Sorry this one is out of sequence. But better late than never.
Song:
Ho,
reapers in the whitened harvest!
Ho
Reapers In The Whitened Harvest | Nairobi East Chorale - YouTube
Reading:
Psalm 130
Song:
Open
my eyes that I may see,
Open
My Eyes That I May See ~ Joslin Grove Choral Society ~ lyric video -
YouTube
Reading:
Isaiah
chapter
26
and
chapter
27 verse
1.
Prayers
Almighty
and everlasting God, who hears us when we pray in faith. forgive us
that we have not been all that you want us to be we have said things
we regret . We do not always have patience to wait for you, we try
and fail in our own strength we are truly sorry. Lord forgive us.
Give us perseverance. fill us with your love and peace.
Almighty
and everlasting God, who hears us when we pray in faith, we bring our
prayers to you; for the Church, the world and for ourselves. Lord,
we give thanks for all who have dedicated their lives to you, for all
who work in your church today, especially asking for protection on
those who are persecuted for their faith. As the gospel is bravely
spread by those who fear for their lives, as well as by us who live
in freedom, we pray for the growth of the church in our generation.
Almighty
and everlasting God, who hears us when we pray in faith. we pray for
the many nations of the world torn apart by war, poverty, natural
disasters and dictatorship. Be with all who have difficult decisions
to make and are not sure which way to turn. Guide them in your
righteous ways, to make the right choices for the good of all. We
pray for all who endeavour to break the chains of injustice, to free
the oppressed, to share food with the hungry, welcome and clothe the
homeless and care for the poor. Inspire the hearts of all concerned
that they may turn to you and know of your mercy and love, even in
the darkest of days.
Almighty
and everlasting God, who hears us when we pray in faith. we pray
for our our Church for our homes, our neighbours, schools and places
of work, for those sitting alongside us now. We thank you for those
who sustain local life and for voluntary organisations that care for
every need. We remember those who live amongst us who have lost hope,
who live in fear, those who have turned away from you, those who live
in darkness. Give us the grace and courage to be all you have called
us to be, as your church. May we be available and committed to spend
time with those in need, not to bring attention to ourselves but to
point everyone to the good and loving, saving God that you are.
Almighty
and everlasting God, who hears us when we pray in faith we pray for
all who will find this day long and hard, for those in hospital and
care homes for all who are ill at home, those struggling with
despair or depression, those waiting for important news, or a friend
to call, those struggling to pay their bills, to feed their children,
the rough sleepers and the unemployed. We pray particularly for those
for who this day will be their last. For all in need, may we sit
alongside them, being prepared to rearrange our schedule, to listen
and to give our time as we serve you in faithfulness. We name in our
hearts any people we know in special need Comfort and strengthen
all those who suffer in body mind or
spirit and give them courage and hope as they go forward.
Almighty
and everlasting God, we give thanks that life is eternal. We
remember those who have recently died in faith, and those whose
anniversary falls at this time and ask that they will be comforted by
your outstretched arms of love.
Almighty
and everlasting God, as we begin a new week, may we daily invite your
Holy Spirit into our lives, to help us to love and serve, and shine
in ways that reflect your character, your truth, your grace, mercy,
love and compassion. Almighty and everlasting God,
Merciful
Father, accept
these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen
The
Lords Prayer
Our
Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
Thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily
bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us, lead us not into temptation, but
Deliver
us from evil For
thine is the kingdom the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Let’s
start with a question:
In
average, how long does a person has to wait for a heart
transplant in the UK if they are on the non-urgent list? [guesses]
According
to the NHS, in 2022: from 18 to 24months!
But
in September 2018, the longest waiting
heart-transplant-patient in the UK was a 45yo man from Stockport
called Gareth Evans.
And
he once said in an interview: “…having to tell the family you
may not make it, is the most difficult thing to do. Thankfully we are
all positive and always look to the future.”
At
that point, Mr Evans had been waiting for a new heart for 9 years…
And he had spent the last months in hospital, patiently waiting for a
new donor.
Isaiah
chapters 24 to 27 are sometimes called “Isaiah’s Apocalypse” by
some people who have studied them and found similarities with the
book of Revelation.
Some
of these people understand that these 4 chapters in Isaiah only
describe the last days in the future… But when we read the book of
Revelation, we can find passages about the future, but also what
happened to the 7 churches in the past, for examples…
So,
I believe it’s more helpful to read books like Isaiah with the idea
of layers in mind (a past layer and future layer), which will
hopefully help us with the application of our passage today when it
comes to our waiting for the Lord to fulfil His promises…
I
will not be able to cover every verse. But, in order to help us as we
have a very quick look at the text, I divided Isaiah 26 v1 to 27 v1
in 2 parts:
First:
A Song (vv1 to 19 of chapter 26); and
Second:
An Encouragement (vv20 to 21 of chap 26 to chap 27 v1)
And
the main point I would like you to take home is:
“The
Lord will bring peace & justice in the end. So patiently trust
Him as you wait.”
Starting
with the first part,
which is a song of thanksgiving, we have the continuation of the
comparison that Isaiah has been doing in previous chapters between a
temporary city (which represents all evil & human sin),
and an eternal city (which God himself stablished, full of
those who have waited & trusted Him for salvation).
The
expression “in that day” of v1 has been mentioned in previous
chapters as well: in chapter 24 it stands for the day when God will
punish natural & supernatural beings for their evil. And in
chapter 25, it comes right after the indication that God will wipe
every tear away, and will destroy death forever.
So,
in that day (when what is wrong will be made right) God’s
people will praise God with this song.
In
vv16 to 18 of this song, we see that God’s people in the Old
Testament were not able to “give birth”, as it were, to salvation
for the earth, even after all the distress they went through as God
disciplined them for rejecting Him.
On
the other hand, as v1 tells us, the walls of God’s city are made of
salvation since He is the one who can bring it.
So,
it does not seem to be a physical city (surrounded by walls of stone
or concrete that can be destroyed). Rather, it is a symbol of a
secure place of salvation that cannot be destroyed by any war.
And
more of this deep security can be found in verses 3 & 12 of this
song…
V3
says God will keep in perfect peace those whose minds have stayed
upon Him, the reason being that they have firmly trusted in Him.
That’s
why God’s people must patiently trust Him as they wait for His
salvation.
V12
points to what happened in the past regarding God’s peace,
reminding us that God has established peace for his people in certain
periods in the past.
And
the next verses point to God’s people’s journey as a whole, where
we find rulers (such as Pharaoh and Canaanite kings) who were
immediately destroyed or who completely lost their power over
time since they tried to exterminate those who waited in God for
their salvation.
So,
we can trust that God will bring peace again, since He did that in
the past when He delivered the Israelites from their enemies in
specific situations…
And
no-one can say that it happened because God has favourites...
The
Bible shows that, in times of rebellion, the nation of Israel went
through times of “child-birth-like” pains, as God Himself
punished them to the point they only had strength to whisper their
prayers (as we see in v16).
So
the just destruction of that symbolic human city that Isaiah has been
mentioning (especially in chapters 24 & 25), will be a final
demonstration of God’s perfect justice that He will bring in the
end.
And
here in chapter 26, we see in verses 5 & 6 that those who will be
brought low are the arrogant ones, while those who will benefit from
God’s justice are those that have been oppressed, and those who
have been financially neglected…
All
the pride, evil, rebellion & sin that humans have practiced since
the fall of Adam & Eve, and have NOT repented of (even
after God has clearly shown them His grace, in v10), will be
judged & punished by the Judge of the universe (from whom our
sense of justice comes from).
Therefore,
unlike the human city that is destined to destruction, God’s city
will stand strong within its walls of salvation. And, as we can see
glimpses of it in the Bible and in church history, the
Lord will bring peace & justice in the end to those who patiently
trust Him as they wait.
So
having this in mind… let’s move to the
second part:
An
Encouragement (vv20 to 21 of chap 26 & chap 27 v1)
In
vv20 & 21, Isaiah now addresses God’s people, urging them to
hide in the Lord (not in a physical place that can be destroyed). But
he also encourages them by saying that, even though they will have to
wait… it is only for a little while until God’s
wrath has passed by… so they just need to be patient and to
wait…
And,
before the Lord brings judgement & then peace in the end, God’s
people would experience difficult times of hardship as they patiently
wait for his rescue.
Waiting
patiently is very difficult for most people, since it is like
accepting that we have no power to get what we want. And I think it
is especially hard when we do not see much justice or peace around
us.
Yet,
if we look at Isaiah 26 v21 and then chapter 27 v1, we can see that
God is not ignoring the situation in which the world has been
since the fall of humanity in Genesis.
The
Lord has already prepared a punishment to come upon evil & sin,
including those crimes that were done in secret and were never
punished by human justice… The earth will disclose the blood shed
on it, and those responsible for it will have to pay.
Additionally,
chapter 27 v1 encourages us by saying that God will permanently
destroy the enemy of His people, called here: “Leviathan”.
We
find similar ideas in other parts of the Bible.
For
example, the beasts of Daniel 7 emerge from the sea; Revelation 13
speaks of a seven-headed beast coming from the sea; and the psalmist
used the name “Leviathan” to describe Egypt, a deadly enemy of
Israel.
So,
Leviathan was a symbol of all evil powers in opposition to God’s
people. And, considering verse 13 of this chapter 27, I believe that
possibly Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria are here
represented under the symbolism of: the gliding serpent, the coiling
serpent, and the monster in the sea, respectively – pointing to us
today (in 2023) that God has defeated these enemies, and these
powerful Empires no longer exist.
Also,
it is quite likely that Isaiah saw behind these human kingdoms: Satan
himself, who is working through world authorities in opposition to
God’s kingdom.
If
we go back and look at Isaiah 24 vv21 & 22, we can believe that
Satan’s final punishment will happen in the end. And we Christians
probably remember that part of this prophecy against Satan has
already happened thanks to the death & resurrection of Jesus…
For example, in John 12 Jesus Himself says:
“Now
is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world
will be driven out.”
In
the next chapters of Isaiah, we are told that the future of God’s
people in God’s City would only be possible through the Messiah who
would bring God’s kingdom.
In
the Bible and in church history we can see that THAT layer of this
promise has been fulfilled. Jesus Himself says in the New Testament:
“The
time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent, and believe
the good news!”
And
in His ministry we can see clear signs of the beginning of this
future-reality that God has prepared. Therefore, we can confidently
believe that: the Lord will
bring peace & justice in the end to those who patiently trust Him
as they wait.
Now…
let’s think about a few application-questions for us today:
As
I said before, waiting patiently is very difficult for most
people… Whether you are waiting for a heart transplant, a
life-changing court decision, the birth of a child, and etc…Waiting
is really hard.
And
it is hard also when we do not see much justice or peace around us.
But
in the biblical context of Isaiah: “waiting” is not a
passive acceptance of things that are wrong... Rather, it is actively
walking in God’s ways and patiently trusting that He will deal with
human sin permanently.
So…
-after
seeing everything that is happening in the world recently, do we
still trust that God is able to bring justice & peace in
the end? Or have we started to doubt Him, and have given up on
waiting?
-are
we still waiting for God’s rescue, or has our perspective
changed because of the hard times we’re going through, or because
of the wars & injustice that we see in the world?
-what
or who are we trusting to give us peace now? And what or who has been
our hiding place when we’re struggling?
-have
we become so used to this life here that we’re longing for earthly
comfort instead of waiting for what God has promised?
The
Lord can give us what we need to patiently trust Him. So please ask
Him to do it, and to change our perspective about what’s really
important and what it means to wait for Him.
Many
earthly things in life are worth waiting for: an organ transplant, a
missing family member, a court decision… But what is eternal is
even more important (since it will never end). So the eternal things
are even more worth the wait, because they’ll never be taken
away from us!
We
Christians can do like the heart transplant patient that I mentioned
at the beginning, and look to the future that the Bible shows that is
coming. But we can also already see in the Bible and in history the
layers of fulfilment of the promises God has made in the past,
especially the ones fulfilled in Christ.
Therefore,
remember that the Lord will bring peace & justice in the end. So
patiently trust Him as you WAIT.
Poem
by
Deborah
Ann Belka
Those
who wait on the Lord,
Those
who wait on the Lord, shall ride out the storm ahead
they shall
climb over any doubt for they are Spirit lead.
Those
who wait on the Lord, shall fly against the strongest gust
they
shall soar above their sorrow because in God they trust.
Those
who wait on the Lord, shall run a good and faithful race
they
shall not grow faint or weary for they are filled with His grace.
Those
who wait on the Lord, shall walk the talk they believe in
they
shall go up against this world and not get caught up in sin.
Those
who wait on the Lord, shall arise and take their stand
they
shall rise up against temptation for they put their life in His hand.
Those
who wait on the Lord, shall conquer every doubt and fear
they
shall endure to the end for they know His Kingdom is near!
Song:
I
will sing I
will sing unto the Lord
I
Will Sing, I Will Sing A Song Unto The Lord Song Lyrics Video -
Divine Hymns - YouTube
