Micah 6:8 English Standard Version (ESV) He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Let us begin first by acknowledging that the Lord has told us what is good. There is within this verse a level of expectation of performance, to be just, to love and to be humble. The Lord knows how we will accomplish all three at one time. We have expectations based on prior performances on our part.

I ended yesterday with these words; “Or do we look for new orders because of self-interest?”

We are taught we will grow in Christ. Our reference points are human growth, diet, and wisdom. We each have an understanding of what human growth looks like and will apply our spiritual growth with those same standards. That is a mistake.

We are involved and responsible for human growth. Spiritual growth is the purview of the Holy Spirit. During our training cycle we will often test ourselves to see if any of the training took. Those test often take on the form of comparing ourselves to others. We have been warned not to do that and that is from a human prospective. We still operate in the flesh despite all good intentions.

1 Corinthians 12:27-31 English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. ²⁸ And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

The trap of the flesh creates a desire based on self-interest. “That looks easy, I can do that!” “He is respected and I want to be respected, so I’ll do that.” “I’m better at that. I should take over.” “I’m not satisfied in doing this. I need satisfaction in what I do.”

Isaiah 6:8 English Standard Version (ESV)

Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord

⁸ 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.”

This passage is often used and seem rather familiar to many but do we see the sequence of events? Isaiah is in the place to serve. He will serve where he is placed by earlier events. Then Isaiah acknowledges his unworthiness and those around him. Then an angel comes and places hot coals upon his lips making him worthy of service.

Here is Isaiah commission as he responds to his call to service. Then he is given the words to be delivered. Now comes the part that most of us overlook. He asked the Lord how long he is to serve in this capacity.

¹¹ Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste,
¹² and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.

Most of us would be looking for an answer that deals with time. We want some answer that we can add to our calendar. While we try and deal with the answer in terms of length of service we might overlook the important words.

“The Lord removes.”

Isaiah is just a herald, the real work is done by the Lord. So often we see ourselves as the janitor cleaning up the mess and removing the impediments.

That isn’t what Isaiah is commission to do, he is called to declare the Word of the Lord.

We are all called into service. Not all of us are commissioned. The basic principle applies to us all. Placement, preparation, instruction, and service are there for all of us. Do we understand our role? Do we know what the Lord is doing?

Or do we look for new orders because of self-interest?