Category: sermon-archive

FASTING GOD’S WAY           

Isaiah 58:3-10 NET.

³ They lament, ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast? Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’ Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires, you oppress your workers. ⁴ Look, your fasting is accompanied by arguments, brawls, and fistfights. Do not fast as you do today, trying to make your voice heard in heaven. ⁵ Is this really the kind of fasting I want? Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves, bowing their heads like a reed and stretching out on sackcloth and ashes? Is this really what you call a fast, a day that is pleasing to the LORD? ⁶ No, this is the kind of fast I want. I want you to remove the sinful chains, to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke, to set free the oppressed, and to break every burdensome yoke. ⁷ I want you to share your food with the hungry and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people. When you see someone naked, clothe him! Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood! ⁸ Then your light will shine like the sunrise; your restoration will quickly arrive; your godly behavior will go before you, and the LORD’s splendor will be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you will call out, and the LORD will respond; you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’ You must remove the burdensome yoke from among you and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.

¹⁰ You must actively help the hungry and feed the oppressed. Then your light will dispel the darkness, and your darkness will be transformed into noonday.

Some health gurus suggest that intermittent fasting can help us lose weight or manage specific health problems. That is not the fasting Isaiah addresses in today’s text. He is dealing with ritual fasting, when a group of people fast to get back on God’s good side. Recently, our Sunday School class watched a video featuring a former Muslim. He described salvation in Islam as doing enough good works to outweigh all your sins. He said that one of the good works a Muslim can do to impress God is to fast.

The LORD told Isaiah to confront his people with their rebellious deeds. They were seeking God, but they were not changing their ways. They were doing many of the things they thought were right, but it was to cover up for all the things they were doing wrong. Let’s take a look at today’s text to see what the problem was.

What was wrong?

The ritual was fasting, and the people fasted regularly. They complained to Isaiah that God was not holding up his part of the bargain. But God told Isaiah to tell them that their fast was not acceptable. They were doing it, but they were doing it wrong. A fast is supposed to bring a person closer to God by allowing them to focus on God rather than their daily work schedule. It was not just about food. It was also about the tremendous amount of time each day needed for the processing, preparation, and consumption of food. By setting aside time that would otherwise be spent on food, people could focus on their relationship with God.

Food is a natural desire. But if we allow that desire to take first place in our lives, it can overrule our spiritual desires and make us selfish. During their fast, the Israelites showed an inclination toward selfish desires. Instead of satisfying their need for closeness to God, they focused on themselves. Their hunger became an excuse to mistreat others, especially employers. If a couple had servants working for them, they would hate fast days because those would be the days when their bosses would be unbearable. They would use their hunger as an excuse to exploit their workers.

Another thing that happened during fast days was that personal relationships took a hit. Because people were hungry, they allowed it to affect how they felt about each other. Little annoyances became huge problems. Everyone was wound tight, so the slightest thing could make them angry. Anger, without self-control, can lead to arguments and fights. That is what fasting was doing to the people Isaiah was preaching to.

It was also turning them into a nation of hypocrites. They would focus so much on appearing humble, yet inside, they would denounce each other in pride. It was all about the show.

Why was it wrong?

God never intended the ritual of fasting to become a means of destroying his people. He wanted their fasting time to be a time of spiritual healing and growth. He wanted it to be a time when the people could come together and reflect his love for one another. He wanted them to look forward to this time when they could rest from their labor and focus on the word of God rather than on their own stomachs.

God had never intended the ritual of fasting to become a show of false humility. It was designed to reinforce their actual dependence on God and on each other. But it had become a competition. They were trying to outdo each other by appearing more humble than anyone else. The winners looked more humble than the losers. The fact was that they were all losers. You cannot get a blue ribbon in a humility contest. As soon as you accept the prize, you reveal that the show is all you were doing.

Brian Beyer says this about today’s passage:

• “The people complained because God was not honoring their fasting (58:3). They abstained from food and humbled themselves (at least they thought so), yet God seemed unimpressed. Isaiah explained the reason for God’s failure to honor the people’s fasting (58:3-4). No heart change occurred. The people continued exploiting their workers and quarreling, their edginess no doubt intensified by their hunger and their frustration at God’s lack of response. Such a situation would never receive God’s blessing. Isaiah contrasted the people’s current situation with the scenario God desired (58:5-7). Sincerity and humility are needed to accompany their fasting. But sincerity and humility were best evidenced by action, not by words. The Lord wanted to see them cease injustice and oppression, share food with the hungry, and take care of others’ needs. Fasting that produced a change of heart in God’s people would bring God’s approval (58:8-12). The Lord’s presence would surround them, and he would quickly answer their prayers. Their spiritual darkness would give way to the light of God’s ways, and the Lord would refresh their souls. They would rebuild ancient cities that had long lain in ruins. God’s presence would bring them the ability and resolve to accomplish everything he set before them.”[1]

How could it be made right?

God tells the people through the prophet that if they want to rescue the fasting ritual, they will need to break some chains. Where were the sinful chains? The lower class was wearing them. The servants, the poor, and the homeless in the community were being mistreated. The foreigners who owned no land were at the mercy of the landowners. During fasting times, the mistreatment worsened. The lower class expected to be abused by their “betters” during fasting days.

God tells the people to change how they observe fasting days. He tells them to take some of the food they have stored because they cannot eat it and give it to the hungry. Build shelters for the homeless and exploited poor. Give clothing to those who need it. Help fellow Israelites who are down on their luck.

He says that if they rescued the ritual of fasting in that way, the darkness will turn to light. Then the Lord will be free to respond to their prayers and make himself known among them.

Communion meditation:

“…we must help the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35).

The communion service is a time we set apart to remember what Jesus Christ did for us. He gave his life for us. His death paid the ransom for our sins, so that we do not have to experience the second death.

The Apostle Paul told the Ephesian elders to remember something else. He told them to remember that Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. He wanted the church community to model the Lord’s generosity.

We don’t have public fasts in our community today, but we do have a ritual we observe every week. It’s called going to church. If we are not careful, going to church can become a time when our selfishness dominates us, and our anger and lack of self-control can ruin our testimony. God wants us to turn that around, too.

Imagine what would happen if our fellowship became a time to help those in need. Imagine if we broke a few chains and rescued the needy during our meetings. Imagine a time focused on spiritual growth rather than the deeds of the flesh. That is what our Lord wants. This week, whenever we remember the blessing of communion, let’s also remember to be a blessing to the others we see every day.

[1] Beyer, Bryan. Encountering the Book of Isaiah: A Historical and Theological Survey. Baker Academic, 2007. pp. 224-225.

LOVE

Isaiah 31:4-6 NET.

⁴ Indeed, this is what the LORD says to me: “The LORD will be like a growling lion, like a young lion growling over its prey. Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it, it is not afraid of their shouts or intimidated by their yelling. In this same way, the LORD who commands armies will descend to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. ⁵ Just as birds hover over a nest, so the LORD who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; as he passes over, he will rescue it. ⁶ You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled!

We are now in our fourth Sunday of Advent meditations. During this season, we have explored various themes found throughout scripture. In November, we focused on the theme of hope. We examined a passage in Ecclesiastes that encouraged people to live with hope, even though everyone eventually goes to the grave. It’s only when the New Testament message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is included that it genuinely makes sense. That is the purpose behind this Advent theme. We are reminded to center our hope on Christ and Christ alone. The Bible teaches us that we are mortal and that there is no hope for us after death. Therefore, we must find our hope in Christ and Christ alone. In the New Testament, we learn that Jesus revealed life and immortality through the gospel. He is our hope for eternal life.

In the second week of Advent, we learned about peace. However, the message of peace also relates to a prophecy about a great day of the Lord that will bring destruction upon the Earth. On that day of destruction, most people will realize they trusted the wrong thing and will be doomed. But the good news, as foretold in the book of Isaiah, is that before this day of the Lord, God will send a message of peace. That message was born in a stable in Bethlehem. Jesus Christ is our peace. Again, we see both good and bad news. A day of ultimate war and destruction is coming, and this terrible day of the Lord will happen according to God’s own will. It cannot be stopped or changed by human effort. It will surely happen because it is part of God’s plan. But the good news is that God has another plan. We learn about that plan in the Bible. We know that God will send his only Son to pay the price for our sins. He is the Prince of Peace. He makes peace possible. He brings peace not only between people but also between God and us.

Last week, we examined another passage from Isaiah’s prophecy. Isaiah spoke out against the nation of Moab, foretelling its destruction. He said that God would take away Moab’s joy. This doomed nation serves as an example of all the nations that have rejected Christ. On the day of judgment, there will be no joy for them. They put their trust in the wrong things and will try all kinds of ways to reconcile themselves, but they will never look to the Son of God for salvation. This is terrible news—God is even upset that this nation has not repented, and He mourns for them. However, there is no hope for them because they have not turned to the King of Kings. Yet, amid this darkness and sorrow, there is good news: joy is available forever in Christ. The Advent season prompts us to ask whether we have room in our hearts for Jesus Christ. The joy of Christmas is ours if we can answer yes. Similarly, the joy of His second coming is ours if we have made room for Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Otherwise, like the Moabites, we will only experience loss, and even our sincere prayers will never reach God. Worse still, when Jesus returns in His glory with all His angels, He will greet us not as our Lord and Savior but as our Judge. To experience true, lasting, and incredible joy, we must open our hearts to Jesus.

We now enter the fourth week of Advent, and our fourth message focused on the theme of love. As Christians, we often say that God is love, and we have evidence to support this. He demonstrated His love by creating us. He showed His love by giving us the gift of life. He has blessed us with a beautiful creation, supportive families, and wonderful friendships. However, there is also evil in this world. This evil challenges our understanding of God’s love. We are compelled to confront the reality that things are not right in the world that God created. The Bible explains why this is the case.

In the book of Genesis, we learn that God created everything good. But He gave our ancestors the choice of whether it would stay good or become corrupted by sin. They chose to sin. Their decision turned a perfect creation into an age of imperfection and corruption. You and I were born into that age.

The Israelites in Isaiah’s time were born into the same era. They faced destruction by a mighty superpower that aimed to wipe them out. Because they were in danger, the Israelites had a choice. They could either trust in their God or seek help from a neighboring nation. In this chapter, Isaiah encourages the Israelites not to rely on the Egyptians but to trust in their God for protection and safety. In today’s passage, Isaiah explains why they should trust in their God rather than rely on their neighbor.

The Lord’s love is a fearless love (4).

To understand what Isaiah is saying in verse 4, imagine a group of shepherds who realize that one of their lambs has been attacked by a fierce lion. The shepherds are courageous. They gather together and try to scare the lion away to protect the injured lamb. However, all their efforts are in vain. The lion is not going to release his prey.

In Isaiah’s imagery, the lion represents God Himself, and the lamb symbolizes the nation of Israel. Isaiah chose a lion as a symbol of God because lions are fearless. He wanted to demonstrate that God was unafraid of any of the surrounding nations. Israel didn’t need to rely on Egypt; they had a God they could trust. They could trust God because He loved them, and He loved them with fearless love. He would not abandon them. The God of armies isn’t afraid of anyone else’s army.

The Christmas message is also a message of fearless love. Lord came down to this earth during a time of great violence. His life was in danger from the very beginning. But God would not let us go. He clung to His people even when we were still in our sins. To show us how much He loves us, He sent His Son to the cross to die in our place. His fearless love was a stubborn love. It will never let go of us. Though danger surrounds us, we can trust in God’s stubborn, fearless love.

The Lord’s love is a protective love (5).

In verse 5, the image shifts from a lion to birds. Since moving to Delco, I’ve learned a lot about birds. Once, walking on the lawn beyond the cemetery, I was approached by a bird. I had no idea why it wanted to attack me, but it soon became clear that the bird must have a chick nearby and was protecting it. Similarly, there was a time when I was leaving the house when birds suddenly swooped very close to my head. They were dive-bombing me. Again, I had no idea why I was the target of this experience, but then I noticed the nests. The birds had built nests in the rafters of the fellowship hall, and I was getting dangerously close to them. The same thing happened when I tried to enter the church building—suddenly, the birds were there, aggressively defending their nests. Wherever the nests were, the birds would be there to protect them.

So I can understand Isaiah’s illustration here. He says just as birds hover over a nest, so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. God’s love is a protective love.

In the New Testament, we learn that Jesus is the door through which the sheep come in and out, finding safety. He leads us into the way of life and away from the way of destruction. Ultimately, we will see victory for eternity through the resurrection. And during this life, we will understand what it means to live victoriously through the power of His Holy Spirit. It is wise to be protected by a loving Savior.

In the New Testament, Jesus pleas for people to come to him. He calls on all who are weary and burdened, promising to give them rest. He invites us to take his yoke upon ourselves and learn from him because he is gentle and humble in heart, and we will find our rest in him because his yoke is easy and his burden is light. We don’t need to rely on ourselves. We don’t have to depend on the world around us. Our Lord loves us, and we can trust in him.

All this talk about Advent truly centers on God’s plan. God has a plan for the universe, and we’re living it out. We haven’t reached the end yet; we still face hardships, difficulties, and challenging experiences. But we can look back at what God has said in the past and realize he was working out his plan then. We can also look forward to what God has promised to do in the future and trust him to follow through.

We can look to Christ as our example in doing just that. He faced hardship and suffering, including the cross, because he trusted God. He endured the cross until it was finished. The next time we see him, he won’t be as a baby in the manger, but as a victorious, triumphant king returning. That is God’s plan — to bring hope, peace, love, and joy to the world.

What Advent challenges us to do is to embrace that plan. The season invites us to accept God’s plan for our lives and to live accordingly. It challenges us to make room in our lives for the Savior of the world while He is still pleading for us to repent.

The Lord’s love is a pleading love (6).

Isaiah pleads in verse 6. He tells the Israelites to return to the one they have openly rebelled against. As God’s prophet, Isaiah speaks for God and urges his nation to turn back to Him. They had rebelled and were trying to do things their own way. Now, when faced with danger, they look for an alternative other than returning to their God. God could reject them and let them suffer the consequences of their rebellion. But that is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible is always pleading for people to come back to Him. He does not want to destroy us; He desires repentance and restoration. That is why, in this passage, the prophet is pleading with the people to repent.

PEACE      

Isaiah 2:17-22

¹⁷ Proud men will be humiliated, arrogant men will be brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. ¹⁸ The worthless idols will be completely eliminated. ¹⁹ They will go into caves in the rocky cliffs and into holes in the ground, trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the LORD and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth. ²⁰ At that time men will throw their silver and gold idols, which they made for themselves to worship, into the caves where rodents and bats live, ²¹ so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs and the openings under the rocky overhangs, trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the LORD and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth. ²² Stop trusting in human beings, whose life’s breath is in their nostrils. For why should they be given special consideration?

There is something special about the Christmas season. It occurs at the end of the year for most of the world. It is a time of great excitement and activity. But the fact that the Advent season falls at the end of the year makes it a moment for reflection. Even amid the busyness of events, we seem to find time to pause and consider what truly matters in life. For many of us, Christmas is a time spent with family. It’s an opportunity to strengthen our relationships. For many, it’s also a time to reconnect with our faith. When we think about that baby in the Manger, we are reminded that we are part of a story unfolding before us, where God is actively involved in our daily lives.

I heard a sermon years ago titled “We Interrupt This Program.” That’s what God is doing at Christmas. He interrupts our lives, making us pause and think about what truly matters. That’s what God did when He sent His only Son to be born in Bethlehem. Life has gone on much the same way for generations, until Jesus came. The Christmas season is a time for us to pause and recognize that we are part of a universe in which God plays an active role.

The themes related to the Advent weeks help us reflect on these ideas. Last week, we focused on the theme of hope. We examined Ecclesiastes 9 and saw very little hope in that passage. Yet, Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9 encourages us to enjoy life. The only reason enjoying life is wise is that there is more to life than what is under the sun. Solomon did not know all the details of what God had planned for us. But he understood that there is more to life than just what is under the sun. We now know more than Solomon did. We know that there is hope beyond the grave because Jesus came and promised eternal life at the resurrection. Therefore, we have even greater cause to hope in our God.

This week’s Advent theme is peace. The passage we are looking at says very little about peace. But there is an essential reason for that, which I think will become more evident as we study this text. So let’s look at what the prophet Isaiah says in today’s text.

Isaiah describes the terrible Day of the LORD.

The day of the Lord is a common topic among the Old Testament prophets. The typical prediction they make is that God will come to judge the world. Malachi predicted a day when the world would burn like a furnace. He said that “all the arrogant evildoers will be chaff. The coming day will burn them up. It will not leave even a root or branch” (Malachi 4:1).

It is the same day of the Lord that Malachi mentioned, which Isaiah also refers to in today’s passage. He is describing a time of great fear for those living on the earth because God’s wrath has arrived. He depicts those trying to hide from the coming destruction and all the proud individuals caught in the web of God’s wrath, humiliated.

This message is a warning to everyone. The final verse tells us to stop trusting in human beings, whose life breath is in their nostrils. It questions why they should receive special treatment. Of course, in our world, people often get special consideration. We depend on many to tell us what life is and what truly matters. Many of these individuals are proud, arrogant, and even reject God and the Bible. Still, we are tempted to trust them because they are prominent, wealthy, and influential.

But Isaiah’s message is clear: those who are proud, arrogant, influential, and rich will be targets of God’s wrath on the day of the Lord. We are warned not to favor such people. All proud individuals will be humbled; their pride will not save them. Their rebellion against God will be remembered, and they will face the punishment of eternal death in the lake of fire.

Isaiah says that the day will reveal what people have trusted in.

He talks about how people of the world trust in the proud, the rich, the arrogant, and the influential. They have placed their trust in the wrong people. They should have trusted the humble, the meek, the righteous, and the pious. But these people they chose to reject. Instead, they selected those who would rule over them, exercising power because of their strength. But Isaiah states that on the day of the LORD, everyone will realize that that strength was actually a weakness. Everyone will see that they backed the wrong side. They trusted those who deceived them. They trusted those who boasted in their unrighteousness. But the day of the LORD will reveal the righteousness of Christ and shame all the unrighteous. Isaiah explains that those proud men will be humiliated. He says that those arrogant men will be brought low. He affirms that the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.

A second thing that people have trusted in is idols. In Isaiah’s day, idols were everywhere. The entire culture was fascinated by idol worship. Today, we don’t build personal idols or have family idols. But that doesn’t mean we don’t trust in idols. Anything that replaces God in your life is an idol. In that way, idolatry is still alive and well in every culture on Earth. On the day of the Lord, our idols will be exposed for what they truly are.

Isaiah says that the idols will be thrown away that day. He describes people hiding in caves and holes in the ground, trying to escape the terrible judgment of the Lord and His majestic splendor when He rises up to terrify the earth. What will happen to those idols? He says that people will toss their silver and gold idols—crafted for worship—into caves where rodents and bats live. They will be discarded because people will finally realize those idols are worthless.

For our generation and country, we will also find that many idols in our lives did not live up to their promises. Those without Christ might cling to their idols, but these idols cannot protect them from God’s coming judgment.

There is a warning for us in this message today. It reminds us to trust in the right things. Many people are demanding that we trust them, and many things seek to take up our lives and time. But only God and His word are genuinely deserving of our trust.

The consistent view of the Day of the LORD in the Old Testament was one where God would come to judge. But it also taught true believers that the day of the Lord would be a day of deliverance for them. God was very concerned that people would be caught off guard on judgment day. He wanted to ensure that everyone had a chance to repent and come to Christ before the Day of the LORD. That is why the Old Testament also spoke of another day. This day would be when God sent a special message to everyone, telling them how to prepare for the day of the LORD. That day was Christmas Day.

Before the day of the lord, God sent a message of peace.

The biblical God is a God of judgment, but He is also a God of compassion. He does not want anyone to perish but desires all to come to repentance. Therefore, it makes sense that God would make every effort to reach as many people as possible with the message of peace, preventing them from suffering His judgment. God’s plan included a message designed to capture people’s attention and help them avoid trusting in the wrong things. The message needed to be strong enough for the world to notice and clear enough for people to see the difference between following God and following idols.

God’s message of peace was not written in a book. It was not carved into a sculpture. It was not an audible recording. God’s message of peace was a person. The Bible tells us that God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son. Jesus himself was the message that God sent to prevent people from facing his wrath on the day of the Lord. Those who put their trust in Christ protect themselves from that terrible day of the Lord.

The angel told the shepherds not to be afraid because a Savior is born in Bethlehem. The angel choir sang “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!”

Paul taught that Christ is our peace because he has united us all as children of God. He said that Christ came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near, so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

So, we have bad news and good news today. The bad news is that a terrible day of war and destruction will come in the future of this planet. The good news is Jesus, because he makes it possible for us to have peace with God now and to avoid that coming destruction.

We sing of the baby Jesus sleeping in heavenly peace. The truth is, he is our heavenly peace. He is the Prince of Peace. He will finally bring peace to this world at war.