A Nation In Trouble--Deadly Delusions, Part I

A NATION IN TROUBLE-- DEADLY DELUSIONS, PART 1 Spring Valley Mennonite; July 10, 2022; Isaiah 5:8-19 God's Word is timeless and applicable to every time period for two profound reasons: first, God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Secondly, God's Word is timeless because men never change. All have sinned and fall short of God's standards of righteousness. The story of the Bible is of how God deals with that sin, providing a pathway for the Messiah through the nation of Israel. That is the story of the Old Testament. But more than just setting the stage for the New Testament, Messiah Jesus, and the New Covenant we have striking parallels to our modern society and its problems and solutions. In today's message we are going to see in the sinful society of Judah amazing parallels to modern day America, and the judgment awaiting unless repentance and revival occur. This morning, I would direct our attention to the latter part of the fifth chapter. We remember that in the first five chapters of Isaiah, God is presenting an indictment against Judah. Before the court of all creation, God is presenting evidence against His chosen nation, evidence which justifies coming judgment. I spoke previously about the covenants which God has made with His people, and how in the temporary covenant of the Law there were specified both blessings for obedience and curses and judgment for disobedience. Because God is a Covenant-Keeping God, He obligates Himself to reward obedience and punish disobedience. Through the language of metaphor, in the beginning of chapter 5 God describes Judah as a vineyard which He planted, tended, and protected only to find that His vineyard produced only worthless fruit. In the rest of chapter 5, we find six different reasons God was justified in judging Judah. They are each prefaced by the word "Woe." We find here six deadly delusions to which Judah had subscribed. There are striking similarities between the culture of 7th Century BC Judah and 21st century America. Listen to see if you agree. The result of Judah's folly for rejecting God and His commands are found in Isaiah 5:24: "Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble and dry grass collapses into the flame, so their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel." These are sobering words about the result of buying into these six deadly delusions. They were a nation in trouble. None of us are victims of our culture. We all have the power of choice, and even though the influences of culture are profound and intensely powerful, we each have the responsibility to identify those forces and to resist them. Each one of us must choose whether we will yield to these six deadly delusions, for they are strongly affecting us today. The first of these three delusions is: I. DEADLY DELUSION #1: MATERIALISM Judah was enjoying unparalled prosperity. Perhaps at no time since the reign of King Solomon were things "so good." Judah had a strong army which was equipped with the latest weaponry. They had reason to feel secure. Trade with other nations had made available a rich variety of consumer goods. Politically, things were stable as King Uzziah had reigned for 52 years. Everyone enjoyed plenty of food. Construction and growth surrounded the people. Yet, wealth and prosperity had given rise to a great delusion and a great sin. We read of it beginning in verse 8 (read vv. 8-10) In 1 Kings 21 we read the story of King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. It serves as an illustration of what was happening in Judah. King Ahab, although fabulously wealthy, was dissatisfied as he looked out of his palace window and saw a vineyard which belonged to his neighbor Naboth. So, Ahab approached Naboth and offered to buy the vineyard. Now to understand land ownership in Israel, we need to remember that each parcel of land was the permanent possession of a particular family. If you found yourself in financial straits, you could sell your land, but first choice to buy was given by law to relatives. If no relative could be found to buy the land, only then could it be sold outside the family. The sale of land in Israel also had another profound stipulation: all land reverted back to the original owner every 49 years. This was called "The Year of Jubilee." So, when the land was sold, the price was dictated by how long it was until the Jubilee. This was God's way of controlling land ownership, assuring the livelihood of each family. Naboth's response to Ahab was "How could I consider selling my family inheritance?" Ahab found himself depressed because he didn't own Naboth's vineyard, and we remember ultimately that he had Naboth murdered so he could take over what he desired. This was what was happening in Isaiah's day. Large land owners were greedily accumulating land and houses, so they could build a big house in the middle of their holdings and not have to bother with neighbors. They were determined to expand their holdings. At this time in Judah, the rich had conveniently forgotten the observance of the Year of Jubilee, for obvious reasons. This rampant greedy materialism was a symptom of turning their backs on God and forgetting His laws. As there was "trouble in paradise" in Judah, so we Americans, even Christians, have so thoroughly embraced materialism that we don't even consider it a problem. The influence of consumerism in each of our lives is so subtle and pervasive that we are all being slowly strangled and don't even realize it. It has been estimated that every American is subjected to 3,500 separate advertisements every day! Even a 30- minute newscast on TV contains 10 minutes of advertising, persuading us to try 50 different products. And it is not just products that are pushed, but the philosophy of consumption is also sold. We have made the choice of products one of the lesser gods of the main god of consumerism. In less than 50 years, the number of products in the average American grocery store has risen from 9000 to over 38,000. The advent of Internet shopping and home delivery has opened up millions of available products to fuel our desire for variety and convenience. A philosophy of satisfying our "wants" has replaced filling our needs. We have bought into the philosophy of "I deserve it, because I'm worth it!" We have been indoctrinated into a culture of over-consumption and dissatisfaction, where we feel it is our God-given right to experience and enjoy every new product which comes out. It seems so many have lost the ability to say "no" to our wants. Credit cards have opened the door to instant gratification of these wants, and the average consumer has 4 credit cards and carries an average of over $2300 of outstanding debt! I couldn't figure out if that was per card or for all cards combined. Considering that only 45% of credit card holders pay off their balance each month, and there are 459 million credit cards out there, that 55% carry well over that amount of $2300! Do we ever consider the effects of consumerism in our lives? This insatiable desire affects our families, for if we buy, we must work. It takes two incomes for the average family to survive, and current inflation isn't making it any easier. What does a lifestyle of consumerism/materialism do to relationships? Like the greedy land-grabbers of Isaiah's day, we find that consumerism isolates us from others. Isn't it true that the more things we have, the more time it takes to care for and manage them? If we are not very cautious, instead of possessing our things, they possess us. It is a curious thing that we feel guilty about not using something we have! Every time I pass by my fishing rods in the garage, I feel guilty that I'm not using them! But the biggest reason materialism is such a deadly delusion is that we buy into the idea that "things" can give us the satisfaction that only God can give. We try and fill that "God-shaped vacuum" with possessions, and we miserably fail. Only a relationship with God can give true fulfillment and contentment. It is a true statement that anything which comes between me and God is an idol. That is why Paul identifies greed as idolatry in Galatians 3:5. The second deadly delusion is found in verses 11 and 12 (Read) II. THE DELUSION OF SEEKING PLEASURE AND ENTERTAINMENT We might relax a bit as we read that drunkenness and lavish entertainment are the specific sins mentioned. However, the greater motivation behind these excesses is the delusion of pleasure seeking or escaping reality. Success in life from any standpoint involves diligence and hard work. As in many things, the key is balance. God has created us with the capacity to experience pleasure and delight in many things. For instance, God has given us taste buds. Did you ever consider why God did such a thing? It was so we could appreciate and give thanks to God for the tastes of the things He created! Why did God give us the ability to see colors? Or the exquisite sensations of touch? Or the ability to hear the richness of the variety of sounds? He gave us these abilities so we might enjoy His good gifts. BUT...there is a deadly delusion buried in these gifts from God: when we make the gratification of these capacities our goal, or when we are so distracted by these things that we lose touch with reality, or when pleasure becomes our reason for living-then pleasure seeking becomes the viper that kills. Pleasure deludes us into thinking that fulfillment comes from indulging ourselves. Understand that I am not primarily speaking of uncontrolled debauchery here, like what many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were pursuing; but I am speaking of the pursuit of pleasure and entertainment to the extent that it controls our lives. Can we in any way stand observing our American culture today and not say that we as a nation have fallen victim to this delusion? I think it speaks volumes about our culture that a professional athlete can make $48 million in a single year, and even paying that extravagant salary his team can still make money because of his entertainment value! Consider the size and influence of the entertainment industry today. How much money do we personally spend on indulging our pleasures? The whole travel industry is fueled by our desire to be constantly entertained through seeing new places. The music industry makes money by our desire to hear something new. Consider the film industry, and the fast- food restaurants-- both make money by cultivating the indulgence of our senses. While balance and moderation is the key here, the great danger comes when we become distracted from reality and join those dwelling in Jerusalem who (as verse 12 says) "do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord, not considering the work of His hands." How does this addiction to pleasure and entertainment become a deadly delusion? It happens when these things distract us from the reality of what life is all about and what God is doing in the world. The pursuit of pleasure and entertainment dulls our ability to distinguish what is truly important in life. In Judah the people were so distracted by pleasure that they forgot God. I see this condition in America. Church attendance suffers as does charitable giving. And like the delusion of materialism, people try and fill that God-shaped vacuum with experience and pleasure to the poverty of their souls. Verses 13-17 presents the consequences of out-of-control materialism and pleasure seeking: seeking to fill our mouths with good things, representing the second woe, will see the result of death and hell opening its mouth to receive those who indulge. Instead of great mansions in the midst of large property (the first woe), barrenness results with their property becoming grazing pastures. The third woe is pronounced in verses 18-19 (Read) This speaks of: III. THE DELUSION OF THE SINFUL LIFESTYLE This is the delusion that we can sin with no adverse consequences. I am fascinated by the imagery of verse 18 as Isaiah pronounces the third "woe" upon Judah. They were "dragging iniquity with the cords of falsehood, and sin as if with cart ropes." The picture is of being so tightly tied to sin that it closely follows us everywhere we go. We are tied to our sin, dragging it with us, unable to loosen ourselves from it because of falsehood. Whether the ropes are the bindings which were used to tie burdens onto a cart, of if this is speaking of the traces which connected the oxen to the cart, the ropes are strong and serve to bind and restrict. The ties to sin are inescapable. How clear a picture of someone "all tied up" in their sin. These cords are the "cords of falsehood." Satan, who is the author of sin, always surrounds the sinful choices of life with lies. It has been rightly said that sin always promises more than it delivers. Sin's pathway promises to lead to power and prestige, or fun and pleasure, and that there will be no negative consequences to our sin. The delusion is that any possible benefit is empty and fleeting. Sin is parasitic. It slowly drains the life from its victims, and leaves them empty and broken. Have you noticed that the advertisements for alcohol never pictures the drunk passed out in his own vomit? The enticements for sex never include the heartbreak of an unplanned pregnancy. The excitement of gambling never includes the breakup of families or pictures of hungry children left with no food. Sin always is wrapped in the brightly colored wrappings of falsehood and lies. Sin always results, like uncontrolled materialism and pleasure-seeking, in isolation from the only source of goodness, from God Himself. Isaiah 59:1-2: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear." Sin makes a separation; sin results in God's face being hidden. Our prayers are not heard. Wait a minute-am I saying that God doesn't hear the prayers of the sinner? Understand that while all the inhabitants of Judah were engaged in all these sinful practices they were continuing to offer sacrifices in the temple and continued going through the rituals of worship. They were continuing to offer up their prayers. The prophet describes this in 29:13: "Then the Lord said, this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote..." God is saying that He will not listen to prayers offered which come from a rebellious and arrogant heart. But God always hears the cry of a repentant heart. The inhabitants of Judah were so deluded by their sin that they found themselves mocking God and His prophet with words like, "What is keeping God? Why is He so slow?" Or "If God is going to do something, let Him show Himself so we can see it." They were skeptical and cynical. The cynic remains with us, as Peter reminds us in 2 Peter 3:3 "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts and saying, 'Where is the promise of Hie coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." These warnings to Judah are like a description of America today! Are we not a society all bound up in falsehood and lies? It is difficult to discern who is telling the truth, and we wonder who we can trust to not lie. We observe a culture that is running headlong after sin. What should be our response to what God is telling us? IV. OUR RESPONSE TO THESE DELUSIONS First, a personal evaluation of our own lives is in order. I speak not only to those here at Spring Valley, but also to our larger audience who may be watching or listening to this service. I would affirm the sacrificial lifestyles many in our community pursue. Let's begin with this last delusion: the pursuit of a sinful lifestyle. Do you find yourself today bound up in the cords of sin? Perhaps that sin has been blinding you to the truth but today can be the day you can cast off those ropes and experience freedom! A man was speaking of how he almost entered into an adulterous relationship, and how subtle the delusion came upon him. He began to rationalize his actions as the delusion became stronger. Then comes a time when the cords of sin bind us so tightly that it seems we cannot escape, and without the sharp knife of confession and repentance, our situation is hopeless. In a moment of clarity, the Spirit speaks: Be free! Christ offers freedom from the power of sin and death! Perhaps this morning you are seeing yourself as having been deluded by the pursuit of pleasure and entertainment. Perhaps you have placed the gratification of your senses above your spiritual welfare and the welfare of others. Are these things draining time and resources from the priorities God has for you? Do you find yourself living for the weekends? Is what you do with your leisure time most important to you? Are you addicted to television? To sports? To food? (Careful there preacher, you are going from preaching to meddling!) The solution? Recognize the deadly delusion which has distracted you. Seriously consider your priorities in life. Focus on spiritual priorities rather than gratifying your senses. Confess, repent and move on. How about the delusion offered by the powerful lure of consumerism? Are you bound by the acquisition of more and more? Are you consuming to live or living to consume? Do you see the focus of your life working to accumulate more and more while our families, communities and churches suffer? The answers to these questions are not easy. It is so easy to rationalize that we really need that advanced model of machinery, cell phone, computer or automobile. And sometimes we do. But realize the delusion that we deserve the latest this or that. How do we combat the delusion of consumerism? One idea is to emphasize the acquiring of character above acquiring goods. How do we calculate the value of another person? It should be by the characteristics of maturity and godliness rather than by the amount of wealth accumulated. Romans 12:2 tells us that we should not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of our minds. These three delusions are so deadly because they seek to fill that God-shaped vacuum in the heart that only God, made known through Jesus Christ can fill. It is trying to fill on the horizontal what only is available on the vertical. 2