August 24, 2008 “A Chip Off  The Old Rock” Isaiah 51

My son Michael’s first semester a college was a disaster. He found many distractions to studying. I couldn’t really give him a hard time, after all, I flunked out of college my first year and almost went to Viet Nam. He was just being a chip off the old block, I guess. The good thing was that he used that bad time as a motivation to continue and do a great job leading to graduation. My daughter Melanie never wanted to be a teacher like her Mom, yet she now has her Masters in Education and is working at National Louis Univ. I guess she was a chip off the old block too.

We are blessed to have two special little ones here for an Affirmation of a Baptism and a Baptism this morning. I’m sure these little babies will also do or say things over the years that will make others say, “They’re just a chip off the old block.”  The fact that they are sleeping during the sermon is just like their Dads do..

I mention this because in Isaiah 51 we read that those who seek the Lord and a desire to be righteous in His sight should remember the rock from which they were chipped and the quarry they came from. An Old Testament Commentary tells us that this was about Abraham and Sarah and all they did for God’s people. Today, I’m going to suggest that for us this Quarry is God the Father, and the Rock from the Quarry is Jesus. Those who trust in Jesus as their Savior and desire to live a life pleasing to Him will want to remember that they are chips off the old Rock from the Quarry of God Himself.

Our sinful nature doesn’t make this easy. Often times we do or say things that do not reflect our faith. Cursing or flipping off another driver from your car that has a “Jesus Loves You” bumper sticker is a mixed message that leads people away from the Lord.
Wearing a cross while you get drunk and tell dirty jokes is a message that leads people away from the Lord. If people act surprised when they find out you’re a church member, this doesn’t look like someone who is a chip off the old Rock.

A chip off the old Rock will want to continue to seek out the Lord for forgiveness of sins and try to live by His Word. 1 Peter 2 tells us that God wants His people to be living stones that reflect Jesus, our Great Stone, our Rock, to others. Faith means I am a chip off the old Rock Who died and rose for my salvation, I want to be a chip off the old Rock, and I want others to know that I am a chip off the old Rock, so that they too might find the hope and comfort I have during the storms of life standing on the Rock.

God expects us to live as chips off the old Rock. He needs us to speak for Him to a world in pain. He counts on us to be His chips in a world lost in the gravel of greed.  As He tells us in Luke 19, if His followers are quiet, the stones will cry out in praise to the Lord. What stones? Those who are chips off the old Rock; you and me.
Amen…pastor matthews