Visions of Isaiah (9)
Notes
Transcript
Fear God, Wait for the Lord
Fear God, Wait for the Lord
Last week we discussed the two types of people who are against God, who are on the highway to hell so to speak. The first one is those who are unrighteous. Those who do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And the Second type: the over righteous-Those who are bound by the Pharisees.
We see this distinction on the prodigal son- The son who left represents those who want nothing to do with God and cling to the pleasures of this world.
The Older son is the one who lived by the law, but never had an actual relationship with the father. He obeyed, but realistically didn’t know anything about who the Father was. If he did-it wouldn’t have been so surprising when the father threw the feast for returning son.
This morning We are going to show the characteristics of the remnant.
The three characteristics of the remnant are:
1) A new Fear
2) A new Faith
3) a New foundation
A New Fear:
For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying:
“Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.
But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
Conspiracy- This is a fitting term for 2020- The year of the conspirators.
In my bible next to the word the theologians who help us with putting like verses together placed an astric next to the word and they put this verse:
When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with Ephraim,” the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.
Conspiracies are rumors- Rumors which put fear into the hearts of People. The Original Hebrew uses the term bind. Fear binds. You ever notice when you are afraid of something it seems to be everywhere? Fear of clowns—it becomes like a circus. You see them. Why? Because what you fear is what you look for. God is saying Do not fear what others talk about or the rumors of what is coming. Do not fear another shut down. Do not Fear government overreach or dictatorship. Do not fear the things of this world.
Because what you fear-Controls you. You run your whole life around that which you fear. If you fear hitting a deer-you won’t drive at night. Why? Because that’s when deer are most active. If you fear failing-You become a work-a-holic. If you fear sickness you become over protective.
Understand Ahaz was afraid of the coming invasion.
God tells Isaiah
YOU FEAR ME!
Isaiah was being called for conspiracy and treason. He stood for what God was saying when everyone else wanted to call in the cat to deal with the rats.
Fear God- It’s an interesting concept in our day.
Fearing God is a respect of His authority and position in your life. It’s an understanding that you would rather face Earthly consequences than stand in from of Jesus in Judgement.
You see this many times when the idea of death is brought up. Most people don’t want to die, but if you fear death you have to ask yourself am I truly saved? If we are fearing God than death can have no hold over us. If I know I followed God’s ways the best I could and saought forgiveness for my shortcomings than I can truly embrace death and If I can truly embrace on of the most unknown events in our life than what else is left to scare me?
And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”
In these verses God is stating the he will be both a sanctuary and a snare. How can God be both? Well it all depends on how you approach God.
Religious people state: If I obey and If I am a good person God will except me. It’s about a performance or a standard. But if you try to live up to this standard one of two things happen
1) You give up- You realize you cannot obtain the behavior example set by Jesus on your own
2) You think you made it- You become self righteous judging others.
So How does God himself become a snare—if it’s performance based The death and resurrection isn’t necessary. We don’t need help—we just need to be better. We don’t need grace, because we have the rules.
Jesus life would be significant, because he was a great moral example, but his death wasn’t necessary.
Paul actually saw this in his time and quoted Isaiah
And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,
for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.”
And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”
What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith;
but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.
Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,
as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Paul is offering a commentary on Isaiah. Those who lived by the rules could not accept the coming of Jesus and those who didn’t even know what was going on—the gentiles lucked their way into righteousness.
Understand- Biblical faith is resting in what God has done through Christ-those who approach God through Jesus’s death and resurrection find Hiim to be a sanctuary. What is a sanctuary- a place of protection and rest.
So what is our foundaiton
The foundation of God is God’s word. God is actively giving Isaiah His word. The people in ISaiah’s day were going to seers, and Palm readers, The paid more attention to the new media than the word of God. Listen if you are actively reading the word of God none of what is happening in today’s society should either suprise you or scare you. Why? Because God’s word tells us in the end times there will be disease, there will be famine, there will be wars and rumors of wars.
BUT His people are safe in the eyes of eternity.
Your faith and the lack of fear should be built on the word of God. A true believer knows the scripture. You should be drawn to the word of God because it has everything you need to build up your faith
Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.
Bind up and seal—The bible is bound up. It is a bound book. It holds God’s teachings. It’s sealed by his royal seal as a set apart and holy authoritative word. The word teaching is literally the word Torah. The torah was the bible in their day.
Gather my word, preseverve it, and use it to build your life?
I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.
Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?
God is telling Isaiah to stand on His word because people are going to try to get him to search else where. And Isaiah states: Should not God’s people inquire of their God?
Well how do we inquire of God
To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
Reading- or as Paul states: Hiding God’s word in your heart. This is enough for you. No it’s not all inclusive of the history and working of Jesus, but if we hide in our hearts the word of God- God is telling us that we will be at peace and not full of fear.
You fear because you don’t have the word of God active inside you. You may know God. You may even be saved by God’s grace, but if fear is controlling you then you either don’t know the scripture or you aren’t trusting that God will do what he says he will do.
The media wants you to fear—God wants you to understand what is going on, but build yourself on the truth and peace of His word.
If they do not speak according to this word---they have no light---they are not saved. When people come to you are you giving them advice or scripture?
Many people use the excuse, but I have trouble memorizing scripture. Yeah-well I have trouble remembering most things. If you know me my thinker isn’t a lock box it’s more like a sive with giant holes. But the Holy Spirit always brings up the right scripture when I need it. I may not remember the exact address, but I am a man of concepts. I can give you the concept and use google for the address. Well why then so I have to read the bible? Shouldn’t the Holy Spirit already know scripture? YUes, but you cannot recall what you never called in the first placed. Meaning you cannot remember or bring to memory that which has not even entered the mind.
If you don’t walk accotrding to scripture you have no light within you and
They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward.
They will be mad at God because it’s all his fault
And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.
Darkness reaps darkness
Light reaps light.
God desires us to be the remnant. To be those trust with the word, using the word, and building our lives upon the word. What happens when you’re in a chaotic moment? People tend to look for someone who is calm and follow them or they panic and run. Groping around blindly hoping to find the way and finding none.
You want to spread the gospel during this time—look like you know what you are doing. Keep calm. If you’re experiencing chaos in this moment turn to the scriptures and learn to rely on God. The closer we become to God the less fear can grip us.