Speak Now

NOTES FROM A SERMON PRESENTED BY DR. GREG SLOOP AT THE KANNAPOLIS CHURCH OF GOD. FOR VIDEO OF SERVICES, GO TO THE CHURCH WEBSITE, HTTP://WWW.KCOG.ORG, AND CLICK ON THE LIVESTREAM LINK TO VIEW LIVE OR FOR A REPLAY OF THE SERVICES. YOU MAY ALSO WATCH LIVE OR A REPLAY ON the DR. Greg SLOOP FACEBOOK PAGE. FOR AUDIO OF THE SERVICES, GO To THE WEBSITE, kcog.org, AND CLICK ON THE MEDIA PAGE.

February 26, 2023

April 11, 2021

Isaiah 58:1–14 (NKJV)

1 “Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.

• There is a need for a vocal people
• You can be vocal in many ways
  • Direct Communication
  • Activism
  • Prayer

2 Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.

• People like to be able to say that they are Christian
• People like to affiliate with a church
• There is a certain status attached to being religious
• But it is not enough to be affiliated.
• True Christians should be active in their faith, vocal and full of action.

3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’
“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And exploit all your laborers.

• False piety is useless
• Doing anything just to appear holy is just a show, like the Pharisees:
• Don’t expect God to bless your religious action when you are sinful inside and commit overt sin toward others.

4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.

• Do what you do with purity of heart and and with clean motives
• God is calling for a fast, but a new fast that seeks His face and not false piety.

5 Is it a fast that I have chosen,
A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?

• A fast is not for the religious notoriety or the reputation, but rather for the glory of the Lord
• Making a spectacle of a fast removes the benefit of the fast

6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?

• Fasting should be for the purpose of glorifying God and bringing deliverance to others:
• Loose From Wicked Bondage
• Relieve Burdens
• Set Free From Oppression
• Break Yokes of Control

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

• Share with the Needy
• House the Poor and Homeless
• Clothe the Naked
• Care for Your Family

8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

• Shine the Light of God’s Truth
• Heal Quickly
• Show His Righteousness
• Reveal the Glory of the Lord

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,

• The Lord will answer when you call
• Take away the yoke from among you
• Stop Condemning and Start Speaking Life

10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.

• Extend your soul to the hungry
• Satisfy the afflicted
• Your light will shine and illuminate the darkness

11 The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

When you truly follow God, He will:

• Guide you
• Satisfy you
• Strengthen you
• Make you productive

12 Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

God is calling us: 

• to rebuild the places that have been laid waste
• to raise up the foundations of past generations upon which our children will be able to build
• To be the Repairer of the Breach
• To be the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In

13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,

• Honor the Sabbath
• Honor the Lord
• Humble Yourself
• Deny Unholy Pleasures
• Don’t Speak Your Own Thoughts, but the Thoughts of the Lord

14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

• Delight in the Lord, and you will ride on the high hills of the earth.  You will be fed from the heritage of your fathers.
• This promise is spoken from the mouth of the Lord.  

• Speak for Those Who Cannot Speak for Themselves
  • Pray
  • Fast
  • Connect
  • Show Up
  • Speak
  • Act

Artwork from https://misifusa.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/20131121-001631.jpg