Rsbc
January 27, 2002
Sunday Night
The Book of Isaiah
Subject: “ What Not Praying Will Do For Us”
Text: Isaiah 43:22-28
Intro: It is very interesting that the Lord has led us in the past few weeks on wed night and own Sunday to preach messages that relatively are touching the same thought of content.
We spoke a few weeks ago about “Bearing fruit” then we seen last wed night “Desecrating the house of the Lord” Tonight we will examine those who were name by the Lord as his people, and yet they refused to pray to him, what kind of testimony is that?
I... “ THE CHARGE BROUGHT BY GOD”...VS 22
1st.. “Thou has not called”
If there is a sin that will lead you away from the Lord, it is not praying. Often in the Bible the Lord invites his people to call upon him...
The Lord told David: Psalm 50:15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Then The Lord says: Proverbs 1:28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
The Lord Told Jeremiah concerning Israel that after they were in captivity 70 yrs they would call upon him: Jeremiah 29:12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
The Lord Jesus Christ said: Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them [to this end], that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
We know that Jesus Christ was our example, and he prayed often to his Father, thus setting the example for us to pray..
Page # 2
2nd.. “ Thou has been weary of me”...vs 22
The word weary means that they had grown tired of the Lord. Have you ever been tired of the Lord. You may not have voiced it, but maybe you have shown that you are tired of the Lord by not praying like you should, reading and studying your Bible like you should...
Malachi records the same problem because his people were the same as these in Isaiah ..Malachi 1:13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness [is it]! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought [that which was] torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.
3rd. “Thou has brought wrong sacrifices: vs 23-24
These are not light charges these are serious. They are serious because they are against the Lord. All sin is contrary to the Lord.
A. It is contrary to his holiness:
Habakkuk 1:13 [Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, [and] holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth [the man that is] more righteous than he?
B. It is contrary to his Sovereignty :
Exodus 5:2 And Pharaoh said, Who [is] the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
Some other things it does that I don’t have time to linger on but will mention them:
It denies his all sufficiency
It challenges his pure justice
It disowns his omniscience
It despises his the riches of his grace
It turns his grace into lasciviness
Page # 3
II... “ THEY FAILED TO PRAY AND WORSHIP GOD PROPERLY EVEN THOUGH HE BLESSED THEM GREATLY: VS 25
Two things to note:
1st. That GOD had blotted out their sins:
The word “blotted out” means that GOD literally wiped them out, that he exterminated them; What a blessing it is to have our sins blotted out by GOD. The reason our sin and sins are blotted out before GOD is because of Calvary; that is calvary covers it all.
Exodus 5:2 And Pharaoh said, Who [is] the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
2nd. That God had blotted it out of his memory:
That is he chose not to remember: what a blessing not to remember our sins against him. Such a GOD demonstrating his marvelous mercies over and over to us.
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Keep in mind in this verse it tells us why the Lord does this: “for mine own sake”
Ezek. 36: 21-25
III.. THE LORD’S APPEAL TO THEM: VS 26-28
1st. Put me in remembrance:
In this we see once again the longsuffering of the Lord toward those whom he hath set his love on. He is longsuffering with his elect to save them, he is longsuffering with his saved people when they forget him, when they sin against him. He is always ready to forgive and to forget.