Congregational handout; outline sermon text on following pages Sermon Notes & References Sin s Bitter Fruit Isaiah 59:1-15a February 19, 2012 A. Introduction 1. A Burden A C. The State of the Nation............................. 59:4-8 1. The Courts Abused (4) 2. Crime Is Hatched (5-6) 2. Analysis a. verses 1-3, the You section 3. The Crooked Ways (7-8) b. verses 4-8, the They section D. The State of the Church.......................... 59:9-15a 1. Consequences of Sin (9-11) c. verses 9-15a, the We section 2. Contagion of Sin (12-15a) B. The Problem..................................... 59:1-3 1. God Is Not the Problem (1) E. Conclusion 2. Your Sin Is the Problem (2-3) B A B Philippians 3:20, Matthew 5:13-16, Romans 1:16, Proverbs 14:34 Numbers 6:24-26
{1}. Isaiah 59:1-15a................................................ Sin s Bitter Fruit A. Introduction 1. A Burden: a. today, I want to share with you a burden (A) a burden for the nation, and, (B) a burden for the church of Jesus Christ (C) not just our own church that meets in this place (D) but for God s church that meets throughout this town, this region, this province and this nation b. our worship today has been focussed upon Christian citizenship (A) that while Philippians 3:20 says or our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ (B) until that time we have a secondary citizenship in this world c. as part of that secondary citizenship we have a responsibility (A) Jesus said to us, You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. (Matthew 5:13), and in the following verses (B) 14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16) d. but, in Canada, it seems the salt has lost its taste; the light has been hidden under a basket; the church has failed to declare the message and to say, we are not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16) e. the collective sin of a nation bears bitter fruit for its people; this sorry situation because of sin does not leave God s people untouched f. Isaiah prophesies the same situation concerning Israel whether it be before, during or after the captivity a message that applies today g. Proverbs 14:34 says, Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people., so, when a
nation deliberately sets its policy and practice counter to the Word of God, then God s people suffer 2. Analysis: This passage divides very naturally into three sections a. verses 1-3, the You section, entitled, The Problem, in which Isaiah directly addresses an unspecified audience, with the pronoun, You b. verses 4-8, the They section, entitled, The State of the Nation, where Isaiah speaks of the nation as a whole and their sins c. verses 9-15a, the We section, entitled, The State of the Church, where Isaiah confesses, on behalf of himself and others, how that sin has entered and affected even God s own people d. now in this approach, I am deliberately departing from the views of most commentators on this passage (A) while I recognize that Isaiah, speaking by the Spirit of God, often switches back and forth between these pronouns (B) here each is used deliberately, and for an extended section, and with a notable contrast and in deliberate fashion B. The Problem............................................................ 59:1-3 1. God is Not the Problem verse 1 Behold, the Lord s hand is not shortened or, too short, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy or, too dull, That it cannot hear. (NKJV) a. this statement is given in answer to an unrecorded question (A) perhaps a question in the minds of God s faithful within Israel, when is God going to save us from our sorry situation? (B) perhaps a cynical question on the lips of of crowd, why isn t your God delivering us? maybe He cannot hear us, Isaiah. (C) in either case, if salvation and deliverance have not come to this nation, the problem does not rest with God (1) the hand that stretched out the universe in Creation has not become too short to reach down in power (2) His hearing is unimpaired, can hear even the whispered prayer b. No, God is still the God of salvation and his power is undiminished
2. Your Sin is the Problem verses 2-3 2 But your iniquities have separated literally, they are separating you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear literally, from hearing. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity or, injustice. (NKJV) a. here, says God through Isaiah, why I have not intervened: your sin b. sin has erected a barrier-wall between you and God c. sin has kept you from seeing His face that is His face directed to you as in the great blessing of Numbers 6:24-26, 24 The Lord bless you, and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace. d. having had a like experience, I can relate to the following story of a young man whose wife had died, leaving him with a small son. That first night they went to bed early because there was nothing else he could bear to do. As he lay there in the darkness grief-stricken and heartbroken, the little boy broke the stillness from his little bed with a disturbing question, Daddy, where is mommy? The father got up and brought the little boy to bed with him, but the child was still disturbed and restless, occasionally asking questions like Why isn t she here? and, When is she coming back? Finally the little boy said, Daddy, if your face is toward me, I think I can go to sleep now. And in a little while he was quiet. The father lay there in the darkness, and then in childlike faith, prayed this prayer: O God, I don t see how I can survive this. The future looks so miserable. But if your face is toward me, somehow I think I can make it. {2}. but sin hides the face of God; hides His blessing C. The State of the Nation................................................... 59:4-8 1. The Courts Abused verse 4 No one calls for justice or, summons justlyto court justly, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. (NKJV) a. you have probably heard or seen those advertisements by firms of lawyers, where in the case of an accident they will take your case, and what is emphasized is not that justice will be served, but the amount of the settlements they have obtained that s not what is in view here b. rather it was using the court system to persecute the innocent and to free the wicked; to call the right
wrong, and the wrong, right. c. and this has been taking place in Canada (A) abortion was legalized, not by legislative act, but judicial approval (1) the rights of the mother were considered (2) but not the rights of the silent, unborn child (B) to this we have the decriminalization or legal protection for those engaged in prostitution, sodomy, drugs, pornography (C) and there is even growing support to legalize euthanasia d. the conception of truth being relative as applied to morality has given birth to understating the seriousness of many crimes 2. Crime is Hatched verses 5-6 5 They hatch vipers eggs and weave the spider s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out. 6 Their webs will not become garments or, cloaks, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands. (NKJV) a. the unchecked violence of man which seems to be glorified on our television screens, by mixed-martial arts, even by our sports was likened in that day to someone hatching the eggs of poisonous snakes not for any good purpose, but with the result of death b. and if anyone were to try and prevent it to step on egg to crush it they find themselves subject to attack in turn c. but all these activities are like trying to weave a material out of a spider s web all the selfcongratulatory exclamation on behalf of the things we have decriminalised, that we have come out of the dark ages of morality will not suffice, in the end, to cover a person, to cloak the evil that has been done d. God s judgement stands: works of iniquity, acts of violence 3. The Crooked Ways verses 7-8 7 Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths or, highways. 8 The path way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways cart-paths ; They have made
themselves crooked raised paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. (NKJV) a. the Bible often describes life as a walk but when it comes to evil, it seems that men run, they pursue it completely, with all their energy b. their walk is described as travelling with respect to 4 different routes (A) running at full speed to evil on a level-surfaced highway (B) not on a path-way of peace, worn by a consistent walk with God (C) enmeshed in the ruts of a cart-track, unable to free like the tires of a car being caught in the streetcar tracks in downtown Toronto (D) following crooked, raised (i.e. well-made) paths to an evil goal c. even though there are some very good people in political office, the deviousness of man gives little hope for politics to save this nation D. The State of the Church................................................. 59:9-15a 1. Consequences of Sin verses 9-11 9 Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! 10 We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places or an alternate rendering, among the stout or vigorous. 11 We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us. (NKJV) a. when the church through its negligence and permissive teaching, allows unjust and unrighteous laws and practices to be condoned, then the church and the people of God suffer (A) the blessing of salvation diminish (1) judgement, justice, social right disappear (2) elder abuse, spousal abuse, child abuse rear their ugly head (B) light, that light brought by the gospel, is dimmed b. and all too often this affects us spiritually (A) our own vision becomes clouded (B) our spiritual life weakened (C) our joy in Christ exchanged for despair and sorrow
(D) (E) these are the bitter fruit of sin; in the nation; in the church why? it is because of the 2. Contagion of Sin verses 12-15a 12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them: 13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. 14 Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. 15 So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. (NKJV) a. the prophet turns to himself and those with him, and realises that in the rejection of God by the nation, so sin has crept into His people b. Kelley was trying to help her 15-year-old son, Rand improve his grade in civics class, so she spent time with him reviewing the events of the day as found in the newspaper. One item they discussed was a new prenatal test that would discover in the first trimester whether a baby had Down syndrome in 98% of the cases, instead of in the second trimester, and only 65%. Rand, like a lot of us, could see no problem with this until his mother asked, Does this test lead to a cure? No. Then why do it? so that the mother could have an abortion. For many, a Down syndrome baby is not really a baby. {3}. c. how easily the thinking of the world creeps into the thinking of us as believers; how much easier in members of churches which are not solidly rooted and grounded in the faith. d. the white lie, deception, falsehood become a normal part of life e. and the one who is willing to stand for the truth, to depart from evil, to protest the wickedness of our nation s ways makes himself a prey is scorned, and in the case of Linda Gibbons, a peaceful protester against abortion, put in jail many times on the basis of a 20-year old temporary injunction and too many stand silently by. f. so, on behalf of God s people, Isaiah comes in confession to God g. so should we come in confession and renewed commitment to God E. Conclusion 1. what s to be done about this?
a. what can I do about it? what can you do about it? b. we seek to elect good men and women to parliament but they seem to be so few against the mass of those in government its so little c. we pray but see so little results are we praying aright?, we ask. 2. it is only as the people of God His church turn again to Him a. seeking a revival of God s church in this land b. and, as Henry Blackaby has rightly said, Scripturally it is impossible to have a call for revival without a call for repentance. c. but until that time of refreshing comes, we are each as individuals to be salt; light; a witness to God in the corner where He has put us 3. that we be in tune with our closing hymn, Make Me a Blessing
1. 2012 by Garth Hutchinson, Faith Fellowship Baptist Church of Aurora (Ontario): may be distributed or quoted freely, only let this be done to the glory of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). Except as noted otherwise, quotations are from the New American Standard version, used by permission. NKJV indicates passages from the New King James Version 1979 Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers. 2. His Face Is Toward Me, by Pastor James Moore Kerux illustrations 21939 3. Adapted from Diagnosis Murder: Teaching Worldview Lessons, by Charles Colson, Breakpoint Commentary Kerux illustrations 22016