Morning Message Text: Isaiah 58: 1-12
True Fasting
1 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Morning Message:
We are getting close to that time of year in the church when we start thinking about disciplines such as prayer and fasting. Prayer is something that should be natural for Christians, in fact it should be second nature, like having a normal conversation, but a little more focused and intentional. Fasting on the other hand is not as familiar and takes much more discipline and dedication. I don’t want to focus as much on these disciplines today, but more on why we should practice them. Too often we engage in things like prayer and fasting with an end result in mind. Prayer becomes a means to an end, a way to get what we want from God. We don’t consciously think this way, but if we dig deep into our motives, we will find that we do these things with ulterior motives and most of us have an agenda that we want God to meet. When you come to God in prayer, what are you looking for? What expectations do you bring to the altar?
The simple answer to what we should be seeking in prayer is God’s will, but that is too broad of an answer. We need to have some idea of God’s will, not because God doesn’t know what it is and needs you to tell him, but because we need to feel connected to what God wants for our lives. That’s where this amazing book called the Bible comes in. God’s Word is here to give us clarity and show us what God wants us to become. Today’s scripture in Matthew tells us directly what we should be in this world. You are the salt of the earth! Now I am not going to get into all of the wonderful qualities and usefulness of salt. The only thing that you have to realize is that salt makes a difference. So maybe one of our prayers should be: “Lord, help me to make a difference for your kingdom here on earth.” Do you ever pray that? Every week we pray: “Your kingdom come”, but is that what we desire? You are the light of the world! Jesus calls us light because his everlasting light shines in us and should shine through us. Light is essential in so many ways, but all that we need to focus on today is that God’s will for us is to shine and not hide the light that he has given us through his grace. Maybe our prayer should be: “Help me Lord, to allow your light of salvation to shine to the world.” Do you ever pray like that?
In many ways, as Christians in this nation, we have become like what the text in Isaiah talks about. “For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.” If God were speaking to us, would He say: “They come to church; they pray for what they want; they claim to follow my ways but ignore my commands. They ask for justice and correction of all of the terrible things that are starting to take place; they act like they want a relationship with me. They grumble when they don’t get the answer that they want, and wonder in their hearts why they bother to go out of their way for me.” Come on now, I know that we all feel this way when our prayers seem to go unanswered, but do we ever stop to think that maybe it’s not God holding things up, but us?
This scripture sums up my whole message in one small sentence. “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please.” Praying, fasting, coming to church, doing good deeds to make us feel good, reading God’s word, none of these things makes us acceptable to God. It is only through the blood of Jesus that we are acceptable to God in the first place, and he didn’t die on the cross for us to live unintentional, half-hearted lives for God. Friends, there is a seriousness and dedication to our faith that seems to be lost on us. If you want to be acceptable to the Lord; if you want a life of experiencing God’s closeness and see him move in your life, read through these verses in Isaiah and adjust your heart and your motives to God’s will for your life. Maybe, very simply but earnestly, ask God to make you the salt and light that he wants you to be.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
Views: 2
