In my opinion, today’s speaker was a bit easier to understand, David Barker.

Motivation for Mission: A Vision of the Thrice-Fold Holy One

Isaiah 6

• monks…what drove them to their extremeness?
  • what motivates us to live for Him, for fulfilling of the Great Commission etc?
    • fear? (2 Cor 5:11)
      • terror in the sense of WORSHIP
    • guilt? “Why didn’t you tell me about Salvation?”
      • Acts 20; free from blood of all men…when you declare the entire truth found in Holy Scriptures
    • expectations of others?
    • pride? visibility? recognition?
    • people who need God?
    • our motivations aren’t always good; very foundation must be like Isaiah
• what motivated Isaiah to answer “Here am I, send me!”??
  1. Visio Dei (Isa 6:1-4)
     • “vision of God”
       • to encourage and motivate Isaiah since King Uzziah just died…no righteous heirs
     • seraphim; 4 wings used for adjunct worship, only 2 used for active “ministry” (flying)
       • are we too focused with the busyness of ministry?
     • “Here am I, send me” should be sold foundation our mission/motivation…or else factors of world wil lbreakus down
     • visio dei must be daily refreshed
     • John 12:39-41; saw JESUS’ glory…therefore aforementioned Seraphim are flying around Jesus
  2. Confessio Dei (Isa 6:5)
     • “confession before God”
       • Isa 5:8-23 has 6 times “woe” (Hebrew:  hoi) to people of Israel…7th woe is self;
         • remind us of own need for repentance before the Lord
     • visio led to confessio
     • we need to evaluate self and declare “I am a sinful person”
       • cannot go forth without bringing our sinfulness to light first
  3. Gracio Dei (Isa 6:6-7)
     • “grace of God”
     • ground at bottom of the cross is LEVEL; it is same for all of us…infinite grace
     • we must be empowered through this infinite grace!
     • the hot coal must touch our lips…
  4. Missio Dei (Isa 6:8)
     • “mission of God”
       • critical question from God is: “Who will I send?”
     • Isaiah accepts the mission before requirements/goals are even discussed!
       • out of confession of own sinfulness, out of infinite grace, lose everything of success in this world view to gain everything in God’s view
• prayer of Arthur Burns (sp?) in Washington…

  Arthur F. Burns (1904-1987), the chairman of the United States Federal Reserve System and ambassador to West Germany, was a man of considerable gravity, Medium in height, distinguished, with wavy silver hair and his signature pipe, he was economic counselor to numerous presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan. When he spoke, his opinion carried weight and Washington listened. Arthur Burns was also Jewish, so when he began attending an informal White House group for prayer and fellowship in the 1970’s he was accorded special respect. No one knew quite how to involve him in the group and, week after week when different people took turns to end the meeting in prayer, Burns was passed by out of a mixture of respect and reticence. One week, however, the group was led by a newcomer who did not know the unusual status Burns occupied. As the meeting ended, the newcomer turned to Arthur Burns and asked him to close the time with a prayer. Some of the old-timers glanced at each other in surprise and wondered what would happen. But without missing a beat, Burns reached out, held hands with the others in the circle, and prayed this prayer: “Lord, I pray that you would bring Jews to know Jesus Christ. I pray that you would bring Muslims to know Jesus Christ. Finally, Lord, I pray that you would bring Christians to know Jesus Christ. Amen” (via http://www.changethewind.org/2008/09/necessary-prayer.html)