God Uses Ordinary People Who Make Themselves Available

Jul 28, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Earthly Thrones Crumble, Lift Your Eyes

The death of King Uzziah left a nation trembling, but Isaiah’s vision reframed everything. In the temple, he saw not an empty earthly throne but the Lord seated in unshakable sovereignty. Political chaos, economic fears, and leadership vacuums lose their power to paralyze when we fix our gaze on the One whose reign never ends. This vision doesn’t erase hardship but anchors us in a deeper reality: the King who fills the temple with His presence still governs history. [03:31]

“I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.”
(Isaiah 6:1, NIV)

Reflection: What current uncertainty or fear tempts you to forget God’s sovereignty? How might lifting your eyes to His eternal throne shift your perspective today?

Day 2: Holy Fire Exposes Unclean Lips

Isaiah’s cry—“Woe to me! I am ruined!”—came not from comparing himself to others but from standing before God’s blazing holiness. The seraph’s coal didn’t just cleanse his lips; it shattered the illusion that any human standard could measure true righteousness. God’s holiness isn’t a weapon to crush us but a furnace that burns away self-deception, making space for grace. [20:31]

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’”
(Isaiah 6:6–7, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you settled for “good enough” instead of letting God’s holiness reveal your need for His cleansing? What might surrender to His refining fire look like now?

Day 3: Filthy Mouths Become Heaven’s Megaphones

Isaiah’s story—and John Guest’s testimony—prove God specializes in redeeming what culture discards. A prophet once ashamed of his speech became the voice declaring Messiah’s coming. A profane teenager became a preacher declaring Christ’s cross. God doesn’t recruit the polished; He ignites the available, transforming brokenness into bold proclamation. [38:45]

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
(2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV)

Reflection: What part of your story feels “too broken” for God’s use? How might His promise to make all things new reshape your willingness to speak for Him?

Day 4: Bob Shimantel Moments—Ordinary Obedience, Eternal Ripples

One introduction between pastors changed a city. One man’s faithfulness linked churches and ministries. God’s grandest works often begin with unremarkable acts: showing up, making calls, risking awkwardness. Bob Shimantel didn’t preach to thousands—he simply connected two people. Yet that ordinary “yes” became a hinge for revival. [10:10]

“In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, ‘Ananias!’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he answered.”
(Acts 9:10, NIV)

Reflection: What small, unglamorous step of obedience is God asking of you this week? How might your “ordinary yes” ripple into eternity?

Day 5: The Altar’s Coal Still Burns Today

The same fire that purified Isaiah’s lips ignites hearts in a Pittsburgh auditorium. That coal—symbolizing Christ’s sacrifice—still touches lives: the addict, the skeptic, the weary believer. God’s holiness isn’t a distant memory but a present reality. When we confess our need, the altar’s fire still cleanses, commissions, and propels us into His story. [47:52]

“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!’”
(Isaiah 6:8, NIV)

Reflection: What holds you back from saying “Send me” today? How does Christ’s finished work on the altar empower your surrender?

Sermon Summary

God takes ordinary people who make themselves available to him and does extraordinary things through them. Isaiah stands as the living picture of that truth, because Isaiah hears the Lord say, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” and Isaiah answers, “Here am I. Send me.” Isaiah’s answer means, “God, I’m all yours. I’ll be your man. I’m available.” God uses that kind of surrendered life because God himself has first met that person in power.

Isaiah 6 begins in the year King Uzziah died, when Judah is shaking and asking what will happen to security, economy, leadership, and the future. God meets Isaiah in the temple and shows him that while an earthly throne has become vacant, the heavenly throne remains occupied. The Lord is seated high and exalted, and the train of his robe fills the temple. God is saying, in plain terms, “Chill out. I got this thing.” Kings die, kingdoms falter, but the sovereign King is alive, well, and in charge.

The Lord also reveals himself as the holy one. The seraphim cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty,” and that threefold cry is not mindless repetition. It is intensification. God is intensely holy, radically holy, altogether holy. His holiness is not merely distance or restriction. His holiness is the radiant splendor of everything he is: wisdom, justice, mercy, love, righteousness, faithfulness, power, presence, and glory shining all at once.

Isaiah sees the King, and when Isaiah sees the King, Isaiah finally sees himself. Isaiah does not compare himself with another prophet or with the culture around him. Isaiah says, “Woe to me. I am ruined. I am a man of unclean lips.” God’s holiness becomes the mirror that exposes sin. Sin cannot be rightly understood by looking sideways at somebody worse. Sin is seen when the eyes lift vertically to the holy God.

The burning coal from the altar shows that God does not expose sin in order to humiliate, but in order to cleanse. The coal touches Isaiah’s lips, and guilt is taken away. The same filthy mouth becomes the mouth that gives the world “Unto us a child is born” and the prophecy of the suffering servant. Christ is the true sacrifice whose mercy makes corrupt lips clean, and his forgiveness turns ruined sinners into available servants.

God’s same sovereign hand has been at work through ordinary lives, through John and Kathy, through founding members, through Urban Impact and Christ Church, through introductions, conversions, and faithful obedience. Christ still says, “I’ve got plans for your life. I’ve got big plans for your life.” Jesus still walks among people, touches the place of corruption, and makes sinners clean, forgiven, whole, and gloriously available.

Key Takeaways

1. The heavenly throne remains occupied God meets Isaiah in a moment of national anxiety, when the visible throne is empty and fear feels reasonable. The vision does not deny the crisis, but it places the crisis beneath the occupied throne of God. Faith does not begin by pretending earthly instability is small, but by seeing that God is greater, alive, well, and in charge. [04:45]
2. Holiness reveals every false measure Isaiah’s confession comes because God’s holiness becomes the mirror that tells the truth. Comparison with other people can always protect pride, because someone worse can always be found. The holy God removes that escape and lets a person finally see sin without excuse, but not without mercy. [20:31]
3. The coal carries gracious cleansing The burning coal does not merely burn Isaiah’s lips, and it does not shame him into silence. The coal brings the mercy of the altar to the very place that was corrupt. God’s forgiveness is not vague comfort, but effective cleansing that makes the guilty person usable in the hand of God. [29:31]
4. Clean lips become available lips Isaiah’s “Here am I” comes after his guilt is removed and his sin is taken away. Availability is not self-confidence dressed up in religious language. Availability is the response of a cleansed sinner who knows that God can take even a filthy mouth and make it a holy instrument. [31:07]
5. Jesus makes sinners new inside Christ does not merely improve the outside of a life or polish up religious behavior. Jesus touches the point of corruption and makes the person clean, forgiven, joyful, whole, and new. The beginning of a life with Christ can be marked by one honest cry: “Dear Jesus, please forgive me.”

## [46:31]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:51] - Ordinary People Made Available
[01:49] - Isaiah Says, Here Am I
[02:39] - Uzziah Dies and Judah Shakes
[04:15] - The Heavenly Throne Is Occupied
[05:35] - The Lord Reveals His Name
[07:13] - God’s Sovereign Story Behind Ministries
[13:08] - Holy, Holy, Holy
[15:27] - Holiness as Radiant Splendor
[19:05] - Losing Sight of the Holy One
[20:31] - Isaiah Sees His Unclean Lips
[27:35] - A Filthy Mouth Becomes Prophetic
[29:31] - The Coal from the Altar
[40:25] - What About Your Mouth?
[44:36] - Jesus Makes Sinners Clean
[51:07] - Step Forward and Surrender

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Isaiah 6:1-8
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. ‘Woe to 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.’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’ 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!’” [01:56] [02:39] [13:08] [20:31] [29:31] [31:36]

Psalm 96:9
“Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.” [15:42]

Psalm 27:4
“One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” [18:18]

Observation questions

In Isaiah 6, what details show that God is not just present, but reigning as King even in a time of national uncertainty? [04:45]
What does Isaiah specifically confess about himself when he sees the Lord, and what part of his life does he name first?
What do the seraphim cry out around the throne, and what effect does their worship have on the temple scene? [13:08]
What happens to Isaiah’s lips after he confesses his uncleanness, and what words are spoken to explain the meaning of that act? [29:31]

Interpretation questions

Isaiah sees the Lord “in the year that King Uzziah died.” Why does that setting matter so much? What does it reveal about where stability is really found when human leadership fails? [04:45]
The cry “Holy, holy, holy” is more than repetition. What does that threefold declaration reveal about who God is, and why does seeing that holiness change the way a person sees everything else? [15:27]
Isaiah does not compare himself with other people; he says, “Woe to me.” Why is looking vertically to God more truthful than looking sideways at other people? How does that expose the false ways people measure themselves? [21:30]
The coal from the altar touches the very place Isaiah said was unclean. What does that show about the way God deals with sin? Why is cleansing more than comfort, and how does it prepare a person to become available to God? [30:43]

Application questions

Earthly thrones still become vacant. Jobs change, leaders fall, health weakens, families shake. Where is anxiety rising in life right now, and what might it look like to remember that the heavenly throne is still occupied? [05:22]
Isaiah’s confession centered on his lips. What does that bring to mind about personal speech right now—tone, sarcasm, gossip, harshness, complaining, dishonesty, or careless words? Where is there a need for real cleansing? [40:25]
It is easy to measure sin by comparing with someone worse. Where has that habit shown up lately? What would it look like to let God’s holiness, rather than other people, become the mirror? [20:31]
God brings mercy to the very place of corruption. What is the place in life most in need of that touch right now—not just on the surface, but deep down where the heart knows something is off? [45:11]
“Here am I” is not the language of self-confidence but of surrender. What might availability to God look like in this season in a concrete way—at home, at work, in church, or with one specific person? [31:24]
Jesus does not merely clean up appearances; he makes people clean on the inside. Where is there a need to ask him plainly, “Dear Jesus, please forgive me,” and trust him for something deeper than behavior management? [46:31]
Clean lips become available lips. If God were to use the mouth more faithfully this week, what conversation might need to happen—an apology, a word of encouragement, a clear testimony, or a hard truth spoken in love? [31:17]

Sermon Clips

64s

#BeholdHisHoliness

“``Why does a man confess what he confesses? Because he's experienced the holiness of God, and God's holiness becomes the mirror by which Isaiah rightly sees himself, the holiness of god. You'll never understand sin. I didn't. Until I went to that Billy Graham crusade, you'll never understand sin and your sin until you behold the holiness of god. As long as you compare yourself with with another person, you can always find someone worse. I lived my life like that for years. Isaiah doesn't look horizontally. What does he do? He lifts his eyes vertically. He fixes them on the lord. He sees the lord And in that moment, all the illusions disappear, and he recognizes who he is.”

40s

#HolinessIsRadiance

“You've made god too small. He's way bigger than you can imagine. And if you could gather everything that the scriptures reveal to us about Yahweh, if you could gather together his wisdom and his justice and his mercy and his love and his righteousness and his faithfulness and his eternal nature, his omniscience, his his omnipotence, his his omnipresence. If you could gather all of that, you can gather it all and allow everyone of those perfections to shine at once. That blazing radiance would be what? His holiness.”

48s

#HolinessIsOurDesign

“God is morally perfect. The implications of his holiness are that he is utterly righteous. Everything that god does is right. Everything that he loves is good. Everything he commands reflects his own character. A big, by the way, with this. God's commands are not arbitrary. What do they flow from? They're a revelation of who he is. He's holy and and because we are created in his image, the commands reveal who we are meant to become because his holiness, his holiness is a standard. He's sovereign, but he's holy. And his holiness is humanity's design.”

57s

#HolinessExposesSin

“This is actually what what happens to Isaiah. Exactly. Note this, you know, when you look at the text, Isaiah does not say, you know, that that he wants to critique the vision. Isaiah does not say that he wants us to compare himself with some other prophet. He doesn't say that that he's better than all the people in the culture around him. That's not what he says. Instead, he says, woe to me. Woe to me, he says. He says, I'm ruined because I'm a man of unclean lips and I live among the people of unclean lips. And so what he finds is that his lips, his speech, his his ordinary, culturally formed way of living, everything that he once considered ordinary and acceptable, it is suddenly exposed by what? The holiness of god.”

41s

#HolinessIsRadiantManifest

“Holiness is is an attribute of all attributes. You know, think of sunlight. If you could picture a sun ray, maybe you see it captured in a in a in a film or or in in a in in a photograph. And to our eyes, it appears just as one brilliant beam. But hidden within that light is what? Every color of the spectrum. Every color of the spectrum is there. The colors do remain distinct, but but together, what happens? They become a dazzling brilliance, and and that's how it is with God and his holiness. Holiness, again, is the radiant manifestation of everything that he is.”

39s

#BeholdAndBeChanged

“Open your eyes today. We are witnessing the holiness of God gathered here with us. He's present. He's in the room. He's moving and touching lives. And when we see him and when we see how serious sin is, when we behold ourselves in the light of his holiness, we'll be transformed. Isaiah Isaiah saw the king. He saw the king. And when he saw the king, he finally saw himself.”

44s

#WorshipInHisSplendor

“But but keep this in mind. Holiness is is even more than moral perfection. It is the radiant manifestation of everything that god is. This is his holiness. Be in awe. The Psalmist wrote this. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm six ninety six, worship the lord in the splendor of his holiness. Worship the lord in the splendor of his holiness. What an invitation. You know, we tend to associate holiness. You might think of distance or abstinence. You might think of restriction. You may think of severity. No. Holiness is way bigger than that. Scripture associates holiness with what? Splendor.”

40s

#BeAvailableGodUses

“So what's this all mean to us? It means this. We are gathered in this place for such a time as this. And if we will be available to God, if you will actually be available to him, he who does extraordinary things will do extraordinary things through you. But collectively, what he's going to do, we don't know altogether. But all I can tell you this, it is going to be absolutely fantastic because what he's done in the past is great, but what he's gonna do in the future is even greater. Put your hands together, and let's pray together. Give him all the glory and all the honor.”

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