Pastor Bryan Grant | Here I Am, Send Me | September 28th, 2025

And so today I'm really excited to be able to share with you about this.

It's uh when I was preparing this, I'm like, are you sure Isaiah 6?

Because I'm like, this it's kind of a missions sermon, but it's kind of not.

I'll explain it so you get the why not and the why.

But I was expl I was going through this, and I it was an amazing thing that God has done in Isaiah that I really think is a real pattern for us.

I just want to pray.

I don't want us to get right into this.

So, Lord, you're so good.

You're so good, and you we see say thank you for all the work of all the people over the last 43 years that have been a part of KCC, that have helped build the missions and build our footprint around the world and have made your name great wherever they've been.

Lord, we're blessed.

And so today, as we hear your word, Lord, that our hearts are open, our minds are open, and we're ready to receive what you have for us.

In Jesus' name, everyone said.

Amen.

I'm just gonna read Isaiah 6, uh, 1 to 4.

It says this 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.

Above him were Seraphim, each with six wings, with two wings they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

And they were calling to one another, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, the Lord, the whole earth is filled with his glory.

And at the sound of their voices the doorposts and the thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.

I just want to stop there because I I I want to just lead into this.

Uh at this time, Isaiah 6 starts with a crisis.

It starts with King Uzziah, who had just died tragically.

He was a man who stabilized Judah, spent 50 years, and he was dead, and he brought peace and prosperity to that area.

And so the throne was empty.

And in those days, or when there's a king that's missing, the people, that especially a good king, people really were like they were a little thrown off by what was going on.

So at this moment where there's this complete national instability, Isaiah stepped up to the plate, and he was a prophet that actually had been a prophet in this land for 50 to 60 years, and he had been through, I think, up to four kings he had been with.

But he sees something in his time that actually shifts his entire life.

Yes, the throne was missing, a king, and yes, that would was bad for the nation, and yes, those are all things that he was, he was would have been concerned about himself, but instead of seeing an empty throne on earth, he saw God on his throne.

And so here we go.

This is what it says.

It says, I saw the Lord high and exalted.

He was seated on that throne, and the train of this robe filled the temple.

I love this because when you have a moment like this, it's not usually just a casual worship moment.

It's not that casual worship moment where you're driving in your car and you're just like, Yes, you gotta put up your hand or pull over because you're weeping.

How many of you have done that?

There's a few of you.

Cool.

But it wasn't just a casual worship moment, church.

This was him being deep in there.

He was deep in where he was deep thinking about what God wanted next.

He wanted to know what was happening.

And so this is what holiness means that we're set apart.

And when he was singing those, singing those words, holy, holy, holy, that means we're set apart as believers.

We're utterly different, we're not the same, we are set apart.

And it I love it because the idea of apartness, it describes someone.

A person is holy if they are set apart for God's will and for his purpose.

So here's the first thing that I love about this passage of scripture.

And we sang about it, Mel talked about it, and then Josh came up and confirmed it, so I'm on the right track.

Missions doesn't start with strategy or with guilt, it starts with worship.

It starts right here.

It starts in your cars, it starts at home, it starts with worship.

Isaiah didn't sign up for this job because of a really cool campaign slogan.

He didn't have a really special fundraising event, and he's like, I gotta do this.

He's undone by seeing and experiencing God.

He was undone by this.

He was experiencing his presence.

And then once we see, this is what I love about God's presence is if you would have known, I've said this before, you would have known me 15 years ago.

I did not really care for people.

But because of God's presence in my life, something shifted, and I saw who he was, I knew I'd learned who he was.

If he could love me that way, surely I can love others that way.

So he has this experience with God, and he's undone in the presence of God.

He's experiencing, then he sees people as God sees them.

He sees them as loved, as valuable, as intrinsic to who God is.

He sees them differently.

And if Isaiah was a prophet, chances are he had a pretty good grasp on who God called people already.

But we can always go deeper.

This is what I love about this is that he had an experience with God and everything shifted in his life.

A prophet had an experience with God and it shifted him again.

People will line up for stadiums to go see their favorite sports team and cheer and do all those things because they want to see greatness in action.

And he had a vision and a moment that changed everything.

And he saw the greatness of God once again.

This is what I pull from this is that if God feels small to us, his mission will always feel optional.

If God feels small to us, his mission will always feel optional.

Do you think that our mission, missionaries, any one of them would have had a moment with God that said, Larry and Francine, having a moment, I'm sending you to Kenya.

They would have had that moment with God being like, that's where you want us to go.

You want us to go to Kenya, far from a home, the things my family is here, you want me to go to Kenya.

They would have had a moment, and in order for them to survive over in Kenya, because it's not their home, they've made it their home, they would have had to have an experience and a relationship with God that sustained them in a way that is only supernatural.

So they go over there and for 18 years have committed to the work of the mission because God called them there and sustained them in that.

They're not be going because they don't think God is great.

They are going because they know God is great and people need to hear it.

That's why they go.

This is what it says in Matthew 9 37.

He says, Then he said to the disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

Therefore, pray earnestly, earnestly to the Lord of the harvest, and send out laborers or send out laborers into his harvest.

In other words, we're seeing it right now, church, after what happened a few weeks ago, something's going on, whether it happened with Charlie Kirk, we're seeing a shift in the in the atmosphere.

But what we're seeing in church even before that is that people are shifting their attitude.

In other words, people are hungry for hope.

God doesn't peddle in hype.

God is all about hope.

We see here, people are hungry for hope, and there's no shortage of need.

We see around our own our own city there's no shortage of need.

The shortage is the willing hearts that are going to take up the mantle and do the work of God.

We are called into this ministry.

God has never designed this church.

I don't want KCC, I know Pastor Brody doesn't want KCC to be a place where you get comfortable, you sit and consume, but you don't output.

All through the scriptures, you can see in Acts, when God was building his church, they would come in, they would get filled, they would get equipped, and they will go out and do the work of the mission.

We're called to do the work of the mission.

That's what Ephesians 4.12 says, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.

When you come in here, you are intentionally drawing in what you can so you can be effective out there, not to warm your seat.

What he pours into us here is meant to flow out of us out there.

It's meant to flow into our schools, into our workplaces, into our families.

It's meant to flow out there.

We're gather to be filled, but we're here so we can be sent.

But here's the thing: when we see God for who he really is, you can't help but see yourself for who he's made you to be.

And this is what happens with Isaiah.

I want to read verse five to seven.

Said, we need to own our need for grace.

He has this moment from the Lord, and this is the first thing he does.

He says, Woe to me.

I cried, I am ruined, for I'm a man of unclean lips, and I live among the people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the king, the Lord Almighty.

The one of the seraphim flew to me with a coal in his hand, which he had taken tongs from the altar.

With it he touched my mouth and said, See, this has touched your lip your lips, your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for.

I can imagine that Isaiah would have just fallen to his knees in that moment.

And he experiences God's grace in a real, real way.

He didn't run out of the temping temple at that moment yelling, Who needs a missionary?

I mean, maybe he did, but he didn't read it.

Like, where's the sign up?

What his first was reaction was submission to the king.

His first reaction was, God, I'm ruined by your presence.

His first reaction was just to get down and be like, God, I need this.

And he said he would have been out like, I'm unworthy.

How many of us have actually lived and stayed believing that lie, that you were unworthy, that you're not good enough, that you're not strong enough?

My question is for you when it comes to mission, if not you, who?

Mission means this, church.

When God calls, I don't pass the responsibility to someone else.

If God calls me, I don't go to Pastor Bird and be like, this one's yours.

This is too much.

I don't want it.

I don't look to the person to my right or to my left.

I look up and say, God, what do you need me to do?

I don't pass the responsibility.

I don't disqualify myself because of my shortcomings.

You know what I love about God?

He's okay with your shortcomings.

He actually looks at them and he's like, hey, I got this.

You're still gonna do what God's called you to do.

And I'm and I'm gonna work into those shortcomings, and we're gonna use that and turn that into a strength because that's who he is.

In this moment with Isaiah, God dealt with a sin that he set before him that shows us something.

He cares enough about your soul.

He cares enough about your soul that before he calls you into the mission, he wants to heal you, he wants to restore you, and he wants to set you in the right way.

Not one of our missionaries just walked in off the street and we sent him to wherever.

Every one of them would have had a moment with Jesus, would have committed their life to Christ, would have said, Lord, you're my Lord and Savior, I will make you the king of my life.

Every single one of them.

And so when Isaiah is experiencing this, he saw all of those things, all the areas where he fell short, all the areas where he would have been that would have been good, but God doesn't lead him there.

I love this.

The verse says, a coal lifted from the altar and touches his lips.

In that moment, it was just signifying his aton, his shame was lifted.

In this moment, God uses Isaiah's weakness.

He didn't just expose it, he uses it, then he heals it.

Hear this church.

Grace always comes before the assignment.

We need to walk in his grace, realizing that I can't do it without him.

That my way is not greater than his way.

If you skip grace, the mission will feel like a pressure.

But if you accept and you receive his grace, the mission feels like a privilege.

It's a privilege for me to be here.

It's not a right.

It's a privilege that I get to be here working with Pastor Brody in this church.

It's a privilege.

It's a privilege that we get to tell people about Jesus.

It's a privilege that we get to attend a church like this.

It's a privilege.

I always want my mission that God's called me to to feel like a privilege.

Sometimes the reality is I don't feel very privileged.

And I wouldn't mind a little bit more entitlement every once in a while, would be okay.

Because missions is hard, ministry is hard, life is challenging, but with God's grace, through Him, you can accomplish anything.

One of our KCC values, I love this, is Jesus first and people belong.

Those are our first two that you see on the wall outside.

God doesn't just send people out unprepared.

He heals, he restores, he forgives, then he sends.

And when grace actually hits your life, if you've experienced God's grace, the excuses you have don't stand a chance.

It's true.

Many excuses to do anything but serve in.

Many excuses except to do anything but be the dad I was called to be, or the husband I was called to be.

I did anything but submit to what God wanted for me.

And then when I did and I experienced His grace one night, I experienced His grace, and it's like the Lord flashed in front of me all the things that'd be missing if I didn't just submit right in that moment.

And everything shifted because I just did one of these.

Like, Lord, you got to do something.

I don't like the life that I'm living.

I don't like who I am.

I can't stand the place.

I don't like the anger that I feel or the frustration.

I don't like that.

And he's saying, Here's your grace, I will take care of all of it.

So then we see in this moment that Isaiah, God asks the question, he says, Whom shall I send?

I love this passage of scripture.

Verse 8 says this, and heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send?

Whom will go before us?

And then Isaiah says, He says, Then I said, Here I am, send me.

So I want you to notice the order here.

Something that I saw when as I was going through this.

One, we had a deep experience with God.

We have a conviction of sin.

He cleans us up, and then we have a willingness to serve.

That's the rhythm of a true call of God.

And not one of those things can be accomplished because you worked really hard at it.

Not one of those things has anything to do with your charisma or how well you speak, how strong you are, how smart you are, how academic.

None of it has anything to do with that.

It has everything to do with you submitting to Christ.

He just says this, here I am, send me.

And a lot of times sermons will stop right there.

If you've been in church a long time, you've probably heard a version of this.

I don't want to stop there.

I want to push a little harder.

Because we go on to verse 9 and 10, which isn't on the screen because I just felt I needed to shift it this morning.

But this is on verses 9 and 10.

This is what he says.

He says, He said, Go tell this to the people.

Be ever hearing, but never understanding, be ever seeing but never perceiving.

Make the heart of the people callous, make their ears dull and close their eyes.

Otherwise, they might see with their ears, or eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.

He's telling you that when you go into the mission, it's not going to be easy.

That the people you're going to share with are not going to do you know what?

I have family members in my family that I've been sharing the gospel with for 20 years and aren't saved yet.

Do I quit because it gets hard?

The answer is no.

The heart sometimes is like, yep, just give up.

Like what, like, seriously, what's the point?

But then God reminds you of his grace, of what he did in your life, what you've seen him do in other people's lives.

He told Isaiah, you'll preach and they won't listen.

Hopefully, you're listening to me today.

I'm not sure I could handle it otherwise.

You'll warn, but their hearts will grow harder.

You'll go and preach.

And he wasn't asking them at that time, he wasn't asking Isaiah to go and just preach like a uh, hey, God loves you and you're gonna be forgiven if you believe in him.

He's like, no, he actually wanted Isaiah to go preach judgment.

I'm not saying that if God calls you, that's what you're gonna do.

But I'm saying that Isaiah said yes, even though he didn't know what the cost was.

So here it is.

A yes that costs nothing is a convenience.

A yes that costs something, that's worship.

We're not called, church, to be convenient.

We're called to say, take the things that God has put in us and said, I want you to do this, and you say yes without even knowing what the cost is.

Which comes along with this idea that if you believe that God is a good father and gives you good gifts, and we sing songs like he, I sought him, and he answered, and I trust in God, that means that when he calls you, you trust in him and you will be willing to pay the cost of what that is.

We want to see a change in Canada, in in all the things that are going on.

It's not gonna be more laws, it's not gonna be a different party, it's gonna be a revelation and a revival of Jesus Christ that comes across our whole country.

We can legislate things to death, and nothing will change.

But God can change everything in one instant.

But what does he need?

He needs you.

He needs the church that's willing to stand up and be like, I'm gonna fight for the truth of the gospel.

That's what he needs.

A yes that costs nothing is just a convenience.

That one hit me a little hard.

Do you know why?

There's more to the yes than the outcome.

The outcome isn't your problem.

The outcome isn't your problem.

Your responsibility is obedience.

God tells you you go, don't worry about the outcome.

Here's the challenge.

Really simple.

Here I am, send me.

My question is: if not you, then who?

It's like a relay race.

The baton is in our hands, and if we drop it, the mission stops.

But if we run, the gospel advances.

We are not a church that drops the baton.

We never have be, have been, we never will be.

We will fight tooth and nail to make sure the gospel can get out.

But that's because of you.

Isaiah's yes was costly.

Paul's yes was costly.

Jesus said yes, it was costly.

He stepped off the throne.

Jesus, he came and walked into our own mess.

He we sang these songs this morning.

He walked the earth with us to bring freedom to the captives.

This is what Luke was talks all about.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.

That means if you feel called, the Spirit of the Lord will be upon you.

You may not have all of the tools.

I always say this in leadership, I've learned with Pastor Brody.

He'll ask me to do something, and I know 60% of what he needs me to do.

That seems like a lot, but it isn't.

But you know what?

He trusts me to accomplish the mission, accomplish the goals that we've set before us, and so what I don't know, I will figure out, or he'll tell me.

Hopefully.

But that's part when we put our trust in God, that means that I may not know the whole the three rungs on the bottom.

I may not see past that, but I'm gonna keep going anyway.

How many times I've cried out to God?

I'm like, Lord, can you give me at least okay?

I got three.

I need four.

And then he's like, now you have two.

I'm like, thanks, Lord.

What does it say?

But I actually think the question in Isaiah 6 is pertinent to us right now in this church as things are moving forward.

This is the question I believe God is asking us as a church.

And the only wrong answer is going to be silence.

Because if we want to see change in our families, we want to see change in our cities, in our workplaces in Canada, we have to be willing to make the sacrifice to where the cost is and go make that price and pay that price.

God's calling you.

So this is this is this church.

This is what's what's your answer gonna be?

Don't have to this is not for me, this is between you and God.

But you want to make a difference and we want to see what God wants to do because we're called to the mission.

Are you going to be go where God's called you to go?

This isn't about saying yes to God just because pastor is saying so.

Because you are feeling that God is pulling on you, and I can safely say that there's quite a few of you in this place that God's been pulling on you for a while already now, and you've been running from it.

That one of the leaders in the house has challenged you, and you're just like, no, I'm not ready for that yet.

But hear me when I say this: you're good enough, you're strong enough, and God's got you.

And I do want to say this, is uh I said this in our huddle this morning, is so oftentimes we churches sometimes pigeonhole what missions look like.

Is that you have to be the evangelism that goes all across and do all those big things that it's always this really far thing, or standing on stage, or you're you're doing it's not.

Do you know what missions is?

Is you sharing the gospel with your family.

You sharing the gospel with people in your workplace, you going to your neighborhoods, knocking on doors, and saying, Hey, I'm having a barbecue, and conveniently leaving stuff out so they can read about Jesus, or you know.

It's so much more than that.

But I want to say this is that while it might be the things that you're doing right now that are in your can your little circle, that God is saying, I want you to do this, and when you obey, that can turn into a vision or a dream that takes you further than you thought possible.

That means that you could be the one that goes to a far-off country.

All of a sudden, God just fires this dream in your heart that you didn't know was there.

Here I am, send me.

And the reality is that some of us will cross those borders, some will just go across the street, some are gonna be people who pray, some are gonna be people who finance.

Because we need all of those people for missions to be effective.

And all of you in this house right now, all of you have a part to play.

What did I read about Isaiah?

But what do I read about when I when I watch the the when I read about the disciples and I read about Jesus and the apostles and the churches they're building, no one gets to sit this out.

The mission field is all of our responsibility.

But we all just have different assignments.

If you're leaving it to the leaders of your church to evangelize to all of those people out there, it's gonna be a short evangelism trip.

But each of you carries something that can be used that can shift someone just by telling your story.

I heard an evangelist say this said, heaven has many rooms, but it's our job to fill up those rooms.

Nobody, church, is called to sit this one out.

And I can't tell you what your mission field is, but God can.

And he oftentimes works with, he all the time works with us, but sometimes we just need to say, God, I want to walk in what you've called me to.

I need an ex I maybe you need a different experience with him today.

Maybe it's this morning.

You've come in heavy, and you're like, I know what you want me to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it.

So I want you to stand with me.

Have the prayer team make their way forward as well.

So today I want to invite you in this moment to respond to this message because I believe this is a response message.

I want you to close your eyes.

This may be your first time hearing about the gospel, maybe your first time seeing people that are so passionate and are extending out that mission.

You're maybe got something tugging on your sp in your heart right now.

And I just want to walk you through this right now.

But if you want to give your life to Jesus, everyone's eyes closed.

If you want to give your life to Christ this morning and say, I want to be a part of this mission, something that's bigger than me, something that I can sink my teeth into and do good, I want you to just raise your hand in this space right now.

If that's you, I see it.

See that.

So I just want to just all of us say this short prayer with me, Lord.

I confess with my mouth that you are Lord, you died on the cross for my sins.

Forgive me and come be Lord of my life.

Amen.

If that was you and you gave your life to Jesus this morning, you're gonna see on the screen, text, the number gives us an opportunity for us to connect with you.

We don't want you to leave this place without me or Pastor Brody or Pastor Malachi having an opportunity just to talk to you about Jesus and get you started in your walk with God.

That's an amazing thing.

But for the rest of us that are in this place, I believe that God's asking this question.

If not you, who?

So keep your eyes closed.

If you are willing this morning to respond to this, I want you to raise your hand and say, Here I am, Lord, send me.

Here I am, Lord, send me.

This may be the first time you prayed it.

Maybe this is like a rededication to this call of God that God has on for you.

Let's just take a few minutes and just pray.

I want you to pray this Lord, show me what it means to you for me, of what it is to say, here I am, send me.

Lord, what's my call?

What's my direction?

What's my purpose moving forward?

You talk to God and let Him speak to you.