Q3. Care for the Downtrodden

[Pastor Ralph]

Q3. (Isaiah 57:15) What things do we learn about God in this verse? What is the great paradox here? Why does God care so much about the downtrodden and the contrite? Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity?

 

[hanks]

Q3. (Isaiah 57:15)

What things do we learn about God in this verse?

What is the great paradox here?

Why does God care so much about the downtrodden and the contrite?

Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity?

The things we learn about God here is that He is the “High and Lofty One”, He is eternal, and His name is Holy. God lives in the highest heavens, the heaven of heavens. Heaven not only being high but the highest place in creation. We cannot even begin to compare this place with anything else, either in its glory or beauty; nor is there any other place as holy as it is. But, He has humbled Himself, and also lives in the hearts of believers who feel their sin and the need of God. This is the great paradox. Our Heavenly Father cares and loves us so much that He had His Son, Jesus Christ, die on the Cross for us and come from the high and holy place to dwell among us. No, we can never have the same intensity of care for the downtrodden and contrite here on earth. We can but only try. 

 

 

[Squirt]

Q3. (Isaiah 57:15) What things do we learn about God in this verse?
    Our God esteems those who are humble and contrite and will dwell with them to bind up their wounds and heal them and to encourage and sustain them.  The proud He deals with from afar.

What is the great paradox here?
    Our God is Holy, sovereign, above all things.  Yet He will dwell with the humble and contrite.

Why does God care so much about the downtrodden and the contrite?
    He LOVES.  He is a God of compassion and love and justice and righteousness, and His people are vulnerable to oppression not only from their leaders who are more interested in their own fortunes and position than in the people, but also from their enemies.  A contrite and broken spirit He will not despise.   Those who are the most vulnerable are special to Him, their need and dependence reach out to Him and He responds.      

Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity?
    No.  We will never care with the same intensity as God until Jesus comes again.  We do not have the same intensity that God does.  We care, and are involved in a number of programs to help the needy, and to reach out to the lost,  but we often get too comfortable with our lives and forget for a time the struggles of others.   

[RD35]

What things do we learn about God in this verse?   We learn that God is The High and Lofty One, He is Eternal, He is Holy and His mission is to dwell with the contrite.

 

What is the great paradox here?  The amazing paradox is that this high and holy God is willing to humble himself to live with those who humble themselves before him and repent of their sins.

 

Why does God care so much about the downtrodden and the contrite? To have a broken and a contrite heart means to have a heart which is truly repentant of sin and have a willingness to do whatever God asks us to do without resistance and resentment.  The downtrodden and the contrite stop depending on their own ways and learn to do things God’s way.  They have the highest degree of submissiveness to God and so God cares much about them.

 

Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity?  I care but surely not with the intensity that God cares, help me God to be compassionate and care for the downtrodden and contrite as you would want me to.

[antonate]

we learn that God is a holy God and no unholiness pleases him and no one who is unholy can dwell in his presence.

 

The paradox here is God is holy living in a holy place but also lives with those who are humble in spirit.

 

God cares for the contrite because they choose to walk in the ways of God and not in thier rebellious ways. They choose to humbly walk with their God.

The downtrodden too look to God as their help and strength, their deliverer and provider.

 

our intensity of caring for the downtrodden and contrite is not as the level of God. Yet we try to care for them with his grace and thus honor God.

[angelbaby]

Q3. (Isaiah 57:15) What things do we learn about God in this verse?

           We learn a)  God is holy

                           God lives in eternity

                           c)  God is high and Lofty

                            d) God loves the humble and repentant heart

 

What is the great paradox here?

   The great paradox is that God is high and lofty but He loves to dwell with the poor , lowly and contite ....He is willing to come down from

his Pinnacle of Holiness, Loftiness and dwell witht he poor and lowly and thats  exactly what Jesus Christ did  when he came to earth...He emptieed

Himself of his loftiness and dwelt among us.

 

Why does God care so much about the downtrodden and the contrite?

   God loves the poor , the repentant and those who follow and obey His commands...Jesus Christs  mission was very much the same to serve the downtrodden, prisoners, oppressed  and open the eyes of the blind..and preach the acceptable year of the lord

 

Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity?

 

  I have an affinity for the downtrodden...somehow my friends and dear ones are the meek and of lower strata who only I can be benevolent to ....apart from this I do try to do a food ministry on sundays to the poor, a distribution of milk to children earlier on a regular basis now at intervals, on a wedding ann i entertained the families of the poor, sponsor couple of children for education, health and welfare,preach the good news to the labourers and workmen who come to my home throughout the year, gift donations to workmen who do not get jobs in off season and regularly visit orphangaes, widows homes and destitiute homes....tried to visit the prisoners but could do it only twice as special permission is needed........still I think I am not doing enough now as there is a language problem in this place of India where I have recently come ...people talk Malayalam in kerala so the majority of people talk this and are not very conversant in English or Hindi.. whereas I talk Hindi from the north  

 

  I do not know the personal lives of the congregation hear as I live 30 miles away from the church I attend on Sundays...not much interaction with the congregation, but I do know that many participate in the outreach programmes to the down trodden..in  feeding the needy programme at the church, the orphanage run by the church, the HIV + / AIDS  help programme by the church ,  the building of houses for the poorer strata of the congregation...every year one house is built...etc .

 

[Lion of Grace]

We learn from these verses that God is kind. He cares for the down and out, the outcast, the forgotten ones, the unpopular, those who are burdened by life and by our sins. He is gentle and humble in heart and desires that we find rest for our souls. He wants to take our burdens upon Himself if we would just accept Him and allow Him to.

 

The paradox here is that God is most holy, higher than all things, esteemed greater than anything and yet, He is willing to bend down to the unholy, to the lowest of lowly, the humble and contrite. In our society and worldliness and even in churches I'm sad to say, we would think He champions those who "appear" holier than others and who lead so called good lives or are esteemed in their positions. Jesus, on the other hand, seeks the fallen, the sinner, the hurting and those in despair and I am eternally grateful for that!

 

God cares for the downtrodden and the contrite because He sees our souls showing regret for our bad behaviors (contrite) and He knows that the burden from these sins have given us a heavy load of guilt. He wants us to take our guilt to Him who already bore it on the cross and He wants to set us free! He wants to bring wholeness and healing to us. He has compassion on us. He knows what it is like to live as us.

 

No, I don't think I or my church congregation care for others with the same intensity. We judge too much, pick and choose too much and really don't give our hearts to people with the same intensity.

[Delivered]

Q3. (Isaiah 57:15) What things do we learn about God in this verse?

What I learned is, the One who dwells in the high and holy place will also dwell in the heart of those of a "contrite and humble spirit" - in the heart of those whose hearts have been humbled, in the hearts that cry out to be revived from the crushing weight of their "SIN"

 

What is the great paradox here?

The paradox is, there was and is hope for those of a contrite and humble spirit, those who do not want to continue to walk under the crushing pain of sin, the paradox is, the God that is higher than high, will come to revive and rescue them.

 

 

 

[Guitar Jim]

Q3. (Isaiah 57:15) What things do we learn about God in this verse?

 

We learn that God is with the humble and contrite people who call on Him for help and who desire Him to be their portion.

 

 

 

What is the great paradox here?

 

We have the great Creator of Heaven and Earth willing to live with (in the form of His Holy Spirit) the humblest people who, by the world's standards would be beneath His notice. Jesus once said: "I thank you Father that you have shown the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned. Yes, that is how you want it to be."

God is no respecter of persons. All the worldly knowledge we can attain in our own strength won't advance us in the Kingdom of God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

 

 

Why does God care so much about the downtrodden and the contrite?

 

Because He is a God of love. Right through the Old Testament, in the prophetic writings there is a theme that God is pleased when His people care for the widows, orphans, aliens, etc, that are left behind in the social system.

 

 

 

Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity?

 

I don't currently belong to a congregation. When I did, I must say they picked and chose whom they'd care for. With a wife and an 8 year old daughter to support, I was made redundant from my truck driving job that I'd had for 15 years. The pastor came to me the Sunday after that happened and asked me if I'd gotten a redundancy payout and I said yes. He literally turned his back on me a walked away! . . . in haste I might add. When when I got another job straight away, I'd been working there only 7 weeks and tore the bicep tendon off the bone in my left shoulder. In Australia we drive on the left side of the road and my left arm is my gear jammin' arm. I couldn't drive. No one offered to assist me in getting an alternative job. No one offered my wife an office job. Yet a guy who DIDN'T have long hair and a beard lost HIS job and the whole church family rallied to get him another job within a week! That's all I'm gonna say about that. I've forgiven that congregation in Christ but I wouldn't go back there.

 

 

 

[wjcargile]

1. What things we learn about God in this verse?

-God,the creator of this universe, lives in the HOLY OF HOLY, lower Himself to revive our broken hearts and spirits. Demonstrating His love and compassion for us which passes our understanding.

2. What is the great paradox here?

-Our Holy God who is in Heaven, came down to earth to save us from our hurts, pains and sins.

3. Why does God cares so much about the downhearten and contrite?

-Because of His love and compassion for us. He has our full attention when we are broken and downhearted. (Ps.51:17) "The sacifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart, O God you will not despise."

4. Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity?

No, not with the same intensity that God has for us.

[humblejon]

Although He is the Almighty, God looks with favor, compassion, and acceptance towards the humbled and repentant--quite a contrast or paradox that the High and Mighty welcomes the lowly and guilty.

God cares because God is Love.

I try to reach out and seek those who are hurting.

[Jen]

Q3. (Isaiah 57:15) What things do we learn about God in this verse? What is the great paradox here? Why does God care so much about the downtrodden and the contrite? Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity?

 

Wow!  What a mighty God we serve.  He who is high and exalted lives in the heart of the contrite and downtrodden.  Why does God care so much about downtrodden and contrite?  Because of who He is. He who came to live among us in a most humble manner to show us that it is not about what we have but who we are and to show us who He is and what He loves.

Same intensity? No  however many people here do care about those who are hurting.  As one person put it if something happens to one of us it happens to all of us.  Of course there again seems to be that natural propensity to not include "foreigners".

 

God Bless!

Jen

Romans 15:13

[IvoryEagle]

Now the Lord speaks to this faithful remnant.

"For this is what the high and lofty One says -- 
he who lives forever, whose name is holy: 
'I live[214] in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, 
to revive the spirit of the lowly 
and to revive the heart of the contrite.'" (57:15)

 

 What things do we learn about God in this verse?  GOD IS MORE IN THE HEART THAN THE PLACE.

 

What is the great paradox here? GOD IS THE ULTIMATE IN THE HIGH PLACE AND ULTIMATE IN THE LOW PLACE.

 

Why does God care so much about the downtrodden and the contrite?  IF THEY LOVE HIM, HE WANTS TO LIFT THEM UP.

 

Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity?  WE WOULD LIKE TO THINK SO.  I THINK WE HAVE HEART WORK TO DO.

 

 

 

[Renson gona]

Q 1. What things do we learn about God in this verse?

• God is supreme above all.
• Our God is Holy
• God is close to the humble and repentant.

Q 2. What is the great paradox here?

       Our God lives in high places and at the same time lives with people

       of contrite spirit

Q 3. Why does God care so much about the downtrodden?

        It is part of Gods attributes to defend the poor, weak, and the downtrodden

       Read with me the following :- Amos 1:13-15 , Psalms 68:5

Q 4. Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden?

•  Have seen my pastor stand firmly to defend some orphaned children in our church

           whose land was being grabed

• Where i have gotten opportunity, i have tried to stand for the oppressed more so in

          my workplace.

[JanMary]

On 8/2/2013 at 8:38 AM, Pastor Ralph said:

 

Q3. (Isaiah 57:15) What things do we learn about God in this verse?

God is High and lofty,

He inhabits eternity,

His Name is Holy.

He lives in a high and holy place

What is the great paradox here?

Jesus left this high estate to inhabit a frail human body...He came down to dwell in this fallen world among sinners....to save us! And now His Holy Spirit remains in and with believers in our low, bruised and sorrowful estate...to comfort, and to revive us!

Why does God care so much about the downtrodden and the contrite?

Ps. 103:14 "For He knows our frame, He earnestly remembers and imprints on His heart that we are dust."  He showed me once when I was struggling to do things on my own apart from Him, that He sees me as I saw my beautiful children at age 2 and 3....trying to be independent but ill equipped for much other than child's play. He loves and cherishes each one of us, and a contrite heart melts His.

Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity?

I love that the congregation to which He's led us, is just that....we've joined with about 15 or 20 churches in our area in "City Serve" which ministers in a powerful and wonderful way to all aspects of both downtrodden and contrite....from children on the local military base for Bible camps, to the Crisis pregnancy center, meals and medicine for the homeless,  provision for missionary families.. Housing for the homeless, assistance in every way necessary, including help in finding work for those who are able.

[WinstonY]

Question 10 -3

 

In this verse, Isaiah 57:15 , we learn of the exalted nature of our God.  He is the one who sits on the throne surrounded by cherubs (Isaiah 6:2-4) .  He is the god that inhabits eternity and who is eternity.  Without this God there would be nothingness.   As well this God is holy - set apart from all else.  Yet this amazing awe and inspiring God has yet another side.  This God is also humble and reside with the humble.  It is this great humble characteristic of God which allows God as the human Jesus to be led to the cross - humbled and contrite.  It is the same humility which allows this God to be crucified , dead and be buried but it is the awesome , powerful, omnipotent God this exalted God who enables resurrection to happen.  This God is close to the broken-hearted and saves those with a crushed spirit.  God cares for the lowly and responds to their needs.  

 

We learn that God lives both on high and is exalted but also lives with those who are contrite and humble in spirit.  In this verse we can see the premise of the liberation theology foundation that ‘ God loves the poor’.

 

The downtrodden and contrite are loved because they are poor - not because they are better.  They are poor , usually, for no reason of their own it is just the situation.  The poor may be oppressed, they may be disadvantaged, they may live in an area with fewer resources.  But because they are poor, downtrodden and humble they are loved by God.  It is rather interesting to note that in Leviticus   the sacrifice for a poor person is less than that of the rich!

 

 

My congregation and I do not care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity.  My wife and I give strongly to the church’s Mission and Service Fund.  We donate heavily to the local food bank with groceries and each summer we grow vegetables for the food bank.  But this is as far as we go.  We do not volunteer and become directly involved with the poor.  

 

winstony

[Old Jerry]

The thing that I learn about God in this verse is that he loves a contrite heart. If we are willing to yield to His ways and follow Him then He will watch out for us. And the paradox here is that He is will to live with us. God cares for the downtrodden and the contrite because He knows that they are trying to live the way that He says. Our congregation does care for the downtrodden and the contrite but not the way that God can.

[RebeccaL]

On 8/2/2013 at 4:38 PM, Pastor Ralph said:

Q3. (Isaiah 57:15) What things do we learn about God in this verse?

We learn that God comes close to those are weary, or broken-hearted in some way, or have failed themselves in some way and are asking God for help and want a new way of life, or perhaps just want some relief. If their hearts believe that God is who he says he is, then he is right there with them.

What is the great paradox here?
God, being the holiest being, purest in love, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, the Creator of all that we see and all that we are, emptied himself of his power and became a lowly human, just like us, so that he could walk with us, and teach us at our level.

Why does God care so much about the downtrodden and the contrite?

Perhaps because they are lost, and when found all the angels celebrate, and they like to celebrate! ? But seriously maybe it’s because saving the lost adds to God’s Kingdom on Earth. Jesus said the Kingdom is at hand, and while here on Earth isn’t what it will be like when we are with God as described in Revelation 21, it is a peek at what it will be like. When we have community and are helping and serving one another, loving our neighbors, it’s a peek at what it will be like. At the moment, with COVID-19 still rampant, community is impossible, so there are probably a lot of people in need of help.

Do you and your congregation care for the downtrodden and contrite with the same intensity? No way. I personally don’t and I would really like to. There is a homeless man in town who I have food to one day, and I had intended on bringing him food regularly going forward, but then COVID-19 happened. I don’t even know where he is. It’s a challenge to help people right now. Hmm, I think I will pray about this and try to find a way to help.

 

 

[Krissi]

In the beginning of Isaiah 57, God protected some of the righteous remnant by making them die prematurely.  Rather than deal with the evil rulers who caused their suffering, he let some of the faithful people die. I don't understand this.

At least a few lived, however -- the remaining remnant -- who made Him their refuge.

He did come "down" to those who are genuinely contrite and "lowly in spirit." This lowliness has nothing to do with wealth, prestige or social class, or even the preferred categories of race, gender and sexual "orientation," but has to do with an attitude toward God which humbly acknowledges one's own tendency toward sinfulness, and exposes one's own actual, sinful deeds/thoughts. After such an acknowledgement, there is a corresponding sense of hopelessness, for one knows that sin is overwhelming and, though battled, never disappears.

The three characteristics of God that Pastor Ralph described are His higher status than all other religions/ideologies, His eternality and HIs Holiness. Humans have none of these qualities. Thus, the paradox is that He sees us for what we are and yet, still, amazingly, becomes Jesus for us. He comes into our world, without sinfulness, without losing HIs holiness ... yet he comes.

I don't think God cares for some categories of people -- widows, orphans, etc. -- more than others. I think He is searching for individuals who have an honest and accurate attitude that involves self-recognition, a person who sees himself/herself as a hopeless sinner. That's the contrition He wants.  Such contrition is honest about one's condition. Downtroddenness is a necessary consequence of such honesty. It is NOT a sociopolitical category, but rather a humbled spiritual and emotional frame of mind and contrite basis of thinking that transcends mere income and social status.

 

[crissy464]

I learn that God dwells in the high and holy place of his eternal transcendence where no one else can go and also dwells with him who is of a contrite and lovely spirit.

The idols and their worshippers shall come to nothing; but those who trust in God's grace, shall be brought to the joys of heaven. With the Lord there is neither beginning of days, nor end of life, nor change of time. His name is holy, and all must know him as a holy God.
 

[Kak]

Q3.We learn that God is above all other beings. God is in Eternity. God is Holy, set apart and sinless but the paradox is that despite how Holy God is He is willing to commune with those who have a contrite heart and seek to follow Him daily. God loves us so much that He came to live in a sinful world and to die a horrible death so we have the opportunity to spend Eternity in His presence. If we don’t take this opportunity we will perish and be separated from God for ever. 
 

I don’t think any of us has the capacity to love and care for the poor and downtrodden the way God does. We are all too taken up with our own lives. Some people are extremely generous with time, money and other resources but others are not or lack the ability to be able to help much. At times it can be difficult to know what to do in certain situations. Our church is involved in various projects and organisations that help the poor. Some have been on short term missions. However we do not do enough!