Who Me, Or Here I Am?

What Is The Purpose Of The Church?

Well good morning everyone. For those who are visiting or viewing this online I am Pastor Ben and it is my humbled joy to be able to share God’s word with you again today. This is week 3 of our series “What is the purpose of the Church?” As we start let us again have our hearts and minds brought to attention by our focus verse.

Ephesians 4:15–16 ESV

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

We started this series right with the New Year and we discovered in our first sermon that the idea of the church being on the defensive within this spiritual battle that we are all a part of, that instead of the defensive, the church is to be on the offensive. For this to take place we needed to know what we are to be doing, or we needed to know what our weapons are and what our battle plan is.

We established that the fact we are on the offensive is because of the work Jesus has done and how the gates of hell, or rather death, did not prevail against him. It is through him that all our power for this battle comes. Yet, we do not get to sit idly by. No, when we looked at the work of Christ and we reflect on the testimony of Scripture, we discover that our hearts are to be impacted and we are to be moved towards action.

From this we determined that there are three key purposes to the church, in which all things are to flow through and from. They were, the exaltation of God, the edifying of the saints, and the evangelism of the lost. These are the three primary characteristics of a church and a healthy church will have an equal emphasis on each of these.

Last week we began a deeper look at the exaltation of God by looking to why he is worthy of being exalted. This is because he is the incomparable Yahweh, the creator of the heavens and earth. The one who brings out the host by there number and in his strong might not a one is missing.

Al Mohler summed this up a few days ago by saying that the most visible star and invisible atom sit under the rule of Jesus Christ. I want you to consider that for a moment. Consider, that the most visible star in the night sky to the most invisible atom in the depth of the earth sit under his rule. That in his strong might not one is missing or out of place.

Couple that with the fact that he is not distant from you, he is not tired or weary of hearing what you are going through. He cares deeply for you and about the events going on in your life. Yes he has allowed those events to come to pass, but that is so you seek him out.

See God’s goal is not for you to simply find comfort and joy in this life, but rather his goal is for you to find him. And the conflict that he lets happen in our lives typically shows us what it is that is receiving our praise rather than him.

Look what his word says,

Isaiah 43:1 ESV

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

Fear not for I have redeemed you, you are mine. He knows your name. He has redeemed you and called you his own if you have placed your faith in him. What should this move you towards? When you come to understand this what should it move you towards?

It should move you towards worship. Towards an irreplaceable joy, that even despite your trials, you sing the praises of the Lord. It should move you to the exaltation of Your God. And not for just a little time on Sunday morning. This is a praise that should carry with you throughout your days.

And so today this is what we are going to look at, worshipping as individuals. The title for our message today is “Who me, Or Here I Am?” The Worship of the Individual Christian. For our text we will be looking to Isaiah chapter 6 starting in verse 1. If you brought your own Bible or want to follow along on your device please turn there now. If you are using the blue pew Bible it can be found at the bottom of page 635. Or you can follow along on the screen.

Let us hear the word of the Lord.

Isaiah 6:1–8 (ESV)

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.

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!”

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.”

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.”

May the Lord bless the reading of his word.

Let us pray.

Father we praise your name this day. As we look to exalting your name as individuals, help us to understand that worship does not have a singular form. It does not come as just a few songs on a Sunday morning but rather as an expression of our gratitude for all that you have done. Bless this day, our gathering, and this message our most gracious Lord.

In Christ name we pray, amen.

As we look to our text for today there are many who raise the question as to why Isaiah’s commission comes in chapter 6 rather than at the beginning of the book. If we understand that chapters 1-5 are setting the stage to show us that the people of Israel had become an arrogant, defiant, and perverse people, we can see as D.A. Carson argues, that Isaiah is showing his experience as an example of how change and true and right worship can come.

As we look to this passage today these will be the same things that we look at as we look to grow in our understanding of individual worship. First we need to see God in all his greatness. Second we need to see how filthy we are compared to God. Next, we need to experience God’s cleansing, Finally, we need to understand God’s concerns and offer ourselves as his hands and feet.

God In His Greatness

Last week we spent looking at why Yahweh is deserving of worship. We saw from his word that he is the incomparable Yahweh, the one true God. The God who cannot be compared to figures made of metal and wood who have no life, but rather he stands alone because there is none like him. Now the passage we looked at last week chronologically comes after our passage for today. But that explains why Isaiah could make the claims that we looked at last week. Because he had seen God in his glory, Isaiah had experienced it and could therefore rightly communicate it. Let’s look to the first few verses from our passage for today.

Isaiah 6:1–4 ESV

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 marks a time when all this took place by placing it at the death of Uzziah. Understanding a little about Uzziah can help us to understand a little of what was going on at the time.

2 Chronicles 26:1–5 ESV

And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king instead of his father Amaziah. He built Eloth and restored it to Judah, after the king slept with his fathers. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him prosper.

Under Uzziah things began to prosper, there came relief from their enemies. Uzziah was a strong king who had made the kingdom of Judah strong again and his name was becoming well known as a might king, a leader to be reckoned with. What does that kind of sound like? Lets look more to what the Scriptures say about Uzziah.

2 Chronicles 26:14–15 ESV

And Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slinging. In Jerusalem he made machines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and great stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped, till he was strong.

He was an industrious man who brought many advanced reforms to the nation. His worked caused the people to be encouraged. But Uzziah had an issue.

2 Chronicles 26:16 ESV

But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

Uzziah’s pride got the best of him and caused his downfall. Sounds familiar. As far as Uzziah the Lord punished him for his pride and cursed him with leprosy, a disease that is still incurable today. Uzziah’s son Jotham was the last godly king of Judah, his reign lasted only sixteen years.

If we understand this it means that Isaiah had sixteen years of peace to spread his message to a people who had found their peace through the strength of their kings. But Isaiah’s eyes had been open. He saw Yahweh in all his majesty, where the seraphim described him as holy, holy, holy!

Isaiah 6:3 ESV

And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

When we see this phrase holy, holy, holy there are a couple things we need to understand. First, the Hebrew language used a technique called a superlative. This is where they would repeat a word or double down on it to give it emphasis. One of the clearest ways we see this is the book Song of Solomon, or also known as the Song of Songs. This basically means that this is the purest example, or the epitome of this item. We also hear this in the NT when Nicodemus is refereed to as the teacher of teachers.

For Yahweh to be describe in a three-fold fashion it means that there is nothing in comparison to Him. He is the holy one one unto which all things are measured against. And this is Isaiah’s realization. Regardless of how pious Isaiah may have thought he was, in comparison of Yahweh’s pure holiness Isaiah was face with the reality of his own life. Which brings us to our second point.

The Reality of Your Dirtiness

Standing there before the presence of the Lord Isaiah came face to face with a reality. Maybe this was something he knew in theory. Maybe it was something many times he had confessed of, but this time it was different. This time it was revealed to a depth that caused Isaiah to tremble in a way he had not before. Isaiah was faced with the very real reality of his sin before God.

Isaiah 6:5 ESV

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!”

When it comes to exalting God as individuals this needs to be the first step. You have to see your need for him. And for some of us this is hard. We haven’t committed any grievous crimes. We are responsible. We help others, sometime. We attend church, put a little money in the plate. Overall we are good people. And that is how we think of ourselves, I’m a good person. So maybe I have that one bad habit. Yeah, maybe my comments about that one coworker, or that one neighbor, or that one family member. Maybe my comments about that one business, or the school, or the government, maybe they boarder on complaining, maybe even grumbling. Maybe the thoughts and opinions I share around the lunch table are more gossip than anything. But I am a good person, I am not really that bad, am I?

Let me answer that for you. You are! You are a wicked wretched person whose heart is far from God, who has turned your back on your Creator and has invented ways of doing evil. You have just never been faced with the reality of it. You may be a nice person, you may have a good life and a great relationship with your spouse and kids, but if you have not come face to face with the reality of your sin and your need for a savior, you are a good person on your way to hell. If that is you enjoy this life because this is as good as it gets for you.

And if I did not tell you so, if as a preacher of the word of God I did not tell you so, I would be doing you no good. I would be doing nothing more than making you, the good person, the nice person that everyone likes. I would be doing nothing more than making you comfortable while on your trip to hell. If you have not come face to face with the reality of how sinful you are in light of Yahweh’s holiness and your need for his saving grace you are chancing eternal damnation and separation from him. Your creator, who knows the number of your days, and who knit you together in your mother’s womb.

If you have come to that reality, if Yahweh has been gracious to you and shown you even a little to the wickedness of your heart, first realize that that was not the full depth. There is more down there. But if he has shown it to you, this is where true worship begins, the recognition that you are a sinner and need a savior. We all love to sing the hymn Amazing Grace. One of the most iconic songs out there. It is iconic because its’ opening line speaks a truth that we all relate with whether we truly understand it or not.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

that save a wretch like me.

I once was lost but now I am found,

was blind but now I see.

John Newton, the man who described himself as becoming a slave to slaves, he was shown the reality of his dirtiness. His ability to write this hymn came from an experience like Isaiah had. A pulling back of the curtain of your heart to reveal what you are truly like. What your motives truly are. If you want to sing this hymn with a new vigor, with an alive and shaken spirit. Ask God to open your eyes to that part of you you are still blind to. While in prayer ask him to pull the curtain back on your heart and reveal it to you. Be willing to say this prayer.

Psalm 139:23–24 ESV

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Or as in the NET.

Psalm 139:23–24 NET

Examine me, and probe my thoughts! Test me, and know my concerns! See if there is any idolatrous tendency in me, and lead me in the reliable ancient path!

As Pastor Bigney has explained in our small group series, God loves to answer this prayer. If you want to know what has you separated from him. If you want to know what has your worship stunted, begin saying this prayer. If you get serious with this you may be shocked if not horrified to what you find in your heart. You may find yourself crying out like Isaiah “Woe is me, for I am lost!” For I am lost. But you do not need to stay lost. And you do not need to stay lost because the path has been paved for you. Let’s look to our next point.

God’s Atonement For Your Sin

Isaiah recognizing his own sin, his own wickedness cries out to Yahweh. He confess of his sins. This confession came by the means of seeing the one true God. Until you see him and he reveals the depth of your dirtiness to you, you will not be able to truly repent. True repentance is not generic, it does not come in the form of “Lord forgive me for the bad things I have done.” That is not repentance, that is being sorry you got caught. True repentance is specific.

“Lord forgive for my lustful heart, that causes me to look at pornography or women and entertain thoughts and ideas that are not honoring to you.” “Lord forgive me for a lack of self control with my mouth that leads me to gossiping about others, telling things that may not be true.” Lord forgive me for the control I demand of my own life from those around me because I do not want to live in discomfort.” “Lord forgive me for caring more about what others think about me, than what you say about, so that I am stricken with worry, fear, and anxiety.”

You need to be specific with your repentance. You need to know what you are repenting of and why. And when you do, look what the Lord is faithful to do.

Isaiah 6:6–7 ESV

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.”

Isaiah’s mouth was touched with a coal from the altar where the sacrifice was made to atone for sin. God tells him to be guilty no more for his sin is atoned for. Atoned, that is one of those biblical terms that we know we should know what it means but maybe it is hard to describe.

It essence it means to cover over, to pacify, to pardon. Atonement was the covering for sin. The idea of it comes from Gen 3:24

Genesis 3:21 ESV

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Adam and Eve had become naked and ashamed after they disobeyed God. The coverings that they had made for themselves were insufficient, so God shed the blood of a living being in order to cover the shame caused by their sin.

This is the same thing that takes place for us today, the form is different though. It is different because the final sacrifice has been made.

Romans 3:25 ESV

whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Yahweh put forth his son Jesus, as the propitiation for our sins. What this means Jesus was the one sent to be the means by which your sins would be covered. When you come face to face with your own dirtiness that has you separated from God, and you cry out to Jesus, forgiveness by his blood, the price he willing paid, becomes your God provided covering for your sins.

Now maybe you don’t really buy this. Maybe you do not believe that you need this covering from God. You are still buying that you are a good person. Well Yahweh will honor that. It is not what he wants for you but he will honor that choice. He has gone to great extant to tell you otherwise. Yet if you still want to believe that the covering you offer yourself is good enough, he will let you. But his word is clear, if you do not except the covering that comes through Jesus dying on the cross, your reward will be hell, which was created for satan and his angels.

But if you are excepting of this reality, it becomes the second point that should move you as a individual towards worship. Realizing just how dirty you are and that you are unable to do anything about but then realizing that God loves you so much he has done something already on your behalf should move you towards being filled with an unshakable joy. Outpouring from that joy should be worship. And I don’t mean just in song. Relating worship to just the singing of songs minimizes what worship is.

When we see the word worship within the NT what it means is to position ourselves lowly in light of Christ. Or to regard him as being greater that us you know “Holy, holy, holy.” The practical outliving of that can look quit different. What we are told is

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Colossians 3:17 ESV

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

All that we do is to be to God’s glory and in thanks to him. That is worship. We do all that because we regard him as being high and lifted up, as being holy, holy, holy. Because we recognize that in light of who he is we are filthy and are in need of his cleansing.

Maybe you’re sitting here listening to this this morning thinking, “Pastor Ben I believe all this but when it comes to worship I just feel stuck, almost like it is a foreign concept. I try to pray, I try to remember to thank God, but some days are so difficult.” I hear you I understand, I have been there myself. This is my advice to you. Begin to assess what you are feeding your mind with. What is the prominent message you are feeding yourself.

Are you feeding yourself with Fox News, or CNN, or MSNBC? Are you feeding yourself with conservative talk shows? Are you filling yourself with social media? What are you consuming as the majority of your information intake? What thoughts are you telling yourself based on your intake? Are they thoughts that instruct your heart in God’s word and ways, or are they thoughts that are running after something else?

If you are feeling stuck begin to assess what your information diet is like. Maybe you will find it is not healthy. If all you do is fill yourself with God’s word once a week. If you spend little time in devotion with him, it is no wonder why you may be feeling spiritual fatigue or starvation. Imagine only eat a well balanced meal once may twice a week but the rest of the time you eat junk. Your body would wear down, it would feel tired and fatigue. You would not be able to accomplish the tasks that you need to. If you are a child that needs those nutrients to grow but only get that a couple times a week you will become malnourished. The same for your spiritual life. If your only connection and filling from God is Sunday morning you will end up in spiritual malnourishment. You will not be able to worship, you will not be discerning of the spirits, you will not handle life well. What is it you are feeding yourself with? This leads us top our final point for today.

Offering Yourself To God’s Service

Out of worship flows the motive to action. This applies both to the individual and the corporate church. This aspect is what will look more in depth starting in two weeks. But what we need to realize is that the indicator of a changed heart that express a deep worship of Yahweh is sharing the same concerns that he has and being willing to offer ourselves in service. Let’s look to our final verse for today.

Isaiah 6:8 ESV

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.”

I have seen many a first responder find encouragement in this verse. And in understand the fuller context they should. Isaiah having experienced God’s grace and forgiveness, responds to God’s question on who will go for him by stating here I am send me. The thing was God was going to send Isaiah on a hard mission. Isaiah was sent to harden Israel’s heart until their cities lay in ruin. That was not what Isaiah thought was going to happen when he was told to go. Yet, what harden the hearts of the people was the teaching of the truth. Yet, Isaiah still went, still proclaiming.

I will admit it is discouraging to invite people over and over again to church for them not to show. Especially the ones who claim to be Christian but do not believe they need to be in church. I admit it is hard to love people time and time again, through every up and down of life, without ourselves becoming callused. I will admit it is hard to find joy when we so easily remember a time when things were simpler. When it was simpler to receive a yes to a church invitation. When it was simpler to evangelize because there was a higher level of morality to begin with. When people were kinder to each other and not as caustic to the church. When the church was still held in a high regard by the community.

Yet, Yahweh’s call to us has not changed. He is still looking for those willing to say here I am send me. He is still looking for those who worship him in truth and spirit. Who glorify him in all that they do. Who want those around them to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus. See the reason the exaltation of God comes primary is because while an equal emphasis is needed on the other two, they flow out of our understanding and worship of Yahweh. This is why we begin here.

If worship of God has been a foreign concept to you outside of Sunday morning let me encourage you today. Take time alone with God this week. Ask him what things are blocking you from worshipping him. When you discover what those are repent and rejoice in knowing that Christ has covered you for those sins. Then assess and correct the information that you are feeding yourself with. Read your Bible, spend time in prayer, listen to Christian broadcasting or podcasts. Do not try to survive on just a meal or two a week, but eat and drink of God’s word every day. Finally do not stay stagnant. God is wanting to send you, offer yourself up to his service. Do not ask “Who me?” Rather say “Here I am Lord, send me!”

END IN PRAYER