Song: Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace (Tune: New Britain - 6vv) [with lyrics for congregations] - YouTube
Prayer:
Almighty
Father,
whose
will is to restore all things
in
your beloved Son, the King of all:
govern
the hearts and minds of those in authority,
and
bring the families of the nations,
divided
and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
to
be subject to his just and gentle rule;
through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Taken from www.churchofengland.org
Song: When we walk with the Lord,
When We Walk With the Lord (Trust and Obey) - with lyrics - YouTube
Reading: Book of Isaiah, chapter 30, verses 1 to 18
Song: How Lovely on the mountains
How Lovely on the Mountains (Our God Reigns - 4vv+refrain) [with lyrics for congregations] - YouTube
The book of Isaiah is a wonderful book. Written thousands of years ago, and hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, it is both prophetic and historical. It is quoted many times in the new testament, and records the reaction of God’s people to his word.
In the passage we read today, we discover that the people were saying that they wanted good news, but Isaiah contends that they really need the truth.
When we go to the doctor’s, we want good news, but it would be harmful if the doctor were to tell us that all is well when we are really sick.
The people are in rebellion, looking for a replacement for God. They are refusing to acknowledge the one who will judge the living and the dead. Instead, they want to hear pleasant words which cover up the truth. The people prefer darkness, they like it and want to exchange the God of truth and love for lies.
In our modern world, people reject God’s word, they don’t wish to hear, read or listen to what God has to say. The result is a world full of hurting people, people who have lost their way and have no hope. They want to be told pleasant things rather than truth and justice, as the bible says, “All we like sheep have gone astray”.
Jeremiah tells us that the heart is the most deceitful of all things.
To people such as these, God sent his Son 2000 years ago. He was born and raised and at about the age of 30 he began his ministry. He raised the dead, cured the ill, cast out demons, and spoke like no other, but he was rejected. “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1, 11) And, in Mark’s gospel we read that the people even pleaded with him to go somewhere else (5, 17)
He was hated by the religious leaders, He was tried, and even though found innocent, he was crucified. Truly, he was “despised and rejected”. God used all this in his plan. We can rest easy because God has laid all our sins on Jesus. This was the price paid for the sins of the world.
When people say “Tell us pleasant things” in the modern world, what they want is to be told that there is no hell, that all is well, that all will be saved. But in everyone, even the most sophisticated, there is a problem; the fallen nature of humanity. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Ecclesiastes says that such people are “Chasing the wind”. They are chasing pleasures and material objects which give no peace or satisfaction. Confronted with such things and beliefs, we only ask “Is this the best that the world has to offer?”
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. If there is no God in our lives, there will always be a void. Jesus told the parable of the rich fool, (Luke’s gospel, chapter 12, verses 13 to 21). Ultimately, having no room for God in one’s life leads to life without peace, life without hope, and death, Eternal separation from the living God.
But there is good news. The good news is that the price has been paid on the cross.
We need repentance and rest, which is our salvation. If you don’t know God, Don’t put it off. Come to God, Just as you are. There is no need to change, improve or alter yourself, come just as you are. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. We need to hear the bad news, We are lost! But we can embrace the Good News, Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.
No God,
No peace.
Know God,
Know peace.
Song: To God be the glory
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