RESPONDING TO GOD’S  WORD                                              9-4-05

Isaiah 66:1-5 (2b)

How long has it been since you have sat down in your home, opened your Bible and began to read, asking God to speak to you from it? Did you do that this morning?  How many times have you done that this past week?

In the 1800s, when Missionary David Livingstone began his trek across Africa he had 73 books in 3 packs weighing 180 pounds.  After his party had gone 300 miles, Livingstone was forced to throw away some of the books because of the fatigue of those carrying his baggage.  As he continued his journey his library grew less and less, until he had only one book left – his Bible.

RESPONDING TO GOD’S  WORD                                              9-4-05

Isaiah 66:1-5 (2b)

How long has it been since you have sat down in your home, opened your Bible and began to read, asking God to speak to you from it? Did you do that this morning?  How many times have you done that this past week?

In the 1800s, when Missionary David Livingstone began his trek across Africa he had 73 books in 3 packs weighing 180 pounds.  After his party had gone 300 miles, Livingstone was forced to throw away some of the books because of the fatigue of those carrying his baggage.  As he continued his journey his library grew less and less, until he had only one book left – his Bible.

What would you throw away before you would throw away your Bible?  How valuable is this book to you?  I want to talk to you today about Responding To God’s Word.  Let’s read God’s words to us through the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.   Read 66:1-2a.

God speaks of His own greatness here. Picture it: heaven is His throne, and this earth of ours is simply His footstool.  When He rests His heel on His footstool, it covers from Seattle to New York.

Look at these images of God’s throne-room from the Hubble Telescope:

In v.2 God says: Has not My hand made all these things and so they came into being?  Genesis 1:1 says In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  This whole universe is His creation.

And so He asks in the end of v.1 here is Isaiah 66: Where is the house you will build for Me? Where will my resting place be?

“I, the Lord your God, am great, so great you can build Me no house to live in.  I live in the heavens I have created.  Go out at night and look up and consider My greatness.”

And then He says these powerful words in v.2: This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My Word.

Would you like for God to think highly of you, to esteem you?  Here are the requirements:

Humble and contrite in spirit.

People in their pride have said: “I don’t need God.  I depend on myself and no one else.  All I need is me.”  Not too many people in New Orleans saying that right now, are they!  But so many people, even some who call themselves Christians, live as if they don’t need God.

When you don’t pray, you are saying you don’t need God.  When you don’t spend time reading your Bible, you are saying you don’t need God.  When you purposely stay away from church, you are saying you don’t need God.  When you live your life without communication with Him, without a personal relationship with Him, you are saying that you don’t need Him. 

And that is not one who is humble and contrite in spirit.  Humility recognizes our desperate need of God.

Contrite means: Deeply affected with grief and regret for having done wrong; repentant.  Another dictionary said: “grieving and penitent for sin”.  God says “I value, I esteem the one who is aware of his sin and in genuine sorrow for his sin has turned away from it.”

This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and…

Trembles at My Word.

That’s an interesting term: trembles.  I looked up the Hebrew word and what it means is “trembles”.  It’s the same word that is used in the story of Gideon, when God told him he had too many men in his army. 

The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.” (Judges 7:2-3)

That’s the same word used here.  And I had to ask myself some hard questions: Do I tremble with fear at His Word?  How seriously do I take this book?  How seriously do you take this book?  The only way for you to have God think well of you is to take it seriously.  If you don’t, listen to what God continues to say through Isaiah.

Read v.3 (down through “idol”.)

Ignoring God’s Word makes all the rest of your religious activity an abomination in God’s sight.  It’s like offering Him pig’s blood; it’s like worshipping an idol.  Pretty harsh words God has for those who do not tremble at His Word.

Let’s read on: v.3b-4a.

When we choose our own way rather than His way, God says He will treat us harshly, and bring on us what we dread.

“But I thought God had changed.  I thought after Jesus came God wasn’t so mean.”  The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament and is the God of today.  In both Old and New Testaments we are told that God does not change.  And the truth of the matter is that our behavior has consequences.  It always has; it always will.

We live in a time when people want to have others take away the consequences of their wrong behaviors.  “Don’t hold me accountable.  I’m entitled to do whatever I want and when it doesn’t turn out right, someone else should take away the consequences.”

That’s not the way life works, and it’s not the way God works.  God says to us here in Isaiah, “You choose your own way rather than My way, and there will be consequences to your choice.  Listen to it again:

Read 3b-4.

When God speaks, He wants us to listen.  He wants us to hear what He is saying to us in His Word.  So He says in v.5 “Hear the Word of the Lord, you who tremble at His Word.”

Hear the word of the Lord.  We have the Word of God.  It is available to us.  We have His word to us in this book.  Most of us have multiple copies of it in our homes.  Are we listening to His Word?  Are we trembling at it?  Are we taking it seriously, or are we just ignoring it?

Next Sunday we begin a series of messages on the life and teachings of Jesus.  We will be spending the next year looking at the person of Jesus Himself, and at what Jesus taught.  For the past 8 months I have been reading and re-reading the words of Jesus and the Gospel writers’ words about Jesus.  And we are going to be taking an in-depth look at Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John’s writings about Jesus.

But my fear is that what I teach you will not affect you, that it will not change your life.  And it won’t unless you become one that God esteems: one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and tremble at His Word, unless you are willing not only to hear but also to take to heart what you hear as you come Sunday after Sunday.

But if the only place you hear the Word of God is in this room, you will never be one whom God esteems.  To please God, we must spend time on our own regularly reading and meditating on His Word.

During Superbowl 37, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker, whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like the bedraggled Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, package in hand.

When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he survived five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in order to deliver it to her. She gives him a simple, "Thank you."

But he is curious about what is in the package that he has been protecting for years. He says, "If I may ask, what was in that package after all?" She opens it and shows him the contents, saying, "Oh, nothing really. Just a satellite telephone, a global positioning device, a fishing pole, a water purifier, and some seeds."

Your Bible is like that FedEx package.  It contains some things that are vital to your spiritual and emotional and mental survival.  And you may be living with great need while all you need is in your unopened Bible.

Let me give you some things to do as you spend time on your own reading your Bible.  These things will help you to understand what       God is trying to say to you as you read your Bible.  There is a space in your bulletin to write these things down this morning, and I would like for you to do that.  So get you bulletin out and a pen.

1. Believe the Facts.

The Bible is filled with statements of fact.  These are the declarative statements that tell us about God, and about us, and about life.

Let me give you some examples of what I am talking about.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

This is one of the facts upon which the whole Gospel is predicated.  If you don’t believe this fact there is no way for you to be saved, for there is no need to be saved if I am not a sinner in need of God’s saving grace.  Here is another fact:

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  It’s a fact!  Because of my sin I am destined to die – to be eternally separated from God and from all that is good.  But God has a gift for me, and for you – the gift of eternal life in Jesus.  Outside of Jesus there is no eternal life.  These are facts we need to believe.

Being in the Bible does not make these things facts.  They are in the Bible because they are facts.  The Bible is just describing for us what reality is, and we need to believe these facts.

Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  That’s a fact.  Believe it.

Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.  That’s a fact.  Believe it.

James 4:6 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” That’s a fact.  Believe it.

James 4:17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.  That’s a fact.  Believe it.

2. Obey the Commands.

When Paul had an encounter with God on the Road to Damascus, he first asked: “Who are you Lord?”  “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”  And then Paul asked “What do you want me to do?”  That is a great question.  Jesus, what do you want me to do?  The answer to that question is in the Bible.

Mark Twain once wrote: “Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me most are the ones I do understand.”  He understood that in the Bible God tells us to do some things, and often those are things we don’t want to do.

In the coming months we are going to be looking at some of the commands Jesus gives in the Gospels, so I’m going to stay away from those this morning.  But here are some from just Romans 12

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.  V.2-3

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. V.9-21

All of those verses are telling what God wants us to do.  When you read your Bible, look for those statements that tell you what to do, and then pray and ask God to help you to put those things into practice in your life.  The only reason God tells us what to do is so that we would do it.  Obey the commands.

3. Claim the Promises.

Promises are statements of fact, but a special category of fact.  These are things God has said will happen.  And often with promises, God will first lay down a condition, and then tell us that when we meet that condition, the promise will be fulfilled.  There are scores of promises that God makes to us.  Here are just a few:

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

James 1:5-7 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;

2 Thessalonians 3:3  But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

We need to be careful here.  Is every promise made in the Bible a promise I can claim?  Or are some promises made to a specific person or group of people and only for them? 

Most promises are universal promises, but Jesus promised a blind man that if he would go wash in the Pool of Siloam he would be able to see.  So does that mean if every blind person went to Jerusalem and washed in the Pool of Siloam they would be able to see?  Probably not.  God promised Zacharias and Elizabeth that in their old age they would finally have a child.  Is that a promise every childless couple can claim?  Probably not.

And make sure you look for any conditions attached to the promise.  Watch for the “if” clause that might precede the promise, because if we do not meet God’s conditions, we can’t claim His promises. (1 John 1:9)

4. Heed the Warnings.

These are also a special category of facts.  God gives us a fact, but uses that fact to warn us.  And sometimes there are commands that go along with the warnings.

1 Peter 5:8  Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

2 Peter 3:3  First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.

2 Peter 3:10-11 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.

5. Learn from the Examples.

Often in the narrative portions of the Bible, like the Book of Acts where the story of the Early Church is told, there are stories of people and what they did.  There are stories in the Gospels and in the Old Testament as well.  And these people serve as examples for us.

1 Corinthians 10 tells of the people of the Old Testament, and verse 6 says Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.  Those examples are being cited so that we might learn from them.

We can learn from Peter in Matthew 14.  The Disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee when a storm came up.  Jesus was not with them, but came to them, walking on the water.  “Don’t be afraid” He told them.

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (26-31)

Peter took his eyes off Jesus and began to look at the storm raging around him, and as a result the storm began to overwhelm him.  We can learn from his example.

In 2 Timothy 4:10 Paul laments: Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.  Don’t be like Demas.

There are positive examples as well.  The lady who gave sacrificially even though she only gave a small amount.  The followers of Jesus who waited for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on them in response to Jesus promise to them.  Peter and John who continued to speak of Jesus even in the face of persecution.  The early Christians who fasted and prayed and obeyed what the Holy Spirit spoke to them.

Watch for examples, both positive ones and negative ones, and learn from those examples.

Believe the facts.

Obey the commands.

Claim the promises.

Heed the warnings.

Learn from the examples.