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Isaiah 1:16-31 - How To Worship The Righteous God · Tabernacle Talk - A Bible Study Podcast with Pastor Bryon Self

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Welcome to Tabernacle Talk. Tabernacle Talk is a Bible study
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podcast brought from Tabernacle Baptist Church in Essex, MD.
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I'm your host, Brian Self. We hope this podcast encourages
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you to know Christ, grow in his word, and show his love to
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others. Let's dive right in.
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Welcome back to Tabernacle Talk and I'm really looking forward
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to continuing today. Today we will be in Isaiah
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chapter 1 and I believe verses 16 through 31, so probably the
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second-half of the chapter for today.
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We started looking at Isaiah last episode.
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This is a prophet during the last about 150 years of the
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southern Kingdom of Judah during the reign of four or five of the
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kings of the southern Kingdom of Judah during that split Kingdom
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time period in Israel and Isaiah listed out beginning last week
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in verses one through 16. Here's what God says Israel, you
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have totally abandoned me. It is not through abandoning the
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like religious traditions and sacrifices and holidays.
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He says you're keeping all of those, he says, But I don't want
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them because it's not actually coming from a heart that wants
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to follow me and love what I love, which is justice and
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righteousness, goodness. And that's where we left off
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last time. As I mentioned before, if you're
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watching the video podcast, I've got my Bible study software
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pulled up over here. If you like that, if you're one
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of our video podcast listeners and you like being able to see
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what I'm looking at, wonderful, let me know.
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Or if you're like, hey, that's, you know, more off putting to me
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or whatever. I don't like not just looking at
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your face, Brian, please let me know and want it to be a help if
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it is a help to you. So we're beginning now in verse
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#16 so God has said Israel, I don't want your religious
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traditions. I want your heart like I want
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you to actually do what is right, not just what is
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religious says in verse 16, wash yourselves, cleanse yourselves,
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remove your evil deeds from my sight.
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Stop doing evil if you will. God is saying, you know, I can
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see you, right? Like it's when a little kid
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thinks just because their parent, just because they can't
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see their parent, that the parent can't see them.
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And this is what God is saying. He says, guys, I see what you're
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doing in your wickedness. I see what's happening in the
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shadows. I see what's happening, you
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know, in the high places, in the Groves where the false worship
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takes place. I see how you were treating
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other people. Do you know that God knows the
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way that you talk to your spouse or the way that you parent your
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children? God sees that and we will be
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held accountable before God for that.
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So he says, remove the evil from my sight, stop doing evil.
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He says learn to do what is good.
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And then he gives some explanations of for the children
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of Israel, here's what it looks like to do good.
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He says first pursue justice and hear the the word justice.
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It's mispat, it's decisions, judgments and disputes.
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He says, I want you to learn to make right decisions.
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He says correct the oppressor, or you could also freeze it, aid
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the oppressed, that sometimes there are people.
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I actually went through this verse.
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I want to say like last July when I was doing the verse of
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the day, and I will link that in the show notes for this episode.
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There will be people, whether rich, powerful, politically well
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connected, that will harm those that do not have recourse.
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Even as we would read the end of verse #17 there, defend the
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rights of the fatherless, plead the widow's 'cause that there
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are those that in this world's estimation, because they don't
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have money, they don't have physical protection or the
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protection of a father or a husband, that they can just be
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run roughshod over. Because really, who's who's
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going to stop us? And there might be other people
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that are more quote, UN quote, deserving of this land or this
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house. And God just says that's
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abominable. That is a horrible, horrible
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take on the world, right? Does not make might, does not
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make right. There we go.
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I had to rewind that a little bit.
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And I'll tell you guys, this is not the way that the world wants
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to operate. Even today, as you look at the
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nations of the world, they would say whatever I have the physical
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or military or financial capacity to do, I have the right
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to do. And so I can do whatever I want.
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And it is right because I am powerful.
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God says no, you will answer to me one day.
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And so I want you to learn to do what's good, pursue justice,
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correct the oppressor, defend the rights of the fatherless,
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plead the widow's 'cause he says this is good, as opposed to what
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you've been doing, which is bad, if you will.
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They had been learning to do what is evil.
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They had been pursuing injustice, making choices based
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on how they could come out on top financially rather than what
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was good for other people. Instead correcting the oppressor
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or aiding the oppressed if you will, They were aiding the
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oppressor and correcting the oppressed.
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Oh, don't you know that this is way more than you deserve.
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Instead of defending the rights of the fatherless, there had
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been a, if you will, they had been taking advantage of the
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fatherless and instead of pleading the widow's 'cause they
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had been taking advantage of widows, something Jesus even
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addressed during his ministry here on earth.
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So he says, don't be like you have been.
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Chart a new course, plot a new path.
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Verse #18 Come, let's settle this says Yahweh.
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Though your sins are scarlet, they will be white as snow.
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Though they are Crimson red, they will be like wool here.
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Think about it with clothing that if you have some beautiful
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like white fabric, think like a wedding dress.
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And if a wedding dress is, you know, you, you pour tomato sauce
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or, you know, something that's red on there, it would be
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incredibly difficult to get out. I, I've even had various things
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over the years that, you know, if you put the wrong shirt in
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with, you know, something else, then it'll get dyed pink, You
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know, all that kind of stuff. It's never getting out that red,
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especially red dye is never ever getting out of that white thing.
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And here God says though your skin, though your sins are
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scarlet, it is deep Crimson red. It has totally stained your
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nation. It has stained you individually.
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He says they will be white as snow, though they are Crimson
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red, they will be like wool. God has the ability to heal, to
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restore, to forgive, to make you new.
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And even if you have been a person that lived in abject
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evil, our God is great enough. He is strong enough, He is
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wholly enough to be able to make you entirely new.
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So don't put off coming to Him. Don't think that you need to
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clean up your ACT before you get to God.
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Come to God, ask Him to do the cleaning, and He will do it.
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Verse #19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good
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things of the land. You have to have a desire to
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walk with God. That's what's encompassed there
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in that word. Willing if you are unwilling,
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but obedient, like if you're just doing the thing, but you
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have no, I say doing the thing. If you are doing the religious
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actions, but you have no desire to know God, to walk with him,
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to obey him, that's not enough. That's the whole point of this
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is don't get caught up just in doing religious stuff.
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He says if you are willing to know God to to be obedient to
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him and you are actually obedient, you can't just say, Oh
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yeah, I'm super willing to obey God and then never actually
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doing what he has called you to do.
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That's not good either. He says you have to be willing
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and obedient. Or if you will, in the words of
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the old hymn, you got to trust and obey.
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If you obey God, but you don't trust him, that doesn't get you
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anywhere. And you if you're trusting quote
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UN quote, and you do not obey, then you're not actually
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trusting. A godly trust, a godly
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willingness here in this verse means that I want to obey my God
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and I'll actually take steps towards that says if you're
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willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land.
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Last episode that the land was just filled with all sorts of
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bad things happening, invading armies and Raiders, sickness in
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the land, bad crops, all of that was happening.
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And he goes, if you are willing and obedient, you'll eat the
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good things of the land, he says.
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But if you refuse and rebel, the refuse is that heart posture
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against God and then you have your rebellion.
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That is, I'm going to actually make choices in my words or in
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my actions against what God has said.
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He says you will be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of
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Yahweh has spoken. God says I'm setting before you
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2 paths, path of life, path of death.
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If you walk the path of life, you're willing and obedient.
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Wonderful there is good that is prepared for you.
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He says I I also love what it has here.
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He says you will eat the good things of the land.
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This is the Hebrew word tokalu. And then if he says if you
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refuse and rebel, you'll be devoured by the sword.
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It's that same word Tekalu says if you're willing and obedient,
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you'll eat the good things of the land.
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If you refuse and rebel, you'll be eaten by the sword.
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It's a way to talk about, you know, invading armies, ravaging
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parties, coming through and killing.
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It was follow God, life, good things.
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If you refuse and rebel, that is the path of death and death is
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the end of that path. One thing that is just so sad to
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me as as a pastor, so often, every single week as I try and
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walk through God's word is I see people online over and over
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again just reviling God. And even, you know, earlier
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today, at the time that I'm recording this, a couple of my
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church Tik Toks from, from preaching, there was a little
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meme that someone had had of like Jesus knocking on the door.
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And he says, Hey, you know, come in and let me save you.
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And the person inside goes, oh, from what?
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And then Jesus says, oh, from what I'm going to do to you if
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you don't let me in. And it was just such a
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blasphemous look at at Christ and shows that frankly, that
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person either has not ever been told the true story of Scripture
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or they have as here, refused and rebelled against God to such
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a degree that they are just thoroughly, thoroughly lost.
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The story of Scripture is God is life, He is goodness, He is
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holiness, He is purity. And he created us to walk that
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path, but with the freedom to be able to choose which path we
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would walk. And we walked towards the path
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of sin, death and destruction. But God loved us so much that he
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goes, OK, I will not force you into a relationship with myself,
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but I will make the way so that anyone that believes and turns
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in faith to me will experience eternal life.
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I will put them back on the path through the finished work of
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Jesus Christ, he says. But for everyone that refuses a
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relationship with me, they are headed to death and destruction.
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God will not force an eternal relationship with Himself on
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anyone, but an eternal relationship with God is the
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only way to not experience death and destruction, because that is
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who God is. You can't get all the benefits
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of a relationship with God outside of God himself, which is
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what people want to happen. They they want there to be
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eternal life and blessing and goodness without Jesus Christ.
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And you cannot that it is a it's nonsensical.
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Jesus is all goodness and rightness and joy, community,
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love. It is only ultimately truly
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found in Him. So yeah, all that from verses 19
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and 20. Be willing and obedient.
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You'll eat the good things of the land, because if you refuse
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and rebel, you'll be eaten by the sword.
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The mouth of Yahweh has spoken verse #21 He says the faithful
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town, this is Jerusalem. What an adulteress she has
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become. The that word for adulteress can
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also be a a prostitute or a harlot, someone that is
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committing fornication, someone that is unfaithful.
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And I apologize if you're watching the video version.
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Somehow I managed to scroll and it's called all the way back to
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Ecclesiastes. So it says the faithful town.
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What an adulteress. What what a prostitute that
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Jerusalem has become. He says she was once full of
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justice, righteousness once dwelt in her, but now murderers,
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people that are killing and robbing.
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You can even read through a lot of Proverbs has to deal with
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that. He says your silver has become
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dross to be discarded. Your beer is diluted with water.
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Here. Let me look real quick at this
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word. Yeah, it's either wine or beer
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from grain can do kind of double duty.
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So here, he says, Jerusalem, you were beautiful, you were a
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faithful town, but now you have become unfaithful, like an
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adulterous or a prostitute, he says, you had silver, you were,
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if you will, you were worthwhile.
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But now you've become that dross that when you heat up silver or
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gold, what is not silver or gold rises to the top of that liquid
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and you scrape off the dross so that what is left is only the
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valuable metal. And so he says now you have just
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become worthless. He says your beer or your wine
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is diluted with water. It is not going to be as strong.
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It's not going to taste right if you dilute it with water.
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And he says you have diluted what God wanted to do in and
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through His people. Verse #23 He says your rulers
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are rebels, your friends of thieves, They all love graft and
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chase after bribes. They do not defend the rights of
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the fatherless, and the widow's case never comes before them.
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It is a wicked, awful thing when people use finances in order to
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affect governmental decisions. Let the reader understand.
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Verse #24 Therefore, Yahweh, God of heaven's armies, the mighty
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one of Israel, declares, I will get even with my folks.
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I will take revenge against my enemies.
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My goodness, I don't ever want to be the person that is an
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enemy of God, a foe of God that He comes to get even with that
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he goes to take revenge against. We are told in James 4, it's I
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think it's verse four and five. He says, therefore know that to
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be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God.
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Or we're told in Ephesians chapter 2 that outside of union
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with Jesus Christ, we are, we are enemies of God by nature.
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We start off being an enemy of God.
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So you don't have to just one day go, OK, well, now I'm going
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to turn my back on God. So many people do that as well.
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But as we are born into this world, we are imperfect, we are
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flawed, we are born at enmity with the way that God wants us
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to be. And so every one of us need to
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accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
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That is the only way of life. I'm going to hurry on here
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because I think I can get through the end of this chapter
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real quick. By the time we get to 20 minute
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mark, He says I will turn my hand against you and will burn
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away your dross completely. I will remove all your
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impurities that even here as God is taking vengeance against his
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enemies. He says I'm removing what is
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imperfect in you so that what is left is good.
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He says I will restore your judges to what they were at 1st
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and your advisers to what they were at the start.
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Godly people who do not accept bribes.
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Godly people who are not rebels or friends of thieves.
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Those that do defend the fatherless and the widows, he
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says. Those are the people that need
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to be in charge, he says. Afterward you'll be called the
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righteous city, a faithful town. Zion will be redeemed by
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justice, those who repent by righteousness.
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At the same time, both rebels and sinners will be broken, and
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those who abandoned Yahweh will perish.
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Indeed, they will be ashamed of the sacred trees you desired.
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This is a place of false worship where there would be trees and
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Groves. That they would do sacrifices to
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idols in Lots of immorality would take place there.
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He says you will be embarrassed because of the garden shrines
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you have chosen for you will become like an oak whose leaves
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are withered and like a garden without water, the strong one
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will become tender and his work a spark.
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Both will burn together with no one to extinguish the flames.
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He says these high places that during the time of Uzziah, the
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first king that Isaiah was prophesying during Uzziah
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followed the Lord in some ways, but he did not get rid of these
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false places of worship. And so here Isaiah says these
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woods are going to be burned up, these places of false worship
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are going to be destroyed when God comes to town.
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Can I ask you, are you building your life on the Lord and on His
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way and on his worship, or are you worshipping?
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With other people, are you worshipping false gods?
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What do you give your time, attention, energy, finances and
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your words to? What takes that place in your
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life that people know? OK, at this time on these days,
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this person is going to that shrine and they're going to
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dress the part and they're going to look the part and they're
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going to spend money on the part.
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But I just know that that is what that person goes to do.
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They give that thing worth and value.
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We ought to worship the Lord. And as we treat others right, as
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we treat God as supreme, we can be hopefully unlike the children
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of Israel here in this passage, and we can be much more like
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Jesus, the one who is the perfect one of Israel.
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That as Israel was imperfect in so many ways, and it's judges
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and its rulers were doing wrong, Jesus did everything right.
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Jesus was everything that these people were supposed to be, but
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could not be due to their sin. Jesus, the fully righteous One,
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has made it so we who were enemies of God can be brought
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near by His blood, His sacrificial death.
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Well, thanks for tuning in today.
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I went a little past where I went intended to, but such a
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rich portion of scripture and I want to encourage you be
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meditating on that even today. Next episode we start off in
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Chapter 2.