ADVENT
1
December
2-4, 2023
Pastor
Timothy J. Spaude
Text:
Isaiah 64:1-9
“WE ARE ALL GOD’S
PEOPLE!”
1.
A
waiting people.
2.
A
messy people.
3.
A
useful people.
Happy New Year!
New Church year, that is. The regular calendar’s transition to a new year is often
used to look back and look ahead and the word of God before us from Isaiah 64
helps us to do that spiritually as we begin the Church year with Advent. It
proclaims the truth that whether we are talking about believers in the past or
present we are all God’s people who have things in common.
First, we are a
waiting people. The prophet Isaiah served God’s people around 700 years before
Jesus was born. While the people Isaiah served were experiencing relative
prosperity, the nation as a whole was in spiritual decline. Some good God
fearing kings, more evil, idol worshippers. The believers were chafing because
they could see and feel their nation turning away from God. They had seen their
cousins in the northern nation of Israel conquered by the Assyrians. They had
heard the announcement from Isaiah that their own turn was coming at the hands
of the Babylonians. Isaiah expressed their angst well! “Oh, that you would
rip open the heavens and come down. Mountains then would quake because of your
presence. 2As fire ignites stubble and as fire makes water boil, make your name
known to your adversaries. Then nations would quake in your presence. 3You did
amazing things that we did not expect. You came down. Mountains quaked because
of your presence. 4From ancient times no one has heard. No ear has understood.
No eye has seen any god except you, who goes into action for the one who waits
for him. 5You meet anyone who joyfully practices righteousness, who remembers
you by walking in your ways! But you were angry because we sinned. We have
remained in our sins for a long time. Can we still be saved?” Can we still
be saved? God’s people were a waiting people. They were waiting for God
to save them from their evil rulers. Save their nation from its own evil. Save
them from their enemies.
We too are a
waiting people. Can you relate to believers living in angst as they watch their
nation go into spiritual decline? Can you relate to believers who are disgusted
that their government leaders do not lead to God but reject and oppose God in
so many ways? Can you relate to believers concerned about what this means for
our nation’s future? You know you can. The church year season of Advent reminds
us that we are waiting people. Waiting for Jesus to come the second time. But
there are mini waitings happening all the time. Have you noticed that? You wait
for Thanksgiving and its mini break only to so quickly be waiting for
Christmas. Life seems to be one mini crisis after another. A sickness, a
surgery, a family issue, a problem with the kids. We are waiting for them to be
done. But what we are really waiting for is Jesus to come help us. Whether it
is a health issue, financial issue, state of the nation issue or people issue.
We are a waiting people who need Jesus to come and save us.
What we really
need is Jesus to save us from ourselves because just like the rest of God’s
people, we are a messy people. Isaiah admitted it for his time. “All of us
have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a
filthy cloth. All of us have withered like a leaf, and our guilt carries us
away like the wind. 7There is no one who calls on your name, who rouses himself
to take hold of you. So you hid your face from us. You made us melt by the
power of our guilt.” God has
made it clear. Our sinful natures are not a minor boo boo that you can control
with a band aid. Sinful ways of thinking and motivations drive people more than
anyone wants to admit. There is a term for it. Total depravity. Think of what
comes to mind if you describe a person as depraved. Total depravity. That is
the effect of sin living inside a person even when we are talking about the
people of God. So Isaiah owned up for himself and God’s people back then. They
had followed the people of their nation in selfish living. They had neglected
the priorities God set for them. Even their righteous acts were filthy, tainted
by sinful pride and selfish motivations. They were a messy people.
And so are we. Just
like the rest of God’s people we tend to follow the sins of our society just a
few steps behind. The blatant 2nd Commandment sin of misusing God’s
name in the phrase “O my” God’s name comes off our lips and we may not even
realize it. Affluence and wealth which God gives so we can be generous instead makes
us cold to the needs of others. We waste our money through unchecked spending
on wants, not needs, and blame God for not providing for us. I hate it when
pagans are better at righteous living than the people of God. “Assume positive
intent” is a phrase many businesses strive to incorporate into their workplace
culture. Before getting upset at what someone did or said assume positive
intent. You know what that is? The 8th Commandment. Take their word
and actions in the kindest possible way! Are we doing that? Or instead have we become
experts in the law, at least applying it to others and assuming negative intent
behind what they say and do? While many things have changed the big ones have
not. We are all God’s people and we are a messy people because of our sin.
But that is no
reason to despair or give up. The Savior Isaiah and his people were waiting for
came. He lived the perfect life that messy people of God have not. He paid the
sin debt owed by all people through His death on the cross. He cleaned us up so
God does not cast His people away. He makes use of them. Isaiah knew that. “But
now, Lord, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are our potter. All of
us are the work of your hand. 9Do not be angry, Lord, without limit. Do not
remember our guilt forever. Please look closely. All of us are your people.”
It was a beautiful picture for God’s people in Isaiah’s day. They were worried
and concerned about the future for themselves, their children, their
grandchildren. Because their fellow citizens had turned from God they would get
caught up in the consequence of captivity. Lions and tigers and bears O my! No
worries. God was like a potter and his people the clay. He would shape them and
use them for glorious salvation purposes. Some of those people had names like Haddasah,
Belteshazzar, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. You know them better as Esther,
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshak and Abednego. Useful people that God used to advance
His salvation plan.
Just like you, the
people of God are useful too. God is the potter. You are the clay. Ponder this
for a second. God has shaped you your whole life to be what He knows you should
be to be useful in His kingdom. It began in your mother’s womb where you, the
unborn child, were fearfully and wonderfully made with the physical framework
He wanted you to have. I’ve always said I never asked to be a perfect heighted
5’7’’--neither abnormally tall or short. God made me that way. He made you your
perfect height as well. He gave you your characteristics and abilities, those
things you are drawn to and good at. You and I have gotten to honor God by
taking those traits and characteristics and running with them. Honing them.
Using them. Accepting opportunities when formally asked or when God just drops
a person in your life to be a blessing to, God’s blessing to. Helping them in
time of need. Being their connection to Jesus the only one who saves. Don’t let
the Devil tell you otherwise or make you feel otherwise. We are a useful people
in the hands of the Almighty God.
So again I say, “Happy New Church
Year!” As we once again follow the life of our Savior and learn to serve Him
rejoice that you are a part of that select group who gets to be called the
people of God! A waiting people, a messy people, but because we have been
cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and a people useful to God. Amen.
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