Sending On Mission Series

Sending on Mission

Isaiah 6:1-8

Rev. Brian Bill

June 7-8, 2025

“This is holy ground because I’m looking at the Bride of Christ. You are part of the most multilingual, multicultural, diverse, and sacrificial entity in the world, and you’ve been sent to the little, the least, the left out, and the lost.”

This is how one speaker began his message to 4,000 pastors and church leaders at the Colson Center National Conference in Louisville last weekend. Beth and I are grateful to the deacons for allowing us to attend.

Speaker after speaker sounded the same message: “What the world needs most is for the church to be the church!” We were challenged to be convictional, clear, courageous, confident, and compassionate in the proclamation of the gospel.

For our main idea today, I’m going to borrow a phrase from another speaker and add to it: Jesus didn’t come to take us from good to great, but to take us from depraved to saved, surrendered, and sent.

Our normal preaching practice is to go verse-by-verse through books of the Bible, but this weekend we’ll journey through several passages to help us see how God sends His people to accomplish His purposes.

Let’s begin with some foundational truth from Isaiah 6:1-8. I’m going to use the same outline I used several years ago when preaching this passage.

1. Encounter the Lord’s majesty. Listen to verses 1-4: “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: ‘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 was filled with smoke.”

Isaiah is saying something like this: “In the year that we lost our human king, I saw the real King.” The word “seraph” means, “to burn.” These seraphim shielded their faces because they were in the presence of holiness. Covered feet denotes their humility and flying indicates their ongoing obedience to go wherever God sends them. When they exclaimed, “holy, holy, holy,” they were emphasizing the breathtaking splendor of God’s holiness!

The word “glory” in verse 3 refers to God’s weightiness. Verse 4 tells us the entire temple started to tremble, like an erupting volcano. Smoke indicates the purifying presence of God, much like the shekinah glory cloud in the wilderness.

2. Confess your own misery. We see this in verse 5: “And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for 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!’” On the lips of a prophet, the word woe is a warning of coming judgment, a declaration of doom. Isaiah didn’t point to someone else and say, “Woe is he!” but rather pointed to himself and declared, “Woe is me!” After experiencing the holiness of God, he couldn’t help but express his own unholiness.

3. Receive the Lord’s mercy. After recognizing his sinfulness, God forgave Isaiah and set him free in verses 6-7: “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’”

4. Surrender to the Lord’s mission. Now, Isaiah was ready to hear and heed God’s call in verse 8: “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.’” Isaiah had just declared woe and now he is ready to go!

Notice how his response was immediate: “Here I am. Send me.” The word “send” has the idea of “sending forth” or “driving out.” Isaiah made himself available as an ambassador of the Almighty. God is still looking for people who have been moved by His majesty, have experienced His mercy, and are ready to join in His mission.

Jesus didn’t come to take us from good to great, but to take us from depraved to saved, surrendered, and sent.

Now, let’s turn to the words of Jesus in Matthew 9:36-38: “When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”