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Message Notes: “ARE YOU AVAILABLE?” Isaiah 6

Isaiah 6 is the testimony of how God moved upon the heart of this prophet Isaiah, a man through whom we learn so much about the coming of Christ. God gave him a vision as he was in the temple one day, and it changed Isaiah’s life forever. Here is what God allowed him to see:

v. 1—In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2—Above him were seraphs [these are a special kind of angel mentioned only in Isaiah], each with six wings: with two wings they covered their faces, with two wings they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. [I told you they were special!] 3—And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” [Angels are experts at praising God-we could learn a lot from them!]

4—At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5—“Woe is me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!”

6—Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7—With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” 8—Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Even though Isaiah was a Hebrew, he had never realized how GREAT God is, and how HOLY! In contrast, Isaiah suddenly was struck by how his sin offended a HOLY God. And that day, some 2750 years ago, Isaiah experienced grace---his guilt was taken away. This is what Christ does for everyone who realizes their own personal sin, and asks for God’s mercy . Now all of a sudden, Isaiah had a burden lifted which he had carried his whole life: His sin was forgiven. His “WOE” changed to a “WOW!” And when God was looking for someone He could send, without hesitation, Isaiah responded “HERE I AM!” [I’m at your service!]

What is God looking for? Isaiah didn’t have a clue, he only knew that he WANTED to be of use to God. I have a sign in my office: “God never asks about our ABILITY, or our INABILITY, but He asks about our AVAILABILITY. He asks “Who is available?” Well, what does it really mean, to be AVAILABLE to God? I’m glad you asked!

I. AVAILABILITY MEANS… “to be OF USE_” God is a USER. He wants to use you in some wonderful way. He’s up to something and He’s looking for someone to USE. I’m here to testify that it is an AWESOME realization to know that God can use me! How many of you have at some time experienced being USED by God? Let’s look closer at what it REQUIRES of us.

2) It means Being accessible to God – “ON CALL”

3) It means Saying “HERE I AM!”

AVAILABILITY DOES NOT MEAN:

1) Just being BUSY; When Jesus went to Mary & Martha’s home, Martha was the busy one—and she complained to the Lord that Mary wasn’t helping. Mary was sitting before Jesus, listening to him. What was she doing? Making herself AVAILABLE to HEAR Him. If we never take time to LISTEN, how are we going to know when and where God is working?

2) Because being available is NOT Doing our OWN THING for God. I’ve said it before, God calls people to work WITH Him---not FOR Him. If we’re not making time to listen, we can be doing many good things, but MISSING the best thing God has for us.

II. THINK ABOUT SOME PEOPLE WHO WERE AVAILABLE TO GOD

1) Abraham – who “believed God” –When God called, Abe listened & responded—not knowing where God was taking him or WHAT he would be DOING. That’s called FAITH. We cannot say we believe God, and then NOT be AVAILABLE for God to use us as He desires.

2) Mary—who said, “I am the Lord’s servant…”—Why did God choose this teenager to bring Jesus into the world? Because she saw herself as a SERVANT of God. I Cor. 6:20 reminds us we belong to Christ, “therefore glorify Christ in your bodies!” In our bodies we also “bring Jesus to the world.” Is your body available for God to use? Your eyes to see someone in need; your ears to listen to a wounded soul; your feet to get up and go; your mouth to speak encouraging words; your life to show Christ’s patient love?

3) The Disciples said, “We have left everything to follow You, Lord!” –They threw down their fishermen nets to become “fishers of men.” They left the familiar to follow Christ (to be available) and they did the impossible!

III. LET’S LOOK AT SOME PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT AVAILABLE TO GOD

1) Other potential Disciples—who made EXCUSES!

“Lord, I’ll follow You! è but first let me go and do this or that…” What would happen if you said those words to your boss at work? Or if a soldier told his sergeant “I’ll do it later”?

2) Adam—who RAN AWAY when God called – He was AFRAID. Some of us are on the run from God. But we need to know that forgiveness is available. As long as we’re running, we can’t be AVAILABLE to God. That’s why God spoke these words so often: “BE NOT AFRAID!”

IV. WHAT IS KEEPING YOU FROM BEING AVAILABLE TO GOD? (check one)

1) RU saying, Lord I’ll be available, “But First” I want to do my own thing.

2) RU just “Too busy” –so that even if you WANTED to, you couldn’t fit God in your schedule? My friend, you need some MARGINS in your life to permit time with God.

3) Perhaps you are “ Running away” from God for some reason. I’ve got good news—He’s not mad at you---He loves you. Come home & find out.

4) Or RU “Holding on to your nets”---…things you know and feel secure with. Christ doesn’t call us to feel secure in anything except in HIM. Everything else will one day burn up. Only what is done for the Lord will LAST into eternity!

JESUS USED WHATEVER WAS AVAILABLE: He used some EMPTY Water Pots to provide WINE for the wedding at CANA. He used Peter’s FISHING BOAT from which to preach to the crowds. He used a little boy’s lunch to feed 5,000 hungry people. He used someone’s DONKEY to make His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, fulfilling Scripture. He used a bunch of smelly FISHERMEN to change the world.

God is NOT LIMITED by our lack of ability, He just needs our availability. WILL YOU MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE TO GOD TODAY?

V. What God loves He calls [GOD IS CALLING YOU TODAY- will you answer “YES”?],

what God calls he cleanses [LET CHRIST COME IN & CLEANSE YOU WITHIN],

what God cleanses He fills,[HE WILL FILL YOU WITH HIS SPIRIT & BE YOUR CONSTANT FRIEND]

and what God fills, He USES! [AS YOU MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE to HIM, GOD WILL USE YOU IN WAYS YOU COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED!]

WILL YOU DECIDE TODAY TO MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE TO GOD? Pray this prayer: "Father, I trust in the Lord Jesus, who made himself available to die for my sins. Now I desire to serve You. Here I am, Lord; Forgive me and cleanse me. Use me in whatever way you desire. Let your grace overcome my fear and hesitancy, that I may be available and useful to You. Amen.”

POST SCRIPT:

In order to be available to God we must be always aware that we are here on a mission. Every day holds fleeting opportunities to be used by God, but we won’t see them unless we are in close communication with the Father. This is the only way Jesus did what He did while on earth---He confessed, “I do only what I see the Father do…”

If we aren’t pursuing this fellowship with God, we cannot hope to be useful.

We must make ourselves available to God –looking for opportunity---expecting it-- especially in the trying times, the challenges that face us in relationships, in the home, in marriage, at work, at school. THESE ARE THE PLACES WHERE GOD WANTS TO DO HIS GREATEST WORK through people who simply say “HERE I AM, USE ME!”.

God is calling us today to work in partnership with Him.

Sermon 4/13/08