Sermon Tone Analysis

Isaiah 58

 

! Introduction

            Have you ever seen the sign on a semi “If you can’t see my mirrors, I can’t see you?”

There are certain areas around a large truck where you can’t see what is there from the drivers seat.

They are called blind spots.

Blind spots occur in other areas of life as well.

When we moved into our house, we saw a lot of things that we wanted to change and we wrote them down because we knew that after living there for a while we would learn to live with them and after a time we wouldn’t even see them anymore.

They would become blind spots.

Blind spots can also occur in our personality.

All of us have certain habits which we are not even aware of.

Sometimes they very annoying to other people and we don’t even know we are doing them.

Being aware of blind spots can be very important.

Certainly when driving it is critical that we know what is in our blind spot.

Once in a while when I am driving, I want to make a quick lane change and I actually begin to do it but just before I do, I quickly shoulder check to see what is in my blind spot.

Sometimes, I am surprised to see a car there and have to steer back quickly in order to avoid an accident.

Is it possible that sometimes we have blind spots in our relationship with God? How important is it to be aware of our spiritual blind spots?

This morning, we are continuing our study of Isaiah and will be looking at Isaiah 58.

I mentioned last week that today and for the next two weeks we will be looking at some of the words God said to Israel about their sin.

The first thing we will examine today is the spiritual blind spots which Israel had.

But this is by no means a study of history.

As we examine their spiritual blind spots, let us be open to the work of the Spirit of God and allow Him to reveal our spiritual blind spots.

Pray for openness to the Spirit of God.

!

I.

As If…

!! A. Supposed Religiosity

In the second verse Isaiah talks about all kinds of good things that look like the marks of a faithful follower of God.

The passage draws us in because the things it talks about are things that we long for.

!!! 1. Wanting to Know God

            He says, “they seek me out.”

They want to know God.

They were glad that the temple of God was in their midst where they could go to seek God.

They would have recalled the great stories of how Moses met God face to face and communicated the law to the people.

They knew the story of Samuel who was called by God three times at night until he listened and spoke with him in an audible voice.

They would have identified with and affirmed these stories.

This phrase draws me in because I want to know God.

We sing lots of songs about seeking God, songs like “I want to know you.”

I just finished reading a book by John Piper with the title, “Desiring God.”

!!! 2. Wanting To Know God’s Will

            We also find that they are “eager to know my ways.”

They wanted to know the will of God.

They had heard the stories of Gideon who was guided by God through the use of the fleece and they would have desired to have such clear direction from God.

As we read this, we affirm it also in our own lives.

We also want to know what God’s will is.

This is a question that I have been asked many times.

Young people come and ask, “How can I know God’s will for my life.”

It is the topic of a lot of sermons.

A number of years ago, I read a book with the title, “Decision Making and the Will of God.”

It is a good thing, a sign of faithfulness to want to know the will of God.

!!! 3. Wanting Evidence Of God’s Presence

            A further evidence of faithful desires is that they “seem eager for God to come near them.”

One day Moses asked to see the face of God, but was not permitted to do so.

Instead, he saw the glory of God.

Israel would have been warmed in the memory of that story because they would have wanted the same experience.

How often we have similar desires!

We express them in the songs we sing like the song with the line, “more power.”

We read books like “Fresh Power” and we are thrilled to see how God is at work and we long for that nearness and for the power which the presence of God would bring to us.

I want to experience God near.

I have often prayed for this for myself and for others.

!!! 4. Engaging In Religious Activity

            The people of Israel were also engaged in religious activities which were intended to develop their relationship with God.

The interesting thing is that the religious activity which the prophet mentions is not making a sacrifice or bringing an offering or wearing the right garment or eating the right food; it is the activity of fasting, which seems to me of all the possible religious activities to be most purely for the purpose of wanting to know God.

What are the religious activities which we engage in which are for the purpose of drawing near to God.

We have devotions, we pray, worship and attend church.

All of these are good things, things which we would promote.

Perhaps we even fast so that God will come near.

This is a very interesting passage because, as one writer says, “they are hyper correct in their religious observances and delighted to exhibit their piety.”

They think that spiritually they are on the right track.

Do these things not also express our desires?

Do we not also think that we are on the right track spiritually?

!! B. Blatant Failures

But…something was wrong and they had a sense that something was wrong.

For some reason or other, there was something about their relationship with God that was not working.

In verse 3 we see the intimation of this problem.

They were fasting, but there was a sense that God was not listening.

They humbled themselves before God, but it seemed that God did not notice.

Once again, we are drawn into this text because we also sometimes wonder what is wrong.

We long for God, but he doesn’t always seem near.

We pray for God to act, but don’t see His power the way we think we should.

Where is the evidence of God’s power?

Where are the changes, where is the healing, the miracles, the excitement.

We have a sense that something isn’t going as it should.

In verse 2, Isaiah uses the phrase “as if.”

I have heard that used by young people to express doubt and that is the exact sense in which Isaiah uses it here.

He identifies two basic problems in their life of faith.

As he spoke these words, it was a day of revelation - eyes were opened and blind spots were revealed.

Is it possible that we have the same blind spots?

The prophet warns that you can’t say you are in a good relationship with God if any of these things are true in your life.

!!! 1. Self Love Instead of Love For Others

In verse 3, God accuses, “you do as you please.”

The problem was that they loved themselves.

Self centeredness is not a sin that lives in isolation, it always has an impact on other people.

In the case of Israel, it had an impact on their workers whom they were exploiting.

This must have been a great problem in Israel because many of the other prophets speak about this sin.

In Jeremiah 34:8-11 there is a story in which the people freed their slaves under the threat of an enemy, but as soon as the threat was removed, they once again took their slaves back.

Malachi 3:5 talks about defrauding the workers of their wages.

Throughout Isaiah 58, there is a great emphasis on the sin of injustice.

God cares about the poor, about the down-trodden, about those without power and whenever his people join with injustice something is wrong.

Self centeredness was also revealed in broken relationships with the people around them.

Isaiah reveals their lack of love in verse 4 when he observes that they quarrel and have strife and even strike each other with fists.

James says in James 4:1, “What causes fights and quarrels among you?”