In the sermon titled 'Isaiah's Calling' by Peter Allison, the speaker delves into the profound and challenging nature of Isaiah's mission as described in the Bible. Isaiah was called by God to deliver a message to a people who would not listen, a seemingly hopeless task that required immense faith and obedience. The speaker draws parallels between Isaiah's experience and that of Hudson Taylor, a missionary in China, emphasizing the unwavering commitment required to fulfill one's divine calling. The sermon explores the doctrine of reprobation, discussing how God's grace is given to some and withheld from others, not based on merit but for His glory. Isaiah's willingness to serve, despite not knowing the specifics of his mission, is attributed to his deep conviction of sin and his understanding of God's holiness. The message underscores the importance of recognizing our own sinfulness and the gratitude owed for the forgiveness and grace we receive. The remnant, a small group within the masses who are receptive to God's word, is highlighted as the true beneficiaries of Isaiah's message, emphasizing the enduring impact of his prophetic mission.

Ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed. Then I said, Lord, how long? And he answered, until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, The houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate. The Lord has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming, as a terribent tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down, so the holy seed shall be its stump.

May Jehovah deal with us according to His mercy and teach us his statutes. Heavenly Father, we ask that you would open our hearts to receive your word, to receive it with faith and new obedience. We ask, Lord, for understanding, For we know that the natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit. And I ask also for cleansing of my sinful lips that they may open to us this morning these words of life through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Well, many people have faithfully labored in what would seem to be very discouraging and hopeless callings. Hudson Taylor labored in China under incredibly difficult conditions. He came to China At just 22 years of age in the midst of an armed conflict that led to famine and exorbitant food prices and the inability to even find basic lodging, his support that he received that he received from home was just 80 pounds a year when basic rent was 50% more than that. And what enabled him to continue in such a difficult set of circumstances is the sense of his call to come to China. When he was 17, he had written his sister with whom he was very close requesting her to pray for him as he asked God to remove his heart of stone and give him a sanctified heart of flesh.

He wanted to obtain perfect holiness. He shared later that this arose from his conviction that if God would only save him completely, save me completely, he said then I would do anything in his cause that he might direct. Never shall I forget the feeling that came over me then. Words can never describe it. I felt I was in the presence of God entering into covenant with the Almighty.

I felt as though I wished to withdraw my promise but could not. Something seemed to say, your prayer is answered, your conditions are accepted. And from that time the conviction never left me that I was called to China. God's answer came so quickly that Taylor was able to add a postscript to his letter to Amelia, his sister, saying, He has revealed himself to me in an overflowing manner. Glory, glory, glory to his ever blessed name.

I cannot write for joy. I open my letter to tell you." And he immediately began preparing to serve God in China. And Isaiah has a very similar experience. Isaiah had a willingness to serve that operated from faith and that arose out of his conviction of sin and the sense and his call. Isaiah had a willingness to serve that was by faith.

Because Isaiah didn't know all the details when he accepted God's casting call looking for messengers whom will go who can I send we see Hebrews 11 tells us that faith is the evidence of things that are not seen It's the realization of things that are hoped for? Faith enables us to see as realized the things that we hope for because what God promises to do is certain to come to pass. We want evidence. And faith enables the eye of faith to see those things that are not yet visible to the physical eye. It provides the evidence for things that are not yet seen.

The IJAYA didn't know where he was to go. He didn't know if the location would be a nice place or a very hard place to go. He didn't need, he didn't know if God needed somebody to go to Waikiki Beach in Hawaii or to the remote parts of the Amazon rainforest or to the intense cold of Antarctica or northern Siberia. He didn't know. He didn't know if it would be a nearby location or a very far distant destination involving an arduous and dangerous journey like when God called Noah to go to Nineveh.

In that call, God did tell Jonah exactly where he was to go. He didn't want to go, but he knew where he was being called to go. Isaiah didn't know where he was signing up to go. He didn't know how long he was to be gone, or how long he would be occupied with this call. He didn't know if it would be a short job like God gave Elijah when he said go anoint King of Jehu, King of Israel Or if it would be a 40 year long job like God had in store for Moses when he called him to lead Israel out of Egypt to the promised land.

A job that was filled with many travails and difficulties. He didn't know the risk level of this job. He didn't know if it would be a dangerous call, like Elijah being sent to confront wicked King Ahab about his murdering of Naboth. You know, confronting kings about their misdeeds can be dangerous to your health or like a pleasant call like Samuel being sent to anoint David King or Or Nathan being sent to tell him that God would build a lasting house for him. He didn't know if the job that he was volunteering for would would involve great risk to himself or to his family or to his freedom or would land him in the pit like Jeremiah's job to confront King Jehoiakim and Zedekiah.

He didn't know the message he would be bringing. He didn't know if it would be a popular message or an unpopular one. He didn't know what his call that he was volunteering for, what it would cost him personally, professionally, or financially. He didn't know the audience he would be speaking to. He didn't know if he'd be speaking to friendly people that would welcome his message.

He didn't know if it would be or if he'd be speaking to mortal enemies of Israel. He didn't even know really at this point the message that he was supposed to bring. And he didn't ask any of these things. He didn't ask to know any of these things before accepting God's call for messengers. God said, who shall I send?

And he said, here am I, send me. God said, okay, go. Go. Okay? Go.

Go. And talk to a people that won't listen to you. And Isaiah didn't offer any excuses why he could not carry out a seemingly hopeless mission talking to people that will never listen to him. You remember when God called Moses to confront Pharaoh, the monarch over Egypt, that was an intimidating task that would put his life in danger. You ordinarily don't walk up to a king and tell him his faults, like John the Baptist was called to do with Herod.

And you don't ordinarily tell the king what to do without some risk. And so Moses came up, you remember, with the length of excuses why he was not the right man for the job. God patiently answered his concerns with solutions. How will they know that you sent me? Well, God said here are some signs that will authenticate you as my messenger.

Put your hand in your coat, take it out, it'll be leprous, put it back, it'll be restored. Throw down your rod, it'll turn into a snake, pick it up, and it will return to a rod well Moses said I can't speak very well So God told him that he would go with him, teach his mouth what to say. And when Moses persisted in his excuses, you know, God eventually grew angry at his excuses. Isaiah was called here to speak to a people who would not listen to him. And he asked God how long, how long should he carry this out?

Didn't complain, just how long do I need to talk to people who won't listen. Ordinarily if you go to somebody with a message and they listen then that's you completed your message. If you're supposed to go to somebody that isn't gonna listen well how long do you have to keep trying to bring that message to them when they won't listen. He asked, how long? And God told him to do it a long time.

Keep doing it until there's nobody left to listen. Until there's nobody left to preach to. Now that's a hard call in a different way than Moses' call or John the Baptist's call to confront kings. It's hard because we have a hard time speaking when our message is unpopular. Or when we are ignored.

Just try ignoring somebody or if people just ignore you, you want to quit talking. You say, okay, I'll go somewhere else. It's very hard to stand, try standing on a street corner and talking to people that are not listening to you as they walk by, ignoring you. It's even worse if people know you. But Isaiah doesn't complain against this.

He doesn't say that he's too old or too weak or too sick or not gifted enough or not smart enough or not knowledgeable enough, not able in some way to do what God is calling him to do. He doesn't argue even with the reasonableness with God on being sent for 60 years to preach a message that no one would listen to. 60 years is a long time to preach to people that are listening to you and receptive to the message. It's an even longer time to preach to people who don't listen. And if the early church tradition is correct and Justin Martyr and Tertullian are two church fathers who reference it, Isaiah after his 60 years of preaching to people who when listened to him was sawn asunder by King Manasseh and it's probably it may be what is referred to in Hebrews 11 in that Hall of Faith chapter where those who are saw in a sunder.

Now he's not the only one with a hard calling. Anna was a widow from her early days. She was married seven years and spent the next 84 years as a widow in ministry at the temple. Samson's parents were given a calling to raise a son as a Nazirite. They couldn't cut his hair.

He couldn't have anything produced by a vine touch his lips See Isaiah's willingness to go was born out of faith As EJ Young notes in his commentary in this passage, the reason Isaiah was so willing to serve God arose from his deep conviction of sin that we looked at in the previous, in our previous week. As Isaiah stood before the throne of God and saw the majestic glory of Jehovah on his throne, he was overcome by a sense of his own unworthiness. Woe is me! Remember, he cried out. It was his realization of the depth of.

His sin from which he had been cleansed. That produced such a depth of love that made him willing to go where God called him without knowing that the details are making any excuses. When Jesus went to the Pharisee's house to eat in Luke seven, A woman whose name is not given in scripture washed Jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair and kissed his feet and anointed them with fragrant oil. And Simon the Pharisee looked with some contempt at this display of humility and devotion. It may have been born of a bit of envy that no one loved him like that and he would thought he was certainly worthy of Being loved like that And so he thought in his heart that if Jesus knew what a great sinner this woman was and he wouldn't be willing to allow her anywhere near him, let alone so affectionately kiss him.

When Jesus answered to Simon's unspoken scorn was to compare Simon's service to her service. Remember, Simon had not even bothered to wash Jesus' feet, as would be simply normal courtesy for visitors of that day traveling dusty roads. But this woman had washed his feet with her own tears and dried them with her hair because she had been forgiven much. Jesus said, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. Those who have been forgiven much, who have a deep sense of their own sin, Love with a great love and are joyfully willing to serve the one who has forgiven them, the one who has loved them, going where wherever they are called, doing whatever mission they are called to do.

When we know how much we've been forgiven, then we're willing to forgive others. When we know how much we've been freely given in Christ, then we are willing to freely give of ourselves to others when Jesus sent his disciples out on a on a preaching mission He instructed them, freely you have received, freely give. Freely you have received, now freely give yourselves. Of course, this deep conviction of sin and realization of how much we have been forgiven has to first arise from a knowledge of the law of God before the gospel of salvation from the wrath of God by grace through faith in Christ will mean much to us. The offer of salvation means little to those who don't think they need to be saved.

Jesus came to call sinners to repentance, not the righteous. He said the righteous have no need of a physician. You see, without the true knowledge of our sinfulness that arises from a preaching of the law of God, there is little gratitude for the saving work of Christ our Redeemer to bear the wrath of God for our sin. David's conviction of sin and realization of the great gift of salvation that had been given to him led to his willingness to teach others. He said, Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me by your generous spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will be converted to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth your praise." and that was where Isaiah was. He had seen his sin such that he cried out, woe is me, I am undone. And that from that conviction of sin and that knowledge of his cleansing, the cleansing of them by the coal from the altar.

He was willing to go wherever God sent without question, without even knowing what he was being called to do. Now Isaiah's call pertains to the call to preach the gospel. It's a call to ministers particularly, but the principles regarding Isaiah's response to God's call apply to all calls and to all people. Whatever our calling might be as a mother, as a father, as a husband, as a wife, whatever labors we work, whatever circumstances we are called to, We all have different callings. We're all called into different circumstances.

Not every family situation is the same. Not every house where we live is the same. But the principles of God's call apply. We've all been given a great gift. We've all been given gifts of the Spirit.

And we will give an account of how we use our gifts, how we carry out our call. Some work, the Bible says won't endure, it'll be burned up like dry wood. Other work will endure through the purifying fire like gold and silver. Well, there is a bit more to this call to Isaiah. He's called to preach to a people who will not listen.

He's called to preach until there's no one left to listen to this message. But notice the imperatives in this call. God says, go and tell this people. He doesn't say my people, this people. He's not claiming them as his people here.

And we'll see why. He says, keep on hearing or hear indeed. It's an intensive statement about hearing. Keep on hearing or hear indeed But do not understand keep on seeing or see indeed, but do not perceive. This This is not just a statement that they would not hear.

This is not a statement about what would happen in the future. It's not just a statement about what would happen in the future. We're not simply to understand from this that the people will refuse to listen and so will lose their spirituality and will not repent. Isaiah is being given an advance warning that his hearers will not repent. He will preach to a rebellious people who will harden themselves in their hard-heartedness.

But this is not simply God foreseeing the result of Isaiah's preaching and letting him know in advance. These are imperatives. It's a command. Do not understand. Do not perceive.

Hear, hear indeed, but do not understand. See indeed but do not perceive. And in verse 10 Isaiah is commanded to preach in such a manner that the people will not hear. Make the heart of this people dull and their eyes heavy and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and return and be healed. See The future here is not just foreseen by God.

It is ordained by God and commanded by God. It is clear that God has determined this result. The imperatives here bring us face to face with a very hard doctrine. It's difficult to avoid it in his mysterious wisdom. It is all wise.

And and good purpose. God has foreordained that this people would not respond to the blessed overtures of the gospel. In his sovereign good pleasure, he has passed them by, not ordaining them to eternal life. And for their sin he's ordained them to dishonor and to eternal judgment. Make the heart of this people dull and their ears heavy.

Shut their eyes, thus they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and return and be healed. These verses are actually some of the most quoted verses in the New Testament behind Psalm 110, where God reigns among his enemies. These verses are quoted in each of the four Gospels And in Acts pertaining to the hardness of the Jews to the gospel in the God in the synoptic gospels, it's the occasion of the parable of the sower. And the disciples come to him in Matthew 13, and they say, why do you speak in parables? Why are you saying things, these great truths, in parables that we don't understand and the people don't understand them.

Why don't you say these things plainly? And Jesus answers them and says to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has to him more will be given, and he will have in abundance, but whoever does not have even what he has will be taken away from him." Therefore, in Matthew 13, 13, Jesus says, therefore, I speak to them in parables. Because seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them, in these people in front of you, who aren't understanding and who aren't hearing, because I'm speaking to them in parables, it says, in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive.

For the hearts of this people have grown dull. And notice how he changed it slightly. What was commanded in Isaiah, Jesus says is now being fulfilled. Seeing, you will see and not perceive. For the hearts of this people have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts in turn, so that I should heal them.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see and your ears for they hear, for assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you would see and they did not see it and to hear what you would hear and did not hear it And this same account is quoted in Mark chapter 4 and in Luke chapter 8. All the gospels have this account. And it's also quoted, these verses are also quoted in John's gospel in a slightly different context, but nevertheless, they're quoted. In John 12, verse 37, we read that, but although he had done many signs before them they did not believe in him. They didn't believe these miracles that Jesus was doing in their midst.

Why? That the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled which he spoke, Lord who has believed their report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed therefore they could not believe because Isaiah said again notice they could not believe because Isaiah said again he has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts lest they should see with their eyes lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them. These things Isaiah said when he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue, for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." These same verses are also quoted by Paul in his final address to the Jews in Rome in Acts 28, when many of them did not believe. If you remember from our series in Acts just a little bit ago, when Paul had gotten to Rome, he had gathered the Jews together very quickly and explained to them why he was there and what the gospel that he was bringing.

And Luke writes there in verse 25, So when they did not agree among themselves about the gospel that Paul was preaching to them, they departed after Paul had said one word. The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah, the prophet to our fathers, saying, Go to this people and say, hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive. For the hearts of this people have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts in turn, so that I should heal them. Therefore, let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles and they will hear it." This brothers and sisters is the very sobering And hard doctrine that we call the doctrine of reprobation that God has passed over some and given his grace to others. Paul addresses these doctrines in Romans chapters 9, 10, and 11.

And he answers this question, how? How can this be and why? How can God be just in doing this? And the answer is that it's by grace. Grace is something that is not deserved, so if you don't get grace You haven't gotten anything that you deserve.

You haven't missed anything that you deserved. And so he says, even so then, at this present time, there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Election of grace. Election of grace is favor that is not deserved. And if by grace then it is no longer of works, it's not deserved, it's not owed.

So to withhold it is no injustice. If by grace then it is no longer works, otherwise grace is no longer grace. If it was deserved, if in some way these people deserved God's grace, then it wouldn't be grace, it would be works. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace, otherwise work is no longer work. What then?

Israel has not obtained what it seeks, but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded just as it is written. God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear to this very day. And then is a very hard question, Why? Why does God do this? What purpose is there in this?

Why doesn't he save everybody? Why isn't he gracious to everybody? And the answer is very simple. It's for God's glory. You see, if the whole world was the height of Mount Everest, then Mount Everest wouldn't be high, would it?

The height of Mount Everest is only revealed when you have the depths of Death Valley and sea level. And if the idea that God would do this for his own glory seems unfair to you, then you don't realize who God is. That God is the Holy Majestic God. You've never seen the holiness of God as Isaiah saw it. Paul deals with this question in Romans 9.

With the holiness of God. What shall we say to this question? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not. Certainly not.

For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. So then it is not of him who wills or him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show my power in You and that my name might be declared in all the earth. You see, this is the reason that God has created the world for His own glory. It's the reason that He has ordained all of redemption for that the riches of his glory might be displayed.

Therefore, he has mercy on whom he wills and whom he wills, he hardens. You will say to me then, why does he find fault? For who has resisted His will? But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Well, the thing form say to him who formed it, why have you made me like this?

He's the reason this can. Rub us the wrong way, The reason it seems unjust to us is because we don't understand who we are and who God is. We don't understand the holiness of God. That he has created all things for his own glory because he's worthy of that. He deserves all that.

It belongs to him. He's not taking anything that doesn't belong to him. We have often too high of an opinion of ourselves. And this doctrine shows us our true position. Creatures of God were clay.

You will say to me, why does he find fault? For who has resisted his will? But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over clay from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

What if God wanting to show his wrath and make his power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he prepared beforehand for glory even us whom he called not as a Jews only but also of the Gentiles but also of the Gentiles. God is the Holy God, and He's done all things. He's even made the wicked for his own glory. Prepare the wicked for the day of destruction for his own glory. He's worthy.

He's worthy. Now God's judgment doesn't fall on people who want to be saved. These people that we're speaking about, that Isaiah is speaking about, don't want to be saved. It falls on people who have hardened their own hearts. There is no injustice with God in this.

These people have hardened their own hearts. He has simply withheld the grace, what they don't deserve. They've hardened their own heart. It falls on people who freely choose the path they took. Zechariah 7, 11 makes this point, but they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders and stopped their ears so they could not hear.

Yes, they made their hearts like flint refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. Therefore it happened that just as He proclaimed, and they were not here, so they called out, and I went, this says the Lord of hosts. But I scattered them with a whirlwind among the nations which they have not known. See, this is a very important point.

We have to also remember. Both of these things are true at the same time. They're not contradictory. God sovereignly chooses. Without any not on the basis of anything in us, God sovereignly chooses to give His grace to some and to withhold it from others.

Grace is not deserved. There's no injustice in not giving what's not deserved. And we see this also at the time of the Exodus, during the time of the plagues that came under Moses, it says that God both hardened Pharaoh's heart, and in the same passages it says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart because both are true. The result of this passage should be a deep gratitude that God has been gracious to us, a willingness to serve him, a recognition that we deserve nothing. And anything that he has given to us is far more than we deserve.

And if we really believe that, then we will have an eternal gratitude for everything that he's given. What's the purpose then of preaching to people who won't listen? Well, it provides them every chance to repent because God has no pleasure, he says, in the death of the wicked. He has no pleasure in it. And the word has an effect.

It is a saver of life unto life and of death unto death. The word brings life to his people, but it also brings a hardening to those whom this grace is not given. But there's one other reason that Isaiah is called to preach to a people who won't listen. And it's because of the remnant. The remnant.

But yet a tenth will be in it and will return and be for consuming. Going to be like a little, this remnant, this small portion, this small fraction. The be like, when the stump is cut down, the shoot that comes out of that stump. That's why, that's Isaiah's purpose. The masses of people, they don't hear, right?

You cannot communicate deep messages to the great mass of people because they are largely dull and ignorant. It's sound bites. We say that today, but that's the way the masses have always been. And you go all the way back into the ancient writers, the masses have always been dull, slow to hear, not able to grasp nuances. But the remnant, these are the ones whom Isaiah is called to preach to.

And Isaiah is never told where to find them or who they are or how he's to reach them. But in the grace of God, this remnant will find him and they will find this message and they will hear because that is what God's promise is, that this remnant would hear Isaiah's message and be this holy seed out of which God would bring his kingdom. So may these doctrines, these hard doctrines that are baked into this language here. May they cause us to have a willingness to serve wherever God calls us, whatever he calls us to do, to pay whatever price he asks us to pay because of our gratitude of our love out of His grace that has saved us. Heavenly Father, so often we are prone to complain against your call upon our life, your providence in our life.

And we think that we are the only ones, that there's no one else like us, that there's no one else that understands the situation we are in. Father, in each of these times, may we learn to count these trials a joy. May we also remember that from which we have been saved. May we have a renewed sense of your glory and your holiness and of the depth of our sinfulness from which you have redeemed us and forgiven us, removing from us the handwriting, the requirements, casting our sins behind your back, delivering our souls from the pit of corruption. Lord, enable us to say with Isaiah that it's good for us that we have known this bitterness.

We ask Lord in gratitude for your great salvation, in gratitude for all of the riches that you have made ours in Christ. Gratitude for the strength that you provide in Christ to fulfill and to do all that you call us to do or help us to possess the possessions that we have title to through Jesus Christ we ask Amen.