I. EXORDIUM:
Do you have eyes that can see and hearts that can understand?
Yes. JESUS healed me.
Isaiah 6:10 (Amplified Bible)
Make the heart of this people fat; and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn again and be healed.
II. AUDIENCE PROFILE:
Believers/unbelievers
III. OBJECTIVES:
To show that GOD wants our eyes and hearts healed if we come to Him, so that we can understand Him.
IV. TEXT:
Isaiah 44:18 (Amplified Bible)
They do not know or understand, for their eyes God has let become besmeared so that they cannot see, and their minds as well so that they cannot understand.
V. THESIS:
Praise, worship, glorify, adore, bless, honor, acknowledge and thank You very much LORD JESUS for You have healed my ears, eyes and hearts so that they can hear, see and understand You.
Isaiah 6:10 (Amplified Bible)
Make the heart of this people fat; and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn again and be healed.
VI. TITLE:
Unbelievers' status
VII. EXPLICATION: [Source: Thompson Chain - Bible Book Outlines]
A. Author: Isaiah, the prophet, the son of Amoz
1. GENERALLY REGARDED AS THE GREATEST of the Old Testament prophets.
Because he is preeminently the prophet of redemption.
Many of the passages in his book are among the finest in literature.
B. Date written: 740 - 680 B.C. (about 60 years)
C. Purpose: To reveal that salvation: physical and spiritual, is of the LORD JESUS.
D. To whom written: Nation of Judah
E. Main Themes:
1. Strength,—Isaiah 26:4.
2. Judgments,—Isaiah 33:14.
3. Joy,—Isaiah 35:10.
4. Salvation,—Isaiah 45:17.
5. Kindness,—Isaiah 54:8.
6. Covenant,—Isaiah 55:3.
7. Light,—Isaiah 60:19.
F. Keyword: salvation. Isaiah means "Salvation of JEHOVAH"
G. Key verses:
Isaiah 9:6-7; 53:5-6
Isaiah 9:6-7 (Amplified Bible)
For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from the [latter] time forth, even forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Isaiah 53:5-6 (Amplified Bible)
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.
All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all.
VIII. MAIN BODY:
Isaiah 44:18 (Amplified Bible)
They do not know or understand, for their eyes God has let become besmeared so that they cannot see, and their minds as well so that they cannot understand.
Isaiah 44:18 (New King James Version)
They do not know nor understand; For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, And their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
A. They don't know or understand.
"They do not know or understand,"
Isaiah 44:9 (Amplified Bible)
All who make graven idols are confusion, chaos, and worthlessness. Their objects (idols) in which they delight do not profit them, and their own witnesses (worshipers) do not see or know, so that they are put to shame.
Isaiah 44:20 (Amplified Bible)
That kind of man feeds on ashes [and finds his satisfaction in ashes]! A deluded mind has led him astray, so that he cannot release and save himself, or ask, Is not [this thing I am holding] in my right hand a lie?
Isaiah 45:20 (Amplified Bible)
Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about [in religious processions or into battle] their wooden idols and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
Isaiah 46:7-8 (Amplified Bible)
They bear it upon their shoulders [in religious processions or into battle]; they carry it and set it down in its place, and there it stands. It cannot move from its place. Even if one cries to it for help, yet [the idol] cannot answer or save him out of his distress.
[Earnestly] remember this, be ashamed and own yourselves guilty; bring it again to mind and lay it to heart, O you rebels!
Jeremiah 10:8 (Amplified Bible)
But they are altogether irrational and stupid and foolish. Their instruction is given by idols who are but wood [it is a teaching of falsity, emptiness, futility]!
Jeremiah 10:14 (Amplified Bible)
Every man has become like a brute, irrational and stupid, without knowledge [of God]; every goldsmith is brought to shame by his graven idols; for his molten images are frauds and falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Romans 1:21-23 (Amplified Bible)
Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].
And by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and represented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles.
ILLUSTRATION: An out-of-school youth when handed with the bible for him to read and explain, explained it with confidence and with too much elaboration, while a listening lawyer was perplexed and amazed that he uttered "I can't understand a word that he said!" The great difference is that the youth is a born again CHRISTian while the lawyer is an unbeliever.
This is a fearful sight, because the unbeliever's eyes were blinded by the god of this world.
2 Corinthians 4:4 (Amplified Bible)
For the god of this world has blinded the unbelievers’ minds [that they should not discern the truth], preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God.
While believers have the mind of CHRIST.
1 Corinthians 2:16 (Amplified Bible)
For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.
B. Blind eyes, blind hearts
"for their eyes God has let become besmeared so that they cannot see, and their minds as well so that they cannot understand."
While the enemy blinded the eyes of unbelievers, GOD just allowed it to happen because of the unbeliever's heart that will just reject GOD'S knowledge. GOD will just give up on you if you will always reject Him. That is one quality of GOD. Remember GOD is a Person too, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and He is hurt when He is rejected and as a Person, He will never bother you again. One characteristic of a person, it's being normal. Do you like people that will hurt you? Do you like to be around people who are called human cacti (cactus, thorny)? Of course not, I would rather be around people that will build me up and will not hurt me. The same with GOD.
Romans 1:21-24 (Amplified Bible)
Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].
And by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and represented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin],
Hosea 4:6 (Amplified Bible)
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to Me; seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
People are the ones that rejected GOD, while we were enemies with GOD, GOD already showed His love toward us.
Romans 5:8 (Amplified Bible)
But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.
The only solution is come to the LORD JESUS in humility and accept Him as LORD and PERSONAL SAVIOR.
Isaiah 6:10 (Amplified Bible)
Make the heart of this people fat; and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn again and be healed.
Romans 10:9-10 (Amplified Bible)
Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.
IX. CONCLUSION:
Praise, worship, glorify, adore, bless, honor, acknowledge and thank You very much LORD JESUS for You have healed my ears, eyes and hearts so that they can hear, see and understand You.
