日期 : 10/04/09

經文 :    以賽亞書 6:1-13

題目 :    任重道遠

主 旨 : 當聖潔和恩惠的神發出呼召時，祂的兒女要謙卑地順服。

引言 :

我非常高興在宣教月的最後一個禮拜被邀請做您們的講員，可以和一些教會的領袖和特殊的宣教士分享這個講台，這是一個莫大的榮譽，我想我可以在我的履歷上可以多加一項 — 差傳月的講員。 ( 一笑 )

我想我們每一個人都有一些決定性的時刻、記得某一些事情的發生。我們當中住在美國久一點的人、或不在美國，您會記得在一九六三年甘迺迪總統被暗殺的時候在那裡？也許也會記得在二零零一年九一一的早上，在何處、在作何事？這個禮拜我想起另外一個決定性的時刻，一九七三年禮拜六晚上大屠殺事件。一九七三年十月，當水門事件進入最高峰的時候，在十月廿日禮拜六晚上，水門事件的特別檢查官 Archibald Cox 向白宮要求交出一切的錄音帶，但是尼克森總統的白宮拒絕了這個要求，不但如此，也要當時的司法部長 Elliot Richardson 把這特別檢查官解聘， Richardson 拒絕了，他和他的助手，立刻遞上辭呈。尼克森總統在那時又指派了另外一個檢查官， Robert Bork ，他也考慮辭職， Richardson 叫他考慮留下來，不然會引起美國憲法的大混亂，所以 Bork 就留下來了。結果將 Cox 解聘。這些的事情，都在禮拜六晚上短短的幾個小時內發生，就被稱為一九七三年的禮拜六的大屠殺。當時好多的人就盯著電視的影幕，看整事情的發展。我們可以想像司法部長，從總統那裡接受到這命令，他的心裡的那種混亂，順服呢，還是不順服總統呢？

今天早上，我們要看一個另外一個決定性的時刻，就是先知以賽亞，在公元七百卅九年所遭遇的事 — 他與神和天使的相遇，這一個的相遇，導致一個任務，當我們看這個任務的話，一方面可以說是「任重道遠」，另一方面又可以說，是個十分不合理的使命。

I. 以賽 亞被帶入神前。

在第一節告訴我們當烏西王死的那一年，以賽亞看見了一個異象，在這個異象裡，他看見了一位不死的萬軍之王。在地上的王死的那一年，他看見了天上的那位不會死的王。

1 •  聖潔的神 . 在那個時刻，又稍為看到了那看不見的世界，他看見有撒拉弗，在聖經裡，這是唯一用撒拉弗來稱呼那些超自然的物體。我們一般說他是天使。

這裡講到每一個撒拉弗，都有三副的翅膀，他們在彼此的對唱 : 「聖哉！聖哉！聖哉！萬軍之耶和華！祂的榮光充滿全地。」以賽亞看到了神的聖潔，看見神的另外的一面，祂的純潔、祂完全的完整。當這些撒拉弗彼此歌唱的時候，聖殿的門檻在那震動，好像地震一樣，然後整個殿充滿了煙霧。對以賽亞來說，這是西乃山的形象，讓他想到西乃山，當神來到祂百姓的當中，要將審判帶來的時候，那時，地在震動，全地都充滿了煙霧。當以賽亞看到了這樣一個情景，看見那位神！那個審判的形像，他的反應是什麼？

2 •  人的罪 . 他說：「我有禍了，我滅亡了！因為我是個嘴唇不潔的人，又住在嘴唇不潔的人民中間，又因為我親眼看見了大君王萬軍之耶和華。」在這裡我們注意，在整本的以賽亞書，這是以賽亞第一次開口說話。他所說的話是：我有禍了，我滅亡了！」這裡我有禍了、滅亡了！原來的意義：「我被沈默了，或被閉嘴了。」然後以賽亞看見自己的罪，他也看見百姓的罪，他深深感覺懊悔，他清楚知道嘴唇不潔淨人是不能見神的，他唯一配得。因此，在神的面前啞口無言，他被沈默了、閉口了。

在最近的年日裡，我們經常聽見一些人的分享，他們說他們遇見了上帝或耶穌。他們描寫在那個時刻，感覺到有很多的光明，感到非常的溫暖，非常的吸引人。但是，我們不要忘記，任何與神的相遇，如果沒有看見自己的罪的話，我們對這些的相遇，都要抱著一個懷疑，因為在這一個聖潔神的面前，當我們遇見祂的時候，一定讓我深深的體會到自己的罪惡。因此，在這位聖潔神的面前，唯一適當的回應：傷心、破碎的心，看見了自己的罪。

II.    以賽亞經歷神的恩惠。

當他看到他自己的罪，又怎樣了？在第六、七節：「有一個撒拉弗飛到以賽亞的面前，手裡拿著燒紅的炭，是用火鉗從祭壇上取來的。祂用炭沾我的口，說：『看哪！這炭沾了你的嘴唇，你的罪孽就除掉，你的罪惡就赦免了。』」你的罪惡就赦免了，也可用另外一個字，希伯來文意思：「你被代替了。」一個燒紅的炭，意思是壇上有祭物被燒。所以是活的炭，是燒紅的炭，這是什麼意思？為了要將以賽亞的罪挪掉，在這個祭壇上有供物在燒，要將以賽亞的罪代替，因為有這一個代替，罪被赦免，這是恩典，不是以賽亞的功德，因為他沒有什麼功德，他知道他是個嘴唇不潔的人，他又住在嘴唇不潔淨的人中，所以他的罪被赦免，他的罪孽被除掉，絕不是因為他的好處，都是因為神的恩典。

我們又注意當他的罪被除掉的時候，在第八節，我又聽見主的聲音說：「我可以差遣誰呢？誰肯為我們去呢？」當以賽亞經歷到神的恩惠時，以賽亞就更進一步的被帶到神的面前。之前，遠遠的看見神坐在祂的寶座上，他遠遠的看見神的聖潔，但是當他被潔淨了以後，他被帶入天上的庭院裡，他聽見了神的聲音。

當我在準備這篇信息時，收音機正播放這樣一首聖詩：「我要看見 祢 ！認識 祢 ！我要聽見 祢 的聲音！我要注目 祢 ！我要觸摸 祢 的面孔！」這些的字句非常的感動、感性、非常的美妙，在表示我們願意更加的靠近神！今天的人對神都有一個渴慕的心。在我們心裡面，願意與天上的神有更加親密的關係。雖然可能不知道祂是誰，但很想與祂靠近。

但是我們要記住，我們也要知道更靠近這位神的時候，一方面要看見自己的罪惡，並看見罪如何影響到我們的全人，同時，不要忘記去接納、饒恕我們罪的恩典，你我都不能做什麼使我們的罪被除掉，這一切都是出於神的恩典。您、我真的要放棄做好人、做好事來拯救、想挽回自己。不要嘗試來挽回自己，這是行不通的，因為我們沒有任何的能力使罪被除掉。只要簡單的來到神這裡，看見我們自己的罪，然後，接受祂給我們的饒恕。您要知道，我的罪被除掉、為了您、我的罪被饒恕，耶穌基督代替了我們死在十字架上，祂就是在十字架上成了我們的代替。當我們經歷到祂的恩典，無條件的恩典，我們也更進一步的帶到祂的跟前。

III.    以賽亞被神所任命。

以賽亞在神的面前，他聽見了神的聲音，神說：「我可以差遣誰？誰肯為我們去？」但是去那裡？做什麼？都沒有講。

您能否想像？明天你上班，然後您的上司來跟您說：「我有個差事給你，要你去某某地方，你在這個禮拜結束前，告訴我你的答案。」您會問：「去那裡？」他說：「我不能告訴你！去那裡做什麼？我也不能告訴你。」您會答應他嗎？這樣的一個要求，真的是不合理的、不可想像的。

但是在這裡就是所發生的事情，以賽亞不知道要去那裡？也不知道去那裡要幹什麼？但是他怎麼說，他說：「我在這裡，請差遣我。」神說我可以差遣誰？誰可以為我們去？沒有說去那裡！也沒有說做什麼？以賽亞卻回應說：「我在這裡，請差遣我。」這是不可思議的事！但是回頭再想想，也是我們可以瞭解的事。當我們面對這位聖潔的神，當我們看見自己的罪過，也接受了祂那無條件的恩典，我們還可以怎麼回應呢？除了我在這裡，請差遣我！您還能說什麼？

我也想在這裡帶出一點：這往往是神在我們生命裡工作的方式。我們在做一件事、一個地方前，都想要知道所有的細節，要將正面、負面都列出來，然後、或者才會做一個決定。但是神不是這樣！祂要我們順服祂！如果神一開始就將所有的事告訴我們，可能我們就怕到一個地步 — 不敢往前走一步。我自己十分清楚知道，如果神在卅一年前就清楚告訴我：「薛孔偉你做了傳道人之後，這就是你要遭遇的事情。」我可以清楚的告訴您們，我今天絕不會站在這裡！

當以賽亞說：「我在這裡，請差遣我。」神就開始對他說：「你要去那裡！幹什麼！」在第九、十節：祂說：「你去告訴這子民﹙神的子民 — 以色列人﹚，說：『你們聽了又聽，卻不明白；看了又看，卻不曉得。』你要使這子民的心思遲鈍，耳朵不靈，眼睛昏暗，免得他們眼睛看見、耳朵聽見、心裡明白，回轉過來，得到醫治。」神在這裡告訴以賽亞，祂要差他去以色列百姓當中。做什麼？講什麼？這裡沒有好很清楚的告訴我們。但是當您看以賽亞書的時候，你就知道以賽亞要去傳講神的話，是一個充滿憐憫的話、恩惠的話、審判的話。神的話語是請求祂的子民悔改，回轉到神這裡。這是這個吩咐的特點，不是在乎信息的內容，卻是以賽亞這個使命的果效，神在對以賽亞說：「你要去這一群人當中，將我的話告訴他們，但是當你告訴了他們之後，他們不會聽你的，因為他們的心思遲鈍、他們的耳朵聽不見、眼睛也看不見，如果他們聽見的話，他們就會回轉，他們就可以得到醫治了。」不！他們不會聽的，神告訴以賽亞，你越傳講我的信息，他們的心會越遲鈍、他們的耳朵聽不見、他們的眼睛越來越瞎了！因此這裡的重點乃是這一個信息無果效，這是一個何等奇怪的事？

這是我們今天不能瞭解的？我們住在北美的、亞洲的我們時時聽見人說：「神呼召我全時間的服事，好像我們隔鄰 Joel Osteen 、或 Bill Hybels 、 Rick Warren 、 Andy Stanley 、或者加州的 Francis Chan 、台灣的周神助、我一開口，很多人就會來，建立一個超型大的教會，或當我教主日學的時候、帶查經，很多人都喜歡來！他們一聽後，立刻就會有反應！這是我的使命、這是我要去做的事，真的嗎？

神給以賽亞的使命，不是這樣，神在告訴以賽亞：「你越向他們傳講，他們會越遠離我。」可以想像到嗎？您越講神的話，他們會越遠離神！不但如此，神給以賽亞的使命，在新約聖經裡至少被引用五次，原來字句引用或部份被引用有五次，耶穌引用這一段的話，描寫祂在傳講天國福音的話，有許多的人不會聽、保羅也引用這一段來描寫聽眾的剛硬的心。今天早上我來教會時想，在舊約裡的先知當中，除了約拿之外，都沒有人在聽他們。您、我是誰？想比耶穌、保羅、使徒、先知更超越麼？

以賽亞在十一至十三節問：「主啊！這要到幾時為止呢？」祂回答說：「直到城鎮荒涼，無人居住；房屋空置無人，地土廢棄荒涼。 12 耶和華要把人遷到遠方，在這境內必有很多被撇下的地土。 13 境內剩下的人，雖然只有十分之一，也必被消滅。但正如栗樹和橡樹，雖然被砍下，樹的餘幹還存留在那裡。這聖潔的苗裔，就是這國的餘幹。」如果我們是以賽亞的話，當我們聽神跟我們說，你越去跟他們講，他們越離開我，也一定會問：「神啊！到什麼時候？要多久呢？」如果神說：「請放心！這是暫時的，兩、三年，之後就很好了。」只要辛苦兩、三年吧，以後就會很好了。但是並不是如此！在這裡所看見的，人的心會維持剛硬，直到他們被審判、懲罰的時刻，以賽亞不知道多少時候、多少年後才來臨？但是您和我知道，因為當我們讀舊約歷史，我們知道那個荒涼的情況，是在以賽亞服事的整個程裡，有六十多年之久。換句話說，以賽亞的整個人生，他努力的傳揚神的話語、傳講神的愛、神的憐憫、神的審判，但是他沒有看見任何的果效。神給以賽亞一個使命，是一個不可思議的命，如果以賽亞一早就知道使命的內容，大概不會這麼快就說：「我在這裡！請差遣我！」

今天也是一樣！神給我們一個使命，也是不太合理的。我們當中沒有太多人有這種的機會、特權，對很多的人講道，很多人在那裡回應。他們抓住您的每一句話，但是，往往一直傳講神的話、在這裡講道也好、教主日學、團契帶查經，每一次在講神的話，我們往往將一個人更加接近神、不然的話就是使他更遠離開神。如果決心選擇他自己的道路的話，要做自己要做的事，就越聽神的話，他的心也會越剛硬。

但這並不是這一段經文的結局。在十三節說：「境內剩下的人，雖然只有十分之一，也必被消滅。但正如栗樹和橡樹，雖然被砍下，樹的餘幹還存留在那裡。這聖潔的苗裔，就是這國的餘幹。」神在對以賽亞解釋，這棵大的樹像徵著我的子民，倒下來了，餘幹留下來的，這一個餘幹就是聖潔的苗裔。這個聖潔的苗裔，有人聽見了神的話，也就接受神的話語，雖然不多，但是仍然在那裡。重點是因為神的話是充滿了生命，充滿活力。神的話一進到人的心裡，有一天會在那裡發芽，會成長。但是先知和我們的責任，並不是看這一個苗的長大，仍是去傳講神的話語，仍是跟神說：「我在這裡，請差遣我！」

結論 :

在一九七三年的十月廿日的那個晚上，司法部長 Richardson 在總統那裡得到一個不合理的任務，要將 Archibald Cox 解聘。三千年前，先知以賽亞同樣也得到了一個同樣的任務。司法部長 Richardson 選擇了正確的行動，他拒絕這個任務。以賽亞做了正確的選擇，他降服在這一個命令之下，因為這一個命令是從萬軍之耶和華而來的。不錯，這一個使命是給了以賽亞，是以賽亞的使命，但是在幾百年之後，當那一位彌賽亞來這個世界，臨走的時候，祂也給了所有跟隨祂的人，要他們往普天下去，將這一個福音傳開，然後將耶穌的話教導人們遵守耶穌給了祂每一個子女一個任務，要往普天下去，使萬民做祂的門徒。請我們千萬的記住，這個使命不是要您去效法 Joel Osteen 、 Bill Hybels 、或者標竿人生的 Rick Warren 、或台灣的周神助牧師。但是這個任務，是要您去傳講神的信息，是一個有關愛的信息、一個憐憫的信息、一個滿有恩惠、悔改、與審判的信息。每一個人都有這樣的任務。

但是在另一方面，神也呼召了我們當中某一些，在本地全時間的服事或者去超越一個文化做宣教士。記得我還在中學時，在一次的差傳的聚會中，我第一次的體會到神可能呼召我全時間的服事，在那些日子，對全時間的服事一點也不瞭解。中學畢業後，去日本讀大學，然後來美國普渡研究院，之後去史旦弗的醫學院做研究。在這一些過程中，每一個階段都相當的順利，並沒有聽見上面來的聲音，也沒有像馬丁 ‧ 路德從在大雨閃電中對神承諾。因此也不覺得有任何的理由要繼續的思考神的呼召，雖然這個意念，那些的年日裡，經常的出來，但是都輕描淡寫的放在一邊了。一九七七年時，當我到台灣六個月之後，我開始更深刻的感受到這一個呼召可能是真的、可能神沒有開玩笑、神沒有忘記。長話短說，又經過了六個月，我清楚的知道神在呼召我全時間的服事！在一九八二年我按立典禮時，我神學院的教授 Dr. Rayburn 這樣跟我說：「孔偉，現在開始你要做神話語的傳遞者。」直到今日我還是不能忘記那一個雄亮的聲音。在那一次的按立典禮，他給我的使命 — 做神話語的傳遞者。每當我在事奉裡灰心、失望，想要放棄時，這種的詩歌有很多、很多，如果您問我太太的話，她會有更多、更多的事，她會說：「那一個禮拜一你要放棄。」但是在我很低沈的時候，她會提醒我說：「你千萬不可忘記是那一位呼召你全時間事奉的。」

我絕不會告訴您被神呼召高興無比的事。但是，當這個呼召臨到您的時候，當這個呼召從又聖潔、又榮耀、又有恩惠的神臨到您的時候，您還有什麼選擇呢？以賽亞的回應：「我在這裡！請差遣我！」你呢 ? 請低頭禱告！

Date:   10/04/09

Text:   Isaiah 6:1-13

Title:   A Most Unreasonable Commission

Theme: When the holy and gracious God extends a call, His children are to humbly submit and obey.

Introduction:

  This is indeed an honor to be invited to speak at this church's mission month. Now I can add on my resume: mission conference speaker.

We have certain defining moments in life. We clearly remember the occurrence of certain events. Some of us remember where we were when J. F. Kennedy was shot in 1963. Others can vividly recall where and what they were doing on 9/11, 2001. This week I thought of another defining moment; the Saturday night massacre in 1973. You may have read this week's news report that Governor Perry removed 3 individuals from a panel that was investigating the possible wrong execution of an innocent man. The critics compared his decision to the Saturday Night Massacre of 1973. On October 20, 1973, in the height of the Watergate scandal investigation, Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor asked the Nixon White House to handover the tapes. The White House refused, not only that, it also proceeded to ask Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox. Richardson refused, he and his deputy immediately resigned. Nixon then assigned the task to US Solicitor general Robert Bork. He also considered resigning, but Richardson convinced him to stay and subsequently, Cox was removed. These all happened in a matter of several hours and this incident was known as the Saturday Night Massacre of 1973. One can imagine when Elliot Richardson received the order from the president, the turmoil he must have been undergoing: should he obey or not obey the president?

  This morning we want to take a look at one defining moment which the prophet Isaiah experienced in the year of 739 B.C. It was an encounter with God and the angels. This encounter concluded with a mission, a task given to Isaiah. Looking at it, it was a most unreasonable commission.

I •  Isaiah was brought into the presence of God. 1-5

In the year king Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the undying King sitting on a throne in the temple.

1 •  A Holy God. At that moment Isaiah was given a vision into the invisible world. He saw the seraphim. By the way this is the only place in the scripture that a supernatural creature is called a seraph. Each had 3 pairs of wings, singing to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Isaiah saw God's holiness. God is totally other, pure and perfect. As the seraphim sang to each other, the foundation of the temple shook and the place was filled with smoke. To Isaiah, this brought back the imagery of Mount Sinai ; God's appearance and judgment.

2 •  A sinful man. What was Isaiah's response at the sight of this holy God and the imagery of judgment? “ 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 !” This is the first time Isaiah spoke in this book. Woe is me, literally means ‘I am being silenced'. Isaiah recognized his personal sinfulness and the sins of his nation. He knew that people with unclean lips could not see God, but only deserved judgment. He was speechless before God.

In recent years, we have read and heard of individuals giving accounts of their encounter with God or Jesus . Many shared about the light and the warm feeling they felt. We need to watch out for any encounter with this holy God, for without recognition of sins, it is to be treated with suspect. It is important to remember, encounter with this holy God, will inevitably lead to a deep sense of our sinfulness. Before the holy God, a contrite and broken heart is the only proper response.

II •  Isaiah experienced God's grace. 6-8a

What happened after Isaiah acknowledged his sinfulness and he was silenced? “ 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. ” A burning coal means that there was a sacrifice on the altar. What does this tell us? For Isaiah's sins to be taken away, there was a substitute being offered in his place. Because of the sacrifice, Isaiah was forgiven. This is grace, and not because of his merit, for he had none.

With his sins taken away, we notice next: Vs.8, “ 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” ….” With his experience of God's grace, Isaiah was brought one step closer to God. Previously he saw from a distance of God and his holiness. After the cleansing, he entered the heavenly court and heard God's voice.

As I was preparing this sermon, this song was playing on the radio: “I want to see you, I want to know you, I want to hear your voice, I want to touch you, I want to touch your face.” These lyrics are touching, and the music good. It expresses our desire to come close to God. People are hungry for God, longing for a deeper relationship with him. Yet, we also need to know that as we come close to him, not only do we see our sinfulness, we also need to accept God's forgiveness of our sins. There is nothing we can do to have our sins taken away. It is all God's grace. You and I have to give up trying to be good, to do good, in order to redeem ourselves. This does not work. We simply need to come to God, acknowledge our sinfulness and receive his forgiveness. You see, for our sins to be taken away, Christ died on our behalf on the cross. He was our substitution on the cross. As we experience God's grace, the unconditional grace, we are brought into God's presence. Now that Isaiah had heard God's voice, what was his response?

III •  Isaiah was commissioned by God. 8b-13

Isaiah heard, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Go where and for what? There was no detail given. Can you imagine if your boss came and asked you, “Will you take this assignment?” Where? I can't tell you. What for? I won't tell you either. I need an answer by the end of this week. This is unreal. But this is what happened. Not knowing where and what, Isaiah said, “Here am I! Send me.” Yet, this is understandable, is it not? When we face this holy God, see our sinfulness and then receive his unconditional grace, what else can we say but, Here am I! Send me. I also want to point out this is how God operates in our lives. We want to know all the details, pros and cons before we make a move. But God wants us to be obedient first. If he would have told us all the details of what lies ahead, we properly will be too scared to go anywhere. If God would have told me all the details about my ministry 31 years ago, I don't think I will be standing here today.

After Isaiah said ‘here am I, send me”, God began to tell him where to go and what to say. Vs.10, “ 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 .” God was sending Isaiah to the Israelites. The message was not spelled out here. But from the book of Isaiah we know it is God's word of compassion, judgment and plea for his people to return to him. What is unusual about this is not the message itself but the consequence of Isaiah's mission. God is telling Isaiah that you go and preach to them, but they will not listen to you. If they listen to God, they will return and be healed. But no, they will not listen. The more you preach my word, the more their hearts will be dull, ears heavy and eyes blind. The essence is not so much about the content of the message, but the fruitlessness of the message. What a strange commission.

This is something we cannot fathom. Today we hear men and women say, ‘God has called me into the ministry to build a church like Joel Osteen, Bill Hybels, Rick Warren, Ed Young Jr, Andy Stanley, Mark Driscol or Francis Chan. When I preach, many will come, thus I'm building a mega church.” Or “we'll teach a large class and everyone responds enthusiastically.” Really? The mission given to Isaiah was nothing like this. As a matter of fact, the more he preached, the more people would turn away from God.

Not only this, this commission of Isaiah was quoted 5 times in full or in part in the NT. Jesus quoted this to describe his ministry. He came to preach but people would not listen. Paul also quoted this to describe his audience's hardened hearts. Who are we that we dare to arise above Jesus and Paul?

Isaiah in vs.11 asked, “ “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “ Until cities lie waste

without inhabitant s , 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. 13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.”The holy seed is its stump. ” If we are Isaiah, we too want to find out how long. If God would say, oh, this condition will only last about 4 or 5 years, then everything will be rosy. Just be patient and hang in there for the next few years. Afterwards, it will be cool. No, that was not the case. People will remain hardened until they were judged and punished. At that moment, Isaiah did not know how long it would last, but we do. This condition lasted through Isaiah's entire ministry, about 60 some years. In other words, during his whole life, he labored to preach God's word of love, grace and judgment, yet he would see little fruit coming out of it. Isaiah was commissioned to a task that was really unreasonable. If he would have found out the nature of the mission, he probably would not have said, Here am I! Send me.

The same is true today. we are given a mission, a task, that at times, can be unreasonable. Not too many of us have the privilege of speaking to a hungry group, latching onto every word we say. Instead, every time we preach God's word, we are either bringing a person one step closer to God or away from God. If a person chose to go his own way, the more he listens to the word, the more his heart will be hardened.

But this is not the end. In vs.13 God said, “.. like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.”The holy seed is its stump .” God explained to Isaiah, that even if the tree fell, there would be a stump remaining. The holy seed, is some who heard and received the word. The word is full of life and vitality. It will take root in a few people and start to sprout one day. Our responsibility is not to see this stump start growing, but just to go and preach the word.

Conclusion:

  On the evening of 10/20, 1973, Attorney General Elliot Richardson received that unreasonable mission of firing Archibald Cox. 3000 years earlier, the prophet Isaiah also received an unreasonable mission. Richardson did the right thing by turning down the mission. Isaiah did the right thing by submitting himself to that mission. Yes it was a mission given to Isaiah. It was Isaiah's commission. Yet, several hundred years later, the messiah, Jesus Christ, also commissioned us, each one of us, his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. The commission is not to be like Joel Osteen, Bill Hybels, Ed Young Jr or Andy Stanley, but to preach and teach the word.

  On the other hand, God has also called some of us specifically to serve him full time in a local church or missionaries to a different culture. When I was in high school, I first became aware of the possibility that God may be calling me into ministry. In those days I knew little about what it meant. After high school, I went to Japan for college, then Purdue for graduate study. Afterwards I went to Stanford Medical School for post graduate research. At each step, the transition was rather smooth, therefore there was no reason to further explore this calling. However, 6 months after our arrival in Taiwan in 1977, I began to realize that this calling may be real. To make a long story short, after another 6 or 7 months, I was certain that God was calling me into full time pastoral ministry. I remember at my ordination in 1982, my professor, Dr. Rayburn said, “William, you are to be a preacher of the word.” I can never forget this commission. When I face disappointing moments in ministry, Cynthia would always remind me, “don't forget who first called you into the ministry.”

  I will be the last one to tell you that being called, being commissioned is the most joyous moment in your life. However, when the call comes to you from this holy and gracious God, can we say No? Isaiah responded, Here am I! Send me. How about you?