Are You Full?

Introduction

In a little while we are all going to be eating a large meal. Many of us will come back in here for the thanksgiving praise service, but I can gaurantee one thing, most of us will be full. If I were to say, hey, let’s go back for round two right away many of us would probably feel sick. We can’t eat any more. We have had our fill.

Isn’t it funny how kids can magically get full or un-full depending on if they like the food they are being served. Back when Katy’s brother was younger, he would claim to be full during dinner time, but then want desert immediately after. He claimed that he had a separate stomach for desert.

We often find that we are full of the wrong things. I vaguely remember a reference in Karate Kid where Daniel is telling Mr. Miagi all he knows about Karate even though he has never had a single lesson in his life. Mr. Miagi made some reference like if the cup is already full, you can’t fill it. If you already think you know Karate how can anyone teach you anything. This is a common problem with those who are unteachable. They think they know it all already. People who truly know things, also know how much they do not know. When we have filled our lives with the wrong things, we can’t enjoy the right things.

This morning I want to bring a message that is from the overflow of my devotional life. Recently I was reading in Isaiah 2:6–9 “Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, Because they be replenished from the east, And are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they please themselves in the children of strangers. Their land also is full of silver and gold, Neither is there any end of their treasures; Their land is also full of horses, Neither is there any end of their chariots: Their land also is full of idols; They worship the work of their own hands, That which their own fingers have made: And the mean man boweth down, And the great man humbleth himself: Therefore forgive them not.” I have been trying to do an indepth study into OT prophecy.

Isaiah prophesied to Judah before their 70 years in exile leading up to the time when the Northern Kingdom fell to Assyria. The chapter we are looking at begins with a prophecy about the Millennial Kingdom in the last days. Read vs 1-4. But not everything will be peachy keen for all of Israel. Back in chapter 1, Isaiah prophesied about the blessings of the Millenium (Read vs 26-28) but those who remained in their sin will face judgement. Back in our text in vs 5 God pleas with Judah to come and walk in the light.

God desires nothing more than His ultimate glory which is your greatest good. He desires a life that can be truly fulfilled in the right things. The problem is we so often want to fill our lives with the wrong things. We want to walk in darkness. We fail to see the beauty of what God longs for us to have. In this text he promises, recognition (the temple mount will be exalted), attention (people will want to come), position (the law will go forth from Jerusalem), peace (swords to plowshares) and life (no war). These are all good things God desires and plans for his people. Later through the prophet Jeremiah, God would tell Israel Jeremiah 29:10–11 “For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jesus would later say in Matthew 7:11 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

I want you to notice how many times the word fill is used in different words throughout these four verses: Connect the idea of fullness with satisfaction and flourishing.

replenished- filled

full of silver…

full of idols…

every man both great and small

God is pleading with them to come and receive the good he has to offer. I am not saying everything will always be peachy keen, but it will be what brings the most good in our lives. But if our lives are filled with other things, we cannot be filled with what God desires for our lives.

So this morning we are going to look at what they were full of? What is it that kept them from being able to enjoy the blessings of the Lord?

They were full of the world’s influence vs 6

Our text begins with the word therefore. Normally the word therefore indicates result, but here the word is giving a reason. You could translate it for or because. God is saying come because God has forsaken you. Why? The first answer is that they were replenished from the east. The idea of being replenished here means to be made full. So their lives were made full by those from the east. Rather than being fulfilled by God they found their fulfillment from other sources.

Throughout the book of Isaiah, the east represents the people of Babylon and Persia. The verse also lists the Philistines from the west and Gentile immigrants as having a negative impact on them. All three directions refer to the world around them: east, west and among them. As Christians, we are surrounded by the world. Jesus prayed that we would be John 17:15–17 “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” We cannot help being surrounded by and having to relate to the lost world around us, but as Christians we cannot let the world fill us. We cannot let their goals, their dreams, their values, their delights be the things that fill our lives.

Isaiah mentions three specific ways in which they had become entangled with the world:

They were replenished from the world- they found their joy, their satisfaction in the things of the world. What matters to you most? Is your every moment consumed with your job, making more money, playing ball, being with lost friends, fitting in with the cool crowd. They drew their emotional support from the world. Who is it that you go to when you are struggling? Is it a lost person or a carnal Christian?

They were fascinated by the Magic of the West- the things that interested them were opposed to God. They were being drawn into the religion of the world around them.

They pleased themselves- This phrase here actually speaks of clasping hands or making agreements. They were entering into cooperative relationships with them. Amos 3:3 “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” God had forbidden marriages with pagan women which can be included in this entering into relationships with, 2 Cor forbids entering into business partnerships with the lost for the same reasons. 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”

Let’s put these in modern terms: We can seek fulfillment by entangling ourselves with the world through the pleasures of the world, the values of the world and relationships with the world. Probably the greatest threat to young people walking with Christ as teens becoming adults is that they become entangled with the world. They want to enjoy what the world has to offer, they want to be accepted by lost people they are around, they desire relationships and it doesn’t matter if that person isn’t even a godly Christian.

Can I make a statement that might be controversial: Christians who live like and love the world are essentially in the world. 1 John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” John claims that if your focus is consumed, full of desire for the world, the love of the Father is not in you. You do not love God. A Person who is consistently characterized by this reveals that they are actually of the world. 1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” So we have a lot of people walking around claiming to be Christians but at the very least their heart’s allegiance is of this world. They are no better an influence in your life than a lost person.

They were full of riches vs 7

Isaiah 2:7 “Their land also is full of silver and gold, Neither is there any end of their treasures; Their land is also full of horses, Neither is there any end of their chariots:”

Notice the plenty that they enjoy: silver, gold, treasures, horses, chariots we could summarize them today as money, possessions, cars. There is probably nothing so antagonistic to finding your fulfillment in God as wealth. The American dream and the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness can distract us from what truly satisfies. Paul David Tripp summarized four dangers that money presents:

Money can cause you to forget God- When all your needs are met, you tend to not seek any help from God. In Christianity, it is often when we face trials and struggles that we grow the most because our attention is put back on God. We are lulled into sleep by full bellies, running cars, and nice houses and forget who gave them to us.

Money can change the way your think about yourself- Money can lead you to think that everything you have is because of your hard work and skill. It can puff up the ego. It can cause you to become dissatisfied with the things God has given you.

Money can cause you to look down on others- it can change your perspective on others especially those who struggle financially. You might become an overly harsh critic of those who haven’t made it.

Money can weaken your resolve to fight temptation- Many of us don’t struggle with giving in to our greed because let’s face it, we don’t have enough money to get all the things we want. But when that obstacle is removed, we find out how much we truly struggle with contentment and against greed.

Money can finance your allegiance to a kingdom of self- money can lead you to be consumed only with what you want. When you have money, its only use is to meet your needs and wants.

These temptations are all too well-known in American Christianity. Many have become consumed with making enough money to meet our dreams. It is for this reason, that Jesus said Matthew 6:24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” You cannot be focused on and dedicated to making money and Christ at the same time. I am not saying you can’t run a business to make money, but when you become consumed by, dedicated to its pursuit; it takes over. That line of diligent attention and serving money is a very thin line; you can step over it in a heart beat. Jesus also said in Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

The problem here was they were full of money, They found their fulfillment, satisfaction in the things they possessed.

They were full of idolatry vs 8-9

The world, money literally anything we pursue to bring fulfillment outside of God can become an idol in our lives. In America, we don’t worship very many statues in our secularist society, but I do not think that means we do not commit idolatry. I have previously pointed out that God condemned worshipping people as idols and idolatry that existed in the heart. Just as he spoke about unfaithfulness to God as spiritual adultery; the bible looks at worshipping anything other than God as idolatry.

So with that in mind, is America a land filled with idols?

Entertainment- When we prioritize ball games, movies over church it has become an idol, but let me bring this down to a level that many people struggle with. You may not be skipping the gathered worship of God to go entertain yourself, but how many Christians have time for video games, movies and ball games; but don’t have time to seek God in their devotions. Entertainment has become a god if not the god of America.

Children- I have seen families that compromise on what is right because they don’t want to upset their children or while their children are in the home they let things go spiritually. They are afraid to correct their children. They seek to please their children over seeking to please God.

Boyfriend or Girlfriend- Relationships with the other gender can become an idol. Pornography, sex outside of marriage are prevalent even in Christian youth groups today. Sexting, nude pictures, lude conversations fill their snapchat. These are clear symptoms of an idolatry problem. There is no true love for God there no matter how many songs they sing or devotions they might give. Their God is the pleasure they get from real or even fake romantic relationships.

Friends- Friends determine the direction our lives take quite often. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:33 “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” The circle of friends you keep can change the way you think, it can lead to bitterness towards your parents when you have loving parents, it can lead you to do things you never thought you would do. Peer pressure is just another form of the fear of man. We must beware that our friends do not become more important to us than God.

Conclusion

This thanksgiving, I desire for you to experience a satisfied, fulfilling life; but my question is what are you filling your life with? You are filling it with something. Is it God? or is it these things. The world will never truly satisfy, money will leave you craving for more, and idols will fail you some day.

Let’s go back to vs 6, what happened because they were full of something other than God? They were forsaken by God. God has given you and me free will; He desires to be loved freely and will not force us to love him. When we choose to reject Him and go after other things, he lets us go. And don’t be deceived, anytime you seek after other things instead of God, you are walking away from Him. This thanksgiving, I hope you get full on thanksgiving food, but more than that I pray that you get full on things that truly satisfy. That you will come and walk with the Lord.