Called To Communicate

Review Isaiah 6 with me to see if you’ve been called to communicate.

Step 1: Confrontation. The first step to Isaiah’s call came when he saw the Lord high and lifted up. You can’t be called to any kind of ministry before a genuine worship experience. You’ll know it’s genuine when you are confronted by God’s righteousness and realize your wretchedness. Sinless angels cover themselves in His presence because of the overwhelming holiness emanating from Him. If you’ve been worshipping, but haven’t experienced your guile being confronted by His grace—your profanity by His perfection, your carnality by His spirituality, your malice by His mercy—then rest assured that you have not been called to communicate yet.

Step 2: Conviction. Confrontation is just the initial shock that the unclean undergoes when colliding with the Undefiled. This shock is a general feeling of condemnation, but conviction is precise—no guesswork about why you’re so uncomfortable. Isaiah felt that he would disintegrate in God’s presence, specifically for sins committed with his mouth. Isaiah didn’t need James, ch. 2, to tell us how evil and uncontrollable the tongue is. We may disguise and defend our sins around people, but conviction comes automatically when confronted by God. It’s safe to question your call if these first 2 steps haven’t led you to the next.

Step 3: Confession. There was no coercion from God for Isaiah to admit his guilt. He knew that “he that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13). Isaiah was honest about his condition. He realized that his situation wouldn’t be remedied if he lied to the Doctor. When being examined by the Great Physician, if you don’t cooperate through confession, you’ll have worse things to worry about than whether you’ve been called or not!

Step 4: Cleansing. Angels are said to be “a flame of fire,” yet one of the angels had to get tongs to handle the coal needed to cleanse Isaiah’s mouth. Whoa! How hot does a coal have to be for the angel to view tongs as necessary? Isn’t it ironic that the way to cleanse the member set on fire of hell (James 2) is to apply the fire of heaven? God promises to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, but we might not like His methods. Nevertheless, Isaiah didn’t complain about the cleansing—he knew he needed something done for him that he couldn’t do himself. If you’re discontented enough with your present situation to let God do anything to cleanse you, then you are ready for the call.

Step 5: The Call. After going through the first 4 steps, joy and gratitude spark spontaneous desire for involvement. When you’ve been deeply impressed by the grace of God, you seek expression all on your own. God didn’t call Isaiah by name. He just made the need known, “who will go for us?” Isaiah didn’t look over his shoulder to see if God was talking to the guy in the pew behind him. Instead, he instantly spoke up (not bothering to ask any questions until after his commitment was firm). So have you been called? If you’ve experienced confrontation, conviction, confession, and cleansing—listen closely and you’ll hear the call to communicate!