TOPIC:“A Summons To Be The Best”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord” (Isaiah 6:1)
Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. William Graham, when giving the Commencement address to the graduating seniors at Gordon Theological Seminary in 1995, introduced her message with these words:
“Tom Landry, who was the former coach of the Dallas Cowboys, made this statement: `There are many good athletes out there but very few great ones. The difference between a good athlete and a great athlete is about eight inches. It's the distance from your head to your heart.' ”
Ms. Lotz then goes on to state: “There are some athletes who have a head for the game and they have a knowledge, but they lack the passion and the heart.” She then makes this comparison: “I believe there are many good preachers out there, and many good servants, many good Christian workers, but very few great ones. And I think the difference is the same. It's about eight inches. It's the distance from your head to your heart.”
Now in Israel at this time in 741BC God was looking for the best leader He could find to lead the runaway nation of Judah back to Himself. Such a time of turmoil demanded the best of leaders. The nation was on the verge of moral and spiritual bankruptcy. It was at this time that God turned to the man Isaiah, the best and greatest of all the prophets of the Old Testament.
At this time in the history of our country with our nation in moral turmoil, we are in need of Christians who will give God their very best in helping to redirect our country in the moral course it should take. This is a summons by God to help solve the problems we as a country face.
What are they? The breakdown of family values. Accepted alternative lifestyles. Abortion on demand. Political corruption. The absence of God in our educational system and much more. Now Isaiah was facing problems in Judah in his day. We read about this in chapter 1 verse 4: “Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, . . .