Is This What I Choose?

Amen, let's pray together for the proclamation of God's word.

Lord.

We've lifted up our voices, We've said true things. We've

said that you are great, and that everything that we have,

including our breath, is from you, and it's that it's

absolutely right for it to return to you in praise.

Our breath, our life and everything.

And so that's what we desire, Lord, is that not

only would our mouths declare your praise, but that our

lives would declare your praise, that you would continue to

shape us into praising lives, that you would you would

look at these lives and you would say this, this

is what I choose.

This, This is a.

People who praise Me with their hearts and their lips

and their lives and their relationships.

Lord.

We desire that, and we know that the only way

we're going to grow and mature is if you, by

the power of your spirit, are at work through your word.

And so we ask for that right now.

Would you be at work because we open up your word,

but you open up our hearts, change us, grow us,

let our lives become lives of praise in Jesus' name. Amen,

Let's grab our bibles. Let's grab our bibles and turn

to Isaiah chapter fifty eight.

Isaiah fifty eight.

If we don't have a Bible with you, just raise

your hand and keep it up. Go find you, get

you a bible or a bulletin or a pen or

whatever you might need. This is a good opportunity also

for me to remind you to fill out a connection card.

We ask everybody here, whether you're a member or a guest,

to please take some time in this worship service to

fill out a connection card. It is helpful, very helpful

for us as a pastoral team to know that you

are here by name.

New. You can leave some contact information. We'll follow up

with you. And if you are somewhat new.

Right outside in the lobby, there's a table called Step one.

That's your next step. That's why we call it step one.

That's your next step. If you're new here and you're like,

how do I move forward into relationship in this church,

actually becoming a part of what y'all do to make disciples,

to actually be a part of this body.

That's your first step connected.

Step one will help you with the rest of the

steps from there. Okay, man I went out of order,

so I don't remember if there's anything.

Else but.

Grab your bibles. Turned to Isaiah chapter fifty eight and

let's go. I mean, you know, we've been in Isaiah

for a while, been in Isaiah for a while, and.

We're wrapping it up.

We're gonna get done before the summer.

You're like, well, I hope so.

And I don't know exactly what the pace is going

to be, but it's it's it's coming to a landing.

And if you've been with us for a while, you

know that Isaiah has been writing to a whole progression

of people.

And here when we get to Isaiah fifty eight, Isaiah

is writing.

To a group of people that is is coming back

from an exiled place and they are looking to reestablish

right worship, rite nationally together rite worship and what God

has given them in his word for approaching him. And

that's where we find ourselves in fifty eight that they're

they're engaged in these this vertical pursuit. It involves national fasting,

and involve altered sacrifices and involves Sabbath keeping. There's a

whole set of I think what we could call vertical

pursuits that God has given to these people, and they're

kind of getting after it.

And here God.

Inspects their vertical pursuit of Him, their worship, their devotion,

and he says, you've got an issue. In fact, what

he says about it all is is this what I choose?

Is this what we're doing? Pretty important for us.

I mean, we're literally gathered here for worship vertical pursuit, right,

and not just corporately either, like individually, we mean to

be those whom God inspects in regards to our vertical pursuit.

We mean to be those who please him. They meant

to be a people that God inspects in regards to

their vertical pursuit and was pleased. But instead of being pleased,

he says, there's an issue. And in fact, the layout

of this chapter is verses one through five the issue,

and verses six through the rest of the chapter the solution.

So let's read it together, and I think it will

become clearer and clearer. Isaiah fifty eight, Cry aloud, do

not hold back, Lift up your voice like a trumpet,

declare to my people there transgression to the House of

Jacob their sins.

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? 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 his head like a reed,

and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?

Will you call this a fast? A day acceptable to

the Lord?

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 go free, and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

and bring the homeless pour into your house when you

see the naked, to cover him, and not hide yourself

from your own flesh. 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, the

speaking of wickedness, If you pour yourself out for the

hungry and satisfy the desire of the inflicted, then shall

your light rise in the darkness, and your gloomy is

the noonday, And the Lord will guide you continually. Satisfy

your desire in scorched places. Make your bones strong. You

shall be like a watered garden, like springs of water

whose waters do not fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt,

and 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. If you turn back

your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on

my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, and

the holy Day of the Lord honorable. If you honor it,

not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure,

or talking idly then you shall take delight in the Lord,

and I will make you ride on the heights of

the earth. I will feed you with the herod of Jacob,

your father. By the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

This is the word of the Lord.

So then if we mean to be a people.

Whom God inspects, and when he inspects our vertical pursuit,

he is pleased. If when God says to these people,

is this what I choose? Then we should listen close

to understand what exactly is the issue and what exactly

is the solution here. We don't want to be in

this position. So what's the issue? What's the issue? Well,

let's talk about it verse one. I mean he gets

right after saying profit of mine. I want you to

make a big deal about this. Right is not what

it says in verse one. Cry aloud, make your voice

like a trumpet, because.

There's an issue.

Let's talk about my people's transgression, their sins. There's an issue.

And this issue has a vertical aspect to it and

a horizontal aspect to it. Here's the vertical aspect of

the issue. It says, you're coming to me as if

you love me, says verse two, as if you did

the right thing, but your pursuit is hypocritical. It's unacceptable

to me, says in verse five.

Is this what I choose? Is this acceptable? Heavy?

I can you imagine if, say a preacher, I don't know,

or to say loudly, here's what God has to say.

You pursue me as if you were genuine. You pursue

me as if you want what's right. You pursue me

as if you delighted me. But you don't really what

would you say? You would probably say, dude, how can

you put that on me? Can't you see? I'm doing

all the right things here. I mean, I'm here at

church right, I am.

Trying to do the right thing.

I am practicing this religion.

Best I know how. The Bible has a lot.

To say about self deception in religion. James has some

things to say about it. Jeremiah has some things to

say about it. Jeremiah seventeen. He says, the heart is

deceitful above all things. Who can understand it? So let's

just start with if we think we have our own

hearts completely figured out. Uh, we're pretty naive about spiritual truth,

so we're probably not helping by just simply asking, look,

how can you put that on me? Like, aren't we

doing all the right things? Vertically, they're certainly asking similar questions.

Check out verse three. They're like, ah, why have we fasted?

You haven't seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves? And

you take no knowledge of it? This is probably referring

to the day of Atonement. It was the only prescribed

national fast in the law in the levitical worship practices,

so like, hey, we're doing the thing that's different than

fasting today, and in the New Testament there is no

there is no command for corporate fasting. It's not the

same thing. It's not to say that Christians don't fast.

You could choose to fast. There are reasons to do

it besides just lowering your insulin resistance, but they're like

spiritual reasons why Christians may fast. It's not the same

thing as like levitical Old Testament worship practices. And they're saying, look,

we're trying to do all the right things. And in

the middle of their version of vertical pursuit God's responses,

you think.

This is what I choose, this is what we're doing.

I mean, I know that myself and other pastors and

other small group leaders have I think pretty recently been

helping a lot of people with their devotional life.

That's awesome.

I've really really enjoyed being able to disciple people in

how to do biblical meditation, how to spend time and

prayer in the mornings, how to spend some time i'm

in scripture memory, how to work out different ways to

pray through all there's so many people to pray through,

and like.

How do you keep track of that? That can be helpful.

How to read through a Bible in a year? Awesome?

Love doing that. Your small group leaders also love helping.

You with that. But here's the warning.

The warning is you could completely work out your whole

Bible in a year thing, and your prayer mate, and

your scripture meditation, your memory system, maybe even do some

personal fasting. You might get it all ironed out. And

God's response be is this what I choose? Is this

what we're doing?

What would be wrong with that? That would be awesome? Well,

what was wrong with theirs? What was wrong with their

vertical pursuit as it were?

What was the flaw that it was infrequent? No Verse

two says daily they come to me was it that

it was grumpy. No, not obviously anyway. Verse two says

they delight to come to me. Was it that it

was lasadaisical? No? Verse five says they come in sackcloth

and ashes. I've never worn sackcloth or ashes. In fact,

God actually doesn't criticize anything about.

Their vertical pursuit, per se. He doesn't.

He doesn't actually tell them, Look, I want you to

tinker with your worship a little bit.

I want you to straighten out your devotional life in

this way or that way.

And I say this as someone who thinks a lot

about corporate worship and who is a chronic tinkerer.

That's a second amen. I've gotten.

Chronic tinkerer, I as much as anyone can get.

My thoughts sucked into.

This sort of like Okay, let's do this song, not

this songless this style, not that style. Let's have like

this time period, let's work out this way. We're gonna

pray and this liturgy and what's gonna work. We're getting

up early and we're gathering together. And what would you

choose God? What would you choose God? Because it's all

about you? And God's response.

Is is it all about me? Or is it all

about you?

Because since you can't see your own heart very well,

I'm gonna show you. You say you love me, but

here's what I'm going to show you. I have placed

all over your life my image bearers, that widow, that waitress,

your spouse, that struggling family, that lawn guy, and how

you treat them tells the real story about how you

love me. So you want to consider your your worship life,

and you want to consider your devotional life, and you

want to tinker around with it and ask what would

I choose? Fine, keep it up. I want to encourage that.

But look at the way you treat people around you,

and let me ask the same question. Is that what

I choose?

The issue? The issue is that sometimes.

The truth of our vertical pursuit is found in our

horizontal apathy because they cannot be separated. They cannot be separated.

One John four twenty says, he who does not love

his brother, who he has seen, there's the horizontal, cannot

love God whom he has not seen, there's the vertical.

And yeah, this issue.

Has a vertical aspect and a horizontal aspect.

That's true.

They are distinct from each other. But they're not divorced

from one another.

They can't actually be separated. They're of a peace.

God is looking at our vertical pursuit that we've maybe

worked so hard to make doctrinally sound and reformed and

biblical and devotional and sacrificial. He's looking at it, and

he's looking at our horizontal relationships in any harshness or

unforgiveness or dishonesty or stinginess or impatience or quarreling, and

he looks at the whole thing, and he asks, is

this what I choose? Seems like an issue? Seems like

an issue because verse four suggests our horizontal apathy may

mean that our vertical pursuit goes unheard, and verse five

suggests that our horizontal apathy may mean that our vertical

pursuit is unacceptable.

That'd be an issue.

I mean, this suggests that he might he might look

at all of it, our horizontal apathy, our vertical hypocrisy,

and ask is this what I choose? And his answer

be no, I don't accept it, none of it. And

you're asking, well, hold on, unacceptable?

Are we understanding that correctly? Is that even Christian? Is

this like?

Is what the new Testament teaches about what makes our

pursuit of God acceptable. Is that fundamentally similar to what

Isaiah is saying here or is it fundamentally different. That

is the question, and we're gonna look at it closely

in a few minutes, but for now, But for now,

let's just hold that question in our mind. Is this

what the New Testament teaches about the acceptability of our worship?

What makes our worship acceptable? But right now, let's just

take what God is saying here.

At face value.

That our horizontal apathy, it may mean that our vertical.

Pursuit is unacceptable.

And that's the case, that would be an issue that

needs a solution. Lucky for us, that's exactly where God

goes next.

In verse six.

Through the rest of the chapter, he gives us the solution. So,

here's the issue. Here's the horizontal. Here's the vertical. I

give you the solution. Here's the horizontal. Here's the vertical.

And he starts with this, isn't this what I choose?

Verse six? Isn't this what I choose? To loose the

bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free, to break every yoke.

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless pour into your house when you

see the naked, to cover him, and not hide yourself

from your own flesh.

Isn't this what I choose?

Justice and liberty and generosity and care and giving and

sharing what you have?

Isn't this what I choose?

In other words, if you want a vertical pursuit that

I find acceptable, engage a horizontal pursuit that I find acceptable.

If you're really pursuing me, then love those created in

my image.

Then he calls your.

Own flesh like there are people just like you.

They're formed of the same clay. I mean, it's Jesus.

It is Jesus talking about who inherits eternal life. In

Matthew twenty five when he says, depart from me. For

I was hungry and you gave me no food. I

was thirsty and you gave me no drink. I was

a stranger and you did not welcome me naked, and

you did not clothe me sick and in prison, and

you did not visit me.

This is Jesus.

And in that discussion, the objection is what we were

all about. You Jesus, when when did we see you

in need? I mean, don't you understand the rigor of

my vertical pursuit? And he says, the least of these,

the horizontal and the vertical there together reminds me of

a conversation that I wasn't actually a part of.

Heard about.

Pastoral discussion long ago. There was a couple who was

absolutely ardent in their devotional life, very rigorous, and absolutely

embittered in their marriage. And in discussion, again I wasn't

the one who was having this discussion with them, But

in discussion that pastor asked, tell me what impact your

relationship with God is having on your relationship with your spouse?

And again I wasn't there. I don't know the exact words,

but the effect was this is it supposed to, And

the Bible is saying it has everything to do the other.

As the King says to the unforgiving servant, you wicked servant,

I forgave you all that debt, and so you should

have forgiven your fellow servant.

It's all connected.

One reason marriage is so sanctifying is not just that

they're always there to point out your faults.

But they are there to love.

To care for, to forgive, to serve, to do good to,

they're right there. They're always right there. And that there's

another that goes for the church family too. One reason

why the church family is so sanctifying is that they're

always there to do good to, to serve, to love,

to care for needs, to meet, forgiveness, to extend, restoration,

to build. That's so much what church is about. And

if we ignore that and we just come here in

our own cars and sit in our own chairs and

look at our own spot on the ceiling to say

we're worshiping God and do none of that on the

horizontal level, God's question is, is that.

What I choose? Is that what we're doing?

And the emphasis here seems to include seems to include

not just those who are close enough to quarrel with

verse four, but also those who are maybe not so close,

those with whom you have some gap, some gap to close,

this kind of gap, the kind of gap where you

have some freedom and they are stuck, and you help

close that gap. You have some food and they are hungry,

and you help close that gap. You have a house

and close and they are without, and you help close

that gap. God's saying, isn't that what I choose? You're

really concerned about what it is that I want. You say,

you want to close our gap vertically.

Take some steps to close that gap horizontally.

And here's the vertical aspect, right, here's a vertical aspect.

God says.

If you do that, if you go from horizontal apathy

to horizontal pursuit, then I'll get after the vertical pursuit.

He says.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and

your healing shall spring up speedily. Your righteousness shall go

before you, and 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.

You want my presence and my power and my protection

and my provision. Do good to those in need, and

I'll be in a.

Hurry to meet with you.

That's what he says, and then he doubles down on it.

He basically repeats himself in verses nine through ten, saying,

if you take away the yoke, if you stop speaking wickedness,

if you pour out yourself for the hungry and afflicted,

then your light, then your guidance, then your satisfaction, then

strong bones and restored streets. You pursue mercy horizontally, I'll

pursue mercy vertically. You pursue blessing horizontally. I'll pursue blessing vertically.

Isn't this what I choose? Christ said it back in

Matthew twenty five. He says, this, come you, who are

blessed by my father inherit the kingdom prepared for you

from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry

and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave

me drink. I was a stranger and you.

Welcomed me.

Naked, and you clothed me sick, and you visited me

in prison, and you came to me. It's almost one

for one from.

Isaiah fifty eight. Isn't this?

Isn't this what makes your vertical pursuit acceptable? Well, right

now you have to be asking exactly what I would

be asking, looking at this passage and looking at Matthew

twenty five, and looking at First John and so many

other places, and I'm asking what you're asking.

I'm asking, hold on.

Isn't Christ alone the one who makes our worship acceptable?

Isn't it Christ's work and not our work? That makes

our vertical pursuit acceptable. Isn't that the good news of

the gospel. Yes, the good news of the gospel is

that Christ Christ alone, his work alone, not our work,

makes our worship acceptable. That is, He absolutely transforms our

vertical relationship. And the good news of the gospel is

that Christ also makes our love genuine. He transforms our

horizontal relationships so real, active generous love for people.

Isn't just a command. It isn't just a work. It's

a diagnostic.

Christ puts the first command and the second command together,

and he says, all of scripture hangs on them. Love

the Lord your God, with all your heart and all

your soul, and all your mind and all your strength

that vertical pursuit, and love your neighbor as yourself. On

these hang all of scripture because they can't be separated.

They cannot be separated as much as the heart of

the Pharisee or Isaiah's audience, or we.

Might try to listen.

This isn't salvation by works. This is exposure by works.

Our works of love just show where our worship really is.

And the call of this passage listen. The call of

this passage is not just change your works, just change

your works in some way that's disconnected from worship. That's

not what he's saying at all. He's saying, No, what

I choose. This is the fast I choose. This is

the worship that I choose. This is the devotion I choose,

This is the adoration I choose. This is what I

want between us is let's change your works of genuine

love towards others. Let's change your work of active generous

sacrifice for others as a matter of worship.

Towards me. It come to me, really come to me

for actual change. So is a question that we've been

holding out on.

Is the New Testaments teaching fundamentally similar to what Isaiah

is teaching here.

The answer is yes, it is.

But the good news is that you have been given

Christ to actually transform your vertical relationship and horizontal relationships.

You've been given him.

You don't just glance at Jesus to try to figure

out some love of neighbor Christian ethic and then go

put it unto practice by yourself.

You have him.

Put your hand in his hand and go and love

as He has loved you. Put your hand in his hand,

and as a matter of worship, Go show the sacrifice

that he has shown you, and the generosity that he

has shown you, and the patience that he has shown

you as a matter of adoration.

Isn't that what he chooses that he makes possible all those.

Things that he has shown you and is showing you

right now and empowers by his spirit.

Go with him and do this.

It's the only way we can do it anyway. And

someone might ask, well, is God saying then that our

horizontal pursuit is all that he cares about. That he

doesn't care what our vertical pursuit looks like. That he

doesn't care that we would approach him in a way

that's doctrinally sound or biblical or devotional or sacrificial. It's

just about what we do to other people. No, he's

not saying that, And some of you might recognize that

error as really the kernel of mistake that led to

the Social Gospel that absolutely destroyed many mainline denominations. The

idea was, well, if God cares so much about how

we treat.

One another in.

The horizontal plane, then we can assume that scripture is

more or less irrelevant, and the way we worship is

more or less irrelevant in doctrine, is more or less irrelevant.

We can sort of jettison all of those vertical things

because they're just functionally for the purpose of.

Getting us to treat one another better. No, they'reo off

a piece.

They go together, and if you remove the vertical component,

you're not gonna have the horizontal component for very long.

And that was absolutely true. Those churches are all but dead.

God cares very much, very much about the genuineness and

purity of our vertical pursuit of Him, and that's what

he picks up in verse thirteen. He's asking, is that

vertical pursuit? Is your worship really about me?

Or is it about you? Why are you here? Are

you here for you? Or are you here for him?

Why do you open up your Bible in the morning?

Is it for you or is it for him?

I mean, in some ways obviously you're hoping to impact you.

But who's at the center of it? Again, he speaks

to sabbath keeping here in thirteen. And like national fasting

or alter sacrifices, like sabbath keeping in this sense is

an Old Testament worship form. But the principle remains, who

is your worship? About and God is saying, I have

designed worship so that you would rightfully put me at

the center. I belong at the center. It is right

for me to be at the center, just like it's

right for the sun to be at the center of

the solar system. It works better for all the planets.

That way, you distort it, you got worship when you

make it about you. Worship isn't meant to be about

our own thing, what we like, who we like, or

even the stuff we're trying to work out.

It's about Him and it's glorious. That is a delight,

and that's what God is saying.

Get genuinely vertical in your worship, with a genuine love

that's horizontal. Come to me for real, change hand in hand.

And then verse fourteen, you will really delight in the Lord.

How could you not be delighting in the Lord when

he is helping you to love in ways you could

never do.

On your own.

And he will release he says, in vertical downpour the

blessings he's promised to his people. For the mouth of

the Lord has spoken, we want we want God to

inspect our worship life, to inspect our devotional life, and

the way it hangs together with.

Our horizontal love, our horizontal.

Gentleness and generosity and free giveness, And look at all

of that as it hangs together, because it's always together,

and say, this is what I choose.

This is what I choose.

We have an opportunity this morning to interact with God

about that right now as we go to the Lord's table.

So I'm gonna ask the ushers to just collect the

elements and the band to come up here.