Called to Lead - Week 3: Isaiah
Imagine you walked into your neighbor’s home before they woke up. You turned on the lights, got the coffee going, fried up some bacon and egg. And when your neighbor (who has not shot you yet) tells you to leave, you ignore them smugly and pour the orange juice in a glass. So they call the police or they shoot you. Why could you be punished for going into your neighbors house? Because you stepped into a calling that was not for you. Your calling was two houses down. Not creeping on your neighbor.
During the days of Isaiah, there was a King named Uzziah who stepped into a calling that was not for him. He had been King for 52 years. He was strong, stable, and successful. Under his leadership, Israel had peace, prosperity, and protection. He expanded the borders, fortified the nation, and became famous. But like that creepy neighbor, he stepped into a calling that was not his to step into…
2 Chronicles 26:16 (NLT2)
But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall. He sinned against the LORD his God by entering the sanctuary of the LORD’s Temple and personally burning incense on the incense altar.
Uzziah “stepped into the shoes” of a God-called spiritual leader. Only the Priests of God were to burn incense on the Altar. But he marched into the Temple and did something he wasn’t called to do. The Priests confronted him and told him he could not do what he did. He refused to listen. He said, “I do not need God’s permission. I can run the nation and run the priesthood.”
So, because he tried to take spiritual authority that had not been given to him, immediately, this great King’s forehead broke out with leprosy. And he lived isolated for the rest of his life. In one stubborn act of Pride, he lost his nation, his authority, his community, his influence. All because he stepped into a calling God never gave him.
When someone tries to take on authority God never assigned to them, it always ends in division, church hurt, and pain. And then, this great leader of Israel died. The throne was empty. The future was uncertain. The nation was shaken. The people were fearful.
Isaiah begins by telling us his calling to lead happened in the year King Uzziah died…
Isaiah 6:1-8 (NLT2)
It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” 4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” 8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”
Although his calling happened the year King Uzziah had died, Isaiah did not see a nation without a King.
All of Israel saw an empty throne. But Isaiah saw a throne that was not empty. He saw a King who was not shaken. Isaiah SAW the presence of GOD, not an empty throne. And, that takes me to the first point today about leadership.
What leaders see shapes how they lead
What leaders see shapes how they lead. Leaders do not lead well when they see only what is broken around them. Leaders must be able to see beyond problems, see beyond situations, and see beyond the immediate fears of now in order to lead effectively.
When Isaiah wrote those words, “In the year that Uzziah died…” everybody knew what Isaiah was referring to. Everybody in Judah knew what that meant. Their king was gone. Their future was uncertain. Their security was gone. Will another Nation rise up and take them over?
If you were to ask the average person on the street, “What do you see right now?” They would answer with words like: I can’t believe the King is dead. All I see is loss, instability, fear, and exposure to other nations. That is what the people of Judah saw.
But Isaiah says,
In the year of loss, I saw the Lord.
While the people of Judah stared at an empty throne on earth, Isaiah saw an occupied throne in heaven. When you look at your life…your business, your family, what do you see first? Do you see the negative or do you see God? Do you see bills, scheduling conflicts, emails, problems, critics, staff drama, shrinking margins…
If leaders see only pressure, they will lead out of panic.
If leaders see only people, they will lead out of pleasing.
If leaders see only problems, they will lead out of frustration.
Psalm 119:143 (NLT2)
As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.
Whatever you see first will shape how you respond and lead. When leaders see God’s CHARACTER, it changes how they respond under pressure, handle conflict, treat people, make decisions, and carry the weight of leadership. After God called him to lead, Isaiah did something that Moses and Jeremiah did not do. He does not argue. He does not resist. He does not negotiate. He confesses.
And that leads to the second truth about Leadership.
Leadership stops when confession drops
Isaiah 6:5 (NLT2)
Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips…
In the original language, when Isaiah said he was doomed…he said I am…unmade, dissolved, disintegrated, destroyed. Moses said, “Who am I?” Jeremiah said, “I’m too young.”
But Isaiah did not come up with an excuse. As he experienced the presence of God, he wilted. He did not resist God’s calling; he feared his sin in the presence of God’s holiness. Isaiah understood that SIN would be his greatest obstacle as a human and as a leader.
And if God is calling you into Leadership…understand that if you drop confessing sin, when you stop living transparently with God and with others, when you can’t admit your own ongoing shortcomings, failures, mistakes, and sin…pride will grow, and you will lose your ability to lead.
In the business world, leadership collapses when leaders refuse to be honest about their own flaws. In classrooms, leadership collapses when educators refuse to admit when they got it wrong. In boardrooms, leadership collapses when the person at the head of the table cannot say, “This was my mistake.” In small businesses, leadership collapses when owners pretend strength but live with secret rot in their character. In families, leadership collapses when parents model pride instead of repentance. Leadership stops when confession drops.
When you stop admitting where you fall short—When you stop telling the truth about your motives, your temptations, your blind spots, your reactions, the people you lead stop trusting your influence—When you hide what needs to be brought into the light, your leadership credibility starts to crack.
But that’s not who you are going to be – because you embrace the idea of Transparent Living, and you walk through life in a spirit of confession. You understand that confession drags our sin into the light and makes our relationship with others more meaningful and more life-changing.
And as you walk in that Spirit of confession, you begin to understand that…
Leaders risk a “yes” before understanding the cost
After Isaiah melted in God’s presence and acknowledged his sinfulness, God cleansed him. And after God cleansed Him…he
Isaiah 6:8 (NLT2)
…heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”
Isaiah said “yes” before he understood the assignment. All he knew at this point was he had seen God, and because he had seen God, he understood he was a sinner, he confessed his sin, and God forgave him.
There is something powerful when you experience the cleansing power of God’s forgiveness. When you understand your sinful condition and know that God is no longer holding that over your head, you understand how much God loves you, and you want to say “yes” about EVERYTHING. And when it comes to leadership, risking a “yes” before fully understanding what you are agreeing to is a pattern that we see throughout scripture.
Moses said yes before he knew Pharaoh would resist. Jeremiah said yes before he knew he would be hated. Isaiah said yes before he knew what God was asking of him. Every leader God uses has a moment where the call comes before the clarity.
The invitation comes before the information. If you are sensing that God has called you to serve him in full-time ministry, your YES comes before knowing the WHAT. When you surrender to God’s call to Lead, you never get the full picture up front. You might get a whisper. You might get a burden in your gut that won’t go away. But you won’t know fully what you are saying “yes” to. You won’t know where God will move you. You won’t know what you are going to say…You won’t know how God is going to provide. You won’t know about going to a Seminary or a Bible College. Your “yes.” Your surrender to God’s call comes first.
At the close of each service on the weekend of December 6-7, If you sense God is “calling” you to lead, you will be invited to come down to the front at the end of the sermon, to surrender to God’s call. To say, “yes.” You may not have the answers, but if you sense God is calling, we want to pray over you. Then, I will provide a list of schools I can recommend, because once you say “yes” you want to be prepared. A sharper axe cuts faster than a dull one.
If you sense that God is calling you, we want to help you surrender.