When God calls you, will you say “Here I am! Send me?”

Hello, Friends!

I’m happy to greet you this week and share some exciting news! This weekend—Friday, July 3, and Sabbath, July 4—is the worldwide launch of I Will Go—a personal call to action that every Seventh-day Adventist can embrace! And I want to invite you, personally to be involved in this amazing strategic plan to reach the world. 

This plan, which was originally scheduled to launch during what would have been the final weekend of the General Conference Session in Indianapolis, is being launched virtually because the Session was postponed due to the coronavirus.

 But praise God, there is nothing—not even a global pandemic—that can stop God’s call to reach the world! I hope you will choose to be a part of His plan, and that you will plan to join us. We’ll provide further details about how you can join us on my Facebook page. 

In our short video message today, going along with our “I Will Go” theme, I would like to take just a few minutes to turn to the book of Isaiah, chapter 6. In this chapter, we see a young man—Isaiah—experiencing an amazing vision. 

Beginning in verse 1, we read, “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. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!’ And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.” Can you imagine what it must have been like to see directly into God’s throne room—to see and experience God’s holiness? To hear the angels cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!” Can you imagine how Isaiah must have felt?! 

Well, we don’t need to wonder, because Isaiah tells us in verse 5: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because 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.” 

You see, Isaiah realized his own unworthiness, his own helplessness, and confessed that he was a sinner, and that he came from “a people of unclean lips.”

 And although what Isaiah said was true, praise God He didn’t leave Isaiah in misery. In verses 6 and 7, we see a specially commissioned angel fly quickly to Isaiah and symbolically purge him of his sins by touching his mouth with a live coal. 

The angel speaks in verse 7: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” 

What a beautiful, amazing message! After Isaiah cries out, confessing his sin, he is quickly redeemed—his iniquity is taken away, his sin is purged. 

But that’s not all. There is more to this beautiful, amazing encounter. For you see, God not only redeems us, but through His transforming power, He calls us. Amazingly, He calls us to represent Him, to share His message with the world! 

Let’s read about it in verse 8, where Isaiah writes: “And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’” 

Here we see the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—embodied in the word “Us,” asking “who will go for Us?” 

And Isaiah responds, “’Here am I! Send me.’” 

How wonderful! This young man says, I’m here! I will go! Send me! 

Friend, have you had an encounter with God? Have you seen the beauty of His holiness? Have you confessed your sins and accepted Him as your Lord and Savior? Have you allowed Him, through His transforming grace, to take away your iniquity, to purge your sins? 

He is calling you today. He is asking “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Will you respond? Will you say, I Will Go, send me? 

In the wonderful devotional book, Reflecting Christ, divine inspiration tells us: “Whenever [God] has had a special work to be done, He has always had men ready to meet the demand. In every age, when the divine voice has asked, Who will go for us? the response has come, ‘Here am I, send me.’ . . . Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses with his meekness and wisdom, and Joshua with his varied capabilities were all enlisted in God’s service. The music of Miriam, the courage and piety of Deborah, the filial affection of Ruth, the obedience and faithfulness of Samuel—all were needed. . . .” 

Then the author continues, “God will not give His Spirit to those who make no use of the heavenly gift. But those who are drawn out of and away from themselves, seeking to enlighten, encourage, and bless others, will have increased ability and energy to expend. The more light they give, the more they receive” (p. 319). 

Friends, the world is waiting for the message we have to share. God is calling. Will you, will I, go? 

Let’s pray together. 

Father in heaven, we ask that You will come close to every one of us, as we understand that you are calling every single person who commits themself to You, asking that we go in the powerful name of Jesus to proclaim this message and the Three Angels’ Messages, calling people back to the true worship of You, our God. Lord, help us to understand that I Will Go is not just a program, not just a motto, but it is a commitment from the innermost part of our hearts because we are in connection with You and You inspire us to go and tell the world, to reach the world with the powerful message that Jesus has made a way of escape for us, and that He is interceding for us in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary, and that soon He will take off His priestly robes and put on His kingly robes and come to take us home. 

Lord, help every one of us to be part of Total Member Involvement. Help us to say, I Will Go, all through the power of the Holy Spirit. We ask all of this in the powerful and wonderful name of our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sovereign King and our Best Friend, Jesus Christ.

Amen.