Sermon Tone Analysis

Copyright Sept. 11, 2022 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

As you read through the New Testament you quickly pick up on the fact that the chief enemies of Christ were the religious establishment, the Scribes, Sadducees, and Pharisees.

These would have been the religious “superstars” of their day.

They were respected, they were pious, they presented themselves as people who walked close to God.

Yet, these are the people Jesus condemned because of their hypocrisy.

They professed faith but did not possess faith!

If there is one criticism that seems most popular among non-believers towards the church it is their feeling that Christians are hypocrites.

(When they say, “I don’t belong to the church because it is full of hypocrites” I always quickly add, “there is always room for another one!”)

No matter how snappy our comeback is, the truth is, the church IS largely filled with hypocrites.

This is because we haven’t learned the lessons of Isaiah 58.

We, like the Israelites of Isaiah’s day, often put on a good “show” but with little substance.

This is not a new theme in Isaiah.

In the very first chapter of Isaiah the people are indicted for their hypocrisy.

Isaiah wrote over a long period of time.

He may be talking to a whole new generation of people near the end of his book.

But even if he isn’t we repeat things because people aren’t listening.

When your children don’t remember to do important things, do you stop after telling them what to do once?

No, you keep repeating the instruction until they hear you.

Sometimes with the repetition comes an increase in volume!

In this chapter the Lord takes Israel’s leaders to task for two of their religious practices: they were experts at fasting and careful in their observance of the Sabbath.

Manipulative Devotion (1-5)

1 “Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast.

Shout aloud!

Don’t be timid.

Tell my people Israel of their sins!

2 Yet they act so pious!

They come to the Temple every day

and seem delighted to learn all about me.

They act like a righteous nation

that would never abandon the laws of its God.

They ask me to take action on their behalf,

pretending they want to be near me.

3 ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say.

‘Why aren’t you impressed?

We have been very hard on ourselves,

and you don’t even notice it!’

“I will tell you why!” I respond.

“It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves.

Even while you fast,

you keep oppressing your workers.

4 What good is fasting

when you keep on fighting and quarreling?

This kind of fasting

will never get you anywhere with me.

5 You humble yourselves

by going through the motions of penance,

bowing your heads

like reeds bending in the wind.

You dress in burlap

and cover yourselves with ashes.

Is this what you call fasting?

Do you really think this will please the Lord?

The Israelites were quite proud of their devotion.

They had regular fast days.

Fasting is a time when you go without food or drink for a period of time.

Christian fasting is when you do this to draw closer to the Lord, to seek His will, and to listen to Him.

The problem with these leaders was they were fasting not out of love for the Lord and a desire for their lives to mesh with what God wanted them to be, they were doing it because they thought these disciplines would earn them favor with God.

In other words, they did it because they thought this would lead God to bless their lives.

Look at what He says, they act pious, they seem delightedto learn about Him, they act like a righteous nation, they pretend to want to be near Him.

But they wanted a reward for these actions.

They are doing all this to earn points.

They are like people at an amusement park who keep playing the carnival games in the hopes of getting enough tickets to trade in for a prize they desire.

Sadly, we often do the same thing.

We do religious “stuff” because we figure it will get us a blessing from God.

We believe if we have a daily quiet time, go to church every week, throw in a Bible Study, develop Christian friendships, and serve in some capacity at the church . . .

God will surely be obligated to bless us!

So, we do these things not out of love for the Lord but to get something from Him.

Let me give you an example of how prevalent this is.

Several years ago the Prayer of Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:9) was incredibly popular.

It was a best-selling book that advocated this prayer as a model for success as a believer.

People began reciting these words believing it was the key to unlocking God’s blessing.

In other words, they were praying as a means to a selfish end!

There are often well-meaning teachers who instruct us to

· pray the prayers of the Bible

· claim God’s promises as our own (often boldly and loudly)

· declare specifically and audibly what we want from God without wavering

· agree together for our particular blessing (get someone to agree you need a new car)

· adopt a particular posture for prayer

These things may be good suggestions, but if these things are used in order to get what WE want from God, they are condemned by God.

The Lord views it as manipulative and self-serving.

He is not fooled in the least.

The Effects of True Devotion

6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:

Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;

lighten the burden of those who work for you.

Let the oppressed go free,

and remove the chains that bind people.

7 Share your food with the hungry,

and give shelter to the homeless.

Give clothes to those who need them,

and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,

and your wounds will quickly heal.

Your godliness will lead you forward,

and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.

9 Then when you call, the Lordwill answer.

‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

“Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.

Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!

10 Feed the hungry,