Week beginning 12th February

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