The Call to a New Beginning

Isaiah 1:18-20

 

Advent means to come from Latin.  Christians observe the season of Advent as they prepare for the coming of Jesus and Christmas. This tradition goes back to the early church history.

 God chose the people of Israel to be His people, so they could witness to the world God's glory. God gave His laws and expected them to be obedient to Him and His laws.

 The Israelites were to follow God and give glory to God wherever they went. The Israelites did not keep up with God's expectations and failed to show God's glory.

 God called His people to return. God used His prophet Isaiah to call back his children, the Israelites, to repent. Those who repented and returned to God experienced God's blessings. However, many did not return and continued to sin.

 Today Christians already experience the redemption of God, but we continue to wait for the final redemption of Christ's return. We need to prepare our hearts for the return of the Lord.

Advent is a call to return to a new healthy beginning with our Father. Isaiah 1 starts off with God lamenting how the Israelites have abandoned God and His laws. The Israelites gave up their identity.

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.  The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.”  Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.  Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.

Isaiah 1:2‭-‬5 ESV

 

For us to return to God, we must remember who we are. If our desire is getting right again with God, we need to acknowledge who we are in God's kingdom. We cannot return to God’s kingdom if we do not know that we are away from His kingdom. From Isaiah we read that even the farm animals knew their place whereas the Israelites did not know their place or who they were.

 

In Isaiah 1, we understand this was a time when the people of Israel were wealthy and creating relationships with other nations for support and security. They turned away from God for complete reliance and tried to find other idols for control. Much like the Israelites, we find idols to give us support, comfort, and security.

 

The question of origin needs to be on our minds constantly if we are going to be compelled to follow Christ is all aspects of our life. We need to ask why we are in our situations as Christians. Moreover, we are governed by the word of God. God's word should shape every action we do. Every time we choose to rebel against God, we hurt the heart of God directly. This hurt against God hurts us, the sinners, more.

 

What exactly does it mean to rebel against God? This is not someone who falls into sin, but those people who continue in sin and do not try to change their ways.

 

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

1 John 3:6‭, ‬16 ESV

 

In 1 John, the author tells us that if we, Christians, do fall into sin, we must repent, and Jesus will forgive us.

 

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

1 John 2:1 ESV

 

We also need to acknowledge our sinful ways and repent. The Lord will convict us, but we need to be self-aware of our erroneous ways. There will come times when God will reveal to us how we are not following God's ways. However, we try to find excuses for our erroneous ways, or we try to justify the way we live. The result is that we do not return to God. Slowly the Israelites’ trust and the dependence in God started to deteriorate until it became a big problem. From there, the Israelites started to really suffer.

 

Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.   From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil.  Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.  And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.   If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.

Isaiah 1:5‭-‬9 ESV

 

God convicts us because He loves us and never gives up on us. We need to allow God to heal us even if it hurts.

 

We are only going to return to God if we repent and truly worship Him. The children of Israel continued with rituals and sacrifices, but their hearts were not with God. The Israelites were hypocrites in that they went through the ceremonies and said the words but kept on sinning and living lives that did not please God. Today, many Christians are also hypocrites like the Israelites.

 

When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.   Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

Isaiah 1:15‭-‬17 ESV

We do need to return to God, but it is not enough to say that we are sorry. We need to repent of our ways and stop our evil practices.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:8 ESV

 

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.   If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.

Isaiah 1:18‭-‬19 ESV

 

During Advent, let us remember who we are in Christ, acknowledge our sins and shortcomings, so that we may be able to truly repent in our desire to return to God and live the life that pleases Him.