Ready and Willing to serve

We had a precious time of ordination with Fabian on Sunday morning. I love the fact that our church family can come alongside Fabian and his family, as God sends him to be a race track chaplain in Kentucky. With this past Sunday in mind, let’s evaluate our readiness and willingness to serve him.

Let me reiterate words that I used this past Sunday during the charge to Fabian. The prophet Isaiah was not unfamiliar to a royal setting. Isaiah is said to be from an aristocratic family and he had access to the “ear” of the king. In Isaiah 6, Isaiah is in the royal setting of a throne room. He may have been in this room before, but this time Isaiah saw the LORD of heavenly hosts, high and lifted up. Isaiah even saw angels declaring the holiness of God. Isaiah saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple. Isaiah realized his unworthiness and saw his sin as an affront to a Holy God. After having his sin purified, Isaiah heard God ask, “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?” Then Isaiah answered, “Here am I! Send me.”

First of all, we have to be ready. Do we have a readiness to deal with sin? Do we have an eagerness to answer God’s call to serve (no matter the task?) Isaiah showed his readiness to the call of God. It is interesting that God said, “who will go for us?” Most commentators see this as another scriptural validation to the Trinitarian nature of God (Father, Son, and Spirit). God was looking for someone who was willing and ready, and he found that person in Isaiah.

Second of all, we must be willing. Willingness requires a surrendered life to the Lord. We sing a lot of Christian songs that talk about a surrendered will. An old hymn named, Living for Jesus, captures the attitude of willingness. Look at the first stanza:

 Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.

Do we live each day in yielded allegiance to the Lord? Are we glad-hearted in our attitude to serve the Lord? If our attitude toward the Lord is not one of humility and willingness to serve, then Isaiah’s answer to the LORD is a foreign concept to us. The world teaches us entitlement, self-centeredness, and “never let them see you weak.” God’s perspective is contrary to that of the world. God exalts the humble and makes strong the weak. When the Christ follower sees their complete identity in Christ Jesus, everything changes. When the Christ follower reflects on the sacrifice of Christ on behalf of sinners, our response is the same as the hymn writer, Isaac Watts (When I Survey the Wondrous Cross):

Love so Amazing, So Divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Jesus gave everything for us, we should in turn devote our lives to Him. Are you quick to answer, “Here Am I, send me?” Are you “sitting on go,” when the Lord prompts you to serve or evangelize?

When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane. He asked the Lord to take away the cup of suffering that was coming (through the crucifixion). Jesus added, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus set the example of a heart that is transparent with God and a heart that is willing to embrace God’s plan at any cost.  Let’s be willing in Spirit to serve and ready to be obedient to whatever God calls us to do.

See you this Sunday as we celebrate obedience to God through believer’s baptism,  

Pastor Todd