Isaiah 56-66 SERMON SUMMARY Lakeshore 4 September 2011

Isaiah 65- Two ways to live

When I was a boy I was painfully shy. If someone came to the door of our house my sister would run to the door and I would run to my bedroom. These two responses represent the two responses we can have to God when he turns up.

In Isaiah prayed to God for Him to come down. Isaiah 64 is a response to that prayer.

1. God always taking the first step Read: 1 God is not a distant God. God is not a remote God. All along he has been the one making the first move. God takes a lowly position when he says: Here am I, Here am I. God has always been the initiator in his love affair with .

Read: 65:1-2

You understand the by the . Paul explains these verses in :20-21. Isaiah is talking to in verse 1 and verse 2 is about Israel. Israel has all too often flatly refused the advances of God. This response continued even when Jesus came. John 1:11 says: “He came to his own and his own rejected Him.” This is continued when Jesus ascended and the went out in the book of Acts. The Gospel would go first to the Jews who would reject it and so the apostles would go to the Gentiles. More about these responses soon.

God has always made himself known in general revelation. You see that in Psalm 19: 1-2 and Romans 1:19-20. This general revelation wasn’t enough for God. He wanted to give us a special revelation of himself. Jesus is God’s special revelation to us. He also takes a lowly position to make God known to us. See Philippians 2:5-11.

When I was growing up my dad worked for himself as a solicitor he was very busy. He had a couple of people to assist him. One of the things they did for him was answering the phone. There was a public number everyone could call but he also had a private number. He had two phones on his desk. This was before the days of mobiles. As his kids we could call him directly anytime. We had direct access to him. We have direct access to God through Jesus. Jesus has removed the obstacles of judgment and sin in His death.

So God is saying to us today? To you. Here I am. He is saying that to us here and now. He is saying that to those in our lives through us. You can have direct access to God because wants you to.

For those of us who are Fathers we are to follow the example of THE Father. He always takes the first step. So we are to always take the first step in relationship with our kids.

There are 2 ways to respond to God. Two ways to live: Seen in two different lifestyles.

2. Reject God Read: 2-7 God’s people are Obstinate or stubborn. They spurn the relationship with God. They pursue their own imaginations or thoughts. This is always at the heart of our rejection of God. We love the things we make up in our heads. We say: I can’t believe a god who…Or I like to think of God as…

Isaiah lists the behaviours that are evidence of disobedience. v.3 – do it yourself worship v.4 – pagan practises, v.5 religious elitism, v7 – idolatry.

Verse 13 starts with THEREFORE. The rejection of God inevitably brings a response from God. Our rejection results in God’s rejection of Him.

God’s judgment is offensive to many and maybe to you. People say: How can a loving God send people to hell?

1 -66 SERMON SUMMARY Lakeshore 4 September 2011

Or does he even send sincere nice people to hell? Notice God only rejects those who reject Him. You can reject him sincerely as much as you can out rightly.

The parable Jesus tells of two sons reminds us there are two ways to reject God. The younger son asks his dad for the stuff he would get when his dad dies. In other words he wishes his dad was dead. He takes the stuff and lives in outright rejection of his dad. The older son stays at home and you can mistakenly think that because he is in close proximity that he is in good relationship with his dad. He is not. He is only there serving for what he can get from his dad. He is as far away from the dad as the younger son was. Notice that the Father goes out to both of them. This highlights that God always initiates relationship.

So we can reject God or…

3. Turn to God Read: 8-10 As we’ve seen right through Isaiah where God judges he also saves. He will keep some for himself. Those who seek him will belong to him. Those who are open to God’s revelation. Those delight in Him and the treasure he is and offers.

Turning to God is more than coming to church and doing Christian activity. It is listening to God and choosing what God likes. “Being deaf to his Word and dull to his delights, while still attending church is hypocrisy.” Ray Ortlund

Accepting God is more than making sure you don’t do any really big, bad sins. It isn’t just rejecting what offends God. It’s embracing what delights God. What pleases him will please you too.

I was away for a few days this week. If I was to assess my marriage on the basis that I didn’t do anything really bad to Belinda I would get a good assessment. But what’s the problem with that? I haven’t done anything good for her either. Being in relationship with God is more than just avoiding the things that offend him.

So how do you assess your relationship with God? Are you just avoiding the short list of really bad sins? Or are you delighting in Him and so open to His Word and the things that please him?

For those who accept him he promises a future hope.

4. The future for those who accept God Read it: 17-19 God will create something new. There will be things the same but it will be a completely new expression of the reality. God says: “I will create” v.17&18

This is not a world we create. It is not something we contribute to anymore than we contribute to our salvation. NOTHING. It will be a new environment and community. No death or destruction.

Read 22b-25 There will be: Fruitfulness – guaranteed security – close relationship with God – peace.

I heard someone say about these verses this week that 5 seconds into this world we’ll say to each other – CANCER. What was that? WAR- what was that? But that is not right. We won’t even remember all that is bad about this life. The former things will not be remembered. v.16

We who delight in God will get all we desire. We will get God because our desire will for him and him alone. God in immeasurable joyful outpouring.

How big is your hope? Is it bigger than anything in this life?

2 Isaiah 56-66 SERMON SUMMARY Lakeshore 4 September 2011

There is a wealthy Christian man in Sydney who used to invite his friends to dinners and Cook would preach the Gospel. Albert nearly died one day of a massive heart attack and so he decided to have a thanksgiving dinner. Of course David Cook was asked to speak. At one point David was talking about the hope Albert has in Jesus and that although God kept him alive if he died he would be better off. One lady at the dinner called out in response: “No he wouldn’t.” David said in reply to her: “Yes he would.”

If we don’t believe we will be better off after death then we have no hope. If are hope is not bigger than this life or death itself we have no hope. Jesus died and rose again. He has defeated death so that in Him we have hope beyond death.

There is a song that says: Soon and very soon we are going to see the King. We are looking forward to seeing Jesus.

Is that the hope that keeps you going everyday? Are you living for the WEEKEND of the END. God is saying Here I am. Look to Jesus.

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