“Questions About God: What Can God Say?”
Is. 40:1-11; Mk. 1:1-8
More than two hundred years ago in the industrial ghetto of Liverpool, England, a sophisticated young man climbed the steps of a stone monument called the “market cross”. Leaning against the cross and looking out over the milling masses, his eyes and ears were shocked by the sights and sounds of dirty and bedraggled miners and millers venting the rage of their hopelessness with damning curses and drunken brawls. Breathing a prayer and stretching tall against the cross, the young man began to sing, “O, for a thousand tongues to sing, My great redeemers praise, The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace.” The words came easily from his lips because he had written them to celebrate the first anniversary of his conversion to Jesus Christ. He had no trouble with the music because he sang in the melody of a popular tune which all of the people would recognize. Wafting over the market square those words and his voice brought an abrupt halt to the bickering and brawling masses. Never before had they heard a note of joy in a religious context. To them, the church meant a sober sound reserved for saints and sanctuaries. To them, religion meant a division between the saved and the damned, with little doubt about their eternal position. To them, God was a great watch-maker in the sky who wound up the world and left it running without a whit of care for his own creation. No wonder Charles Wesley got their attention. He sang a song of a God of love who offered free grace for all through His Son Jesus Christ. JOYLESSNESS IS TRANSFORMED INTO JOY BY THE COMING OF JESUS CHRIST. Jesus brings joy to the world.
This is precisely what the prophet Isaiah predicted centuries before Jesus was born. CONSIDER ISRAEL. At the time of Isaiah 40 Israel was in exile. She was a displaced, homeless people whose only hopes were in the promises of God – and at that time those promises seemed pretty remote. She was far from her homeland and with each succeeding generation the thoughts and importance of Jerusalem were becoming fainter. And she felt that there was little she could do about her situation. There was little joy in Israel.
Into this joylessness came the word of the Lord (6): ““A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?”” Even Isaiah the prophet was at a loss for words! What could he say? What could be said that would make any difference? So, in essence, Isaiah cried out to God, “God what do You recommend I say? What do you say? These are your people – what do you want me to say?”
I believe these questions are not foreign to us. CONSIDER OUR SITUATION. I know I ask the same question often – “God – what do you want me to say?” Each week I need to preach the word of the Lord – the greatest privilege there is! But, what to say? Our lives, too, are often joyless. People – young and old - die, and not on our time-table. Friends and family develop cancer, AIDS, or Alzheimers and enter into times of discomfort and suffering. Our sons and daughters are sent into war-torn areas of the world to experience who knows what. We all know families ripped apart by divorce, or where relationships are fragile. Wherever we live, around us are networks of drugs, crime, and poverty. Daily we face or hear of prejudice and hatred. There is bad behavior in our schools, our streets, and our assembly halls – and even at times in our churches. So weekly I find myself saying “God what do recommend I say? What do you say? These are your people – what do you want me to say?”
I have a strong hunch you’ve asked God the same questions – even at this time of the year. Life is a hassle. We’re wearied and rushed with a ceaseless round of activities, overwhelmed with gifts we feel we need to buy – and we seem to be a day late and a few dollars short. The dreams of our youth and early adulthood have quickly faded into the realities of mid-life with its demands and disappointments, and the helpless feeling that we are not in control. Each day is like the day before – it’s the same routine, same job, same hassles, same relationships, same arguments, same bills. Excitement and joy in living has given way to disappointment and disillusion. Our lives appear no different than the lives of those who do not know Jesus. We agree with Isaiah (6-8): “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall…” As a Psychiatrist once said, “The average persons’ back is breaking under an oppressive weight of tedium, drudgery, and boredom induced by constant attention to the trivial and inconsequential.” I believe you, too, have – more than once – asked, “God, what do you say?”
Yet Isaiah holds on to an important certainty (8): “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” So just what is God’s Word for this joylessness of our lives? CONSIDER GOD’S RESPONSE. (9) “You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!”” HERE IS YOUR GOD! Salvation is at hand. The emphasis is not on where we are but where God is. And although we don’t always see Him, He is center stage and always at work. Here is your God!
Scripture is filled with this recurring message, “Here is your God!” Moses is in his 40th year of tending sheep in the desert when he hears a voice calling from a bush which is burning but being consumed. It’s God. Here is your God! God announces that through Moses He will deliver the Israelites from slavery into the Promised Land. So Moses returns to his people with a bold message - Here is your God! Then, as we’ve seen, Isaiah delivers the same message to people in bondage. Here is your God! Get ready for ‘Exodus 2”! God will bring you to new beginnings. Isaiah shares the calling God placed upon him (3-5): “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Here is your God! Then there’s Bethlehem, where a baby was born to a weary couple, in manger in a stall. But an angel descended and announced to some shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Here is your God! 30 years later John the Baptist, as he was preaching in the wilderness, saw Jesus, pointed to Him and said (Jn. 1:29), “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Here is your God! 3 years later, after being arrested illegally tried, Jesus was mocked by the authorities. As Jesus stands before them and the crowd, those authorities - thinking they were still mocking Him – said, “Here is your king.” Here is your God! 3 days later his friends gather at His borrowed tomb, only to meet an angel who said, “He is not here; see where He lay. He is alive!” Here is your God! Shortly thereafter, in the midst of all his doubts, Thomas met Jesus who said to him, “Behold my hands and side.” Here is your God! Later Paul wrote (Phil. 2:10-11) “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Here is your God! Finally, John, during Jesus’ revelations to him, heard Jesus say (Rev. 22:12-13), “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Here is your God!
So let’s CONSIDER YOUR RESPONSE. Do you dare to believe that God has been here – that God is here – that God will be here? Do you really expect that “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.” Do you dare to believe that there is good news of great joy – even for your situations? DO YOU DARE TO BELIEVE that God can overcome your situation, whatever it is, and transform it? Could He overturn your success to teach you the joy of humility? Could He break down your pride to teach you the joy of dependence? Could He strengthen you in your failure to teach you the joy of grace? Could He walk with you in your loss to remind you of the joy of His presence? Could He soothe your pain to teach you the comfort of His Spirit? Could He transform your sense of inadequacy into the joy of His adequacy? Jesus is Lord. Here is your God! It’s God’s promise. And though “The grass withers and the flowers fall … the word of our God stands forever.”
No wonder Paul, from his prison cell, could write (Phil. 4:4-6) “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” He had experienced the truth that God is here in Jesus Christ – and that A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST PUTS JOY INTO OUR HEARTS. Listen to Jesus: (Jn. 15) “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you....you will remain in my love...as I remain in (the Father’s) love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete... From the Father to Jesus to us – a trail of unbroken love. What greater joy can there be? And Jesus told us that we experience this joy through obedience to Him, which means loving each other: “You are my friends if you do what I command ...If you obey my commands you will remain in my love...My command is this: love each other as I have loved you.” Joy comes to us through Jesus as we love each other! The reward for obedience is not salvation – salvation is a gift. The reward for obedience is a deep, life-long joy. As someone once said, “To know God’s will is life’s greatest treasure. To do God’s will is life’s greatest pleasure.” When we love with Jesus’ love, we experience joy. Jesus brings joy to his friends.
And realize that JESUS BRINGS JOY FOR ETERNITY. In His final night dialogue with His disciples Jesus told them that He would be leaving them, but that they should not worry – they would meet again. “Your grief will turn to joy...A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world...Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” Following the resurrection there would be a new found eternal joy, an inner joy that no one and nothing can take away. In a space the world cannot penetrate, there will be joy – eternally! The world can destroy what’s on the outside, but not what’s on the inside. When Barb and I toured the Holy Land we were told that we would not be able to take any fruit we purchased over there back across the border. The only way, literally, we could take it with us, what to eat it since no one can take what’s inside! So it is with Jesus’ joy.
How does this joy come about? How do we activate it? “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, MY FATHER WILL GIVE YOU WHATEVER YOU ASK IN MY NAME.” Until that time the disciples had asked Jesus for what they needed and wanted – Jesus now points them to the source joy – the Father. So if we ask the Father in Jesus’ name, we will have the desires of our hearts – our joy will be complete! Our joy will be forever! In the midst of our joylessness God says “Look at Jesus! Here is your God!”
There’s an old Chinese proverb that states, “A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.” Jesus may not answer all your questions, but He will give you a song: “Joy to the World! The Lord is come!” So this morning I invite you – I urge you – to consider your relationship with Jesus. Jesus wants to bring joy into the world by putting joy into your heart. All He’s waiting for is your invitation. He will give you whatever you ask in His name. Let us pray.
