Mentoring Men for the Master

POWERFUL MOTIVATION OF THE MISSIONARY CALL

  1. A Three-fold Vision:
    1. Isaiah saw the Lord
    2. Isaiah saw himself
    3. Isaiah saw the needs of the people
  2. A Three-fold Voice:
    1. A call from heaven – “Who will go for us? (6:8) Note “Us”. Who is us?  The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for God is a missionary God:  God had one Son and made Him a foreign missionary, His Son answered the Call and the Holy Spirit empowered Him to come.
    2. A call from hell – Luke 16:  The rich man went to hell and “in hell he lifted up his head and called upon Father Abraham to send someone to go to his 5 brothers and tell them not to go to the place he was.
    3. A call from the heart – Isaiah did not just hear words in his head or hearing; God spoke to his heart.  Isaiah had the same urgent call in his heart that the greatest missionary of all times had, the apostle Paul.  Listen to his heart in Romans 1: 14-16; Ephes. 3:8.
  3. A Willing Volunteer:  “Here am I, send me.” (6:8).  Isaiah was not giving his address, of the city or country where he was residing.  Those things did not matter.  Is a man jot just committing himself, but surrendering all to God without reservation.
    1. Illus.  Explain the difference in commitment and surrender.
  4. A Postponed Victory.  Isaiah asked the Lord, and He commanded him to go “until the land was ruined and the people taken into exile.” (6:11).  The missionary servant is to proclaim the Word no matter how people respond, for the test of ministry is not the outward success but faithfulness to the Lord’s call.  Isaiah needed a long-range perspective on his ministry or else he would feel like he was accomplishing nothing.  Illus:  Using an agricultural metaphor, the apostle Paul explained that “I planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase,” (1 Cor. 3:6).  If you ever see a great harvest of souls, it is because some faithful servant of the Lord, first planted, then another servant watered, and finally a third servant reaps a great harvest.  So he who plants and waters is nothing, but God who gives the increase. (v8b).

Note:  I prepared this message after hearing Finny Mathews preach at Scotts Hill on July 11, 2010, his 22nd wedding anniversary.  I used his ideas of the three-fold call, which I called the 3-fold voice.  The third point, “Willing Volunteer” and the fourth point, “Postponed Victory” were added by me in order to finish the exposition of the entire 6th chapter of Isaiah.

“Go and Tell” is still God’s command to His people.  He is waiting for us to reply:  “Her am I, send me.”  Will you?