Something aint right (Isaiah 59.1-8 and John 3.17ff)
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See, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
Rather, your iniquities have been barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
For your hands are defiled with blood,
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
your tongue mutters wickedness.
No one brings suit justly,
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
conceiving mischief and begetting iniquity.
They hatch adders’ eggs,
and weave the spider’s web;
whoever eats their eggs dies,
and the crushed egg hatches out a viper.
Their webs cannot serve as clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
Their feet run to evil,
and they rush to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity,
desolation and destruction are in their highways.
The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths.
Their roads they have made crooked;
no one who walks in them knows peace.
Intro:
God’s mission or purpose in creating us was to give God glory……
….and God is concerned with our hearts being connected to God…..
(pause)
So basically God being the loving God that God is………
……God seeks relationship with us……….
(pause)
But the difficulty in that building process is that we often tend to turn away from God………
……instead of drawing closer to God……….
(pause)
And whenever we start turning away from God……
……because we are out of order………….we start feeling out of order……….
Think about it.......
......whenever we are doing something out of order
.....what do we usually tend to do?
(slight pause)
Because typically,
...........if we are out of order
.......instead of seeing ourselves as out of order we reassoicate our lives with others who are out of order to make it look like we are.......
.....IN order!
The bible says in.....
For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.
(pause)
And if we are not careful we will start blaming everybody else for our mess……….
(pause)
And if it really gets bad……………
you will even begin blaming God…….
for not being there for you………….
when in all actuality........
it is absolutely absurd to assume that the everlasting loving-kindness of God has been shut off or decreased towards us…
(pause)
And........
many of us can testify to the fact that the love of God has been with us through it all....
both thick……………..and thin………..
(pause)
Look at it now……….
See, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
In other words…………
The heart of God is prepared to save…………and it is also capable to save....
“God’s hand is not shortened”
So….If God wanted to………….there is nothing hindering a heavenly God from reaching into an earthly circumstance…………
(pause)
I mean really…………….what is it in earth that could possibly be too far for God to get to………….
(pause)
That’s not God’s problem………….
And then also……………
“God’s ear is not heavy or dull”
Meaning God’s ears still work……….when God’s children cry out……….
So……….that means that even if you whispered…………..with the right heart………..God has a way of picking up our distress signals…………
(pause)
Notice now………….that the first word used in this verse is Behold……….
Meaning………….Isaiah wants to reckon with the mind of the people to get them to take note of the nature of God………..
(pause)
And the significance in this is that sometimes if our perception is not in order…………we cannot organize our minds to be spiritually productive………
(pause)
And the only way to genuinely see truth……….is through revelation…….by which God has to use mechanisms to augment how we see things……..
(pause)
And I don’t know about you……………but sometimes we just don’t see what we need to see…………
And it takes God……….to talk some sense into us as it relates to who God is in the situation……….
And then in verse 2…..
Isaiah continues assisting Israel…
……..and you and I to understand that it is not our situation that is too difficult for God……….
(slight pause)
But the problem is in our iniquities…………
So then if I am my biggest problem…………………how do I get past me!
(pause)
Well…………..
the first thing I have to do…………is address what I am doing that is considered problematic………..
(pause)
Look at it now………
Rather, your iniquities have been barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
In other words…………
We have used the wrong thing……………….to divide us from the right thing………..
(pause)
So instead of the close relationship that we used to have………….when we worshipped and communed with God…………
we have now turned it into a spectator event……….
(pause)
And for many of us…………the wall of separation is generational………..
meaning that a lot of folk were born into a situation where God was not talked about……..
(pause)
And for many of us the wall of separation was a purposeful neglect towards religiosity……….
Because you saw people going through the motions……
……and that did not look like relationship to you………
……so it turned you off…………
(pause)
But the only problem is that you should have recognized what Abraham recognized…………..
(pause)
Because when you don’t see God around you………
……….that does not mean that God is not around you……
…………it just means you are looking at the wrong thing thats around you…………..
(pause)
Look at it now…………
Because most of us think that we are separated from God because of the effects of distance from God………
….meaning we get into these psychological traps……
…….and the circumstantial battles of everyday life………….
And we assume that these are what tear us apart from God…………
(pause)
But the truth of the matter is……… that before you can start giving credit to what we are able to observe after the dust settles………
……we have to look at what caused the distance in the first place……….
(pause)
And according to Isaiah………
…..the reason we are not more familiar with God……
…..is because there are choices being made in our lives that do not uplift us spiritually……
…..and these choices are turning our hearts further from God…………..
(pause)
You don’t need a ‘FRESH WORD”.........
..........you need to stop making sinful choices thinking it don’t matter!
(long pause - note jokingly.....I might need security to get out of here today!)
Freedom watch this.....
You can not gain clarity about God without growing in discipleship with God………..
And you can’t grow in discipleship by…………walking further away from God
(pause)
And whenever we consistently choose everything else before God…
…….pretty soon……………you will find yourself in a place where you really can’t put your finger on it………
……but deep down inside…………..a voice is whispering……….
“Something……….just aint right”
(pause)
And verse 2 says………
….that it is our sins that have hid God’s face from us………..
(pause)
Church family……
……many of us misunderstand what Christ really did for us………….on that cross…………..
(pause)
Because the truth of the matter is that Christ…………on the Cross…
…….pulls us out of seeing love as fantasy……
………and places us into seeing love as sacrifice………..
(pause)
Expound:
Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani – My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me…..
.....watch this now!
Because…..
God is Jesus……….(Homoiousis – Sameness of God)……..
But even when God is Jesus……………
when sin is placed on Jesus……..
God says to God’s self………….
“I love you too much to be your fantasy…………”
(pause)
So even if it means………..sacrificing……….towards myself……
…..because I am eternally consistent…………..
I can not rearrange how I love based on my true nature……….
(pause)
But even with a Jesus………….I have to turn my face…………..
(pause)
So Freedom………….
if this is the case with God looking at God’s self through a Jesus covered in sin……..
(slight pause)
How in the world…………do we believe that our iniquities………
…are not going to separate us…………from the love of God………..
(pause)
We’re living in a fantasy world………complaining that it aint real…
….and that it don’t feel right
(pause)
But the truth of the matter is that…….
......it will never feel right…
……until it becomes real…
(pause)
And at the end of the day,
it is not a separation…………based on hate………
………but at its very root…………it is a separation……
…….based on love…………..
(pause)
Because remember…
……..in verse 1…………..God is still in position to save………….and to hear……
……..but the only problem is the fact…………
“That…………something aint right”
(pause)
I hope I’m not the only person in here……
……that needs everything to be where it’s supposed to be in your life…………….
(pause)
And that means………….if somethings got to go……
…….in order for God to get the glory……….then it’s time to wipe away the tears……
..and tell whatever that thing is in our lives that is causing seperation……………….
“TO HIT THE DOOR………………….”
(pause and expound)
Look at it now…………
For your hands are defiled with blood,
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
your tongue mutters wickedness.
No one brings suit justly,
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
conceiving mischief and begetting iniquity.
God says…………..in verses 3 and 4…………
I’m looking at you……………and I’m able to see the blood on your fingers………
….and not only that but everything you say is twisted around…………
(pause)
You’re trying to get by………..with everything you do……
……and you’re not even worried about getting closer to me…………
(slight pause)
..everything is an excuse about what you need…………and what you want…………
(pause)
You’re planning how you want to live your life…………..to keep me out……….
.and if I don’t make it into your plans……….then oh well that’s just the way it is…………..
(pause)
They hatch adders’ eggs,
and weave the spider’s web;
whoever eats their eggs dies,
and the crushed egg hatches out a viper.
God says……………..in verse 5
You’re so turned against me in your decision making for your life…………until it’s like nurturing the birthing process of snakes…………..
And what the text is explaining in my spiritual imagination is that,
..........sin is not just damaging in our present
.......but it damages our lives down the road in ways we haven’t even seen yet
(pause and expound)
Their webs cannot serve as clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
Their feet run to evil,
and they rush to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity,
desolation and destruction are in their highways.
God says…………in verse 6 and 7……………
We have tried to cover up……………..with spider webs……
…….that are see through…………..material…………
As if……………
God is not going to be able to identify what we are holding deep down on the inside of our hearts…………..
(pause and expound)
And then finally in verse 8………………..Isaiah says……………
The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths.
Their roads they have made crooked;
no one who walks in them knows peace.
The reason we can’t find any real peace…………..is because we are too busy trying to walk down a path………
….that does not have any guidance………..
(pause)
And I wish I had somebody in here that understood that if……….. “Something in your life just aint right”……………..
we might need to reassess our hearts…………to see what’s really going on…………..
(pause)
Look at somebody and holler…………..
“Something aint right”
(pause and Expound) family, job, relationship, money……….
Shift.........
But the one thing I love about God is..........
.......whenever something aint right in our lives
......whenever we have fallen into a sinful pattern in our lives
God says,
.......I’m sending help!
(slight pause)
Now......
.......its up to you to accept the help I’m sending to you
.........but this is the only way we can get you back on track!
God says,
.......I’ve got to send somebody to return order!
(pause and expound)
(Optional – walk out of the pulpit……….as we transition into John 3.17
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
And in my spiritual imagination I hear God saying,
“The reason I’m sending you help is because.........
.......something aint right!”
But even when something aint right.......
I’m not sending you help to destroy you......
But......
.......I need you to understand that I sent help
.......to DELIVER YOU!
(pause)
And I don’t know who this is for......
......but God sent me to tell somebody this morning,
“Don’t push away your HELP...........”
[Read John 3.16-17 again.......
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
And if you ever want to check your help........
........look at what the results will be once the HELP is done HELPING!
Because the text says here.....
I’m sending help so that your results will say,
“I have been saved through him!”
(pause and expound)
And I don’t know aboout you.........
......but whenever God finishes helping me
.......whatever wasn’t feeling right
.......starts feeling a whole lot better!!!
CLOSE/ and COMPLETION