Title The Restoring God / Isaiah 54:4-8
Content Word: Isaiah 54:4-8
1. The Pain of the Rejected: Verse 4
It is unbearable to be rejected by any society, group, or person. It is a very difficult pain to be rejected, especially by someone you consider important. For example, how much pain would a wife feel when she found out that she was no longer important to her husband? An example is the pain of a wife being rejected by her husband. There is the pain of being rejected when you feel that you are no longer important to your husband. Of course, there is also the pain of a husband being rejected by his wife. There is also the suffering of parents and children who are rejected by their families. Sometimes, you feel proud of yourself and get rejected from your job. It is also very painful to feel rejected by co-workers and no longer a part of that group. Sometimes I get rejected by the school I wanted to go to. I tried my best, but the school refused admission. I worked hard to prepare for a job, but I refuse to accept it at work.
When people are rejected like this, people are going through a really difficult and difficult time. Sometimes it feels like our lives are rejected by God. In Isaiah 54, the Israelites, who were convinced that they were God's people, lost their kingdom to the attacks of the Gentiles and lived as captives in Babylon. They felt that God had turned His face away from our lives and rejected and forsaken us. The people of Israel were living in the pain and suffering of being deprived of their kingdom by the Gentiles living without God and being abandoned by God, chewing on the pain of those who were rejected.
We live with the pain and shame of being rejected in this way and that way. That's life.
◎ Have you ever been rejected by someone? Let's share how you felt at the time.
2. God calls the rejected life: verses 4-8
First, it is important to hear what kind of sound you hear in a time of suffering, such as being rejected or abandoned in the desert. Depending on the sound we hear, it separates us between life and death. Satan says, “You are a rejected life, and you are finished with a life of abandonment. If we listen to Satan's voice, we become such an abandoned life as Satan says.
When you feel rejected, you must listen to what God is saying. Those who are rejected are caught up in the thought that they are alone. However, God Himself comes to those who live with the pain of being rejected. It is because God's attention is on the rejected and painful life. In the text of the text, God is calling “you” to our lives that are rejected with a soft and holy voice. God is a God of mercy who loves and comes to those who have been rejected.
Second, God tells us not to be afraid, who are living with the pain of being rejected. Verse 4 again tells us not to be surprised. The reason is that God Himself is holding the life that has been rejected. Just as husband and wife are one relationship, so God and His people are one.
In verse 5, God says to His people, “Your Maker is your husband, whose name is the LORD of hosts, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.” God is our husband. The Creator God has become our strength to rely on. God has become our strong supporter, so he tells us not to be afraid and not to be afraid.
◎ What voice should I hear when I feel rejected? What is the feeling of peace in God's arms, even when rejected?
3. The Restoring God:
God is love. Because the essence of God is love, where God is, the relationship of hate and indifference turns into a relationship of love. Where God is, we experience the fullness of love. Likewise, because God is the restorer, where God is, restoration takes place.
The reason that those who live through the pain of being rejected are not afraid, not surprised, and not lost in heartache is because God the Restoration comes to such people. I think that when you are rejected, your current state will never change, and you will live with the pain of being rejected. But God, who restores the wounded soul, is right here with us.
We live every day experiencing God's power to restore us. After sleeping, the tired and exhausted body is awakened as if it had been washed. The body is regenerated again. Even the troubled mind will find stability after sleeping. We experience the grace of God restoring our bodies and minds through sleep. So, the time to sleep is a holy time to enjoy God's grace and to fully enjoy God's mercy and mercy toward us. That is why the Bible tells us not to defile the bed (Hebrews 13:4).
God restores the weary life, the life in the pain of rejection, and the broken life to the good God created. Just as broken glass makes beautiful stained glass, God restores broken and shattered lives and makes them more beautiful and mysterious, transforming them into a life that reveals the glory of God's kingdom.
◎ Let's share with God who restored my life that was rejected. Let's praise God who shows the glory of heaven by making the stained glass of God's kingdom with our broken lives, and pray that those who are having a hard time because they are rejected will meet the God of the Restoration.
4. God foretells restoration to the rejected: verses 4-8
A life rejected by God, a wounded God declares that He will restore our lives God speaks clearly on your honor. He promises to restore our broken lives because of God's love for us and proclaims what God will do. The Word of God the Creator has the power to be fulfilled.
To those who receive the word of God proclaimed by faith, God will surely fulfill the word he has proclaimed. That is the prophecy. In particular, the text is the word of God's prophecy. It is a prophetic word that will come true to those who accept the word that God has proclaimed.
◎ God, who has taken away all my shame and disgrace, has become my husband, so let's pray together that we will respond to God's word, "Do not be afraid or be surprised," with Amen and enjoy God's prophetic word that He proclaims to us.