6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— 7 these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (Isaiah 56:6–7, ESV)
Have you ever felt like an outsider? I think that many people do not enter the church because they feel like outsiders and could never participate. In addition to outsiders, I also believe that there are many inside the church who sporadically attend worship service that also feel like outsiders. Outsiders never truly experience the joy of communion.
In Isaiah’s day, there were those of born into the Nation of Israel and those born outside the Nation. The outsiders or foreigners did not have the distinct privilege of participation in worship. Even those who would go through the process of proselyte conversion to Judaism were still, in many ways, looked down upon and restricted in Jewish culture.
The Lord here exhorts the foreigners to be steadfast in the faith. For the steadfast foreigner, the Gentile, will experience the blessing of closeness in worship and fellowship. The prophesy speaks of a time when there would no longer be a difference between the Jew and the Gentile in their relationship to God and access to Him. All would experience the joy of God’s House.
I have thought long and hard about why people do not experience this joy in our churches today. Why do some feel like outsiders and others do not? I think there are three main reasons. First, some are not part of the fellowship since they have not received Christ as Savior and Lord. These truly are outsiders.
Second, some have entered the church fellowship at arm’s length. There seems to be some phobia about joining in. They may not feel they can make the grade of a spiritual person. Perhaps they are afraid of commitment. Perhaps they just have not really tried to connect and participate in a deeper way.
Third, in some cases the people in the church may have created spiritual barriers, ones they do not even realize are there. These barriers happen when people present a holier than thou aura. These barriers also happen when people tend to gravitate towards the people they know well, unknowingly avoiding those they do not know.
The result of all this is that some do not experience the joy of worship and prayer in the fellowship of God’s people. To overcome these three problems, we should take three steps. First, for those outside the church we should build evangelistic relationships and witness to them.
Second, those inside the church who feel as outsiders must overcome their phobias and jump into the spiritual waters. Who knows, they just might find the spiritual water to be refreshing.
Third, those who are experiencing the joy of the fellowship must break down the barriers to true fellowship. Look for the person you do not know and invite them into the deeper fellowship. Show them that it is for everyone and that the deeper spiritual waters are refreshing.
Renewing the Heart 