In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the LORD seated upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the trail of his robe filled the temple. And above him flew the Seraphim each had six wings with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet and with two he flew. And one called to another
"Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his Glory. "
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said, "Woe is me for I am lost! I am a Man us unclean lips amongst a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the Glory of the Lord of Hosts!!
The one of the Saraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the alter. And he touched my mouth and said; "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
And I heard the voice of the LORD saying, "Whom shall I send and who shall go for us?"
Then I said, "Here I am Lord send me!"
And he said, "So and say to this people,
Keep on hearing and do not understand
Keep on seeing but do not perceive
Make the hearts of this people dull
With heavy ears and blind their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts
and turned and be healed."
Then I said, "How long, O Lord?"
And he said, "Until the cities lie waste without inhabitant and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste. And the Lord removes people faraway and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains after it is felled."
The Holy see is its stump.
OK. So I am memorizing this this semester, I typed most of that from memory...
Lately I have been learning what that means. Often I hear the first part of that verse preached on. The "Holy Holy Holy" which is awesome, because God is Holy! And I've heard the "Woe is me for I am Lost/Undone" which too is awesome, because an encounter with Christ takes us apart quite rapidly, and we are undone. Also I've heard the "Lord send me!" Part preached on. I am going to be a missionary. I have responded to his call with "Lord send me!" But I have never realized what that really meant until now.
A while back I was talking with a dear friend of mine who is also called to ministry. I recited the first part of the passage to him I got the "Go and say to this people..." I didn't know it past there. And he asked me if I ever wanted to be a Prophet . I didn't understand how much that calling meant. His face was sad when he said that, I did not understand why, it is a wonderful calling to be a prophet...
This beloved friend is wiser than his years and more than he knows, I love him so much and he has shown me a lot in the past few months that I have know him. He understood what came after "here I am Lord send me!" That is not something we should say carelessly.
"Go and say to this People..."
They will never understand, they will never care, they will NEVER turn. You will be the best preacher ever Isaiah, but no matter what you do they will not believe in me. You will speak my words from my own mouth. (He spoke Scripture!!) and they will not ever turn to Me. And this is for my Glory. You will FAIL, you will never see success in this life. Those who you love and yearn that they know My salvation, they never will. You will Pray and beg and speak with words of gold, but they will never understand, because I GOD will not open their ears. Not until the land is a desolate waste.
I don't know what that all that passage means, nor can I interpret it, but it is a hard command. Would I still be willing to go, spend my life speaking knowing that it may be his will that NONE turn due to my words. And it is for HIS GLORY, no matter how good (or bad) I am, it is only him who saves and only Him who opens ears. Only when he moves will, only with his Spirit will anything ever change in a human heart.
I will be a woman of sorrow, of pain and of longing. I will love these people deeply and I will speak day in and day out of the Salvation of Christ, but they will never believe. I pray that I will have blessings that they will turn, I pray that that is his will, but if not...
Oh! What a faith took Isaiah to go knowing that he would never see fruit in his life time, but he would still obey, he still preached. And he never saw anything and he kept preaching until he died. (wasn't he killed?). But the Messiah did come, and people were saved through his preaching, us now are products of his preaching. His word are in the bible. But he never saw anything.
And it was all for His Glory.
So when we yell, "Here I am, Lord send me!!" we better be thinking his GLORY not their salvation. Their salvation is AWESOME and in part our purpose but only under His Glory. If we are going to see converts, to see people saved. Stay home. Our hearts will be broken. The only way to go is to go with a vision of his GLORY, that will sustain us. And that is why you go, not for them, but for HIM!! A vision of peoples salvation will never keep us when that vision does not come true. But a vision of his GLORY will keep us, because that vision is TRUE and true indeed, unending and perfect.
I am so afraid of my calling. I accept it with fear and trembling. I am terrified, of his Glory and of his will. I don't know what is to come. But he is awesome. I am not going for their souls, I am going for His glory and their souls for his glory, I pray, are part of his plan for his Glory. He has called me to love, but that love may come with a heavy and broken heart for the people I am sent to.
Have you even wept over the lost in the world? the lost that have never heard his name, have never been given a chance to know him, who are stuck in false religions or are going to school with you and don't and won't know him.
This should keep you up at night and cause you to weep: His Name is not glorified all over the world. They Do not glorify him should! There are religions who do not worship HIM. That is the fuel for missions and ministry. His Glory.
Why would anyone flippantly call out, "Here I am LORD send me" That is the most heart breaking callings in the bible and still is.
Why would anyone want to be a Prophet?
Only those called by God would be willing to endure such a calling.
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