The Promise of Growth

Pr Anand Kumar
26-02-2017

Isaiah 54:1-17
The Future Glory of Zion

54 “Sing, barren woman,
    you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
    you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolatewoman
    than of her who has a husband,”
says theLord.
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
    stretch your tent curtains wide,
    do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
    strengthen your stakes.
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
    your descendants will dispossess nations
    and settle in their desolate cities.

4 “Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
    Do not fear disgrace;you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
    and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
5 For your Maker is your husband—
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
    he is called the God of all the earth.
6 The Lord will call you back
    as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
    only to be rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you,
    but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
8 In a surge of anger
    I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
    I will have compassionon you,”
    says the Lord your Redeemer.

9 “To me this is like the days of Noah,
    when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
    never to rebuke you again.
10 Though the mountains be shaken
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
    nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

11 “Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
    I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise,
    your foundations with lapis lazuli.
12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
    your gates of sparkling jewels,
    and all your walls of precious stones.
13 All your children will be taught by the Lord,
    and great will be their peace.
14 In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny will be far from you;
    you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed;
    it will not come near you.
15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
    whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

16 “See, it is I who created the blacksmith
    who fans the coals into flame
    and forges a weapon fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc;
17     no weapon forged against you will prevail,
    and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
    and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the Lord.

The Israelites were living in exile, in a foreign land. God gave them this promise to get ready to stretch their tent.

It talks about the future promise and restoration of Israel. 

Genesis 12:2
“I will make you into a great nation,
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.

1) The Promise of Restoration and Renewal (Isaiah 54:1-10)

Don't neglect your walk with God. Through Jesus Christ, our restoration with the Father is done. As a family, we can claim this for our family and our community to restore relationships with one another. 

This was God's promise to Abraham so that he could be a blessing to others and nations.

Through Jesus Christ, you are also descendants of Abraham. No matter how broken we are, God is able to do the impossible. We can be a blessing to others. As a family, we can bring this restoration to other families. God is doing great things in our midst. Bring this message of hope through Jesus Christ to other families.

2) The Promise of Peace and Safety (Isaiah 54:10-17)

God has His lovingkindness towards His people. 

The Israelites were constantly in fear in a land that was not their own.

In our own land, we are living in a situation where peace and safety are challenge. We are in a perilous time. 

Turn to God. In Jesus Christ alone, we have peace. Only in the presence of God that we are reminded of His lovingkindness and His peace. God assures us that He is with us.

Hold onto God. Enlarge our faith. Look into the lense of faith and ask God to make us a blessing in our land. We can share this peace and blessing with others. Our community is surrounded with families that are broken. We can share this peace with them.

3) The Promise of Prosperity and Security (Isaiah 54: 11-17)

God is holy. We are called to live a life of holiness through the Word of God and teach our children so that they too will live this life of holiness.

When we come together as a family altar, we are reminded of His promises.

Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Love the Lord Your God

6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fearthe Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as theLord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

We have God's promise to bless us and to grow us.

The respond towards the promise is:
Faith and Obedience

As a church:

Vision: A Spirit-filled Church that makes Christ known to all peoples

Mission: Go Make Disciples

The Great Commission

Conclusion:
Isaiah 52 - A Promise of Growth

Our response to the promise is through faith and obedience.

Keep our focus on the world and hold on to it.

Stand Chosen

Joanna Dorai
19-02-2017

Matthew 22:1-14
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

4 “Then he sent some more servantsand said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Luke 14:16-24
16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’

19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’

20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’

23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

They were invited to a wedding banquet but their first response was they will not come.

In the house of the king, there was a man who was unprepared and he was speechless.

Three groups of people:

1) They make excuses. They make light of the call. I'm sorry. I cannot come.

2) They come prepared.

3) They come unprepared. 

"For many are called, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:14)

When Jesus came to the Jews, He came to the people whose fathers and forefathers knew what it was to serve to God. 

The Kingdom call: "The time is near. The Kingdom of God is near. Follow Me."

He healed the sick. The people followed.

He performed signs and wonders. The people followed.

How then should we respond?

The chosenness comes out of an understanding what the Lord wants to call us into a place in which we can respond and follow Him wholeheartedly.

The Lord Himself wants to come and meet us personally. So come prepared and stand chosen.

The heart of God is for all. In this season of visitation, He wants to give us a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

John the baptist understood that he only baptised with water and that there is Someone who comes after him who baptises with the Spirit and fire.

There is more because we are about to receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

How do we respond to the call?

Be willing to prepare our hearts and take every necessary actions to stand chosen to meet with and encounter God, and the Lord will make us greater than something we cannot imagine.

He wants to raise up a people who say, "I saw the Lord."