I believe God has a specific message for the church in
America today, as a practical application of the biblical truths found in this
passage of scripture. Nonetheless, if you don’t live in America, still the
biblical truths expressed here may apply to you, too, across the globe, if this
fits where you are.
Although this certainly does not apply to every individual
believer in Jesus Christ, nor to every congregation of believers in Jesus,
still I believe this message does apply on a very large scale across America,
so I am going to share what I believe the message is that God has for the
church, at large, in America today.
Isaiah 1:1-4 ESV
The vision of Isaiah
the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of
Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Hear, O heavens, and
give ear, O earth;
for the Lord has spoken:
“Children have I
reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me.
The ox knows its
owner,
and the donkey its master's crib,
but Israel does not
know,
my people do not understand.”
Ah, sinful nation,
a people laden with iniquity,
offspring of
evildoers,
children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the
Lord,
they have despised the Holy One of Israel,
they are utterly estranged.
I believe the Lord is saying that the church here, at large,
has forsaken their Lord, and they have rebelled against him. They are a people weighed
down with sinful practices, who despise the Lord, and who deal corruptly.
For one, they have gone to bed, so to speak, with the US
government which is beholden to the “All-Seeing Eye” of the elite, wealthy and
powerful of this world, i.e. to the beastly New World Order.
This defies God’s command for his people not to be unequally
yoked together with unbelievers, and it defies his command to not put any other
gods before him. For, by partnering with the government, via the 501c3, the
church has placed the government as head over the church in place of Jesus
Christ. And, it defies his command that we not bow to the beast or take its
mark (influence, character) upon us, too.
Also, going along with incorporating the church underneath
the federal government of the USA, the body of Christ was turned into a
business (of men) and is being marketed just like any other business, using the
same or similar ungodly business practices and marketing schemes in order to
draw in large crowds of people (the world) to their businesses. And, this
defies Jesus’ command that we not turn his house into a marketplace.
As a result of all of this – and I am not saying some of
this did not exist before this time in our history – the church, in trying to
attract the world to its businesses, has diluted the gospel message, too, to
make it more attractive and appealing to the world. They have, thus, removed
the necessity of death to sin and living to righteousness from the gospel, and they
have turned God’s grace into a license for immorality.
And, as a result of that, sin, especially sexual sin, is
rampant in the church and among its leadership, and the church is on a huge
moral and spiritual decline because of it, to the point of almost becoming like
Sodom and Gomorrah. And, the Spirit of God is grieved over the condition of his
church.
Isaiah 1:5-8 ESV
Why will you still be
struck down?
Why will you continue to rebel?
The whole head is
sick,
and the whole heart faint.
From the sole of the
foot even to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and raw wounds;
they are not pressed
out or bound up
or softened with oil.
Your country lies
desolate;
your cities are burned with fire;
in your very presence
foreigners devour your land;
it is desolate, as overthrown by
foreigners.
And the daughter of
Zion is left
like a booth in a vineyard,
like a lodge in a
cucumber field,
like a besieged city.
America has been besieged by the New World Order beast, and
we have been taken over by foreigners (this global government), whether we
realize it or not. The symbols for this takeover are on our national seal. This
All-Seeing Eye of the elite, wealthy, and powerful of the world, has been the
de facto government of these United States, perhaps from the very beginning of
our nation, but most certainly has been for a very long time.
Our government leaders have no real power or authority over
this nation. They are just figure-heads. They are actors playing their parts in
a play which is being performed on the world stage. And, so much of what they
present to us is not the reality of what is really happening at all. For,
Republican and Democrat are just two sides of the same whole, and they report
to and serve the same people, i.e. this New World Order beast.
More and more each day we are seeing a massive spiritual and
moral decline in our nation, and an upsurge of violence, war, infightings,
upheaval, fear, fakery, deception, and manipulations of people’s minds and
hearts.
Christians who are following the Lord in obedience to his
will and to his ways are being persecuted for their faith in Christ, even
within the church, as our church and government leaders more and more are
pushing for world peace and unity among all people of all religions and all walks
of life.
Isaiah 1:11-15 ESV
“What to me is the multitude of your
sacrifices?
says the Lord;
I have had enough of
burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in
the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
“When you come to
appear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
Bring no more vain
offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath
and the calling of convocations—
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn
assembly.
Your new moons and
your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a
burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out
your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make
many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
So many people in this nation who call themselves Christians
think it is enough if they go to a church service once a week, or once a year,
for some. They think it is enough if they give money to the church or if they
donate to charitable organizations, or if they are involved in some kind of
church ministry or community outreach. They think, too, that they are
worshipping God if they attend a worship service and they sing praise and
worship songs.
But, that is not what God requires of us. He is not
interested in what we are willing to do for him out of our own thinking and
reasoning, especially if we are holding on to sinful practices and we are not
willing to yield to his Lordship over our lives. He is not interested in our
forms of worship, either, if our hearts are far from him. What he requires of
us is death to our old lives and that we be born anew of the Spirit of God, and
that we now walk in his holiness and righteousness in submission to his will
and to his ways.
The worship of him that he requires of us is that we give
our lives to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our
reasonable and acceptable service of worship of him. And, included in this is
that we no longer be conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but that we
are transformed of the Spirit of God in the renewing of our minds so that we
leave our lives of sin behind us and we now follow our Lord in obedience.
Isaiah 1:16-20 ESV
Wash yourselves; make
yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before
my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the
fatherless,
plead the widow's cause.
“Come now, let us
reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are
like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red
like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
If you are willing and
obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
but if you refuse and
rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The whole reason Jesus died on that cross was that we might
die to sin and live to righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24). This is the essence of the
gospel message. Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny
himself (die to self) and take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow
(obey) him. He said if we hold on to our old lives (of living for sin and self)
we will lose them for eternity. But, if we lose our lives (die with him to
sin), we will have eternal life with him (Lu. 9:23-25; cf. Rom. 8:1-17).
God’s grace to us is not just forgiveness of sins and
deliverance from punishment, and the hope of eternal life with God. God’s gift
of grace to us is deliverance from our slavery (addictions) to sin and the
power and strength in Christ our Lord to walk in his holiness and
righteousness. In fact, his grace, which brings salvation, instructs us to say “NO!”
to ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and to live self-controlled, upright and
godly lives while we await his soon return (Tit. 2:11-14; cf. Eph. 4:17-24; 1
Jn. 1:5-9).
What this OT passage is teaching us here is repeated over
and over again in the New Testament. It is the message Jesus taught, and it is
the message his apostles taught, too.
And, that is that if we walk according to the flesh, to
fulfill what our flesh desires, we will die in our sins, no matter what we
confess with our mouths or say we believe. If we don’t obey God, we don’t know
God, and he does not live within us. If we choose to remain in our sinful
practices, we do not have the hope of eternal life with God, but a fearful
expectation of judgment (See Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8; 1 Jn.
1:5-9; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; 1 Jn. 3:24).
So, if you want to be assured that you have the hope of
eternal life with God, then you need to forsake your idols and your sinful
lifestyles, trust in Jesus Christ to deliver you from your bondage to sin, and
let him transform you away from a life of living to sin to a life of living to
him and to his righteousness, all in his power and strength at work within you.
For
Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
Friday, November 9, 2018
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