2003.3.9. Calling(2) / Lent 1st Sunday - Rev. Young Jin Cho

"No matter how red as crimson it may be."

Isaiah 1:18-20

Since last week, I began the consecutive sermon series under the title " The Calling." Amongst the callings that have been revealed six times in the Bible, this consecutive sermon series will particularly focus on His love and grace comprised in His Calling. There is amazing love and grace of God in His callings. There are God's expectations and intentions in them towards us. Responding to this calling is the right way to find the proper path of life, and the way to live a full life.

Last week in Genesis Chapter 3, I preached to you about God's gracious history of never giving up on us, and how he called Adam and Eve who sinned and deteriorated. God's question, "Where are you?" was not only for Adam and Eve, but also for all of us in this twenty-first century. In this question, we can hear His encouragement asking us to discover where we are. We can hear His earnest calling for us to return to Him. Where are you now? What kind of lives are you living at this moment?

I.

The first half of the scripture today was the message Isaiah proclaimed towards the Southern Kingdom of Judea in about B.C. 740. Isaiah points out the sinful life of people of Judea before the "calling" that starts from verse 1:18 on. Let me summarize their sins recorded before 1:18.

(1) First, in verse 1:2, Isaiah points out the sins of the people of Judea: Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manager, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand."

Congregation, what does this mean? It means that they were behaving worse than the ox or livestock. It is saying that the ox or the donkey recognizes its master but that Israel doesn't recognize their God as LORD. It is rebuking the ignorance of Israel in their failure to essentially acknowledge God's sovereignty. We call ourselves supreme creatures, but there are people amongst us who do not know what they should really know. They are ignorant of God who created their lives.

Prophet Isaiah also criticizes the sins of people who are despising God as well as those ignorant of Him. Let us look at the word in verse 1:4. The NIV reads: "Ah sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him." Perhaps this may be a worse sin than ignorance. Believing the existence of God, but they spurn Him. They regard Him as an existence of lesser importance.

(2) Another issue further saddens Isaiah. They live without realizing the fact that if they turn their back against God, their lives and paths will be rebuked, hurt and broken. Isaiah records the bad state of being of the people of Judea: "Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness-only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil (Isaiah 1:5-6, NIV)".

As their lives move away from God, they will become full of injury, and the circumstances and nature they live in will even become more impoverished. They are living, but not knowing what's going on. Isaiah's accusation continues: "Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid wasted as when overthrown by strangers…. Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege (Isaiah 1:7-8, NIV)."

Isaiah testifies that it is by the grace of God that there are still some survivors. Without God's love and grace, they would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah. It is for God's love that they survived.

(3) There is a third type of sin in their lives. They adhere to the rituals, and make their sacrifices. However, they do not live a life worthy of being God's people.

Through Isaiah, God spoke to them that he has gotten sick and tired of hearing that on the one hand they believe in Him, and yet on the other hand they keep living contrary to what they are confessing. Let us look at the words from 1:11 and on: "The multitude of your sacrifices-what are they to me? I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats…. Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations-I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them."

Congregation, what is the story? They are keeping the rituals. They are also offering their sacrifices. However, there is no life worthy as people of God. While offering services, they live lives having nothing to do with their services. They are just passing through the yard of sacrifice without any meaning. Their offerings and services are nothing more than mere practices. When they come to the sacred hall, their lives are different from their real lives outside of the sacred hall. They are living two-faced lives.

Dear congregation, don't we live similarly to how the people of Judea lived? Do their stories have nothing to do with us today? What would Isaiah have said had he seen our religions and lives today? Are you confident that he would have commanded us instead of rebuking us?

I am not quite sure. I can't help but to confess we are not free from Isaiah's condemnation. We can say we believe in God, however do we know Him correctly? A dog always recognizes his master and wags his tail, and never fails to show loyalty. Today, how are we before God? Are we as welcoming and faithful to Him? Am I living excessively? Is it OK when everything is convenient and comfortable? No provocation, no excess, no burden. Is this all that entails for living a good life? How much do you know your LORD God? Are you sure our inner beings, our souls are healthy? Particularly, are we living properly as believers of God? Aren't your lives separated into service and worldly life? You will not want to pass merely through the yard of the sacred hall, will you? Pastor Choi Hyo Seop once depicted modern Christians who had lost features of their lives as Christians:

"When I was starving, you gathered to discuss love and developed theories pertaining to my starvation. Thankful though…
When I was detained in jail, you fled to confine yourself to the praying room and prayed for my release. Thankful though…
When I was naked, you researched fashions and trends, and discussed about what was the ethical limit of the portion hiding your body behind the garments. It was not sort of interesting to me, but not everything may have been in vain for you.
When I had no shelter, you preached to me that the true house is the eternal kingdom of God. When I was lonesome, you let me alone saying individual freedom was valuable.
You all look so holy and close to God. But I am still hungry, lonely and cold. Yet, your numerous prayers and serious theories have not reached me."

"I will repeat again, the things you did not do to the little person, you did not do to me."

II.

For the people of Judea rebuked by Isaiah, and for us today, is there really no solution? Do we have hope? Do we have another opportunity to begin anew?

There is good news here. Here, there is a way of hope. Here is a way to restart from the beginning. God told the people of Judea through Isaiah and again, He is telling us today: "Come now, let us reason together. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson they shall be like wool."

There was not much difference between the criminal and civil procedures in ancient Israel. Once the accuser stated the case, the accused answered, and the judge delivered the judgment. Congregation, in the words of the scripture today, who is accusing the people of Judea of their sins? God does. However, the prosecutor God tells the defendants of the people of Judea, and to us: Come and reason, come and talk together! The "Today's English Version" translated this sentence into "Let us settle the matter!" God is calling us. He is telling us to settle our sins. He is suggesting a way to solve our problems.

(1) There is nothing more to be thankful for than forgiveness. Congregation, have you imagined a world without forgiveness? It means every sin we have committed must be punished. Congregation, what a deadly world it would be? What a fearful world it would be? Forgiveness means a second chance, or another opportunity. Again, a chance to begin anew is given to you.

Congregation, it is not because we deserve forgiveness. It is not because we have done things worth being forgiven for. Nor have we paid for His forgiveness. The only reason why we are to be forgiven is due to God's love. It is because of this love that sympathizes with our weakness, that God feels pain with us when we fail. It is because His love wants to give us another chance.

This love of God decisively turned out on Jesus' cross. Jesus took the burden for our sins. He paid himself the costs for our sins through his sufferings on the cross. And He has opened the way of forgiveness, the way of second chance. For everyone who trusts His love, He has opened the way to restart, the way of forgiveness.

(2) There is another message in these words. There is the promise that, even though our sins are like scarlet, they will be cleaned as white as snow. Here, scarlet reminds me of blood on the hand of a murderer. Congregation, what is this message?

This means there is no one not to be forgiven by God. It is true, no matter how heavy and serious the sins may be. Such an amazing love was clearly revealed during Jesus' crucifixion. Jesus even prayed for the people who nailed Him to the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Praying for those who nailed Him even, this feature of Jesus is the obvious evidence of God's promise that there is no sin not to be forgiven.

Therefore, Jeffrey Dammar, who killed many people and even ate from their corpses, also participated in this grace by believing in Jesus and being baptized. There was a notorious group of hooligans in Korea. At the time they astounded the Korean society by their numerous murders and rapes. On a spot inspection after they were arrested, they still raved saying they felt unfinished having not killed off the young children of the wealthy. They murdered people, peeled and burnt them. They even bragged they had eaten their bodies. A gangster even uttered he should have murdered his own mother. Many people raised their voice that they deserved death penalties on a public site. However, they finally participated in the grace of forgiveness. They shed tears of repentance before God's love. Although they were executed according to the sentences, cleansed from their scarlet red blood in God's love, they lived new lives before they were put to death. A prisoner named Kim, Hyun-Yang wrote a letter: "God's love is so broad and deep that I cannot pump it out dry like an eternal spring. Prison, where I met Jesus, is like heaven for me." Another prisoner Kang, Dong-Eun said in his letter: "Jesus was put to death on the cross vicariously for my sins, forgiving my sins and saving my life. I could not remain seated receiving this love, so I gave my winter cloths to a weak person."

God today cleans scarlet red sins as white as snow. He is cleansing our crimson red sins as white as wool.

III.

The God of forgiveness, the God of such great love, is calling us today. He is telling us today: "Come now, let us reason together. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson they shall be as white as wool."

Dear congregation, without this love of God, where would you settle your sins? Where would you find new and changed ways of life? Where would you find real feature of your lives with which God would be pleased? I have talked to you about this story before. When I received surgery I was in such critical condition that I was still in the emergency room even though I should have come out. I prayed: "This may be the last time to pray. I might be dying. God, are you calling me now? I have nothing in my life to give to you, nothing to be proud of before you. However, I am holding on to the cross where Jesus has shed His blood for." What is the only way we can be ready before God? Without the forgiving love of God, it is impossible. God's love has not changed until today. Gracious forgiveness of God has not changed until today. I ask you to come before this calling, to respond to this calling.

Today's scripture promises to you: "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land." But there follows the warning message: "But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." It advises you to choose the road of life. It strongly persuades you to put yourself under the grace of the LORD for your life. If you come, come and reason, you can survive. If you come near Jesus, you can start again today. Even scarlet sins can be forgiven.

I used to say a story in the Way of Life classes held for new believers. Once upon a time, a woman of sincere religion lived in a village. She happened to have everyday conversation with Jesus in her prayers. Upon hearing this news, the bishop invited her to examine the genuineness of her experience. Listening to the details, the bishop asked her a favor. He asked her to inquire Jesus next time when she meets Him, about the sins he committed while he was a theological school student. It was such a challenging question. The bishop's misbehavior was so personal that the woman's religious experience might have turned out to be a lie. After few days, the bishop called the woman again. The bishop asked her if she met Jesus and asked Him about the sins of the bishop when he was a student. Then, the woman answered. This answer was so precious and too much to be thankful for. Jesus answered: "I don't remember."

Our God is such kind of a being. He does not even remember our sins. This kind of God is calling us: "Come, and reason together. Settle your scarlet sins!" He is calling us this morning. He is calling me.