Lamenting

Most of you know that when I was just a freshman in college I did an internship in Green bay Wisconsin

And as part of the internship we would go to an area that was a little rougher

And one of my jobs was to try and connect to these people that lived in this rough neighborhood

And I remember there was this one man named Jack who I met and he wanted to talk a little more about Christianity

So I told him I would be happy to come visit him

So later that week I drove up to his house

And he must have forgot I was coming,

Because as I approached the house you could smell the strong oder of drugs from the outside

And I remember I knocked on the door and Jack comes out and says hello

And as he says it I do not just smell drugs anymore, but there is also the strong smell of Alcohol in his breath

And go Jack did I catch you at a bad time?

And He said maybe but come on in

So I went in even though you typically do not go in a strangers house (especially when they are possibly on drugs and probably intoxicated)

And what happened is he started to tell me his entire life story, and what was so crazy is while he was telling me this is started quoting these really bizzair passages of scripture

I mean not just John 3:16, but really just odd passages of scripture.

But you know eventually as we began to talk in the middle of his drunk quoting of scripture, and him sharing a little to much information

He began to share that he was broken

He began to share that he had done some terrible things, (things we would consider unspeakable)

And not just that but because of these things he had lost so much

And to top everything off he discovered that he had brain cancer and only had a limited time left.

And I remember he was just so broken, so distraught, but what was amazing is that in this broken, distraught and desolate place, he began to seek God.

And you know as we begin this advent season all of us come from some level of brokenness.

Whether we would say our brokenness is large like my friend Jack or if our broken seems minor

But what is amazing is we are approaching Christmas which celebrates Jesus (the hope of the world) coming down in the middle of our brokenness.

and because of that we are not left there.

And the passage we are in today is actually in the Old Testament but it looks at the nation of Israel as they returned from exile and they are in an extreamly broken place where everything seems shattered.

And we are going to be looking at their prayer towards God.

So we are in Isaiah 64:1-9 but before we go to deep into this I need to give the background, because the nation of Israel has been in Exile for 5 decades in Babyloin,

And they are finally on their way to Jerusalem, and they are praising God, they are singing songs because they are excited, and now they come to this place that they have dreamed about seeing because they have heard how amazing it is.

but when they arrive they discovered the city is destroyed and sits in ruins and really this passage of scripture a considered a prayer of Lament.

Meaning a prayer where they are in deep distress and mourning what has happened

and you will see this throughout the entire prayer, but before we even jump into any of the verses in this passage I want to point out that this passage shows us it is healthy and important to lament.

I mean don’t know about you but this year has not been the best year.

We have been dealing with Covid in our community, we have been dealing with brokenness in our society, and even right now we decided to hold off on meeting in person. for these next couple weeks.

These are things that we should be sad about and we should mourn. (it would be weird if we didn’t

If a loved one passes away we should mourn

If we were laid off we should mourn

If a ministry dies we should mourn

It is such a vital thing that we need to do as Christ followers, because the things that happen in this world actually matter!

And some of you are probably thinking okay Pastor, but last week you talked about how when Christ is your foundation you cannot be shaken, and that is true.

that foundation cannot shatter

But it is still okay to come to God and cry out to him saying God where are you in this?

And really it is out of this desolate place that God redirects their hearts.

Look at the verse 1-4 because they come to God in this desolate place saying:

Isaiah 64 (ESV)

64 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,

that the mountains might quake at your presence—

2  as when fire kindles brushwood

and the fire causes water to boil—

to make your name known to your adversaries,

and that the nations might tremble at your presence!

3  When you did awesome things that we did not look for,

you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.

4  From of old no one has heard

or perceived by the ear,

no eye has seen a God besides you,

who acts for those who wait for him.

So they come to God and they say God render the heavens (basically bring the heavens down), because we see this devastation, and destruction you are our only hope.

And what happens is you can start to see from this point on God begins to redirect their hearts and they begin to see and remember the greatness of their God.

Because what happened is for the longest times they would worship idols and they would put their trust in these false gods and they always left them disappointed.

Its like if you have ever been to a carnival, you pay for these overprice rides that are not that great, and typically when you actually spend a lot more money

Its an expensive knock off of an amusment park

But thats how the Isralites feel

Because they have placed their hope in these false gods that have cost them to much, and left them disappointed

And the Isralites are going how could we go back to these false idols?

And now they are seeing that their true God is the only one who can deliver them and they are crying out to Him.

And this is the first thing I want us to get that when we come to God lamenting (where we are in a broken and desolate place), God begins to redirect our hearts and often times He reminds us of his greatness.

Because the Isralites are realizing God’s greatness and they are at a point where they are saying “God make your presence known!”

We want to see you make somthing out of the ashes that we are in.

Move like you have before!

And this morning some of us might be sitting in our ashes, in a place that is desolate and when your in a place where everything has been taken from you can I just say the best person you can cry out to is God.

And look what else happens in this passage because God redirects their hearts to His greatness and the hope they have in Him, but the Isralites realize their is a problem.

Look at verses verses 5-7. It says:

Isaiah 64:5–7 ESV

5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. 7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

You know the Israelites realize that they have been far away from God for a long time

They are saying we have been like someone who is unclean, in a way they are saying we really do not even deserve to be called your children anymore.

they are looking at even their good deeds and they are saying they are like these disgusting filthy rags

They are saying we just blow around in the wind and follow what we like

And ultimately they end up saying we are where we deserve to be, where our lives are in ruins.

You know this is a hard part of the passage, because they are reflecting how amazing God is, but then they realize how destructive their sin is.

You know our sin destroys. And it does not even take a lot of it to cause damage.

Its almost like how this past week I had a really slow leak in my tire and so I am talking with the guy and he said well depending on where the leak is we might not be able to fix it.

And I am thinking well these are pretty new tires, there has to be some way to make it work right?

And he told me no there is not because even if their is a small leak in this certain area you cannot patch up the tire.

And you know thats what sin does to our life, even if it is the smallest little sin it makes it so we have fallen short of God and it causes destruction in our life because we have distorted God’s original plan for our life.

And I want to be clear for a moment because I do not know who is watching right now. I am not saying if you are sick or if something terrible has happened it is because you have sinned and God is punishing you with this.

But I am saying when we sin whether it is corporate (meaning that we just live in a fallen world) or individually, it causes destruction.

And at the end of verse 7 the Isralites have realized this because it just ends on “And now we are melting in the hand of our iniquities”

And something that our advent devotional points out here is in the Bibles original text their is a pause here which implies its over.

They are done. and now they will sit in their sin.

I realize some of us might be in a place like the Isralites where we are saying it is over.

But praise God that is not the end of the story for the Israelites and praise God it is not the end of the story for you.

because look at the last couple verses:

Isaiah 64:8–9 ESV

8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9 Be not so terribly angry, O Lord, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.

You know I love this because they realize at this lowly place where they are this mushy mess.

They are saying God we realize you are the only one who can save us.

and I want us to be the clay and we want you to be the potter.

Reshape us out of our mess into what you desire.

And you know that sounds easy, but I was in a ceramics class in highschool and this might be a shocker but the clay does not have much of a say in what it becomes but the person forming it has the say.

You know this is actually a very difficult prayer because we are saying God I want to give you complete control to mold me into who you are calling me to be.

I want to follow you.

And this morning as we close I just want you to close your eyes and reflect

You might be in that place where the Israelites are where there is just a pause. It seems like things are over.

But they are not because God has sent the hope of the world to come down for you.

And because of that there is hope.

And as you are reflecting I want you to think have I prayed that prayer?

God make me your clay and you the potter

God I give you full control.

And if not today would be a great time too, because we serve a God that sees you, He sees the brokeness and He sees how He can make you new.

Will you pray with me?