Friday, March 24, 2017, 8:30 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Look to God.” Speak, Lord, your words
to my heart. I read Isaiah 30:1-18 (Select
vv. NASB).
Rebellious Children (vv. 1-3)
“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord,
“Who execute a plan, but not Mine,
And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit,
In order to add sin to sin;
Who proceed down to Egypt
Without consulting Me,
To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh
And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
“Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame
And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your
humiliation.
The Lord is showing me two
ways in which this applies to the church today. The first has to do with
individual Christians (or professing Christians) who are holding on to old sin
patterns, like they are personal treasures, and who are not willing to
relinquish them. They are willfully going against God’s design and purpose for
their lives. And, they are plotting out how they might continue in their sin
when they think no one is looking, i.e. when they are behind closed doors,
while outwardly they are putting on a façade that all is well, and that they
have no sin issues that are presently plaguing them.
Rather than putting their
faith and trust in the Lord to meet all of their needs, they are going after
idols of men or the things and pleasures of this world to satisfy them. Instead
of embracing the truth of God’s Word and his holiness and righteousness, they
are holding on to the sinful desires of their flesh, i.e. to the sins which so
easily entangle them. As an alternative to trusting in the Lord and in his
deliverance from slavery to sin, they covet their chains (bondage, addiction to
sin) because the sins are emotionally comforting to them. Thus, they don’t want
to let them go. Yet, this will be to their shame and humiliation. Their sins
will not profit them at all.
The second way the Lord is
showing me that these truths apply to the church today has to do with the
church collectively, as the body of Christ, though not all the church. Much of
the church here in America has incorporated the church under the authority
(head) of the federal government of the USA. The government is, in essence, the
church’s “Egypt,” who they went to for protection rather than to God. They
thought that incorporating under the 501c3 non-profit tax status would provide
them a tax shelter so that they would not have to pay taxes, but all churches
were already tax exempt. So, what this did was it turned the church, which is
Christ’s body, into a business, with the government as its head, in place of
Christ. Yet, this will be to their shame. The government will be of no help.
Who Refuse to Listen (vv. 8-11)
Now go, write it on a tablet before them
And inscribe it on a scroll,
That it may serve in the time to come
As a witness forever.
For this is a rebellious people, false sons,
Sons who refuse to listen
To the instruction of the Lord;
Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”;
And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what
is right,
Speak to us pleasant words,
Prophesy illusions.
“Get out of the way, turn aside from the path,
Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
Yet, this is not speaking of
those who don’t know any better. They have the Word of God. They can read what
it teaches them, especially about sin and about unholy alliances. They have the
Word of God taught to them, too, though not all are hearing the truth in their
gatherings, because not all preachers are teaching the truth. But, many of them
do know the truth, but they just aren’t listening. They have the instructions
of the Lord, but they don’t want to hear them, so they close their ears to
them. And, they don’t want to hear those who are speaking the truth, either, because
it makes them uncomfortable, because it challenges them to obey the truth.
And, so they persecute,
falsely accuse, reject, hate and malign those who are telling them the truth of
what God’s Word says about sin. They don’t want to hear the gospel as taught by
Jesus and his NT apostles, but they want a sugar-coated half-truth gospel which
requires no death to sin, no repentance, no submission to Christ, and no
walking in holiness. They want to believe they can say some magic words and
they have their salvation and their promise of heaven guaranteed no matter how
they live their lives from this point forward. So, if someone teaches the truth
that, if we hold on to our old lives of sin, we will lose them for eternity,
then that person is hated and rejected. Yet, that is what Jesus and his NT
apostles taught (See: Lu. 9:23-25; Ro. 6:1-23; Ro. 8:1-14; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn.
1:5-10).
In Repentance and Rest (vv. 15-18)
For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has
said,
“In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,
And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses,”
Therefore you shall flee!
“And we will ride on swift horses,”
Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.
One thousand will flee at the threat of one man;
You will flee at the threat of five,
Until you are left as a flag on a mountain top
And as a signal on a hill.
Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on
you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.
So, God is saying here that,
if you are holding on to sin (patterns, addiction, i.e. the practice of sin),
or if you are clinging to unholy alliances, whatever they may be, and if you
are looking to these things (or people) to meet your needs, rather than looking
to the Lord, then you need to forsake your sins (repent) and turn to follow
Jesus Christ with your lives.
Yet, many are responding to
such words with “No!” Maybe they don’t do this (say this) with their words, but
they say it (do it) with their actions. They will not yield to God, and they
will not forsake their sinful practices or their unholy alliances, because they
want to hold on (cling) to them, because they give them some false sense of
security and/or comfort. Although God has taught them to flee sin, and the
temptation to sin, they are not fleeing. Instead, they are giving the devil a
foothold in their lives by making provision for the flesh. They are playing
with temptation rather than running from it, and then they wonder why they can’t
gain victory over sin.
The Bible, though, teaches
that God disciplines his children, and that he scourges and reproves those he
loves. “He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All
discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to
those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit
of righteousness” (See Heb. 12:1-11). So, we should not be surprised if God
sends some divine discipline our way in order to correct wrong behavior, to get
his children to repent of their sins, and to get them to return to their Lord
as their only God (treasure). Yet, not all discipline is to correct sinful
practices, but it is to prune us so we will be more fruitful, and to mature us
in Christ, and to make us into Christ’s image.
The bottom line in all this
is that God longs to be gracious to you, if you will respond to his pleas to
you to repent of (turn from) your sins, and if you will trust him to meet all
of your needs. He wants to have compassion on you, which is why he waits, and
why he is patient with you. His Word teaches us that if we walk (in lifestyle)
in darkness (sin) or according to our flesh, or according to our old sinful
lives (patterns) that we will die in our sins. We have to take this very
seriously! Our eternity depends on it! He will not wait forever. One day he is
going to come as judge, and he will keep his word. But, if by the Spirit we are
putting to death the deeds of the flesh, and if we lose (forsake) our old lives,
and follow him, we will live with him for eternity.
Look to God
/ An Original Work
November 11, 2016
Fear not. Look to God.
He will strengthen you. He is
your Rock.
He’ll meet all your needs.
Rest in Him, and be filled
with His peace.
When sorrow fills your life,
pray to the Lord.
Believe His promises. Trust
in His Word.
He’ll lead you each day.
Give your life to Him. Follow
His ways.
Lean on Him today.
He will comfort you. Trust
Him always.
Read His Word and pray.
Tell the world of His love
and His grace.
When trials come your way, be
not afraid.
God watches over you. Be not
dismayed.
He’ll work all for good,
For the called of God. Jesus,
they love.
Sing songs. Praise your Lord.
Lift your voice to Him. Shout
out His Word.
He forgave your sins,
Cleansed your heart. You are
made new within.
When you are faced with
temptation to fear,
Remember God will be with
you. He’s near.
He’ll take care of you.
He will keep you in His love,
tis true.
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