Go to the Lord and Be Satisfied
Today's scripture comes from the Old Testament (abbreviated in the sermon as OT) prophet Isaiah. For those of you who do not go to Fairview, I can talk a lot about that church in particular but I think it is important to note that the same could be said for of those involved in any given church. It is easy for us to get wrapped up in the particular church that we attend but I think it is always important for us to keep in mind the community of Christians all across our state, our nation, and our world. Isaiah 55:1-9:
When I said that today’s scripture was from the Old Testament, what was the first thing that came to your mind? Often times, the OT gets a bad rap simply because of its name. The word ‘old’ has a negative connotation... I mean really, how many of you like to be called ‘old’? It usually carries the meaning of "used up" or "out of date" and we often look at the OT in this way. We often think it is difficult to relate it today because of where and when it was written. But what if I told you that it is actually really relatable to Christians today for two main reasons 1) The early church used the OT to nourish and sustain its new believers. At that time it was the only source of scripture for the early church and it was the foundation for which Paul and Gospel writers used to explain and justify Christ. And, 2) When you read the OT, think of it like your own personal faith journey. For example, how many times in your life have the ‘floods’ of sorrow, pain and heartbreak flooded your life and the only way to save yourself was on the ‘arc’ that God built to save you? How many times have you found yourself in the lions den with Daniel surrounded by angry and hungry ‘lions’ who are watching and waiting for you to make a mistake, just so they can pounce? How many times have you found yourself standing in front of what seems like an immovable object, like Moses and the Red Sea, with the world bearing down your back chasing after you only to realize that if you place your complete trust into God, He will provide? How many times have you seen a ‘giant’ standing in front of you, looking at you like you are insignificant and will never make a difference? And just like David, all you have is rickety old sling shot and you must find a way to beat Goliath. How many times have you felt like Job? How many times have you had the feeling that you couldn't do anything right and felt like God was working against you only to find that God was trying to teach you a very valuable lesson? Most of you have been in love and felt feelings similar to those that we read about in the Song of Songs and most of you have passed advice and wisdom on to those around you much like we find in Proverbs. So, as you can see, the OT has a lot to offer when it comes to our faith journey. There are so many lessons to be learned if we just take the time to read and understand them.
Today’s scripture is no different... The prophet Isaiah was writing to the Israelite people who had been banished into exile yet again after their beloved city of Jerusalem had been decimated. Yet he finds hope in the caring and loving hands of God and shares that with his people. The thought of Jerusalem being destroyed is still fresh in the minds, yet Isaiah is offering them hope. This hope can seem cruel at times because Isaiah tells them in chapter 49 verse 6 that they are to be a “...light to the nations so that [God’s] salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” At this time, their temple and city have been destroyed and it seems God’s love is just out of their reach. Does this sound familiar to you and your faith? Have you ever felt that God has called you to do something yet you think it seems impossible? Or that the challenge is much bigger than your capabilities? Does the hope that you read about in the Bible seem somewhat cruel and unjust at times? If you are anything like me, you have experienced some, if not all, of these feelings at some point in your faith. Today’s scripture is calling to all of us who have felt this way, it is telling us to come to the waters, in other words, come to God. If you have little or no money and cannot afford food and drink, come to God to be satisfied. Isaiah is calling us to follow Him by telling us that our faith costs nothing. We do not have to be rich to believe in Him, we can have all the wine and bread that we need, in other words, he is telling us that if we have little or no faith, it does not matter because God’s gifts and blessings do not cost a dime. Isaiah is urging us to stop spending our time and treasure on things that are unsatisfactory; rather, he is calling us to listen to God and "delight ourselves in rich food," and that is the food that only God can offer.
Isaiah is reminding us that the price has already been paid in full. As we continue through Lent, I want you to remember what Isaiah is telling us like this: Imagine that you have gone to a restaurant with your family. After you have finished your meal, your waiter tells you that someone else has already paid your bill in full and you do not owe anything. You are left with two options; 1) You can choose to pay the bill anyway with no regard to someone already paying for it; and 2) You can accept that it has already been paid and be very thankful that someone paid for it. Your salvation can also follow this analogy. You can either accept or reject the fact that Jesus paid the price for your sin and the sin of the world but the fact remains, regardless of your choice, that the price has already been paid in full.
I want to look at the most vital part of today’s scripture but first let us better understand the context to which Isaiah is speaking: We already know that Isaiah is speaking to the Israelites who had been exiled away from their homeland but he is also telling them that they will be a light to the world and the light will be so strong that even those who do not know them will want to be a part of it. Do you know how hard it would be for the Israelites to take to heart what Isaiah is telling them? They are barely scraping by and are struggling to keep their faith yet Isaiah is telling them that they will be a beacon of God’s love to the world. Isaiah is trying to tell them, and us, that we dramatically underestimate the power of God. It is difficult for us to imagine all the things that God has the power to do. All we have to do is look at all the times that God has built us arc, pulled us out of a lion’s den and parted the Red Seas in our lives. God has done truly amazing things for each and every single one of us here, all we have left to do is realize that God has already paid the bill in full.
In closing, we can look at the exile of Israelites as a part of our own faith journey. How many of us have gone through a time in our lives where we too have gone through our own exile, where we seem distant from God. I am not necessarily talking about completely losing your faith but just a time where you have lost touch with your faith. Even when our faith is going well, we may encounter times like this where we find it difficult to find God. In such times, it gets easier and easier to question God’s power that finds it home in each of us. Isaiah reminds us that our human thoughts have a very difficult time thinking largely enough to imagine how the world can become new. But God can, and He bids us to higher thought than we can ever do by ourselves and Isaiah reminds us what God said, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Just as Isaiah reminded the Israelites of their calling to be a light unto the world, we too are called to a light so bright that people who have no idea who we are will be drawn to us. Our faith must be so strong, that nothing, not Goliath, not floods, nor lions can dim the light that shines forth from this place. We may be few in numbers but God has truly blessed the family that we have here and God commands us to share this with the world. If you would like to accept the fact that your ‘bill’ to heaven has been paid in full, all you have to do is accept it and believe it. Amen.
God Bless,
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