Pastor Raul GranilloGod tells the prophet, Isaiah, that the Hebrew people “seem” to be eager to know God’s ways. He tells Isaiah that they act like a nation that is doing what is right. They ask God to make just decisions for them, and they “seem” to “be eager for God to come close to them” (Isaiah 58:1-2).
The problem is that they only “seem” to be that way. In every religious aspect they appear to be the people of God.
“’Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’”
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high” (Isaiah 58:3-4 NIV).
They seemed to be practicing all the religious means, and yet they still struggled with simply getting along. Perhaps the problem is found in their question, “Didn’t you see us fast and be religious?” Sometimes we are more worried about appearing like Christians than we are about practicing Christ-likeness. The Church was not meant to be an institution were religiosity is practiced, it was meant to be the hands and feet of Jesus living in this world.
God tells Isaiah to ask the people:
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Isa.58:6-7).
How does your faith manifest into these things?
How are you using your faith and knowledge of God to loose the chains of injustice?
How are you, as the body of Christ, setting the oppressed free and breaking yokes that bind people?
Do you realize that you likely live in excess while others starve? How are you sharing your blessings with others?
Do you see the one who is naked and mock him, or does your heart break for him in such a way that you clothe him with coat off of your own back?
This is what the Church is supposed to do! The church body that you choose to worship God with is not there to make you feel more holy. It is there so that, together, the body would go out and engage in real practices that make a real difference in the lives of real people. What else would we expect from a real God?
The world doesn’t need any more Christians who teach that the purpose of God is to make you rich, or successful, or to give you gifts that have no social use. The world needs Christians who believe God when He says:
“if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday” (Isaiah 58:10).
We should seek holiness simply so that we can be a light to the world.
What kind of Christian are you?
To find out more about La Vista Church, or to hear this and other messages, visit our website at www.lavistanaz.org or email me at raul@lavistanaz.org. Follow Pastor Raul on Twitter @RaulGranillo007
Please come join us as we fix our eyes on Jesus. We meet Sundays at 9 a.m. for Sunday school and 10 a.m. for worship. Everyone is welcome!