We are in need of reliable preachers to go and spread God's message (Isa 6:8).
Qualifications:
- Forgiven (Isa 6:5-7)
- Faithful
- Obedient
- Committed
Job Description:
Go, and tell this people: "Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand." Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed (Isa 6:9-10).Duration:
Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate, The LORD has removed men far away, And the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land (Isa 6:11-12).________
This is God's actual call to Isaiah. "Who will go for us?" "Here am I; send me." We like that part. But then God tells him how it's going to work. God's planned outcome of Isaiah's mission is zero success. No one will listen. No one will understand. No one will respond. By God's plan. And this will not be short term or a "happy ending". "Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant." "This," God is saying, "is My plan and My plan for you."
I wonder. How many pastors would ever answer the call to ministry if they believed they had this calling? And how many would classify it as success if they did exactly what Isaiah did with the same results Isaiah had? Clearly, since this was God's plan and, therefore, successful, we can tell two things. First, God's definition of "success" is radically different than ours. His begins with being faithful to our vocation and doesn't take into account outcomes. Ours is ... something else, typically tied up with numbers and income and such. Second, we are far off the mark in following God when we would classify His plan as failure and ours as success. Time to get a new perspective.
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