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SM1145: EMPTY RITUALS!

ISAIAH 1:11-18

This morning we are going to be in Isaiah chapter 1. Before we look at this portion of Scripture we will be studying this morning, let me set the stage by giving you some background information of this period of time. If you remember from Thursday, Isaiah was a prophet to the Southern Kingdom of Judah and his ministry covered a time period from around 740 - 680 BC.

Now just prior to Isaiah's calling, Uzziah was king in Judah, (he was also known as Azariah). And Uzziah was a good king. It says of him that "...he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper." II Chronicles 26:4-5.

And prosper he and the nation did! During his 52 years of being king in Judah he saw tremendous military victories. He had great soldiers who were able to defeat the Philistines. Their cities of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod had their walls broken down and Uzziah had surrounded these cities with his own people.

They also defeated the Arabians, Meunites, and the Ammonites who brought tribute to Uzziah, taxes in a sense. Uzziah had look-out towers built in Jerusalem and in the desert to warn of any surprise attacks. He also was an inventor who made military weapons to be used against the enemy. He made, not a rocket launcher, but a rock launcher or catapult. He made something to fire arrows down upon the enemy from the towers or walls. A very brilliant man.

Besides all that they had much fertile land for their livestock to live and for their crops to grow. He dug many wells, which of course was very important living in the desert.

Things were going great. The nation was very wealthy. The land was producing abundantly for them. And we read of Uzziah that "...his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong." II Chronicles 26:15.

Now here is the point. God gave them the victory. God made their land flow with milk and honey. God made them strong and prosperous. And God continued to help them TILL they had become strong in their own eyes, especially Uzziah. But that attitude that was building up in Uzziah did filter down to the people and affect them.

We read, towards the end of Uzziah's life, "But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God..." II Chronicles 26:16. Pride and arrogance got the better of Uzziah, and he goes into the temple to burn incense to God, something only the priest was to do.

And as he enters, eighty priests try to stop him, but he becomes angry with them, furious that they were trying to prevent this mighty king from doing what he desired to do. And as this anger boiled inside of him, leprosy broke out upon his forehead, and from that day on, till his death, he lived in isolation, co-reigning with his son Jotham, because he had transgressed God's Word.

What caused Uzziah to stumble? Prosperity, complacency! God warned His people, before they ever entered the land, to remember Him, even in times of health, wealth, and prosperity.

He said in Deuteronomy 8:7-20, "For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest; when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end; then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God."

That warning obviously was not applied to their life. For not only did the king forget the Lord and look to himself for the victories, but so did the people. They truly were a very rich nation, a secure nation, a nation that had much food and land, but their hearts were far from the Lord.

Now in saying all that you would think they were not a very religious people. That the temple was just a museum that no one attended anymore. You might think that but you would be wrong in your thinking. You see, they were very religious in their actions, in their activities. The nation as a whole was very spiritual. But listen to what God says about their religious activities in Isaiah chapter 1, beginning in verse 11.

ISAIAH 1:11-15

God, in rebuking His people, is saying, "Who told you to do these things? Enough is enough!" Now God obviously laid these principles out in the Mosaic Law, He told them to do these things. Then why was God fed up with what they were doing? Why was God not pleased with their actions? He told them to sacrifice to Him. He told them to celebrate and remember the feast days. He told them to come before Him and pray. When you look at their outward actions, they were doing all the things that God required of them.

And that was the problem, it was all outward, it was all motion and there was nothing inward, there was no emotion. God wanted a relationship with them, and that begins in our heart. When God has a hold of a persons heart, what has taken place on the inside will overflow to the outside, it will be manifested in what they do.

Here, their prosperity lead them into a empty, outward expression of their faith that God refused to recognize. And understand this, I don't doubt that they were very sincere with their actions, their activities, the problem was it had degenerated into a works form of theology instead of a relationship with God. A nation that God had birthed, protected, brought out of bondage in Egypt into a land flowing with milk and honey, was now not even recognizing who is their master, who is the one who has provided for them. They were as dumb as an ox and as stubborn as a mule, God said.

Now as you study the book of Isaiah there seems to be an interesting comparison to the Southern Kingdom of Judah and what has transpired in our nation today. Now, obviously, we are not Israel nor can we apply to us what God has given to them. And yet we can learn from what has happened and hopefully not fall into the same spiritual condition as they did!

Many today have no idea that this nation was founded upon Christian beliefs and values. Many fled England because of religious persecution. They wanted to worship God, not according to what the government said, but what God has said. From a Newsweek article, dated December 27, 1982 we read: "For centuries [the Bible] has exerted an unrivaled influence on American culture, politics and social life. Now historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than The Constitution, is our founding document: the source of the powerful myth of the United States as a special, sacred nation, a people called by God to establish a model society, a beacon to the world!"

And from Time magazine, dated May 25, 1987 we read: "Ours is the only country deliberately founded on a good idea. That good idea combines a commitment to man's inalienable rights with the Calvinist belief in an ultimate moral right and sinful man's obligation to do good. These articles of faith, embodied in The Declaration of Independence and in The Constitution, literally govern our lives today."

Now as much as people try to distort our beginnings, the historical documents speak of this nation, which was birthed by God, as being a Christian nation. Fifty to fifty-two of the fifty-six men who signed The Declaration of Independence where Christians. Of the fifty-five men who signed The Constitution, fifty to fifty-two were professing Christians. Of America's first 126 colleges, 123 were Christian. Our faith had a impact on this country!

Now as much as we may think that this nation has moved away from religious practices, especially that of the Christian faith, think again. Some 88% of American's call themselves Christians! And it does sound great on the outside, but inwardly their hearts are far from God. They are going through some of the motion but there is no emotion, no relationship with God.

British scholar W. E. Vine (1873-1949) wrote to warn believers not to fall into the same condition as Judah did. He said: "Mere external religion is ever a cloak to cover iniquity. The Lord exposed all that in His strong denunciations in Matt. 23. The guilty combination in Judaism has largely developed in Christendom. The conscience of a believer may become so seared that a person can practice religion while yet living in sin."

Do you see how dangerous this kind of religion is? It makes people feel comfortable with God because of the things they are doing. They go to church on Sunday. They go to confession as needed. They give money to the church. They sacrifice their time for the church. And yet God says that He is tired of this kind of relationship. He is not going to listen any longer. And yet the people continue down this road to hell because they have been made to feel comfortable with their religion.

The question you may have is, "If God does not want all these activities, then what does He want?" OUR LOVE! Imagine if you were married and your husband worked hard. He not only worked outside the home, but when he came home from work he cleaned the house, took care of the kids, did the yard work, took care of the cars, cooked the meals, and-so-on. You might be thinking that is great! But what if I told you that he didn't love you? What if he was just going through all this motion and yet there was no emotion towards you? What if you lived in the same house and yet there was no relationship between the two of you, even though he worked very hard, you couldn't ask him to work any harder. Is that the kind of husband you want or the kind of relationship you want? Not at all! You would rather have his love than all the empty work he was doing. You would rather have a relationship and so does God. And you know what, it is out of that relationship that the work is done.

And Isaiah is going to show us what we need to do before God, and then the result of that relationship, beginning in verse 16.

ISAIAH 1:16-18

First of all the only way you can cleanse yourself, to wash yourself, is by coming before the Lord and reasoning with Him, talking with Him, asking Him to cleanse you from your sins and be Lord in your life.

Notice what our salvation is based upon according to what Peter has to say in I Peter 1:17-19. We read "And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

Our works don't save us, but they flow from a heart that has been cleansed, changed by God. Our redemption is only found in "the precious blood of Christ." It is only when He comes into your life that you are clean.

Also, Paul said in Colossians 1:19-22, "For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight." The only way you can make peace with God is by applying the Blood of Christ to your life. Prior to this happening in your life, all your works were wicked in the sight of God. But as His blood flows upon your life, we are holy, blameless, above reproach.

You see, Jesus has reconciled us or restored us back into a right relationship with God, He has made peace with God for us who were at enmity with God. No longer are we alienated from God and enemies with Him. But God has stepped in and reconciled us to Himself, He has made us as white as snow!

Now true faith, a faith that has begun in our hearts, should affect our lives, our actions. Isaiah says that some of the things that people should see in our lives is a hatred towards evil and a moving away from it. That you desire to do good and help those that are in need. It is as James said, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." True faith impacts our lives and is manifested in the things we do. If not our faith is dead!

But when you look at this nation, which 88% of the people say they are Christian, you don't see their faith impact their own lives or the fabric of our society. In fact they seem to promote evil rather than good!

George Barna gives us a picture of America's faith and why it is an empty shell of what is going on in their hearts. He said that: "They do not take these [religious] perspectives so seriously as to integrate them into the fabric of their lives...most Americans have little depth to their religious reflections...the average American...is neither a deep theological thinker nor worries about the importance of developing a life-shaping religious convictions...many who call themselves Christians have no clue as to the truth about sin and salvation. About the resurrection and redemption...look beyond people's words to the spiritual fruit of their lives."

Again, do you see how dangerous this kind of religious activity is? Their faith has no impact on their lives. Thus, their faith is empty, it is dead, and they don't even know it. They have no idea what salvation is about! And yet the church is excited. They see revival breaking out in the land!

From The Daily Herald, January 21, 1995, and titled "Church Leaders Foresee Great Revival", listen to what some are saying. "I believe there will be a great revival and harvest the world has ever known." "The churches are on the verge of 'an explosion of harvest' greater even then was experienced during the Jesus movement a quater-century ago."

Listen to these quotes from a Newsweek article titled "A Time to Seek", dated December 17, 1990. This is what some had to say:

"Instead of me fitting religion, I found a religion to fit me."

"Each individual is the ultimate source of authority."

"Unlike earlier religious revivals, the aim this time...is support not salvation, a circle of spiritual equals rather than an authoritative church or guide."

"In their efforts to accommodate, many clergy have simply airbrushed sin out of their language."

"They don't convert - they choose."

Robert Schuller, the most watched TV. preacher in America, said "It's time for Protestants to go to the Shepherd (the Pope) and say, what do we have to do to come home?"

On November 29, 1995, Benny Hinn said "...There's a great revival in the Catholic church." (From TBN - Praise the Lord program).

And, "CGM [Church Growth Movement] experts judge a ministers accountability not by his faithfulness to the Gospel but whether 'the people keep coming and giving.' By that measure, the most successful churches are those that resemble a suburban shopping mall."

And lastly, from the Daily Telegraph (UK), 7/6/98, we read, "The Rev. Tony Higton, Rector of Emmanuel and St. Mary the Virgin, Hawkwell, Essex, revealed to the General Synod yesterday his interest in the New Age movement and its use of crystals for meditation. In the past, Mr. Higton, a conservative evangelical, has vigorously fought against any slackening of the Church's teaching...Last year, he wrote about a spiritual experience that led to him deciding not to be so aggressive and confrontational. He announced his change of heart in a Synod debate on a new service for 'wholeness and healing.'...Mr. Higton told the synod that the Church needed to learn from the New Age movement and ask what it can learn from its techniques. He said he did not believe in crystal healing, but believed crystals could help people in prayer and meditation towards healing. Mr. Higton said, 'I am seeking to engage in dialogue with the New Age movement in order to discover what is good in it. In our parish, we have learned classical relaxation and meditation and I provide beautiful objects, other than myself, for meditation.'...The Bishop of Chelmsford the Rt. Rev. John Perry, chairman for the Church's council on health and healing, said he had been to one of Mr. Higton's services and found it to be a normal Christian one..."

That is not revival folks, that is a picture of people looking to have their ears tickled instead of their hearts broken over their sinful condition. Thus, they seek for themselves teachers that will give to them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear! And the church is excited?

Cal Thomas said, "Too many preachers tolerate 'sin in the camp' because they are more interested in building big congregations or in construction projects then they are in preaching the uncompromising and uncomfortable message contained in the Gospel."

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see revival break out and people get saved. But, as David Wells said regarding his view of the situation, and I would have to agree, "We need reformation, not revival. The habits of the modern world, now so ubiquitous [seeming to be present, everywhere at the same time] in the evangelical world, need to be put to death, not given new life. They need to be rooted out, not simply papered over with fresh religious enthusiasm."

There is much enthusiasm in the church today, but is that enthusiasm based upon a relationship with God and according to His Word, or is it based upon emotional experiences outside of God's Word? You will have to decide that for yourself. But in a nation, and in a church, that is prosperous, growing, strong, in need of nothing, haven't we taken God right out of the picture and are doing all the work on our own, all the activity without a deep, intimate relationship with the one who loves us so much? It does seem to be the case for the most part.

We have become a nation that says "We believe!" and we are doing all the activities we can, and yet the fruit that is born in our lives is not from God. We have become a nation and a people that call good evil and evil good! And thus, we have no idea what is truth even though 88% of the nation claims to be Christian. The problem is when you look at their faith, their actions don't match up to what they are saying. As Hosea 6:6 says, "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

Come before God, reason with Him according to His Word, accepting His truths by faith, and you will receive a cleansing from God that is totally apart from any human effort or merit. It is a cleansing that is found in Christ and it is out of that cleansing that fruit is born in our lives.

Don't give up. Don't become discouraged in the battle. We are told that in the last days the apostasy or the falling away would take place. And that is speaking of the church, not the world. And this is a deliberate rejection of the truth on their part. And we see this beginning at alarming rates today. The compromise is growing, the moving away from the truth has begun, and it seems to be moving faster and faster, picking up more and more people as it goes. Thus, take hold of the opportunity, seize the moment that is set before you to deliver the message of the Gospel that is before us to a nation that is thinking they are saved and going to heaven, but in reality they, for the most part, are outside of Christ and are going to hell.

In fact, God is saying to those who have rejected eternal life through His son, and are working their way into heaven, "I have had enough...I do not delight...Bring no more futilesacrifices...Incense is an abomination...I cannot endure iniquty...I will hide my eyes from you...I will not hear..." Give them the truth and may we not get caught up in the works and leave our first love, Jesus Christ!

I want to leave you this morning with these words of exhortation from Jude 3-4, as read from The Amplified Bible. We read "Beloved, my whole concern was to write to you in regard to our common salvation. [But] I found it necessary and was impelled to write you and urgently appeal to and exhort [you] to contend for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints [the faith which is that sum of Christian belief which was delivered verbally to the holy people of God]. For certain men have crept in stealthily [gaining entrance secretly by a side door]. Their doom was predicted long ago, ungodly (impious, profane) persons who pervert the grace (the spiritual blessing and favor) of our God into lawlessness and wantonness and immorality, and disown and deny our sole Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)." Don't give up the fight, contend for the faith that has been entrusted to you!