Burning Ones - Go - Session 7

You have said yes.  You have cried out, “Send me!”  Your heart has been drawn into the counsel of the Lord.  You’ve remembered His word over your life.  It’s time to go!  It’s time for a launching out.  For everything there is a season, a time for every matter under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1).  It’s the season of ekballo!  We are coming into the season of The Send.  This launching will be widespread and the harvest will be unparalleled. 

It’s already begun!  And you are part of it now.  Over the past years, it seemed like wisdom to discuss the facts of why it seemed impossible to obey the Lord.   But this generation is going to denounce this “wisdom” for exactly what it is…Foolishness.  This generation is going to act like Believers.  This generation is going to GO.

Mark 8

[16] And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. [17] And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?

You can spend your whole life discussing the facts and never really enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and the plan of God for your life.  The focus of our existence is to extend from the Word of the Lord.  This is your inheritance:  To live from His Word and not the facts.  The facts will bend.  The facts will bow.  But the Word of the Lord will not change!  This is your glory and your inheritance.  Don’t get caught up in the facts!!  Live into the Word of the Lord for your life and get ready for the adventure of a lifetime.

I.  AND HE SAID, GO AND SAY TO THIS PEOPLE

Isaiah 6

[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.” [9] And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

            “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

            keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

            [10] Make the heart of this people dull,

                        and their ears heavy,

                        and blind their eyes;

            lest they see with their eyes,

                        and hear with their ears,

            and understand with their hearts,

                        and turn and be healed.”

com·mis·sion noun

1. the act of committing or giving in charge.

2. an authoritative order, charge, or direction.

3. authority granted for a particular action or function.

4. a document granting such authority.

5. a document conferring authority issued by the president of the U.S. to officers  in the Army, Navy, and other military services, and by state governments to justices of the peace and others.

A.   The Lord breathes us in and breathes us out.  He calls us close, He sends us out.  You cannot be sent, unless you come in.  But you cannot stay in, when He has commissioned you out.  It’s not either-or, it’s yes-and.  We are not called for the sake of being called.  We are not commissioned for the sake of our own commissioning.  We are called for the sake of being sent to a real people. 

B.    We have conferences almost every weekend of every month related to our callings, and yet we have so many untended fields.  You are a gift.  You are a gift FOR someone, for a people, for a region, for a nation.  Kings aren’t anointed kings for their own sake, but for the sake of the kingdom… the people within it.  Evangelists find the church, Pastor nurture the church, Teachers instruct the church, Prophets direct the church, and Apostles build the church.  The gifts, your gift, can only function within a body.  You can only find your function through connection!

Matthew 9

36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

C.    You’ve got to find your flock!  To come into your destiny, you’ve got to find your field.  And this will change everything for you!  I’m known for a little saying, “Bloom where you’re planted.”  I believe it.  And I can say concerning this, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”  Jesus was faithful for 33 years in something much, much less than His ultimate role, and He is our example.  David was called to fight Goliath, but he was equipped for that role not because of the prophetic anointing of Samuel, he was equipped because he had been victorious (on the backside of nowhere) with the lion and the bear.  David learned a lot about shepherding a nation from his first role of shepherding sheep.  Peter learned a lot about fishing men from catching fish.  Learn to be faithful with what you have before you!

Mark 14

[6] But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. [7] For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. [8] She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. [9] And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

D.   The point is this:  Do what you can with what you have!  Strive to be faithful and not perfect. 

Matthew 28

[18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We are a commissioned lot.  No matter what our calling, we all have the same commission.  We need each other.  We will have different roles in this, but our purpose has been set by Jesus.  You are called to GO!  This is for you!  You are in full time ministry right now.  You will be fruitful only when you start to sow.  The fruit springs up only after we scatter the seed!!

Mark 4

[26] And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. [27] He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. [28] The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. [29] But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

E.    It’s time to preach the Gospel!  It’s time for you to open your mouth and declare it!!  Don’t worry about everything you don’t know… you know more than most.  Find your field and open your mouth!  Oh, and you will begin to see it spring up.  It will astound you.  And soon you will see fields ripe for the harvest!  It’s time for you!

II.  A PECULIAR MESSAGE

Isaiah 6

[9] And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

            “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;

            keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

            [10] Make the heart of this people dull,

                        and their ears heavy,

                        and blind their eyes;

            lest they see with their eyes,

                        and hear with their ears,

            and understand with their hearts,

                        and turn and be healed.”

A.   I’ve never heard anyone preach this message.  Every preaching I have ever heard on Isaiah 6 ends with God’s command to go, however the more I studied this out, the more I realized how much we have missed in not comprehending the message.  Paul quotes and preached this exact message in the final message recorded in the book of Acts. 

B.    Before I speak into this, let me tell you a story from this past week.  I had a couple of days freed up so that I could take the kids down to see Larry in Miami.  As you know, he’s been working hard to get ready for the Reinhard Bonnke crusade coming up in South Florida.  Well, one of the evenings we went to a prayer gathering where Evangelist Bonnke came to speak.  Initially we were standing in the back of a long line.  Juniah was patient, but Judah was terribly annoyed.  Eventually, Larry found us and led us to some great seats.  We sat and waited and then someone came to remove us from the seats and the Cfan staff was so apologetic and moved us to row two.  Still pretty great!  Judah was embarrassed and thought we should move back up.  I used to opportunity to teach Jesus’ parable on the taking for yourselves the best seats and then having to be removed when someone more important came along.  Jesus tells us to go to the back and wait to be honored.  Just as we were discussing this, a Cfan employee said that wanted to give us the best seats in the house and moved us to front row center!  We were amazed at the kindness of God.  And I was amazed at God’s timing to illustrate a principle.  Awesome!

C.    When we got to the car, Judah said something about how God doesn’t show him things, how God doesn’t answer.  And I brought up the seats, and how God favored him… even moving him to the front.  Now you know I love my son, but he is still spiritually dull.  He has eyes that don’t see yet, and ears that don’t hear yet and a heart that does not understand.  This is the message Isaiah heard from the throne and went back to declare.  God is speaking and revealing.  He has unveiled Himself.  In fact, the veil has been torn.  Our God is not far off and aloof, we are. This is our message!

D.   Yesterday I spent a few hours reading just the words of Jesus (the red letters) in the Gospel of Mark.  I was actually surprised to see how many times Jesus referenced this exact passage from Isaiah 6. 

Mark 4

[10] And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. [11] And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, [12] so that

            “they may indeed see but not perceive,

            and may indeed hear but not understand,

            lest they should turn and be forgiven.”

[13] And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

Mark 7

[14] And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: [15] There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” [17] And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. [18] And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, [19] since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.)

Mark 8

[16] And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. [17] And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? [18] Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? [19] When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” [20] “And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” [21] And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

E.    The message isn’t to proclaim a continuation in blindness, deafness and dullness… the message is the call to see, hear and understand. 

Mark 8

[11] The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. [12] And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” [13] And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

F.    The message of Christ is this… if you were truly seeking a sign from heaven, then you would see me, but the truth is that they weren’t seeking a sign at all, they had come to argue.  This is the message of Isaiah 6, and it is the message of Christ, and it is our message.

G.   Many times we pray, “God do something… show them a sign… give them a message.”  But the truth is that He has.  They need eyes to see, ears to hear and hearts that will perceive.  As intercessors we aren’t standing on behalf of our generation beseeching God, we are sent on behalf of our God, beseeching a generation.

III.  HOW LONG LORD?

Isaiah 6

            [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.

            [13] And though a tenth remain in it,

                        it will be burned again,

            like a terebinth or an oak,

                        whose stump remains

                        when it is felled.”

            The holy seed is its stump.

A.   This is not an Old Testament message… no this is the message until the return of Christ.  This is our message.  Christ has done it all.  He is commissioning us and sending us to declare the finished work of the cross.  To declare His desire to be reconciled, His desire to be known, and His desire to be received.  We have been called to Him to know His love.  And we have been sent to declare His goodness. 

2 Corinthians 5

[14] For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; [15] and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

 [17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. [18] All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; [19] that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. [20] Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. [21] For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Heavenly Father, thank you for revealing your love and for sending Jesus to save us.  Thank you for making me new.  I’ve said yes to you!  Send me into whatever field seems pleasing to you.  My only desire is to be fruitful for your name’s sake.  Give me boldness to proclaim your word, and use my life to make the blind see and the deaf hear.  You are mine, and I am yours!