as God sees us. The more a believer reads the Word of God and compares his life with the holy standard of God given in the law and in the life of Christ, the more he comes to see his own inability and sinfulness (Rom. 7:18). It would be well to study this seventh chapter of Ro mans from verse 15 to the end of the chapter. The Apostle had an experience similar to that of Isaiah’s, and it humbled him to the place of usefulness. Isaiah experienced the cleansing power of God in his life (w . 6, 7). Cleansing must always come before service. God cannot use a man whose life is stained with sin. But God never shows a man his need without making ready to meet that need. In Isaiah’s experience, no sooner did he see his sin and acknowledge it (v. 5 ), than God cleansed him from the guilt and power of his sin. The climax of Isaiah’s experience came when he responded to God’s call for a volunteer and was com missioned by the Lord for service (v. 8f). Have you done this? I do not mean, have you volunteered for missionary service or to be a preacher —I mean have you surrendered your life to Him to use as He sees fit? This is your obligation and mine. Every Christian's Holy Vocation Matt. 4:18-22 This passage from Matthew in dicates die call of Christ to several of those who were going to make up part of the original twelve apostles. From the record we may draw a number of applications for our lives. In the first place, the Christian life in its entirety is the result of the call of Christ. You are a believer, not only because you wanted to be but because He wanted you long before you decided that you would. Study the following Scriptures, and let them make you both proud and humble — proud that He should have chosen you, and humble in that all that you are is by His rich grace (John 6:37, 65; 15:16; Rom. 1:6, 7; 8:28-30; 1 Cor. 26-31). Again, you will observe that the call of Christ was a call of separation (Matt. 4:19,20). In the case of the fishermen it meant leaving their business to follow Christ. This does not mean, however, that every man must leave his vocation in order to respond to the call of Christ. But it most certainly does mean that in many cases the called one will have to leave something — ambition, per sonal plans, certain friends, etc. Note that this was a call to fish for men (v. 19). Every Christian CONTINUED 37
By Chester J. Padgett, D.D. Associate Professor of Bible Bible Institute of Los Angeles
Helps for Christian Endeavor and Other Young People's Groups
be of profit for us to study the de velopment in Isaiah’s spiritual ex perience and to apply that exper ience in our own life. Note that Isaiah came to a time of crisis in his life (Isa. 6:1-4). It was in the year that King Uzziah died, his beloved friend and counsel lor, that Isaiah saw the Lord. Often times God must bring us to Himself and to the place where we are willing to do His will by some sort of crisis experience. This is usually true at the time of conversion. Some be lievers cannot recall the moment when Christ became real to them. This does not mean that they have not had a vital experience with Christ. Usually, however, the soul is saved as the result of a process of conviction, repentance and obedience to the Word of God (Acts 2:38). But even the saved man oftentimes must come to another moment of crisis in his life before he is willing to do the will of God. This is true of Isaiah. When his heart was broken and the arm of flesh had been removed, then he had eyes that could see the Lord. God wanted young Isaiah to be His prophet. But not until He had removed certain hindrances could He get the atten tion of Isaiah. It may be that God is speaking to you about some plan for your life, and you are rebellious. How much better to say with Isaiah, “ Here am I” without having to go through some period of deep sorrow as Isaiah had to go through before he was ready to volunteer! For Isaiah there was also a time of contrition (v. 5). When Isaiah saw the Lord he also saw himself as he really was. It takes a vision like this to humble the flesh. We are such proud and self-righteous people. It is so difficult for us to see ourselves
May 3, 1953 "Here Am I" Isa. 6:8; Matt. 4:18-22
This is “Vocations Day” through out the Christian Endeavor world, and well might the Christian con sider the importance of his life and the way in which he plans to use it. Next to a man’s salvation the ques tion of his life’s work is the most urgent. This life is the prelude or introduction to the next; it is like leaving the harbor for the voyage, and it is a foolish mariner who will wreck his ship while leaving the har bor. The Importance of Every Man's Life Your life and mine is of far more importance than we sometimes think. How do we know this? For one thing, we understand something of the value of life in the very fact that God is its author (Gen. 1:26, 27). Anything God makes is of value. In the second place, life is important because Christ died to redeem it (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 8:32). Surely God would never have paid such a price if the object redeemed were not worth the cost. In the third place, the Saviour speaks of the worth of a single life, and indi cates that the life of one man is worth mpre to Him than all the world (Mark 8:36). Again, God uses the life of one man to influence the life of another; your life is in fluencing others either for or against the Saviour (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; John 1:40-46). Preparation for Spending Your Life The account in Isaiah 6 has to do with the vision God granted young Isaiah. This vision was the turning point in his life and the beginning of his usefulness to the Lord. It will
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