Focus on God Sermons

The Lord Longs To Be Gracious

Isaiah 30:15-18

Jim Davis

We have before us in each decision we make the choice of life over death. The choices before us may be as simple as what we eat, what we take into our bodies, how we manage our finances or what we choose to believe. As we get older we begin to realize what could, would and should have been if only we had made different choices. Yet, it is not too late to make the most important choice in life. A choice for all eternity.

Moses speaks to the obstinate Hebrews after leading them through the wilderness for forty years. A new generation of Israelites is preparing to face the giants their parents refused to face forty years earlier. Their parents refusal to face their giants resulted in their children growing up in the Sinai wilderness. Their fathers and mothers died in the wilderness. Their children learned a powerful truth—life is about choices. What Moses is about to say should have a powerful impact because it is a truth they know all too well. They have reaped the consequences of their parents bad decisions for forty years.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life , so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. NIV

We know Moses is right own. We know a new life awaits our next decision—eternal life awaits our next decision. It doesn’t matter if one foot is in the grave and the other foot is on a banana peeling. Life or death awaits our next decision. Two thiefs were crucified on either side of Jesus. Initially both heaped insults on Jesus as they hung on their crosses. They undoubtly questioned, if he had the power why didn’t he deliver them from certain death as they hang there on their crosses.

Matthew 27:41-44

41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" 44 In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. NIV

In the midst of all this one of the thiefs had a change of heart.

Luke 23:39-43

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." NIV

We have a choice to change our minds and the direction of our lives at any moment. I don’t know how many strikes this man had against him—I do know that he had enough to get him crucified. But that didn’t keep him from being saved. Their may be a thousand voices in our head telling us we can’t change who we are, but the voice of a gracious God says come to me.

Isaiah 30:15-18

15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

"In repentance and rest is your salvation,

in quietness and trust is your strength,

but you would have none of it.

16 You said, 'No, we will flee on horses.'

Therefore you will flee!

You said, 'We will ride off on swift horses.'

Therefore your pursuers will be swift!

17 A thousand will flee

at the threat of one;

at the threat of five

you will all flee away,

till you are left

like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,

like a banner on a hill."

18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;

he rises to show you compassion.

For the LORD is a God of justice.

Blessed are all who wait for him! NIV

God is speaking to his people about their need for change. They have become obstinate in their self-reliance refusing to change. God says, "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it." Israel can’t grasp the importance of the change God is asking them to make. Rather than turning to God they hopped on their stallions and galloped in the opposite direction as they sought to save themselves without God’s help.

The voice in your head says, "GOD WON’T SAVE ME BECAUSE OF WHO I AM." But God says, "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength . . ."

Facing the Conflicts Within

Facing the evil within my own heart is heart rending. I rather rationalize it than challenge it. Rationalization is our way of dealing with things we don’t want to change or are afraid to change or think we can’t change. Too often, I had rather bury my head in the sand and just keep on doing things the way I have always done. I rather run from my problems when common sense tells me ultimately it will only create more problems.

Why is change so challenging when the benefits of God’s graciousness and compassion far out weigh the results of our obstinate’s to change. Isn’t it strange that the world is ours for the taking; a new life is yours for the taking, but we are afraid of the change required to reap the rewards.

Isaiah 30:15

15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

"In repentance and rest is your salvation,

in quietness and trust is your strength,

but you would have none of it.

Isaiah 30:18

18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;

he rises to show you compassion.

For the LORD is a God of justice.

Blessed are all who wait for him! NIV

God Calls Us to Repentance

The Biblical word for the change we need to make is repentance. Jesus says, repent or perish (Luke 13:3). Jesus gives us an ultimatum. It is a strong statement but it is the absolute truth. Repentance is a strong word for it challenges the core of our being. Repentance is confrontational, provocative and demanding. There is no middle ground. We are required to develop a whole new way of thinking or perish. It begins with one decision at a time as we turn to God.

Matthew records that Jesus preached "repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). Immediately following this statement Matthew gives us his summation of the gospel Jesus taught (Matthew 5-7). We call this section of scripture the Sermon on the Mount. This section of scripture reveals to us the life we must turn to when we choose to follow Christ.

Matthew 5:3-12

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

We are blessed when we become spiritually poor enough to recognize our need for change.

We are truly blessed when we begin to mourn over how we may have wasted allot of our lives seeking to live on our own terms.

We are blessed when we begin to hunger and thirst for God’s direction—his right way of living—his salvation..

When we begin to heed our heart’s deepest cry for change we will begin to find a fulfilling life.

This is repentance—a change of heart that causes a deep gnawing hunger for God. The beauty of repentance is that God doesn’t wait until we made all the necessary changes in our lives to save us. God places us under his protection the moment we turn to him in faith.

Peter preached to those who had crucified Christ 40 days after the crucifixion saying:

Acts 2:36-41

36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call."

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. NIV

The hardest part about salvation is repentance. Once we allow God to bring us to repentance mourning over who we are as we hunger and thirst for God we will find rest in God’s gracious willingness to accept us just the way we are. We may have a mountain of change before us—that truthfully, we will never be able to completely conquer. But we rest in the fact that God saves us regardless of how far we are able to scale the mountain of change.

Isaiah 30:15

18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;

he rises to show you compassion.

For the LORD is a God of justice.

Blessed are all who wait for him! NIV

The mountain of change before us should not drive us away in hopelessness. Our failures must not keep us from turning to God. When it comes to salvation God really doesn’t care where you are coming from—he just wants you to come to him. We must use our mountain of change to remind ourselves of God’s willingness to salvage our lives come what may.

Peter says, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Repentance brings the gift of the Holy Spirit. This sounds too theological to most people—it may even sound too religious for some of us. What is the gift of the Holy Spirit—this is it—read these verses:

Romans 8:26-27

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. NIV

Don’t worry about being so overwhelmed by some supernatural force that you start acting—religiously crazy. The gift of salvation and the Holy Spirit is that now you have invited heaven to participate in your struggles. Heaven will be interceding on your behalf directly to God through Jesus Christ for things you don’t even realize you need much less know to pray for. If you don’t know how to talk to God—trust in this—the Holy Spirit does—he is already interceding for you to be saved. He can’t do much else until you make a decision to officially receive his gift through Christ in baptism. He is asking God to save you before you ever turn to God. He is speaking to the God you do not know how to talk to or at this moment may not be willing to talk to.

Heaven is just waiting for you to invite all the forces of eternity to intervene in your life. Salvation is about bringing the forces of eternity to intervene in our lives. Not only is the Holy Spirit involved in our lives—all the heavenly beings are fighting for our salvation.

Hebrews 1:14

14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? NIV

When the religious people came to arest Jesus Peter drew his sword to prevent it from happening. Jesus simply says:

Matthew 26:52-53

52 "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. 53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? NIV

Believe it our not those angels Jesus could have called are tending to our salvation. It doesn’t matter who we are or how far we need to go. Most Christians keep heaven working overtime to salvage the messes we make in our lives. Yet, salvation is ours the moment we do what Peter says as we trust in God’s deliverance.

Acts 2:38

Forgiveness may be hard to accept because we find it hard to forgive ourselves. Forgiveness is difficult because we rationalize that we are no worse than most people so we refuse to recognize our need for forgiveness.

Repentance is not static; it is a vital ongoing process. Repentance is a lifetime adventure--the change God seeks won’t happen overnight. But it begins with an initial decision to turn to God as we ever so feebly begin to give our lives over to God one decision at a time.

The beauty of repentance is that it doesn’t matter how far down the road of repentance we travel before we die. Repentance is a lifetime adventure although we are saved the moment we surrender our lives to God. Repentance may not change our lot in life, but it will change us. The apostle Paul had personal problems beyond his control. They were also beyond God’s willingness to alter his circumstances.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. NIV

Our lot in life is given to us to make us strong—it is given to us to bring us to a realization of the power of God unto salvation—to awaken us to our need of salvation. Paul informs us in the following verses that facing problems far beyond his ability to endure awakened him to the power of God to salvage his life.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Repentance is hard for I am going to wake up tomorrow with the same problems I have today. We want God to change us overnight—this is not the way God works. We want God to give us the power to change overnight—he doesn’t. We want God to change our circumstances. But God simply gives us the power to make a choice to trust and follow him. Choices are important but the power of salvation rest in the hands of God.

Romans 1:16-17

16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." NIV

The power of the message of God is seen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God’s power is beyond anything we can imagine.

John 11:25-26

5 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" NIV

Baptism represents the power of Christ death, burial and resurrection.

Romans 6:1-7

6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. NIV

We need to claim this power of God each day.

2 Corinthians 6:1-2

6:1 As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. 2 For he says,

"In the time of my favor I heard you,

and in the day of salvation I helped you."

I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. NIV

Conclusion:

Matthew 11:28-30

28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." NIV

Mark 16:15-16

15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. NIV

Acts 2:38-39