Isaiah 30-31
Removing the Roadblocks
Stubbornness vs. 1-7
Rebellion vs. 8-17
Graciousness vs. 18-33
The Lord will give Victory vs. 1-9
Intro:
Recap 7 woes so far
We are right in the middle of God dealing with 7 issues he has with Israel
We’ve seen him deal with pride, spiritual blindness, and drunkenness
Today we are going to see Isaiah address the topics of stubbornness and rebellion
As with all of these messages God ends with a message of hope
Today that message is His graciousness
But we must look those things that prevent his grace from working in our lives
Let's call it removing the roadblocks
Battleship and the lighthouse
One stormy night a US battleship was preparing to come into port
Visibility was terrible but there appeared to be two lights headed towards each other
The Battleship radioed the on coming light: “Please bear 15 degrees to the south”
Message replied You bear 15 degrees to the north
The admiral got all up in arms and replied this is a US battleship with means to take counter measures necessary if you don’t bear 15 degrees to the south.
The reply came back “This is a lighthouse, your call.”
Stubbornness can manifest itself in several ways
In the summer of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia.
Hundreds of passengers died as they were hurled into the icy waters below.
News of the disaster was further darkened when an investigation revealed the cause of the accident.
It wasn’t a technology problem like radar malfunction—or even thick fog.
The cause was human stubbornness.
Each captain was aware of the other ship’s presence nearby.
Both could have steered clear but neither captain wanted to give way to the other.
Each was too proud to yield first. By the time they came to their senses, it was too late.
Stubbornness can rear its head in our lives and have a disastrous effect
Read Isaiah 30:1-5
Transition:
Sometimes we like to wear badges
They become these medals of honor for our behavior
"I'm a control freak" "I'm a germaphobe" "I'm a type A personality"
We put these badges on when we want to rationalize our behavior
This morning you could add the badges of being stubborn and being a rebel to that list
We could easily just say "Well I'm a little stubborn" when we don't want to admit we are wrong
We could also say "Down deep I'm a rebel at heart." When we really just want our way
In our minds that justifies our actions
What it really does it pacify our minds from something God has been convicting us on for a long time
They can become roadblocks to what God is trying to do in our lives
Fortunately God is gracious and patient waiting for us to get to the point of dealing with it
Stubbornness vs. 1-7
Vs. 1 The Lord gets right to the point… Israel is stubborn
They are carrying out plans that aren’t from God
They are making alliances but not with the Holy Spirit
The sin is just piling up
God hits right at the heart of stubbornness here
Stubborn people have their own agenda (Plans), advocates (alliances), and don’t seek advice
This is what has got Israel into trouble
The have the greatest resource in the world, in being the children of God, and they turn their back on it
Psalm 81:11-13 But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
God is very clear what the result of that will be
Vs. 3 Shame, humiliation and disgrace (5)
Stubbornness will always make us depend on ourselves instead of God
What is the cost of our stubbornness?
Vs. 6 shows us that the path is full of trouble, comes at a high price
God uses the metaphor of wild animals attacking on the path
He also says that Egypt will carry away the riches
All of it will not profit Israel one iota
Vs. 7 Egypt’s help is worthless and empty
We need to be careful who we put our trust in
Often times we make alliances with people because they agree with us
That can turn in a heart beat and just cause more agony
God wants out trust and he doesn’t want us putting that trust in anything else
Rebellion vs. 8-17
Vs. 8-9 Stubbornness first cousin is rebellion
God tells Isaiah to write this down on paper
That gives us the idea that God wants it to last and to remind them of it
Their refusal to listen to God has become flat out rebellion
This has led to lying and a refusal hear the instruction of the Lord
Because of this they are looking for people to tell them smooth things and prophecy illusions
They want to create a facade that gives the appearance of everything looking right but underneath it is all wrong
vs. 12 The fall out of this behavior is that it is going to come crumbling down
vs. 14 says that not a shard will be found among the fragments
What can restore us from this?
Vs. 15 Returning, Rest, quietness, and trust
To recover from rebellion there has to be a return to the Lord
That is a recognition and a submission to Him
Rest and quietness go hand in hand because they are the antithesis of rebellion
Rebellion is this abrasive activity of trying to get our own way
Rebellion is also going around proclaiming what you think is right
To recover from this rebellion God is telling us to be quiet and be still
Finally he is telling us to trust him
This has to be the hardest step of recovering from rebellion because rebellion is trusting in ourselves
Jer 33:8 I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me
Of course Israel didn’t heed this and they suffered because of it
VS. 17 Rebellion causes undue fear
One person can cause 1000 to flee
Graciousness vs. 18-33
After God deals with the stubbornness and rebellion he will deal graciously with Israel
He will insert his justice and bless all those who wait for him
There will be no more weeping and won’t hide himself anymore
After all of this God is still willing to extend his grace to Israel
Stubbornness and rebellion can be roadblocks to God’s grace
But after those have run their course God is standing at the end waiting for us
He removes all the wreckage and restores us to Him
Vs. 20 Isaiah mentions that God gives us the bread of adversity and water of affliction
It is a reference to the basic necessities
We live off of bread and water, its necessary for us to survive
AW Tozer calls it plowing
He says the fallow field is smug, contented, protected from the shock of the plow
It’s paying a terrible price for its tranquility
Never does it see the miracle growth, never does it see the bursting forth of life from a seed
It can never know fruit because its afraid of the plow
This is what stubbornness and rebellion can do to us… make us fallow ground
The direct opposite of this is the cultivated field
It has yielded itself to the adventure of living
The plow has come and upset, turned over, bruised and broken, but its reward is yet to come
New born things are born to grow, mature, and be consumed
God’s wonder follow the plow
God is telling Israel after a period of time where adversity and affliction are present He will then make himself known again
Once again they will be able hear the word of the Lord
And this will provoke them to get rid of their idols
Isn’t that true of our lives as well?
We go through some adversity and it changes us
We turn back to God and suddenly His word rings true in our ears
Then we start to make changes in our lives
We get rid of those things which we know aren’t right and start to clean house
And God in his grace doesn’t give us what we deserve for our sin
Yet some have a hard time accepting this free gift of grace
Grace scene from As Good as it Gets
One of the greatest scenes of grace that I’ve seen in the the movie As Good as it Gets
Jack Nicholson is this OCD guy who is a successful author
He can’t function unless Helen Hunt is his waitress for breakfast
She can’t come to work one day because her son is constantly sick
So Jack Nicholson goes to his publisher, who’s husband is an Doctor
He forces her to send her husband to Helen Hunt’s house to take car of the boy
The Doctor diagnoses quickly the problem and soon the boy is better health than he ever was
One night Helen Hunt is sitting at the table trying to come to grips with why one of her creepy customers would do this
She wants to pay him back, accuses him of ulterior motives, but can’t accept he did this as a gift
Finally Helen Hunt’s mother comes and his her and tells her just receive it
She got something she couldn’t afford as a free gift
That is what the Grace of God is: A gift we can’t afford
Rom 5:2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
The Lord Will Give Victory vs. 1-9
vs. 6 Turn to Him and he will give you victory
1 Cor 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Closing:
SPUTTERING
A man in North Carolina bought a new car with a voice-warning system. ... At first he was amused to hear the soft female voice gently remind him that his seat belt wasn’t fastened. ...
Edwin affectionately called this voice the "little woman."
He soon discovered his little woman was programmed to warn him about his gasoline.
"Your fuel level is low," she said one time in her sweet voice.
Edwin nodded his head and thanked her. He figured he still had enough to go another fifty miles, so he kept on driving.
But a few minutes later, her voice interrupted again with the same warning.
And so it went over and over. Although he knew it was the same recording, Edwin thought her voice sounded harsher each time.
Finally, he stopped his car and crawled under the dashboard. After a quick search, he found the appropriate wires and gave them a good yank. So much for the little woman!
He was still smiling to himself a few miles later when his car began sputtering and coughing.
He ran out of gas! Somewhere inside the dashboard, Edwin was sure he could hear the little woman laughing.
People like Edwin learn before long that the little voice inside, although ignored or even disconnected, often tells them exactly what they need to know.
