Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

Scripture

Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high
and lifted up; and his train 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. 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 flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal
which 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 forgiven." 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall
I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

Summary and Function

Summary: If your sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus and if the Holy Spirit is changing you and making you more like Christ, then God is calling you to go on a mission. As a follower of Jesus Christ, God expects you to spread the good news of His love throughout the world. We are called to do this through our words and deeds. The mission area could be across the ocean or in our own back yard. It's wherever God wants to send you.

The Mission Impossible movies always start off with the main character, Ethan Hunt, receiving his mission briefing. In the briefing, he is told, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it..." As followers of Jesus
Christ, we are told by God, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make disciples for me. You are to do this by spreading the good news of my love through your words and deeds" As the Holy Spirit changes our hearts and makes us more like Christ, we should enthusiastically accept this mission. It is, after all, the most important mission in the world!!! Are you willing to respond to God's call?

Function: To get the congregation enthusiastic about responding to God's call to go on mission.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: The "Mission Impossible" t.v. series and movie

A. The Mission Impossible movies always start off with the main
character, Ethan Hunt, receiving his mission briefing. In the briefing, he
is told, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it..."

B. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are told by God, "Your mission,
should you choose to accept it, is to make disciples for me. You are to do
this by spreading the good news of my love through your words and deeds"

C. As the Holy Spirit changes our hearts and makes us more like Christ,
we should enthusiastically accept this mission.

D. This is illustrated in the calling passage of Isaiah 6:1-8. This is
when Isaiah receives a vision and is called, by God, to deliver a divine
message to the Israelites

II. Isaiah 6:1-8

A. Isaiah receives a vision of heaven (Vv. 1-4)

· In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a
throne, high and lifted up; and his train 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.

· Isaiah witnesses the majesty and holiness of God. God fills
everything and the seraphs (A type of angel) had to cover their faces and
feet in the presence of God's holiness.

B. Isaiah reacts to the vision of heaven (V. 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!"

· Isaiah realizes his own sinfulness and his people's sinfulness in
the presence of God's holiness. Compared to God, none of us are any good. God is perfectly holy.

· This is what happens to us when we gaze upon Jesus.

o Jesus is God in the flesh. When we look upon Jesus we look upon God's perfect holiness. We find that we don't come anywhere near measuring up. We all fall way short.

o As we look upon Jesus, His life and character, we yell, "Lord, we are not worthy!!!"

C. Isaiah receives forgiveness and restoration. He's made clean and given a renewed spirit. (V. 6)

· Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning
coal which 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 forgiven."

· Isaiah receives forgiveness and renewal when a burning coal is
placed on his lips. That probably wasn't very pleasant but the process of purification isn't always pleasent. It is, however, necessary to become the person God created us to be.

· When we look at Jesus and say, "Lord, I'm not worthy!"...

o God doesn't look down on us and say, "Yes, you're a worthless
sinner. I'll have nothing more to do with you!!!".

o Instead, God reaches down, picks us up and hugs us. The Holy Spirit then begins the process of refining us so that we become worthy. God lovingly makes us worthy. This process is not always pleasant but it is necessary in order for us to be the people God created us to be.

D. After being forgiven and renewed, Isaiah answers a calling from God
(V. 8).

· And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and
who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

· God doesn't forgive and purify us just so we can say, "Look how
great I am!" God forgives and purifies us so that He can have a personal
relationship with us and so that he can send us out on mission.

· As we walk with Jesus, God expects us to go on mission. As the Holy
Spirit changes us, we develop a strong desire to go on mission for God.

· God expects us all to go on mission for him. So, what is this mission? What does God expect us to do?

III. What is our mission?

A. Many verses help to answer this question

· Matthew 22:36-40: Our mission involves loving our neighbor

· Matthew 25:34-40: Our mission involves helping people in need

· Mark 16:15: Our mission involves telling people the good news about
Jesus

· Acts 1:8: Our mission involves  witnessing to people about how Jesus
has worked in our lives (personal testimonies)

B. One passage seems to sum up everything stated above: Matthew
28:19-20

· Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching
them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."

· This happens to be our mission statement: We are committed to the
mission of the church to make disciples of Jesus Christ for a transformed
world.

· Making disciples of Jesus consists of 3 parts

o Evangelizing: Telling people about Jesus, witnessing to people about how God has worked in your life

1. Don't have to convince people. That's the Holy Spirit's job. Just tell people what you know to be true and about your own experience.

2. It's like being a witness in court. A court witness doesn't try to convince anyone of anything. The lawyers do that. The witness doesn't have to judge anyone. The judge and jury do that. The only thing the witness has to do is tell what he knows to be true from his own observation. That's what we do when we witness for Christ. We let God do the convincing and judging.

o Serving and helping people in need

o Teaching people what it means to follow Jesus

· The Holy Spirit works through all of this.

o and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.

o Jesus is always with us by way of the Holy Spirit

IV. Practical ways to accomplish our mission

A. Always be willing to discuss your relationship with Jesus at work, social gatherings, school or anywhere else. This, however, must be done while living a life characterized by love.

B. Seek out ways to help people in need.

· Volunteer at Christian ministries or charities

· Be on the lookout for a stranger in need

· Participate in church outreach activities such as Family Promise ot visiting the nursing home. Read your bulletin to become aware of these opportunities

· IF YOU SEE A NEED IN THE COMMUNITY, YOU CAN ORGANIZE SOME CHURCH MEMBERS TO MEET THE NEED. YOU DON'T NEED PERMISSION TO DO THAT.

C. Church sponsored activities

· Bring a friend to church/picnic day

· Door to door campaign to invite people to church

D. Participate in Bible studies/small groups

V. Conclusion

A. If you are a follower of Jesus then God is calling you to mission. Are you willing to answer the call?

B. Think about this as you take communion and remember what Jesus did for you.