Whom Shall I Send, And Who Will Go For Us?

Whom Shall I Send, and Who Will Go for Us?

—Isaiah 6:8

Millions of people will gather this Sunday in worship centers for a worship service. When they enter the building, a friendly usher will place in their hands a worship schedule to follow with the hope that their time will be a genuine worship experience. Traditionally, America has been known around the world for our freedom of worship as well as our work ethic in the marketplace and our enjoyment of sports and entertainment. However, these three—our worship, our work, and our play—have become grossly out of balance. In reality, many of us play at our worship . . . worship our work . . . and work at our play.

In Isaiah 6, we read about one of the greatest worship experiences ever. When Isaiah went to the temple that day, his worship experience led him to see not only God in a different light, but also himself and those around him in a new way. This fresh perspective also enabled Isaiah to hear the Lord ask, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” (v. 8). As a result of his fellowship with the Lord, Isaiah responded, “Here am I! Send me!” (v. 8).

Isaiah’s worship experience is left for all posterity in order that we might truly know if we have worshipped God in spirit and in truth. We see from his experience that genuine worship will always result in upward evidence, inward evidence, and outward evidence of our encounter with the Lord. Let’s look into Isaiah’s experience and learn for ourselves how to know if we have truly worshipped God.

UPWARD EVIDENCE: SEEING GOD’S HOLINESS

The initial evidence of genuine worship is seeing the Lord in the beauty of His holiness. The angel choir wholeheartedly sang, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3). And this great and holy God is not simply some force, the Great Spirit, or the Man upstairs. He is the Creator God, the Lord of the universe, the Author of history!

It is significant that Isaiah began his account, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple” (v. 1). King Uzziah was the tenth king of Judah. During his fifty-two-year reign, he sought the Lord, prospered his nation, and built a strong national defense. He was the only king most of Israel had known, and they trusted and depended on him. But now the nation was in crisis. Uzziah was dead. Gone. And maybe you’ve realized this: rich worship experiences often come during times of chaos and crisis. Perhaps your Uzziah has died, and you find yourself without that one person or thing in whom you had placed your trust. Such was the context of Isaiah’s worship experience.

Isaiah said, “My eyes have seen . . . the LORD” (v. 5). Everyone else had eyes for the state of affairs around them, but seeing beyond circumstances to see God in His holiness as Isaiah did is always evidence of true worship. Isaiah had seen that God was “sitting on a throne, high and lifted up” (v. 1). The earthly king was dead, but God had not abdicated His throne. He was still in charge. His robe filled the temple, signifying His greatness as the King of all kings. The angel chorus’s refrain of “Holy, holy, holy” signified that He was different from everyone else, set apart, and holy.

Worship is not about us. It is not about what we do, what we sing, or what we say. Worship is about almighty God and His glory. Isaiah exclaimed, “The whole earth is full of His glory!” (v. 3). When you and I see God in His holiness, we have truly worshipped Him. This view of our high-and-lifted-up God is the upward evidence.

INWARD EVIDENCE: SEEING OUR HELPLESSNESS

Too often we judge ourselves by the wrong standard. We look at people around us and measure ourselves by how we’re doing compared to them. We are instead to look at ourselves in relation to the righteous standards of God’s own law. As soon as Isaiah “saw the Lord,” he realized the hard truth about himself and confessed, “Woe is me, for I am undone! I am a man of unclean lips . . . for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5).

Isaiah did not try to sweep his sinfulness under a rug. His response was closely akin to others who have seen the Lord in all His holiness. Job said, “I have heard of You . . . but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5–6). When the apostle Peter witnessed Christ’s majesty, Peter cried, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8). Upon seeing the glory of Christ revealed on Patmos, John “fell at His feet as dead” (Revelation 1:17). When we truly worship—when we see the Lord in His holiness—we immediately begin to see ourselves differently. We see our sinfulness and cry out to God for help just as Isaiah did: “Woe is me!” (Isaiah 6:5). After Isaiah confessed his sin, the Lord pronounced, “Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged” (v. 7).

OUTWARD EVIDENCE: SEEING OTHERS’ HOPELESSNESS

When we have a personal worship experience with the living Christ, we may be tempted to join Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration, build an altar, and stay there. But genuine worship always compels us to go down the mountain to serve those in need. The glow of being with Jesus enables us to see the woe that prompts us to go.

Only after seeing God in His holiness and seeing himself in his helplessness, only after confessing his sin and being cleansed, did Isaiah hear God ask, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” (Isaiah 6:8). Note Isaiah’s immediate response: “Here am I. Send me” (v. 8). He did not say, “Here I am.” That would have merely indicated location. But “Here am I” revealed Isaiah’s willingness to serve. Then a passionate request followed: “Send me.” God responded by immediately giving Isaiah his assignment: “Go, and tell this people” (v. 9). Isaiah had a job to do. Genuine worship always results in the outward evidence of going to those people who are without Christ and are therefore without hope. Yes, the go always follows the woe!

The next time you leave a worship service, ask yourself these three questions: Have I seen the Lord in His holiness? Have I seen my own helplessness? Have I seen others’ hopelessness? If you are able to answer yes to all three, then listen closely. God is still asking, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then, just as Isaiah did, shout your response: “Here am I! Send me” (v. 8).

Q & A: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Since billions of people in our world have never heard the sweet name of Jesus, the Lord continues to ask this question. Tragically, many of God’s people never hear, much less heed, this question because too often we play at our worship. Listen for God’s voice. Hear Him when He calls you. Then in obedience, “go, and tell this people” (v. 9).