Who Are You?

Introduction:

Happy Sunday before Thanksgiving!

Boy is this Thanksgiving going to look different! It seems almost surreal to think that during one of the busiest traveling holidays of the year, where people gather to overindulge in Family, Food and Football we are being told to keep it in House.

Almost does not seem real.

So, some of you may have been asking yourself, “Why is there a chair sitting in front of the keyboard this morning?”

The chair is here as a reminder that things have changed...

Just the pandemic and the recent restrictions brought about by an increase in cases will be enough for families to change their plans and for the number of people gathering in homes to be limited.

For others, maybe it is the result of broken relationships that will limit the joy and laughter that has taken place in previous years from being experienced this year at your table.

And for still others - and I think of the Crowley, Gant, Gray, and Otte families among others - this will be the first Thanksgiving where a parent, grandparent, sibling, child or friend has passed from this life to the next and isn’t at the table with us.

Even while we look forward to seeing them in eternity, there is still an emptiness in our hearts.

I want to pause with you this morning and ask the God of all comfort to meet with us in our grief, in our loss, and in our remembering to comfort us. I also want to ask God this morning to provide us with the space and place to be a comfort to others. That, in spite of the circumstances, our own loss would give voice to the Father of mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all our afflictions.

And while God may not take the ache of heartbreak away from us, He does give us an unshakeable hope, the foundation for living with a joyful expectancy of the present and the future.

Let us pray!

Enough with the Haughty Hearts

Lee Strobel uses the following illustration to highlight the moral rebellion that makes clear truths of Scripture much more ambiguous than they are.

Imagine a daughter and her boyfriend going out for a Coke on a school night. The father says to her, "You must be home before eleven." It gets to be 10:45 p.m. and the two of them are still having a great time. They don't want the evening to end, so suddenly they begin to have difficulty interpreting the father's instructions: What did he really mean when he said, "You must be home before eleven"? Did he literally mean us, or was he talking about you in a general sense, like people in general? Was he saying, in effect, "As a general rule, people must be home before eleven"? Or was he just making the observation that "Generally, people are in their homes before eleven"? I mean, he wasn't very clear, was he?

And what did he mean by, "You must be home before eleven"? Would a loving father be so adamant and inflexible? He probably means it as a suggestion. I know he loves me, so isn't it implicit that he wants me to have a good time? And if I am having fun, then he wouldn't want me to end the evening so soon. And what did he mean by, "You must be home before eleven"? He didn't specify whose home. It could be anybody's home. Maybe he meant it figuratively. Remember the old saying, "Home is where the heart is"? My heart is right here, so doesn't that mean I'm already home? And what did he really mean when he said, "You must be home before eleven"? Did he mean that in an exact, literal sense? Besides, he never specified 11 p.m. or 11 a.m.

And he wasn't really clear on whether he was talking about Central Standard Time or Eastern Standard Time. In Hawaii, it's still only quarter to seven. As a matter of fact, when you think about it, it's always before eleven. Whatever time it is, it's always before the next eleven. So with all of these ambiguities, we can't really be sure what he meant at all. If he can't make himself more clear, we certainly can't be held responsible."

So we see with Jerusalem. They have been living the life of wanting to go through the motions - to do just enough to stay out of trouble while pushing the boundaries to see what they can get away with.

Now, we can be tempted to do the same thing. Some of us have been debating how or what orders we should keep and which ones are open to interpretation as we plan our holiday gatherings. In fact many of us may even be having those same type of conversations - do they really mean? Will we really get in trouble? Maybe...

The problem is, that same as it always is and will always be - out hearts. You know those deceptively wicked hearts that cause us to make choices and do things we wouldn’t normally do.

Thats where Jerusalem finds themselves during Isaiah’s time - trying to justify and rationalize their SIN (I know, we hate that word don’t we) in order to feel better about themselves and their choices.

As a result, we pick up in Isaiah 29 with God, through Isaiah, informing Jerusalem that they will be humbled by their enemies.

Isaiah 29:1–4 ESV

Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts run their round. Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation, and she shall be to me like an Ariel. And I will encamp against you all around, and will besiege you with towers and I will raise siegeworks against you. And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak, and from the dust your speech will be bowed down; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and from the dust your speech shall whisper.

Ariel has two possible meanings. The first is “Hero” a reminder of Jerusalem’s former glory. The second, and probably most fitting definition for this text is Altar Hearth - the place where sacrifices are consumed by fire in order to satisfy divine wrath against sin.

Almost fitting that a place filled with the ashes of sacrifices past would also become filled with the ashes of a people who had ventured far away from God.

God also points out they should just keep on doing what they are doing. Keep it up, year after year, feast after feast… because if you heart doesn’t change it just really doesn’t matter.

Rabbi Adam Mintz explains how this is still ingrained in part of the Orthodox tradition:

Throughout the borough of Manhattan, about 18 miles of translucent wire stretches around the skyline, and most people have likely never noticed. It's called an eruv (pronounced “ay-rube”) and its existence is thanks to the Jewish Sabbath.

On the Sabbath, which is viewed as a day of rest, observant Jewish people aren't allowed to carry anything—books, groceries, even children—outside the home (doing so is considered "work"). The eruv encircles much of Manhattan, acting as a symbolic boundary that turns the very public streets of the city into a private space, much like one's own home. This allows people to freely communicate and socialize on the Sabbath—and carry whatever they please—without having to worry about breaking Jewish law.

As the writer Sharonne Cohen explains, eruvin were created by “the sages of the Talmud” to get around traditional prohibitions on carrying “house keys, prayer books, canes or walkers, and even children who cannot walk on their own.” New York City isn't the only metropolis in the US with an eruv. They are also in St. Louis, Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, and numerous other cities across the country.

A cynic might wonder at the effort required to string wire around huge swaths of public space, in order to allow adherents of a religion to do what the tenets of that religion would otherwise prohibit. Even some religiously-minded observers might find it hard to imagine a God that wouldn’t regard this as the flagrant concoction of a city-sized loophole.

We see in this example that the heart of man hasn’t really changed much as we are still looking for loopholes - because we still act as if its what we do that is important - not who, or whose we are.

Can you see the exasperated parent or friend, trying to help someone see how their behavior only leads to self-destruction, throwing their hands in the air and saying - ENOUGH! Keep doing you, keep doing what you are doing, you’ll see soon enough - the consequences!

But God isn’t just going to humble Jerusalem, he is going to humble their enemies!

Isaiah 29:5–8 ESV

But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff. And in an instant, suddenly, you will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating, and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking, and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion.

it is almost like God is saying to the nations that laid siege to Jerusalem - ENOUGH!

The arrogant armies that are standing against Jerusalem will now be humbled by the mighty God.

God will break out using thunder and earthquakes, and noise, and winds, and fire.... and every nation that stands against Jerusalem will vanish… like a bad dream.

They think they were something, and they were nothing

They think they dined at a feast - only to still be hungry.

They think they quenched their thirst - only to be still thirsty

They looked for satisfaction in all the wrong places, and were left empty and unfulfilled.

Now when we are being disciplined, as Jerusalem is here, it becomes easy to ask Why? What’s the problem? Why are you dealing so harshly with me?

Can you see them sitting here going, what? Really??

Yet, God’s discipline is for healing - maybe not quite what Nick Lowe had in mind when he penned Cruel to be Kind, however, there is some truth to discipline being for a season and for a reason.

God’s reason is to address the issues of the heart that reveal themselves generation after generation, in Jerusalem - and if we are honest - within the church today!

God want to address our spiritual blindness, our spiritual bankruptcy (which leads to half-hearted worship), and our spiritual barrenness.

God, through Isaiah says:

Enough with the Hypocritical Hearts

Isaiah 29:9–16 ESV

Astonish yourselves and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with strong drink! For the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers). And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.” And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?” You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?

Spiritually Blind

The spiritual blindness is revealed as the people stagger around without being drunk.

They are blind because they cannot see what is in front of them and their blindness has caused them to become immune to the things that are going on around them. They hear Isaiah’s words and cannot understand their meaning. They have had warnings and words that they ignored and now their heart is too hard to understand - so God needs to do something to get their attention.

However, they are not only spiritually blind, they are Spiritually Bankrupt. They are spiritually bankrupt because they put more emphasis on what they do than on who they are.

Noel Jesse Heikinnen in his book, Unchained:

Down through history, the predominant viewpoint has been that what we do determines who we are. We've all heard the old adage, "You are what you eat." This isn't a new school of thought. Aristotle wrote, "We are what we repeatedly do." A recent TED talk declared, "You are what you tweet." Each one of these proclamations, while carrying a significant nugget of truth, gets the core message of the gospel backward. Frank Zappa, of all people, got it right: "You are what you is." In other words, it's not what we do that determines who we are; rather, who we are determines what we do. This is the biblical paradigm.

The people whom we would think had the best chance at understanding this are the same people that time and again get it wrong - and I am not just talking about the people of Jerusalem here.

This has been a prevailing issue within the church as well - especially when we have adopted a worldview that promotes personal responsibility as a follower of Jesus over responsibility to the community in which we find ourselves a part of.

Our culture tells us it is all about us - the world tells us its all about us - Jesus says its all about me - and as a result, its all about community.

Do a quick search somebody and text me the number of times it says to Love one Another in Scripture… I will wait! Now how many times does it say to Love Yourself?

How many times does it say to bear One Anothers Burdens? How many times does it say to make others bear yours? How many times are we commanded to forgive others? How many times are we commended to forgive ourselves? How many times are we commanded to repent?

Is your heart far from God? Worship that results from a heart that is far off starts at a place of bankruptcy and ends in a place where we are Spiritually Barren.

When we are barren we hide. We think no one sees us or knows. We forget that the potter who was intimately involved in creating and shaping us hasn’t stopped forming us and he will not stop until we are perfected.

When that happens our

Hope-filled Hearts will be Enough!

In Nikos Kazantzakis's novel Christ Recrucified, there is a scene in which four village men confess their sins to one another in the presence of the Pope. One of the men, Michelis, cries out, "How can God let us live on the earth? Why doesn't he kill us to purify creation?"

"Because, Michelis," the Pope answered, "God is a potter; he works in mud."

Isaiah 29:17–24 ESV

Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. For the ruthless shall come to nothing and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off, who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right. Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: “Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale. For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction.”

For the people of Jerusalem, that meant that they would see wrongs righted - the blind would see, the meek would know joy and the poor would have the hope that comes from knowing the exalted King of Glory.

The unrighteous will be judged and come to nothing.

For the people of Jerusalem it also means that worship will be restored, that the Holy One of Israel will be worshipped and the people will stand in awe of the God of Jacob.

When is the last time you stood in awe of what God has done? Or are you too busy trying to assign God the blame for the choices you have made or the circumstances you have endured?

See, even at the end Isaiah reminds them that the result of discipline, restoration and worship is understanding that comes from instruction something we cannot achieve while we think we have all the answers.

Finally, I want to leave you with this picture courtesy of Tim Keller. I think its fitting to end with, as it presents all of us with a challenge - to live a good life, or to live a grateful life.

We often hear someone say: "Well, I'm not very religious, but I'm a good person and that is what is most important." But is that true? Imagine a woman, a poor widow with an only son. She teaches him how she wants him to live, to always tell the truth, to work hard and to help the poor.

She makes very little money, but with her meager savings she is able to put him through college. Imagine that when he graduates, he hardly even speaks to her again. He occasionally sends a Christmas card, but he doesn't visit her, he won't even answer her phone calls or letters; he doesn't speak to her. But he lives just like she taught him—honestly, industriously, and charitably.

Would you say this was acceptable? Of course not. Wouldn't we say by living a "good life" but neglecting a relationship with the one to whom he owed everything he was doing something commendable?

In the same way, God created us and we owe him everything and we do not live for him but we "live a good life" it is not enough. We all owe a debt that we cannot pay - so lets live a life of worship that is demonstrated , not by what we do but by who we are - or better still, by whose we are.