「神が約束された聖霊の働き」 六月第一主日礼拝 宣教 2025年6月1日
イザヤ書 Isaiah 32章15〜20節 牧師 河野信一郎
Good morning, and welcome to the first morning of June. I thank God for the blessing of being invited to the chapel and to be a worshipper with you all on this Lord’s Day. Guests, welcome to Okubo Church. Yesterday, it rained cold rain all day, as if we were back in the late winter, but it is forecast to get hot again this Wednesday. The temperature difference between the two is quite extreme, and it is easy to get sick, so please take good care of yourself.
Well, we had a very gratifying evening service last week on the 25th. For the first time in about six months, there were two new visitors. Both of them were looking for a church, and one of them had been attending our evening worship service through live-streaming for a long time, and she made a big decision to come to Okubo Church. I heard that about 8 people attend the evening service each time through the live webcast. I have no idea who is attending the service and where they live, but I was moved by the work of the Holy Spirit when I heard that one of them gathered up her courage and came to the service this time. Please pray that the live-streaming of the morning service and evening service will continue to be used for the salvation of as many people as possible, that it will be a blessing in their lives of faith, and that you will also pray for the workers.
Now, next Sunday morning service on the 8th will be offered as a Pentecostal service. Before Jesus was lifted up to heaven, He commanded His disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit that God had promised. As He said, the Spirit of God descended on His disciples and filled them with the Holy Spirit, giving birth to Christ Church. This month we celebrate the birth of Christ Church, and in July we will celebrate the 60th birthday of Okubo Church, so please join us for worship on the 8th.
Now, before I start my message, I would like to share one more very important thing with you. As you may already know from various news reports, last week on May 28, there was a news story about a village with a population of 300 called Bratten in Switzerland, a beautiful country rich in nature, where a melting glacier collapsed and swallowed by a massive mudslide. I have prepared some photos, but such an idyllic village was buried in an instant. Global warming has caused a series of large-scale natural disasters related to glaciers in many parts of the world, but in this village of Bratten, despite such extensive damage, surprisingly, 299 villagers were saved and only one person is missing. Why did such a miracle happen?
This is because the local disaster management authorities had alerted all villagers to the danger of mudslides, and they had complied with the warning and evacuated by May 19. The authorities and experts responsible for protecting the lives of the villagers did their job and issued warnings, and the villagers heeded the warnings, losing their houses and the entire village, but saving the lives of the most important people in the village and their livestock. From the 19th to the 24th, when the villagers evacuated, there was some skepticism that a major mudslide would actually occur. But on the 25th, the villagers were happy and grateful that the disaster management authorities were right. They must have felt relieved that they had not made a mistake in deciding to evacuate.
What should we, who live in Japan, far from Switzerland, learn from this remarkable example of a village? What should we Christians, the Christian church, learn from this? There are many lessons to be learned. First, we must acknowledge that we are responsible for global warming, repent, and work to prevent further destruction of nature. Politicians and government officials must cooperate fully with researchers, do their utmost to prevent disasters, and work for the safety of people’s lives. The public must listen to the warnings of the researchers that are transmitted through the government and other organizations. The power of nature should not be underestimated.
What is the responsibility of us Christians and all Christian churches to fulfill? It is to go out into the communities in which we live and share God’s word, Jesus Christ, and God’s love with all people. There is much comfort and encouragement in Jesus’ words, but there are also many words of invitation to turn to God, words that lead to repentance, and words of warning. We need to share not only words that are comforting to people, but also words that are jarring to those who hear them, telling them that we have a weakness, that we have sin, and that we need to turn to God. But at the root of these words is God’s love. If all people, including us, do not listen to God’s word, there is no taking it back. We must never underestimate the power of God’s Word, the Word of Jesus.
It must have been difficult for them to leave their villages and their lives behind. I imagine it was a difficult choice. It would be very difficult for us to make the decision to leave everything behind and evacuate when we have similar warnings for those around us. Many of us live our lives with anxiety, hoping that such natural disasters and terrible things will not happen to us. But is it really necessary to evacuate when the danger of losing one’s life is steadily approaching? Is it really our responsibility to evacuate when we are in danger of losing our lives? If each person is responsible for his or her own actions, can we just dismiss this person as having survived because he or she heeded the warnings, but this person may die because he or she did not follow the warnings? Does God make such a distinction?
No, God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to us so that none of us would perish but have eternal life. He sent His beloved Son to be our Savior, to bear all our sins and iniquities in Him, and to die an atoning death on the cross. What parent would do such a thing? God created us and gave us life. He created us and gave us life so that we might live forever in His love. However, the mistakes we have made unconsciously and the sins we have committed consciously have taken their toll on us, and we are in danger of experiencing eternal darkness, where our minds and bodies will be swallowed up by sin and buried in death. God took pity on us and gave us Jesus.
When we read Isaiah 32 from the beginning, verses 1 through 8 prophesy that a king will rule the land with justice and that his high officials will protect the lives and livelihood of the people with justice. This describes that Jesus Christ will rule the land as King, and those who confess and obey Christ Jesus as Lord will faithfully serve the King and faithfully serve and work for the people. At the same time, however, it also tells us that there will be people in the land who will ignore God, think foolish things, and plot mischief, afflicting those who are hungry and thirsty for life.
Verses 9-14 prophetically describe the lives of those who live for the day, whose hearts are so enchanted by the glittering things in front of them that they make no provision for the future. However, calamity befalls those who do not listen to God’s word at all. Natural disasters cause a complete loss of the grape harvest, and they suddenly find themselves in a state of panic. The vineyards are covered with thorns and other debris and cannot be harvested. The bustle of the town disappears and the hills become a place where wild animals graze. Because they do not fear God, do not obey God’s word, and live selfishly, when they are faced with problems beyond their control, they lose all purpose, meaning, and hope in life.
God, through the prophet Isaiah, told us to repent in chapter 30:15, “Turn to Me and be quiet, and you will be saved; be sober, and trust in Me, and you will have strength”. But God says, “You did not want this”. But God, who is full of mercy, loves us and does not want us to perish. Therefore, He sent the Savior, the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, to accomplish the work of salvation through the proclamation of God’s love, His death on the cross, and His resurrection.
This Jesus commanded his beloved disciples, “Wait for the time when the Holy Spirit, whom God the Father has promised, will descend upon you and you will be filled with his Spirit,” and the time has come for God’s promise in Isaiah 32 to be fulfilled.
Verses 15 and 16 say, “At last the Spirit will be poured out on us from on high. The wilderness will become a garden, and the garden will be considered a forest. Then equity will dwell in the wilderness, and justice in the garden”. The Spirit of God will be poured out in abundance on those who listen to and obey the words of Jesus Christ, His disciples. What is it poured out for? To be filled with the Holy Spirit, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to share God’s love with those who live on the face of the earth.
The Holy Spirit is poured out on us so that we may serve the Lord faithfully as servants of Jesus, the King of Kings, and serve people faithfully. As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we share God’s love, and fairness comes to dwell in the wilderness, God’s justice transforms the wilderness into a garden, and the garden becomes a forest in God’s peace, and the people living there are celebrated and filled with grapes and plenty of food.
When the Holy Spirit is poured out, we are given the assurance of salvation, our trust in God and Jesus is further strengthened, our hearts are healed as we are kept alive in love, and we are given joy, gratitude, peace, and strength to live that only God can give. However, verse 19 says that those who do not receive God’s love and forgiveness and try to live their lives seeking happiness in their own strength, even though they are now living in a large forest and a wonderful town, hail will fall on them and the town will be greatly humiliated.
Verse 20 says, “How blessed are you who sow your seed by all the waters, and let your oxen and your asses go free!” Isaiah 1:3 reads, “How blessed are you who sow seed by all the waters and let your oxen and your asses run free! Isaiah 1:3 reads, “The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master’s manger. Cattle and asses represent animals that do not forget their masters, that is, God’s love and favor. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can experience daily that we are loved by God and Jesus, and we are made to live wholeheartedly serving the Lord. This is not our power, but God’s power, the power of the Holy Spirit.