Resource Detail

WHO WILL GO FOR US?

Isaiah 6:1-8

Key Verse: 6:8

1. What were Isaiah’s times like (1a; 2Ch 26:5,16; Isa 1:3-4; 2:8)?
2. Where was Isaiah and what did he witness (1b-3)? How is the Lord described? What do the seraphim proclaim about the Lord? How does this vision contrast the national situation?
3. What happened in the temple (4)? What does Isaiah’s response reveal about the Lord, himself and his society (5)? How did God solve his guilt and sin problem (6-7)? What does this teach about the Lord (Ps 103:8-12)?
4. What does the Lord’s cry show about his desire? How did Isaiah respond and how might this be related to his encounter with God (8)?
5. What do you learn about the Lord and his call to Isaiah?

Special Lecture May 23, 2026

HERE AM I. SEND ME!

Isaiah 6:1-8

Key Verse 6:8

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

M. Ana and I safely returned last Thursday night after attending the World Mission Congress and the Missionary and Shepherd Conference in Korea. Fifteen members from New York UBF attended the conference. We were happy to meet Dr. Joseph Kim and Danhee Seo. Thank you so much for your prayers for us.

The title of the World Mission Congress was, “Who Will Go for Us?” based on Isaiah 6:1–8. Through his message, UBF General Director P. Ron Ward clearly shared God’s heart as he calls his servants to preach the gospel to the world. During the congress, four speakers from Kazakhstan, Japan, Mexico, and the United States shared very gracious life testimonies. Among them, Joseph Han Jr. from New York UBF delivered a very moving testimony in excellent Korean. Many leaders later told me, “Joseph Han Jr. hit a home run.” As I listened to his testimony, I thought deeply about the present and future of UBF ministry. Joseph Han Jr. was the only second-generation missionary among the four speakers. His testimony showed that God is raising up the second generation and continuing his work through them. In fact, many second-generation members participated throughout the conference in praise & worship, orchestra, special songs, and drama performances. Across Europe, Russia, Asia, Latin America, and North America, God is raising second-generation leaders as servants of his world mission work. Through this conference, we were reminded once again that we are called to preach the gospel to college students and raise them as the disciples of Jesus. At the same time, we are also called to raise many second generation leaders for God’s salvation work. I pray that New York UBF may stand at the center of this work of God.

Today, through Isaiah 6:1–8, I would like to share God’s heart for this world and the vision God has for each of us and for New York UBF. Please look at verse 1. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.” The background of this passage was the year King Uzziah of Judah died. Uzziah had ruled for about fifty-two years and brought great prosperity to the nation. The people of Judah became economically prosperous and militarily strong. In the early years of his reign, Uzziah humbly served God. But later, his heart became proud. He even tried to burn incense in the temple, something only the priests were allowed to do. Because of his pride and disobedience, God disciplined him with leprosy. In many ways, Uzziah reflected the spiritual condition of Judah. Outwardly the nation looked strong and prosperous, but inwardly it had become proud, corrupt, and spiritually weak. At the same time, the Assyrian Empire was rapidly becoming powerful. The people of Judah were filled with fear that Assyria might invade and destroy them. Yet instead of depending on God, they trusted in Egypt and other nations for protection. Although they continued outward religious worship, their relationship with God was broken. Justice had collapsed in society. The poor were oppressed, and the people had become morally corrupt. Then even King Uzziah died. The people became deeply anxious and fearful. They wondered, “What will happen to our nation now?” “Who will protect us?”

Isaiah must also have been troubled as he looked at his corrupt and unjust nation. He probably complained to God and poured out his frustration in prayer. So he went into the temple to seek God. Then something amazing happened. Isaiah saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne. Even though Judah’s earthly king had died and the nation was shaking with fear, God was still on his throne. God was still reigning over history. Isaiah also saw that the train of God’s robe filled the temple. This showed that the glory and majesty of God completely filled the temple. Above the Lord were seraphim, heavenly angels who served and worshiped God. Each of them had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. Even these glorious angels humbled themselves before the holiness of God. They were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices, the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke. This scene revealed God’s holy presence, glory, and majesty.

Brothers and sisters, do you also want to see the glory of God? Do you want to experience the presence of God in your life? When we truly encounter God’s holiness, we begin to tremble before him because all our sins are exposed in his presence. That is exactly what happened to Isaiah. When he saw the glory of God, he cried out, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Until that moment, Isaiah had mainly been looking at the sins of his nation. But after seeing God’s holiness, he began to see his own sin first. He confessed that he was “a man of unclean lips.” Perhaps he realized how often he had complained, spoken unbelief, or sinned with his words before God. In the presence of the holy God, he felt completely unworthy and filled with fear. Yet this was not the end of the story.

At that moment, one of the seraphim flew to Isaiah with a live coal in his hand. He touched Isaiah’s mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” The burning coal symbolized God’s holy fire that cleansed Isaiah’s sin. God forgave the very sins Isaiah had committed with his lips. The mouth that had spoken complaints and unclean words was purified by God’s grace. This is the amazing grace of God. Before God calls us to serve him, he first forgives our sins and restores our relationship with him. He cleanses, restores, and then sends sinners who have received his grace.

After Isaiah experienced God’s forgiveness, he heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” These words reveal the heart of God. Even though the people of Judah had become sinful and rebellious, God did not give up on them. He still loved them. He still wanted to save them. So God was searching for someone who would go and deliver the message of salvation. Then what was Isaiah’s response? “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah did not hesitate. He did not first ask about the difficulty of the mission or think about his own ability. Why could he respond like this? It was because Isaiah had come to understand the heart of God. He had personally experienced God’s grace and forgiveness. Grace changed his heart. Before meeting God, Isaiah was overwhelmed by fear and frustration. But after experiencing God’s mercy, he became willing to offer himself to God. This is often how God works. God does not wait for perfect people. He calls forgiven people. When we deeply experience God’s grace, we begin to care about what God cares about. We begin to see people through God’s eyes. We realize that people need the gospel of salvation. Then we also become willing to say, “Lord, here am I. Send me.”

I believe many of us here responded to this voice of God and came to the mission field because of God’s heart for salvation. Personally, I met Jesus as my Savior during my first year in college. Before that, I was a very arrogant atheist. I only wanted to succeed in the world. But during a summer Bible conference, I personally encountered Jesus. When I saw Jesus crucified on the cross for my sins, my pride was broken. I accepted Jesus as my Savior, and from that time my life began to change. My life direction completely changed. I wanted to live for Jesus and care for God’s flock as a shepherd. There were many struggles and fears. But the love of Jesus compelled me. Because I had received the grace of God, I also wanted to offer my life to God. This is the power of God’s grace.

When I was a junior in college, a strong vision for Russian mission was spreading throughout UBF. As I listened to mission reports, God planted a dream for world mission in my heart. Early in the morning, after having daily bread, I would go to Korea University and pray before the statue of a tiger standing on the globe. I prayed that God would use my life for world mission.

After graduating from college, I completed military service. Then I returned to the Anam UBF and received full-time intern shepherd training. At that time, UBF was looking for a man who could go to Venezuela. One day, my shepherd asked whether I could go to Venezuela as a missionary. Honestly, I was surprised. I knew almost nothing about Venezuela. Still, I answered, “I will pray about it.” After leaving the office, I walked alone and prayed. Although I was surprised, my heart also began to beat with excitement because I felt that God wanted to use my life for world mission. As I prayed, God gave me Genesis 12:2: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” Suddenly, my heart became wide and filled with God’s vision. At that moment, I responded to God just as Isaiah did: “Here am I. Send me.” A few days later, I went back to my shepherd and told him that I would go as a missionary. But honestly, I could not even remember which country he had mentioned. I did not even know where the country was located. So I asked him, “Excuse me, which country did you say?”

After I decided to go as a missionary, my shepherd said to me, “There is a single female missionary in Venezuela. It would be good if you marry her for the mission work there.” Honestly, his suggestion sounded reasonable to me. I was single, and she was also single. We would serve in the same mission field. So I thought this was God’s will. The surprising thing was that I had never met her before. Still, by faith, I answered, “Yes, I will do that.” Actually, I had already decided in my heart that I would marry for the sake of God’s mission. The woman I eventually met was Missionary Ana Seo, who is now my wife. After I decided to go to Venezuela and marry by faith, Ana’s older sister showed me her picture. The moment I saw the picture, I gave thanks to God saying, “God is gracious to me!”

Although I decided to go as a missionary, there were still many obstacles to overcome. One of the biggest burdens was leaving my beloved mother and going far away to Venezuela. My mother loved me deeply, and my family expected me to become successful in the world. Even before this, my mother had already told me, “I can accept you becoming a shepherd, but I will never allow you to go abroad as a missionary.” Honestly, I did not know what to do. So I simply prayed. At that time, I was living at my older brother’s house. One day, while talking with him, I shared that I had decided to go to Venezuela as a missionary. Immediately, he became upset and said, “If Mom hears this, she may faint. I cannot help you. You should tell her yourself.” Then, during prayer, God gave me Exodus 14:14: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” This word gave me peace and helped me trust only in God. A few days later, my older sister suddenly called me and asked, “I heard you are going abroad as a missionary?” I asked her, “How did you know?” She answered, “Your brother already told everyone. Mom knows. You should call her.” So I called my mother, and she asked me to come to my hometown and talk with her in person. When I met her, she asked me directly, “Are you really going abroad as a missionary?” I answered, “Yes.” Then something unexpected happened. My mother handed me her bankbook and said, “I was saving this money in case you wanted to go to graduate school. But now you are getting married and going abroad as a missionary, so use this money for your marriage and mission.” At that moment, I realized that God had already touched my mother’s heart. She had accepted my decision. She even approved my marriage without meeting my future wife. Honestly, I had almost nothing financially. But God provided the marriage funds and mission support I needed through my mother. Then I showed my mother a picture of M. Ana. When she saw the picture, she smiled and said she was very happy because my future wife was beautiful.

During seventeen years of missionary life, God graciously blessed the ministry in Venezuela. Many local young people grew spiritually and were raised as leaders for God’s work. Looking back, I am truly thankful for God’s faithfulness and grace during those years. Later, after I was kidnapped in 2011, I accepted that it was God’s direction for my family to leave Venezuela. Then in 2013, we moved to Los Angeles as our new mission field. While living there, I spent seven years studying theology and thinking about mission in America. After that, I served God’s work in Chicago for three and a half years as a pastor. Then, two years ago, my family came to New York. Now it has been almost thirteen years since we came to the United States. I have continued to study and pray about America and world mission. One thing I have realized is that the paradigm of world mission is already changing.

A world-renowned evangelical missiologist from Peru, Samuel Escobar, explains this change very well in his book, The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone. In the past, mission was often understood as the gospel going from the West to the rest of the world. But now God is raising servants from everywhere and sending them everywhere. Modern mission is becoming polycentric. Every church is called to participate in God’s salvation work. Especially since globalization has rapidly increased, Diaspora Mission has become increasingly important. The word “diaspora” means “scattering” or “dispersion.” Today, Diaspora Mission refers both to mission to scattered people and mission through scattered people. This includes over three hundred millions of immigrants who are now living all around the world. Cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago have become multicultural and multiethnic global cities. People from many nations, languages, and cultures are living together in these cities. Therefore, preaching the gospel to the immigrants, international students, and diaspora communities is also participating in world mission.

I believe UBF is one of the ministries God is using for this mission paradigm of “from everywhere to everyone.” UBF began in South Korea and has sent more than 2,500 missionaries to about ninety countries around the world. Most are self-supporting missionaries who settle in their mission fields while serving God’s work. Through UBF ministry, God has continued to carry out his world mission work, especially among college students. God has used UBF to preach the gospel and raise disciples all over the world.

After coming to New York, I experienced that this city is a strategic mission field. Many international students come to New York from around the world, and many of them will become future leaders of their countries. Therefore, when we preach the gospel to college students in New York and share the gospel with people from many nations and cultures, we are participating in God’s world mission work in a very meaningful way. God has brought the nations here, and through disciple-making ministry at colleges, God is giving us precious opportunities to participate in his salvation work for the world. I pray that New York UBF could be a center where many young people meet Jesus as their Savior, grow as disciples of Jesus, and fulfill God’s will throughout their lives. I pray that New York UBF could be a center where many young people come and go to serve God’s work of salvation in the world. I want to encourage all our NY UBF members to participate in this vision and mission from our God.

Most importantly, we must feel God’s heart for even one lost soul. God deeply desires to save people. He does not give up on them. Even now, God is still asking, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Then what should be our response? Let us all confess together: “Here am I. Send me!” Amen.