Delights of True Spirituality

FROM: JANUARY 21 @ 27, 2020

TOPIC: "Delights of True Spirituality" Isaiah 58:1-13 God commands the prophet Isaiah to convince the people about their sins. How will Isaiah do it? In a loud voice! (Vs. 1) The prophet has to proclaim about the sin of the people in general, about the rebellion, the resistance to God, the public and violent uprising. To tell them of their fault towards obedience and show their rejection to the divine authority!

I. The prophet must proclaim loudly the rebellion of the people of Judah ("...raise your voice like a trumpet and announce to my people their rebellion.").

A. The people live in deception and seem to have real satisfaction in what they do (Vs. 2).

1. They followed the rituals ordained by the Lord every day!

2. They wanted to show that they believed and behaved as if they were really an obedient nation.

3. But, although that was what they thought, they were very far, in essence, from having such behavior!

4. (Vs. 3) Actually, what they did was to ACCUSE GOD: "...we fasted and you have not seen it..."

5. They accused God of being indifferent to their fasts and their "acts of humiliation."

6. But God says to them: "... in fasting you do AS YOU PLEASE..."

7. In fasting they gratified themselves by pleasing and satisfying themselves. In addition, they took advantage of their employees ("... and exploit all your workers.").

8. (Vs. 4) Also, in the midst of their fasts, they debated and contended with each other until they started to punch.

9. THAT FAST IS NOT VALID FOR ANYTHING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD!

10. (Vs. 5) As the Lord tells them through the prophet, true fasting is not a matter of physical postures or outward manifestations.

11. (Vs. 6) The fasting that God chose is accompanied by unleashing the bonds of “impiety” (which is the lack of mercy, lack of fear of God and lack of faith in God).

12. God makes them see that a true fasting is accompanied by raising the yoke of oppression (breaking the yoke that you have for the one you do not love, because you rose against him as if you were superior).

13. (Vs. 7) It is a fasting that accompanies sharing food with the hungry, providing the poor and giving him shelter from your home and clothing the naked. Also, FOR OUR TIME IS THE MESSAGE FROM ISAIAH!

14. True fasting counts when you are able to help the fellowman in need!

15. When you no longer hide from your brother or ignore his need!

16. The needy is not far from you, what happens is that you cover your eyes to not see! Is it not like that?

17. (Vs. 8) But, if you do as God asks, then you will have light in your life and you will no longer walk in darkness. Without light you can't help anyone because in the dark you can't see! When one is in darkness, instead of helping, what is done is to raise the hand against the needy, against the brother!

18. If you do as God tells you, you will know your salvation, because you will earn it when the light comes to you. In darkness you love yourself only and you lose the great satisfaction of doing good to another.

19. You will walk in justice; it will go before you. Then the glory of Jehovah will fill you, and be behind you protecting you for the well-being of your life!

20. If you change your life as God expects of you, you will have His glory and salvation. Your justice and your light will guide you!

21. (Vs. 9) Become a pious man, a man of faith. Look well how to start! If you do, I assure you that whenever you cry out to the Lord, He will answer you and say: Here I am!

22. Know that this will occur in your life if you take the oppression away from others, if you take away the yoke you have on the other. Yes! That you have on another! The yoke is there! Take away the yoke!

23. And take away your threatening finger! Look around and see who it is that you point at with that finger, with which you accuse and accuse, AND YOU DO NOT LOVE!

24. The most powerful thing of one who believes he is great is to SPEAK VANITY, whose favorite topic is to shine.

25. (Vs. 10) But you, do you give bread, do you know well to whom, do you relieve the needs of others with bread?

26. Help the one with the afflicted soul, give spiritual help to the one who needs it! But, know that you must break with everything that makes you unable to give the spiritual.

27. Then, in the darkness your light will be born and your darkness will become like a clear day, like noon.

28. You tell me, is your life like a half day or is it like the dawn in darkness?

29. (Vs. 11) Then, Jehovah will shepherd you ALWAYS; Jehovah will take your thirst away because He will quench your soul and give strength to your broken bones. You will be like a spring whose waters never lack!

30. (Vs. 12) And your own (those who will come out of you) will rebuild the old ruins (old, because they have long lied in desolation).

31. Your posterity will be highly beneficial for their generation!

32. This will be attributed to you (Vs. 12b). Well, it will be you who will raise the foundations of many generations! You will be called porthole repairman (of doors), restorer of driveways to inhabit (paved and quiet roads, safe, not only to travel through them, but to live together with them).

33. (Vs. 13-14) If you respect the day of rest, in our case as God's people, the day of worship, refraining from other things, having the delight of honoring God's holy day, not seeking to do your will, nor speaking your own words, which is the big problem for man on earth, do you know what will happen in your life? YOU WILL DELIGHT IN JEHOVAH WHO WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE THE DAY, THEN HE WILL GIVE YOU A PLACE OF LEADERSHIP ON EARTH!

34. It is not to love leadership and to give glory to leadership or to give style and talk to Leadership. IT IS THAT IT IS GOD TO WHOM THE GLORY SHOULD BE GIVEN AND DELIGHT OURSELVES IN HIM! It is to be humble! The product of loving leadership before God is that we believe we are super heroes, and there is defeat.

35. No one can prevent this: BECAUSE JEHOVAH'S MOUTH HAS SPOKEN IT! Amen.