Here Am I: Responding to God’s Call for the One

Nov 09, 2025

Devotional

Day 1: Encountering the Holiness of God Transforms Us

When Isaiah saw the Lord high and exalted, surrounded by seraphim declaring His holiness, he was overwhelmed by the greatness and majesty of God. This vision shattered any casual view of God and filled Isaiah with awe and reverence, reminding us that truly encountering God’s holiness changes our perspective and humbles us before Him. When we glimpse even a fraction of God’s glory, we are moved to worship and recognize His worthiness above all else. [20:20]

Isaiah 6:1-4 (ESV)
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 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. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

Reflection: When was the last time you paused to consider the holiness and greatness of God? How might intentionally meditating on His majesty today change the way you approach Him in prayer and worship?

Day 2: God’s Forgiveness Prepares Us for His Mission

Isaiah’s immediate response to God’s holiness was an acute awareness of his own sinfulness and unworthiness. Yet, God responded not with condemnation, but with cleansing—removing Isaiah’s guilt and atoning for his sin. This act of grace reminds us that God’s forgiveness is not just for our comfort, but to prepare us for the purpose He has for us. No matter our past, God’s mercy makes us ready to be used by Him. [24:04]

Isaiah 6:5-7 (ESV)
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!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Reflection: Is there an area of your life where you feel disqualified from serving God because of past mistakes? How can you receive His forgiveness today and step forward in faith, trusting that He has made you clean?

Day 3: Saying “Here Am I, Send Me” with a Predetermined Yes

When God asked, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah didn’t hesitate—he offered himself fully, not knowing the details of the assignment. This “predetermined yes” is a posture of surrender, where we make ourselves available to God’s purposes before knowing what He will ask. It’s a willingness to be used for His glory, trusting that He will equip and lead us, even when the path is difficult or unknown. [25:59]

Isaiah 6:8 (ESV)
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.”

Reflection: What would it look like for you to give God your “yes” today, even before you know what He might ask of you? Is there a specific area where you sense Him calling you to step out in faith?

Day 4: We Go for the One Because We Have Been the One

Each of us has been the “one” that Jesus pursued—lost, in need of grace, and found by His relentless love. Because we have experienced His rescue and forgiveness, we are now called to go for the one who is still lost, to represent God’s heart and bring hope to others. Our mission flows from gratitude, as we remember that the One who is high and lifted up came down for us, and now invites us to join Him in seeking others. [28:28]

Luke 15:4-7 (ESV)
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Reflection: Who is the “one” in your life that God is calling you to pray for, reach out to, or serve? How can you take a practical step today to show them the love and pursuit of Jesus?

Day 5: Our Collective Yes Creates a Ripple of Impact

When each person responds to God’s call with a willing heart—offering their time, resources, and gifts—the combined effect is powerful and far-reaching. Even small acts of obedience, when joined together, can change lives, break cycles, and create a legacy of faith that extends beyond our own generation. God invites us to be part of something bigger than ourselves, trusting that our “yes” will be multiplied for His kingdom. [18:59]

1 Corinthians 12:12, 26-27 (ESV)
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ... If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Reflection: What is one way you can join with others in your church family to serve or give toward a shared mission? How might your individual “yes” contribute to a greater impact than you could achieve alone?

Sermon Summary

Today, we gathered as a community to worship, reflect, and respond to the call of God on our lives. We began by lifting our voices in praise, declaring that no matter our circumstances—whether on the mountain or in the valley, in certainty or in doubt—God is worthy of our worship. Our praise is not just a song, but a weapon, a declaration of trust in God’s sovereignty, faithfulness, and victory over the grave. We celebrated that God’s love is relentless, always pursuing us, always leaving the light on for the prodigal to come home.

We are in a unique season as a church, discerning together where God is leading us in the coming years. Our vision is to be “for the one”—to have the same heart as Jesus, who left the ninety-nine to seek and save the lost. This vision is taking shape in practical ways: launching a new campus (Stark North), renovating our current space to better serve our community, reaching out to those in need through projects like the Hundred Homes initiative, and investing in the next generation by creating a student center. All of these efforts are fueled by a desire to reflect the outward focus and compassion of Christ.

But this is not just a corporate movement; it is a deeply personal invitation. Drawing from Isaiah 6, we saw how an encounter with the holiness and greatness of God changes us. Isaiah’s vision of the Lord left him undone, aware of his own need for grace. Yet, when God asked, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah responded, “Here am I. Send me.” This is the posture we are invited to take—not disqualifying ourselves because of our flaws, but offering our “predetermined yes” to God. We have seen the One, we have been the one He came for, and now we are called to go for the one who is still lost.

Today, we responded in tangible ways—committing our time, resources, and prayers to the mission before us. We wrote down the names of those we are praying for, trusting that God will use our collective obedience to bring hope and transformation. As we worshipped, we remembered that God’s love is overwhelming and never-ending, and our only fitting response is to offer our lives back to Him in praise and service.

Key Takeaways

1. A Vision of God Changes Everything When we truly encounter the holiness and greatness of God, as Isaiah did, it disrupts our normal way of seeing ourselves and the world. We become deeply aware of our need for grace and are compelled to respond. This vision doesn’t leave us the same; it reorients our priorities and gives us courage to step into God’s purposes, even when they are costly or uncomfortable. [22:52]
2. God Uses the Willing, Not the Perfect Isaiah could have disqualified himself because of his flaws, but instead he offered himself to God’s service. God is not looking for perfect people, but for those who will say, “Here am I. Send me.” Our willingness to be used by God, despite our imperfections, is what He desires. This posture of surrender opens the door for God to work through us in ways we could never imagine. [25:19]
3. Our “Yes” Has Ripple Effects Beyond Ourselves When we say yes to God’s call—whether by serving, giving, or reaching out to the lost—our obedience creates a ripple effect that can impact generations. The collective decisions of many individuals to follow God’s leading can break cycles, change families, and bring hope to entire communities. We may not see all the results, but God multiplies our faithfulness far beyond what we can measure. [18:59]
4. The Mission Is Personal and Practical Being “for the one” is not just a church-wide initiative; it is a personal calling. Each of us is invited to identify the “one” in our lives who needs to experience God’s love. Our response is made real through practical steps—serving, giving, praying, and sharing our faith. When we each bring our part, God weaves it together into something powerful for His kingdom. [34:35]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[02:30] - Opening Worship: Praise in Every Season
[05:53] - Connecting and Next Steps for Newcomers
[07:36] - Stark North Launch Team and Discovery Class
[08:57] - Worship: Coming Home to God
[13:17] - Prayer for the Church
[14:35] - Vision: For the One
[15:49] - New Campus and Community Initiatives
[17:41] - Thousand Hours of Prayer and Personal Commitment
[19:38] - Isaiah’s Vision: Encountering God’s Holiness
[22:52] - Responding to God’s Call
[25:19] - The Predetermined Yes
[28:28] - The Invitation: Go for the One
[34:35] - Commitment: Serving, Giving, and Praying for the One
[37:06] - Prayer of Dedication
[38:52] - Closing Worship and Celebration
[54:51] - Announcements and Next Steps
[56:46] - Final Song and Dismissal

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide: “For the One”

Bible Reading

Isaiah 6:1-8 (ESV)

> 1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe 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 one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that 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 atoned for.”
> 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.”

Observation Questions

What was Isaiah’s immediate reaction when he saw the Lord in his vision? (Isaiah 6:5)
According to the sermon, what are some practical ways our church is trying to be “for the one” in this season? [15:49]
What did the seraphim do for Isaiah after he confessed his unclean lips, and what did it mean? (Isaiah 6:6-7)
In the sermon, what did the pastor mean by a “predetermined yes” to God? [25:59]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think Isaiah responded with “Woe is me! I am ruined” after seeing God’s holiness? What does this say about how an encounter with God changes our view of ourselves? (Isaiah 6:5, [23:26])
The pastor said God uses the willing, not the perfect. Why is willingness more important than perfection when it comes to serving God? [25:19]
The sermon talked about our “yes” to God having ripple effects beyond ourselves. What are some ways you think one person’s obedience can impact others, even if they don’t see the results? [18:59]
Why is it important that the mission to reach “the one” is both personal and practical, not just something the church does as a group? [34:35]

Application Questions

Isaiah didn’t let his flaws stop him from saying “Here am I. Send me.” Is there something in your life that makes you feel unqualified to serve God? How might God want to use you anyway? [25:19]
The church is launching new projects like a student center and the Hundred Homes initiative. Which of these practical steps excites you or challenges you the most, and why? [15:49]
The pastor invited everyone to write down the name of “one” person they are praying for. Who is someone in your life that you feel God is calling you to reach out to? What is one step you can take this week to show them God’s love? [34:35]
When you think about giving a “predetermined yes” to God, what does that look like in your daily life? Is there an area where you need to move from hesitation to willingness? [25:59]
The sermon said our praise is a weapon and a declaration of trust in God’s faithfulness. How can you use praise or worship as a way to face challenges or doubts in your life? [02:30]
The vision is to be “for the one”—to have the same heart as Jesus who left the ninety-nine. What would it look like for you to have that kind of outward focus in your neighborhood, workplace, or family? [14:35]
The church responded by committing time, resources, and prayers. What is one tangible way you can commit to the mission this month—whether it’s serving, giving, or praying? [33:24]

Sermon Clips

“We do this every handful of years where we introduce kind of new vision of where we're going for the next few years kind of where we think God is leading us. And uh we're kind of wrapping that up today. So uh if this is your first time here, this is going to feel like a really really unique weekend. Uh just know that as you experience it. Not every weekend is going to feel like this one. Uh but want to make sure that you kind of understand the context of where we're coming from.”

“Uh we've been in this series. It's called for the one. And the big idea with this series is we say that we are a people for the one. Uh that Jesus he left the 99 is the idea kind of left the the the safe and the secure and he went after you and me the lost and he went to find us. And that's his heart is that he's always going after the one the one person that's drifted away and kind of lost their way. and he's trying to help the one find their way back to God. And and that's you, that's me.”

“We've been talking about what that looks like over the last handful of weeks because we as a church, we want to have that same heart that Jesus has. We want to be a people for the one. And so, we've been talking about that now and uh how that really moves us, that motivates us in in some specific ways that's going to show up in how we spend our energy, how we spend our time, and how we spend our money over the next few years.”

“Our big vision is what we call 30 and 30. We want to see 30 of these 30 campuses started in a 30-year window. And we have the awesome privilege of starting a new campus in a new community. All right. So that's super exciting. We're calling that Stark North. And that's going to be starting off here as we get into the first quarter of next year. And so some of our folks, some folks here are going to be going to start that new campus.”

“We also have a huge heart for our community and reaching our community. Uh so what we're going to do is kind of leverage this awesome space that we were gifted this building and we're going to renovate a few different spaces within this building uh to be able to make more space for our community and just to have some creative ways to kind of reach out. We're going to renovate a fitness center underneath here. We're going to open the balcony and uh we also want to reach out into uh the community through what we call our hundred homes project.”

“We want to impact uh kind of the less mobile, the elderly, the widow, uh the single mom, and impact homes by serving in very practical real ways by doing yard work and small kind of exterior house projects and do that over the next few years. And then finally, we're looking at uh kind of next generation and looking at our gym and turning that into a student center. So that we've been talking about that now for the the last several weeks, introducing those ideas, introducing the why behind all those and saying that outward focus is really what drives us as a people and we want to have the heart of Jesus show up in everything that we do.”

“And even as we kind of move towards that commitment, uh I want us to think of it in a specific way. I want to make sure you and you and I all kind of understand what's happening here. This isn't just uh this isn't just um a practical thing that the church is doing. This is a spiritual thing that we as the people of God are doing. And these are a a a bunch of individual decisions to say yes to Jesus that as we combine those together, there ends up being this incredibly powerful impact uh that ends up changing lives and changes and breaks cycles for families.”

“There there's uh incredible profound things that are a little bit hard to see and measure uh but but they're happening and there's a ripple effect that plays out uh way beyond our lifetimes. Right? super powerful. So, I want to take you into a story uh that has always moved me. Uh it's actually in in the Old Testament uh where somebody heard the the kind of the invitation to impact people and to respond to God. They heard that invitation personally.”

“And in this picture, he sees some of the reality of where God is, right? He he sees the reality that God is on a throne. And and and in that throne, he's surrounded by uh this word saraphim, which means burning ones. That there's really high up in whatever the the kind of hierarchy of angels are. These guys are up there really high. and they're right they're flying around the throne of God surrounding God if you can even imagine this and they're calling to one another and and they're saying right that they're declaring the holiness of God and in the Bible when something is repeated over and over again especially up to three times it is a big deal it is a certainty it is guaranteed and so they're going to look and say holy holy holy that this This God is so you.”

“You're God. You're the only God. You're the unique God. You're the one worthy of our praise and our time and our attention. You're the Lord Almighty. Right? And and they're they're worshiping God. And Isaiah is witnessing all this, right? He's witnessing this incredible interaction with the Lord. And it and it says, this is fascinating. When when these seraraphim when they declare the holiness of God, this is the whole place was shaken, right?”

“And part of what you see in all this is this is this God is not he he is a he's a he's a God who loves us. He's a God who who's for us. He's the one who leaves the 99 sent his son to go be with us. And he is a God to be revered and honored. And he's worthy of all that we have and all that we are, right? is the reality of that. And and something that's always struck me is is when when a person is able to get a glimpse, right, like Isaiah did, when a person's able to get a glimpse of the Lord in any way, they are always changed by it.”

“If anybody has a vision of who God is or a glimpse into the the personhood or the power of God, they walk away different. And it's I think part of why the Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. When I can get a hold of the greatness of God, I walk away changed. My perspective is altered. I'm just different. Right? Just different. And that's exactly what we see happening here for Isaiah.”

“Isaiah, he interacts with with with this God Almighty, and his response is, "I'm ruined. I'm ruined. I I I can't I can't go back to the way that I was. I He's instantly aware of his need for God and his need for forgiveness. He's instantly impacted and he sees the reality of his culture and and the cultures need for forgiveness. All of that happens in an instant, right? Because he's got an a vision of God and a vision of who God really is.”

“Be because Isaiah in the moment that he interacted with God could have walked away and said, "God, I am so sinful, right? I'm ruined. How could God ever use me?" How? He could have wallowed in his shame and went and kind of hid in a hole somewhere. He could have beat himself up. He could have counted himself disqualified from being used by God in any way. And he, this is wild, he has the exact opposite response. He kind of forgets himself and says, "God, you do you need somebody? I'm in." Instant. No questions asked. I'm in.”

“Here at Grace, we sometimes call that the predetermined yes. Right there. There's a a predetermined decision to say, God, if you're asking the question and and I can be involved, my answer to you is yes. I'm in. Here am I. Send me. And actually, Isaiah would go onto a tough mission. uh he he was in a difficult and a dark culture and he had a difficult and dark task to do that that we won't go into the fullness of it. Just know that it wasn't easy. It wasn't a layup. Uh it it wasn't always um rainbows and bunnies, right? It was it was hard.”

“He had to walk into that and and he would look and say in essence, I I have seen the Lord. and he he makes a decision that that he he is gonna go and do what whatever God has asked him to do. He he's going to go in essence for the one because he has seen the one. He he's seen kind of the capital O one. And now he has been the one. He's been the one that received forgiveness from God. And what he would do is he would take that interaction and his response would be,"I'm going to go do whatever God has asked me to do to represent his heart and his mind and his passion and his message to the people that you're sending me to." Massive deal.”

“I have seen the one. I have been the one. So I will go for the one, right? I have seen the one. capital O1, the one and only, the one and only, the almighty, the one true God. I have been the one. He came for me. He forgave my sin. He showed up in my life when I did not deserve it and could not earn it. So, so what will I do as a response? I can't pay him back and I can't earn anything. All I can do is look at him and give him my my predetermined yes.”

“The one who is high, here's the thing. The one who is high and lifted up, he he lowered himself and came down to us. He sent his only son. He put skin on for you and me. He laid his life down that we might find life in him. We have seen him. We have been the one that he has come for. And now the invitation is will you go for the one who is lost, for the one who's not yet found.”

“What we're talking about with these very practical and real steps and projects and goals that we're chasing down together is we're looking and saying when we all work together, we might be able to bring hope and represent the heart of God to the person who hasn't found him yet. in and if you look between the two campuses, what we've said over the last few weeks, we're talking about over 200,000 people between the two campuses that aren't connected to a gospel- centered church.”

“When a whole bunch of people look and say, "I I'll be the one that goes for the one." I don't know what kind of impact that makes, how many ones we get to reach, but it boy, it makes a it sure makes a difference in my life, and it will sure make a difference in the one's life. The opportunity is enormous. We've said this. The workers are few. What God, I believe, is inviting us to do is say, "Here am I. Send me."”

“Would you consider that God's call in an invitation to you to say, "Here I am. Send me. Send send here's my resources. Uh here's my time. Here's my spiritual gifts. Like I'm I'm in." Right? I'm in. I want to be in on what you're doing and I want to be a part of it in any way that I can.”

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