Three Elements Necessary to Serve God Part 1

Pastor Mike will be speaking on Three Elements Necessary to Serve God Part 1. He will be reading out of Isaiah 6:8-13.

And Sometimes God doesn’t give us all the details, but can we trust the Lord that he has a perfect plan? But we trust him that he has called us that he’s given us a mission and we’re going to do our best by being faithful and available the God Hello, this is pastor Mike Sanders from the open-door Church And we are glad that you could be with us for the hope worth having radio program today We’re back into Isaiah chapter 6 verses 8 through 13 We’re talking about three elements that are necessary to serve God and we’re certainly looking at this great Question who will go for us and Isaiah says here am I send me let’s get into the text If you have your Bible this morning, I want you to join me in the book of Isaiah chapter 6 We come to Isaiah chapter 6 and last week. We looked at verses 1 through 8 again We’re coming back to verse 8 and we’ll look to the rest of the chapter in verses 8 through 13 Again to help you because I know some of you show up They say now according to Lifeway research the average church member attends once a month I know that’s not true of several of you But many of you probably so and so you come in you hear a message from the pastor and pastor Mike’s talking about things that you don’t even understand or have any context. So that’s why it’s not that I forgot or that I’m repeating myself.

It’s just I’m trying to bring everybody in so we’re all on the same page together in Isaiah chapter 6 And I want you to understand that the book of Isaiah. It’s a lot of back and forth it’s a lot of talking about the future and what waits for us as believers the hope that we have and hope of an eternal life with God in which he will wipe away the curse of sin and We’ll live eternally with him our loved ones forever and ever but also The book of Isaiah is about the present it’s about what Isaiah the prophet is saying to the people and Chapter 5 is all those woes as God is bringing a judgment upon Judah and Jerusalem and Then all of a sudden we come to chapter 6 many Bible scholars commentaries Question why is chapter 6 kind of thrown into the midst of all this? I am of the persuasion My personal opinion, please understand that that Isaiah the prophet under the inspiration of the Spirit having just delivered all the woes in chapter 5 is now Helping the people to understand the hope The help that is found in the Lord and he shares a personal experience In a tragic time in his life as a dear friend King Uzziah had died And it wasn’t just that King Uzziah died for the sake of history But rather to really grasp the emotion that Isaiah is feeling and he’s at the throne He’s in the temple he’s prostrate before God and he is crying out to God and he is sharing his heart to God and he is Seeking God and the Bible tells us in verse 1 of chapter 6 that Isaiah saw the Lord Sitting on a throne High and lifted up and we saw that last week But what does it lead to verse 5 of chapter 6 woe is me? from the chapter 5 woes to the chapter 6 woe Isaiah understands what it is to see the glory the righteousness the holiness of God To be so overwhelmed with it and the weight and the heaviness of the glory of God That he would see himself as so unrighteous unclean before God But here he shares in this beautiful story how God sent the angel to Bring a live coal to his lips to bring redemption restoration Forgiveness and grace and so it is that everyone that is on the weight of the woes of chapter 5 There is hope there is help through Jesus Christ He is rushing to us his mercy and his grace and his love To wash away our sins and to find true forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ This great experience of worship of God touching the very lips of the prophet and his iniquity being taken away in verse 6 and his sin being purged or atoned for leads to verse 8 in which he hears the voice of the Lord saying whom shall I send and Who will go for us? It’s easy we didn’t get time to finish verse 8 last week, but it’s easy for us to rush through this verse 8 and Hurry and get to the point of here I am I send me but I want you to stop for a second I want you to analyze for a second whom shall I send? the outcome of our worship the outcome of our time with the Lord of the outcome of God’s grace and Effective work in my life is that I have a heart For missions, I have a heart to reach others I have a heart to bring the gospel to other people if you have a mission problem, you have a worship problem You’re not experiencing the fire of worship in your personal walk with God and the fire of worship in your corporate worship with God It’s going to bleed over into your evangelism and your desire to serve others and your desire to witness to others But Isaiah hears Whom shall I send? Who will go for us? It’s the second part of this question that I want you to bring your attention to this morning who? will go for us It’s just like God said in Genesis in one verse 26 when he said let us Make man in our image Who is the us who will go for us? Isaiah not only experience that he saw the Lord high and lifted up and he saw the Seraphim’s the angelic seraphim’s flying around the throne and declaring holy holy holy Which reminds us again of the Trinitarian Godhead, but we again hear from the Godhead in Proposing this question to Isaiah who will go for us Who will go for the father? Who will go for the son? Who will go for the spirit? It is the Godhead That is working collectively together to not only bring about your salvation and your Sanctification but to bring about your mission and your assignment here on this earth You say Mike. I think you’re losing it jump over to first Peter.

Don’t lose Isaiah Don’t lose Isaiah. We’re coming back to it. I promise you I’m not like one of those preachers who just preaches a verse says a verse and departs there from We’re coming back church, but I wanted you to see something so beautiful and so wonderful that in first Peter chapter 1 in verse 2 That again, we see the Godhead at work and bringing about our salvation in verse 2. He says we are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the father in Sanctification of the spirit so we have the father the spirit Why why was all this done for obedience and sprinkling of the blood? Jesus Christ friends.

Here’s what I want you to understand that the entire Godhead the Trinity the father the son and the spirit co-equal and one is all Participating in the bringing about of your salvation It is the father who calls us and the son who saves us and the spirit who sanctifies us If the reason it is essential for you to see this It is not only that the father and the son and the spirit are working Effectively in your heart to bring you to the point that you would not only believe and trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation But they are working effectively that you would continue to mature and to grow and to be like Jesus Christ and to walk in obedience To Jesus Christ, but it doesn’t finish there because as Isaiah brings to our attention that the Godhead is not only interested in your salvation and in your sanctification, but the Godhead is interested in your service to God in Which the scriptures tell us that the voice of the Lord? saying whom shall I send and Who will go? for us And you may have felt in your journey of faith That perhaps you were alone in trying to serve the Lord but if nothing else not only does God always have a Remnant of believers who are faithful and who are staying at the task at getting the job done day after day But there is the Trinitarian Father son and spirit bringing about the success of your service and the effectiveness of your service for the glory of God and you must remember as you reflect upon the greatness of our God that the father the son and the spirit are collaborating together That you may serve the Godhead in Such a way that it brings profound glory to God Almighty and Church, you must remember that your salvation is foremost about the glory of God And I know that some of you jumped on to this wonderful ship of the gospel of Jesus Christ So that you would not have to face hell and be separated from God forever and ever and I understand that you Wanted that fire insurance But friends to take your understanding of the gospel and your salvation to a higher level, please know That you are saved for the glory of God and You are saved for the glory of the Godhead and that it is not only your salvation that glorifies God It is your sanctification It is your obedience to God. It is your Maturation your development as a believer that is to bring glory to God and Here ultimately it is also your service Your assignment Your job here on this earth is for the glory of God and the Godhead is working together So this morning I want to talk to you about the three elements that are necessary to serve God The three elements that are necessary that we see in the life of Isaiah after having this great experience of worship with God and this Momentous time in which he saw the Godhead lifted up Before him and he comes in complete surrender in verse 8 and says here am I? Send me Here am I what is the first element? It is a spirit of readiness Isaiah heard God’s call and he responded. Let me say this.

There is a call for salvation There is a call for you to be saved There is a call for you to be sanctified that you would live in obedience to Jesus Christ That you would reflect him more and more in your life But there is also a call for you to serve God For by grace, are you saved through faith that not of yourselves? It is a gift of God not of works lest any man should what both But the verses don’t stop Because we’re reminded that we are his workmanship and we are created unto good works So you’ve been saved to serve. How about that Church? You thought you were just saved to sit on the pew and just come here what the pastor has to say and then do your Duty check that box off and go live your life. However, you wanted but my friends It’s so much more than that And that God has called you to be fully engaged in his cause and his purpose And what he is doing here on this earth and isaiah heard that call and isaiah Responded to that call and he responded with a spirit of readiness And a spirit of resolve and a spirit of trust And so let’s talk about those three things real quick a spirit of readiness It is a desire an eagerness and a willingness and a preparation To serve the Lord.

Did you get all that? the desire and eagerness and a willingness and a preparation I Like that wet last word preparation And I thought about that how sometimes, you know, I love sports. You guys know that none of my teams are doing good this year So don’t talk to me. I Don’t want to hear it Okay, but you might hear a coach talk about how important it is to be prepared and It is true.

It’s true in our spiritual life. Some people say well, man, you’re lucky but one coach said this that luck is simply preparation and opportunity Coming together and I think it’s true spiritually not that we believe in luck at all Because we believe that we’re fortunate and we believe that God is in control and that he is sovereign and that he’s orchestrating events and Circumstances whether they’re good or they’re ugly or difficult or hard We know that God is sovereign and we trust in him, but we know that we have this Responsibility that in part of our readiness and serving God is that we are prepared that we are eager and Ready to serve the Lord the scriptures teach us in 1st Peter 3 verse 15 to be ready always Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear Be ready be ready church That means you have to be ready always that means you have to be prepared That means you have to know how are you going to answer some of these questions that people have? Why is it that you’re different? Why is it that in an uncertain time that you have so much certainty in your heart and you have so much hope in your Heart and you have so much peace and that you’re not wigging out freaking out about the election. How about that one? Amen? That we have the peace of God whichever way it rolls.

We’re trusting God all the way. Amen We’re not stressing We’re just getting up every day rejoicing in the Lord Trusting in the Lord our assignment here to win people to Christ to win them to Jesus We understand so we have a preparation in our heart and we are ready to give an answer to every man that asks Why are you different? Why are you different? But there’s also a spirit of resolve, which is a determination to go and to bear witness Despite the difficulties you’ll note again that Isaiah says here am I? Send me I am ready and I am resolved to go. I am resolved to go.

There is a determination to serve the Lord and To serve him faithfully and this is what we need more than ever before Church We can’t shrink back from the moment we can’t say well because life is difficult Oh because we’ve got this issue and this problem that it’s time for us to just step back give up and quit No, my friends Church. We must rise to the level of the moment that is before us God has raised up this generation and it is time for us to move forward for the Lord Jesus Christ and to have a spirit of resolve in our hearts a Determination We’re going to serve the Lord but there’s a spirit of trust as Isaiah says here am I? Send me It’s one thing to say Lord send me when we know where we’re going when we know what all the assignment involves Sometimes they say well, you know, you got to let everybody know the job description before they sign up But I’m telling you this that sometimes God says I just want to know your heart I want to know will you Make yourself available. Will you be resolved in your heart to trust the Lord? Think about Abraham God said to Abraham.

I need you to relocate and guess what Abraham? I’ll tell you where you’re going later on Most of us said we’re not signing up until God tells me the details Unfortunately, God gave too many details to Jonah and he ran and Sometimes God doesn’t give us all the details, but can we trust the Lord? Can we trust him that he has a perfect plan and that maybe things aren’t exactly the way we wanted them to be But we trust him that he has called us. He has assigned us that he’s given us a mission He’s given us a responsibility and we’re going to do our best by being faithful and available to God someone once said that availability is the best ability You see friends that’s the question. Are you available? Are you available to serve God? How many times as a pastor have I heard people say well, I can’t do that pastor.

I don’t do that. I don’t have those skill sets Well, do you need skill sets to move a table? Is there a spiritual gift for changing diapers Church? There is none of these things I understand I’m all for identifying your spiritual gift and serving But I’m just gonna tell you sometimes it’s just a need and a jobs got to get done Amen, and somebody’s got to pick up the banana peel that’s on the floor before somebody else slips on it and falls down Right. It’s just a need There’s no spiritual gift Maybe a little discernment right a man a little discernment to see to know that that’s a potential hazard But faithfulness requires us that we would understand that the providence of God is Continually at work in my life as a believer Now look if you’re gonna be faithful to God it’s not because you’re gonna be faithful to God because you’re gonna always work with some dynamic people or That everybody’s gonna always love you and everybody’s always gonna say something positive and every day somebody’s gonna give you a hug and everybody Somebody’s gonna give you a certificate and every day somebody’s gonna give you a ribbon Every day because you showed up.

Everybody’s just gonna fawn all over, you know, my friends. That’s not the way it works you show up to work and people grunt at you and Sometimes they’re wondering why are you even here and how can we get rid of you? right sometimes you come and People are complicated and there’s a new set of problems But faithfulness to the job that God has given you is that you understand the providence of God That God has you here for a purpose that God has a plan in your life And that he is at work in your life And he is using your life to make a difference for the cause of Jesus Christ If you serve God Based on how people respond to you. You will never make it in the work of Christ You will be a church hopper and a church shopper and you will jump from one place to another Always looking for the greener grass only to find that the grass was green, but the water bill was higher, right? Now daily trusting in God and in his providence is not easy I’m gonna be honest with you church.

It’s not easy. There’ll be times when you will have doubt You will question God’s goodness You will wonder Did I make the right decision? I? remember when I first came to the open-door church, I’m talking about the first day in the office and The secretary said pastor Mike somebody wants to talk to you on the phone I said, okay. I’m all excited First day we’re gonna take on the mountain.

We’re gonna conquer the world It’s gonna be awesome at the open-door church and little did I know when I picked up the phone They said if the open-door church doesn’t pay this bill. We’re gonna sue you by Friday And I said Lord did I come to the right church Was this the church you told me to come to Yeah, and so We gathered the deacons and elders and said Wednesday. We got to get this taken care of.

Thank God They all pulled their resources together and got that taken care of but I want you to know There’s gonna be times you have questions and you have doubt when you’re serving God but we must have a strong foundation of faith and we will be able to weather these storms and we must be Ready church have a spirit of readiness to serve God and to trust him Even when it doesn’t make sense number two the second element necessary That we see in the life of isaiah to serve. God is a willingness to warn others Now here’s what’s so interesting Isaiah says here am I send me Well, he didn’t go anywhere He didn’t go to another country He stayed in judah. He stayed in jerusalem and he sent him to a most difficult people To a hard-headed people Well, I want you to look at verse nine and ten for me.

It says and he said go and tell this people The people that you’ve been ministering to Keep on hearing But do not understand keep on seeing But do not perceive Make the heart of this people dull and their ears heavy and shut their eyes Lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and returned and be Healed I mean, that’s quite an assignment. Amen I mean this assignment was so Astounding to isaiah that in verse 11, he said how long do I got to do it? How long do I got to put up with this How long is this assignment? We’ll talk about that later But I want you to go back to verse nine and ten and I want you to understand that the message that isaiah Was entrusted to by the lord was a message that was not only shocking to him But it was shocking to all those that he was to share with We can’t forget the context of chapter 6 in light of chapter 5 In which isaiah has been teaching and he’s been preaching and he’s been warning The people of god that they have turned their back on god that they put god on the back burner that he’s no longer Preeminent in their life. He’s not important.

They are not fully faithfully following him and so god Says to isaiah Go warn them Go warn them of the coming wrath Urge them to flee To run to christ to run to god to run to the only refuge that they have which is only in god There are times that god calls us to warn people on his behalf I know some of you say well, I don’t know if I believe that well I mean you drive around chambersburg And there are signs up road closed Do not enter You see these signs and they’re designed to prevent us from going down that road to making a mess Finding ourselves and I see these people they are not going to listen to no sign. It doesn’t matter They don’t care that that sign says road closed. They’re going to finagle themselves around that sign And they’re going to go down there where those guys are working and then they’re going to be stuck in a mess, right? And I think about how that’s like people sometimes right You warn them you give them a sign that this is not the right direction And rather than thanking you they get angry with you And they not only get angry with you, but they are so stubborn in their desire to go this way that they refuse to change direction We find this need to warn others even in the church Remember that the apostle paul told the thesalonikins That he said we urge you brothers admonish the idol Encourage the faint-hearted help the weak be patient with them all But I want you to notice he says admonish the idol the word idol means literally to put to mind It’s the idea of warning and reproving to bring to someone’s attention You and I are called to reprove one another to admonish one another To bring to our attention to remind us that that is not the most honorable and godly Way to go and so isaiah has this challenge to go to god’s people And to tell them a message in which they will hear but they will not understand They will see but they will not perceive Believe Their ears will be heavy their eyes will be shut And they will continue to be stubborn in their hearts and refuse To believe and to make god a priority in their life Isaiah had a spirit of readiness.

He was ready for god Now god never called him to another country Never called him to leave israel. He never called him to go to people He did not know but he was ready and he did have to minister to stubborn people People that would not listen to his message. He was a prophet who would bring warning And he would encourage the people to turn their lives fully over to god and some would respond but some would not And the question is will we be faithful will we be available when god is calling us I hope that’ll be true in your life that no matter what the lord’s plan is for you that you’ll be ready And that you’ll be faithful and available to serve him as he calls you This is pastor mike sanders reminding you that in christ.

There is hope worth having