LEARN
TO DO GOOD (Isaiah 1:10-20)
Introduction: Abbe Pierre, a
French Catholic priest, founded the Emmaus Communities in 1949. They don't just
give the homeless handouts. Instead, they ask the homeless, whom they call
"companions," to serve others. Abbe Pierre's first companion in
ministry was a homeless man named Georges. After Georges' release from prison,
his family couldn't cope with his reappearance, so they told him to leave. Homeless,
unemployed, and on the verge of suicide. Georges
came to Pierre and asked for help. Much to Georges' surprise, Pierre asked
Georges to help him instead. Pierre told Georges that he was overwhelmed with
meeting the needs of homeless mothers and their children. So, Pierre challenged
Georges to turn his life around by serving those less fortunate than he. Georges
became the first "companion" for Emmaus, helping Pierre build
shelters for homeless mothers and their children.
In the following years, every companion, like
Georges was invited to serve others as they received help. Initially, all the
companions collected second-hand goods and prepared them for resale, thus
earning the name "the rag pickers." Later in his life, Georges said,
"Whatever else [Abbe Pierre] might have given me -- money, home, somewhere
to work -- I'd have still tried to kill myself. What I was missing and what he
offered was something to live for."
Well,
those sentiments became the unofficial motto for Emmaus -- give the poor a
reason to live, not just things to live on. It all started with one man
capturing the message of God to do good to others. The Emmaus Communities today
serve homeless men and women in Africa, The Americas, Asia, and all across
Europe in a unique way.” [1]LEARN TO DO GOOD.
Last week we saw how the prophet Isaiah
was commissioned to bring forth God’s message to the rebellious nation of
Judah. Today we will glean from that message how God would have His Church live
out the message of hope in a post-Christian world.
I. GOD’S CASE
AGAINST THE NATION OF JUDAH (Vs. 1-10)
In 740 B.C, God called the prophet
Isaiah to call the rebellious nation of Judah to account. God’s case against
them was that they did not recognize Him as their God and master. They paid no
attention to how much God cared for them. On top of that, they have despised
the Holy One of Israel by turning their backs on Him. God’s description of them
was, “They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the LORD.” Fast
forward to our times.
If
God has to build a case against the post-Christian world and the USA in
particular, what would he say? About the liberal and progressive agenda, the
crime and poverty-ridden cities and towns, the corrupt politicians who only
care for themselves and neglect the poor and the needy, the evangelical
Christians who say they love God but have a hard time loving their neighbors as
Christ loved them, the apathetic state of Churches and lukewarm Christians.
After taking on the national sins,
He took the transgressions committed right in His temple.
II. UNACCEPTABLE
WORSHIP (10-12)
Vs 10-12, “Listen to the Lord, you
leaders of “Sodom.” Listen to the law of our God, people of “Gomorrah.” “What
makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am sick of your
burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from
the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to worship me, who asked
you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?”
The
prophet addresses the leaders and the people of Judah as if they were the
leaders and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, though those cities were
destroyed for their rebellion long time ago during the time of Abraham. Why?
Isaiah
3:9 reads, “The very look on their faces gives them away. They display their
sin like the people of Sodom and don’t even try to hide it. They are doomed! They
have brought destruction upon themselves.” Sadly, Sodom and Gomorrah till today
remain a stark warning to what will happen to the nations and people who
continue to live in rebellion against God.
God
was disgusted with the worship, and sacrifices of the people of Judah, to an
extent he said, “I hate them, they are a burden to me, and I can not stand
them.” He further said, “when you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not
look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are
covered with the blood of innocent victims.”
Why
did God react in such a harsh way towards the worship of Him from His people?
God found their worship to be unacceptable, and their sacrifices repulsive
because they were not doing with a sincere and broken heart. Here is the
warning of prophet Samuel to King Saul, who thought he had carried out the
Lord’s instructions, while not realizing that he was disobeying God and walking
in rebellion and defiance. You can read about this sad story in I Samuel 15.
I
Samuel 15: 22-23, “But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your
burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen!
Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the
fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as
worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has
rejected you as king.”
Though
the people of Judah were bringing all those offerings, their hearts were far
from God. Remember, God always pays attention to our hearts more than our
actions. This morning let’s examine ourselves when we come to worship would God
accept our worship and offerings? Or would He be repulsed by them? God doesn’t look at how well we sing, play
musical instruments, lead Bible studies, or how generous we are with our money.
He
cares about our hearts. Nothing delights Him more than our wholehearted
obedience. God wanted the people of
Judah to obey Him in doing good instead of doing all their so-called rituals and
festivals. Similarly, God is calling His Church worldwide to excel in doing
good.
III LEARNING TO DO
GOOD
Vs
16-17, “Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up
your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the
cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” Here we see God’s remedy for
Judah’s sins. He was suggesting a fivefold action plan for the leaders and the
people of Judah to come out clean and enjoy the blessings and favor of God.
That action plan started with learning to do good.
1. Learning to do Good: The Hebrew word
translated as, “learning” has broader meanings such as: “to learn, to study, to
be accustomed to, to teach, to instruct and to practice.” Similarly, the word
good: “to be good, to be pleasant, to be lovely, to be cheerful, etc. Why does
God wants us to learn to do good? Because our God is Good. Consider these
scriptures:
I Chronicles 16:13, “Give thanks to
the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 25:8, “
The Lord is
good and does what is right.” Psalm 33:5, “He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the
earth.” Is God only good to some or all people? We human beings are very
selfish; at times, all we care about what is good for ourselves, our people,
our country, and don’t care what happens to the rest of the world.
On
the contrary, “The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his
creation.” Psalm 145:9, God is asking us to learn to do good; it is a tall
order because it doesn’t come to us naturally. That is why we are to learn,
again knowing how hard it is to learn to do and be good, it is only appropriate
for us to cry out to God and say, Teach me to do your will, for you are my
God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Psalm 143:10
You
may be excusing yourself saying, “all this stuff of being and doing good is the
OT requirements. I don’t live by the law
but by grace. Well, then do what Jesus did. Acts, 10: 37-38, “You know what has
happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the
baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were
under the power of the devil because God was with him.” So, do you have any
excuse now? None!
Moreover,
Jesus commanded us, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that
they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 How
is Israel going to cleanse themselves, they must learn to do good. Israel's solution
is also our solution.
We
must learn to do good. We will learn to do good by seeking Justice, helping the
oppressed, defending the cause of orphans and fighting for the rights of the
widows. In the OT, the fatherless and widows represented the weak and often
oppressed part of society. Rulers were warned not to take advantage of them.
Jeremiah 22:3.
James,
the brother of Jesus defines what a right religion which is acceptable unto
God. James 1:27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is
this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself
from being polluted by the world.”
Friends,
in closing, if we call ourselves the followers
of Christ, then we must learn to do good. As John Wesley the founder of
Methodist churches encouraged his congregation, “Do all the good you can, by
all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at
all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
As we leave, let’s determine not to turn a
blind eye and a deaf ear towards those who are being oppressed and need our help.
Let’s find small and big ways to help as many people as we can. God has been so
good to us, as our worship to him let’s do and be good to others Amen!
[1] (Margaret
Visser, The Gift of Thanks, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009, p. 373. From a
sermon by C. Philip Green, The Way to Glory, 8/13/2011)
