Worship & Compassion

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
1 The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah…..
10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more; 13 bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation— I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. 14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. 18 Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
The message of Isaiah is clear. God demands of his people that they combine worship with care for the poor. If the people of God attempt to just have worship without concern for social mercy then God will not respond to their worship. God views worship that is not combined with care for the needy as a vain action.
God says that when people fail to care for the needy in a community that they have become like Sodom and Gomorrah. While sexual lawlessness was part of the reason why Sodom and Gomorrah were judged with fire it was not the only reason.
As I live, declares the Lord GOD, your sister Sodom and her daughters have not done as you and your daughters have done. Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. (Ezekiel 16:48-49 ESV)
Any society that does not care for the poor and needy has failed to do God’s will. God desires that we show care for those who have physical needs because every person is made in God’s image and therefore deserves to have their life protected and their pain addressed.
All the institutions of society must seek creative, effective, balanced, fair, and compassionate answers to meeting the needs of the poor and needy. The family and the church are the two primary institutions that need to find practical answers to providing for those in need. The government must provide equal justice for all citizens regardless of their ability to pay for lawyers. How much the government is to be involved in helping to care for the poor is of great debate. From God’s perspective, more important than the exact role government, is that some way or another society finds a way to help the poor and needy. Ideally this care would be based on faith and love.
One of the marks of the rule of the Messiah and the line of David was that there would be great care to provide justice and compassion to the poor, needy, and oppressed.
Of Solomon. Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son! May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor! ….For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight. (Psalms 72:1-14 ESV)
Wherever Messiah Jesus is king there will be a compassion, pity, and protection for those who are weak, needy, handicapped, oppressed, persecuted, and in need. Where there is no care for the poor, Jesus is not LORD.
First Church West has attempted to show this compassion by always being active in caring for people in need. Our deacon’s fund has been very active in helping people in times of need and crisis. We are small and our resources are little but we have made a difference in many people’s lives.
Living Water Counseling is also a ministry of mercy to those in need. Many times people without insurance or resources cannot get the comfort and wisdom provided by a professional counselor. Their personal lives and families are troubled and painful because they cannot afford the care they need to get peace of soul and skills for living. Every week we provide such care with compassion and grace to hundreds of needy souls. I praise God for how we have by His grace been able in these ways to show care for those in need.
So what should we do with this? We need to make sure our worship is combined with an attitude of repentance. Repentance is turning away from selfishness and pride and turning to follow God’s love and compassion in every circumstance. Our worship is acceptable when our hearts are filled with true confession, faith, and repentance. Whatever is not of faith is sin. Worship without faith and repentance is blasphemy. It is not perfection but direction that is the key. Repentance is a change in direction.
How can we prepare our hearts for worship this week? What sins are in our lives that we need to repent of and seek a new right path? Today is a good day to ask forgiveness and seek the Lord that we may give HIM praise for our pardon and take joy in HIS amazing grace.
What could you do more than you are doing to care for the poor and needy? God would ask you to find ways to give them grace today.