Prepare Through Prayer

Isaiah 49:8-26

8Thus says the LORD, “In a favorable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people, To restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages; 9Saying to those who are bound, `Go forth,’ To those who are in darkness, `Show yourselves.’ Along the roads they will feed, And their pasture will be on all bare heights. 10″They will not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down; For He who has compassion on them will lead them And will guide them to springs of water. 11″I will make all My mountains a road, And My highways will be raised up. 12″Behold, these will come from afar; And lo, these will come from the north and from the west, And these from the land of Sinim.” 13Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted.

14But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me.” 15″Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. 16″Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. 17″Your builders hurry; Your destroyers and devastators Will depart from you. 18″Lift up your eyes and look around; All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live,” declares the LORD, “You will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride. 19″For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land– Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who swallowed you will be far away. 20″The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears, `The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.’ 21″Then you will say in your heart, `Who has begotten these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And am barren, an exile and a wanderer? And who has reared these? Behold, I was left alone; From where did these come?’”

22Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My standard to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. 23″Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you will know that I am the LORD; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.

24″Can the prey be taken from the mighty man, Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?” 25Surely, thus says the LORD, “Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued; For I will contend with the one who contends with you, And I will save your sons. 26″I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Hello and welcome to God First, life lessons based on the teachings of Rev Young Hie Paik. Today we will be taking a look at Prepare Through Prayer. Let’s jump right in.

Now is not the time to work on anything other than our faith. We must first be right with God in order for our relationships with family, others, and our jobs can be right. While we are faced with many troubles and challenges in this world, we do have a path to find peace and joy. If we are right with God, then God will take care of us. Do not be afraid or discouraged by the challenges of the world. Let us jump on and run down this path with everything we have. Let us stand at attention and not be diverted from this path by worldly distractions. Nothing happens in this world without God’s authority. Nothing in this world can challenge God’s power.

In this passage we see that the path begins with our preparation through prayer. We must pray in “a favorable time” before troubles come our way, so that we are prepared to persevere and overcome when difficulty comes. When our lives are peaceful, that is the time we must pray. Let’s secure the promise of the Lord’s help in advance, so that He will answer our prayers when the time comes for us to face difficulty:

“And in a day of salvation I have helped You”

If we persevere and remain faithful to the Lord: “I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people, To restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages;” God can make our lives a beautiful place if we are deserving and repentant. “Though your sins are red as scarlet, they will be white as snow.”

We must break free from all things that keep us from living faithfully, going to church, praying, and attending dawn services. God calls for those servants imprisoned to go forth and not be bound:

9Saying to those who are bound, `Go forth,’ To those who are in darkness, `Show yourselves.’ Along the roads they will feed, And their pasture will be on all bare heights.

Free yourselves and escape the darkness of all that holds you back from seeking His truth. No matter how much you want to hold onto these worldly things, they cannot save you. Shed your sin no matter what you believe it may do to your life. While it may seem to cause hunger, loss of a job, and financial ruin, this is the real path to salvation. Wherever you are, bust out from sin because those that do “will not hunger or thirst.” We must believe this truth.

All will be peaceful and satisfying as when the thirsty people drink cool water. In verse 11, it states that God will make all the “mountains” that block us into “roads” providing easier paths. People will come from far away to join us from “the north and farther west.” During the Korean War – a time of great suffering and fear, in which everyone was running around frantically for their lives, we gathered 400 to our service in the countryside when the usual numbers would be 40 to 50 people. We were able to gather with joy and shouting despite threats to our lives. In the face of fear,

“13 Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted.”

For those who pray in preparation, though we face terrible tribulation, God will care for us and enable us to overcome.

When troubles come, we may feel that the “LORD has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me.” But this suffering we experience leads us to genuinely seek God, knowing we have prayed and prepared in advance for His help. This fear will come to us. Let’s be prepared in advance by praying and repenting our sins for these times, so we can rely on them and know they position us to receive God’s help when hardships come. Just as the mother in verse 15 will not “forget her nursing child,” God will not abandon his children who have prayed and sought His help. When trouble has already come, everyone begs for help – but will that help? Indeed, those who may not have prepared and all those who tried to harm you will disappear and become like “jewels,” which adorn you. And all will come and gather around you in your salvation:

18″Lift up your eyes and look around; All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live,” declares the LORD, “You will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride. 19″For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land– Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who swallowed you will be far away.

Remember that God is greater than all those who would harm you. No matter how much we mess up, if we pray and repent, all will gather with us, and the Lord will save us. Just wait and all will happen just as He promised us if we are right with God:

Be patient, and you will all see God’s power and how God treats those who have kept their contract with Him. If we are right with God, “they will bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.” God is powerful and will always deliver as He promised us.

23″Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you will know that I am the LORD; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.

We will know then God’s promise is real. God will fight those against us. Build your temple of faith, and God will cause your enemies to destroy themselves.

God will come and battle your oppressors! This is our only way to live. Pray, repent, and seek God. If we do so, everything is possible. Do these three things. If we pray now, repent all sins immediately, and seek only God from this point on, nothing, no matter how threatening it seems, will be able to hurt you.

This is where all our focus should be. Yet, many churches are not worried about this; instead, we fight and argue. We try to be the most popular or be the most influential. Do we truly believe in our Lord? If we do, we must commit now to praying, repenting, and seeking God. Those who give up their lives for God will find their lives. Those who give up God to hold onto their lives will lose their lives. Believe this! The time to act is now. For the believer, this is life, glory, and peace. Let’s commit to preparing through prayer. Our God is alive.

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1981-10-21a