Sermon Tone Analysis

! Series:  The Way to Godliness

!

The 3rd  Step toward Godliness - Redemption

!

January 25, 2009

*Isaiah 1:21-31*

 

 

*Introduction** – [1st slide with the ?

– How should we live?]*

* *

Today we come to the final step toward godliness.

We will look at this final step today and next Sunday.

*First*, we looked at God’s gracious gift of *conviction* – learning our weakness is ever before us – yet God’s strength and glory shines most beautifully through our weaknesses!

So, our *first step* in pursuit of godliness is a recognition that it is God’s unwavering grace and steadfast love that sustains us….it is His power that saves and keeps us - and that the life God has for us in not a life of spiritual mediocrity or continued bondage to sin…..but it is a life of freedom in Christ and, as a result, a relationship with our heavenly Father that is glorious….and

beautiful….and

all encompassing!

*Next*, we saw last week that the purpose of God’s gracious conviction is *repentance*.

With surgical skill, the Holy Spirit lances the cancerous sin within our lives and exposes that sin to us; *but why?

We found the answer last week….that

being a new creature in Christ means we are being transformed….and

this transformation has a purpose – we are being made into the image of Christ!  Repentance* is our lifelong pursuit of holiness by which we come to hate sin more and more and love Christ more and more!

It is a fleeing from sin and fleeing to Christ!

Illustration:

On August 15th, 1977 the police in NY city brought to an end a reign of terror unlike any that the city had ever known.

On July 29, 1976 a  young girl, 18 -  Donna Lauria, was murdered while sitting in a car next to her friend (who was seriously wounded) and following after, 6 other young girls died and seven more were wounded.

The man arrested on 8~/15 was David Berkowitz…dubbed the Son of Sam by the press…..he was a young man (23) who had been troubled emotionally since a young child.

After 3 years service in the Army, Berkowitz met some people at a party in NYC and they introduced him to a man who “channeled spirits” and brought “new revelation” concerning the end times.

Berkowitz had been interested in the occult and witchcraft for years…..and he joined this group of occultists and pledged his life to Satan.

10 years after his arrest and imprisonment, David was approached in the prison yard by another inmate with a message… “David, God loves you and wants to forgive you.”

He proceeded to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with David, and gave him a Gideon NT Bible.

A few nights later, while reading the 34th Psalm…..David came to verse 6 “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.”

This man….who had willingly pledged his life to Satan…who had seen visions and heard voices instructing him to kill innocent people…..is now the pastor of a church within the prison (where he is serving a 300+ consecutive year prison sentence) and is known….to

prisoners and guards alike….not

as the Son of Sam killer, but as the Son of Hope – who daily works with prisoners in emotional turmoil – many of whom are in the prison hospital because of attempting suicide.

In an interview, David was asked how he deals with the criticism and skeptics over his new life:

*SCOTT:** You're a different man.

*

*DAVID:** Yeah.

God has put a new heart in me,(/he quotes Ezek.

36)/ and I know no matter what man may say, I know what God has done for me.

That he has reached into my life, and he's taken out that rotten heart of a murderer, of a devil worshiper, a heart that was no good.

It was like a stone!

I was like an animal!

I was like a rock!

And he's taken that thing out and put in a new heart and a new spirit within me… *

*I thank God that I can live for hope, and exalt the name of the Lord.

And I know that there's nothing I've ever done to deserve any mercy from God.

But he showed me, you know, that his hands were outstretched, that he said, "David, I love you, I forgive you, you're my child now."

And Jesus says, "My blood has washed away all your sins."…..

You know, Jesus [also] says that whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

And I know that the Lord has set me free in my mind, in my body -- every which way.*”

This is the perfect illustration of our final step toward godliness -although it really is no step of ours, but is wholly God’s work of grace.

It is *Redemption.*

*So, what is Redemption?  *Simply, Redemption explains */how/* God saves us!

So how does He?

By paying a personal price!

We are born into sin….enslaved

to it….inclined to rebellion against our Creator in every way…..and Redemption is God shattering those chains of slavery to sin /at his own expense…./God

takes away from us…within Himself, the consequences of our sin.

I can stand before you this morning and assure you that….not

only is God willing to pay the price for your sins, He already has at the cross of Christ.

And you can enter into redemption freely, by His grace.

*Isaiah places all of his hope in redemption – *“Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness.”

(1.27)  *This is where the Lord wants to take us…..through the conviction of sin into repentance where we experience redemption!*  *READ IS.1:21-24*

In our passage breaks down into two halves:  the first is a /lament /over our corruption – and the prophet asks the question – */What…what have we become and what does God do with people like us?/*/(vv 21-26)/.

{We’ll look at most of this today!}

The *second part *asks the question,  */How does God lead us into redemption?/*

*What* – *Our Corruption*

     How the faithful city

 has become a whore,

 she who was full of justice!

(*1.21a*)

We realize that the church….(born-again

Believers) is pledged in marriage to Christ!  *2* For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since */I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ/*.

(2 Cor.

11.2)

God isn’t just flirting with us….he’s serious in His relationship with us and He wants us….He will have us as His alone.

And when we place any one or any thing before Him….we are committing spiritual adultery (Hosea 1-3).

This is why Isaiah begins the verse with  the word “*How*” – this is a */lament/*….Something heart breaking has happened.

When the  church is not “full of justice” – when we, the church, are not modeling the gospel – healthy relationships…..missions focused….burdened

for the lost, the hopeless ~/ ~/ there’s a cry of sorrow from Heaven!  Righteousness lodged in her,

 but now murderers.

(1.21b)

The lament continues!

We can sense there is a looking back here; the faithful city has become a prostitute…..there once was justice but now adultery!

There once was Righteousness....but now murderers!

There can never be justice without righteousness.

The spiritual adultery means that goodness and justice (which come in relationship with God) have been replaced with wickedness and death!

Illustration

If we are the church…..we must be faithful!

We cannot become the Bride of Christ and still play the field spiritually!

*When you come to church, what are you expecting?*

The presence of God…..the power of God working in your heart and the hearts of others!

Worship!

AND….community!

Since the very definition of a local church is a group or Born-Again believers in covenant together to worship and serve God and to practice the church ordinances.

Remember, idolatry takes many forms….and

any one or thing placed before God is being unfaithful to Him!  We expect to encounter God…..love and kindness – not wickedness or harshness!

I remember when, as an elder at our church in Knoxville, I was summoned one morning to go to the lobby….that

a “pastor” was visiting and wanted to meet me.

When I met him, he proceeded to criticize the church  - “I was not properly greeted at the door;” “I was not offered coffee…..your music was too loud.”

He continued on for several minutes….at

which point I ended the conversation and thanked him for “worshiping” with us.

During his “council” there were many guests standing by listening to this man drone on about the unfriendly nature of the church.

The fact was, he WAS greeted at the door…..you literally could not get into the church without being greeted!

Not only were his criticisms off target….they were delivered harshly with a great deal of contempt – all in the lobby before guests (and several unbelieving attenders!).