Sermon Title: You Can’t Fool God!
Text: Isaiah 1:10-20
Date: July 27, 2003
Context of Scripture:
I think the parallel between Judah in Isaiah’s time and America today is frighteningly similar. Everywhere we look, we see declining moral standards, business ethics are deteriorating, and the leadership of this nation moves further and further away from God’s influence. Judah knows the consequences are coming, they have been warned many times in the past.
We don’t need to look around as long before we see the signs of moral decay. It is evident in the nightly news, we read it in the morning paper, we discuss it over meals, and many times we make lighthearted jokes about. At the time that this section of text was written, the writing was on the wall. And as I stand before you this evening, reminding you about what is going on in America today, we cannot deny it, for us the writing is on the wall as well. With this in mind let us turn to the book of Isaiah, chapter 1, and begin our reading with verse 10 12 and conclude with verse 20:
Let us stand for the reading of God’s word!
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 1:10-20
10 Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah. 11 "What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. 12 "When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? 13 "Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies--I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. 14 "I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 "So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
16 ¶ "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. 18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. 19 "If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; 20 "But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword." Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Sermon Introduction:
I’ve given this evening’s message the title “You can’t fool God”. Now many of you might say that this is obvious, to which I have to respond that to the world around us it may not be as obvious as it seems. Most people seem to think that they can get away with anything. The news certainly shows that and much of reality TV proves it. With society around us caving in to all carnal desires, we almost feel like throwing up our hands in despair and giving up. What is the use, I may believe in God, I may follow God, and I may worship God, but the world around me is heading straight for hell, without a care or without a concern, why not just let them.
That is not the will of God, that is contrary to Scripture, even when things are in the worst of shape, in the midst of evil we must live righteously and heed the word of God. Even when we are out numbered, we are commanded by God to go forward. Even when no one cares to see, we are to conduct ourselves according to the word of God. Even when all years are closed, we are to say boldly, “thus saith the Lord”.
Why doesn’t the world to look at the church as an example? It might be obvious to many, too much of the church has become fake. Money is more important than souls. Comfort is more important than conviction. Salvation has taken a back seat to entertainment. This is the church that the world around us is seeing. It is shallow, it is self-centered, it is self-seeking, and it is dead and cold. Our services are no longer meaningful times of worship of God, our worship is all show, all fluff, simple entertainment. It satisfies our felt commitment to God, how sad, how wrong.
We miss the point entirely, we are not supposed to leave the church in the same condition as when we went in. We should be growing, we should be learning, we should develop a deeper relationship with Jesus, we need to get saved, we need to get sanctified! The church of today has grown distant from the call that God has placed upon it. We are not winning lost souls for Jesus, we are not even improving ourselves. Time is running out, for those that are lost as well as those who have themselves fooled in the very pews that they sit in.
What does times up mean to us. Do we have any clue what an eternal deadline entails? For those that are in a right relationship with Jesus, the passing into eternity might be eagerly awaited. But for those that are lost, though they may be unaware, and eternity of torment awaits. We must view the lost as they would be in their final moments prior to being cast into the lake of fire. We need that horrible vision in our minds if we are to reach out to them effectively.
Prayer for Spiritual Enlightenment:
I. In the midst of evil, heed the Word of God.
In our first verse this evening Isaiah gets directly to the point. He calls those that he is addressing exactly what they are. Let’s read verse 5:
10 Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah.
This address could easily be given today. In most cases our leaders are no better than those of Sodom. And the people of this nation, those that have elected many of our leaders, are no better than the people of Gomorrah. Some of us might say that this is unfair, there were no clear choices, one candidate was as bad as the other. True enough, but we may still faced the consequences because of the wrongdoing of our fellow citizens. Many innocent people fell to the sword in the many accounts of God dealing with those sins of his chosen people.
Isaiah is trying to convey the word of the Lord, he is not offering his suggestions, he is not offering what is popular by public demand, he is offering them God’s word. He is telling his people to listen to the instructions of God. And the word that Isaiah offers is falling on deaf ears.
II. Your worship is all show.
Let us continue our reading with verses 11 through 14:
11 "What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. 12 "When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? 13 "Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies--I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. 14 "I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.
God is calling into question their worship rituals. They are making many offerings to God, they are shedding the blood of their animals, and they are over running the temple. In fact, they are adding celebration days.
In the middle of this section of Scripture is a phrase that sums it all up, in the days of Isaiah, and the days we find ourselves in now, “I cannot endure inequity and the solemn assembly”. The problem was not only those outside of the religious circle, there was a very serious problem of sin within the circle. This is our greatest problem today. There are people who are deeply entrenched in sin, and they worship in the church each and every time the doors are open as if there is nothing wrong in their lives. Some of them even fail to see their lostness. And there are many who are outside of the walls of the church, those who are outside of the fellowship, that are well aware of the problem that sits in the very pews of what we call God’s house.
III. Get yourself right!
How can someone be so active in the church and still be lost? How can you sit in in so many worship services, and not grow in your understanding of God? How can you go into the presence of a holy spirit and not find conviction? This presents a problem for the church of today. A problem that was evident at the time of Isaiah’s writing. Let us continue our reading with the first 16:
16 ¶ "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow. 18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
Through Isaiah, God is giving the solution to his people. He tells them to wash themselves, they are covered from the dirt of their sins. They are to cease their evil doing. In the place a sin and evil deeds they are to learn the things that are good, they are to correct those that are wrong, they are to help the helpless, and seek aid for those in need.
I wonder if this would work today? What would happen if all those in the world would stop doing evil things and instead the things that were good? What if the world would stop living in sin and instead live righteous and holy lives? The problem is, this message isn’t targeted at the world, it is targeted at the church. Within the walls of the church there should be no evil deeds. The reputation of the church should involve nothing but good things! A church shouldn’t be consumed with internal sin issues, it should be consumed with the righteousness, it should be consumed with holiness. The church needs to be an example to a world that is lost in sin but it needs to clean itself up first.
I just love verse 18, we can see God pleading to his people, God is telling them that even though things may be dismal at this point, they are not impossible to mend. We read: 18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
I can’t help but think of the hymn, “Whiter than snow”, and think of the way that I was washed of my sins through the precious blood of Jesus. That offer still stands today, readily available for the world around us in those that are lost in the very assemblies that call themselves the body of Christ, the church.
IV. This is the ultimatum
In God’s message through Isaiah his prophet, the ultimatum is made clear. It is God’s way or it is God’s wrath the choice is given the consequences are made clear. Reading verses 19 and 20: 19 "If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; 20 "But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword." Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Isaiah brings forth the word of God to his people, “you will either eat the best or you will fall like the rest”. It’s interesting that the words that are used “consent and obey” show that need to choose God’s way over the world’s way. It is a clear choice we either consent and obey or we refuse and rebel. It is as simple as a black and white. No gray areas, no need for arbitration, no compromise, no meeting God halfway. It is all or nothing. It is God or the devil. It is blessings or eternal cursing. Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken. In the Times that Isaiah preached this message as well as the preaching of that message today, this evening, with this preacher, and to this congregation. The word of God remains the same. Nothing has changed, the meaning remains intact, God’s word now and forever, amen.
Conclusion:
If someone were to come up to us and ask us the following questions how would we respond? In the world that we live in, with all the evil, with all the immorality, with all the suffering, the torment, and the diseases that plague mankind, how can we live in such a way that we can make a difference in the kingdom of Heaven? In the midst of all the evil around us can we still hold true to the word of God? The entirety of God’s word tells us to live righteous and holy lives, if this were not possible why would God include it? It is included because it is possible. We can live holy lives even when we are surrounded by all the evils of imaginable.
The biggest problem that faces the church of today is a publicity problem. I’m not talking about advertising, although there’s nothing wrong with putting something in the newspaper, or taking advantage of websites. I’m talking about the way the public views the church of today. In many churches there is no difference between the congregation and the neighborhood in which the church is located, and the neighborhood is riddled with sin.
How do you convince a lost world that what they are needing, that what they are seeking, are found within the church walls when those that comprise the congregation are no different and sometimes even worse than those in the community? We need to be careful that the message that we preach and the message that we teach is the same message that we live outside of the church, outside of the context of worship, in each and every thing that we do.
We cannot come into the sanctuary for services dressed for success, whooping and hollering, raising hands heavenward, when deep down our souls are rotten and full of unrepented sin. If we are guilty of this than our time of worship is all show.
What this world needs is revival! How do we go about starting a revival? It needs to start somewhere, I know we would like for it to begin here. Do we know what’s stopping it from happening here? I can tell you what’s stopping it from happening here-absolutely nothing! The same thing that is required for revival to begin is the same thing that we need to turn our nation around. We read in 2Ch 7:14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. As a church, beginning with each and every one of us as individuals, and as a nation, we need to get ourselves right before God. He is not going to hear our prayers when our minds are filled with inequity. He is not going to hear us calling when the hands that we lift up to him are covered with blood.
This is the ultimatum from God- we can consent, we can obey God - as individuals, as a congregation, and even as a nation. Even with all the evil that we see going on around us, even with all the trash that network television has to offer, with all of the crooked politicians, and with all the money hungry habits that this nation has adopted, there is still hope.
On the other hand, we can rebel from the ways of the Lord and we can resist his teachings. The choice is ours. However, given the choices that we have and those are consent and obedience as opposed to resistance and rebellion we also have to consider the consequences. We can look at the consequences and are choices should become obvious. If we rebel and resist, then we will suffer the loss of blessings and we will fall by the sword, this is God’s Word, it is not the word of Isaiah, and it is certainly not the word of Ralf. We can consent to God’s way, we can be obedient to God’s way, and if this is the route we wish to follow, this Scriptures says we will taste the finest of the land. Two choices with two sets of consequences.
Call to Commitment:
As we close this evening, let’s open up the altar of prayer. We look at this message out of the book of Isaiah and we should ask ourselves some questions.
We all know that we live in an evil world, in an evil time. We also know that God’s word is true and God’s word is right even in the situation that we find ourselves in today. Are we living our lives according to God’s Scripture? Perhaps there are some areas in our lives that could use some correction, some direction, or he even a major overhaul. If that is in need then why not lay it down at the foot of the cross.
Perhaps as these words were spoken this evening, we understand the shallowness of our worship, maybe through this all we see that we are not giving God all that is due him. Maybe we are not all what we seem to be when we are in the company of our brothers and sisters, if that is the need this evening then why let it burden us any longer? Give it to Jesus!
If there is anything in our lives that is contrary to God’s will, to God’s word, to God’s desire for us, then let this be the evening that we set it all aside, and give ourselves fully to the control of God.
Let these be the words of our prayer!!
