Sent To Fail

⁹ And He said, “Go, and tell this people:‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’¹⁰ “Make the heart of this people dull,
And their 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.” Isaiah 6:9-10

I want to continue exploring the theme from last week. We saw how Paul was alone at the end of his ministry. There was only John at the foot of the cross as Jesus hung on the tree. The world defines success by numbers, but we as disciples of Christ are just to follow our mission. Isaiah was a prophet whose ministry was doomed before it started. God told him, he is going to harden the heart of the people, and they are not going to repent and turn. They will ignore you and continue in their sinful lifestyle. Verse 9-10 are so important; they are mentioned six times in new testament ( Matt 13:13-15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:25-28; Romans 11:8). God does not purposely make sinners blind, deaf and ignorant; but more and more people reject God’s truth, the less able they are to receive the God’s truth. God wanted Isaiah to speak His word and be his witness so that people might see how they were responding or rejecting Him. Our calling is simply to be obedient to the calling not to be successful in ministry. We are to proclaim the word no matter how people respond, for the test of ministry is not outward success but faithfulness to the Lord. Those who are elected will respond. Others will reject. Our message just shows people where they are at. God told Isaiah that his ministry would end in seeming failure, with the land ruined and people taken off to exile. But a remnant would survive. Isaiah needed long-range perspective on his ministry. Go and proclaim the name of Jesus is still God’s command( Mark 5:19) He is waiting for your reply. Will you reply as Isaiah and say, “Here am I send me”? Amen