Shepherds Conference - 2025 - Here I am, Send me

H.B. Charles

General Session 5: Here I am, Send Me

How a majestic vie of God motivates missionary zeal: Isiah chapter 6

— This chapter records Isaiah’s life-transforming encounter with God

— His call to ministry

— This records the dramatic encounter of a sinful man who had a violent encounter with the majestic and holy God, but lived to tell about it

— God lifted Isiah’s gaze above his surroundings

— His vision changed his life completely and permanently

— The Holy Spirit has recorded this encounter to call us to a high view of God

— There is a lot to say about this passage, but let me bottom line the message up front

— Your view of God is everything

Jeremiah 9:23–24 “Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.”

— When you see God as He truly is, everything else falls into its proper place

What Does it Mean to Have a High View of God?

Isaiah records three things:

God is Sovereign

God is Holy

God is Gracious

God is Sovereign

— The Bible is clear that mere mortals like you and me cannot see the living God

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

1 Timothy 6:16 “who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see."

1 John 4:12 “No one has seen God at any time;"

— Isiah says, I saw the Lord

— A hint of what Isaiah saw is found in verse 3 the word used for LORD is YHWH

Isaiah 6:3 “And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”

— He saw the self-existing one, the name that He revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush

— Exodus 3:6 “He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.”

— In verse 1 of Isiah 6 the word is Adonai (אֲדֹנָי) for Lord, the sovereign one

— Isiah did not see the essential nature of God

— He saw a vision of the sovereign nature of the living God

— We don’t have a definition of God’s sovereignty but we have a description of God’s sovereignty

— Uzziah had died but Isiah sees God sitting upon a throne (6:1) and he sees the real King (6:5)

— John (Jn 12:39-40) also helps us and tells us that the rejection of King Jesus is actually a fulfilment of what the Lord would predict (Is 6:10)

— John says that Isiah saw Christ on the throne

John 12:41 “These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.”

— Isiah saw that God is in charge - sovereign

— That term encompasses that God is

— Eternal

— Transcendent

— Majestic

God is eternal (6:1)

— In the year of King Uzziah’s death (Is 6:1)

— The Ninth king of Judah who took the throne at 16 and reigned for 52 years

— Reigned longer than any other king of Judah

— 2 Chronicles tells us the secret of his success

2 Chronicles 26:15 “... for he was marvelously helped until he was strong.”

— He was able to lead the nation in political and economic greatness

— When he became strong he was lifted up in pride to his own destruction

— Uzziah defied God’s command and tried to intrude in the work of the priest and God struck him with leprosy (2 Chron 26:16-23)

—The most powerful man in the world was exiled to a home where he died by himself

— World leaders come and go but God is where he always has been — sitting on His throne

— God has no term limits and He is not up for re-election

God is transcendent (6:1)

— I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne (6:1)

— Human rulers are not like this holy throne, which is high and lifted up

— There is no one on God’s level

Psalm 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Philippians 2:9–11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

Let angels prostrate fall;

Bring forth the royal diadem

and crown Him Lord of All!

God is Majestic (6:1)

— The train of his robe filled the temple

— In the ancient world kings would display their majesty by the length of the hems of their robes

— This reminds of us weddings when the bride comes down the aisle with a long flowing dress

— Maria Paraskeva, a bride from Cyprus, had a dress train that measured 22,843 feet and 2.11 inches, or over 4 miles long (August 14, 2018)

— Princess Diana’s wedding dress had a train that measured 25 feet long

— God is so great and majestic that the train of His robe fills the temple

Jeremiah 13:22 “If you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ Because of the magnitude of your iniquity Your skirts have been removed And your heels have been exposed.”

— God judges men and shames men by lifting up their robes and showing their bare legs

— The train of God’s robe fills the temple

2. God is Holy

— Everything associated with God is holy

— His Name is holy

— His Temple is holy

— His Word is holy

— His People are holy

R.C. Sproul from this book The Holiness of God

Any attempt to understand God apart from His holiness is idolatry

— John MacArthur mentioned this statement in His sermon “The Forgotten Side of God”

The absence of a clear understanding of God’s holiness is the reason for our shallowness. It is the reason for our impotence. It is the reason for our selfishness. It is the reason for our weakness. It is the reason for our disobedience. We don’t really understand how holy God is; that’s why we compromise.

That’s why we are the worst kind of pragmatists, who do only what fulfills our desires. One day the disciples came to Jesus - you know it -  they said, “Teach us to pray.” He said, “Here’s now to pray. ‘Our Father who art in heaven” - what? – “hallowed by Thy name.” You know what hallowed means? Holy. You want to pray? Start out by a recognition of the holiness of God. God is holy. R.C. Sproul made an interesting statement; he said, “Any attempt to understand God apart from His holiness is idolatry.” It’s true.

— Here there is not a definition of God’s holiness but there is a description of His holiness

— It is described by the posture and praise of the Seraphim

— Seraphim means burning ones

— An order of angelic beings and they are like us in that they have faces, feet and hands

— But they are not like us - they are men on fire

— The posture of the Seraphim (6:2)

Isaiah 6:2 “Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.”

— With two wings they fly to carry out a divine assignment

— Another set of wings cover the face and another set cover the feet

— As they flew above the throne of face, they cover their faces in the presence of God

— God’s Holiness is so infinite...

— His separation, not just from sin, but creation, is so great ...

— God’s moral excellence is so brilliant and beautiful that the holy angels could not bear to have God look directly at them or look directly at God

— Think of these as God’s sovereign secret service agents who guard the holiness of God

— They are not just guarding God’s throne, they are guarding themselves from God

— Isaiah’s response upon seeing God is “Woe is me!” and that is the proper response for a sinful man(6:5)

— But the angels have no sin and they tread lightly in the presence of God lest they be consumed by His infinite holiness

— God have mercy on us for playing church!

— The Praise of the Seraphim (6:3)

— Holy, Holy, Holy

— To say that God is holy once is enough

— To say the God s holy twice is emphatic

— To say that God is holy thrice is superlative

— This is the only attribute of God repeated three times

— No where does it say that God is love, love, love

— That’s what Lennon and McCartney would have you believe “All you need is love, love, love is all you need” (1967)

Revelation 4:8–9 “And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,”

— The second line of their antiphonal chant is also remarkable

Isaiah 6:3 “... The whole earth is full of His glory.”

— The earth is the worldwide display of His immeasurable glory, perfections, and attributes as seen in creation (Rom 1:20)

— Fallen man has nevertheless refused to glorify Him as God (Rom 1:23)

Exodus 15:11 “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?”

The Foundations shook when God spoke (6:4)

Isaiah 6:4 “And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.”

— It is arguable that Isiah was closer to God than any man since the garden of Eden

— And yet he was so far away

3. God is Gracious

— Again, the Grace of God is not defined in the text, it is described in the text

— There is a shift of focus in heavenly furniture

— Verses 1-4 is the throne

— Verses 5-8 is the altar

— Thank God both are there!

— A throne without an altar would have been about condemnation, judgment and wrath

—Instead it is about holiness and grace, guilt and forgiveness

We see a glimpse of God’s grace in:

Isaiah's Contrition

Isaiah's Cleansing

Isaiah's Commission

Isaiah’s Contrition (6:5)

— People today are claiming to see God and they are wonderful experiences

— They are even financially lucrative experiences

— You can write a book and have a movie made

— Not Isaiah!

Isaiah 6:5 “Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

— “Woe is me” is not sorrow or regret

— It is a word of divine judgment on himself

— Divine judgment is stated, “Woe unto the man”

— Before he tried to get the world right, Isaiah saw himself

— Isaiah knew that the truth that the Seraphim were singing about God but because of his sinful lips he could not join in the song

— Worthy worship cannot be offered by unclean lips

— People say, like Moses, “Show me your glory” and don’t know Ex 33:20 or Judges or Revelation

Exodus 33:20 “But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!””

Judges 6:22 “When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the Lord, he said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.””

Judges 13:22 “So Manoah said to his wife, “We will surely die, for we have seen God.””

Revelation 1:17 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,”

— Isaiah thought he was going to die and he didn’t; and that is the mercy and grace of God

— It is just by his mercy and grace brothers, that you and I were on the wake up list this morning!

Isaiah's Cleansing (6:6-7)

Isaiah 6:6–7 “Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.””

— An illustration of how God saves

— It happened by God’s will

— Isaiah didn’t ask for cleansing and didn’t even think it was available; he thought he was going to die

— His cleansing happened by sovereign initiation

— It happens not just by God’s will but by His work

— The burning coal was used by the high priest to sanctify themselves on the day of atonement

— Here Isiah is not offering anything to God

— God dispatches the Seraphim to place the coal on Isaiah’s mouth - it was by God’s work

—It had nothing to do with what Isaiah did for God but what God did for Isaiah

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

John MacArthur’s sermon “The Progress of Salvation”

"On the cross God treated Jesus as if He had committed all the sins of all the people who would ever believe, so that God could then treat believers as if they lived Christ's life of pure holiness."

— It was confirmed by God’s will, God’s work and God’s word.

Isaiah 6:7 “He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.””

— His sin is atoned for and covered

— This is just a shadow of a greater truth

Isaiah's Commission (Now, a word about missions)

— This passage is a reminder that it is about God and His glory, not about man and his needs

— Isaiah is nursing his burning lips (Is 6:8)

— It is a reminder that Grace is free but repentance is painful

— Isaiah overhears a conversation and no one is talking to him, Whom shall I send and whom shall go for us?

— He volunteers for world missions

— This is not a good assignment (v9-10)

— He is called to preach to hard-hearted people that will not hear or receive the message

— His preoccupation was not the people he was called to, but the God who called him

Last year, I saw a commercial that perfectly captures my personal testimony. It was a 15-second VisionWorks commercial set at the Grand Canyon.

A woman walks to the edge of a cliff, squinting as she tries to see the other side. Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the canyon, a VisionWorks employee appears and calls out, "Hey! Do you need new glasses? You could take advantage of your benefits by coming to VisionWorks."

The squinting woman, surprised, responds, "How did you know I was squinting?"

And then comes the best part—the VisionWorks employee casually replies… "I didn’t. I’m just telling everyone!"

— Don’t know the people that God has called you to

— But because God is sovereign, and holy and gracious, go tell everyone that Jesus Saves!

References

Visionworks Back-to-School BOGO Glasses Offer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxbRvctM4ow

Charles, H. B. (2025, March 6). General Session 5: Here I am, send me. Selected Scriptures. Shepherds Conference 2025. Grace Community Church. https://www.gracechurch.org/sermons/23398

MacArthur, J. (n.d.). The forgotten side of God. Grace to You. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/GTY58/the-forgotten-side-of-god

MacArthur, J. (1998, January 17). The progress of salvation. Grace to You. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-181/the-progress-of-salvation

MacArthur, J. (Ed.). (2021). The MacArthur study Bible (2nd ed.). Thomas Nelson. (New American Standard Bible).