No matter how much we try to deny it, no matter how much we try to sweep our sins under the rug, no matter how many acts of goodness we do, our sin, blocks salvation. Our sin, separates us from God. The more we sin, the further away we get from God’s Glory. We fall deeper and deeper into the darkness of this world. In these next 2 chapters, Isaiah lists 32 sins that Israel — and we — have committed and are STILL committing! Nevertheless, he then tells us of the HOPE found only in Messiah! How many sins can you pick out? Let’s dig in…
Isaiah 59 – Warning Against Sin
Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
2 It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
Because of your sins, he has turned away
and will not listen anymore.
3 Your hands are the hands of murderers,
and your fingers are filthy with sin.
Your lips are full of lies,
and your mouth spews corruption.4 No one cares about being fair and honest.
The people’s lawsuits are based on lies.
They conceive evil deeds
and then give birth to sin.
5 They hatch deadly snakes
and weave spiders’ webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
whoever cracks them will hatch a viper.
6 Their webs can’t be made into clothing,
and nothing they do is productive.
All their activity is filled with sin,
and violence is their trademark.
7 Their feet run to do evil,
and they rush to commit murder.
They think only about sinning.
Misery and destruction always follow them.
8 They don’t know where to find peace
or what it means to be just and good.
They have mapped out crooked roads,
and no one who follows them knows a moment’s peace.9 So there is no justice among us,
and we know nothing about right living.
We look for light but find only darkness.
We look for bright skies but walk in gloom.
10 We grope like the blind along a wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
Even at brightest noontime,
we stumble as though it were dark.
Among the living,
we are like the dead.
11 We growl like hungry bears;
we moan like mournful doves.
We look for justice, but it never comes.
We look for rescue, but it is far away from us.
12 For our sins are piled up before God
and testify against us.
Yes, we know what sinners we are.
13 We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord.
We have turned our backs on our God.
We know how unfair and oppressive we have been,
carefully planning our deceitful lies.
14 Our courts oppose the righteous,
and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth stumbles in the streets,
and honesty has been outlawed.
15 Yes, truth is gone,
and anyone who renounces evil is attacked.The Lord looked and was displeased
to find there was no justice.
16 He was amazed to see that no one intervened
to help the oppressed.
So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm,
and his justice sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his body armor
and placed the helmet of salvation on his head.
He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance
and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion.
18 He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds.
His fury will fall on his foes.
He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.
19 In the west, people will respect the name of the Lord;
in the east, they will glorify him.
For he will come like a raging flood tide
driven by the breath of the Lord.20 “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem
to buy back those in Israel
who have turned from their sins,”
says the Lord.21 “And this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children’s children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!
Isaiah 59 NLT
The Good News!
The good news is that God’s arm is long enough to reach you! Given that, you have to make the decision to repent — turn away from your sinful life — STOP SINNING! You have to be sincere about your wanting to stop walking in darkness and start walking in the light of the Lord.
“God’s ear is tuned to the frequency of sincerity.”
Sandy Adams
All in all, as stated here, as long as you’re sinning, He won’t hear your pleas!
Are you a child of God or a friend of the world?
This snippet, from one of the studies I’m using, found in the free YouVersion Bible app, explains…
If we claim to be children of God but still live in sin then we are actually lying. God cannot work miraculously and wonderfully if we are still living in sin. Let us learn to live in holiness so that God can use us and we can respond to the salvation given by God correctly.
Bible Study, The Book of Isaiah, by Bethany Church Singapore
When you become born again, you are cleansed from ALL your sin — past, present AND future! However, we have to continuously STRIVE to be Christlike. We must strive for what is righteous and turn from what is evil. Even so, you will be mocked, victimized, persecuted and attacked. That’s why we must rely on the Holy Spirit to get us through. We must stand firm in our faith and not waver one bit.
The Armor of God
Here’s where Paul got the inspiration for his Armor of God lesson to prepare us for our battles against the enemy. Pastor Sandy Adams clarifies…
God is dressed for the occasion. He put on righteousness. Jesus committed to what was right – and He had a helmet of salvation. He was determined to do what it would take to save us. And we should dress like Jesus. Ephesians 6 lists the believer’s armor, and Paul includes both the breastplate of righteousness and helmet of salvation. But what he doesn’t add to our wardrobe are these other two pieces of armor – “garments of vengeance” and the “cloak of zeal.” And why? Romans 12:19 tells us, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” The zeal of judgment is God’s prerogative, not ours.
At Jesus’ first coming He was dressed up to save. He wore “the breastplate of righteousness” and “the helmet of salvation” – but at His second coming He’ll be wearing His combat fatigues. He’s coming to judge in “the garments of vengeance” and “zeal as a cloak.”
Sandy Adams
Going on…
Isaiah 60 – Future Glory
“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see.
For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.
2 Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth,
but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.
3 All nations will come to your light;
mighty kings will come to see your radiance.4 “Look and see, for everyone is coming home!
Your sons are coming from distant lands;
your little daughters will be carried home.
5 Your eyes will shine,
and your heart will thrill with joy,
for merchants from around the world will come to you.
They will bring you the wealth of many lands.
6 Vast caravans of camels will converge on you,
the camels of Midian and Ephah.
The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense
and will come worshiping the Lord.
7 The flocks of Kedar will be given to you,
and the rams of Nebaioth will be brought for my altars.
I will accept their offerings,
and I will make my Temple glorious.8 “And what do I see flying like clouds to Israel,
like doves to their nests?
9 They are ships from the ends of the earth,
from lands that trust in me,
led by the great ships of Tarshish.
They are bringing the people of Israel home from far away,
carrying their silver and gold.
They will honor the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has filled you with splendor.10 “Foreigners will come to rebuild your towns,
and their kings will serve you.
For though I have destroyed you in my anger,
I will now have mercy on you through my grace.
11 Your gates will stay open day and night
to receive the wealth of many lands.
The kings of the world will be led as captives
in a victory procession.
12 For the nations that refuse to serve you
will be destroyed.13 “The glory of Lebanon will be yours—
the forests of cypress, fir, and pine—
to beautify my sanctuary.
My Temple will be glorious!
14 The descendants of your tormentors
will come and bow before you.
Those who despised you
will kiss your feet.
They will call you the City of the Lord,
and Zion of the Holy One of Israel.15 “Though you were once despised and hated,
with no one traveling through you,
I will make you beautiful forever,
a joy to all generations.
16 Powerful kings and mighty nations
will satisfy your every need,
as though you were a child
nursing at the breast of a queen.
You will know at last that I, the Lord,
am your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Israel (Zion).
17 I will exchange your bronze for gold,
your iron for silver,
your wood for bronze,
and your stones for iron.
I will make peace your leader
and righteousness your ruler.
18 Violence will disappear from your land;
the desolation and destruction of war will end.
Salvation will surround you like city walls,
and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there.19 “No longer will you need the sun to shine by day,
Isaiah 60 NLT
nor the moon to give its light by night,
for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.
20 Your sun will never set;
your moon will not go down.
For the Lord will be your everlasting light.
Your days of mourning will come to an end.
21 All your people will be righteous.
They will possess their land forever,
for I will plant them there with my own hands
in order to bring myself glory.
22 The smallest family will become a thousand people,
and the tiniest group will become a mighty nation.
At the right time, I, the Lord, will make it happen.”
Darkness, the Absence of Light
Evil is the absence of God, like darkness is the absence of Light. When Jesus comes back to fight Satan, the Antichrist and the False Prophet, HE WINS! There will be no more darkness. We won’t need the sun, moon or stars as Jesus Himself will be our light. That’s His Kingdom Come! The Jews from all nations will flock to Jerusalem. It will be a new Heaven and a new Earth, along with a new Jerusalem.
When they come, they will bring gifts. Notice that they’re slightly different than what the Magi brought Baby Jesus. Pastor Sandy Adams explains…
This was partially fulfilled when the Jews returned from Babylon. But it’ll be repeated in the last days. It’s also interesting that when these Jews return they’ll come bringing gifts for the Messiah, King Jesus. And note the two gifts they bring, “gold and incense.” When Jesus was born the wise men brought “gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Here the same gifts are given with the exception of the myrrh. And why? Myrrh was an embalming fluid. It was given to a man who was born to die. But in the Kingdom Age, Jesus’ death is behind Him. He was raised to never die again.
Sandy Adams
The Jews are returning to Israel right now. Check out the video from Amir Tsarfati from Behold Israel at the bottom.
The Great Tribulation will purify the Jews as told in Psalm 2…
10 Now then, you kings, act wisely!
Psalm 2:10-12 NLT
Be warned, you rulers of the earth!
11 Serve the Lord with reverent fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry,
and you will be destroyed in the midst of all your activities—
for his anger flares up in an instant.
But what joy for all who take refuge in him!
For anyone to take refuge in Jesus, we must first admit that we need Him. We need His salvation — a salvation that is only found THROUGH HIM. We need His Peace, His Joy, His Comfort. We get those when He gives us believers the Holy Spirit.
Jesus didn’t suffer torture and die so we could have religion! He died so He could have a Relationship with YOU!
What are you waiting for?
