Isaiah 58:1-14
Notes
Transcript
1 “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people Israel of their sins!
2 Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me.
3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers.
4 What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.
5 You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord?
6 “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.
7 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.
8 “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.
9 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!
10 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.
11 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.
12 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.
13 “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
14 Then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
What’s the Big Deal?
What’s the Big Deal?
Worshiping YHWH has not informed the ACTIONS Of the people!
THE ONLY Required fast date in the Bible is the Day of Atonement
29 “On the tenth day of the appointed month in early autumn, you must deny yourselves. Neither native-born Israelites nor foreigners living among you may do any kind of work. This is a permanent law for you. 30 On that day offerings of purification will be made for you, and you will be purified in the Lord’s presence from all your sins. 31 It will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This is a permanent law for you.
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, 27 “Be careful to celebrate the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of that same month—nine days after the Festival of Trumpets. You must observe it as an official day for holy assembly, a day to deny yourselves and present special gifts to the Lord. 28 Do no work during that entire day because it is the Day of Atonement, when offerings of purification are made for you, making you right with the Lord your God. 29 All who do not deny themselves that day will be cut off from God’s people. 30 And I will destroy anyone among you who does any work on that day. 31 You must not do any work at all! This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live. 32 This will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and on that day you must deny yourselves. This day of rest will begin at sundown on the ninth day of the month and extend until sundown on the tenth day.”
The idea of seeking atonement, forgiveness of sins, from God and then NOT being careful to do the works of God is CLEARLY in the background of the Isaiah passage.
Giving God Lip Service
The people put themselves first; not God
They SEEMED eager to follow God and God’s ways
They seems as if they wanted to do what was right
But, in their day(s) they set aside to honor God they still were concerned about themselves
Some suggest that the call to fast had to do with wars. Kings would call their people to fast and seek God for their countries benefit during the war.
The people would go through all this, but not put God first, and wonder why God was not listening to them.
Fasting is supposed to make US aware of God. It is supposed to make US aware of our need for repentance and forgiveness. It is supposed to make US aware of God’s standard for our life so that WE can change and do something different.
But, these people are fasting in order to GET GOD’S ATTENTION. They want God to do something, so they fast.
They have the shoe on the wrong foot. God wants to speak to them and change them! But, when they fast it is NOT so that they can listen to God; they fast so God will listen to them!!
What is God’s Desire?
What is God’s Desire?
6 “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.
God desires that we OBEY his commands. BUT, the commands are ones that call us to see others through the eyes of God and with God’s compassion.
22 “You must not exploit a widow or an orphan. 23 If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.
17 “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. 18 He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. 19 So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.
17 “True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment as security for her debt. 18 Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from your slavery. That is why I have given you this command. 19 “When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all you do. 20 When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don’t go over the boughs twice. Leave the remaining olives for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. 21 When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, don’t glean the vines after they are picked. Leave the remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. 22 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command.
19 ‘Cursed is anyone who denies justice to foreigners, orphans, or widows.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
1 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah. Say to him, 2 ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you king of Judah, sitting on David’s throne. Let your attendants and your people listen, too. 3 This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent!
6 What can we bring to the Lord? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? 7 Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? 8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. 22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. 23 Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. 24 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. 26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
30 “Son of man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors. They say to each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear the prophet tell us what the Lord is saying!’ 31 So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money. 32 You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don’t act on it!
36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is told as a part of Luke’s version of this teaching, where the man asks for clarity about who his neighbor is...
35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
To be a follower of God, in Christ, we MUST do something with God’s Word - not simply listen to it. We must challenge the injustices we face in our world with GOD’S idea of justice.
Henri Nouwen in Compassion states
“The future has already begun and is revealed each time strangers are welcomed, the naked are clothed, the sick and prisoners are visited, and oppression is overcome.” (Compassion, 132)
Are there Modern-Day Injustices?
Are there Modern-Day Injustices?
Slavery
Estimates of the number of people in modern slavery today range from 38 million to 49.6 million. The exact number is debated because:
There is no universally agreed definition of modern slavery.
It's often difficult to identify those in slavery.
Adequate statistics are often not available.
At Anti-Slavery International, we define modern slavery as when an individual is exploited by others, for personal or commercial gain. Whether tricked, coerced, or forced, they lose their freedom. This includes but is not limited to human trafficking, forced labour and debt bondage.
According to the latest Global Estimates of Modern Slavery (2022) from Walk Free, the International Labour Organization and the International Organization for Migration:
49.6 million people live in modern slavery – in forced labour and forced marriage
Roughly a quarter of all victims of modern slavery are children
22 million people are in forced marriages. Two out of five of these people were children
Of the 27.6 million people trapped in forced labour, 17.3 million are in forced labour exploitation in the private economy, 6.3 million are in commercial sexual exploitation, and nearly 4 million are in forced labour imposed by state authorities
The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the conditions that lead to modern slavery
Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to forced labour.
Meth...
Who uses methamphetamine?
In the past the typical methamphetamine user was an adult male with a lower than average income. However, now individuals of all ages and economic status use methamphetamine. Data reported in the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicate that an estimated 9.6 million U.S. residents aged 12 and older used methamphetamine at least once in their lifetime. The survey also revealed that many teenagers and young adults use methamphetamine--338,000 individuals aged 12 to 17 and 1.5 million individuals aged 18 to 25 used the drug at least once.
Methamphetamine use among high school students is a particular concern. Nearly 7 percent of high school seniors in the United States used the drug at least once in their lifetime, and nearly 2 percent used the drug in the past month, according to the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future Survey.
Debt
Here are some recent statistics on household debt in the United States:
Total debt
In the second quarter of 2024, total consumer debt was $17.796 trillion, a record high. This was an increase of $109 billion from the previous quarter.
Debt by type
In the first quarter of 2024, debt was distributed as follows:
Mortgage debt: $12.519 trillion, an increase of $77 billion from the previous quarter
Credit card debt: $1.142 trillion, an increase of $27 billion from the previous quarter
Auto loan debt: $1.61 trillion, an increase of $9 billion from the previous quarter
Debt payments
In the first quarter of 2024, the debt payment-to-income ratio was 9.8%, meaning that Americans spent nearly 10% of their monthly income on debt payments.
Debt has become our master. The idea of a tithe in the O.T. was to set up a system to teach us to give our master the master’s due. We WILL give our master 10%, the question becomes “Who is our master?” Clearly, it is debt!
No wonder God cannot control us, we are controlled by MONEY (mammon).
7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.
24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
Credit card delinquency rate
In the first quarter of 2024, the delinquency rate for all credit card loans from commercial banks was 3.23%.
Credit card debt by age group
Credit card debt is distributed by age group as follows:
18-29: 7.6%
30-39: 5.69%
40-49: 3.81%
50-59: 2.98%
60-69: 2.81%
70 and older: 3.49%
Capital Punishment
Between 1976 and 2024
More than 75% of the murder victims in cases resulting in an execution were white, even though nationally only 50% of murder victims generally are white.
• Jurors in Washington state are three times more likely to recommend a death sentence for a black defendant than for a white defendant in a similar case. (Prof. K. Beckett, Univ. of Washington, 2014).
• In Louisiana, the odds of a death sentence were 97% higher for those whose victim was white than for those whose victim was black. (Pierce & Radelet, Louisiana Law Review, 2011).
• A study in California found that those convicted of killing whites were more than 3 times as likely to be sentenced to death as those convicted of killing blacks and more than 4 times more likely as those convicted of killing Latinos. (Pierce & Radelet, Santa Clara Law Review, 2005).
• A comprehensive study of the death penalty in North Carolina found that the odds of receiving a death sentence rose by 3.5 times among those defendants whose victims were white. (Prof. Jack Boger and Dr. Isaac Unah, University of North Carolina, 2001).
• In 2005, the Supreme Court in Roper v. Simmons struck down the death penalty for juveniles. Since 1976, 22 defendants had been executed for offenses committed as juveniles.
• A report by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in 2010 found that seeking a federal death sentence costs 8 times more than seeking a life sentence. Jon B. Gould and Lisa Greenman, Update on the Cost and Quality of Defense Representation in Federal Death Penalty Cases (2010)
Homelessness
Homelessness in Montana
Montana has some of the highest rates of homelessness in the country, with the following statistics:
Overall increase
From 2007 to 2023, Montana's homeless population increased by 89%, the second largest in the country.
Chronic homelessness
Montana's chronic homelessness increased by 551% from 2007 to 2023, the largest increase in the country.
Unaccompanied youth
Montana's homelessness among unaccompanied youth increased by 76% from 2022 to 2023, the second largest in the country.
Veterans
Montana's number of veterans experiencing homelessness increased from 2009 to 2023.
Billings
Point-in-time counts typically show about 600 people experiencing homelessness in Billings.
Bozeman
HRDC estimates that more than 300 people are experiencing homelessness in Bozeman.
Missoula
The largest group of people experiencing homelessness in Missoula is aged 35–44. The Missoula Coordinated Entry System (MCES) sees a disproportionate representation of racialized people in the houseless response system.
Some challenges facing Montana's homeless population include: Mental health issues, Substance use disorders, and Lack of dedicated homeless veteran housing.
What is the Solution - COMPASSION - the Fast that God requires
What is the Solution - COMPASSION - the Fast that God requires
Scripture calls us to act.
Why?
To learn that people are not problems to be solved, but persons who are loved by God and who are to be loved.
Brian P. Stone states
“Authentic compassion begins with solidarity. It enters into the suffering of another with genuine empathy, vulnerability, and concern. But the compassionate minister is not overcome by this suffering nor wholly determined by it. She remains free and brings something to the experience of suffering that is not derived from the experience itself. She brings a vision and a hope. She sees the possibility of liberation and community. She sees the space for creativity and novelty. And thus, while fully participating in the pain of the other, she brings faith and healing, emancipation and promise. Compassion is not compassion without this dimension of freedom. That is why compassion must never be understood either as a command to be obeyed or as a mere tool to accomplish other allegedly more important activities like church growth or evangelism.” (Compassionate Ministry, 63).
Compassion is NOT always about writing checks to organizations and churches to assist - but finances could be a SMALL COMPONENT of COMPASSION...
Writing checks is not always compassion. It eliminates the “OTHER” and makes them a problem whereby the “fix” is a monetary solution.
Sitting with people, looking at them eye to eye, giving them food, and yes, then supplying finances is compassion.
Too often we are quick to throw money at problems, and even people, but in doing that we forget the humanity of the other.
Think of Addiction...
The Frontal Lobe is affected with dopamine = NO REASONING CAPABILITIES
The person who is addicted is MASTERED by the addiction (this is why debt is SO BAD!)
That person cannot REASON and say, “Well, if it is a choice between what I am addicted to and food, clothing, water, etc… I’ll choose the food.” NO! THE ADDICTION IS MASTERING THEM - THEY CANNOT REASON TO MAKE THE “RIGHT CHOICE”
But, Jesus doesn’t call us to help when people makes the “Right Choice” he challenges us to help PERIOD!
The hope of God must inform us NOW!
We pray that God’s Kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven… Well, by the Power of the Holy Spirit directing our actions we have EVERYTHING we need to be agents of God’s Kingdom NOW!!! We do NOT have to wait!!
GOD call his people to show their following Him through how they interact with the other
It is NOT about offerings and sacrifices - it is about seeing God's Kingdom breakthrough among us and through us to the other in our midst
Why do we Exist as the Church of the Nazarene?
Why do we Exist as the Church of the Nazarene?
The founder of the Church of the Nazarene in Los Angeles, California, was Phineas Bresee...
A Methodist pastor and faculty at USC (which was then a theological school). He asked to be appointed at the Peniel Mission (and independent ministry) in the slums of Los Angeles, California. He believed the call to be holy MUST include caring for those who are down and out.
He was denied this appointment since the mission was not sponsored by the Methodist church. Therefore, he removed himself from the Methodist appointment system, received a special status, and pastored the church at the Peniel Mission. After a year, Bresee and J.P. Widney left the mission and organized an independent congregation in October 1895.
The question arose as to what to call this independent church and organization. It was J.P. Widney who suggested the Church of the Nazarene because of the mission to reach those who are down and out, and cast out of other churches and other places, JUST LIKE JESUS THE ONE CALLED “THE NAZARENE”
Phineas Bresee, our first General Superintendent, once stated...
“We want places so plain that every board will say welcome to the poorest. We can get along without rich people, but not without preaching the Gospel to the poor. We do not covet the fine churches of our neighbors; we only long after a rich anointing of the Holy Ghost, that we may be committed to reach the poor and outcast, for whom some care so little but for whom our Redeemer lived and died. Let the Church of the Nazarene be true to its commission; not great and elegant buildings; but to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, and wipe away the tears of the sorrowing; and gather jewels for his diadem.”
So what do we do?
This is not a call for money
This is not a call for Facebook blasting about social justice issues
This is a REMINDER that our job is to PERSONALLY involves ourselves where there is injustice.
Elie Wiezel in his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize (1986) states “Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere.”
This is a REMINDER to treat as human, people who are created in the Image of God, who are loved by God, but who find themselves oppressed by addiction, debt, homelessness, crime, and a myriad of other plagues against humanity. They are NOT problems to be solved - they are PEOPLE WHO ARE LOVED by GOD. God cares for them, and if GOD cares for them, then so should we.
This is a call for US to strengthen our resolve to Love the Other. Not to write checks to send off to far away places, but to sit with the hungry at a meal, to provide coats for those who are cold, to bring coffee and water to those who are thirsty AND TO HEAR THEIR CRY FOR MERCY! To show them love, and to receive love from them. AND TO LEARN THEIR NAME AND THEIR STORY!!
BENEDICTION
20 Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood— 21 may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.
9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
"Let us hold fast to that which is good, render to no person evil for evil, strengthen the faint-hearted, support the weak, help the needy and the afflicted, and honor all people. Let us love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of His Spirit. And may God's blessing be upon us and remain with us always. Amen".
