1 Missed Call

25/06/2023 - Matthew Destry

1 Missed Call: how a divided heart is hindering your prayers, and what to do about it

Isaiah 58:1-3a

Cry aloud; do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.

Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.

‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’

Background / context:

Isaiah prophesied to Israel and Judah between 740-700BC

At the time, Israel was under threat from Assyria (Nineveh was the capital city – remember Jonah?)

Key prophetic themes:

+The exile and judgement of Israel, an their return under Cyrus the Persian King

+The book speaks of a “servant,” a “man of sorrows,” who would be “pierced for our transgressions,” accomplishing God’s purposes of salvation

+The final chapters give a beautiful description of a new creation in which God will rule as King, judging the wicked and establishing eternal peace.

a/ Is God even listening?

———

Isaiah 58:3b-5

Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
and oppress all your workers.

Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.

Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?

b/ A divided heart

———

Isaiah 58:6-7

“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed[b] go free,
and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

c/ How we treat others is a reflection of what we think of God

———

Isaiah 58:8-10

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
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.’
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.

d/ When you pour out to others, God pours out to you

———

Isaiah 58:11-12

And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.

And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.

e/ Participate in your own healing

———

1/ People before projects

2/ Heart before hands

3/ Prayer lines before party lines