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Luke 5:1-11 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
Isaiah 6:1-8 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
Here I Am; Send Me
Our passage begins in the year that King Uzziah died. This was a significant time for Judah. Uzziah had been king for over fifty years, the country was stable. Now there would be a time of transition, would the next king rule wisely? What would happen to Judah? One commentator wrote, “The opening verse brings comfort in that although the earthly kingship is under transition, the heavenly kingship is secure with the Lord sitting on a throne described as “high and lofty”.”
The commentator wrote a note at the end telling us that he wrote this in July knowing that by the time it was read there would be a new president. He wrote in 2016. We are now in 2024 and we have again elected a new president. Many are happy about the outcome and many are concerned about the changes that will come. I will not make a comment about our new president but I do want to address the turmoil and angst we are facing as a nation. I want to remind everyone, no matter where we stand politically, that God is in control. He is still in the throne room. God is holy and mighty, our sovereign Lord rules and we can rest safe and secure in this knowledge.
This passage from Isaiah happens to be one of my favorite passages. I get a thrill every time I read it. I want to be in that throne room with Isaiah, I want to see our Lord, high and lifted up, I want to see God’s glory. Just imagining being there fills me with awe and reverence. Our God is sovereign, He rules over all. Our God is transcendent, He is far beyond our understanding.
God’s holiness is what separates Him from all other beings, what makes Him separate and distinct from everything else. God’s holiness is more than just His perfection or sinless purity; it is the essence of His “other-ness,” His transcendence. God’s holiness embodies the mystery of His awesomeness and causes us to gaze in wonder at Him as we begin to comprehend just a little of His majesty. The seraphs sing, “Holy, holy, holy.” The three fold repetition of holy is found only here in Isaiah and once again in Revelation. It is only spoken or sung by heavenly creatures at the throne of God. Therefore, when the angels around the throne call or cry to one another, “Holy, holy, holy,” they are expressing with force and passion the truth of the supreme holiness of God, that essential characteristic which expresses His awesome and majestic nature.
R. C. Sproul said that holiness is the only attribute that is presented in Scripture in the superlative. That means it is of the highest degree. Most of the time a superlative word ends with –est. Think of big, biggest or cool, coolest. God is the holiest, God is most holy. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.
Brought into the throne room, into the presence of God, into the presence of true holiness and majesty Isaiah is made painfully aware of his sin, and he is broken about it. “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
In both our scriptures we see the reactions of people when they are brought face to face with God. Simon Peter, when he realized the miracle that Jesus had caused fell on his knees before him and said, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Peter did not feel worthy to be in the presence of Jesus. Isaiah said much the same thing when he saw the Lord sitting on His throne. Two men in the presence of the Lord have the same reaction. They are immediately aware of their own sinfulness.
We tend to accept our sinfulness and it isn’t particularly apparent to us. What we’ve done isn’t really so bad, there are others who are far more sinful. But in the face of the holiness of God we are immediately aware of it.
Think of it this way. Think of a white shirt. It’s worn and washed over and over. It seems fine to us. Just as we think our sin isn’t so bad when compared to others. But if we compare that shirt to a new white shirt the dinginess is immediately apparent. When we compare our sin to God’s holiness our sin becomes glaringly apparent.
After Isaiah acknowledges his sin, a seraph takes a burning piece of coal from the altar, touches Isaiah’s lips with it, and says, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Some details are important here: Isaiah could not remove his own guilt, the atonement is made possible by the altar—the place of sacrifice—and the purification is specifically applied to the point of Isaiah’s sin—his lips—remember Isaiah had said he was a man of unclean lips. Now, with his guilt and sin removed, Isaiah is acceptable as a minister of God’s words.
In the presence of God, we not only see the sin in ourselves, but we also see the effects of sin in others—our family, our church, our community and our culture. Together with Isaiah we cry, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a person of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.” Fortunately for us God does not need to purify us as Isaiah was purified. We are made pure through the blood of Jesus. He is the final sacrifice on the altar and we are made acceptable in God’s sight through Jesus.
It is only after Isaiah is cleansed of his sin that he hears God’s voice saying “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Can it be that when we are lost in our sin we won’t hear God’s voice? Isaiah says, “Here am I; send me.” Prior to that point, he saw himself as an unworthy messenger; once he was forgiven, he immediately desired to serve the Lord in whatever way possible. The Lord asks, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”—He wants willing volunteers in His service—and a grateful and enthusiastic Isaiah doesn’t hesitate in taking the opportunity: “Here am I; send me.” And for the rest of his life, Isaiah serves the God who had forgiven and saved him.
Now let’s consider Peter in the boat with Jesus. Peter fell on his knees before Jesus and confessed his sinfulness as had Isaiah. “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” The first thing Jesus says to Peter is, “Do not be afraid.” When we confess our sin and are truly sorry we have nothing to fear. We will always be forgiven. Through Jesus’ death on the cross, God takes away our sins and shows us His amazing love.
Next Jesus said, “from now on you will be catching people.” Jesus gave Peter a mission. Literally, in the original Greek, Jesus told Peter he would take people alive, they would be captured for the kingdom. It’s not like deer hunting season, where you capture your limit for the season and quit until next year. The taking people alive that Jesus is talking about is continuous and on-going. Taking people alive and giving them new life, abundant life, everlasting life. This was to be Peter’s mission and the mission of every Christian who came after him. Luke tells us that as soon as they brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed Him. When God captures our hearts, when we are taken alive we will have the same desire to follow God that Isaiah and Peter both experienced.
Two weeks ago we talked about being saints. The original meaning of saint was Christian. All Christians are saints. We talked about going deeper and deeper in relationship with God. Both of these are involved in becoming holy. Holiness is not only a possibility for the Christian; holiness is a requirement. The book of Hebrews says, “Without holiness no one will see the Lord”. The difference between God and us is that He is inherently holy while we, on the other hand, only become holy in relationship to Jesus Christ and we only increase in holiness as we mature spiritually. The New Testament emphasizes the pursuit of holiness in this world and the final attainment of holiness in the world to come.
How about us? Are we willing to answer God’s call? Veteran’s Day was last Monday. It is a day to honor veterans. We could say that they answered the call to serve their country when they joined the armed services. Isaiah gave over his life, answered God’s call and became a prophet. Peter left everything, answered Jesus’ call and became an apostle. Answering God’s call includes a willingness to surrender our lives to Him.
Are we ready to say, “Here I am Lord. I give you my heart, my will, my worldly possessions, I surrender all I am and all I have to You. Take me and use me.” John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard was fond of saying, “I am spare change in God’s pocket, He can spend me any way He wants.” Now that is true surrender.
I have some questions for us to ponder this week. Are we listening for God’s voice? Is God calling us? Isaiah has a very dramatic story. Sometimes God calls us this way but usually God whispers more than He shouts. We need to be quiet to hear this voice. We need to spend time alone with God. We need to study scripture both alone and with others. God’s call may not come all at once. It may only dawn on us over time. It may require surrender.
In my own life I knew God was calling me long before I understood what He was calling me to do. I went to seminary and I surrendered a large part of my retirement savings to do it. I was quite willing to pastor a church near my home but that door wasn’t open. I surrendered where I lived to God; I told God I was willing to go wherever He sent me. He sent me to a congregation in south-central Pennsylvania, several hours from my home and where I knew no one. I have never regretted my surrender to God.
What is God calling you to do? It doesn’t have to be something huge. It might be quite small. Is it to pray for others? Is it to invite your neighbor to church? Are you called to volunteer your time in some other way? I can’t answer these questions for you. Only God can. Are you listening? Let us pray.