People who hear the true word of God and make no change in what they are doing are deaf and blind. Yesterday’s message entitled “Preach Anyhow” attempts to explain how God called and sent Isaiah to preach to a nation immersed in sin and idolatry that would not see, hear and understand the word he was preaching.
And while it appeared on the surface to be a fruitless mission, God told him to preach it anyhow because there would be some, though they be difficult for him to detect, God knew would listen and were part of His holy seed or remnant. Without even realizing it, including even dedicated and consistent church members, people are hearing and seeing what God is saying without hearing and perceiving what it is saying.
It is as if a community received an evacuation warning, but behave like they didn’t get it. They heard the warning and understood what the warning meant but still reacted like they didn’t hear it or understand its meaning or it was intended for somebody else. This is similar to how God said Israel would react to Isaiah’s preaching.
This is how people reacted to Jesus’s preaching and how people and church members are reacting to God’s preached word today. People hear and understand what is being said but behave like it doesn’t apply to them because they do not change according to what is being said. So the effect of hearing and seeing is the same as if they are deaf and blind.
The result is the destruction of a nation or community and the people who live there like that of a major hurricane where people failed to heed the warning and took no precautionary steps or actions. The result on Israel was devastating that left the nation in ruins. Devastation is visited upon any people or nation who ignore the word of the Lord as we can see happening in societies around the world and in the US.
Sin is the ruin of any people. The bottom line is for us to begin listening for and looking for what the Word is saying to us, and not our neighbor or someone else, and begin making all the corrections it is telling us to make. It’s timeout for saying so and so should have been there when we were there and did nothing in our own lives about what we saw and heard. Otherwise we will not be among that holy seed that God has identified that shall be redeemed.
Look for our Sunday School preview that comes out on Thursday of this week on our Facebook page and mobile app. You can also enjoy the SS Daily Bible Readings anytime and anywhere at our website. As always, remember to fear God and keep His commandments
Pastor Jordan
