Isaiah 66:1-2
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Intro
Intro
Who does God visit with his gracious presence?
Who does God delight to bless by working powerfully among them?
What kind of congregation should Scholls be, if you want to know the presence and power of God among you?
Who is God?
Who is God?
The Sovereign King
The Sovereign King
[read vs. 1a]
“Heaven… Earth...”
“Heaven… Earth...”
Pared together = everything that exists/all creation
Everything up there + everything down here, or
Everything near and familiar (planet earth) + everything distant and/or mysterious (outer space + the unseen/spiritual realm)
Seems to be especially in focus:
Heaven = the unseen realm, from which God reigns
Earth = the visible realm... place where we live, w/ nations, cultures, harvests, wars, joys, sorrows...
Is God contained in heaven/unseen realm?
Context: in vs. 1, contrast is w/ the house that God’s people built for him = the temple
Similar point at temple dedication (prayer of Solomon):
27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!
Point: God would graciously dwell with his people by revealing his glory among them in the temple
But the temple could not contain God, because not even “the highest heaven” could contain him
God is infinite, uncontainable, uncreated
Conclusion: [vs. 1a] God is not contained by heaven and earth, but rather manifests/reveals his presence in heaven and earth/all creation
More Specific: “Heaven is My Throne… Earth is my footstool”
More Specific: “Heaven is My Throne… Earth is my footstool”
What is the point of this? How is God’s presence revealed?
First: God’s sovereign reign:
God’s throne in heaven -
His reign is far beyond our comprehension
His reign encompasses not only earth but heaven = his reign is total
Therefore also, uncontested
Some try to contest...
No one ever really does, b/c of his infinite, divine power/absolute sovereignty
No true contestant to the throne!
God’s footstool on earth -
Footstool = a humbling word...
Again, his reign is far above us and our concerns
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
All creation is not just is kingdom/realm, but his throne room!!!
But in his power and goodness, he delights to reign over us also
So: God’s reign over all creation is total, uncontested, eternal, and done with infinite power.
Second: God’s name alone exalted
This is a picture of God’s reign, but also of his supreme worth
“Throne” and “footstool” are not only kingly words, but temple words
Throne:
Isaiah goes to the temple, and sees God enthroned
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Footstool:
Speaking of the temple...
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!”
Implication: all creation is a temple for the worship of God = all creation exists to display and celebrate the glory of God
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
After summoning all heaven and earth to praise God:
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.
Just as the Lord alone is sovereign… so also the Lord alone is worthy…
Just as heaven and earth cannot contain him… so also our praises cannot equal his worth… speaking of burnt offerings (by implication, any form of worship):
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
Implication:
Implication:
In reaction to these truths: [read vs. 1b]
Note: house = temple in Jerusalem
In other words:
Do you think that the temple in Jerusalem impresses me?
Do you think that I needed a temple?
[will return in depth to this question… ]
The Creator of All
The Creator of All
Reminder of Genesis 1
Reminder of Genesis 1
Question is sandwiched between what we just saw (God’s sovereignty/worth) and what comes next [read vs. 2a]
This is a reference to Genesis chapter 1
All these things = heaven and earth from previous verse = Gen. 1:1 “1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
“Made” used several times in Gen. 1
“came to be” = and there was/and it was so
God is saying: These things only exist because I made them
Not only is God alone sovereign + worthy
God alone is the Uncreated One from whom all creation (seen + unseen) has its existence
Implication
[read: “what is the house that you would build for me?”]
I made all things! Are you really going to impress me with a man-made temple?
Building a House for God’s Presence
Building a House for God’s Presence
What exactly is God speaking against here?
When he says, “What is the house that you will build for me?” is he condemning the temple in Jerusalem?
A False View of God and His Temple
A False View of God and His Temple
Reading this… should already suspect that God is not condemning the temple: he himself
Gave Israel the Tabernacle (earlier, tent-version)
Condoned and blessed actual temple building in Jerusalem
So what is God speaking against?
A false view of God:
“What is the house that you would build for me?”
That the God who cannot be contained by all creation can be contained in a man-made temple
That the God who brought all things into existence could be impressed by a temple build by human hands
***from this flowed…
A false view of how to obtain God’s presence and blessing… That the God who is sovereign over all creation can be manipulated by sacrifices and other rituals
Temple + sacrificial system good!
A way for a holy God to dwell among/bless a sinful people
A foreshadow of how Christ would reconcile his people to God
But many in Israel had absorbed the attitude of the nations around them:
Build an impressive temple = make our god present with us
Present him with impressive sacrifices = manipulate him into blessing us
Not merely ineffective, but revolting to our Holy God!
***[explain good/bad pairing]
Isaiah 66:3 (ESV)
3 “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; [and it goes on…]
Thus: when God says, “what is the house…? what is the place…? he implies: do not expect to obtain the blessing of my presence… you will come to make sacrifices, and I will ignore you… wrong heart attitude…
A False View Today
A False View Today
For us? All this stuff about the correct use of the temple… trivia?
Question at beginning: What kind of congregation should Scholls be, if you want to know the presence and power of God among you?
But we don’t worship in a temple/perform temple sacrifices anymore…
How could this passage say anything to us about our own desire for God’s presence and work among us?
What did the old covenant temple point toward? What is the NC temple?
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
Note: y’all
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Not so much that there isn’t a temple any longer, but that there is a different kind…
No longer a building, but a people…
Not just universal, but local
We face the same kind of temptation today
Do the religious things (biblical things!) = God will be present and bless us
Gather
Sing
Preach
Our particular American flavor: do what works
Have the right programs: attract more people
Have the right strategy
Hire a young preacher w/ a nice family…
Poking at myself too… huge temptation for preachers to trust in their own strength ( = pride)
Temptation for the congregation: if the preacher is winsome enough, maybe his preaching will get folks in through the doors… we’ll build the congregation on that ( = idolatry)
How does God feel about all of this?
5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.
Why so strong? Again:
Trusting in your own strength/savvy/eloquence = pride
Trusting in someone else’s strength = idolatry
Note: either your heart is turned toward the Lord, or you trust in human strength
No middle ground, where we get to entrust ourselves to the Lord and worship him, and yet also rest our hopes on the cleverness of a man
We either trust in human cleverness to build the house, or we say: “unless the Lord builds the house…”
Therefore: to trust in human cleverness is to turn away from trusting the Sovereign King of all creation… a kind of cosmic treason… a slap in the face of the one who has so graciously used his infinite power for our redemption
And we all do it…
Praise him for his patience and gracious forgiveness to us…
Cultivating Hearts for God’s Presence
Cultivating Hearts for God’s Presence
All of this tells us now not to answer the question:
“What kind of congregation should Scholls be, if you want to know the presence and power of God among you?”
But then, what is the right answer?
[read vs. 2b]
[paraphrase] “I don’t even hardly care to look at your temple.”
“I am so unimpressed by this ‘impressive’ congregation.”
“But there is a kind of person I pay attention to, who will experience my presence and power.”
Humble
Humble
Begins with understanding God’s own description of himself here:
God is the one who created all things/everything exists by his will and belongs to him, including me...
God possesses the sovereign right to rule all things/I do not
God possesses the sovereign power to rule all things/I am weak and frail
God is worthy of the eternal praise of all creation b/c of his infinite glory/next to him, I am insignificant
God fills all things and cannot be contained by them/next to him, I am extremely small
True humility is simply remembering that I am a creature, while He is the Uncreated One; true humility bows before the infinite excellence of the God who dwells in unapproachable light and says, “Not to us, but to Your Name be the glory.”
When we come together to worship:
Lord, unless you would be pleased to work among us by your grace, we gather in vane
Unless your Spirit presses your Word into our hearts, the preaching is in vane
Unless your Spirit teaches us to look to you, all our singing will be just an exercise in human emotion
In life:
A sense of my need/powerlessness = drives to word and prayer (I am weak, but God is my strength)
This is the place of blessing!
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Conclusion: when we behold God’s glory, this leads to a realistic view of our own smallness/powerlessness/neediness, which leads to humility and lowliness, the place of God’s presence and power.
Contrite in Spirit
Contrite in Spirit
Lit: to be broken in spirit
To be truly sorrowful over sin and all its effects—the sin and suffering of the world/congregation/self
But especially to be sorrowful/broken over my own personal sins
Contrite heart necessary to experience God’s presence and power?
Wouldn’t God’s presence and power be a place of joy?
Isn’t sorrow over sin the opposite of joy?
Maybe contrite heart necessary for bad sin…
Too much contrition = bad for self-esteem?
Self-esteem/self-compassion: a false promise of blessing…
Self-esteem: In order to be personally whole/mentally + spiritually healthy, you need to have a reasonably high opinion of yourself
“You are good”
“you are special”
“love yourself for the great person that you are”
When the idea of self-esteem became popular (1980’s), a number of Christian teachers attempted to mesh it with a biblical view of the self…
While not every single thing associated with the self-esteem movement was completely wrong…
Largely, it is almost exactly opposite to what God in his Word says is the place of blessing
Interestingly, a number of secular psychologists have now questioned or moved away from the idea… toward something called, “self-compassion”
Self-compassion: when you find that you’ve done something embarrassing or wrong, be caring and kind toward yourself—take an understanding, nonjudgmental attitude toward your own inadequacies and failures
Sounds a little better than self-esteem… and, not everything it says is totally wrong…
But in the end, still runs afoul of God’s word… why?
The theories of self-esteem and self-compassion—much of what they are actually trying to solve is our sin problem…
Self-esteem says, “You’re not a sinner—you are a good person. Those sins in your life aren’t the the true you. So, love yourself.”
Self-compassion says, “So you sin. But that’s just part of being human. Everyone does it. Be compassionate on yourself. Your sins aren’t as big a deal as you feel.”
What’s wrong with these?
They leave God out of the equation.
Every sin is ultimately committed against the God who made us…
God is the ultimate judge of my sin—not me
They fail to understand sin.
Every sin which we commit flows out from who we are on the inside…
Our sins don’t just produce feelings of guilt on the inside… they are actual wrongs committed against God and others
Thus: the contrite spirit—weeping over your own sin—is the only actual path to experiencing the presence and power of God!
This is the only path which ACTUALLY deals with your sins—in all their ugliness, etc.
What happens when you take a confession of ugly sin into the presence of our holy God?
The mercy of God in Christ!
This is how someone becomes a believer in the first place...
Turn from sin to God
Confessing the sin with a contrite heart
Trusting Christ’s own death, in our place...
This is to define our ongoing battle for holiness:
Having hearts that are torn up/weep because of our own sin
Coming regularly to God to confess
Remembering the grace of God in Christ for our forgiveness
Giving thanks to him for his grace— “remembering the joy of our salvation”
This is to define the life of a congregation as well: mourning/brokenheartedness before the Lord = this is the kind of congregation that will experience his presence and his power…
We don’t have to dread this… [story]!
Trembles at God’s Word
Trembles at God’s Word
If we are those who confess our sins w/ broken hearts… also will be those who love God’s Word [speaks to both his majesty and his mercy]
Also, opposite of trust in human cleverness…
But what does this actually mean?
Picture of trembling = idea of fear
What kind? Not:
Irrational fear…
Fear of judgement…
Realizes the unspeakable majesty of God => weightiness of his Word
As truth…
What God says is evil is evil…
What God says about the redemption of sinners like me…
What God says about himself humbles me, convicts me of sin, assures me of his forgiveness, and draws me to worship!
As power…
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
voice = more than just the Bible
But… where do we encounter the Lord’s voice today?
Words of the prophets + apostles
Pressed into our hearts by the Spirit
Power!
To tremble at his Word is to really believe in its power => realize the weakness of all human cleverness beside
What does this look like in the context of a congregation?
Follow the pattern of the Word in all that we do
What the Word has to say about how we are to worship
What the Word has to say about how we are to live as God’s people
What the Word has to say about how we confess sins
What the Word has to say about how we relate to the world/nations around us
What the Word has to say about Christian family life
Trust in the power of the Word in all that we do
Power to bring the spiritually dead to life
Power to conform us to the image of Christ
Power to bring us before the throne of God to experience his presence together
Conclusion
Conclusion
Let us be those who say:
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Humbled before his glory
Contrite before his holiness
Trembling at his Word
Until he returns, to
Wipe away every tear
Make heaven and earth new
Dwell with his people forever