Hope for the Helpless
1 “Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And
the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation
that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the
ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God. 3 ‘ Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ In fact, in the
day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. 4 Indeed you fast for strife and
debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your
voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow
down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the LORD?
6 Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy
burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your
bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see
the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8 Then your light shall
break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness
shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the
LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your
midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 If you extend your soul to the
hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your
darkness shall be as the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul
in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of
water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of
many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to
Dwell In.
Before we get into the sermon this morning, I'd like to do something a little different.
Watch Webcast / February 3rd
Go to February 3rd and watch some of the webcast. Just like Abraham dug wells
that are still active today, once these wells are dug correctly they will last for a
lifetime. The cost just recently went up to $4800 to supply a well to those in need.
For just $144 we can supply water for 30 people for their lifetime.
We've read about Jesus healing lepers in the Bible. Because leprosy could be
spread through sneezing or coughing, lepers were cast out of their homes and
villages. All of their belongings would be burned to prevent contamination so they
would be forced to leave with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The disease
would attack the nerves and destroy the ability to feel pain. Without pain they
injured themselves. Repeated injuries led to ulcers and deformities that would cause
them to lose parts of their bodies. You may wonder why I'm telling you about this old
disease. No one gets leprosy anymore, right? Wrong. There are actually about
150 new cases right here in the United States every year. Worldwide 678,758 new
cases were reported last year.
Surprising, huh? You know what's more surprising? There has been a cure for
leprosy available since 1981. The only thing holding back the eradication of this
disease is the cost. But guess what, it only cost about $240 which is a year of
treatment to completely cure someone of leprosy. American Leprosy Missions has
been ministering to lepers around the world since 1906. Now, let's get back to
today's scripture.
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet. God is telling Isaiah not to
hold back. Go tell the people what they're doing wrong. Show them their sin. In
today's 'church', many are uncomfortable preaching about sin. The people only
want to hear about the love of God and His mercy; good stuff like that. But here God
clearly is telling His prophet not to hold back. It's clear from verse 2, they think
they're doing everything right. They pray, they go to synagogue, they obey God's
rules. They're wondering why they do everything right, including fasting, and God
doesn't see. They follow the rules but He doesn't hear them. Today people ask the
same questions of Him. They feel like they go to church, pray, and try to be good
moral people and it seems like God doesn't hear us.
The response was that they do what they do for the wrong reasons. It all comes
down to their motivation. God didn't want them to get into sackcloth and ashes so
everyone would know they are fasting. I've found that it is very easy to fast and yet
no one other than your family would even know it. Yet they would make a big show
of not only their fast but of all their 'sacrifices'. God doesn't like complaining. Yet so
many do what they do as if it's a chore and not a privilege. God, in this passage, is
like; Is this what you think is acceptable? What is acceptable is to see a need and to
fill it. Not because we have to, but because we have the mind of Christ. We should
see those who are also made in the image of God (all mankind) and have empathy if
they are in need because we love Him who first loved us.
And look at what comes when we do the right things for the right reasons. Then your
light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And
your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear
guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say,
‘Here I am.’ Doesn't that sound like something you want? Then it says if you take
away the yoke from your midst. It should not be a burden to you. There should be
no cause for complaining. It should be natural because of the mind of Christ within
you. The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And
strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of
water, whose waters do not fail. Wow! This is great stuff. Awesome promises!
The last verse says those among us will build the old waste places. The things that
seemed to have been destroyed will be rebuilt. We will raise up the foundations of
many generations. I believe with all my heart that we are that generation that will do
these things. But it's going to take a heart change, not just outward things. Not just
going to church, or walking down the aisle to get saved, or going under the water to
be baptized. It's going to take an inside change. Yesterday, my mother and I went to
see my friend Adelaide and her family in Miami and the conversation went to how the
bride 'the church' will clean her robes, according to the book of the Revelation.
That, I believe, will be the spiritual change when His followers clean their hearts.
The two ministries that were mentioned earlier will be missions of this church. If you
would like to give a special offering to either Life Today's Water for Life Mission or to
American Leprosy Missions, you can do so by earmarking funds through this ministry
or by donating directly to each organization. We will be collecting funds and sending
to these missions monthly along with the other ministries we support. If you have any
ideas for other ministries that we may like to support corporately, email me.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: February 5, 2006