Sunday Sermon

 

Looking at the Truth

Isaiah 51:1

The Lord says, “Listen to me, those of you who try to live right and follow the Lord. Look at the rock from which you were cut; look at the stone quarry from which you were dug.

We named the church we started Grace because the grace of God is one of the most remarkable things about God. Grace means unmerited favor with the idea that God would give us what we have not earned or do not deserve. The idea here is that instead of God punishing us for our sin God gives us grace and allows us to figure out that we need the hope that Jesus Christ gives us. That God wants to forgive our sin at all should astound us to the deepest parts of our soul. But that God does not force us to obey Him and instead God gives us space to choose Him over sin is not like anything we can think of by ourselves. I do find that I have a problem with grace and it is a struggle that many people of faith have had over the millennia. Because we swim in this ocean of grace people do not understand how wicked they are and how much trouble they are in. Grace means that we as people do not suffer the full weight of our sin and so we think we are getting away with sin but that is not true. Sin destroys us and if we do not seek God and His forgiveness sin will kill us. That is one of the reasons God is out spoken about sin and warns us so boldly because we don’t think sin is such a big deal. We as believers often fall into this trap too. When we should be seeking to be the righteous people, God teaches us to be we are chasing worthless things that have no real meaning. God wants us to learn to be truly loving people but we substitute that with other short cuts like being nice because they are easier but they do not help us face the sin that is in our lives. There is this amazing God who wants to save us from the destruction sin brings but we must choose Him. This wonderful God stands ready to help us and calls to us to turn from death and seek the life only God can give. What is even more interesting is that we as humans have any capacity at all to seek God. Our God has put in us this longing for God and a desire to know what is true and so people end up seeking God and want Him in their lives. People need God and God longs for us to know Him and to have a relationship with Him and so instead of death because of our sin we have a God who wants to keep us from suffering that end. And that means God has gone to great lengths to take our sin on Him and to set us free from the devastation that sin brings. We have such hope in God and God has a whole plan to teach us and to help us become the people God wants us to be and that tells us so much about God and who we are too.

As much as people blame God and they ask where is God when they hurt people want God in their lives. For a lot of people the very idea that there is no God is a ridiculous thought but as humans we have a problem like always. Humans want God on our terms and we want God to do what we want. This is why most people don’t give God much time. It is not because we don’t like God or don’t want what God offers. In fact we long for God and His glory. God made us with His two hands and then breathed His spirit into us. Our very nature is to want God and to know God is real. Jesus on the cross makes sense to us in the deepest parts of our souls because there is something in us that knows we are missing something and we have this vague idea that it is God. Humans want to be with God and they know they need God. That humans even want to be saved from the destruction that sin brings tell us so much about who we are as people and the God who made us. For as long as people have been around we know that people have sought a higher power. Some people would say that the desire to worship a god arises out of fear and ignorance but it could also be argued that there is something deep inside the human that longs for God. As hard as atheist have tried to drive God out of modern human society there is still this yearning of the human heart for God. The God who created the universe and the God who made humans with His hands knows we need Him and so He has left us all we need to know to build a powerful and meaningful relationship with God. We humans are given not just a little hint about God but full teachings about God and how the universe works and our place in it. Wisdom flows from God so we don’t have to guess about how to live our lives and this wisdom gives us meaning and hope. All we as humans have to do is take that wisdom and learn about the God who loves us and who wants a deep and abiding relationship with us. And the side effect of that relationship is that the death that our sin brings is forgiven. God wants us to know Him and to know the peace He offers.

A few miles from where I live is a building called the Stone House. It is one of the oldest buildings in the county. The limestone blocks that built the house have allowed the house to stand the test of time. At the same time to keep those stones in good shape requires maintenance on a regular basis. Stone is such a great material to build with because it does last so long. Just go and look at the great structures that have survived thousands of years. Building with stone also is harder and takes more time and effort. Just moving the stone let alone cutting it and placing it in the structure all take more work but if you want something to last build it with stone. Our verse has that same concept in mind. If we want to build lives that have meaning and substance then we are going to have to build with hard truths that may be hard to work with but will pay off in the end. It is so wonderful that God calls to us and says listen to me I know your struggle and I want to help you. Being people of faith is hard and it takes real work to follow the principles God teaches us. When God says “listen to me” He is not being mean but He wants to help people know that their faith means. Our God wants people to succeed and so He speaks to us and He wants us to know He gets how hard it is to trust in a God we cannot see and we have no control over. God wants us to know that if we are trying he is there to give us support and wisdom. This is the God I want in my life. The God who wants to talk to us not because were are sinful but because we are trying to be better. All of what God teaches is supposed to be of help to us and yes God knows it is hard but God also supports us and does not have us going things alone. When I hear God say “listen to me” it makes me think of my grand kids. I say the same thing to them when they are dealing with hard things and I say it not to hurt them but to have them look at me so I can encourage them. It helps to look up and see that we are not alone but we have someone who wants us to be successful. It is so great that God is not silent but we have a God who calls to us and wants us to know that what we are doing maybe hard but it is worth the work. Being people of faith is not easy and God never says it will be but we do have a God who is with us all the way as we journey through life.

In our verse it speaks about stone and where it comes from and I like that idea. The concept of stone is a general idea that helps us understand who God is. In the bible we find Moses giving water from a rock and Jesus speaking about Peter as a rock. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells us to dig down and build our house on solid rock. But in this verse we have God reminding people to go back and touch the rock when we are struggling. There is so much in this verse. God is reminding us that we are not alone but we are cut from a bigger stone and we can never forget that. Being part of something bigger helps us but when God invites us to be part of His great rock that is a place of real joy. We are not alone but we are part of this great big God who wants us to know we have Him at work in us. When we go and look at the rock we are cut from it helps us see how important we are to God. It is so easy to believe the lies of the enemy that God has forgotten us and we are nothing to God but that is a lie and God wants us to remind us of that concept. Thinking about this idea could fill pages but I also want to speak to the second part of what God says here. God wants us to go look at the quarry we are dug from. Of course the idea is that we need to go and look at the God who is the rock we stand on. Often it is easy to forget the power of the God we serve when things go crazy. Just like the solid rock underneath us God does not move and we can count on God. Rock is also stable and does not change. Remembering we have a God who is stable and will never change can help us as we work through the things that come at us in life. It is so wonderful that God invites us to come and test Him and see if we can count on Him.

This verse is such an inspiration to those who are working at being people of faith. The living God knows that trusting in Him is not easy and to learn to live by the principles and concept’s God gives will take effort. Here in this verse God reminds us that He wants us to succeed and does not leave us by ourselves. This is the God we need and we want. A God who works with us and teaches us and supports us in life. Living in this world is not easy and being people of faith and trusting in the living God can be very trying at times but God wants us to know He is here for us. Let us find hope in a God who understands the human condition and wants to make our lives what they were meant to be. Dealing with rock is hard and will take effort but we are building lives that will last and that gives us a sense of peace and joy like no other. Listening to God and looking at who God is will help us get past times of trouble and struggle and will set us on the path God longs for us to be on.