2-6-22 Grace-Tucson Sermon

Isaiah 6:1-8 Epiphany 5

Pastor Ron Koehler

Grace—Tucson, AZ

February 6, 2022

It sometimes happens. You are an employee who does your job well. You’re good at what you do. You work with others who are not as good at the job and are maybe not even as dedicated as you are. But when the time for a promotion or special project comes up, it isn’t you who gets it. You get bypassed and someone else is called on for this prized work and the perks that go with it. A co-worker who is less-qualified gets the work and the benefits. This makes no sense to us, and we bristle at how unfair it is.

Isaiah was a guy who found himself on the other end of a situation like this. The Lord showed himself to Isaiah and sent angels to him and actually spoke to him! What an overwhelming experience! And Isaiah understood immediately that he had no business being there—a sinful man before the Holy God. He was as unqualified as they come.

AND he was asked to do a job he was completely unqualified for.

What an interesting account for us to look into this morning! It is fascinating to think about what it must have been like for Isaiah. But there is more here today. He’s going to make this about you. We’ll see if you squirm like Isaiah did. And we’ll see if you respond like Isaiah did. We’ll probably find that the struggle is real within us like it was for him as we wrestle with this question: ARE YOU QUALIFIED TO SHARE THE GOSPEL? While we know little about Isaiah’s life, we know a lot about Jesus’ life. Every time we speak together the words of the creeds, we walk through the details of his life, don’t we? We know a lot that is not in the Creeds also. We know about his perfection in life, his miracles, and his preaching and teaching about salvation by faith in him.

You know these things. You trust in Jesus. You also know what the Bible says about who will be in heaven with Jesus at the end—only those who know these things and trust in who Jesus is and what he has done.

So, everyone needs to know this. God so loved the world, right? But here’s where it gets even more personal than just your faith in the Savior. Those who know the truth, who believe it, are called to share this good news (which is what the word “gospel” means). You might think that knowledge of all of this about Jesus would make you qualified for that work—kind of like it works with a job. That might make sense to us.

But is that true? Let’s see what can we learn from Isaiah’s experience.

Isaiah We might think that the prophet Isaiah was this awesome person, but he really wasn’t—not before God. That’s why he lost it when God and his angels appeared before him. Holy angels cried out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!” There was a cosmic rumbling and smoke everywhere! Isaiah understood exactly what he was seeing: I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips, and…my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Armies!”

Isaiah knew he could not stand in the presence of the LORD and live. Sinfulness pitted against the holiness of God will lose every time…and he knew it. And yet, the LORD chose him to be his messenger. Think about how absolutely unqualified he was to be handling the divine messages of the almighty, eternal God! God uses the unqualified to share his saving gospel with a world full of people who will die eternally without it. This is a truth that needs to be uncovered by God and shown to us, because this is not at all how we do things! We look for the most qualified person to help us, not the least!

If I have a question about my lime tree that has never produced a lime, but is currently bearing lemons (true story), I have a guy. He’s the most qualified person I know, so that’s who I go to. I know nurses that I don’t hesitate to go to. I even have an expert on music copyright I can rely on! You have these people too—your plumber, your doctor, knowledgeable and experienced friends. With anything important, we want a qualified person to help us.

God sure does things differently, doesn’t he? That’s even true of how he sends his message of love and forgiveness to a world of people. He chooses to send imperfect people to share a perfect and critical message. And it’s not like God has to do it this way; he has options!

Who came to declare that Isaiah’s sins were taken away? An angel! Now, that seems like a good choice! Angels are perfect! Angels don’t sin! Angels do whatever God says!

They do it whenever he tells them to do it! Angels don’t question God or procrastinate or forget things…or go to the wrong person or place…or think they have a better idea of what is right to say…or just mess it up somehow! No! They get it right. 100% of the time! They are, apparently, quite impressive-looking also. Angels are the obvious choice if you want everyone to know about Jesus and forgiveness of sins and heaven!

Angels are perfectly qualified to do this all the time, not just at those unique times like with Isaiah or the birth of Jesus or big stuff like that.

I make a pretty good case for God using angels only, don’t I?! But see, that’s what I mean. God does things differently, not like we do things. In his divine wisdom, God has a different plan; he uses the least qualified to be his messengers! And this is what that looks like…

He used a regular, sinful man to share his saving gospel. Here is a sampling of the kinds of things Isaiah was privileged to share. You may recognize some of them: Therefore the Lord himself will give a sign for all of you. Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and name him Immanuel (7:14).

For to us a child is born. To us a son is given. The authority to rule will rest on his shoulders. He will be named: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (9:6).

It was because of our rebellion that he was pierced. He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed (53:5).

Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow (1:18a).

Surely God is my salvation. I will trust him and will not be afraid (12:2a).

What beautiful gospel in the Old Testament—comforting promises about Jesus and our forgiveness and salvation! Some written as if those things were already done, even though Isaiah proclaimed future things—because God showed them to him as if they had already been fulfilled.

The first disciples Isaiah was not the only unqualified, sinful human being chosen by God to proclaim his saving gospel. Jesus’ disciples were the first gospel preachers sent out to announce that Jesus had come and done what Isaiah had proclaimed he would do!

Think about what you know of the Twelve: A despised tax collector no one would want to listen to, one who blurted out inappropriate things sometimes and was even called “Satan” by Jesus, a skeptic, a doubter, self-centered and arrogant brothers, and a handful we know virtually nothing about.

Ministry misfits, NOT most-qualified messengers. We would never have chosen these men! They were completely unqualified.

So again, we see this truth uncovered: God sends the least qualified out into the world to share the gospel.

You and me The question of the day is this: ARE YOU QUALIFIED TO SHARE THE GOSPEL? In the lesson from Romans today, we heard about God’s plan to share Jesus with a world that needs to know him. It requires preachers (or proclaimers)—Christians who will tell about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection so that people may be saved. How can they believe in the one about whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher? …faith comes from hearing the message (Romans 10:14, 17a).

You realize that this means you, right? God has no other plan. Angels aren’t coming; you and I are it. That’s God’s choice. Though we feel like we are the least qualified— maybe even less than Isaiah and the disciples—you and I are God’s plan to proclaim the gospel now.

So, how are you doing with that? Are you reluctant? Think you don’t know enough?

Think you won’t say the right thing? Think that people won’t listen to you because you’re no better than them? Think you’re a person of unclean lips and not worthy of being the mouthpiece that holds God’s precious message?

That’s us being honest about our sinful nature, but also making sinful excuses. Just think about those excuses. You’re really implying that to do this work you must know everything in the Bible—be all-knowing. That you need to be perfect so that you don’t get something wrong. That you need to have the power of God to change a heart so that you can persuade them. That you are even able to read hearts, because you are certain they won’t listen anyway.

This sinful thinking is common among us, and it makes it pretty hard to answer “yes” to the question, ARE YOU QUALIFIED TO SHARE THE GOSPEL? And so, we relate to Isaiah when God spoke to him. We feel doomed and ruined because of our sin, and we know that our mouths are unfit to carry the gospel to others.

But wait, you know something else—and it’s big. It’s huge. It’s the difference maker.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with the coal and said, “Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.”

The LORD took Isaiah’s sin away; he forgave it all. Isaiah saw that forgiveness in a vivid way—his unclean lips cleansed by a coal from the altar of sacrifice. After that, when the Lord called out with the question about whom he should send as his messenger, Isaiah gladly, willingly, eagerly, answered: “Here I am. Send me!”

The Lord has shown us something too. By faith, we have seen the perfect life of Jesus.

We have seen him suffer and die on the altar of the cross to pay for our sins. We know that our guilt has been taken away! This changes our hearts and our lives and our eternal life! This is the greatest news! How gladly, willingly, eagerly, ought we answer God’s call to share the good news of Jesus?!

ARE YOU QUALIFIED TO SHARE THE GOSPEL? Sin says, “no,” but God says, “yes.”

Like Isaiah, like the disciples, you are qualified because God has made you so! You are because God has forgiven your sins. You are because God has called you to the job. You are because you’re really just the messenger. You can’t make the message more persuasive or powerful or perfect. That’s the work of the gospel itself and the Holy Spirit who changes hearts.

So, what are you going to do? Are you going to be like Isaiah? Imperfect. Forgiven.

And now willing and eager to share the gospel? God has uncovered the truth about whether or not you are qualified, so I suspect that you will also answer, “Here I am.

Send me!” How could you not? Amen.

Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.