“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: Who should I send? Who will go for Us? I said: Here I am. Send me.” vs8

When our sins have been forgiven, and the wrath of God has been atoned, then we want to serve Him with heart, soul, mind, and strength; it is the gift of God that comes no other way. We cannot muster up the power. We must be saved by grace to live godly. We must obtain mercy, if we will glorify God.

Do you believe the gospel? Has He pardoned you by free grace? Do you see Him high and exalted upon the throne (vs1)? Has His holiness convinced you of sin - not everyone else’s sin, but your own (Vs5)? Do you see yourself vile and disgusting, and yet forgiven (vs6-7)? Has Jesus Christ died for you, and is SATISFACTION made? “Then on of the seraphim [preachers of the gospel] flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said: Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, and your sin is atoned for [vs7].”

This is the keynote of the gospel: God is satisfied with sinners because Jesus Christ took the blame and punishment. He forgives us because Jesus paid the debt in full. There is no more wrath! The curse is gone, and we are blessed. No other motivation to live godly will prove strong enough and nothing else pleases God. We cannot serve Him in fear. We must be forgiven, and then we will live forever, serve God, and love Him from the heart (2 Cor 5:14-15).

Previously, when I saw my duty to go, I did not go. I said, “Send someone else.” But, when I saw that He forgave me of my horrible sins, when I could have been sent to hell and exposed in hypocrisy, I loved Him, rejoiced in Him, and WANTED to do His will: This is not grudging service; it is the wholehearted service that the gospel produces. Believe on Christ and live.

Secondly, we will go on with this hard mission of telling the people who do not believe, until God brings wrath and judgment (vs9-12). "Then I said, 'Until when, Lord?' And He replied: Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants, houses are without people, and the land is ruined and desolate."

He hasn’t sent us to be popular or even “successful”. He’s sent us to be faithful and to consign men to destruction because they would not listen. “And He replied, ‘Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive.” It is not ours to make them hear, but to harden their hearts; it is ours to TELL THEM in faithfulness to God.

Do not let rejection bring you down; it is part of God’s master plan.

Thirdly, however, there is a remnant, “a tenth will remain in the land (vs13).” God will have mercy upon a few, and many shall be saved in due time. He is faithful! He has covenanted mercy - not because people hear Him, but because He gives them ears. He’s left us a remnant, or we’d be like Sodom and Gomorrah (Rom 9:27-29). He has chosen people, so keep going with the gospel, and thank God for them. Paul says, “But we must always thank God for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and through belief in the truth (2 Thess 2:13).”