Here am I Lord, Send Me

Introduction

Willis and Courtney Fussell

What is your calling from God?

Maybe before we ask that question we should ask, “What is a calling from God?

The farther we get, as a society, from the presence of God the less we hear people talk about their calling from God.

We know there are some general calls to all humanity.

A call to worship the one true God and King, Jesus Christ. (salvation)

A call to repentance and righteousness. (sanctification)

A call to follow Christ. (discipleship)

A call to share the gospel with the world (evangelism)

But where is your specific place in the midst of these general calls. What is God’s calling on your life?

Just for fun I asked AI to explain to me a biblical calling from God. Here is what it spit out.

“As an AI language model, I do not have beliefs or personal opinions, but I can provide information. In Christianity, a biblical calling refers to a divine summons or invitation from God to serve Him in a specific capacity or mission. It can be a strong and persistent feeling that one is called to a particular vocation or ministry, such as preaching, missionary work, or charity work. The concept of calling is found throughout the Bible, from the calling of Abraham in Genesis to the calling of the disciples in the New Testament. It is believed that responding to one's calling is an act of obedience and faith, and can lead to a sense of purpose and fulfillment in life.”

All throughout the Bible we find God calling people to both general and very specific tasks. In each calling there are similar patterns:

The Encounter with God

The Humility of the Servant

The Scope of the Mission

The Supernatural power to accomplish it.

A calling from God is not something you come up with on your own or even figure out. It is something God gives you. There are so many places in the bible I could take you to illustrate this truth, so I will share my favorite one with you. Let’s look at the call of Isaiah in the book of Isaiah chapter 6.

The Encounter with God

Isaiah 6:1–4 ESV

1 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. 2 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. 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 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

Unexpected Encounters

People are not looking for God, but God is looking for them.

Moses was living defeated and scared on the backside of the desert when God found him.

Saul had set out to persecute Christians when Jesus knocked him to the ground.

Anticipated Encounters

People seeking God will find Him.

Jeremiah 29:13 ESV

13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

God wants to meet with his people.

If God is willing and has promised to meet with who seek him, why are we having more encounters with God.

People seeking God with their whole heart find Him.

Daniel was praying when the angle appeared to him.

Prayer is the biblical way of getting Gods attention.

Matthew 7:7–8 ESV

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Camp when I was 16

The Humility of the Servant

Before you can become self-actualized you must become self-aware.

Isaiah 6:5–7 ESV

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!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Self-actualization is “where personal potential is fully realized after basic bodily and ego needs have been fulfilled.”

The world seeks full potential through personal growth and discipline.

Christianity seeks full potential through a relationship with and power of the Spirit.

Philippians 4:13 KJV

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Supernatural-actualization is only realized through an understanding of your weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 ESV

9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Become aware of the brokenness around you.

If you’re struggling through something, others might be struggling as well.

God might be healing you to heal others.

The Invitation to Join God

Isaiah 6:8 ESV

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.”

It’s a privilege to be called by the Lord for service.

Be in tune with the voice of the Lord.

Be ready to put your yes on the table.

Answer the call with obedience.

Isaiah 6:9–10 ESV

9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

The Supernatural power to accomplish the mission.

Isaiah 6:11–12 ESV

11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

Your calling is accomplish by endurance.

God accomplishes the mission we are called to endure.

Be faithful to the calling God has given even when it’s hard.

2 Timothy 4:5 ESV

5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Your calling in God’s power changes the world.