SERIES TITLE: Salt & Light

OUTCOME-BASED OBJECTIVE:
At the end of this series, we will have a biblical understanding of how the
cross and resurrection of Christ are at the center of God's plan to bring
wholeness and restoration to the world, enabling the Church to be agents of
His plan of renewal.

PROPOSED DIRECTION:
God is against religious piety that produces no changed life and continues
to oppress the most vulnerable. Real faith produces a changed life.

THEME: God vs. False Religion

TEXT: Isaiah 1:12-20 ESV

12 
“When you come to  appear before me, who has required of you this
trampling of my courts?
13 
Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon
and Sabbath and the  calling of convocations—I cannot endure  iniquity
and  solemn assembly.
14 
Your  new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have
become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
15 
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.
16 
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from
before my eyes; cease to do evil,
17
learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the
fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
18 
“Come now,  let us reason[a]  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.
19 
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
20 
but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth
of the  LORD  has spoken.”

PRAYER:
CONNECT:
Who among you here, have been to a court room and watched how a case
is being tried?
Imagine a scenario in a court room, where the lawyer presents the case
versus the accused.
In this story of Isaiah, the prophet of God narrated that God-the Creator of
the universe is accusing the nation of Judah of their crimes.

TEXT BACKGROUND:
- In this part of Isaiah’s prophecy to Israel, God’s people were coming to
worship Him, bring offerings, and follow prescribed rituals, as He had
commanded.
- However, their lifestyles were full of iniquity and their hands were full
of blood (Isaiah 1:13, 15).
- The truth is, God does not want meaningless rituals from us that do not
reflect a life with Him.

We can see that in the preceding verses 2-11

Isaiah 1:2-11 ESV The Wickedness of Judah

2 
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O  earth; for the  LORD  has spoken:
“Children[a]  have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.

- The nation of Judah have rebelled against their Creator.

- A sin of rebellion
- God is calling heaven and earth as witnesses against Judah.
 - The leaders and people of Judah have resisted His will, and God will
state His case against them.
- We might think of heaven and earth as a "jury" God will present the
case before.
- The leaders and people of Judah are like rebellious children, who never
appreciate all that their parents have done for them.
- As parents, we can appreciate how frustrating and galling it is for our
children to disregard and disobey us.
- Fills us with righteous indignation, and we think, "After all I have done
for them, they treat me like this?" But we have treated God even worse
than any child has treated their parents.

- Ito ang nararamdaman ni Lord ngayon sa mga taong hindi sumusunod

sa kanya!

3 
The ox  knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does  not
know, my people do not understand.”

- Buti pa ung mga hayop kilala ang amo nila, pero kayong taga Judah
hindi niyo alam.
- Buti pa ang mga hayop alam sumunod sa amo nila.
- Eh tayo mga nilalang ng Diyos, alam ba natin sumunod sa lumikha
satin?
- Kinikilala ba natin ang Diyos na siya ang dahilan kung bakit tayo
nabubuhay nagyon?

4 
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.
- God clearly and strongly exposes the sin of Judah.
- You are evildoers
- You are corrupt
- You have forsaken and despised the Holy One of Israel.
- They have provoked the LORD to anger.
- This was the desperate condition of Judah.

5 Why will you still be  struck down? Why will you  continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 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.

- Ang sinasabi ni Lord sa kanila: Tingnan mo ang kalagayan mo?

naghihirap ka na? Hindi ka pa ba nagsasawa? Ayaw mo pa bang
magbalik loob sa akin?
- Despite their sin, God does not wish evil upon Judah.
- He longs for them to repent and make it easy on themselves.
- God has been chastising Judah, and they have not responded.
- They will continue to be stricken as long as they rebel.

7 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.
8 
And  the daughter of Zion is left like a  booth in a vineyard, like a lodge
in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

- For all this, Judah would not repent.

 - Their sin brought them great trouble, but they still preferred their sin,
with all of its trouble, than submitting to the LORD God.
- Mas gugustuhin pa rin maghirap kaysa magbalik loob sa Panginoon!
- Grabe ang tigas naman ng ulo nila?!!!
- Pero that’s who we are. Rebellious, hard-headed, insisting on what we
want, never learned, blatantly disobeying God.

9 
If the  LORD  of hosts had not left us  a few survivors, we should have been
like  Sodom, and become like  Gomorrah.
10Hear the word of the  LORD, you rulers of  Sodom! Give ear to the
teaching[b]  of our God, you people of  Gomorrah!

- As bad as Judah's state was because of their sin, it could have been
worse.
- It was only by the mercy of God that they survived at all. 
- Here we can see the goodness and faithfulness of God.
- He is so merciful, gracious and compassionate.
- Sodom and Gomorrah were a very wicked and sinful city and so God
destroyed them totally. (a symbol of sin and judgment)
- Sodom and Gomorrah were both totally destroyed, with not even
a very small remnant to carry on.
- God is still good to us because he left us a few survivors.
- Even in the midst of judgment, God showed His mercy to Judah.

11
“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the  LORD;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.
 - We can offer God all kinds of religious rituals and ceremonies, all kinds
of religious service, and He may hate it and consider it an abomination! 
- Perhaps, in the midst of all their calamities, the answer was in their
religious ceremonies, in their ancient version of "church attendance"
and a few dollars in the offering.”
- But if their heart wasn't changed, and humbled, and surrendered to the
LORD, it made no difference.
- Without the right heart, God hated their religious ceremony and
service!

- YOU MAY BE SINCERE WITH WHAT YOU DO, BUT YOU MAY BE
SINCERELY WRONG.

- Sacrifices, rituals, traditions, festivals, superstitious beliefs etc.

GOD DESIRES OBEDIENCE NOT SACRIFICE.

1 Samuel 15:22-23  “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings

and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is
better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is
as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected
you from being king.”

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO GOD IS COMPLETE OBEDIENCE TO HIM.

- Because everything else is a by-product of this initial obedience – even

sacrifice.
- Let us take a look at what obedience really means in the Bible.
 - Obedience according to the Old Testament means “to hear” or “to
listen”.
OBEDIENCE means to HEAR, to LISTEN
- It is not just a regular hearing, but a hearing with reverence and
obedience.
- What we are seeing here is essentially a ‘relationship’.
- It could be a relationship between that of a master and a servant, and
particularly between parents and children.

GOD WANTS A FATHER-AND-CHILD RELATIONSHIP WITH US.

Isaiah 1:15
15 
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.

- This was the posture of prayer in that ancient culture.

- Instead of praying with heads bowed and hands folded, they would
pray with the face turned towards heaven and the hands spread out to
heaven.
- So, when they prayed, the LORD says, "I will hide my eyes from you … I
will not hear."

The preceding verses talked about:

THE FALLEN CONDITION OF MAN - SINFUL

But,
GOD’S CALL TO MAN – REPENT

LET US LOOK AT THREE THINGS GOD WANTS IN OUR RELATIONSHIP

WITH HIM.
 1. GOD DESIRES OUR FAITHFULNESS
ISAIAH 1:13
“Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New
moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—I cannot endure
iniquity and solemn assembly.”
- God wants us to be faithful to Him, not to the rituals we connect to
Him.
- The people of Israel did all the rituals properly—all the assemblies,
offerings, and feasts.
- However, they openly sinned against God at the same time.
- We can’t say we follow God and “prove” it through empty rituals, while
still doing what He hates.
- To God, this is hypocrisy.

2. GOD DESIRES RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE IN OUR DAILY

ACTIVITIES.
Isaiah 1:16-17 ESV
16 
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your
deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
17
learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the
fatherless, plead the widow's cause.

- God wants us to learn to do good and seek justice, which takes changing
from the inside out.
- Not only this, we are to keep away from injustice as well, which takes
repentance.
- Furthermore, we are to speak up and take personal involvement when we
see injustice being done to others.
- How do respond this as a church as God’s people?
a. We pray to God for justice and not curse.
b. Speak up – huwag na lang tayong manahimik. (not just in social media
but directly to the person involved)
c. Take a personal involvement.
d. Do good – repay good with evil
e. Correct oppression
f. Plead for the cause of the fatherless and the widows.

- God tells us that we are the salt and light of the earth.

Matthew 5:13-14 NIV Salt and Light

13 
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how
can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to
be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 
“You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be
hidden.

- The corruption of Judah's leaders and people was shown in their bad
treatment of one another.
- Many centuries later, the apostle John would repeat Isaiah's message:
John 4:20 NIV
20 
Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister  is a liar.  For
whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have
seen,  cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

- The leaders and people of Judah wanted to say they loved God by their
religious ceremonies, but the LORD cared more about how they
treated other people, especially the weak the fatherless … the widow

3. GOD DESIRES A REAL RELATIONSHIP WITH US.

ISAIAH 1:18 “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.”

- God described the people of Israel as those who have forsaken the
LORD.
- However, He did not just want them to come back and follow Him
mindlessly.
- God wanted a real relationship with them, and invited them to accept
His offer to make their sins white as snow—as if they had never sinned.
- He is extending the same invitation to us today.
- God is seeking out a true, vibrant relationship with each of us so we
can be transformed to be more and more like Him.

- It is just plain reasonable to follow God.

- Imagine a disciple of Christ on his deathbed, gathering his children and
friends around, and saying: "You know and have witnessed how I have
loved and trusted the Lord and serve Him fully all my life. Now, I want
you to do the same with all your heart, mind and soul.

- The LORD offers a repentant, humbled

Judah true and complete cleansing from sin.

- Their condition of sin can be transformed from deeply stained to

completely white.
- In this passage, Isaiah says nothing about how this cleansing comes.

CRISTOCENTRIC:
 - We know that this CLEANSING that Isaiah talked about comes because
Jesus took upon Himself our stain of sin, and God judged sin perfectly
and completely in Jesus, so we can be accounted white as snow and
as white as wool.
- What tremendous hope there is in God's forgiveness!
- We really can be clean from the stain of sin.
- Our good works can't clean the stain.
- Our best intentions or promises can't clean the stain.
- Our suffering or pain can't clean the stain.
- Time can't clean the stain.
- Death can't clean the stain.

Only the work of Jesus can make us  white as snow!

- We really can have a break with the past, and a new beginning in Jesus
Christ.
- The power of sin, the shame of sin, the guilt of sin, the domination of
sin, and terror of sin, and the pain of sin can all be taken away in Jesus.
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that
they may have  life, and have it to the full.

Isaiah 1:19-20
19 
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
20 
but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the
mouth of the  LORD  has spoken.
- Here God offers Judah a choice. They can find hope in the midst of their
chastisement, relief from empty religious ritual, and cleansing from their sin.
But they must surrender their heart before God, and not refuse and rebel.
Instead, they must be willing and obedient.
APPLICATION:
Are you willing and obedient or refuse and rebel?

- There is a consequence for either course: eat of the good of the land,

or be devoured by the sword. No wonder the LORD said "Come
now, let us reason together!"
God is against religious piety that produces no changed life and continues
to oppress the most vulnerable.

MAIN POINT: Real faith produces a changed life that results in a

changed of actions.

APPLICATION:
1. Be an advocate for Social justice.
2. Initiate a Social responsibility program.

PRAYER FOR MINISTRY:

1. Repent
2. Respond to call’s call.
3. Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
4. Altar call – prayer for salvation

• God Thank you for making a way for us to have a real relationship with
You.
- I Pray that we will continue to grow in our relationship with YOU every
day of our lives.
• Lord I pray that you will show any areas of our lives that you need to
change so that we can be faithful to YOU always.
I ask you Lord to give us the grace to obey you no matter what.
• God I pray for wisdom and courage to act in righteousness and justice
even in our everyday activities.
- I Pray that we will notice opportunities to seek justice, correct
oppression, and be salt and light throughout the week.
- Give us the boldness to speak the TRUTH of WORD in love.
- In Jesus’ Name. We pray Amen!