Building From the Bottom Up

Isaiah 58 NKJV

“Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord? “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The people who had made it through the exodus found themselves in exile.

Babylonian bondage had stripped them of everything

I will lift up mine eyes....

These were a people of faith...

“Seek me daily”

“Delight to know my ways”

“…delight in approaching God”

But God does not answer

Isaiah 58:3 NKJV

‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers.

So you can feel the frustration...

Theres is a frustrated faith...

Why do we fast...

Why do we humble ourselves...

We do not fast in order to get God’s attention… no

We fast so that God can get our attention!

Silencing the appetite so that we can deepen our hunger for God.

1. Rebuild

God rebuilds us from the bottom up.

God does rebuild…\

Can we rebuild the church?

Well the good news is that God can.

God can rebuild us in the places of brokenness and Ruin

There is a God who can reach down into the miry clay.

Can rebuild and strengthen us in the broken places.

Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt.

It may not look just like it did in the first time.....

In order to rebuild you have to reimagine....

God do you even hear us.

But it is your sin that has separated us.

You delight to know my ways...

They act as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness

As if...

God save us from an as if religion

2. Repair

God will rebuild...

But you’ve got to repair!

Why do we humble ourselves but you do not notice?

God answers, look you oppress your workers...

You want the benefit of my blessing, but you wont pay your workers benefits.

You want me to show up in the middle of that as if you were a nation that practices righteousness?

Created in the image of God.

You cannot see God if you will not see them.

You cannot hear God, if you will not hear them.

The way to rebuild says God is the repair from the bottom up.

You want me to rebuild?

You better repair some relationships!

Hatred

Jealousy

contempt

3. Restore

Isaiah 58:12 NKJV

Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

You shall be called the restorer of streets to live in.

This is God’s infrastructure plan.

we suffer not from a lack of resources

we suffer from a lack of imagination

You fast only to fight...

Broken spirits lead to broken streets...

Is

Isaiah 40:3–4 NKJV

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth;

Walking up the King’s Highway (Highway to Heaven)

Refrain: It’s a highway to heaven. None can walk up there, But the pure in heart. It’s a highway to heaven. I am walking up the king’s highway. 1. If you’re not walking, Start while I’m talking. Walking up the King’s highway. There’s joy in knowing With Him I’m going. Walking up the King’s highway. 2. My way gets brighter; My load gets lighter. Walking up the King’s highway. If you be confessing, There is a blessing. Walking up the King’s highway. (Christ walks beside me; His love to guide me. Walking up the King’s highway.) Music and Lyrics by Mary Gardner and Dr. Thomas A. Dorsey