about surrendering, 00:31:33.589 --> 00:31:37.349 if you want prayers so that you can trust God 00:31:37.349 --> 00:31:40.269 a little bit more, if you need the encouragement 00:31:40.269 --> 00:31:45.130 of the church to know how to act on what God 00:31:45.130 --> 00:31:48.329 is calling you to do, I'll be up here in the 00:31:48.329 --> 00:31:50.390 front. We've got shepherds in the room, people 00:31:50.390 --> 00:31:52.329 that want to love and encourage and pray with 00:31:52.329 --> 00:31:54.509 you. If you need to give your life to Jesus, 00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:58.619 And bury that old self and come up clean in the 00:31:58.619 --> 00:32:02.619 watery graves of baptism. We invite you to do 00:32:02.619 --> 00:32:04.680 that now as we stand and as we sing.