Embracing Humility: God's Call to the Contrite

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This is the one I esteem he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. Or in the revised standard version which is the version that I first learned this in it reads as follows but this is the man to whom I will look he that is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. [00:44:16]

The heart of the message is God's self-revelation to a nation that did not call on my name. I said and of course we know this to be the case but it is good to affirm it that the Lord reaches out to people through his word. Isaiah understood this when in chapter six as you will recall he was confronted by the manifestation of God in all his immensity. [00:08:40]

The immensity of God the immensity of God heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool now we're not unfamiliar with the fact that God's footstool is described in various ways in the old testament in first chronicles it is the house that was built or the ark that was contained within the house this great picture of God's mercy with his feet as it were on the mercy seat in the ark. [00:13:14]

The focus of God today says Isaiah is not where men and women would expect it to be in the New York Times this morning I noted that there was a big presentation of the Greek Orthodox and the Roman Catholics and a number of people all going back into the church of the nativity in Bethlehem as if somehow or another this was an expression of a great answer to anything. [00:19:00]

This is the man to whom I will look he that is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word the focus of God is not where men and women might expect it to be but it is with the individual who has a trembling reverence for his word. [00:22:10]

Now this trembling at the word of God is nothing other than a sensitive desire to be obedient to it a sensitive desire to be obedient to it. So where are we well we're at nine minutes to five we noted the immensity of God that the very earth about which we make such a fuss is just his footstool. [00:26:58]

The priority of God is not on the structure but on the servant and a servant characterized by three things humility contrition and sensitivity that yields itself in obedience. Well then this provides for us two things first an examination and finally a word of encouragement doesn't this examine your heart take the test. [00:28:31]

When we find ourselves feeling that we're really at the bottom of the pile that the impact of others seems so so strong so influential that we need to remember that God's gaze the priority of God is on the humble contrite trembling servant. I say well at least I can make an attempt at that by God's enabling right and with the help of those who love us and care for us. [00:40:09]

We become so familiar with the bible don't we as part of our task the whole idea of a sensitive obedience to it is a different test than the question on the test are you familiar with it or are you able in it or are you able to preach from it that's not the test the test is am I sensitized to it. [00:36:24]

The test is am I sensitized to it I don't want to be unkind to any of you but I do want to say this that I do think that the way in which the scriptures are read publicly by an individual says something at least conveys something about the view of scripture which they hold. [00:36:24]

When I read verse 2 in the second part it describes the person I aspire to be when I read the second half of verse 2 it describes the person which essentially I'm not when I read the second half of verse 2 it describes the person that I so clearly need to be and when I read the second half half of verse 2 it describes the person that by God's grace I may be. [00:38:12]

We ask that at the very threshold of our hours together over these next few days that you will remind us of your vastness forgive us when our preoccupation with ourselves somehow clouds the greatness and the wonder of who you are we pray too that as we think on that that we might marvel again at your priority that we will be challenged before the three questions on the test. [00:41:15]

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