Dave preached from Isaiah 58.
At the beginning of the lockdown I was always opening the bible at Philippians, Galatians and Revelations. But for the last month or more I have been reflecting on Isaiah 58. It is titled True Fasting. I prefer the NLT True worship.
But in trying to prepare to speak on this I felt uncomfortable. As if I was missing the point. So as usual I comeback to the context of the passage.
People also say Oh the Old Testament is full of an angry God and the New Testament is a loving God. This is completely wrong. Don’t let people go unchallenged. We can see that in Deuteronomy, Jonah, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Amos a God of love and kindness and in many other stories.
I’ve always loved the book of Isaiah. It sums up the old and new Testaments.
Chapter 40 starts with the passage about John the Baptist “make a way in the desert for the Lord”.
So Isaiah 58 the introduction is about looking religious but Gods hatred of this self righteousness. But verse 6 it changes and we see the true heart of what God wants for us but to guard our hearts against self righteousness.
““No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.”
Isaiah 58:6-12 NLT
What I was drawn to was Isaiah 53 as a reminder that our focus should always be for the love of Christ and this means reordering our priorities.
Pick of the pops
God gave me a picture of mist being warmed by the rising sun. I felt that it meant that we can’t work up a love for God without Him first loving us.
1 John 4:19-21 NLT
The motivation of our ministry is a great and daily challenge. But we should be aware that it is on Gods heart for us all.
Please look at the comparison between Isaiah 58 v 6 and 7 and Matthew 25 verse 31 to 46.
Look at the parallels and see how sobering the Matthew text is to us as Christians.
Be honest about your priorities. These will change over time. But we must ask the Holy Spirit to help us wrestle to put Him at number 1.
Don’t be upset if when you examine your heart He is somewhere down the list.
The point of church preaching is to bring these issues to the surface and then deal with them together with accountability.
Don’t forget to read the end of Isaiah 52 and the whole of 53.