Something to Testify About: Isaiah 6: 8-13; I John 5:9-13
In the legal world we have a phrase called voir dire. If you’re using the Old French, it would be “vwar DEAR.” If you live in the South, it’s “VOR-dyer.” But regardless of the accent the wording gets the meaning of the phrase is what’s important. Voir Dire is the time when attorneys question jurors about whether or not they are a good fit to sit on a particular case. It means, literally, “to speak the truth.” And so, to this phrase, there are two parts: the truth, and speaking. Both of those are present in our scriptures today which call us to our own form of Voir Dire—a call to speak the truth.
The scripture in Isaiah for today is a very harsh word. Most of the time we read up to the very powerful and climactic part where the Lord’s voice asks, “Whom shall I send?” And Isaiah, in response to God’s call to be a messenger to the people, responds with power and strength, “Here am I, Lord, send me!” It’s grand and powerful to finish with this call. Pastors love to emphasize it especially when we want to guilt trip the congregation into an evangelism project. But then God yanks the rug out from under us and Isaiah.
God tells Isaiah to say to the people, “Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely but learn nothing. Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes.” Isaiah’s call is to preach so that they will not understand, preach so that they will never listen, preach so that they will not turn back to God. Isaiah is not being sent as the prophet to save the people. He’s being sent to pronounce and execute God’s judgment. I often wonder how long it took them to realize something was badly wrong, but it’s not Isaiah’s prophetic capabilities that are the problem for them. Isaiah was called to speak the truth, but in this case, the truth was a harsh reality.
In the New Testament we hear the message of hope given to us to speak. When we say our own, “Here I am, Lord, send me,” it’s a very different message from Isaiah. Our prophetic word is the vast, unmatchable, and transforming love of God. It’s a message to the people of a love and grace so powerful that it turns even the hardest heart. Isaiah was called to harden the people’s hearts so that judgement would fall upon them for their wickedness. We are called to the exact opposite—to speak the truth of a love that saves and reconciles those who are broken and empty to a God who offers wholeness and redemption. That is a truth we can all rejoice in.
So, what does I John say that our truth really is? It’s spelled out in verses 12 and 13: “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s son does not have life. I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.” The truth we have is that we have God’s spirit to give us life now and God’s promise of eternal life later. This is a powerful truth and message for us, and it’s a truth we must listen to.
In Isaiah’s day, the King was named Ahaz. God sent a word of truth and power to Ahaz that when Assyria rose against him and the neighbors of the kingdom started trouble, that God would give the victory over all of them and keep Ahaz and the people safe. Ahaz refused to listen to this truth that God would be with them, would give them victory, and would be their hope and stay. He chose truces with Assyria and other empires and kingdoms instead in a frantic attempt to ward off an attack. The truce with Assyria brought peace, but at the cost of full control by Assyria including religious control. Ahaz built altars to false gods and turned his heart to political answers instead of God’s truth.
Truth is found in believing God’s promises and how this is done is through our trust. Isaiah was given a message of doom and tragedy. He had to trust God enough to go and preach it to the Israelites, confounding them and turning them away to their own destruction. We are entrusted with a message of life and hope, and we must believe God that the promises of I John 5 are true.
One of the things I was talking with another pastor about the other day is that we’ve lost this idea of speaking or testifying about our faith. Churches have, too often, become very insulated places. All of our friends go to church. Everyone we know is Christian, has a church home, goes regularly. Part of speaking the truth, of testifying, of “evangelism” as it was called in the olden days is coming out of the bubble we live in to talk about love and grace, hope and welcome with those who are not like us.
Centuries ago, this idea looked like conquering non-Christian peoples and converting them at the edge of the sword. If the choice is between being stabbed to death and conversion, I’m sure you’ll have good new member numbers. Even a few years ago, this idea held sway in watered down versions. People who disagreed or thought critically were shunned because it wasn’t expected you would read and analyze. You were meant to parrot back the church line, not read and engage and think about God’s word. I remember once in youth group that we were organizing for an “evangelism mission.” The question came up what we should do if people didn’t want to listen. Our youth leader, who could be abrupt at times, said we should tell them that they’d end up in hell frying like sausages. I didn’t go to the event after that. And I stopped going to youth group. I heard the project was a bust.
The message we are given is a message of hope and life. Like Paul we are to tell others (and let them see it in our lives) of this love that transforms hearts and minds. Christ brought us a message of compassion not compulsion, a message of hope over hell, a message of welcome over punishment and exclusion, and a message of love. The prophets of old were sent to warn the people of God’s coming wrath. We are sent to tell of the Good News that death, wrath, and all manner of bad things are swallowed up in Christ’s victory.
When Isaiah heard the word of God asking whom God would send to the people, Isaiah was quick to say, “Here I am, Lord, send me.” But it was to be a bitter prophesy to the people. As we respond the same asking God to send us to the people, we are reminded that it is a word of hope we take with us—that Christ died and rose again so that we might have life. Each time a lawyer enters the courtroom, he or she has an opportunity to voir dire (vwar-DEAR) or voir dire (VOR-dyer)—depending on where you are—a jury. Those words call to us as well—to speak the truth. God’s truth is plain: Christ came to give life here and eternal life beyond here. God stands ready, asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to the people? Who will go for us?” What will your answer be?
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/793242774659487