Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 64:1-9

O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence -- as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil -- to make thy name known to thy adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at thy presence! When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains quaked at thy presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides thee, who works for those who wait for him. Thou meetest him that joyfully works righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways. Behold, thou wast angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one that calls upon thy name, that bestirs himself to take hold of thee; for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast delivered us into the hand of our iniquities. Yet, O LORD, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou art our potter; we are all the work of thy hand. Be not exceedingly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity for ever. Behold, consider, we are all thy people.

FOCUS and FUNCTION

Focus: Isaiah 64:1-9 is a prayer asking God to tear open the heavens, come down to earth and

deliver Israel from Babylonian captivity. God answered this prayer in two ways. He first

answered this prayer through the destruction of the Babylonian Empire and the return of

the Israelites to their homeland under the Persian King Cyrus. He answered this prayer

again in a much more profound way in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. Remember,

Jesus is God in the flesh. When He was born, God literally tore open the heavens and

busted His way into humanity. He did this to deliver us all from captivity. We are all

enslaved by our sinful nature. Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God

delivers us from this captivity and frees us to be the loving people He created us to be.

Let’s explore the full ramifications of this deliverance.

Function: To help the congregation appreciate the enormity and extreme ramifications

of what God did for us when he busted into humanity in the person of Jesus

Christ. In response to what God did for us, the congregation should leave the

service with a renewed sense of love and dedication towards God.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: Black Like Me, By: John Howard Griffin

A. John H. Griffin was a white man from Mansfield, Texas. In 1959 he darkened his skin, changed his hair and became black. He then toured the southern U.S. to see what it was like being black in the American South. He wrote about his experience in a book titled Black Like Me.

B. John Griffin busted his way into the black experience

· John Griffin was a highly educated white man who lived during the height of the Jim Crow south. He could have lived an easy, privileged life but…

· He decided to take some drastic steps to better understand what his black brothers and sisters were experiencing. He wanted to develop a better relationship with them.

· He also wanted to act as a bridge between the white and black communities.

C. In a similar way, God busted his way into the human experience when he came to earth in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.

· God, the creator of the Universes, busted His way into human existence when He came to earth in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.

· God knows what it’s like to experience the good and bad times of being human.

· As fully God and fully human, Jesus becomes the bridge between humanity and God.

· This is an answer to a prayer that was said over 2500 years ago by the prophet Isaiah

II. Isaiah 64:1-9

A. Isaiah was praying for God to deliver Israel from Babylonian captivity.

· Isaiah 63:18-19 refer to the destruction of the temple (63:18) which is a reference to the Babylonians conquering Judea and exiling the Israelite population to the various cities of the Babylonian empire.

· Isaiah 64:1-9 begins by asking God to rend the heavens to come down and deliver Israel from the Babylonians. Isaiah may have been thinking of the sky as being like the roof of a tent, separating the earth from the heavens. Isaiah was asking God to tear this tent open to come down and set things right.

· God answers this prayer with the destruction of the Babylonian empire and the return of the Israelites to their homeland under the Persian King Cyrus

B. God, however, answers this prayer in another, much more profound way. God answers this prayer in a way Isaiah could not even imagine.

· God literally tore open the heavens and came down to the earth as a human being in the person of Jesus Christ. God did this to deliver us from our sins.

· Let’s take a closer look at Isaiah 64:1-9

C. An outline of Isaiah 64:1-9

I. Isaiah 64:1-2: Isaiah asks God to tear open the heaven and come down to the earth himself. When this happens, the mountains will quake and nations will tremble. In other words, wondrous events will happen and the statuesque will drastically change

II. Isaiah 64:3-4: Isaiah remembers God’s past actions. God’s actions in the past caused wondrous events to happen and the statuesque to drastically change

III. Isaiah 64:5-7: Isaiah realizes, however, that we are sinners and do not deserve to have God tear open the heavens and come down to earth on our behalf.

IV. Isaiah 8-9: Despite our undeserving nature, Isaiah asks God to delivers us anyways. He asks God to deliver us based on his love for us rather than our righteous behavior.

D. This is what Christmas is all about

· We all are held captive by our sinful nature. No matter how hard we try, we can not love God and neighbor in a manner that is pleasing to God. At some point, our sinful desires, such as lust, greed, pride, jealousy, anger, prejudice etc…, will get in the way of our ability to love. So….

· God tore open the heavens to come to earth in the person of Jesus to set us free from our sinful desires. Jesus did this through his life, death and resurrection.

· God did this, simply because He loves us.

III. During Advent, we should contemplate the ramifications of God tearing open the heavens and

bursting into human existence.

A. God, the creator of everything, knows what it’s like to be a human. God knows the pain and joy that comes with living as a human on this earth.

B. We now know what a perfect life looks like. The relationship between Jesus and his Father is the same type of relationship we should have with God. Jesus modeled a perfect love for his Father and neighbor. We now know the standard for holy living.

C. Our sins are paid for on the cross. Through the cross, we receive forgiveness for our sins. This frees us to live in an eternal love relationship with God.

D. Sin, death and evil have been defeated on our behalf. The resurrection of Jesus demonstrates that we have the victory.

E. The forgiveness of our sins paved the way for the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts

IV. Conclusion

A. God loves us so much, that He himself tore open the heavens and came down to earth as a human being. He became one of us. If you never responded to this love by repenting of your sins and trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord, you can do so now.

B. Simply tell God that you want to change and become the loving person He created you to be. Then, acknowledge your trust that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus is sufficient to take care of all your sins. Say this to God and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.