Title: "Tell Us Lies" / Topic: Character

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 29; Isaiah 30; Isaiah 31; James 1

Scripture: Isaiah 30:9-11, 15
9 These are rebellious people, deceitful children,
children unwilling to listen to the LORD's instruction.
10 They say to the seers,
"See no more visions!"
and to the prophets,
"Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.
11 Leave this way,
get off this path,
and stop confronting us
with the Holy One of Israel!"...
15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:
"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.

Observation: "Stop confronting us!" That's how the people responded to Isaiah's message. They didn't want the discomfort of confrontation. "Tell us pleasant things!" was their demand.

Application: In yesterday's message at church we focused on the passage I wrote on in my blog this past Thursday.

(Hebrews 10:24-25
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.)

In this scripture we are instructed to "spur one another on" and not only to do it but also to plan and strategize how best to do it. "Spurring" is not comfortable -- it is a kick in the side with a sharp object. Ouch!!! Isaiah's people didn't want any more spurring. They wanted comfort more than character. Instead of the spur treatment, they wanted the spa treatment. "Don't tell us what is right. Tell us something that makes us feel good." They actually preferred lies rather than the truth! "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions."

But God has a different value system. He honors character and doesn't place too much importance on comfort. That's because our Lord wants to bless us. And the root concept of bless is be happy. As in "blessed are the people whose God is the Lord" = "happy are the people whose God is the Lord." And people are happy when their character is good. People of bad character are never truly happy. Their flawed character infects and corrupts their environment and their lives become miserable. So even though we think that comfort will make us happy, the truth is this: for us to be happy, we have to be good.

[By the way, that's the reason you have to be saved to get into heaven. Even the nicest unsaved person has flaws. And if God were to let flawed people into heaven, they would mess it up and it wouldn't be heaven any more. So everybody in heaven has to come through Jesus because He is changing us throughout our lives and completes the transformation at the time of transition from this life to the next. Without that change, we would have no place in heaven. We need a radical makeover and that's what being a Christian is all about. We submit to God and let Him do what He wants to with our lives. We give up our right of self-determination and give ourselves completely to God through faith in Him. And that means that we let Him work on us which brings us back to today's topic.]

Are you willing to let God do whatever He wants to do with You? Whatever, whenever, however, through whomever? Are you really? Isaiah's people were unwilling and this was a rejection of God. If I am to become what God wants me to be, I must be open to the spurs. (And remember, the spurs used on us are worn by other Christians. And if we are wise, we will invite them to use the spurs to help us. It is not easy, but it is wise.)

The Lord says,
"In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength..." (vs. 15)

1. repentance: positive radical change
2. rest: ceasing to strive and struggle -- taking a posture of reliance in God
3. salvation: rescue from peril and destruction
4. quietness: a calm place where you can hear the still, small voice of God
5. trust: an attitude of faith and dependence upon God instead of self
6. strength: a resource of power to accomplish great things

The sad postscript to the affirmative instruction of God to His people in verse 15 is: …"but you would have none of it." Let us be sure that our Lord would have no cause whatsoever to say that of any of us.

Prayer: Lord, we want You to have Your way in our lives. We want to abide in that place of faith, openness, and humility that lets You be the Sovereign Lord, and keeps us submitted to Your wisdom, love, and power. Help us, Lord, to endure and even embrace the spurs for the sake of the beautiful character that You are putting into us through the spurring. Thank You for loving us in Your perfect way.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.