Why are you here?

Good Evening there is one question I want to address tonight. Why are you here? Why are you alive why are you a part of this church why did you come tonight?

Why are we here?

The simplest of questions the question my kids ask until I don’t wanna here it anymore… why? Why?

Isaiah 56:1–8 ESV

Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my righteousness be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”

Isaiah 56:1-

Why are we here?

Let’s be reminded of what is happening in the life of Israel at this time, and the Lord is now speaking again.

Were here because of the peoples plight.

Were here because of the people, stepping back in time to when the Lord first spoke these words to the people in Isaiahs time we understand that this was a very difficult time for the Jews the children of God.

They had suffered the consequences of their sin and rebellion, you see this was not the first time the Lord had spoken, to these same people through the prophet. The Lord had spoken to them on many occasions and in many times through other prophets.

This was during a time of their rebellion and the Lord had spoken to call them back and He said to them, I love you, as you turn from me know that your turning in the wrong direction know that if you leave me your turning away from life and you are headed toward the grave turn back to me I want better for you than the pathway of destruction that you have set your self on.

But the people did not listen, but even though they did not listen He refused to give up on them and He sent more prophets to say to them, turn back to me or you will fell my hand of discipline.

The book of Hebrews reminds us that the Lord disciplines the ones He loves. Even as a father would discipline His own children. As they were treating the poor unjustly following false gods of the nations. The Lord knew they were heading for destruction, and God warned them, turn back to me or I will extend a hand of judgement.

You see God loves us enough that He will do whatever is necessary when we are going in the wrong direction when we are in sin and rebellion He will do whatever is necessary to turn us back.

Even if it takes pain.

Yet the people still did not listen and then the Lord did what He said He would do, the Lord lifted His hand of protection, and extended His hand of discipline. The people were overtaken by their enemies the entire city was destroyed, many of the people were carried off in exile.

Finally they got it!

As has been true at times in my life, it took pain to turn back to the Lord and finally it worked, and where we find God’s people here in is that thee have begun turning back to the Lord, and the Lord has begun to bring healing to them, and the Lord speaks a word of HOPE!

The word so clearly communicated there

Isaiah 56:1 ESV

Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my righteousness be revealed.

Isaiah

MY SALVATION IS ABOUT TO COME!

People who needed to be saved heard from the Lord, I AM GOING TO SAVE YOU! Don’t you know as they gathered together for worship the Lord spoke these words to the prophet their hearts were gladdened.

But He wasn’t just speaking to the Israelites, He wasn’t just speaking to the Jews. He was also speaking to two more groups of people.

Isaiah 56:3 ESV

Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”

So the Lord is not just speaking to the Jews but to the foreigners who knew the Lord. The foreigner who has joined Himself to the Lord, and he said don’t let the foreigner who has joined himself to me say the Lord will separate me from his people.

Now there was a time when the foreigner would feel separated from God’s people, because as the Jews would gather together for a meal, the foreigners were not allowed to eat with the Jews. There were certain places when the Jews met to worship that the foreigners weren’t allowed to go.

Even if they knew loved and followed the Lord. So as God’s people were up close and hearing a word from the Lord a word of hope the foreigners were back separated from Gods people. They were wondering is there a word for me?

god has promised salvation for the Jew, but is there salvation is there hope is there forgiveness for me?

They gather together for worship and the Jews were at the alter hearing a word from the Lord and the foreigners were standing at a distance wondering is there a word for me, there’s a third group that is mentioned there in verse 3 Its the Eunuch.

LEt not the eunuch say I am a dry tree.

Now if the Jews are at the alter and the foreigners are off somewhere at a distance you’ve gotta go way back in the shadows to find a eunuch. A eunuch was most often a slave, not a eunuch by choice but a eunuch by force so he could not present a threat to ones family, he was one who was owned.

He could not even have a family of his own. Now we cant relate to the plight of a slave, that’s not something we have ever experienced, but these men were auctioned on a slave trade block, as cattle, most of the time as little children.

They were put up on a stand a platform and they would sell them to the highest bidder. One account was recorded from an encounter on a island called goray Island.

The man recounts that they took him down a hallway past the slave trade block and there was a dark hallway they walked down, and they saw a little room, and over the doorway of that room chiseled in french was the word for men, and that is where the men were held, the guide took the group further down the hallway to another small room with the french word for women was etched over the door, thats where the women were kept until they were sold, and then even further down the hallway was another door, with the french word for children etched over the doorway.

The guide explained that they were very intentional, that they would never sell a slave to a buyer who had bought another member of that family unit, because time had taught them that a man does not make a good slave when he sees what slavery means for the love of his life, and for his children.

A woman will die to protect those babies.

then you’ve lost your investment and so the families would be sold to different buyers and sailed off in different ships and should they survive the journey they would often times never know the fate of their family members.

I cant fathom the horror of that can you? For strangers to bombard our home drag our family out into the street, to separate us and sell us I cant even process that..

The plight of a slave, as we read our Bibles spiritually speaking we were slaves, because the one who sins the Bible says is a what a slave to sin, and the Bible goes on to say “ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH.

The one who sins is a slave to sin, aren’t you thankful for the gospel who loved you enough to buy your freedom, for one who was willing to give his life for your life that your sins would be forgiven?

There was an account of a family who was being sold into slavery and the mother was standing up on the slave trade block and there was a man who bought her actually paid 3 times the amount for her, as she was lead to his carriage, the man who purchased her stood at the carriage and as she got closer and thought about her husband and her children being separated from her she was hurt devastated and angry.

As she approached the man she spit in his face and cursed him for what He had done by buying her and separating her from her family, as he wiped the spit from his face he opened the carriage and her entire family exited the carriage.

The man looked at the woman and said mam, I bought you in order to set you free. The family embraced one another and the man went to enter his carriage and leave and the woman stopped him “sir we would do nothing else with our lives except serve you, for you bought us to set us free.”

That is the heart of a Christian isn’t it?

Lord theres no one else we would long to give our lives to than the one who set us free.

Arent you thankful for Jesus?

That’s why were here, were here because there are people still out there we are here, those of us who have put our hope and faith in Jesus repenting of our sin, were here to worship but there’s a reason the Lord doesn’t have us all worshipping together in Heaven.

He hasn’t saved us and called us home, He saved us and left us here because they are still out there. they are still enslaved to the same thing that used to enslave us.

They are still enslaved to their greed, and their lust their gossipping and their lying toungues the same things that once bound us still bind them. The Lord has set us free, and he has brought us here, your here because theya re not.

Your here because of the peoples plight and your here because of

God’s Promises

The Lord speaks beautiful promises to the Jew salvation is spoken clearly in 1. then He gives these promises

Isaiah 56:

Isaiah 56:5 ESV

I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

Isaiah 56:7 ESV

these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

That word peoples in the Hebrew is the same word for foreigners. You think you dont have a place you think your a foriegner but I’ve got a place for you.

What beutiful promises the Lord makes here, to those who the world called worthless who felt alone and separated and as if they didnt belong.

The Lord says I have a place for you here!

Im gonna give you a name better than my sons and daughters!!

All these promises have been kept through the Lord JEsus Christ. the Lord promised salvation, and He promised a place within the walls within the family, what did he do?

He sent His son, who was sacrificed outside of the city, He went out so that you could come in.

Acceptance- what did He did do He allowed His own son to be rejected so that you could be accepted. god promised you a place within the family what did he do?

God gave His only begotten Son laid down His life and paid the price of you adoption, His son was bound with the sins of the world so that you could be bought and set free.

Jesus is the answer He is the promise kept, He is the hope and our help.

You exist to find those who have never gathered together with the family of God.

Isaiah

Isaiah 56:8 ESV

The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”