There are two responses given in the Scripture (one in Isaiah and one in Acts) that seem to ring volumes. I believe these two responses are possibly the most important words a Christian can have in his or her vocabulary, three little words that if we learned to answer to God, I believe would greatly impact this world. What are they? "Here I am." Of course, you may have guessed that already. But this simple little phrase, used by both Ananias and Isaiah, I believe rings loudly in the halls of heaven rising toward a Great and Mighty God.
Here I am I believe is first a cry of yieldedness. It communicates that no longer are my desires important. I am completely yielded to whatever it is that one may desire of me. In the case of Ananias, he had his concerns, legit concerns about his well-being and the task that God called him to, but he yielded his will to that of the Father none-the-less. In Isaiah's case, the message would not be an easy one, for he was to cry out against his own nation, his own people, but still his yieldedness took precedent, and he considered the Father's will over his own.
As Christians, we must wrestle with how yielded we are. Do we approach God with a simple reply, "Here I am?" Or, do we give God our list of bargain agreements? I will do this, but don't send me there. I will work with so and so, just as long as You don't ask me to give this up. Lord, I will serve the mega church, just don't ask me to be faithful in the small things. Lord, I will go over seas and share Your glory, just don't ask me to do it in my own backyard. Or, I will share with my neighbor, but ask me to move outside of my comfort zone and travel to a country that is not my own. I believe God can and will use the person that simply replies to Him "Here I am." However, I am not so convinced of the usefulness of a person that approaches God with a list of bargains. It seems that we need a few more people simply yielded.
The second thing that strikes me about the phrase "Here I am" is that it is a cry of dependence. It seems as if Ananias and Isaiah, although having concerns, simply trusted and depended on God. What words would Isaiah have spoken had God not given them to him? And what message could Ananias have given the murderer Saul if God had not paved the way and directed him in what to say? Their yieldedness indicates an extreme trust and dependence upon God that no matter the quest before them, God will be at work in the midst of it.
As we met in our small group after service last night, one of the seasoned saints in our group made a telling statement. We turn to ourselves before God to answer most of the questions in life, and God is typically the last resort...the last place we look, because we want to be independent. We learn this from an early age. Right away we are told be independent, be strong, do it yourself. These mantra's are the propaganda of the world, and completely slap the face of the One that has promised to be our Help, our Strength, our Provider. A great friend of mine loves and proclaims Matthew 6:33, and what does it say? Seek first by yourself and gain all the things you need? No, seek first God's kingdom and righteousness and HE will add the needs, He will supply them. Now this verse applies to the physical needs of our lives. But the principle goes deeper than that. Who of us have been saved by His own means? Who of us can minister out of our own strength? God is our dependence, and without Him, nothing will be accomplished. The cry "Here I am" reveals this in the heart of the believer. We need to be a little bit more dependent in our lives.
Last thing I will mention about "Here I am." It is a cry of lordship. This is at the very heart of salvation itself. What does Paul teach in Romans? That if we confess Jesus as "savior?" No, that's not it. If we confess Jesus as "propitiation?" No, not quite. That if we confess Jesus as "Lord!" Now there's the ticket. Not that Jesus is not Savior, or that Jesus is not the propitiation for our sins. On the contrary, He resoundingly is. But the heart of the cry of salvation is Jesus is Lord. And, we see this in Isaiah and Ananias' lives. They were obedient to will of the Father, and they considered their lives no longer their own. Truly, God sat on the thrones of their hearts.
This issue of lordship is closely related to our yeildedness. Lordship is something that must be lived out by the Christian community, and something that must be communicated in our message to the world. Easy believe-ism infiltrates our lives and message, and I fear we have greatly strayed from the confession Jesus is Lord. This is not in any way meant to take away salvation through grace, being a gift of God, but is an emphasis on the clear truth of Scripture. "Here I am" is a clarion cry of the person that lives under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
D.L. Moody is credited with the statement "The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to Him."
The cry "Here I am" begins the fulfillment of that phrase.
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