"Isaiah's 7-Step Plan"

Sermon 03.07.10
“Isaiah’s 7-Step Plan”

It is not often that we preach from the Old Testament Scriptures, but this morning we turn to Isaiah because it is a text that has a strong Lenten tone, with reminders to repent and return to God during this holy season. So please pray with me now: Holy One, help us to listen to the clear voices of the prophets. Help us to listen to seek the mind of Christ in our hearing. And may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to Jesus, our strength and our redeemer.

There are many 12-step meeting resources for people with different problems, but none for Christians. There are Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Over-Eaters Anonymous, and many more. But no one has developed a program where people can come in and say, “Hi, my name is Joanne, and I’m a slacker Christian. I’ve really screwed up when it comes to my faith, and I came to the realization that I need help.” At least, that doesn’t happen publicly in the Protestant tradition. Even the Catholics who invented the confessional kept it private. I’m willing to bet that there isn’t anyone in this sanctuary who is dying to stand up and tell the entire congregation about their sins and how they have failed in their faith journey from time to time.

And so we have the Prophet Isaiah offering us seven steps to getting right with God, and I’d say that that was a bargain – just about half of the steps that the other 12-steps groups require. So let’s all sign up together.

What is striking about the Isaiah’s program is that it is based on imperative verbs. Think back to your English classes in elementary school. Think way back to that lesson on verbs. I won’t ask you to think about the lesson on diagramming sentences, because that’s even too painful a memory for me. Imperative verbs are commands. The best example that I can give you is to talk about training a dog. You command the dog to Sit or to Stay or to Roll Over. An imperative verb instructs you to do something. Isaiah has 7 of these verbs that are the foundation of his plan.

In the first verse, he says Come. Come to the waters, the living waters that God provides. You must Come. Everyone who is spiritually thirsty is invited to the party. God sets the table, but we need to pull up the chair. We need to take action by showing up. Those of you in the sanctuary here this morning have got this step down pat already. You have taken the action this morning to get out of bed, and make your way to church.

The second command is to buy. Isaiah is not talking about consumerism here. He doesn’t tell us to buy a big screen tv, or tickets to the Orioles games or plane fare to Tahiti. He says buy into the program. Make a commitment. Get engaged with your church. Showing up for worship is wonderful, but your heart needs to be there as well. Don’t be making up your grocery list while I’m preaching. Save that task for the offertory collection. Just kidding. Isaiah wants us to buy into having a relationship with Christ that demands more than just a surface level faith. Buy into the grace that is so freely given by our Lord and Savior.

Third, he says eat. This does not mean pigging out on Lois’ fabulous cinnamon cake during the fellowship time after the service. When he uses the word eat, it is in the sense of partaking, experiencing, savoring. The psalmist says taste and see that the Lord is good. Eat and experience fellowship with other Christians. Eat and count the daily blessings that you have received. Eat and learn about the abundant life that Christ offers. We have a holy banquet set before us and it’s time to pick up the fork and dig in with gusto. As chef Emeril would say, “Kick it up a notch!”

Verse 2 gives us the third step of Isaiah’s program. Listen. Listen. It’s starting to get a little challenging here folks. Listen. How many times have we allowed the voices of others to sway us from hearing God’s truth? It’s difficult to tune out the competing voices in our society that want to be heard: the voices of power and greed, voices of selfishness and self-satisfaction, voices of coveting everything that our neighbor has and we don’t. We need to be discriminating in what we listen to, and tune out all of the noise of what our society offers us as the best, the greatest, the most materialistic. We need to listen to the small, still voice of the Holy Spirit, not the holy complex of television sports entertainment, the home shopping network, and the reality shows that exploit our human condition. Listen to the voice of God that comes without commercial interruption.

Once you have started to listen, Isaiah says, you then need to hear me, in verse 3. Stop putting your fingers in your ears and going lalalalalala. Dig out the spiritual earwax, if that’s the problem. Attune your listening so that you actually hear and comprehend the words that are being spoken. Now the tough, tough work is beginning in this recovery plan. Many of us call out to God in pain and anguish, listen for an answer, but fail to hear it, even when it’s as big and loud as a Mack truck. Hear me, God says. Pay attention to what I say. Learn to muffle the other sounds so that my voice comes in loud and clear.

Step five of the program is found in verse six. The prophet tells us to “seek the Lord while he may be found. Seek and make the presence of God a priority in your life. Pursue a single-minded walk with God. Search diligently for times when you can chat, call out, rant against, discuss, mull over, and converse with your heavenly Father. Have the morning coffee hour with Jesus. Every day, each one of us has competing priorities – we all have the same 24 hours in which to accomplish our daily tasks. If we can make the time to get our hair cut, to get our nails done, to walk the dog, to pick up our dry cleaning, to shop for groceries and to mow the lawn (when it is not covered with 12 feet of snow), then we have the ability to set time to seek God. It’s a question of priorities.

There are two more steps that Isaiah lays out for us, both of which are particularly apt for our Lenten discipline. In the seventh verse, he uses the imperative verb Forsake. Forsake – get rid of, throw away, let go. Maybe it’s time for us to abandon whatever doesn’t work in our relationship with God. Decide what is holding you back, what is challenging your faith, and, as the 12-step programs say, “let go and let God. Forsake – leave behind. Unpack whatever you are carrying on your backs, lay your weary burdens down and forsake all the other gods in your life.

Lastly, we hear the verb Return. Once you have let go of the bad, then you need to grab the good. Come home to the loving arms of the father, as did the prodigal son. Turn to what is right, what is positive, what is faithful. Repent and turn to God for mercy and forgiveness. Returning can be hard if you’ve been away for awhile. The return could be a rough uphill climb, but the view at the top is great.

So here’s the wrap-up for our spiritual recovery; here is Isaiah’s 7-step process to a right relationship with the Holy One: Come up to the table, buy into a commitment with Christ, eat and taste the goodness of the Lord, listen to God with your mind and heart, hear the voice that is calling you home, see the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life, forsake whatever calls you to the dark side, and return to the arms of your master. It’s time now to get with the program.