Draw Near, Hear, Give Attention

FaceBook Post: “Its time to face this reality, politics is not the solution for the ills of our nation; it has become a problem. Why? ”We the People” must acknowledge that ”the (personal) loss of righteous leads to social corruption and injustice.” The imperative is the return to ”In God We Trust.””

Note: John MacArthur book, “Can God Bless America?”He wrote:

Anti-God philosophies and anti-Christian worldviews now clearly dominate most of modern Western society. God has systematically been removed from public discourse; prayer has been virtually banned from the public arena; agnosticism and humanism dominate public policy. So it is remarkable that the slogan “God Bless America” has seen such a widespread revival. We have to wonder what most people have in mind when they repeat the slogan.

John F. MacArthur Jr., Can God Bless America?: The Biblical Pathway to Blessing, (Nashville, TN: W Pub. Group, 2002), v–vi.

When we are sick we go and see a doctor for an examination. Thereafter he gives a diagnosis of his findings.

God’s diagnosis of the state of the nations are in, (Isaiah 5:8-23). Every civilization must deal with the same issues.

The song is not ended(Isa 5:1-7: How much do I love you?, Why Don’t you love me?, What Can I do? No answer, it’s sentence time). In a repeated refrain of six woes, God specifies the sins of the children of Israel that spoiled the grapes and turned them rotten. Every civilization must deal with the same issues:

• the ownership of property (vv. 8–10)

The Woe of Greed: Greed is often the driving force behind the competition to build bigger and better barns than the neighbors.

• the use of alcohol (vv. 11–17)

The Woe of Drunkenness: our society today. Substance abuse, ranging from alcohol to cocaine, has reached epidemic proportions among our people, whether young or old, rich or poor, educated or illiterate.

• the interpretation of history (vv. 18–19)

The Woe of Self-Deceit: those who use the interpretation of history to hide their sins

• the teaching of morals (v. 20)

The Woe of Self-Justification (5:20): Rather than speaking the truth without compromise, the teachers reverse the values so that good becomes evil, evil becomes good, darkness becomes light, light becomes darkness, bitter becomes sweet, and sweet becomes bitter (v. 20).

• the exercise of intellect (v. 21)

The Woe of Sophistry: those who are “wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight” in the exercise of intellect (v. 21). Academics who pride themselves in their own intellect will be stung by this phrase. Persons who are especially gifted with native intelligence are often responsible for the “ideas” acted out in the culture. Communism, for instance, is the idea of Lenin acted out by dictators such as Stalin and Khrushchev.

• the administration of justice (vv. 22–23)

The Woe of Injustice: Taking bribes and compromising their office or position for money. The loss of personal righteousness leads to social corruption and injustice.

Jeremiah 17:9–10 (NKJV)“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?..

I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

In summary, the human hearts is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick. (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

and the prognosis is from Isa 34:1-2: Judgment on the Nations.

Draw near, O nations, to hear, and give attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it...Isaiah 34:1–2 (ESV)

...For the Lord is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter.

Drawing Nigh to God (Ps 73:28.)“It is good for me to draw near to God.”

Draw Near! ( Isaiah 55:6, James 4-8, Hebrews 4”16)

James 4:8 (NKJV)8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)16Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Isaiah 55:6 (NKJV)6Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

God is not far from any one of us. He is everywhere present. But to draw near to Him is to endeavour to realise His presence with us, to feel Him near, to commune with Him.

I. How may we draw near to God. 1. By devoutly reading His Word. 2. By meditation on Him. 3. By prayer to Him. 4. By praise of Him. 5. By imitating Him in life and work.

II. When should we draw near to God. 1. In time of painful doubt. 2. In time of suffering. 3. In time of gladness we should draw near to Him with our gratitude. 4. When entering upon and toiling in difficult enterprises.

We should at all times live near to Him. But there are times when we should specially seek His helpful Presence.

III. The advantages of drawing near to God. By so doing, 1. Faith is increased. 2. Suffering is removed, or more grace is given to the sufferer, and the suffering is sanctified.

3. Gladness is hallowed and increased. 4. Wisdom and strength are imparted for difficult duties. (William Jones, Psalms 1–87, 1892, 1, 403.)

The faculty of hearing: God made hearing ears (Prov. 20:12); God opens the ears of men (Job 33:16); God opens their ear to instruction (Job 36:10); the Lord has opened my ear (Isa. 50:5);

Hear! (Psalm 49:1, Isaiah 33:13, Matt. 13:43)

Matthew 13:9 (NKJV)9He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Matthew 13:43 (NKJV)43Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Psalm 49:1 (NKJV)1Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

Isaiah 33:13 (NKJV)13Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

Hear and understand! look with your eyes, hear with your ears and pay attention (Ezek. 40:4); hear and understand! (Matt. 15:10; Mark 7:14); he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Rev. 2:7; Rev. 2:11; Rev. 2:17; Rev. 2:28; Rev. 3:6; Rev. 3:13; Rev. 3:22);

Attention. The cognitive process of focusing the mind on some object or idea.

Defined (Noun)1 the mental faculty of considering or taking notice. 2 special care or consideration.

Give Attention!: Pay attention to God!(Jer. 23:18,Act 4:19, John 8:47, Job 36:11, Jer 11:7)

To Pay Attention as To Show Respect — To show respect to someone is conceptualized as paying attention to that person. (Lexham Figurative Language of the Bible Glossary, 2016.)

is it right to pay attention to you rather than to God? (Acts 4:19)

Who has stood in the council of the Lord to hear his word? (Jer. 23:18); he who is of God hears the words of God (John 8:47); perhaps they will listen (Jer. 26:3); if they hear him they will have prosperity (Job 36:11);

listen to me (Isa. 51:7; Isa. 55:2); listen to my voice (Jer. 11:4; Jer. 11:7)

listen to what I am saying to you (Ezek. 2:8); set these words on your heart and soul (Deut. 11:18); today if you hear his voice (Ps. 95:7; Heb. 3:7);