God blesses obedient worship.

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.  (9)  Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.

Isaiah 58:8-9a

And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:  (11)  And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.  (12)  And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 

Isaiah 58:10-12 

Explanation:

Most fathers love to bless their children.  This is a point that Jesus made.

If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?  (12)  Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  (13)  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Luke 11:11-13 

In this passage God has answered the question of those in Israel who were asking why God did not seem to be responding to their expressions of worship.  He told them that they were practicing oppression and selfishness along with their worship.  The remedy He called for was to offer expressions of worship that lead to sanctification, mercy, justice, generosity, selflessness, fleeing injustice and expressing compassion. In today’s verses we see that the results of these expressions of genuine worship toward God would lead to the blessings of God in their lives.  Look at the expressions of blessing God promises will be poured out to the children of Israel when they forsook empty worship, and worshipped God authentically:

Light

“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning…” v.8

“then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday…” v.10 

Health

“and thine health shall spring forth speedily…” v.8

Righteousness

“and thy righteousness shall go before thee…” v.8

Reward

“the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward..” v.9

Answered Prayer

“then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am….” v.9

Guidance

“And the LORD shall guide thee continually…” v. 11

Provision

“…and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” . v.11

Legacy

“And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.”  v.12

Application:

Do you want to live under the blessing of God?  Do you want to have a legacy of being used by God to make a difference in the lives of those around you?  If you do, you must reject empty ritualism.  You must reject oppression and selfishness.  You must reject a kind of worship that seeks to manipulate God into getting what you want.  You must understand that God expects genuine, authentic worship.  God’s desire is to bless those who are obedient.  The first step of obedience is to trust in Christ as your personal Savior.  We must acknowledge our sin and repent.  We must turn to Him by faith, knowing that outside of Jesus Christ we are lost and still in our sin.  Once we are saved, we can offer God worship that honors and glorifies Him.  We become one of His kids, and like a loving Father, He blesses His obedient children.

Response:

Do you know Christ as Savior?  Jesus said that no man comes to the Father except by Him.  Trust in Christ today?

Believers, is your worship of God regular and authentic?  God blesses obedience!