How would you assess the state of All Saint’s church?
What about the Diocese of Rochester…? Or the C of E…?
If God decided to tell you what he thought of All Saints, what would he say to you, his people,
here?
The book of Isaiah begins with God’s verdict on his people, and
however bad your assessment of the church today, you’d have to be in a very,
very bad place to match this!
Turn to chapter 1 of Isaiah. READ
v1 739-690BC READ vv2-6
If we were to read on, we’d find that the judiciary are
corrupt, the rulers are rebels and associate with thieves, the priests convene
nothing but ‘evil assemblies’.
“But wait a minute” you might say, ‘this isn’t about the
church, it’s about the nation.’
And you’d be right… and wrong!
Israel, remember, was a theocracy. The nation was the people of God and the people
were the nation. It’s anachronistic,
but you might even say that the nation was
the church & the church the nation.
So when God criticizes & condemns the nation, he’s
criticising & condemning his own chosen, redeemed people.
And as Isaiah looks
around him, he sees the calamity that’s afflicted Israel as a very tangible
demonstration of God’s punishment on his people, so, v5, God has beaten them.
But while God hates each and every individual sin that
Israel commits, the real issue lies deeper: chapter 1 verse 2 – I reared children & brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me. Verse
4, They have forsaken the LORD, they
have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.
You see, the real problem is not moral or ethical – it never
is.
It’s not so much about greed or injustice – these are the
symptoms> The disease runs deeper:
The real problem is turning their backs on God. Their hearts
are set on self-interest, not on worshipping & adoring their Lord God.
God has given the whole nation over to calamity and
desolation because they’re living for themselves. And now they’re in this terrible,
terrifying position – they’re on the receiving end of God’s wrath.
And yet… as is always the case with God, in his wrath there
is always compassion & mercy. With God there is always hope. So he says, ‘Why should you be beaten any more? Why do
you persist in rebellion?’
Later on the Lord calls to his people, ‘Come now, let us reason together, though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be
like wool.’
The Lord is holding out his hands to his people. Calling
them to come and sort out their differences. Offering forgiveness and
reconciliation, blessing and joy.
Now let’s move to the end of Isaiah. Ch 65. READ vv17-19
What a different – what a glorious – picture!
God is no longer angry with his people – now he rejoices
over them & delights in them!
The people are no longer suffering, weeping or crying, but
full of joy!
God and his people have been reconciled.
So the book of Isaiah takes us on a journey from rebellion
& curse to peace & blessing.
From a city & nation under God’s just & sever
punishment to a city & nation that will be his joy & delight.
But how will God do this? How can the holy, just,
evil-hating God be reconciled to an unholy, sinful, evil-loving people?
This is where passages like chapter 9 come in. They give us
glimpses behind the curtain – we see just a part of God’s great plan of
salvation – the plan that we’re caught up in & involved in here today.
At the very end of chapter 8, The people are in distress & darkness
& fearful gloom, they’re in danger of being thrust into utter darkness.
Then comes one of those great Bible words, ‘But’
[‘Nevertheless’].
But [Nevertheless],
there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress…
And now, as I read vv2-5, notice how God promises a total
reversal of fortunes for his people…
The contrasts couldn’t be starker could they?
Darkness to light; the shadow of
death to joy; the burdensome yoke shattered; the warriors’ boots & bloody
garments of war burned in the fire & put to good use.
But again, ‘How?’
Well, it’s a remarkable answer, v6, a child. God will give
his people a child – a son.
But what a child!
READ vv6-7
Now, of course, having heard this reading so often – and
especially at Christmas – our thoughts naturally turn to the Lord Jesus as
fulfilling this.
He is the child who will redeem & renew Israel – God’s
people – because he has the power, the authority, the compassion, the justice,
the righteousness to do so.
Well that’s all very well. But it seems so distant.
Even if we accept Jesus as this wonderful, eternal,
omnipotent ruler, still he seems distant – out there; back then.
But we’re here in lovely Brenchley in 2015. What does this
have to say to All
Saints Church – the gathered people of God today?
First of all, we have the great benefit of living this side
of the coming of that child-king.
We can look back and see Jesus, the Son of God, the eternal
ruler, the prince of peace. We know who this child is.
We know that Jesus died under the wrath of God taking the
punishment for our rebellion.
Like the Israelites, were at one time under God’s wrath. We
too had our hearts set on pleasing ourselves. We too were self-indulgent.
But God shone his searchlight into our lives, and enabled us
to see our rebellion.
And he called, and we responded in repentance and faith.
And we were reconciled to God, he became our Father, and we
became his children.
Then, second, though we don’t see his perfect peace &
just reign in operation all over, yet we do see something of the in-breaking of
his kingdom here at All Saints, at St Peter’s and in gospel-churches all over
the world.
Where individuals turn back to God in faithfulness &
trust, so he binds us together into a new community.
A community where we can say, in all humility, that God
delights in us. As he looks on his people he rejoices in them.
And as we submit to the Wonderful Counsellor, the Prince of
Peace, so we begin to bring his peace, righteousness & justice into our
communities.
No longer serving ourselves, we serve one another until all people will know that we are his disciples, because we have love for one another.
Is that a pipe dream? Certainly not.
Let me share with you a few comments people at St Peter’s
have made in emails to me over the last few weeks:
‘I feel so lucky that God led me to St Peter’s! J’
“as ever we thank God for the St P's church family!”
“Thank you so much … for your care of us all over the past
weeks - we're very grateful to God”
I have no doubt that many of you will feel the same way
about All Saints.
And you do so, not because you’re particularly good or nice
or welcoming, but because you have received the grace of God, and now you share
that grace with one another. Because you mean it when you pray, ‘Your kingdom come, your will be done’.
