Damariscotta Baptist Church

 

 

Last week Isaiah reminded us that God has the ability to defeat sin. 

And all of God’s children said, “AMEN!” 

Where would we be today if we didn’t have a God who defeats sin? I don’t want to know the answer to that question. 

Today, Isaiah returns to the reality that humans have an inability to do what is right. He has spoken about human failures before, but this time Isaiah emphasises the fact that human failure will always be the case, unless God steps in. 

Which brings up a question I ponder quite often, 

“Why does God allow sin to exist in the first place?” 

We won’t get Isaiah’s complete answer to this question until we get to chapter 65, but he starts laying the groundwork for his answer by reminding the Israelites of the theological significance of the Exodus. Isaiah compares how the character of God was shown throughout the Exodus events, in contrast to how the character of God’s people were shown. 

Let’s look at how God’s character was revealed: 

Verse 7, He has kindness and compassion and 
He is the one who does good things
Verse 9, He has love and mercy and
He saves and redeems His people

Let’s look at how the character of God’s people were revealed: 

Verse 10, they rebelled

Notice then how Isaiah described God’s response to this rebellion. 

He does not write their rebellion in a legal or royal type of context, instead, we read the language of a personal relationship, 

Verse 10, they grieved His Holy Spirit

Ouch! Their rebellion cut to the quick, because God wasn’t just their God, or their King, or their Lord, He was their Father, He had created them and He was grieved. 

Isaiah strengthens this familial relationship in verse 14, where we read that the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest, and back in verse 9, He lifted them up and carried them. The very thing a good parent would do.

For those of us who are parents, we can begin to empathize with God’s grief. If any parent has had a wayward child, they understand the anguish of watching that child make poor decisions. 

With all of God’s care given to His people, it seems unthinkable that they would rebel. Isaiah is telling us that it wasn’t the king, or lord or judge they had rebelled against, but the care and concern of a Father’s love. The result of their rebellion is found in verse 10, they became God’s enemy. 

In spite of all the rebellion of the first generation of God’s people, back in Exodus, God still gave them grace. He still did not abandon them. 

What did God know that the Israelites didn’t know? 

According to the world’s standards, God would have been justified if He had wiped the Israelites off the face of the earth. He had done it to the human race before, remember the flood?  Instead we read how God’s grace abounds. In verses 11-14, Isaiah gives a glimpse of a new Moses, who will be the “arm of the LORD,” for fallen people. 

Turns out there were things God knew that the Israelites don’t know.

Who is our Isaiah today? Sadly we find ourselves in the same predicament all over again, will we ever learn? Not this side of heaven I suspect. 

There are three theological themes presented in today’s Scripture that still exist, in today’s world. They are:

The grace of God
The story of apostasy
Going beyond the point of restoration

Let’s look at the first theme: The grace of God.

What best demonstrates the grace of God, then the formation of His church? Just think about the people who started this whole thing. They were not the intelligent, popular and mighty of their day. Yet look at the impact the church has made. 

Paul was one of those people who marveled at the grace that was given him as someone who spent the earlier part of his life killing Christians, he was being used to minister and to guide the early church of Christ. Thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit, the early believers not only felt God’s grace, they were able to pass it on to others. 

The second theme, that of apostasy, is prevalent throughout the Old Testament. Over and over again, God has to save His people, and mostly from themselves. Unfortunately God’s church since the New Testament hasn’t performed much better. One can read about the medieval times, the Crusades and question how such horrible things could have been done in the name of Christ? Even today within the hierarchy of Christ’s church lives the seven deadly sins of greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. Unfortunately the one thing grace does not do, is remove the ability for evil to be expressed in the human heart. 

The last theme, that of, going beyond the point of restoration, is also still alive and well. History provides us with numerous examples of when the church has fallen beyond the point of restoration. During those times, God has provided someone to speak the truth, point to the light. Where are the Francis of Assisis, Martin Luthers, or John Wesleys of today? Although they were leaders, and guides, the fact remains, they did not do it on their own. They had millions of nameless people, alongside, who followed and turned to God in their failure, in their despair and shame and found restoration. A result of their restoration brought cleansing and revitalization. God is still willing to hear our prayers of anguish and return to our hearts when we ask. 

Today, our churches need to hear this message. Today our country needs to hear this message. America is no longer a “Christian” nation. Today the vast majority of Americans who call themselves Christian see Christianity as irrelevant to their lives. They have lost their first love. 

Isaiah calls us to return to our first love. He reminds us that God is not the stern judge, or the high and mighty king who calls us to return, but He is the one who has carried us through all the years. The Father who gave us birth in the first place, who held our hands when we took our first steps, who guides us through our deserts into green pastures. 

Funny thing about God, because of His grace and mercy, many take Him for granted. They forget His equally significant attributes of truth, with a law that is eternal. He is not a doormat, that can be manipulated with insincere tears of dismay. Remember, He judges our hearts. And for those Christians who choose to only see a sentimental side of God, there will be a rude awakening. Isaiah warns when God’s Spirit is grieved, He turns and the griever becomes an enemy. 

Let us listen to Isaiah. Let our eyes be opened to our sin and the grief we have caused in the name of Christ. 

With repentant hearts, let us continue to come to the throne of grace and bow down. Recognizing that when we do, there is no end to what God can do for His church. God is faithful and history shows He has a hold of His church and will not let it go. We need to decide whether we will be in or out. Consider what John wrote to the church of Laodicea in Revelations 3

“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation: “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. 

Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”

May we have ears to listen to the Spirit, and understand what He is saying to His church. Then, let us have courage to do the right thing. Today the world needs the truth, just as much if not more, than it has before. Unfortunately, what we hear from the news and the leaders of our world is what they want us to hear. It is time for God’s people to not give up, but to proclaim the truth, that sets us free. 

With all that we know about what Jesus taught, and what Jesus stood for, let us choose to be like Him and focus on what He would focus on were He here today. When I read the gospels, I see Jesus doing the very opposite of what the religious leaders expected. It’s because they had lost their first love. God was no longer #1, their religion and their laws had taken His place. What I see when I read the gospels is Jesus reaching out to those in need, the marginalized, the ones who were not so concerned with their status, their jobs, their money, their rights, but concerned with their humanity. 

We may not have an Isaiah, Martin Luther or Billy Graham, but we have God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. Each of us has the ability to make a difference and speak and live the truth, wherever God has placed us. So when life gets confusing and the world clutters our minds, the minor prophet Micah reminds us what we should do.  I am reading it from The Message:

But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,

    what God is looking for in men and women.

It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,

    be compassionate and loyal in your love,

And don’t take yourself too seriously—

    take God seriously.

 

Let’s pray.