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Copyright April 10, 2022 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche
Have you ever talked to a friend or family member who was complaining about all the hard times they were going through?
Our hearts go out to these people.
Most of the time!
Sometimes we know the misery that has come upon them is something they created for themselves!
There is the person in financial distress because of excessive borrowing, or perhaps the person who is jobless because they only choose to work when and where they WANT to work.
You may think about the parent who complains about their undisciplined children who you know has always refused to discipline their children.
Sometimes we make our own messes.
This is what we are going to see in our text in Isaiah 30 this morning.
God has challenged the people of Judah to trust Him but they have steadfastly refused to do so.
The message is this: our strength comes when abandon all other hope but Him.
Conventional wisdom in our culture focuses on human potential.
The idea is that if we can just “believe in ourselves” we can overcome anything and reach whatever goal we set.
God says, “That is nonsense!
It is delusional” We can convince ourselves that we are superman but we still aren’t going to be able to fly, stop a bullet or go faster than a speeding train.
Something doesn’t become true because you want it to be true.
If that was the case La Harpe would be a nice rural farming community only 30 minutes from Chicago!!!
The Lord wants us to understand that we are completely dependent on Him!
The sooner we realize this, the better off we will be.
It’s a tough pill to swallow for most people and Judah struggled with this message, just like we do.
Characteristics of the Person Heading in the Wrong Direction
It is possible to have all the right information and still use it in all the wrong ways.
Faith in God, is not measured by an exam, it is revealed by our life.
How we live shows the values we embrace.
And this is where Isaiah shines the spotlight.
1 “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.”
The people of Judah just didn’t seem to get this reality.
When they were threatened by Israel and Syria they went to the Assyrian Empire and asked for their protection.
It cost them dearly and they didn’t get any protection.
When this same Assyrian Empire decided they also wanted the land of Judah, the people of Judah went to get help from Egypt.
When we are headed in the wrong direction we return to that which is familiar rather than what is best.
Like many alliances in our own day, Egypt was not particularly eager to help Judah.
They entered the alliance to help themselves.
They wanted an alliance to keep Judah as a buffer between the Assyrians and the Egyptians!
God had rescued Judah from Egypt once before and now the people are returning to those who once enslaved them.
It sounds absurd when we look at Judah.
Unfortunately, we don’t see it when it is happening to us.
God has remained faithful, but our memory is faulty.
The present crisis in our life always seems to overshadow the faithfulness of God in our past.
And as a result, we turn to things that were comfortable but not helpful.
· We turn to alcohol or drugs to numb our senses
· We go back to friends that drag us down rather than pick us up
· We buy things to distract us only to find we need to buy more things to distract us further adding debt to our misery.
· We may turn to other religions or to the occult to try to get a quick fix from some religious huckster.
· We return to superficial relationships and lusts in the hope of finding that one person who will make our life better.
· We try to use force to make things happen
Proverbs 26:11 says it graphically: ‘As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.”
We are used to the life we have always lived.
Therefore, it makes us comfortable.
Even when our previous life was bad . . . it is still familiar.
This is why some people stay in a bad situation relationally.
It is familiar.
Have you ever heard someone say, “Better to go with the Devil you know than the one you don’t?”
The follow-up statement should be: Why are you going anywhere with the Devil?
Follow the Lord!
However, there is a measure of discomfort in the step of faith.
We don’t want to admit a need.
We prefer what is comfortable.
When we are going in the wrong direction we want to silence truth.
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,
13 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.”
The people of Judah had their minds made up.
They did not want to trust God.
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