The Call of God

I was meditating on Isaiah's commission in Isaiah 6 today. This event occurred at the end of the reign of King Uzziah around 740 BC. Uzziah, king of Judah, was generally considered a good king. However, towards the latter half of his reign, he grew powerful and proud, leading to his downfall. He wanted to assume the priesthood by burning incense in the temple of God till he was struck with leprosy and had to quickly vacate the temple (2 Chron 26:16-21). He remained leprous till the day of his death.

When Isaiah saw the Lord, He was seated on a throne, high and exalted. Though earthly kings and rulers may pass away, the Lord continues to rule on His throne in heaven. Isaiah was transported to the temple in heaven in a vision to capture this divine sight. God's self revelation of Himself was followed next by the sounds that Isaiah heard. It was the heavenly choir by the seraphs (a kind of angels) singing "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty ..." bringing a realisation to Isaiah that he was terribly unclean in the presence of a Holy God. He immediately confessed his sins and unworthiness, resulting in his cleansing by an angel.

The work of the Lord requires vessels that have clean hands and pure hearts. God has called all His children out of darkness into His wonderful light (1 Pet 2:9), and this entails our sanctification. The general will of God for every believer is
i) our sanctification (1 Th 4:3-8) - being set apart for His use.
ii) our joyful, prayerful, thanksgiving attitude (1 Th 5:16-18) - we can take everything to the Lord in prayer; a powerful weapon God has put in our hands.
iii)our acts of kindness and obedience to God's laws (1 Pet 2:13-21) - if we live under God's authority we will walk in a higher plane of spiritual authority on earth.
iv) our witness of God (2 Pet 3:9) - He desires us to shine for Him wherever He placed us.

Despite the above, there is still a specific will of God for individuals called by Him to accomplish His purposes on earth like Moses, Isaiah
and Jeremiah. Such a call of God is clear and distinct, often being confirmed through many ways. Our Senior Pastor had no less than two prophetic word to confirm the vision he saw in the clouds. But rest assured that when God calls you, He would empower you for every good work. One of the ways we can equip ourselves is to read the Word of God daily (2 Tim 3:16-17) and to pray (Jn 16:24).

The call of God requires a response from us and Isaiah spoke simply, "Here am I send me!" Would you be willing to respond positively, if He calls you into His service? It could be into so-called full-time ministry like serving in a church or para-church organisation, or it could be to serve as a tentmaker like the apostle Paul in the market places where God puts you. The world in its various fields like government, media, education, family, religion, military, etc. needs servants of God to not only shine for Him but be effective in their area of influence. May you be such a person as you answer the call of God.