3rd Sunday of Advent 12/11/05 Text: Isaiah 64:1-4 Title: A People Mover
3rd Sunday of Advent
12/11/2005
Text: Isaiah 64:1-4
Title: A People Mover
Let us pray. - Lord God, Creator and Maker of us all, speak in the calming of our minds and in the longings of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
This past week in preparing for this sermon I spent some time studying the word “church” as it is used in the New Testament. As I studied each one of the 112 times the word is used I discovered two things that I don’t think I have ever noticed before. The first thing that I noticed is that in the New Testament the “church” is never criticized. Now that caught my attention, for too many times we, who are in the church, spend a lot of time criticizing either what the church is doing or not doing.
The second discovery that I made, and what I want to talk about this morning, is that the word “church” is never used as the subject of a sentence, except in two cases, where the plural word “churches” is used in Romans and 1 Corinthians. In each of those cases the churches of Christ in Asia are sending a greeting to someone.
What that means is that the “church”, only receives from God and does not give anything to God. I can tell by the puzzled look on some of your faces that this does not sound right, for after all don’t we gather together to give God our prayers, our songs, our worship? You are right we do do those things, but as I have discussed in my Sunday morning Bible class on the Theology of the Cross in doing so we are not giving God anything that he needs, for he is God and in need of nothing. We are in fact receiving from God as we pray, sing, and worship him.
The problem with thinking that we are gathered together in the local church to give God something it is then easy for us to start thinking that God owes us something. That is what happened to the Israelites. They were after all God’s chosen people, so they thought that as long as they worshiped properly and did for others what God wanted them to do, God owed it to them to care for them. That then led them into all types of problems.
Many people in the church today have fallen into that same type of wrong type of thinking, for they think that the purpose of the church is to be about the business of giving to God, which is the same problem that the Israelites had, and in doing so have forgotten the true purpose of the church, that is the receiving and passing on of God’ Word.
Now that does not mean that the people of God who make up the church are not to care for the poor, the sick, those who are abused, or the neglected. It does not mean that at all, because that is what we are to do. We do it as our natural response for all that God has done for us through his Holy Word and the Sacraments which have motivated us to care for the poor, the sick, and those who are abused, or neglected.
Still confused? I think the reason that it is confusing, as it was to me before I studied the word church as it is used in the New Testament, is that we think that the church is here to do those things, when in fact the purpose of the church is to be a “a people mover” through which the Word of God flows, thus moving people to God and his gift of salvation.
I would imagine that you have probably never heard of the church being referred to as a “people mover” before, but the reason that I have decided to use that term to describe the church, is because it does a good job describing the function of the church and its relationship with God.
When I used to fly a lot I always tried to get my flights as close together as I could, so I could get back home as soon as possible. That meant that I did not have much time to lollygag along the way. Quite often if I could arrange my flights at the right time, I would fly out early in the morning, get to my destination, take a cab to the meeting, have it wait if the meeting was not going to last more than 2 or three hours, and then take the cab back to the airport so I could catch a flight back home.
It was an exhausting schedule and if you had been at an airport the same time I was you would have probably seen me running through the airport at full speed. If you have never gone though an airport running at full blast to catch a flight, especially a crowded airport, you will never know how good it is to see “a people mover” which is nothing more than a moving sidewalk. They are a wonderful invention, for when you got on it you could either stand to one side to catch your breath, or you could got twice as fast as before, thus getting to the gate faster than running down the concourse all the way to the gate.
In our Old Testament text that we read earlier we see a great example of “a people mover” and the power that runs it. The “people mover” in our Old Testament reading is the prophet Isaiah, who in this particular text is representative of the church through which people are moved to God.
You don’t have to look far to see that, for right there in the first verse you see that the power that moves a “people mover” is non other than the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on Isaiah because he had been anointed by the Lord. This meant that Isaiah was speaking for God so those that heard his prophecy were to believe in what he said.
As you read the text you see that Isaiah is telling the people the good news, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, although in Isaiah’s time it was known as the promise of the coming Messiah to a people who were in exile, who when they arrived from where they had been forcibly removed would find nothing but destruction.
God told Isaiah to proclaim to the poor, the brokenhearted, those who are captives or prisoners, those who grieve, who mourn, those who despair the good news of the Messiah who would heal, give freedom, release, comfort, provide, give gladness, and righteousness.
Now that is “a people mover” message if there ever was one, for all that is accomplished by Jesus the Messiah. What good news for all that heard Isaiah’s message of comfort!
People today still need to hear the message of Isaiah, for who among us have not made a bad decision, said hurtful things, some in the name of the Lord, or had relationship problems. The list could go on and on.
We know that the commandments of God are just and when we break them, which we do all the time, they can come down on us like a hammer. Those who feel trapped and locked into a life of sin, no matter what it might be will usually feel darkness, despair, and depression when struck by the Law of God.
For all of us who struggle with our personal sins, fears, and doubts, hear God’s words of comfort through Isaiah, for he won’t let you miss your flight home. He has given you his church though which you hear his words of comfort, and receive his very body that was killed and his very blood that was shed on that cross so long ago. He is moving you from emptiness to fullness, from sorrow to joy, from confession to absolution where you are told time and time again, as many times as necessary, that you have been moved from death to life, that you are going home, good news that is for sure.
What then should we say in response to all of this, for God’s words though Isaiah are nothing short of revolutionary and life-changing? If you are not quite sure how to express your thankfulness, the words of Isaiah as we see them in verses 10 and 11 of our text are a perfect way to express your response for God’s grace and forgiveness.
Please read verse 10 and 11 with me. “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”
It is my prayer that you now understand that the church exists to be “a people mover”. “A people mover” powered by Holy Spirit for the purpose of moving people from unbelief to belief in Jesus as their Savior.
Don’t you want to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with someone that does not know of his salvation? You can, by inviting them to worship with you, by giving out the pocket crosses that tell those you are giving them to that there is hope and forgiveness, and doing any of the other things that God will put in front of you this Advent season as you a member of God’s church become a “people mover”. Amen
12/11/2005
Text: Isaiah 64:1-4
Title: A People Mover
Let us pray. - Lord God, Creator and Maker of us all, speak in the calming of our minds and in the longings of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
This past week in preparing for this sermon I spent some time studying the word “church” as it is used in the New Testament. As I studied each one of the 112 times the word is used I discovered two things that I don’t think I have ever noticed before. The first thing that I noticed is that in the New Testament the “church” is never criticized. Now that caught my attention, for too many times we, who are in the church, spend a lot of time criticizing either what the church is doing or not doing.
The second discovery that I made, and what I want to talk about this morning, is that the word “church” is never used as the subject of a sentence, except in two cases, where the plural word “churches” is used in Romans and 1 Corinthians. In each of those cases the churches of Christ in Asia are sending a greeting to someone.
What that means is that the “church”, only receives from God and does not give anything to God. I can tell by the puzzled look on some of your faces that this does not sound right, for after all don’t we gather together to give God our prayers, our songs, our worship? You are right we do do those things, but as I have discussed in my Sunday morning Bible class on the Theology of the Cross in doing so we are not giving God anything that he needs, for he is God and in need of nothing. We are in fact receiving from God as we pray, sing, and worship him.
The problem with thinking that we are gathered together in the local church to give God something it is then easy for us to start thinking that God owes us something. That is what happened to the Israelites. They were after all God’s chosen people, so they thought that as long as they worshiped properly and did for others what God wanted them to do, God owed it to them to care for them. That then led them into all types of problems.
Many people in the church today have fallen into that same type of wrong type of thinking, for they think that the purpose of the church is to be about the business of giving to God, which is the same problem that the Israelites had, and in doing so have forgotten the true purpose of the church, that is the receiving and passing on of God’ Word.
Now that does not mean that the people of God who make up the church are not to care for the poor, the sick, those who are abused, or the neglected. It does not mean that at all, because that is what we are to do. We do it as our natural response for all that God has done for us through his Holy Word and the Sacraments which have motivated us to care for the poor, the sick, and those who are abused, or neglected.
Still confused? I think the reason that it is confusing, as it was to me before I studied the word church as it is used in the New Testament, is that we think that the church is here to do those things, when in fact the purpose of the church is to be a “a people mover” through which the Word of God flows, thus moving people to God and his gift of salvation.
I would imagine that you have probably never heard of the church being referred to as a “people mover” before, but the reason that I have decided to use that term to describe the church, is because it does a good job describing the function of the church and its relationship with God.
When I used to fly a lot I always tried to get my flights as close together as I could, so I could get back home as soon as possible. That meant that I did not have much time to lollygag along the way. Quite often if I could arrange my flights at the right time, I would fly out early in the morning, get to my destination, take a cab to the meeting, have it wait if the meeting was not going to last more than 2 or three hours, and then take the cab back to the airport so I could catch a flight back home.
It was an exhausting schedule and if you had been at an airport the same time I was you would have probably seen me running through the airport at full speed. If you have never gone though an airport running at full blast to catch a flight, especially a crowded airport, you will never know how good it is to see “a people mover” which is nothing more than a moving sidewalk. They are a wonderful invention, for when you got on it you could either stand to one side to catch your breath, or you could got twice as fast as before, thus getting to the gate faster than running down the concourse all the way to the gate.
In our Old Testament text that we read earlier we see a great example of “a people mover” and the power that runs it. The “people mover” in our Old Testament reading is the prophet Isaiah, who in this particular text is representative of the church through which people are moved to God.
You don’t have to look far to see that, for right there in the first verse you see that the power that moves a “people mover” is non other than the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord.
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on Isaiah because he had been anointed by the Lord. This meant that Isaiah was speaking for God so those that heard his prophecy were to believe in what he said.
As you read the text you see that Isaiah is telling the people the good news, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, although in Isaiah’s time it was known as the promise of the coming Messiah to a people who were in exile, who when they arrived from where they had been forcibly removed would find nothing but destruction.
God told Isaiah to proclaim to the poor, the brokenhearted, those who are captives or prisoners, those who grieve, who mourn, those who despair the good news of the Messiah who would heal, give freedom, release, comfort, provide, give gladness, and righteousness.
Now that is “a people mover” message if there ever was one, for all that is accomplished by Jesus the Messiah. What good news for all that heard Isaiah’s message of comfort!
People today still need to hear the message of Isaiah, for who among us have not made a bad decision, said hurtful things, some in the name of the Lord, or had relationship problems. The list could go on and on.
We know that the commandments of God are just and when we break them, which we do all the time, they can come down on us like a hammer. Those who feel trapped and locked into a life of sin, no matter what it might be will usually feel darkness, despair, and depression when struck by the Law of God.
For all of us who struggle with our personal sins, fears, and doubts, hear God’s words of comfort through Isaiah, for he won’t let you miss your flight home. He has given you his church though which you hear his words of comfort, and receive his very body that was killed and his very blood that was shed on that cross so long ago. He is moving you from emptiness to fullness, from sorrow to joy, from confession to absolution where you are told time and time again, as many times as necessary, that you have been moved from death to life, that you are going home, good news that is for sure.
What then should we say in response to all of this, for God’s words though Isaiah are nothing short of revolutionary and life-changing? If you are not quite sure how to express your thankfulness, the words of Isaiah as we see them in verses 10 and 11 of our text are a perfect way to express your response for God’s grace and forgiveness.
Please read verse 10 and 11 with me. “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”
It is my prayer that you now understand that the church exists to be “a people mover”. “A people mover” powered by Holy Spirit for the purpose of moving people from unbelief to belief in Jesus as their Savior.
Don’t you want to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with someone that does not know of his salvation? You can, by inviting them to worship with you, by giving out the pocket crosses that tell those you are giving them to that there is hope and forgiveness, and doing any of the other things that God will put in front of you this Advent season as you a member of God’s church become a “people mover”. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 5:35 AM
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