Is Not This the Worship that I Choose?
(ISAIAH 58:6-14)
 
Pause & Reflect
 
6 “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

1. [v.6-7] *Biblical principle – BREAKTHROUGH WORSHIP – breaking every yoke with breaking of bread: True worship breaks the bonds of wickedness that keep us from the breaking of bread in fellowship. As double-minded and insincere worshippers kept up their impression of fasting and repentance, God was not fooled. Their worship was unacceptable by the foremost grounds of intentional ignorance to their sins against one another – oppressing, quarreling, fighting, and even hitting with the fist the very people they should have cared for with compassion, provided for with humble hearts, and worshipped together with reconciliation. If they had truly fasted from bread, they should have shared their bread. The sinful strongholds between them should have been broken. If there is sin between brothers/sisters in Christ, Jesus said, “First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:24).
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – Genuine worship before God is directly related to our character before our neighbors. As the lawyer asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” with a secretive disdain for Samaritans, Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan who was a true neighbor in Christ to the man (most likely a Jew) who fell among robbers and left half dead. Who is your neighbor? Who is your brother and sister in Christ that you have yet to breakthrough in reconciled fellowship? Who is that hungry neighbor that Jesus has given you bread to share with? Who is that naked neighbor that Jesus has given you the clothes to cover them with? Who is that half dead neighbor that Jesus is calling for you to stop and worshipfully care with His compassion?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – Before worshipping, are you first reconciled to your brother and sister in Christ? Are we worshipping God by restoring the breaking of bread with each other?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – The LORD says not to “hide yourself from your own flesh.” This means that even as followers of Jesus, we can turn away in ignorance from our own flesh and blood, dehumanizing people who bear the image of God. We can turn our backs on God’s image-carrying humans and treat them like animals or less. We can also treat animals as if they were God’s image-bearing humans. How have we too been like the priest and Levite – who were supposed to be spiritual leaders of God’s people yet passed by on the other side or hurried off – after seeing the half dead man in the story of the good Samaritan? Is our worship turning us towards one another in compassion or turning us against one another in ignorance?

 
8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.

1. [v.8-12] *Biblical principle – BONE-BUILDING WORSHIP – rebuilding the marrow of satisfaction in Christ: In worship, sharing the living bread satisfies us down to the marrow of our bones, making us strong to rebuild the ruined foundations. Amazing blessings awaited God’s covenant people if they humbled themselves to experience His breakthrough in sharing their bread and providing with compassion for one another. In becoming reconciled into holy fellowship with one another, they too would become reconciled into righteous relationship with Him. Now in their true heartfelt worship, the LORD would make His glory their rear guard. He would answer their prayerful cries with His presence, “Here I am.” He would guide them continually and satisfy their desire in scorched places. Even their darkest gloom would become like the brightest noonday. He would make their bones strong and nourish them like a well-watered garden. He would rebuild the foundations for many future generations through them.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – The kind of worship that God desired was for His people to be reconciled to each other with forgiveness and repentance. As they did, their bones would be rebuilt, nourished, and strong. Have your bones tasted the nourishment that the LORD brings through the restored breaking of bread fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ? How does fasting help us to hunger for this table fellowship again? How is fasting not just about ceasing from food but starting to feed others with the pleasures of God’s words?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – Down to the marrow of your soul, has the living bread Jesus Christ satisfied you and rebuilt your frame back stronger than before in your worship? How is every prayer request already answered in His reply, “Here I am”? How does this answer turn every “gloom to be as the noonday”? How is the LORD “guiding you continually and satisfying your desire in scorched places”?

 
13 “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

1. [v.13-14] *Biblical principle – BACK-TURNING WORSHIP – turning back to keeping the Sabbath Day holy: Worship is not true worship until your back is turned from doing your pleasure on His holy Day of Rest. The LORD now returns to His words in chapter 56 concerning keeping the Sabbath (Day of Rest) holy, not profaning it, but holding fast to honor it with covenant as a day to take delight in Him and become a house of prayer for all nations. Worship will turn our backs around from going our own ways and doing our own thing on this holy day. With the resurrection of Jesus on the third day, we set apart Sunday as this holy day of rest as opposed to the former sabbath on the second day (Saturday). This 7-day pattern of life was created by God for us to find our rest in Him in our delight of Him. He promises to uplift us on this day, to make us ride on the heights of the earth, and to feed us the heritage of His covenant to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – to be blessed and a blessing to the whole world.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – Do you keep the Day of Rest holy? What other business and pleasures are making your back turn against His holy day?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – Keeping resurrection Sunday holy does not mean we cannot work on Sunday, nor does it mean we cannot take a break with family as the occasion and opportunity arises. But it does mean we set the day aside as different than all routines in a normal day so that Jesus Christ is the center of it all, is remembered, is treasured, and is rejoiced in. How can you practically keep the Day of Rest holy, especially in the gathering of the corporate body of His church? How can you honor God with your time, dress, attitude, attention… etc? How can you prepare ahead of time on Saturday for this?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – There’s a beautiful image at the end of verse 14. The LORD will feed us, like a parent to a child, the heritage of promises He gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – the promise that their offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens, that He will bless them, and make them a blessing to the whole world. As you look up at the countless stars, how is this promise fulfilled in you as a son and daughter of Abraham? How is this blessing fulfilled in Jesus Christ?

 
The central truth of this word was –
Worship that is acceptable and chosen by God is: (1) breakthrough power of holy reconciliation between brothers/sisters in Christ; (2) bone-building satisfaction that changes the darkest gloom to be as the brightest noonday; and (3) back-turning repentance from doing our own pleasures to taking delight in the LORD’s promised and blessed ways. Two worshipful actions (fasting and Sabbath-keeping) were not just calls to stop eating or to stop working, but rather to start feeding one another and to start resting in the delight of His presence. For then, the food from Jesus our living bread and the rest that remains for all who are yoked to Him, will satisfy us, nourish us, free us, and make us strong forever.

– *How has the LORD spoken to you today through this?
 
Apply & Be Doers of the Word
 
(1) Be reconciled to one another. Forgive those who hurt you and press on in the Lord. Ask to be forgiven to those you have hurt and press on in the Lord. First be reconciled, then worship. First seek to be restored to your brothers and sisters. Do not let the enemy drive a wedge between anyone but seek to help others breakthrough to one another by the breaking of bread – by the fellowship at the table of the Lord that He calls us all to sit together. Love one another and pray for those who hurt you.
 
(2) Be content in all things with the Lord. Do not seek for what you don’t have. Do not seek for better than what you do have. Take delight in the Lord alone. Then, you will grow strong, even through the dark seasons. There are pleasures forevermore in the hands of Jesus. Look to Him over one another. Love one another through looking to Him.
 
(3) Keep Resurrection Sunday holy. Take His covenant to rest in Him through His church seriously. We keep this day holy by setting it apart, kept entirely different, not going about our own business, or treating it like any other day. On this day, there is rest and delight in the LORD, in worshipping together with His covenant people, and in being His house of prayer for all nations. Even if we should so expend ourselves on this day feeding others, it is a pleasure we would never experience without.
 

Holy Spirit Moment & Group Prayer
Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, and pray for one another.
 
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18)
 
…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)
 
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. (GALATIANS 6:2-5)
 
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (HEBREWS 10:24-25)
 
For the body does not consist of one member but of many... The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 CORINTHIANS 12:14, 21-27)
 
- Jeong’s (Jake, Amanda)
- Lee’s (Sam, Heidi)
- Aiden Song
- Deborah Ko
- Kristen Lee
- Patrick Liu
- Brian Pak
- Samuel Park
- Trey Reynolds
- Tyler Lee
- Edward Jeon
- Johann Lee
- Eugene Hong
- JR Reynolds
- Brian Joo
- James Han
- Winnie Kim
- Philip Oh
- Hana Lee
- Rachel Ko (preschool assistant)
- Hanna Kang
- Soo Nam (Dallas Police)
- Eunice Kim (UT Austin)
- Jedidiah Lim (Louisiana)
- Jeff Park (California)
- Doug Kang
- Stacy Hong
- David An
- Daniel An
- Alice Jeon
- Ashley Min (UTD)
- Mike Choi (drummer, Jeff’s cousin)
- Eric Lee (UTD)
- Lisa Jeon
- Brian Yoon
- Jennifer Chung (UTA)
- June Kim (TWU)
- Hannah Kim (UT Austin)
- Hogan Lee (TCU)
- Steven Kwon (A&M)
- Benny Son (UT Austin)
- Esther Ko (UT Austin)
- Daniel Lee (UT Austin)
- Aaron Lee (Houston, postgraduate optometry)
- Alex Koh (Houston, postgraduate dentistry)
- Matthew Ahn (UT Austin)
- Yura Ahn (UT Austin)
- Katie Han (New York)
- Emily Han (Austin)
- Jung’s (Jae, Mary) – Boston, MA
- Hanbit Kang (Austin)
- Gu Min Chung (Army, Korea)
- Jeanie Yoo (Baylor)

​Prepare the Way for Revival
(ISAIAH 57:14-21)
 
Pause & Reflect
 
14 And it shall be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
    remove every obstruction from my people's way.”
15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
    who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
    and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
    and to revive the heart of the contrite.

 

1. [v.14-15] *Biblical principle – HE BUILDS HIS WAY – removing every obstruction against His peace: Every obstruction must get out of the way when His high and holy place comes down to revive our low and contrite heart. As the nation was in turmoil with blind watchmen as leaders and rampant idol worshippers representing His covenant people, everything appeared hopeless. No word from God, His prophets nor even His disciplining judgment turned these stubborn hard-hearted people around to repentance. At this point, the LORD knew only He had the ability to bridge the widening gap between Him and His covenant people. By the prophetic voice of the last prophet – John the Baptist – the LORD Himself would build and prepare the way to remove every obstruction between Him and His people. As the God who is high and lifted up, inhabiting eternity, dwelling in the highest and holiest place, He would come down by sending His suffering servant and eternal Son Jesus Christ, to the lowliest of place, into the heart of the lowly.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – What obstruction is still in the way of revival between you and the LORD? Are you building back what He is clearing out? God is building up, but are you tearing down?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – What does “revival” mean to you? Have you seen revival? If so, describe your experience – what it is and what happens when it comes.
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – God desires to have you as His own with an everlasting love. He will build the longest highway from His eternal habitation to the lowest of hearts on earth. How is revival about getting a glimpse of this eternal highway? When we do, are our hearts staying high in sinful pride or low in godly humility? How is revival about letting God draw near to you instead of your efforts to draw near to Him?

 
16 For I will not contend forever,
    nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
    and the breath of life that I made.
17 Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,
    I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
    but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
    I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
19     creating the fruit of the lips.
Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord,
    “and I will heal him.

 

1. [v.16-19] *Biblical principle – HE RESTORES HIS WAY – removing His anger to create His peace: Because His righteous anger was satisfied in the giving of His eternal Son, God no longer remains angry but available to create peace for those far and near. Rightly so, the nation was under God’s righteous anger. Steeped in their idolatry and iniquity that gained only their own unrighteousness, the LORD was angry. He disciplined them through exile. He hide His face from them for a moment. Yet still God knew they would not learn to fear Him, but rather go on backsliding in the way of their own heart. Out of His great love for us, God resolved in Himself to put an end to His anger. He knew that He could not contend with it forever. He knew that the only way was to resolve His anger in the sinless and eternal sacrifice of Himself, in the sending of His eternal Son our Lord Jesus Christ. By doing so, sinful humankind and sinless holy God would once again have peace by the shed blood of the cross (Colossians 1:19-20).
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – How is the LORD creating peace by removing anger? Or are we creating anger by removing His peace?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – Although the LORD has seen our sinful ways, why does He still choose to heal us from them (verse 18)? How can we see the sin in each other, but still choose to forgive, heal, and correct their ways?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – God would have been righteous in His anger to destroy a way for us to approach Him. Yet, He chose to put away His anger through His eternal Son to restore a way for us to be with Him forever. Like the heavenly Father has done for you, what must you put away for restoration with God and with one another to happen?

 
20 But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
    for it cannot be quiet,
    and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
21 There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

 

1. [v.20-21] *Biblical principle – THOSE WHO DO NOT FEAR GOD HAVE HE MAKES NO OTHER WAY – removing the wicked from His peace: There is no peace for the wicked, for they do not walk according to His ways. Since His peace is created only by His enabling grace through His eternal Son Jesus Christ, the wicked person who continues walking away from Christ cannot have it. The wicked live unanchored to Jesus, like the tossing sea. They trust in the waves that toss them around instead of the One who has power to silence the wind and the waves. Their waters toss up mire and dirt compared to the pure, cleansing and quenching living waters of Christ’s fountain where all can come to for drink and have life in His name. There is no other way to revive the dead person – spiritually and physically. Unless we turn to trust in His grace, we will all likewise suffer in this life and the eternal life to come without any anchor or any calm, for there is no peace without Jesus.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – Are you searching for another way for revival? Are we seeking to be resuscitated temporarily instead of being revived eternally in His peace? Why is there no peace within us? Are we in the process of being removed or restored to walk according to the ways of His peace?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – The hallmark of a follower of Jesus is the shalom (wholeness of peace beyond understand in mind, body and soul) imparted by a thriving relationship with Him. Shalom is the wisdom from God that brings stability, steadfastness, and sovereign control from Him. Shalom is faith that dispels doubt, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:6-7). Like tossing sea waters that kick-up mire and dirt, there is no peace nor purity for the wicked. They do not ask God for it. How can you ask the LORD for His shalom to fall upon you? How can you close all other ways to attain it, except through Jesus?

 
The central truth of this word was –
God has already prepared the way for revival! We had no part in contributing to it. He built the highway to Himself! He removed every obstruction so that His heavenly presence could dwell with the lowly heart. He satisfied His own anger by the sacrifice of His own eternal Son. He gifted us with the power to walk according to His way with the peace that Christ Jesus purchased on our behalf. He warned us there is no other way to be at peace in a revived heart before Him. This must humble us, bring our spirit low to make our heart contrite. Let us come down from our high place of pride and restlessness to His repentance and peace! Be revived!

– *How has the LORD spoken to you today through this?
 
Apply & Be Doers of the Word
 
(1) Let go of your obstruction. It’s in the way of His revival. We can’t experience revival when we’re holding to our obstruction while the vacuum of His peace sweeps our lives. Be humbled by how far God came to you from His eternal habitation. In Christ, you are revived, so release it! Fear Him over everything!  
 
(2) Let us stop guilt-tripping ourselves and others of their sins. In Jesus, the anger of God is removed! We fall under His mercy – not anger. Godly guilt leads to repentance. Sinful guilt leads to condemnation. Although we see the sin in each other, let us be moved to heal one another through forgiveness, correction, training through the Word of God with the empowering help of His Spirit.
 
(3) Do not play around with the path of the wicked. There is no peace there. Stay on His path to revival. Close all other doors, get off every other path, that you strive to attain shalom. It will always be lacking if you stay that course. It will be the ruin of you and others around you. Let’s not be tossed like sea waters, but let the One who can silence the winds and the waves and the seas draw us into Himself, into His ark, into His boat, where can breathe, be revived, and sail through this temporal life into His eternity.
 

Holy Spirit Moment & Group Prayer
Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, and pray for one another.
 
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18)
 
…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)
 
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. (GALATIANS 6:2-5)
 
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (HEBREWS 10:24-25)
 
For the body does not consist of one member but of many... The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 CORINTHIANS 12:14, 21-27)
 
- Jeong’s (Jake, Amanda)
- Lee’s (Sam, Heidi)
- Aiden Song
- Deborah Ko
- Kristen Lee
- Patrick Liu
- Brian Pak
- Samuel Park
- Trey Reynolds
- Tyler Lee
- Edward Jeon
- Johann Lee
- Eugene Hong
- JR Reynolds
- Brian Joo
- James Han
- Winnie Kim
- Philip Oh
- Hana Lee
- Rachel Ko (preschool assistant)
- Hanna Kang
- Soo Nam (Dallas Police)
- Eunice Kim (UT Austin)
- Jedidiah Lim (Louisiana)
- Jeff Park (California)
- Doug Kang
- Stacy Hong
- David An
- Daniel An
- Alice Jeon
- Ashley Min (UTD)
- Mike Choi (drummer, Jeff’s cousin)
- Eric Lee (UTD)
- Lisa Jeon
- Brian Yoon
- Jennifer Chung (UTA)
- June Kim (TWU)
- Hannah Kim (UT Austin)
- Hogan Lee (TCU)
- Steven Kwon (A&M)
- Benny Son (UT Austin)
- Esther Ko (UT Austin)
- Daniel Lee (UT Austin)
- Aaron Lee (Houston, postgraduate optometry)
- Alex Koh (Houston, postgraduate dentistry)
- Matthew Ahn (UT Austin)
- Yura Ahn (UT Austin)
- Katie Han (New York)
- Emily Han (Austin)
- Jung’s (Jae, Mary) – Boston, MA
- Hanbit Kang (Austin)
- Gu Min Chung (Army, Korea)
- Jeanie Yoo (Baylor)

You Do Not Fear Me?
(ISAIAH 57:1-13)
 
Pause & Reflect
 
1 The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart;
devout men are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;
2     he enters into peace;
they rest in their beds
    who walk in their uprightness.

 

1. [v.1-2] *Biblical principle – THOSE WHO DO NOT FEAR GOD HAVE NO HEART FOR HIS RIGHTEOUS – taken away into His peace: When we lose heart to listen to the righteous, God loses heart to keep them in our lives, removing them into His peace. With blind watchmen at the helm of the nation’s corrupt leadership, the remnant of righteous people who lived in holy fear before God grew smaller and smaller. Yet, God was still sovereign over the gradual perishing of the righteous, for He would do this as an act of judgment among the ungodliness of His people. The passing of the righteous into glory was an entrance into His peace and rest, saving them from the calamity of their present evil days. In the same manner, the second coming of Jesus will be inaugurated by the removal of the righteous into His glory – both those who have fallen asleep and those alive at the present time (1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18). We ought to be warned when God-fearing followers of Christ are not present around us and start perishing from our midst.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – Are you laying in your heart to listen with understanding to God’s Word from those He has placed around you? Are you putting yourself in places where God’s Word through God’s people keep appearing or disappearing around you? 
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – Why should we start fearing God when the righteous perish around us and are taken away into His rest? Describe a time when God-fearing people in your life either started passing away (into glory through death) or started moving away (to another far away location). How did you learn to fear God in these circumstances?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – What is the difference between sinful fear (of ourselves and other people) and holy fear (before the LORD)? How can you have holy fear before the LORD today – giving the holy fear of power, obedience, and control over to Him?

 
3 But you, draw near, sons of the sorceress,
    offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.
4 Whom are you mocking? Against whom do you open your mouth wide
    and stick out your tongue? Are you not children of transgression,
    the offspring of deceit,
5 you who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree,
who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they, are your lot; to them you have poured out a drink offering,
    you have brought a grain offering. Shall I relent for these things?
7 On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed,
    and there you went up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost you have set up your memorial;
for, deserting me, you have uncovered your bed,
    you have gone up to it, you have made it wide;
and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,
    you have loved their bed, you have looked on nakedness.
9 You journeyed to the king with oil and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far off, and sent down even to Sheol.
10 You were wearied with the length of your way,
    but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;
you found new life for your strength, and so you were not faint.

 

1. [v.3-10] *Biblical principle – THOSE WHO DO NOT FEAR GOD HAVE NO FAITHFULNESS TO HIS COVENANT – forfeited for other gods: We are committing spiritual adultery without fear before the LORD, burning with lust for other partners that cannot make covenant with us. While drawing away from the righteous, the people drew near to all unrighteousness, likened to being “sons of the sorceress, offspring of the adulterer… children of transgression, the offspring of deceit” – especially under the rule of King Manasseh – the fourteenth king of Judah - who became king at 12 years of age and reigned for 55 years, reinstating polytheistic worship that his father, King Hezekiah, had reformed the nations by condemning. Instead of living into their identity as children of God’s covenant promises, they became children of the flesh. The apostle Paul reminds us, “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring… it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring” (ROMANS 9:6-8).
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – Are you burning with lust for another covenant, wearied in seeking it yet still hopeful to obtain it? What are these alternative covenants in our hearts? Have you ever thought about your relationship with Jesus like a marriage relationship, where Jesus longs for your undivided love and to keep you from other lovers and adulterers that will hurt you?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – Fearing God is like staying faithful in marriage. We should fear straying from the marriage covenant. We should fear unguarding our hearts to let all kinds of polluted emotions and lustful desires enter in. How are you fearing to stray from the LORD’s side? How are you fearing to unguard your heart to other lovers?

 
11 Whom did you dread and fear, so that you lied,
and did not remember me, did not lay it to heart?
Have I not held my peace, even for a long time, and you do not fear me?
12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds, but they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
    The wind will carry them all off, a breath will take them away.
But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land
    and shall inherit my holy mountain.

 

1. [v.11-13] *Biblical principle – THOSE WHO DO NOT FEAR GOD HAVE NO REFUGE FROM HIS JUDGMENT – carried off by the wind: Even a collection of idols cannot weather the winds of His coming judgment. As the rampant idol worship went forward with every kind of corruptible practice among His people, God wonders who made them so afraid to lie to Him, not remember Him, and to not lay in their hearts His Word? The LORD reminds them how He had held His peace out to them for a long time, yet they still did not grow a holy fear for Him. Now, not even their righteousness nor their righteous deeds could profit them. He would leave their collection of idols to deliver them. Yet the idols themselves are too lightweight to do so, for they will be carried away by the wind and disappear like a breath. Yet, those who take refuge in the LORD shall be delivered from exile into the land He had promised for them to inherit. We need to be aware of the collection of idols we are storing-up.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – Do we not fear God? Are we aware there is judgment coming, and not even our righteous deeds will profit us on that day? Is our refuge in the grace of Christ alone, who is the house we can abide in on the solid rock and not shifting sand?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – Describe some of the “collections” you have – perhaps a hobby of collecting a certain item or doing a certain tradition. “Collectables/collections” take a lot of time, searching, sacrifice, and care to gather up! Idolatry also works the same way – before we know it, we can store up a collection of things that are worthless and cannot deliver us in anyway, but only make us more obsessive, intoxicated, and destructive. What are these collectables/collections that cause you to chase after them with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Who is the refuge we can run to in order to be delivered from our collection of idolatry?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – How is fearing God the beginning of the knowledge of His refuge? Will those who fear Him fall under judgment or under mercy?

 
The central truth of this word was –
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (PROVERBS 1:7). “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death” (PROVERBS 14:27). Put your fears in the right place, in the right person! Fearing anything of the world is wrong because its fruit is immorality, intimidation, and infatuation. Fearing God is right because its fruit is holiness, instruction, and wisdom. Do not fear to approach God, for Jesus has made a way for us in His Spirit. But do fear to depart from God, for apart from Him, we can do nothing. Like a child who fears to leave his father’s arms, let us fear departing from Jesus. Stay close to His righteous remnant. Stay faithful to His covenant because He remains faithful. Take refuge in His house, and not your home.

– *How has the LORD spoken to you today through this?
 
Apply & Be Doers of the Word
 
(1) Fearing God means to stay near the people of God – His church. Don’t make God take away the righteous from among you. Don’t make God lose heart for those He sends to you, and remove them from you. We are the body of Christ. Understand why we are together, why God birthed this church at this time, at this location, in this season. Are you in covenant with that? Where are all the godly men and women who fear Him? Every name on AGAPE’s prayer list that is missing among us is precious to the LORD. Let us pray the fear of God in Jesus Christ befalls us all to stay near one another, near to His covenant, and near to His Word.
 
(2) What you fear more than God always appears in private. Examine your heart at that time. As was the case for God’s people then, these are your smooth stones, your uncovered beds, your wearied journey away from fearing God, your burning lust for something or someone that you feel safe to have without anyone’s notice. Well, God notices! He loves you enough to point it out and remove it with fear before Him. Be faithful, because He is faithful! His eyes are on you, so be pleasing in His sight!
 
(3) Take refuge by taking possession. Own what He has entrusted to steward it for His purpose. Those who take refuge in the Lord will possess the land and inherit His holy mountain, says the Lord. They will possess. They will inherit. There is a possession and inheritance for you – that is ultimately the Lord Jesus Christ. We are entrusted with His message of forgiveness and eternal life in His name. Take possession of that. Own that. Take responsibility in building that with all His time, resources, and strength He has provided for you.
 

Holy Spirit Moment & Group Prayer
Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, and pray for one another.
 
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18)
 
…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)
 
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. (GALATIANS 6:2-5)
 
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (HEBREWS 10:24-25)
 
For the body does not consist of one member but of many... The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 CORINTHIANS 12:14, 21-27)
 
- Jeong’s (Jake, Amanda)
- Lee’s (Sam, Heidi)
- Aiden Song
- Deborah Ko
- Kristen Lee
- Patrick Liu
- Brian Pak
- Samuel Park
- Trey Reynolds
- Tyler Lee
- Edward Jeon
- Johann Lee
- Eugene Hong
- JR Reynolds
- Brian Joo
- James Han
- Winnie Kim
- Philip Oh
- Hana Lee
- Rachel Ko (preschool assistant)
- Hanna Kang
- Soo Nam (Dallas Police)
- Eunice Kim (UT Austin)
- Jedidiah Lim (Louisiana)
- Jeff Park (California)
- Doug Kang
- Stacy Hong
- David An
- Daniel An
- Alice Jeon
- Ashley Min (UTD)
- Mike Choi (drummer, Jeff’s cousin)
- Eric Lee (UTD)
- Lisa Jeon
- Brian Yoon
- Jennifer Chung (UTA)
- June Kim (TWU)
- Hannah Kim (UT Austin)
- Hogan Lee (TCU)
- Steven Kwon (A&M)
- Benny Son (UT Austin)
- Esther Ko (UT Austin)
- Daniel Lee (UT Austin)
- Aaron Lee (Houston, postgraduate optometry)
- Alex Koh (Houston, postgraduate dentistry)
- Matthew Ahn (UT Austin)
- Yura Ahn (UT Austin)
- Katie Han (New York)
- Emily Han (Austin)
- Jung’s (Jae, Mary) – Boston, MA
- Hanbit Kang (Austin)
- Gu Min Chung (Army, Korea)
- Jeanie Yoo (Baylor)

His Watchmen are Blind
(ISAIAH 56:9-12)
 
Pause & Reflect
 
9 All you beasts of the field, come to devour--
    all you beasts in the forest.

1. [v.9] *Biblical principle – BLIND WATCHMEN DEPART HIS FLOCK – who become open prey for the beasts: While God’s flock are devoured as the beast’s prey, are we walking away? Just as Jesus could not stand still and watch any longer while His Father’s house of prayer became a den of robbers, are we standing still or even walking away while God’s flock continually become open pray for the demonic beasts of the world? These beasts will not only devour God’s flock, but also their unfaithful watchmen who should have guarded them from the open field of danger. The beasts are invited to come devour, commissioned by the prophet Isaiah himself, especially these watchmen, as a sign of God’s unrelenting wrath against those who lead His sheep astray or fail to keep them to account. Instead of searching, rescuing, and protecting the sheep and His house, they have been idle and fed themselves.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – In what ways are we departing God’s flock – with our presence, with the ministries God has entrusted and called us to do together, with prayerful concern for one another, with forgiveness given and received from each other, etc. – how are we walking away instead of walking into fellowship with Jesus, with His people and aligned to His mission? As a result, in what ways do we live like beasts of the field, devouring everyone in our way and everything in the world apart from the Lord?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – Define “beasts of the field… beasts in the forest” – the demonic influences of the world sourced in the head devil – Satan (the beast of REVELATION 21). What devouring and demonic influences lead us away from the LORD?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – Have you experienced a time when someone who should have been responsible to watch over you failed to do so, even departing you? Have you experienced a time when you should have been responsible to watch over someone, but failed to do so, even departing them? How can Jesus – our faithful watchmen, our good shepherd – speak into both failures and heal us?
   4. *FOCUS QUESTION #4 – How can we stop devouring and start devoting? How can we stop devouring (one another and the world)? How can we start devoting ourselves to Jesus and to one another?

 
10 His watchmen are blind;
    they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent dogs;
    they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
    loving to slumber.
11 The dogs have a mighty appetite;
    they never have enough.
But they are shepherds who have no understanding;
    they have all turned to their own way,
    each to his own gain, one and all.

1. [v.10-11] *Biblical principle – BLIND WATCHMEN NEGLECT HIS FLOCK – without proper warning: While warnings of danger need to be sounded to God’s flock, are we staying silent? When we live like beasts instead of God’s image-bearing humans, there is no sense of godly responsibility. We live with mighty appetites for our own gain, without any understanding or knowledge of our God-given responsibility and purpose to grow into faithful watchmen of His house (His church), that is His flock (His people), whom He purchased by the shed blood of His Son. Instead, we live in negligence of God’s purposes, like blind watchmen, like dogs who are silent and cannot bark when danger is at hand, loving to slumber. Also like dogs, our hunger is set on a mighty appetite of anything on the table (or under the table) of the world – what never satisfies but what we can never get enough of.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – The apostle Peter warns us, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 PETER 5:8). How are we neglecting God’s warnings in His Word as false alarms? How would a lion, a serpent, or a beast (all representations of the devil in Scripture) in our midst seeking someone to devour, bite, and tear us apart change the way we live today?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – What warnings from God (ex. His coming judgment, His call to repentance, His call to forgiveness, His second coming) are we staying silent about and “loving to slumber” about?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – Watchmen warned of approaching danger, signaled entrance into battle, and sounded victory with their hollowed ram’s horn called the shofar. Being called as a watchman required a sense of great responsibility and stewardship to sound the horn at the appropriate time out of a sacred trust from God to care for His people. In our families, God has entrusted us to be watchmen over our children at home. When is a time you sounded the horn (shofar) of alarm in times of danger and the sound of triumph in times of celebration? Are we doing the same for God’s flock in His house? Are we not as responsible for His house as we are for our own homes?
   4. *FOCUS QUESTION #4 – In the world, joy is found “each to his own gain.” Yet in Christ, it is found each to his own loss. Joy in Jesus is found in (J)esus first, (O)thers second, (Y)ourself last. How can we be watchmen who understand this kind of joy from Jesus today?

 
12 “Come,” they say, “let me get wine;
    let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
and tomorrow will be like this day,
    great beyond measure.”

1. [v.12] *Biblical principle – BLIND WATCHMEN STARVE HIS FLOCK – by filling themselves: While we fill ourselves with all kinds of influences to satisfy our appetites, is not God’s flock starving? Why are God’s watchmen acting like they are blind, not sounding the alarm as they should – the alarm that the flood of His judgment against all ungodliness is coming, so build the ark as Noah did, get on that ark of Jesus, be rescued by Jesus? It was because they were dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber, and had a mighty appetite to fill themselves with their own gain. Whether it be intoxicating drinks or the hope of an endless tomorrow, the “relax, eat, drink, be merry” (LUKE 12:19) lifestyle of ignorance to the glory of God or the body of Christ’s flock was of no real concern. By filling themselves, they starved His sheep. By filling themselves, they became ignorant of their responsibility before God and His people.
   1. *FOCUS QUESTION #1 – How are you feeding yourself while starving His sheep? How can we starve our flesh to feed His flock?
   2. *FOCUS QUESTION #2 – How can we not live like “tomorrow will be like this day” but rather like tomorrow will be our last day? If tomorrow were our last day, how would we spend it in the way Jesus desires us to?
   3. *FOCUS QUESTION #3 – As the good shepherd that searches for His one lost sheep until He finds it, how is Jesus like a watchman for us (LUKE 15:1-7)? As the father who waits and watches from afar for his prodigal son to return home, how is our heavenly Father like a watchman for us (LUKE 15:11-32)?   
   4. *PRAY THESE SCRIPTURES:
      1. Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. (EZEKIEL 3:17)
      2. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (REVELATION 1:7-8)
      3. Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 PETER 5:7-10)
      4. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. (PSALM 121:4-7)

 
The central truth of this word was –
We are not the blind leading the blind! Jesus has opened the blinded eyes, deaf ears, mute mouth of His flock. He has called us to the post of His watchmen to sound the alarm of His Word – both to warn His people of danger approaching and to bless His people of victory already-achieved in Christ Jesus’ finished work of the cross and through the resurrection. Take this responsibility seriously! Do not forsake His flock, neglect His flock, nor starve His flock! Instead, grow in covenant with His flock. Nourish them, and as Jesus instructed, “Feed my sheep” (JOHN 21:15-17).

– *How has the LORD spoken to you today through this?
 
Apply & Be Doers of the Word
 
(1) The JOY that only Jesus can bring: (J)esus first. (O)thers second. (Y)ourself last. Take this joy seriously. Take this responsibility as watchmen over His flock seriously. Live with His joy.
 
(2) Sound the alarm! Do not stay silent about what Scripture warns against. The most loving thing we can do is to keep warning one another – not as enemies but as comrades in Christ – of His commands with all gentleness, compassion, and conviction.
 
(3) Feed His sheep! By feeding them, Jesus is feeding you.
 
 

Holy Spirit Moment & Group Prayer
Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, and pray for one another.
 
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18)
 
…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)
 
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. (GALATIANS 6:2-5)
 
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (HEBREWS 10:24-25)
 
For the body does not consist of one member but of many... The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 CORINTHIANS 12:14, 21-27)
 
- Jeong’s (Jake, Amanda)
- Lee’s (Sam, Heidi)
- Aiden Song
- Deborah Ko
- Kristen Lee
- Patrick Liu
- Brian Pak
- Samuel Park
- Trey Reynolds
- Tyler Lee
- Edward Jeon
- Johann Lee
- Eugene Hong
- JR Reynolds
- Brian Joo
- James Han
- Winnie Kim
- Philip Oh
- Hana Lee
- Rachel Ko (preschool assistant)
- Hanna Kang
- Soo Nam (Dallas Police)
- Eunice Kim (UT Austin)
- Jedidiah Lim (Louisiana)
- Jeff Park (California)
- Doug Kang
- Stacy Hong
- David An
- Daniel An
- Alice Jeon
- Ashley Min (UTD)
- Mike Choi (drummer, Jeff’s cousin)
- Eric Lee (UTD)
- Lisa Jeon
- Brian Yoon
- Jennifer Chung (UTA)
- June Kim (TWU)
- Hannah Kim (UT Austin)
- Hogan Lee (TCU)
- Steven Kwon (A&M)
- Benny Son (UT Austin)
- Esther Ko (UT Austin)
- Daniel Lee (UT Austin)
- Aaron Lee (Houston, postgraduate optometry)
- Alex Koh (Houston, postgraduate dentistry)
- Matthew Ahn (UT Austin)
- Yura Ahn (UT Austin)
- Katie Han (New York)
- Emily Han (Austin)
- Jung’s (Jae, Mary) – Boston, MA
- Hanbit Kang (Austin)
- Gu Min Chung (Army, Korea)
- Jeanie Yoo (Baylor)