Sermon: Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide!
Scripture: Isaiah 30:1-14 NLT “What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the Lord. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins. 2 For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade. 3 But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced. 4 For though his power extends to Zoan and his officials have arrived in Hanes, 5 all who trust in him will be ashamed. He will not help you. Instead, he will disgrace you.” 6 This message came to me concerning the animals in the Negev: The caravan moves slowly across the terrible desert to Egypt—donkeys weighed down with riches and camels loaded with treasure—all to pay for Egypt’s protection. They travel through the wilderness, a place of lionesses and lions, a place where vipers and poisonous snakes live. All this, and Egypt will give you nothing in return.”
7 Egypt’s promises are worthless! Therefore, I call her Rahab, the Harmless Dragon. 8 Now go and write down these words. Write them in a book. They will stand until the end of time as a witness 9 that these people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay attention to the Lord’s instructions.10 They tell the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” They tell the prophets, “Don’t tell us what is right. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies. 11 Forget all this gloom. Get off your narrow path. Stop telling us about your ‘Holy One of Israel.’”12 This is the reply of the Holy One of Israel: “Because you despise what I tell you and trust instead in oppression and lies, 3 calamity will come upon you suddenly—like a bulging wall that bursts and falls. In an instant it will collapse and come crashing down. 14 You will be smashed like a piece of pottery— shattered so completely that there won’t be a piece big enough to carry coals from a fireplace or a little water from the well.”
Introduction: Israel actions and attitude reminds me of an old Martha and The Vandella’s tune that said, “Nowhere to run to, baby Nowhere to hide; Got nowhere to run to, baby, Nowhere to hide. I know you're No good for me; But free of you, I'll never be, no Each night as I sleep Into my heart you creep. I wake up feeling sorry I met you, Hoping soon that I'll forget you When I look in the mirror And comb my hair I see your face Just a-smiling there!
[Chorus] Nowhere to run, Nowhere to hide, Got nowhere to run to, baby Nowhere to hide!
The songwriter is attracted to someone who is doing her more harm than good, yet the attraction is so strong, she feels helplessly drawn. Like a moth attracted to a lit candle who finds out too late the great danger that awaits. Isaiah has eloquently shown God as Israel’s Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace whose government and its peace will never end. God who is always fair and just in His ways. Yet God’s people turned away from Him and sought peace and security from neighboring Egypt. Israel gave in to the temptation to forge an ungodly alliance because of Egypt’s size, strength and promise of aid. Yet God called Egypt a helpless dragon, wild and undependable.
Israel’s coming judgment could not be avoided. Her sin and disobedience led her away from God into His judgment. Her Peace and security were gone so Israel turn to Egypt for safety. Isaiah 26:3-4, 3 “You (God) will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! 4 Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.”
True peace of mind comes from confidently trusting in the strength of God. Israel claimed to belong to God but led disobedient lives. They were faithful to the religious rituals, but their religion had lost is meaning. Religion had become a routine. Jesus addressed the issue in the Temple when he said, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 8 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
We all are capable of being hypocritical. Often, we slip into religious motions that allow us to tolerate sin in our life; religion that fail to transform us is empty and void of power. Empty worship can never please God or transform our lives. Sometimes we depend on others to praise God for us, or live holy for us. When our worship becomes powerless, we might say, the choir needs to sing better or louder or more enthusiastically. The preacher needs to preach better or stronger. God calls His children to worship Him in spirit and in truth. That’s the kind worship God seeks. Israel acted as if God did not see their heart and their attitude. God saw all the meeting and plans with Egypt. God saw the attitude towards His word. How strange that so many people think that they can hide from God. Psalms 139:1-10 “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. 3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. 5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! 7 I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. 9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.”
God sees everything. Israel’s negotiations with Egypt were underway, and the price had been set, yet God said it all was a waste and hopeless. Judah and Jerusalem sought advice and counsel from everyone but God. When believers become driven by fear or frustrations, we may be tempted to search for comfort and security from worldly sources. The world systems may promise a measure of relief and support, but our God is the only lasting and eternal source. Isaiah describes worldly help as limited. Isa 28:20 “For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.”
The security blankets of the world will leave you exposed. This is an accurate descriptions of Judah plight in seeking support from Egypt. We all at times may feel pressured to turn from God to other things, yet they will proved to be ineffective and useless. I have entitled the message, No where to run, no where to hide, but probably should add the words, “by choice.” The people of God knew the word that says, Ps 118:7-9 “The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. 8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes. “
1. No where to run, no where to hide from God’s presence. It I impossible to hide from God. God’s people found “No where to run, no where to hide” from God’s Presence. No amount of secret planning can be hidden from the eyes of God. Despite the promises of Egypt, their money would take wings and fly away. Their friends would desert them when they needed them most. Family would disappoint them. Their youthful strength would vanish, and God saw everything from the beginning to their end. In the end, none of their activities would benefit them. No where to run, no where to hide from the presence of God. Whatever support and help the worldly security seem to bring will be short lived. Like mind altering drugs, when the high leaves and the mind clears, God is still standing
there.
2. No where to run, no where to hide from the truth. “Now go and write down these words. Write them in a book. They will stand until the end of time as a witness 9 that these people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay attention to the Lord’s instructions.10 They tell the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” They tell the prophets, “Don’t tell us what is right. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies. 11 Forget all this gloom. Get off your narrow path. Stop telling us about your ‘Holy One of Israel.
Judah and Jerusalem tried to hide from the truth by open rebellion. They ignored the voice of the prophet and refused to hear. God instructed the Prophet to write the word down in a book to stand as an eternal witness against his people. Some people of Israel relocated to Egypt to settle in a new environment. They wanted to hear only good news, even if it was a lie. They resisted the truth of God’s word. Often the truth makes us feel uncomfortable and lies and illusions make us fuzzy and warm. Only the truth can set you free. “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.” Winston Churchill ·
The truth of God can be trusted, all other grounds in sinking sand. Isaiah describes life built on lies as a crackling wall, a collapsing wall or a smashed clay pot leaving pieces too small to carrying a piece of hot coal or to dip up water.
Jeremiah 5:30-31 “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land—31 the prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. Worse yet, my people like it that way! But what will you do when the end comes?
I know we, like Israel live a day of fake news, illusions and lies. False campaign ads flood the airways and people move under a cloud of deception. Silence the prophet, truth still stand. Ignore the truth, yet it still stand. Israel ignored the prophet and forbidding them to speak, yet God said write it down, post it as the testimony, a witness against them. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Even when truth is ignored, it is still truth.
No where to run, no where to hide from God’s presence. No where to run, no where to hide from the truth. Finally, No where to run, no where to hide from your own conscience.
3. No where to run, no where to hide from your own conscience. “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.”
Even after the voice of the prophet was silence, and you have closed your eyes to the written word, your conscience still speaks. We know that God is a just God and there is no fault in him. It is so difficult to silence the voice on the inside. The religious climate was chaotic. The priests and prophets had perverted judgment, and many were seeking lies and half-truths, yet God’s truth stands forever. No we cannot run from God’s Presence, we cannot run from God’s truth and we cannot run from our own conscience. We cannot run from our conscience.
Israel’s deliverance would not come through an alliance with Egypt or leaning on worldly connections. Deliverance would not come from Israel’s planning and paying for protection. Deliverance comes from returning to God and quietly waiting in His presence. Salvation comes from God alone. God can saved us and we can trust him. He will give us strength to face the storms of life. Trusting God means laying aside our misguided efforts and embracing the truth. If God allows us to eat the bread of adversity and drink the water of affliction, God is close by our side. God knows who we are, where we are and what’s best for us. God is our everlasting Father who is waiting to bless us. Israel struggled because trying to hide from God’s presence, hide from the truth and try to hide from their conscience. We must not make the same mistake as Israel, hiding in vain! “For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.”
No where to run, no where to hide from God, his truth or our conscience. There is a place to run and a place to hide.
Ps 32:7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. 8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
Those who by repentance of sin and by faith in Jesus Christ have turned to God and found pardoning mercy, quite their conscience and the murmuring of their hearts. Our conscience is a gift from God. It reminds us of our sin and disobedience and calls us back to God. Rest and peace return only after we have returned to God. We are like Adam and Eve hiding in the garden, covered with fig leaves, our conscience keeps asking, “where are you? Why are you hiding? Who told you that you were naked? You cannot hide your conscience, no more than you can get rid of truth by ignoring it. God has provided a blessed way to obtain rest, peace, and joy for your souls.
Mt 11:28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The songwriter ask the question, “Where do I go when there's nobody else to turn to? Who do I talk to when nobody wants to listen? Who do I lean on when there's no foundation stable? I go to the rock, I know He's able, I go to the rock.
The Lord is the rock I go to the rock for my salvation, I go to the stone that the builders rejected; I run to the mountain and the mountain, he stands by me. When the Earth all around me is sinking sand, On Christ, the solid rock I stand. When I need a shelter, when I need a friend, I go to the rock
Where do I go, where do I go, When the storms of life are threatening? Who do I turn to when those winds of sorrows blow? And is there a refuge in the time of tribulation? I go to the rock, I know He's able, I go to the rock. The Lord is a rock for my salvation, The Lord is the stone that the builders rejected, I run to the mountain and the mountain, he stands by me. When the Earth all around me is sinking sand, On Christ, the solid rock I stand When I need a shelter, when I need a friend, I go to the rock
The Lord is a rock for my salvation, The Lord is the stone that the builders rejected. I run to the mountain and the mountain, he stands by me, When the Earth all around me is sinking sand, On Christ, the solid rock I stand When I need a shelter, when I need a friend, I go to the rock!
