ASI Southwest 2023: Here I Am, Send Me

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ASI Southwest

Stephen Bohr

Here I Am, Send Me

It's nice to be here on this beautiful Sabbath day.

First of all, I would like to thank Pat Humphrey and the committee of ASI for this region for inviting me to come and be with you today.

This area of the country is not strange to me.

I had the privilege of working for 4 and 1 1 2 years as Ministerial Director and Evangelism Coordinator for the Texaco Conference up in the Panhandle where it's very windy and in the winter very cold.

I want to invite you today to open your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 1.

Isaiah chapter 1, the theme of this particular ASI convention is, Here Am I, Send Me.

So we're going to study primarily Isaiah chapter 6 but let's bow our heads first for a word of prayer Father in heaven we come before your awesome throne and we come boldly because we come in the name of Jesus.

Thank you for the privilege of gathering together to sing praises to your name, to speak with you in prayer, and to hear your voice speaking to us through the ministry of your word and the Holy Spirit.

We ask that you will be with us this morning.

Open our ears that we might hear, open our eyes that we might see, open our hearts that we might receive, and empower us to live in harmony with what you have for us today.

This we pray in the precious and holy name of our Lord and Savior Jesus, Amen.

God did not raise up prophets in a vacuum.

He raised up prophets when the occasion was necessary.

Isaiah was raised up by God because God's own people Israel was in what might we might call a Laodicean condition.

Let's read Isaiah chapter 1 and verses 11 through 15 where we find the problem that existed in the days of Isaiah and why God raised up this prophet, this major prophet.

God is speaking here to Israel, To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me says the Lord I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or goats.

When you come to appear before me, who has required this from your hand to trample on my courts?

Bring no more futile sacrifices incense is an abomination to me the new moons Sabbath's and the calling of assemblies I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.

Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates.

When you spread out your hands I will hide my eyes from you even though you make many prayers I will not hear your hands are full of blood quite a picture isn't it of God's professed people.

Now the question is, who commanded all of these celebrations?

The new moons, the Sabbaths, the rituals, who had commanded these things?

And yet he says I don't want any of this.

You see Israel was in the same condition as the Jewish nation in the days of Christ.

And that's the reason why Jesus quoted Isaiah when he referred to the religious leaders of that Jewish age.

Jesus quoted in Matthew 15 verse 8 Isaiah 29 and verse 13 these words are well known these people honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me you see Israel was performing all the right rituals, but their heart was far away from God.

Another prophet from the same period, Hosea, is quoted also by Jesus.

Hosea chapter 6 verse 6 is quoted in Matthew chapter 12 and verse 7 where Jesus said I desire mercy not sacrifice.

So both of these prophets Isaiah and Hosea are describing the problem that existed among the people not only in Isaiah's day and Hosea's day but also in the days of Christ because Jesus quoted the words of these 2 prophets.

The condition was very similar to the condition of our church, the church of Laodicea.

Because Laodicea says I am rich and increased with goods and I have need of nothing.

But verse 20 of chapter 3 of Revelation says that Jesus is outside the heart knocking.

Is it just possible that we are honoring God with our lips and with our ceremonies and our celebrations but our heart is far from the Lord.

Clearly, Revelation tells us that our problem is the same problem that exists in the days of Isaiah.

Now I want to invite you to go with me to chapter 6.

This chapter describes the call of the prophet Isaiah.

Now God is going to use Isaiah to give a message to Israel and tell them I have been raised up to rebuke you, I have been raised up to help you see what your situation is so that you will accept the message and remedy the situation.

The call of Isaiah is taking place in the year 739 BC to a people who were religious but not spiritual.

God gave this call to Isaiah 7 years before Israel the 10 tribes of the north went captive to Assyria and at the beginning of chapter 6 Isaiah is in the temple court and God gives him a vision.

Let's read that vision in Isaiah 6 and verses 1 through 4.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Above it stood seraphims, each 1 had 6 wings, with 2 he covered his face, with 2 he covered his feet, and with 2 he flew.

And 1 cried to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out and the house was filled with smoke." What a vision of heaven and the way that the angels worship.

Notice that 4 of the wings are used to cover themselves.

Ellen White wrote in the book Story of Redemption, page 153, the following words.

There, beside the heavenly ark, stand living angels at either end of the ark, each with 1 wing overshadowing the mercy seat and stretching forth on high while the other wings are folded over their forms in token of reverence and humility.

The angels are awed by the holiness of God.

Do we need a vision of the holiness of God today in the way in which we worship?

When we come to church we are coming to worship the King of the universe and we should be just as respectful as the angels in heaven.

And so we find Isaiah totally overwhelmed by a vision of the holiness of God.

By the way the word holy appears 56 times in the book of Isaiah and his favorite expression is the Holy 1 of Israel.

He was deeply impressed when he had a vision of the holiness of God.

So first of all we notice the condition of Israel.

Now we have seen the vision that God gave to Isaiah.

And next we have the prayer of confession of Isaiah.

Notice when he sees the holiness of God, when he sees the reverence of the seraphim, he says, woe is to me I am undone.

You know why do we many times have a good image of ourselves?

Because we're not contemplating the holiness of God.

So I said woe is to me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for my eyes have seen the King the Lord of hosts when he beholds the holiness of God he now confesses his unworthiness Ellen White wrote in the book Prophets and Kings page 307, as Isaiah beheld this revelation of the glory and majesty of his Lord he was overwhelmed with a sense of the purity and holiness of God.

How sharp the contrast between the matchless perfection of his Creator and the sinful course of those who with himself had long been numbered among the chosen people of Israel and Judah.

So as he beholds the holiness of God he sees the unholiness of himself and of the people and he is overwhelmed.

You know his reaction was the same reaction of all of the holy individuals in the Bible.

When Moses met God at the burning bush, we're told in Exodus 3 verse 6, Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God Daniel in Daniel chapter 10 verses 10 and 11 we find these words suddenly a hand touched me which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands while he was speaking this word to me I stood trembling Peter after the miraculous fishing expedition described in Luke 5 verse 8 he said to Jesus depart from me for I am a sinful man Paul said Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death.

And John in Revelation chapter 1 verse 17 says when I saw him, that is Jesus in his glorified state, I fell at his feet as dead.

So when we behold the holiness of God we behold also our unworthiness.

The reason why many times we feel we're okay is because we are watching other things that demean our concept of the holiness of God by what we watch and we listen to we lose our respect for a holy God But now here comes a good news.

We've seen the condition of Israel, we've seen that Isaiah had a vision of the holiness of God, when he had the vision of the holiness of God he confessed his unworthiness and the unworthiness of Israel and now we have good news for Isaiah and for the people.

Then 1 of the seraphim flew to me having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.

And I'm going to say a few things about the altar of incense in a few moments but let's read verse 7 and he touched my mouth with it and said behold this has touched your lips, your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.

Now Let's look at a few things about this altar.

Go with me to Luke chapter 1, save your place there in Isaiah, Luke chapter 1 verses 8 through 10.

This is speaking about the father of John the Baptist who is serving in the sanctuary and he goes in to offer the incense in the sanctuary.

And I want you to notice what the incense represents, you have the incense and you also have there what the incense symbolizes or represents.

It says there in Luke 1 verse 8 so it was that while he was serving this is Zacharias was serving as priest before God in the order of his division according to the custom of the priesthood his lot failed to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord, and the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense.

So the incense is being offered and the people are outside praying.

The incense is related to prayer, the prayer of God's people.

Let's go to Revelation chapter 8 and verses 3 to 5.

We're talking about the altar where a coal is taken out to touch the lips of Isaiah Revelation chapter 8 verses 3 through 5 says that another angel having a golden censer came and stood at the altar this is the same altar the altar of incense he was given how much much incense that he should now notice that he should offer it with the prayers of all the Saints the incense does not represent prayer it is related to prayer The incense is mingled with the prayer.

Once again, to be offered with the prayers of the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne, and the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints ascended before God from the angels hand." Now what is it that is mingled with the prayers of God's people?

What was mingled with the prayer of Isaiah?

I'm going to read a beautiful statement from the devotional book by Ellen White, Sons and Daughters of God.

Christ has pledged himself to be our substitute and surety.

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Here I Am, Send Me

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