The One to Whom I Will Look

Introduction

Isaiah 66:1–6 ESV

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. “He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig’s blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations; I also will choose harsh treatment for them and bring their fears upon them, because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my eyes and chose that in which I did not delight.” Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word: “Your brothers who hate you and cast you out for my name’s sake have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy’; but it is they who shall be put to shame. “The sound of an uproar from the city! A sound from the temple! The sound of the Lord, rendering recompense to his enemies!

Revival - for believers - is less learning something new and more about returning to something that we already know - but don’t live.

Jeremiah 6:16 “Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”

This week, I hope that the Lord leads you to return to Him. We might wonder why the relationship that we have with Jesus is not what it once was. Has God changed? Absolutely not. Always, we forget that he does.

It comes slowly and steadily, and we end up in a place that we never thought we would be.

In 1979, a passenger jet carrying 257 people left New Zealand for a sightseeing flight to Antarctica and back. Unknown to the pilots, their flight coordinates were off by a mere 2 degrees. From New Zealand to Antarctica, the plane veered off course by 28 miles. This trajectory placed them in the path of Mt. Erebus, an active volcano. The plane went down, and no passengers survived.

If you flew the plane around the equator and were one degree off, you would be over 500 miles from your final destination. That is three times the width of the state of Mississippi.

It’s hard to know where you went wrong - you might not have had some big horrible sin after all - but rather, it was a slow drift away from the Lord.

Today is the day to return to Him.

CIT: A healthy relationship with the Lord is marked by contrition and a deep reverence for the Word of God.

Explanation

Isaiah 66:1 “Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?”

You might think that humility and a trembling for God’s word comes from trying harder.

You cannot produce the tears needed to live in reverence. In fact, a reliance upon yourself might be what has you in this position in the first place.

We can only gain true humility by looking at God, Himself.

Heaven is his throne.

Earth is the place he props His feet.

You cannot give anything to God that He does not already have.

The answer for today isn’t to do better. That won’t get you anywhere.

You cannot make anything or attempt anything that God couldn’t do Himself.

Isaiah 66:2 “All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

From all of God’s creation, he will look at one who’s mind is set correctly.

Humble and contrite in spirit

Trembles at My Word

Isaiah 66:3-4 ““He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig’s blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations; I also will choose harsh treatment for them and bring their fears upon them, because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen; but they did what was evil in my eyes and chose that in which I did not delight.””

Israel’s sacrifices were as disgusting to God as if He they had sacrified ritually unclean animals.

Why?

They delight in their sins.

They did not respond to God’s voice.

They did not listen.

They chose to do evil in God’s sight.

Isaiah 66:5-6 “Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his word: “Your brothers who hate you and cast you out for my name’s sake have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy’; but it is they who shall be put to shame. “The sound of an uproar from the city! A sound from the temple! The sound of the Lord, rendering recompense to his enemies!”

When you live this way, people do not understand.

God will bring recompense upon those who persecute his people?

Invitation