5th Sunday after Epiphany 2/08/09 Text: Isaiah 49:21-31 Title: Rising on the wings of an eagle.
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
2/08/09
Text: Isaiah 49:21-31
Title: Rising on Wings like Eagles
A former police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department tells how the Department would demonstrate to rookie officers the value of the bullet-proof vests they’d been issued. The vests were placed on mannequins and then officers would fire round after round into the vests. The rookies were asked to check to see if any of the rounds had penetrated the vests.
Invariably the vests would pass the test with flying colors. Vernon would turn to the rookie officers and ask, "So who wants to wear a vest and let us test how it works on you? How many of you would put on those vests and allow marksmen to take a shot at you? No one; I don’t blame you. You could cover my entire body with that armor and I’d still hesitate to put it on and let them shoot at me.
Why? Because it is one thing to say, “I believe” and quite another to actually act on that faith. You see, there are many things in this world that can threaten our feeling of safety and security. The plans, goals and the things that we desire in life can too often be threatened by powers beyond our own strength.
Things like losing our jobs, our financial security, our friendships, our loved ones, our health, not to mention terrorism and natural disasters. All those things and we could probably list one hundred more are all beyond our control and thus leave us feeling abandoned and sometimes panicky. It is in these times it is easy to take our eyes off God’s faithfulness and begin to look around for other forms of power and security, even while we know that there is no better security, no source of power than God.
We are not alone. People have struggled with a feeling of abandonment since Adam and Eve. And so, God’s message has always be been to this people: "Trust me." "Put your faith in my promises." "Rely on me."
Isaiah tells us in our Old Testament reading for today, verse 27, right in the middle of the reading, “Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God.” In other words Isaiah is asking the people, “Why do you think God has deserted you?”
When you look at where the people of Israel were at you can understand why they were asking about God’s presence. Judah was a very small kingdom surrounded by larger and more powerful nations. One of them was the powerful kingdom of Babylon. It had a fearsome army and a reputation of destroying any nation in their path and Judah was smack dab in Babylon’s way as it extended its borders. The people of Judah felt weak and threatened. It was difficult to ignore the dangers that surrounded them.
They saw that they needed every advantage against such a formidable enemy and so they sought to strengthen themselves by praying to the gods of neighboring nations and making alliances with these pagan nations.
Why would they do it? They were people of God. Why on earth would they turn their back on God and seek out other sources of power? Well as I just told you they lived in a world with very real dangers. They were afraid. They needed help because it sure did not look like God was going to do anything about their plight. They were just going to have pull themselves up by their sandal straps and take care of themselves.
I don’t think it is any different for us. These are times when our happiness and inner peace are threatened. May be you are feeling unsettled because your marriage is crumbling and you don’t know what to do. Maybe there is no joy left in your work. Maybe you feel down hearted about the path your children are taking. Maybe you’re getting older and feel badly about how your life is ending. Maybe your health is failing and it is affecting your social life. Maybe you are getting behind on your payments. Maybe there is the threat of losing your job. Maybe you feel like you are losing your battle fighting whatever sin you are fighting. Have I left anyone out?
It’s easy to become depressed about the havoc that sin causes in our lives. And it is all caused by sin, for before Adam and Eve sinned none of these problems in life occurred; just long walks with God. Whatever it is that is unsettling you, it’s good to remember that God has had plenty of experience with people who are fearful, discouraged and upset.
Remember Elijah and how depressed and discouraged he became and all he wanted to do was to die. Or what about Moses when he had to deal with people who were so ungrateful and always rebelling against God. He must have wanted to throw his hands up in disgust and walk out on them when it all got a bit too much.
Think about the disciples of Jesus out on a lake in a wild storm. Even though Jesus was there in the boat sleeping peacefully, they were convinced that the wind and the waves would overwhelm them and they would all drown. They even believed that Jesus didn’t care what happened to them. They woke him saying, "Don’t you care that we are about to die?"
That is the same question that people have cried out from the beginning of time, “Don’t you care that we are about to die, or lose our home, or not have enough to eat, or lose our job, or that my relationship is falling apart, or that I am deathly sick with cancer or some other life threatening disease. Don’t you care God?
And the answer that God through the prophet Isaiah gives is one that is worth reading again and again when it seems that our troubles are more than we can bear. This is God speaking to you today. Listen for his words, his comfort, and his deliverance.
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait (trust in) for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Listen to verse 31 once more, “but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” He is not saying those who are strong and independent God will take care of. He is saying those who are weak, those who can hardly take anymore, those who are struggling, those who feel abandoned he will help. That is a promise God cannot back out of. For remember what we have been looking at for the last six weeks, “When God speaks things happen.”
God will always keep his promises. The problem is that the people of Judah thought God had abandoned them or was too weak or far too removed to be bothered with their problems. And so Isaiah gives the people and us a reality check.
He is saying, "What’s wrong with you guys? Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? Hasn’t anyone told you that God can do anything? If he can create the universe, if he is able to not only make the stars but also knows how many there are and does a daily check on them even though there are millions upon millions of them. Because God's power is so great and he loves and cares for his creation, it follows then that his love for you and his concern for you in the middle of all your problems is unquestionable. We today have an advantage over the Israelites. We need only look at the cross and we can see one of God’s promises fulfilled. It is on that cross that we can see how much God loves us, for it was there he died for us, unworthy though we still are. It is on that cross he gave us forgiveness for our sin and hope for the future.
You cannot lose. It is a done deal. That is what God wants you to see today in our Old Testament reading. You cannot lose, for God is on your side. The guarantee is the blood of Jesus. You might be scared out of our wits by events that threaten our safety. You might be disappointed in yourself, about how your life is going. You might have grown weary, tired, disheartened, and exhausted. We might even be tempted to just chuck it all in.
You might be struggling with one or more of those things in your life, but you have a God who never gets tired of caring for you and loving you. He loves and cares for you even when you don’t think he is close to you or cares about you. His promise is as certain as ever.
Let’s read together his promise to you. “But they who wait on the shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint”. What more can I say? Amen.
2/08/09
Text: Isaiah 49:21-31
Title: Rising on Wings like Eagles
A former police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department tells how the Department would demonstrate to rookie officers the value of the bullet-proof vests they’d been issued. The vests were placed on mannequins and then officers would fire round after round into the vests. The rookies were asked to check to see if any of the rounds had penetrated the vests.
Invariably the vests would pass the test with flying colors. Vernon would turn to the rookie officers and ask, "So who wants to wear a vest and let us test how it works on you? How many of you would put on those vests and allow marksmen to take a shot at you? No one; I don’t blame you. You could cover my entire body with that armor and I’d still hesitate to put it on and let them shoot at me.
Why? Because it is one thing to say, “I believe” and quite another to actually act on that faith. You see, there are many things in this world that can threaten our feeling of safety and security. The plans, goals and the things that we desire in life can too often be threatened by powers beyond our own strength.
Things like losing our jobs, our financial security, our friendships, our loved ones, our health, not to mention terrorism and natural disasters. All those things and we could probably list one hundred more are all beyond our control and thus leave us feeling abandoned and sometimes panicky. It is in these times it is easy to take our eyes off God’s faithfulness and begin to look around for other forms of power and security, even while we know that there is no better security, no source of power than God.
We are not alone. People have struggled with a feeling of abandonment since Adam and Eve. And so, God’s message has always be been to this people: "Trust me." "Put your faith in my promises." "Rely on me."
Isaiah tells us in our Old Testament reading for today, verse 27, right in the middle of the reading, “Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God.” In other words Isaiah is asking the people, “Why do you think God has deserted you?”
When you look at where the people of Israel were at you can understand why they were asking about God’s presence. Judah was a very small kingdom surrounded by larger and more powerful nations. One of them was the powerful kingdom of Babylon. It had a fearsome army and a reputation of destroying any nation in their path and Judah was smack dab in Babylon’s way as it extended its borders. The people of Judah felt weak and threatened. It was difficult to ignore the dangers that surrounded them.
They saw that they needed every advantage against such a formidable enemy and so they sought to strengthen themselves by praying to the gods of neighboring nations and making alliances with these pagan nations.
Why would they do it? They were people of God. Why on earth would they turn their back on God and seek out other sources of power? Well as I just told you they lived in a world with very real dangers. They were afraid. They needed help because it sure did not look like God was going to do anything about their plight. They were just going to have pull themselves up by their sandal straps and take care of themselves.
I don’t think it is any different for us. These are times when our happiness and inner peace are threatened. May be you are feeling unsettled because your marriage is crumbling and you don’t know what to do. Maybe there is no joy left in your work. Maybe you feel down hearted about the path your children are taking. Maybe you’re getting older and feel badly about how your life is ending. Maybe your health is failing and it is affecting your social life. Maybe you are getting behind on your payments. Maybe there is the threat of losing your job. Maybe you feel like you are losing your battle fighting whatever sin you are fighting. Have I left anyone out?
It’s easy to become depressed about the havoc that sin causes in our lives. And it is all caused by sin, for before Adam and Eve sinned none of these problems in life occurred; just long walks with God. Whatever it is that is unsettling you, it’s good to remember that God has had plenty of experience with people who are fearful, discouraged and upset.
Remember Elijah and how depressed and discouraged he became and all he wanted to do was to die. Or what about Moses when he had to deal with people who were so ungrateful and always rebelling against God. He must have wanted to throw his hands up in disgust and walk out on them when it all got a bit too much.
Think about the disciples of Jesus out on a lake in a wild storm. Even though Jesus was there in the boat sleeping peacefully, they were convinced that the wind and the waves would overwhelm them and they would all drown. They even believed that Jesus didn’t care what happened to them. They woke him saying, "Don’t you care that we are about to die?"
That is the same question that people have cried out from the beginning of time, “Don’t you care that we are about to die, or lose our home, or not have enough to eat, or lose our job, or that my relationship is falling apart, or that I am deathly sick with cancer or some other life threatening disease. Don’t you care God?
And the answer that God through the prophet Isaiah gives is one that is worth reading again and again when it seems that our troubles are more than we can bear. This is God speaking to you today. Listen for his words, his comfort, and his deliverance.
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait (trust in) for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Listen to verse 31 once more, “but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” He is not saying those who are strong and independent God will take care of. He is saying those who are weak, those who can hardly take anymore, those who are struggling, those who feel abandoned he will help. That is a promise God cannot back out of. For remember what we have been looking at for the last six weeks, “When God speaks things happen.”
God will always keep his promises. The problem is that the people of Judah thought God had abandoned them or was too weak or far too removed to be bothered with their problems. And so Isaiah gives the people and us a reality check.
He is saying, "What’s wrong with you guys? Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? Hasn’t anyone told you that God can do anything? If he can create the universe, if he is able to not only make the stars but also knows how many there are and does a daily check on them even though there are millions upon millions of them. Because God's power is so great and he loves and cares for his creation, it follows then that his love for you and his concern for you in the middle of all your problems is unquestionable. We today have an advantage over the Israelites. We need only look at the cross and we can see one of God’s promises fulfilled. It is on that cross that we can see how much God loves us, for it was there he died for us, unworthy though we still are. It is on that cross he gave us forgiveness for our sin and hope for the future.
You cannot lose. It is a done deal. That is what God wants you to see today in our Old Testament reading. You cannot lose, for God is on your side. The guarantee is the blood of Jesus. You might be scared out of our wits by events that threaten our safety. You might be disappointed in yourself, about how your life is going. You might have grown weary, tired, disheartened, and exhausted. We might even be tempted to just chuck it all in.
You might be struggling with one or more of those things in your life, but you have a God who never gets tired of caring for you and loving you. He loves and cares for you even when you don’t think he is close to you or cares about you. His promise is as certain as ever.
Let’s read together his promise to you. “But they who wait on the shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint”. What more can I say? Amen.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 3:54 PM
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