Sermon(Is 48:17-19): Blessings come to those who obey God

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025255951

 

 

 

Scripture reading: Is 48:17-19

 

>> 17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy one of Israel: "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. 18 O that you had hearkened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; 19 your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me." <<

 

Farmers provide grass and feed their cattle. The owner brings to the cows everything good to them, because cows are valuable livestock for him. The most foolish farmer does not feed bad fodder to his cattle so that they die of stomach problem. A cow must eat heartily the fodder the loving owner gives and give pleasure to him. My beloved brethren, God is your shepherd, and you are his sheep. If you take, with thanks, the food that God gives you, you'll become healthy in body and spirit. Brethren, what is the food God gives us? It is God's commandment and word. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (Mt 4:4)”

 

Is the God our shepherd worthy of trust? Brethren, is God trustworthy? Is he a good shepherd? In verse 17, he is our Redeemer. The good shepherd takes out the sheep that have fallen into a pit, and he drives wild beasts away as they attack the sheep. So the sheep under the protection of a good shepherd will always live in peace. If the sheep of a good shepherd live in fear and anxiety, they must be foolish. God teaches us what is good (v. 17). As the farmer gives only good things to the cattle, so does God to us. God gives me the commandments deeded for forgiveness of sins and eternal life in heaven. We become righteous and holy when we observe what the good God commands us. When we consider the good God, we can thank him about all things. We must thank him in all things for good or bad. And God teaches us what we ought to do (v. 17). For example, we must fear God. We must honor our parents. We ought to preach the gospel to the whole world. We must not provoke the wrath of God by making idols and serving them. But we sometimes see as harm the benefits God has given us. We sometimes feel burdensome to do what we ought to do, and we boast as if we achieved great accomplishments though we have done it in such mood. My brethren, God really loves you. He really cares about you. He really wants you to have a successful life. When God punished Israel, he said, "It is not my primary intention to punish Israel and to torment Israel. (Lam 3:33)"

 

Then what was God's primary intention? God wants to bless those who obey his words with the following blessings. First, God gives a peace like a river to those who obey him (v. 18). A river originates from a fountain and extends to the sea, the destination of the river. The river has no broken parts. If you always obey God, your peace will continue unbroken from beginning to end. He who obeys God's word selectively will feel peace or anxiety depending on his feelings. But he who would obey 100% of God's words will have peace under any circumstances. If you make up your mind to live in 100% obedience to God from this moment on, you'll live in a perfect peace like a river to the end of your life. No matter how dry it is, the river does not reveal its bottom. No matter how hard the world suffers from drought or famine, such things can not take away your peace. No matter how tough the world is, all your worries and anxieties will disappear and you will enjoy the peace God will give you if you think only of the good God. If you have followed God's word and have begun to do something, obey him and continue to do it. There will be a peace like a river in your mind, and it will give you confidence in your work so that you can bear beautiful fruits under any circumstances, like a tree planted by a river.

 

God blesses the obedient men with righteousness like the waves of the sea (v. 18). Brethren, who are the righteous? Righteous is a man who obeys God's words. You are a righteous man if you do not do what God forbids even though you think it is right. You are a righteous man if you do what God commands even when you dislike it. Whomever God acknowledges as righteous is righteous, and whomever he acknowledges as wicked is wicked, because he is the judge of all mankind. He, who impertinently ignores the commands of God on the basis of human customs and ethics, is the most wicked man of all evil men. Abraham became a righteous man before God because he obeyed God when God told him to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. David tried to build a magnificent temple for God, but God would not let him build it, so he gave it up. Therefore David is a righteous man. A wicked and idle man do not do what God has commanded him to do while a man haughty and greedy for honor is determined to do what God has forbidden him to do. Moses hesitated to be God's servant because he was awkward in speaking, but eventually he obeyed God's call. And he lived a very successful life. Paul wanted to go on a missionary trip to Asia, but God blocked it and told him to go to Europe. So Paul followed his will and made great achievements. But, even though king Saul didn't kill all the cattle of the enemy as God had commanded him but brought fat animals to offer them to God, he was forsaken as an evil man by God. You're righteous if you obey God; you're evil if you disobey God. God clothes him who obeys God with righteousness like the waves of the sea. The sea waves represent indisputable generosity and sufficiency. Who can stop the waves of the ocean? Who can regard as a sinner him whom God recognizes as a righteous man? Who can override your righteousness, the righteousness of God's children? Your righteousness that you have received from God will swallow like raging waves all who would call you a sinner and rob you of your righteousness. “Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? (Rom 8:33-34)”

 

God blesses those who obey him with plenty of descendants (v. 19). Abraham believed and followed God's word. Thus God made Abraham's descendants numerous like the stars in the sky and like the sand on the seashore. There were many peoples and nations, but all of the people who had inhuman customs perished and vanished from the historical arena. However, ethnic groups that lived with sound ethics could see increase of population as time passed. Because they were blessed by God. Especially the people who served God as the Lord and kept his commands have received the blessing of exceeding prosperity. Is there a nation called Philistine now? Is there a nation Ammon? Does Moab still remain? All those countries that lived in immoral customs and served idols perished, but only Israel, their neighbor country, has remained so far. The reason is that Abraham obeyed God, Isaac obeyed God, and Jacob obeyed God, so that their descendants can stand before God without perishing until now. Be obedient to God, and your descendants will be blessed to the one thousandth generation.

 

Such is the heart of God. God wanted to bless his people, Israel, in any way, but Israel, contrary to God's expectation, went on the path of disobedience. “How sad! (v. 18 of Korean Bible)” The Bible has it that God feels sad. Some theologians of the past claimed, "There is no such thing as human emotion in God." But it's wrong. The God who created the human heart has feelings of joy, sorrow, anger and pity. If Israel had obeyed God, they would certainly have received such blessings. But Israel failed to receive the precious blessings thanks to their folly. God says, "I'm so sad and sorry to punish you according to your deeds." After all, the North Israel was destroyed by Assyria, and Judah, by Babylonia. The Israelites later returned to their hometowns and built temples and established a religious community, but again they didn't reform themselves but lived as they pleased, so they were completely destroyed by Rome and then were scattered throughout the world. After World War II, having suffered all sorts of hardships, Jews from all over the world came to Palestine and established a nation.

 

At the time when Isaiah prophesied, Israel had to be careful not to provoke neighboring strong nations. By the way, although the people of Israel must repent their sins, come to the Lord God, be forgiven, and seek his protection, they ignored the mercy and omnipotence of God and sought to survive in unity with the heathen nations that were serving idols. God's command was that they should not depend on such foreign nations but should come to him. They were brought to a tragic end because they rejected the word of God coming from the mouth of the prophet. My brethren, try as you may, you can never solve the problem with all your petty tricks if it is not God's will. The politicians of Israel compared the ideal (the word of God) with the real (the international situation) and chose a reality, that is problem-solving through diplomacy, because they believed that it was a sure way to save the kingdom. But the result was that the North Israel was destroyed by Assyria, and Judah, by Babylonia. Brethren, Israel's history clearly teaches us that it is beneficial for us to follow the ideal (the word of God) rather than the real. We must choose the ideal the more because we are Christians. We are branches on the vine (Jesus). We can do nothing without God and without Jesus. Sometimes, the ideal deeply intervenes in the real and instantly reverses the situation of a war of the real world. “And that night the angel of the Lord went forth, and slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. (2 Kings 19:35)” My beloved brethren, it is easier for God to annihilate all your enemies than to eat a piece of cake. Believe in God's mercy, love, and sincerity and wait a little while, and your problem will be resolved as you believe. Our true enemies are not our visible enemies, but our impatience and unbelief. In particular, my sins that haven't been pardoned yet through repentance are the barrier to God's blessing and aid. “Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you so that he does not hear. (Is 59:1-2)”

 

How important is the worship to God? But there is something more pleasing to God than that. It is obedience. God accepts worship given by those who are obedient to God. But if anyone, as Cain, has an evil heart and does not want to obey God, God will never receive his worship. The beginning and end of the Christian faith is obedience.

 

May all of you obey God and receive the blessings of peace, righteousness, and offsprings abundantly.

 

Chong Tack Kim

 

                                        - Dongtoma Sunshine Church -