Here I Am, Send Me | Everyone a Witness | 2 August

The call for “everyone a witness” lands on a deeper reason than duty, compassion, or even the Great Commission. The call to witness comes because worship does not yet fill the earth as it should. Jesus has broken people free, bought them with a price, and made their lives no longer their own, so mission begins with the glory of God, not with mere activity.

The pull to self comes quietly, especially when rest and summer slow things down. The heart starts saying “my holiday, my time off, my space, my tan,” and good gifts can slide into self absorption. Isaiah 6 brings fuel for that drift by lifting the eyes away from comfort and onto the throne.

Isaiah sets the vision “in the year that King Uzziah died,” a year of shaking, insecurity, and fear. The text places God’s throne above every collapsing throne. In the year of war, diagnosis, grief, political mess, and everything feeling like it is falling apart, Isaiah sees the Lord high and exalted, seated on the throne, with the train of his robe filling the temple.

The seraphim, the burning ones, show the weight of God’s holiness. Sinless angels cover their faces before him, and their cry is not casual: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.” The whole earth is full of his glory, and that glory is the visible weight of his holiness, the heaviness of his perfection on display. Even the doorposts called stability and strength shake when the angels speak.

God’s glory displaces lesser things. Like a massive rock dropped into water, the encounter with God moves whatever is in the way. Knowledge about God is not the same as being arrested by God. The first response is worship.

Isaiah’s second response is repentance. “Woe is me” comes from a man who has seen the King. Sinless beings cannot gaze on God, so a sinful man sees his unclean lips and his unclean people. Real reverence changes the question from “how far can this go?” to “how does this honour God?”

The coal from the altar brings grace instead of the expected judgment. The burning coal touches Isaiah’s mouth, and guilt is taken away. That altar points toward Jesus, the sacrifice who purifies the unclean and sends living water into dead places.

The forgiven person gets sent. God asks, “Whom shall I send?” and Isaiah does not ask for details, terms, comfort, or reputation. “Here am I. Send me” puts the yes on the table and lets God put it on the map. The highest motive is not the honour of self, church, or nation, but burning zeal for the glory of Jesus Christ: “May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward for his sacrifice.”

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Go to God when shaken Isaiah goes to the temple in the year the throne of Uzziah falls, and that instinct matters. Despair, negativity, criticism, and hopelessness grow when shaking circumstances become the main thing in view. The heart needs to be trained to run toward God before fear teaches it to run inward. [06:09]
• 2. God’s glory displaces lesser things The glory of God is not a decorative idea added to Christian life. The weight of his holiness shakes the things called stability and strength, and anything in the way gets moved. A life dominated by insecurity, jealousy, unforgiveness, or self protection needs a bigger vision of God, not merely a better coping mechanism. [13:20]
• 3. Repentance follows real worship Isaiah’s “woe is me” is not religious self hatred, but honest sight in the presence of the King. The closer God’s holiness comes, the less room there is for casual sin, entitled speech, or private compromise. Reverence does not mainly ask what can be gotten away with, but what would honour the One on the throne. [15:56]
• 4. Grace burns guilt away The coal comes from the altar, where sacrifice speaks of sin paid for. Isaiah expects judgment, but God brings atonement, and the unclean mouth is made clean. Grace does not make sin small; grace makes God great, guilt removed, and obedience possible without cowering. [20:30]
• 5. Put yes on the table Isaiah does not ask where, how hard, or whether the assignment will suit his comfort. The vision of God, the confession of sin, and the gift of cleansing lead straight into “Here am I. Send me.” Mission becomes worship when the Lamb’s glory matters more than reputation, ease, or control.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:53] - The Main Reason for Witness
• [01:42] - Beware the Slide Into Self Absorption
• [03:38] - Isaiah’s Vision in a Shaken Year
• [06:09] - Seeing the Lord on the Throne
• [08:16] - Seraphim and the Holiness of God
• [12:40] - Doorposts Shaken by Glory
• [15:56] - Woe Is Me and Repentance
• [20:30] - The Burning Coal of Atonement
• [23:57] - Worship, Repent, Receive Grace
• [27:04] - Here Am I, Send Me
• [33:28] - Put Your Yes on the Table
• [38:47] - May the Lamb Receive His Reward
• [41:30] - Holy, Holy, Holy Worship

Bible Reading

Isaiah 6:1-8
“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. 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." And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me.” [03:38]

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” [03:17]

Matthew 28:18-20
“And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [01:19]

Hebrews 4:16
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” [26:11]

Observation questions

1. In Isaiah 6, what details show the greatness and holiness of God in the throne room scene? Think about the throne, the robe, the seraphim, their song, and what happens to the thresholds. [12:49]
2. What does Isaiah say about himself when he sees the Lord, and what part of his life does he specifically name as unclean? [16:06]
3. What happens when the seraphim brings the burning coal from the altar to Isaiah, and what exact words are spoken over him? [21:21]
4. In Isaiah 6:8, what does God ask, and how does Isaiah answer before he knows the details of the assignment? [27:40]

Interpretation questions

1. Isaiah sees the Lord “in the year that King Uzziah died.” What does that setting suggest about where a person should look when life feels unstable or shaken? [06:37]
2. The seraphim cry, “Holy, holy, holy,” and then say that the whole earth is full of God’s glory. How do holiness and glory fit together, and why does that matter for how a person sees God? [11:01]
3. Isaiah expects ruin, yet he receives atonement. What does the burning coal from the altar help show about the way guilt is removed, and how does that point forward to Jesus? [22:32]
4. Isaiah answers, “Here am I! Send me.” What seems to have changed in him between “Woe is me” and “Send me,” and why do worship, repentance, and grace lead naturally into mission? [27:16]

Application questions

1. When life feels shaky, where does the heart usually run first: distraction, anxiety, control, comfort, or prayer? What would it look like this week to run toward God instead of inward? [07:07]
2. Summer, rest, and good gifts can quietly turn into self-absorption. Where has “my time, my plans, my comfort” been shaping daily thinking recently, and how could that drift be resisted without rejecting rest itself? [02:19]
3. Real reverence changes the question from “how far can this go?” to “how does this honour God?” In what area of life is that shift most needed right now: speech, relationships, money, sexuality, attitude, or use of time? [20:20]
4. Grace does not make sin small; grace burns guilt away. Is it easier right now to minimize sin or to doubt forgiveness? How might coming again to the throne of grace help with that? [37:21]
5. God’s glory displaces lesser things. What issue has been feeling too big lately—jealousy, hurt, insecurity, bitterness, fear, or something else—and what might it look like for that issue to become smaller in the light of God’s greatness? [34:06]
6. “Here am I. Send me” puts yes on the table before the map is clear. Is there a person, place, or act of obedience that has been delayed until conditions feel easier or safer? What might a simple yes look like now? [32:38]
7. The deepest reason for witness is that the Lamb deserves the reward of his sacrifice. How would conversations about Jesus change if the main burden was not personal pressure or church activity, but a desire for Christ to receive the honour due to him? [39:25]