Sermon Notes

November 16 2008 - Isaiah 57.14-21—God of hope

There are so many words to help us understand God: Father, Son, Spirit, King, Shepherd, even Chicken! (see Matt. 23.37); Jesus uses many words to explain his own nature and work: gate, shepherd, vine, light, way, truth, life, bread.

What we understand about God will affect dramatically how we talk to God and how we respond to God’s nature and commands. Is God a God of wrath and vengeance or a God of love and grace? Is one right or wrong? It is easy for us to go to the “for God so love the world” words of Jesus, and much harder for us to go to the “woe to you, you brood of vipers!” words of Jesus to understand God’s nature.

Imagine someone asking you to explain who God or Jesus was, and saying, “Well, God is like a chicken and Jesus is like a gate”! Obviously more information is needed than these small and narrow pictures of God’s nature and work. Also, more information is needed than Father or King, more information is needed than God of wrath or Jesus our brother. We need height and depth and length and breadth to our knowledge of God. When we do our prayer life with grow, our community life will strengthen, our witness and service of those in need will be established.

We begin a series of sermons today that will take us through to Christmas day. Who is God and who is the Messiah that God sent into the world? Isaiah will help us with these questions, in chapters 57-61 Isaiah too takes many words and ideas to help us understand God and his Messiah.

I pray that in this sermon series we will stretch to new heights, find greater breadth and discover new depths to who God is and who is God’s saviour. I pray that as we do we will find ourselves in God’s presence, being shaped in his likeness and equipped for God’s work in the world.

The nature of God

Read Isaiah 57.14-21 and take note of all the words that describe God, where God is, who he is and what God does. In verse 15 we read that God is high, holy and lofty inhabiting eternity; but also a God who enters time and space and enters into the lives of those who are humble and contrite to revive them. In verse 16 we find that God who accuses and gets angry puts limits on his anger and, even though his people continue to turn away from him he will repay them (verse 18) with comfort. How will we pray to this God, how will we serve and worship?

The word of the prophet

All this information about God helps us to understand the one message of this passage. There is really only one message from the prophet but we need to know the nature of God to apply it. One message, verse 14, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way”.

The work of the people

Now we can answer our questions, how will we pray, serve and worship? Given what we know about God, that he is high and holy and in the lives of the humble, angry and now bringing healing, comfort and peace; given the word of the prophet, “build up, prepare the way”, what is godliness, what is obedience?

Two responses, first an inward/ personal response: we would do well to ask ourselves some hard and honest questions. Are we like the people in Isaiah 57, knowing very well God’s will but having cold hearts and turning from God? Are we guilty of spiritual arrogance failing to accept the depth of our sin and failing to understand the holy heights of God? May we respond with humility, knowing that God chooses to dwell with the humble to revive them. Confession (admitting our sin before God) and repentance (turning to God and his ways) are our appropriate responses.

The second is an outward/ active response: verse 14 is full of action statements: build up; prepare the way; remove every obstruction. Who do you know that is far from God? All number of “obstructions” may be in that persons way, keeping them from knowing a God of hope who brings healing, comfort and peace. They may be stuck on a narrow, single picture of God, that he is a God or wrath and vengeance? How can you bring a word of hope to explain that although God becomes angry, he is love? Maybe that person is scared of church, church buildings or even church people? How can you meet with them where they are and “prepare the way” for them to come to the God of the church. In November and December we have many options at our evening services or Christmas worship opportunities to invite people to low key, visitor friendly events (see the newsletter for details). People may be far from God because they are hurt, broken, unforgiven or unforgiving? What practical, active things can you do to “build them up” and “remove every obstruction”, an act of kindness or friendship, saying sorry where that is required, being a person of hope explaining that where there is brokenness that God is a God of healing and peace.