Waiting For God
Audio Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Come, Let Us Walk in the Light of the Lord
Isaiah 63:15-64:12 (ESV)
15 Look down from heaven and see,
from your holy and beautiful habitation.
Where are your zeal and your might?
The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion
are held back from me.
16 For you are our Father,
though Abraham does not know us,
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, O Lord, are our Father,
our Redeemer from of old is your name.
17 O Lord, why do you make us wander from your ways
and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?
Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage.
18 Your holy people held possession for a little while;
our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
19 We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,
like those who are not called by your name.
64:1 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence—
2 as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 From of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.
5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?
6 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.
7 There is no one who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.
8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9 Be not so terribly angry, O Lord,
and remember not iniquity forever.
Behold, please look, we are all your people.
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 Our holy and beautiful house,
where our fathers praised you,
has been burned by fire,
and all our pleasant places have become ruins.
12 Will you restrain yourself at these things, O Lord?
Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?
Sermon Outline
Waiting on God (v4) can be hard, but lament helps us resist the pull towards isolation.
1. Sin and Its Effects
v15 “Look down from heaven… from your holy and beautiful habitation”; v11 Our holy and beautiful house… has been burned by fire”
vv15-19 “your compassion… held back” “Abraham does not know us” “you… harden our heart” “held possession for a little while” “like those over whom you have never ruled”
vv5-7 “we sinned” “…unclean… righteous deeds are like a polluted garment… we fade like a leaf... no one who calls upon your name…” (“you meet him who joyfully works righteousness”)
2. Remembering and Its Effects
v5 “You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways.”
v8 “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (v16 “For you are our Father”)
v1, 3 “Oh that you would rend the heavens”, “When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down”
v4 “no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.”
v9 “Behold, please look”
Prayer of Confession
Our Father, 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 who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people. As we join our voices with your people who have confessed their sin and helplessness throughout the ages, we do so in the name of Jesus, who makes forgiveness and our return possible. Grant us forgiveness in his name, and cleansing through your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
What do you find hardest about waiting on God? What kinds of things do you do, or want to do, when you feel stuck?
What is sin? How do you understand it?
Why is it hard to hear that you are a sinner? What is helpful about learning we are all sinners?
How can you pray prayers of lament? What are you free to do? What should you not do? What is helpful (and what is not helpful)?
What are some ways to resist sins’ pull into alienation? What should you watch for so you don’t get fooled into thoughts or actions that will further separate you from God or people?
Why is remembering a good first step when you feel helpless? What kind of remembering is helpful? What steps might remembering lead to (what is next)?
What are some implications of understanding God as our “Father”? How does the relationship between God and His people framed that way help us?
How does the humility and suffering of Jesus help us in the absence of answers to our questions? What in the mission and character of Jesus helps us wait faithfully in hard seasons?
What role does joyful righteousness play in the Christian life? How can that become more of your way life?
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