Today is STAND SUNDAY- All over the nation today, churches are bringing awareness to FATHERLESSNESS in the US – As a church, from day one we have had a passion for the fatherless – at least 40 families have been engaged in foster care or adoption directly, including the Mock, McKenzie, Burton, Seago, Hogan, Kadleck, Jordan, Hall, Francis, Middlebrook, Hammond, Lambard, Wagoner, Walker, Rizzo, Parris, Beasley, Williams, Hunt, Agnew – and scores of others have served through our partner ministries to make a difference in some way – When we say, “we will be the hands and feet of Jesus in a broken world…”, this is a part of what we are talking about.

The classic verse for the fatherless and oppressed is James 1:27 – “True religion is this…” – What James is saying here is, “The true test of your spirituality is not raising your hands and voices in song, not church attendance, not even your daily time with the Lord, but it is the practical outflow of service that comes FROM a heart that is positioned in Jesus and toward STANDING FOR the oppressed and defenseless” – any religiousness that does not drive you toward standing for the broken, giving voice to the voiceless is worthless – passage in Isaiah 58 that underscores this idea

Isaiah 58:1-14

V1- God is telling Isaiah to shout this from the rooftops, raise voice like a trumpet, basically, this message is a PRIORITY – tell my people they’ve missed it!

V2 – Day after day they seek me out, eager to know my ways, not forsaken commands of God – want justice FOR THEMSELVES, seem eager for the nearness of God – This seems like a great group of people – this would make a great church, right? Seekers of God, zealous to know more, zealous for justice, seeking HIS PRESENCE

What a great list – I want this to be said of me, that I am a God-seeker, that I want to understand him more, and want to see him right the world, and want to seek his presence – what is missing from this list?

V3 – Israelites feel their worship is going unnoticed, somehow God is not honoring their sacrifice – what is the picture painted here? “What’s in it for me?” Text paints a picture of very religious people that live by the letter of the law, and seemingly do all the right things, but are maybe doing them for the wrong reasons.

He goes on – “Yet on your day of fasting you do as you please, exploit workers” – your worship is all about you – you are seeking to gain.

V4-5 – your fast ends in fighting with each other – the result of your worship to me is in-fighting, and you reserve one day for me, call it good and expect me to bless you?

OK, pause…this is hard stuff here – just trying to make me feel bad about myself? No, but need to press on motivation a little – I say it a lot, but worship in here that does not change how I live out there is WORTHLESS – God is saying to his people, “I’m not really interested in your religious activity, I’m interested in the outflow of your heart – I’m not looking for a day from you, or for 30 minutes a day, I want to reorient your life around my purposes” – what is he looking for as an outflow of worship?

V6-7 – loose the chains of injustice, untie the cords of the yoke, set the oppressed free, break every yoke – share with those in need, clothe the naked – Zechariah 7:9-10, true justice, administer mercy and compassion to one another, DO NOT OPPRESS widow or FATHERLESS, foreigner or poor.

The practical outflow of your worship is the product of your life – and if it doesn’t include the poor, the widow, the fatherless, the ones who can’t stand for themselves, then you have misunderstood the gospel – the goal of the spiritual life is a HEART TRANSFORMATION, where it is no longer you, but Christ living in you – AND, because he is in you, you are now living for a greater purpose.

In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus walks into a synagogue and quotes Isaiah 61 – The mission of Jesus is to free the oppressed, proclaim freedom for the captive, good news to the poor – And when you received Jesus, this is the mission that has been placed on your life as well – in fact, MATTHEW 25:40, whatever you for them, you’ve done for me – RESULTS?

V8-9 – You will be light in the world, you will be healed, you will be protected BEFORE, “your righteousness goes out before you”, and BEHIND – “the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard” – so cool – but keep looking: God will hear and answer – here is the truth: for a lot of us, we spend too much time praying self-motivated prayers and living self-motivated lives – God rewards selflessness and his voice becomes clearer when we are living for another purpose.

V10 – “Spend yourselves…” – what does it mean to spend yourself? You have 3 assets you bring in the KOG: your TIME, your TALENT, your TREASURE – so, first, everything you have has been given to you on loan by God to steward for his purposes.

Your TIME – Look for opportunities on how to spend your discretionary time – ministry opportunities in the lobby this morning – MAKE SPACE and let God interrupt your life.

Your TALENT – Some of you need to spend your natural giftedness in getting involved in fostering, adoption, mentoring, or some other kind of serving – your gift could be relational, administrative, hospitality, literally any gift can be used – Find a way to say YES to be a part of their story.

Your TREASURE – God blesses a generous heart – some of you have the financial means to be a catalyst for current and future ministry through financial resources.

You’ve got one life to live – what life are you waiting for?