The gospel of Isaiah

In Isaiah chapter 1 God speaks through the prophet about the sins of Israel.

This was a message for rebellious Judah and unfaithful Jerusalem and this is a message for us today.
In verses, 2-3 God says:

"Listen, o heavens! pay attention, earth! This what the Lord says: "The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me. Even an ox knows its owner and a donkey his master's care, but Israel doesn't know its master. My people do not recognise my care for them."

The Ox and the Donkey are the dumbest of animals, but even they look to their master for food. 
Sin is not a matter of what we do or don't do its a matter regarding our relationship with God. Sin is rebellion and revolt against God.

In verses,10-14 God was very angry with his evil and corrupt children who had turned away from him to worship other God's thereby cutting themselves off from his help. God was calling for sincere faith and devotion, but they were still unfaithful to him in their hearts. 

Many of us today have become unfaithful to God, we have left our first love to worship idols instead of the one true God. We have committed adultery in our hearts to worship the created and not the creator; most of us are not even aware of it.
We need to examine our Christian life and activities do they spring from our faith in the living God or faith in the activities themselves? 

Hebrews 10v 26-31

"Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins."

God does not take pleasure in our outward Gifts and sacrifices when they come from someone with a corrupt heart. God wants us to love him, to trust him and turn from our sin; when we do this he will be pleased with our "sacrifices."

Psalm 51v16-19

"You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, o God. Look with favour on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered with the right spirit." 

God wants a broken spirit and a broken and repentant heart. You can never please God by outward actions no matter how good if your heart attitude is not right. Are you sorry for your sins? Do you genuinely intend to stop? God is pleased by this kind of repentance

Isaiah 1v29

 "shame will cover you when you think of the times you offered sacrifices to idols in your groves of sacred oaks". 

The oak tree is a symbol of strength but the people were worshipping "sacred oaks" 

Are You devoted to symbols of strength and power that rival God's place in your heart and life? Does your commitment to any of your Christian activities border on worshipping them? Do you seek the praise of men by your performance,  your position in the church, your giving, your status, your preaching or teaching? 
Is your faith in the living God or has something else taken his place in your heart? What about your work, hobbies, or even family. Who or what is on the throne of our heart? 

We need to ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and discernment. There are so many voices out there trying to get our attention, so many thoughts bouncing around in our heads. We need to be still and hear the small still voice of the Holy Spirit, the voice of sanity in this dark and decaying world. 
We need to ask the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts daily to ensure that nothing or no one is trying to usurp his position on the throne of our hearts. 
God must be our first love, our primary relationship, then all other activities/relationships will flow from this.

In the song of Solomon 2v15, his bride to be say's:

"Catch the foxes for us the little foxes that spoil the vineyards for our vineyards are in blossom". 

In the growing romance between the couple, the foxes represent potential problems that could damage their relationship before the marriage. the bride to be is saying, "let's take preventative measures to protect our love from anything that could harm it."
The foxes are little it's the little things, the things overlooked, that often spoil things of value. Our beloved wants us to address these little things that threaten our love relationship, things that creep into our hearts that eventually take our lover's place.

In the Old Testament, God provided a sacrificial system whereby atonement could be made for sin, but this was only temporary and merely looked forward to the coming of Jesus Christ who would die on the cross to make a complete substitutionary atonement for sin. 
The saviour who was promised in the old testament is fully revealed in the new testament.
So let's ask the Holy Spirit to examine our heart's regularly. He has given us the wonderful gift of forgiveness.

1 John 1v9

"If we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

In biblical Israel when people finished a hard days work they took off their sandals and washed the dirt and dust off their feet before going into their homes.
When we come home from a hard days work in the world, we also pick up dirt and dust (sin) we also need to wash our feet in the spiritual sense. We make ourselves holy and clean by applying 1 John 1v9.

 Dai lectic

30/05/20