\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload Audio\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\tText: Isaiah 58:1-11<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. In our Scripture reading, God has Isaiah loudly proclaim the sins of His people.<\/p>\n
A. A fact that surprises the Israelites.<\/p>\n 1. They delight in knowing God. They consider themselves righteous and\nfollowers of God’s Word.\n 2. They delight in the nearest of God, but God doesn’t seem to be paying\nattention to them.\n B. God, through Isaiah, points out how they act like worshipers of God, such as\nthrough fasting, but even while fasting and asking God for mercy they act\nunkindly towards their fellow men.\n
C. It reminds me of the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35<\/p>\n 1. He beg for mercy from his master, but was unwilling to show even a small\nkindness to his fellow servant.\n
D. But it is Isaiah 59 that we will focus our attention on today<\/p>\n
II. The lack of salvation is due to man and not God – Isaiah 59:1-2<\/p>\n
A. It is not that God is unable to save.<\/p>\n
1. There is no weakness or inability on God’s part.<\/p>\n
2. God is able to do more than we can ask or even imagine – Ephesians 3:20-21<\/p>\n
B. The problem is with man’s sins.<\/p>\n
1. It is our sins that separate us from God. <\/p>\n a. Notice that it is not God who is erecting the barrier. But we in our\nsins barricade ourselves from God.\n
b. Isaiah 1:15-20<\/p>\n
2. The problem is not that God cannot hear our cries. God is not deaf.<\/p>\n a. I remember so often our children saying “Mom” or “Dad.” “What\ndo you need?” we ask, but all we get is a mumble because the\nchild’s attention is already elsewhere.\n b. How often have we said, “If you want to talk to me, you have to\ntalk to me and not the window”?\n c. That is the problem God is describing. We call on God, but\nbecause we are focused towards sin, God cannot hear us. – Psalm\n66:18\n
3. We have walked away from the only one who can help us!<\/p>\n
III. Isaiah documents the sins the people have committed – Isaiah 59:3-8<\/p>\n
A. Violence – verse 3<\/p>\n
1. Micah 3:2-4 – Israel was a violent society<\/p>\n
2. They plotted wrongs against one another – Micah 7:2-3<\/p>\n
3. And it is not just against strangers – Micah 7:5-6<\/p>\n
B. Lying – verses 3-4<\/p>\n
1. No one stands up and calls for justice.<\/p>\n
2. Instead they prefer to trust empty words and lines<\/p>\n
C. Corruption spreads – verse 5<\/p>\n
1. They are depicted as adders breeding more adders.<\/p>\n 2. Even feeble attempts to stop the spread (crushing an egg) just generates\nmore evil (hatches an adder).\n
D. They weave wicked plans – verse 5-6<\/p>\n
1. They devise evil schemes like a spider weaving a web.<\/p>\n
2. Clothing is to cover and protect.<\/p>\n 3. They cover themselves with their schemes, but they provide no better\nprotection than a spider’s web.\n 4. Evil cannot atone for evil. These people conceived evil, engaged in\nperversity and violence, and then offer sacrifices to God to cover the sins\nthey have committed. – Jeremiah 7:9-11\n
5. Is it a wonder that God has rejected their sacrifices? – Isaiah 1:11-15<\/p>\n
E. They attack the innocent – verse 7<\/p>\n
F. They have caused so much harm, there is no peace – verse 8<\/p>\n
1. How often have people said “Why me Lord?”<\/p>\n 2. The man wheezing in the hospital from emphysema wonders why he must\nsuffer, never considering the lifetime of smoking that lead up to his\nhospitalization.\n 3. The young man who works long hours trying to get ahead on the bills and\nwonders what he ever did to deserve this, never considering his frivolous\nspending habits.\n 4. The parent who wonders why their children do not follow righteousness,\nnever considering the example they left – that their children are following\nthem.\n
5. “Why me?” because we chose to be there.<\/p>\n 6. “Why can’t I have peace in my life?” because they made for themselves\ncrooked paths.\n
G. Can you see the problem?<\/p>\n
1. God is not weak or unable to save.<\/p>\n
2. The problem is that the sinners are not ready to be forgiven.<\/p>\n
IV. The consequences of their choices – Isaiah 59:9-15a<\/p>\n A. What is desired and what they have gained by their choices are two entirely\ndifferent things.\n
B. They hope for light, but they brought the darkness of sin upon themselves.<\/p>\n
C. They hope for justice, but their sins prevent justice from being given.<\/p>\n
D. They hope for salvation, but they stay in their sins away from God.<\/p>\n
E. Even when one tries to turn from evil, he becomes the target of the rest.<\/p>\n
V. God takes matters into His mighty hands – Isaiah 59:15b-21<\/p>\n
A. God was unhappy with the mess that man had made with their lives.<\/p>\n
B. He saw was no man. There wasn’t an intercessor.<\/p>\n 1. There wasn’t a Moses or a Joshua or a David to work on behalf of God, to\nplead on behalf of the people.\n
C. So God rolled up his sleeves and took matters into his own capable hands.<\/p>\n 1. Depending on no one else, he would intercede and bring salvation to his\npeople.\n
2. God prepared to do battle for the salvation of mankind.<\/p>\n
D. He came to Zion as the Redeemer.<\/p>\n
1. This is the Christ, the Messiah. Immanuel – “God with us.”<\/p>\n 2. God saw no intercessor, so God became man to intercede on our behalf. –\nRomans 8:31-39\n
VI. Summary<\/p>\n
A. Sin has the same effect today. It separates us from God.<\/p>\n 1. We cannot live an unrighteous life and think it will have no impact on our\nrelationship with God.\n
2. I John 1:6-10 – Fellowship with God depends on walking in the light.<\/p>\n
B. When people turn from God, they turn to lies<\/p>\n
1. Remember Isaiah 59:4?<\/p>\n
2. You cannot turn from God and expect good things to happen.<\/p>\n
3. Things will get worse – II Timothy 3:13<\/p>\n 4. Like a person on drugs, they cannot see the damage they are doing to\nthemselves and others. Sin is deceptive and the more you get involved in\nsin, the more unclear your view of the world becomes.\n
C. There is no solution to the problem of sin, except for our redeeming God.<\/p>\n
1. You can dig yourself into the pit of sin, but you can’t dig your way out.<\/p>\n
2. Man uses sin to fix his sins and the result is simply more sin.<\/p>\n
3. Jesus is the only answer, the only solution.<\/p>\n a. John knew what he was saying when he said, “Behold the Lamb of\nGod, who takes away the sin of the world.” – John 1:29\n
b. Jesus paid the price for your sins when he died on the cross.<\/p>\n 4. Do not let you sins separate you from God, but if it has then do the only\nthing possible – surrender to the Redeemer and serve him with all your\nheart.\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Isaiah 58:1-11 I. In our Scripture reading, God has Isaiah loudly proclaim the sins of His people. A. A fact that surprises the Israelites. 1. They delight in knowing God. They consider themselves righteous and followers of God’s Word. 2. They delight in the nearest of God, but God doesn’t seem…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[90,795,47,179],"class_list":["post-62621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-god","tag-isaiah","tag-salvation","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53359,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/rituals-dont-cancel-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":62621,"position":0},"title":"Rituals Don’t Cancel Sin","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 58:1-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Men get into their minds that they need to make God listen to them \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Like a child holding his breath, they believe that if they suffer, then God will listen \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There were false religions based on self-inflicted pain to gain their god\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70966,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gods-invitation\/","url_meta":{"origin":62621,"position":1},"title":"God’s Invitation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Isaiah 1:16-20 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As mentioned in the text, God offers invitations to people to examine what He is able to provide \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus gave a similar invitation - Matthew 11:28-30 II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0No one has to be lost \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Everyone sins - Romans 3:23 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And the result\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63778,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-israel-fell\/","url_meta":{"origin":62621,"position":2},"title":"Why Israel Fell","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Isaiah 9:1-7 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The prophet Isaiah told the people that the Messiah was coming. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He would bring righteousness to all the nations and remove the burdens of sin \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He would establish a new government, one that would last forever \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The people of Israel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48444,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jeremiahs-belt\/","url_meta":{"origin":62621,"position":3},"title":"Jeremiah’s Belt","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Jeremiah 13:1-7 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Bible is filled with interesting small stories \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One time God told Jeremiah to buy a linen belt to wear. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Later he was told to put the linen belt in a rocky crevice near the Euphrates river \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Still later he was told to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4875,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/hezekiahs-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":62621,"position":4},"title":"Hezekiah’s Prayer","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 38:9-20 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many people are familiar with Hezekiah\u2019s prayer asking God for help against the Assyrian army, but I would like for us to take a few minutes to examine Hezekiah\u2019s prayer of thanksgiving after he was healed of an illness II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bitterness \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Isaiah 38:9-10\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53833,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-dwelling-place-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":62621,"position":5},"title":"The Dwelling Place of God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Kings 8:22-30 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When the world was first created, mankind had direct access to God, but then sin entered the picture - Genesis 3:8 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sin becomes a barrier between us and God - Isaiah 59:1-3 II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God is everywhere - Psalms 139 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62621\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}