Isaiah’s Call: A Call for Mission

160 Years of Adventism: Chosen For Mission

by Felixian T. Felicitas
Southern Asia-Pacific Division

The Seventh-day Adventist Church was not born from a vacuum. It is a Church with a prophetic mandate.
A church called with a special purpose in the last days of earth’s history -to preach the everlasting gospel
in the context of Revelation 14:6-14. It is the remnant church presented in the book of Revelation. It is
not just another denomination. It is a church, a people with a unique identity and a deep sense of mission.

From the great disappointment experience of the Millerites on October 22, 1844, to the early doctrinal de-
velopments of the church and to the birthing pangs of the “Sabbatarian Adventists,” the year 1848-1863
was the era of the early organizational development of the church. On October 1, 1860, a name was cho -
sen to identify themselves. Commenting on the voted name, Ellen G. White writes: “The name Seventh-
day Adventist carries the true features of our faith in front, and will convict the inquiring mind.” (1T 224).
In the year 1862, clusters of Seventh-day Adventist churches were organized into seven conferences:
Southern Iowa, Northern Iowa, Vermont, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and New York. The following
year, May 20-23 of 1863, representatives of these conferences met, and the “General Conference” of the
Seventh-day Adventist was organized, with 3500 members and about 30 ministers.

Today, 160 years have passed, and the Adventist Church is among the fastest-growing denomination,
with 22,234,406 members and 21,376 ministers (statistics as of December 2022). The Adventist work is
now established in 212 of the 235 countries recognized by the United Nations. Talk about identity and
mission.

It is because of this sense of mission that Abraham La Rue, a mariner turned colporteur, pioneered the
Adventist work in Asia, arriving in Hong Kong from the United States on May 3, 1888. He was a self-
supporting missionary (also known as a “tent-making” missionary, liken to that of the apostle Paul) who
turned the harbors of Hong Kong into his mission field. La Rue has traveled to Japan, mainland China,
Singapore-Malaysia, and Ski Lanka to bring the printed pages of the Advent Message. It was not until
1901 that Asia came onto the map of the Adventist Mission, and in 1902, Jacob Nelson Anderson arrived
in China on February 2. Anderson is known as the first missionary officially sent by Seventh-day Adven -
tist Church to Asia. And the rest is history.

God calls people in desperate times. The Bible is replete with people called to do God’s errands. The call
of Isaiah is not simply a call to the prophetic office but to the mission.

Observe that Isaiah was called in one of the difficult times in the history of God’s people in the Old Tes -
tament. The book of Isaiah is also known as the “visions of Isaiah.” The book is primarily concerned with
the plight of God’s people, highlighting Judah and Jerusalem. The ministry of the prophet Isaiah was ex-
tensive. His ministry spans in the reign of four monarchs: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of
Judah (Isaiah 1:1).

The historical background is complex. Assyria, at that time, was at the height of its power under Tiglath-
Pileser III. The Assyrians were known to be ruthless and inhumane in their attitude toward those whom
they had conquered. Shalmaneser V, the successor of Tiglath-Pileser III, conquered the northern king-
dom of Israel. It was during his reign that he was adamant about the alliance that God’s people were
forging with Egypt to overthrow the Assyrians. Because of this, he ordered that Samaria be besieged.
This resulted in social unrest and a spiritual plateau of God’s people. There were refugees from the north
seeking refuge with Judah, but Judah was callous to the predicament of their brothers and sisters. They
were unaffected by the conditions and concerns of the northern kingdom of Israel. Not to mention that the
Assyrians were the instrument of God’s judgment toward His people.

It was in these morbid circumstances that Isaiah received his call. Let us consider some spiritual gleanings
from Isaiah chapter 6, the call and commissioning of Isaiah.

Isaiah was in the temple (v. 1). This reveals an attitude that is worthy to be emulated. When complex
problems arise, we, too, like Isaiah, must seek the guidance of the Lord. He was in the temple, praying!
“Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near.” (55:6, NASB) It is not far
fetched that Isaiah received his vision during the Day of Atonement. A day wherein the Lord reveals that
He is the God of Salvation. This is a motif that is important in the entire book of Isaiah. Isaiah made this
clear, “God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the L ORD God is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.” (12:2)

Notice the first of our three gleanings.

A Vision of God (6:1-4).

“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of
His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his
face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of
the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then
I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of un-
clean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the L ORD of hosts.” (Vv. 6-4)

It is when we recognize who God is that there will be a paradigm shift in our way of thinking. A world -
view overhaul. It is not man (humanity)who is in control but God, “who is sitting on his throne.” God’s
holiness is integral to the recognition of who God is. Our God is holy, and we too are to be holy, to live a
life that is holy, to worship on Sabbath—God’s holy day, to be a beacon of His holiness. Recognizing as
well that God is His Holy temple -meditating for us, and He is to come. But holiness is not a magic cloak
that we put on. We, like Isaiah, must recognize that we are filthy sinners, no different from the Assyrians,
uncaring and uninvolved. Unholy with “unclean lips.” Remember, ver 5-6, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen
the King, the LORD of hosts.”

Yet, God called Isaiah a man of “unclean lips.” A sinner like you and me. We, too, must have a vision of
who God is. Isaiah was chosen not because he is perfect but because he has recognized that he is imper -
fect in the presence of a perfect and holy God. Talk about potentials. “There is no limit to the usefulness
of the one who, putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives
a life wholly consecrated to God.” (Testimonies for the Church, 9:19) Talk about what God can do with
our lives. Let us consider the next gleaning.
A Touch from God (6:6-7)

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar
with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity
is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.” (vv. 6-7)

It is only when we recognize our own inadequacy and sinfulness that we can be of use to God’s ministry
and mission. God is not in need of those untouched by His holiness. These are those who are self-right -
eous, self-sufficient, and self-centered. It is only when God has touched us that our self-righteousness,
self-sufficiency, and self-centeredness will be turned into an experience of having God’s righteousness,
dependency on God, and a life that is Christ-centered. We are only ready for a mission if we have been
“touched by God” -healed from our sickness called sin (cf. Jer 1:9; Luke 6:19; 8:46; Matt 17:7). “He
touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away,
and your sin is forgiven.” Ellen White has an insightful comment, it reads “Standing, as it were, in the full
light of the divine presence within the inner sanctuary, he realized that if left to his own imperfection and
inefficiency, he would be utterly unable to accomplish the mission to which he had been called.”
(Prophets and Kings, 309.) We need to come to the presence of God and be touched by His mighty heal-
ing hands, and be ready for mission. Talk about the experience of forgiveness and salvation. Observe the
last of our gleanings:

A Mission from God (6:8)

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said,
“Here am I. Send me!” (V. 8)

God’s Word is emancipating. God’s Word is enabling. God’s Word is also missiological. God is a God of
mission (Missio Dei). God's mission is integral to who He is and to what He does -the work of salvation.
In the same way, Isaiah received repentance from God, He has a message of repentance as well (vv 9-13).
This call for repentance is no trivial thing. It was to address the core of the very being of man. Notice that
verses 9-10 present a projection of the magnitude of the sin problem —“listening,” “looking,” and “feel-
ing/hearts.” This does not deter Isaiah from following God, who has commanded Him to “Go, and tell
this people (v. 9).”

Isaiah remained unmoved by his mission mandate. “The prophet's duty was plain; he was to lift his voice
in protest against the prevailing evils.” (Prophet and Kings, 309.) We are to bring the same message of
hope to a world in chaos. Amidst the turmoil, we are to bring tranquility and rest in a restless world. This
is the same missiological mandate given to us. To preach the everlasting gospel in the context of Revela -
tion 14 in these last days. Talk about our missiological mandate.

An appeal.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has grown in the past 160 years for this, and we praise the Lord. But
our work is not yet ended. The Mission continues. Each member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is
to be like the prophet Isaiah “called for a mission.” You and I stand on the threshold of Earth’s history.
God is calling, “Whom shall I send?” May we respond with resolve -“Here I am, send me!” This is Mis-
sion Refocus.