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December 5 - Isaiah 58 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends. Sean, here it is Tuesday, it's
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  the 5th of December and you have pressed play and that is the
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  best decision you have made today.
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  That may not be true. You might have made some cracker
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  decisions, but this is a particularly good one as well.
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  Good on you. Thank you for inviting me in as
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  today you and I, we're going to continue working through this
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  final section of Isaiah. And as we spoke about yesterday,
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  this is the part of Isaiah where Isaiah is writing to his people,
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  to the people of Israel as they are returning to their land from
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  Babylon trying to work out how do they live as God's people.
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  And today he is going to be encouraging them from God that
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  when they do the right things that it's not just lip service
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  and and a show, but it has to be for the benefit of God and not
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  to to make themselves look good. So this is about the heart of
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  what it is that they do to make sure that their hearts are
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  genuine in worship. That is probably not a bad thing
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  for us to hear as we are surrounded by a world that tells
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  us it's all about what it looks like.
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  It's all about appearances, the surface, the thing that looks
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  good on a billboard that is ACE and that is super important, but
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  it ain't so, friends. We know that and we are going to
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  hear God reinforce that message as we read together today.
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  Isaiah Chapter 58. Shout with the voice of a
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  trumpet blast. Shout aloud.
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  Don't be timid. Tell my people Israel of their
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  sins, yet they act so pious. They come to the temple every
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  day and seem delighted to learn all about me.
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  They act like a righteous nation that would never abandoned the
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  laws of its God. They ask me to take action on
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  their behalf, pretending they want to be near me.
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  We have fasted before you, they say.
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  Why aren't you impressed? We have been very hard on
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  ourselves and you don't even notice.
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  I will tell you why I respond. It's because you are fasting to
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  please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep
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  oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you
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  keep on fighting and quarrelling?
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  This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.
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  You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance,
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  bowing your heads like reeds, bending in the wind.
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  You dress and burlap and cover yourselves with ashes.
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  Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will
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  please the Lord? No.
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  This is the kind of fasting I want.
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  Free those who are wrongly imprisoned lighten the burden of
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  those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free and
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  remove the chains that bind people.
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  Share your food with the hungry and give shelter to the
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  homeless. Give clothes to those who need
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  them and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
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  Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds
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  will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you
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  forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from
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  behind. Then when you call, the Lord
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  will answer Yes. Here I am.
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  He will quickly reply. Remove the heavy yoke of
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  oppression. Stop pointing your finger and
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  spreading vicious rumors. Feed the hungry and help those
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  in trouble. Then your light will shine out
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  from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as
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  bright as noon. The Lord will guide you
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  continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring
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  your strength. You will be like a well watered
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  garden, like an ever flowing spring.
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  Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities
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  and you will be known as rebuilder of walls and restorer
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  of homes. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
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  Don't pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the
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  Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord's holy day.
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  Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don't
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  follow your own desires or talk idly.
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  Then the Lord will be your delight.
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  I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance
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  I promised to your ancestor, Jacob.
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  I, the Lord, have spoken. Jesus, you see our hearts.
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  You know what's going on inside us, and that that is the prize
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  that you want for yourself. Not the things that we do and
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  the words that we say, but the intentions of our heart.
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  But you know we have stubborn hearts.
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  We have selfish hearts. We have tired and lazy hearts
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  that find it hard to extend beyond ourselves and the
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  immediate needs before us. We need your help, Lord.
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  So please soften our hearts, shape them, draw them back to
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  you so that we truly can have hearts for the oppressed, hearts
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  for those whose burdens are heavy, so that we would choose
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  to act in their favour just as you want us to, so that we can
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  be agents of your Kingdom in this world, Your Kingdom, which
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  doesn't uphold the powerful and exploit the weak, but your
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  Kingdom, which shines a light on the needs of those with the
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  greatest need. Help us be your voice.
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  Help us help our hands and our feet.
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  Act and move to the rhythm of your heart so that we really can
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  make this world a place that reflects your values.
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  Let us be your active agents here, whatever that looks like
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  today. Lord, shove us into those
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  spaces, even if we don't want to be there, so that we can make a
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  difference the way that you would have us do.
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  So we love you and we pray all of these things in your name,
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  Jesus. Amen.