Good Morning, Lord! I'm "All In."

True Confidence and Answered Prayers

(1 John 3:21-22, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 20, 2016)

[21] Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us,

we have confidence before God;

[22] and whatever we ask

we receive from him,

because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

Christian Assurance and Confidence Before God in Prayer

Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, is there something wrong with the church in the United States? Do our hearts condemn us, or do we have confidence before God?

When a son disobeys his father, in the early stages of rebellion, he can feel the guilt and shame of violating his father's instruction. But as time continues, and disobedience spreads, is it possible that he loses the ability to care about the breach? All that may be left is the dullness of a distant relationship. But life goes on.

Is it possible that our churches are not “all in” with Jesus in our concern for “the least of these my brothers?” Is the church at least tithing, worshiping on Sunday morning, and taking time for a daily with God through some Bible reading and prayer? What about more than the minimum?

Isaiah 58 is a passage that demands our careful consideration. It calls God's people to certain duties, but it also holds out some beautiful promises. First, the duties of love for the weak:

1. Loose the bonds of wickedness
2. Undo the straps of the yoke
3. Share your bread with the hungry
4. Bring the homeless poor into your house
5. When you see the naked, cover him
6. Don't hide yourself from your own relatives
7. Don't point your finger in harsh judgment against others
8. Pour yourself out for the hungry
9. Satisfy the desire of the afflicted
10. Call the Lord's Sabbath a delight. (Either you rule over your work or it rules you.)

Then come the wonderful promises, which is the the hope of the righteous:

1. Your light shall break forth like the dawn
2. Your healing shall spring up speedily
3. Your righteousness shall go before you
4. The Lord's glory shall be your rear guard
5. You shall cry out to the Lord and He will say, “Here I am!”
6. Your gloom shall be as the noonday
7. The Lord will guide you continually
8. He will satisfy your desires so you will be a watered garden in otherwise desolate places
9. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt
10. You shall take delight in the Lord.

These good words of the Almighty are not different from the blessings that the Lord set before Israel if she would obey His Word in the Promised Land. Yet the nation was sent into exile and Old Testament history reinforces God's conclusion: “But you would not.” (Jeremiah 29:19)

Then along comes the Savior of the world. He is Sabbath. He does Isaiah 58 and becomes a fountain of life for the church. Now He (and 1 John 3) call us to join Him in caring for the weak, the lonely, the desperate, and the abandoned. This Jesus way of life is hampered by a money idolatry, a rest idolatry, or even a misery idolatry where we choose to ignore the hope of the righteous. I was struck recently by this beautiful verse: “Through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of the righteous.” (Galatians 5:5) Hope makes a difference!

The end result of money idolatry, rest idolatry, misery idolatry, or any other kind of idolatry will be the same: No hope. Loss of connection with God and the church. Loss of creative engagement with others all around us—a kind of spiritual exile that we can readily see in those churches that have given in to the slow drift away from historic Christianity.

J. Gresham Machen and the Orthodox Presbyterians in the 1920s and 30s knew they were fighting a war for truth against formidable odds. Everyone else was going for looser theology. Like the small group of exiles that went off to Babylon six centuries before the birth of Christ, the church in every age is a community of fellowship, ethics, and doctrine enlivened by the Holy Spirit. We are always a small community of restoration in the midst of a dying world.

We speak and hear the prophetic challenge as the Jews did from the restoration prophets in their day. (Haggai 1:1-11) We catch ourselves in self-serving lies and find hope in Jesus again. Shall today's small remnant be quietly and uneventfully swept away in the next generation by a theology of autonomy that insists on self above all? I don't think so.

Yes there will be some seeds that fall on the path. And some will fall on rocky ground or among thorns. But there will always be some good soil—some Isaiah 58 well-watered gardens. Don't you agree? And why not us?

God's Plan to Work through People like US!

The Lord intends to work through people like us—needy recipients of grace who call Jesus our Sabbath and our delight and go forth in the joy of the Lord. We may recognize that we are lacking power in prayer today, but does it have to always be that way?

An Additional Encouragement to the Godly

We need a godly imagination of what it might mean for us to call upon the Lord with greater assurance and with the expectation that He will hear and answer us when we cry out to Him.

One more thought on Isaiah 58: In no way is the success of God's plan based on how much money we have to spare, or how busy or capable we are. We can do very small things moment by moment and He can bring the increase. The success is His. See Galatians 6:9-10.

The right kind of confidence—God confidence—is important for the church to do the work of the Lord. Christ works through us, and He calls us to a simple life life of prayer and obedience, even in the midst of persecution. (Madan's decision to put out a call to prayer for the orphans of the world or to keep a street clean, Gopal's retelling of the story of the church in Dhangadhi)

Old Testament Reading—Haggai 1:1-11 – Because of My House

Gospel Reading—Matthew 5:10 – Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.