ATE058 10272024 “Only For His Glory - Here, I AM, Send Me! - Isaiah Chapter 56

Last week we studied Part 1 of this message on the Kingdom of Righteousness. Today, Part 2  of  a trilogy, Part 3 is next week is the third in the series within a series. In order to truly see His Kingdom come and His will be done we need His combatant generals leading us and training us. Yet many righteous generals are in caves today, hurting and discouraged. We need to lift up these leaders who have been beat up on our behalf.

This A WORD FROM PROPHET NATE JOHNSON is a now word:

Quote

“I HEARD THE LORD SAY: “I AM RESTORING THE PIONEERS IN PTSD”

“My pioneers have been living under the pain and soul sickness of PTSD, but right now I am bringing them back to life”

Right now many pioneers feel like David and his men at Ziklag—returning to find everything you fought for burned to the ground, and everything you loved stolen.

You’ve been through endless battles, only to arrive at this breaking point, crushed under the pressure of situations you don’t understand and outcomes you didn’t expect.

The warfare has been relentless, and the seeming loss overwhelming and you have wept until there is nothing left.

You gave all you had to obey the call, and now you’re standing in the ashes, wondering if it was all in vain, doubting whether you even heard God correctly.

I know what you are feeling. The exhaustion is not just physical; it is spiritual, emotional, and mental. The dark night of your soul has stretched on, and you’ve wondered if you will ever see light again.

You’ve carried the wounds of betrayal, disappointment, and abandonment. You fought hard for others, but now you feel soul-sick and too weary to move forward.

But I hear the Lord say, “This is not the end— and you aren’t crushed beyond my rescue, because while it may not look like it, I have been pulling you out of the soul crushing defeat and emotional baggage of your last season and mission”

“Yes, and like you draw snake poison from a wound I have been drawing out the poison of slander, witchcraft, and personal disappointment to the surface to free you once and for all”

“This is why you have felt the way you do, because it’s all manifesting around you, but not for the reason you thought it was”

“This is actually your restoration. Just as David strengthened himself in Me after Ziklag, I am releasing supernatural strength to you right now”

“What feels like the end is actually a threshold. The enemy thought the fire would destroy you, but this is where the tide turns. Just as I told David, ‘Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and recover all,’ I am speaking this word over you now: You will recover everything. What was stolen is not lost forever. What the enemy burned, I will restore”

“You did not hear Me wrong. Every word I spoke still stands. The dream is not dead—it’s about to be resurrected”

“The enemy whispered lies to make you believe you failed, but you are not defeated—you are in transition. The fire that tried to destroy you will now become the fuel for your next assignment”

“The soul sickness and trauma will no longer rule over you like it has in the past and it will not determine your steps or how you see anymore. I am right now lifting the weight off your heart and clearing the fog from your mind”

The Lord says, “Now look for the second wind that is coming on the other side of this extraction, for I am re-commissioning you.”

“This time, you will not run exhausted ; you will run with a renewed fire and unstoppable clarity”

“You will not only rebuild what was lost—you will build beyond what you ever imagined. This Ziklag moment is not your grave—it is the launching pad for the next chapter.

I am reminded when Jesus told the disciples to let us go to the other side, then when they got in the boat, they were faced with the ferocious storm.  They were all in the will of God, obeying what Jesus had said when they hit the storm where they thought they were going to die. Sometimes the storms we go through are the very path to your next level growth and victory.”End Quote

Subtitle:  Kingdom of Righteousness Part 2 Lessons in Righteousness

As was revealed last week Righteousness is really big in the Kingdom of God. There is God’s righteousness or God’s way and there is human righteousness or our unrighteousness and there is inputted righteousness (breastplate of righteousness) by which God covers us in His righteousness and empowers us by His grace.

Today we must understand this key message of righteousness on how we must function. This message is generally a key to success in advancing and occupying in the Kingdom of God.

The building up, equipping and training is for the next generation. Those we raise up to release and join us or replace us. If we fail to eaide and release then we have rebelled and have delayed victory.

Isaiah‬ ‭57‬:‭1‬-‭21‬ ‭WEBUS

“The righteous perish, and no one lays it to heart. Merciful men are taken away, and no one considers that the righteous is taken away from the evil. He enters into peace. They rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness. “But draw near here, you sons of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes. Whom do you mock? Against whom do you make a wide mouth and stick out your tongue? Aren’t you children of disobedience and offspring of falsehood, you who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; who kill the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion. They, they are your lot. You have even poured a drink offering to them. You have offered an offering. Shall I be appeased for these things? On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed. You also went up there to offer sacrifice. You have set up your memorial behind the doors and the posts, for you have exposed yourself to someone besides me, and have gone up. You have enlarged your bed and made you a covenant with them. You loved what you saw on their bed. You went to the king with oil, increased your perfumes, sent your ambassadors far off, and degraded yourself even to Sheol. You were wearied with the length of your ways; yet you didn’t say, ‘It is in vain.’ You found a reviving of your strength; therefore you weren’t faint. “Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lie, and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your heart? Haven’t I held my peace for a long time, and you don’t fear me? I will declare your righteousness; and as for your works, they will not benefit you. When you cry, let those whom you have gathered deliver you, but the wind will take them. A breath will carry them all away, but he who takes refuge in me will possess the land, and will inherit my holy mountain.” He will say, “Build up, build up, prepare the way! Remove the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.” For the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, says: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, neither will I always be angry; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls whom I have made. I was angry because of the iniquity of his covetousness and struck him. I hid myself and was angry; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him. I will lead him also, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace, to him who is far off and to him who is near,” says Yahweh; “and I will heal them.” But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can’t rest and its waters cast up mire and mud. “There is no peace”, says my God, “for the wicked.””

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ISAIAH 57 – THE SPIRITUAL ADULTERY OF GOD’S PEOPLE

Isaiah 56-58 – Spiritual Adultery and Spiritual Worship

A. Judah’s idolatry is like spiritual adultery.

1. (1-2) The persecution of the righteous.

a. The righteous perishes: Carrying on the rebuke of Judah’s leaders from the previous chapter, the LORD speaks to the persecution of the righteous. In this case, it is persecution through neglect (the righteous perishes and no man takes it to heart).

i. When Isaiah proclaimed this is important. Many critics of the Bible demand that Isaiah was written after the Babylonian exile because so many events after the exile are precisely prophesied. But the sins described in this chapter are strictly before the exile. This chapter is a marvelous proof that the book of Isaiah was written in the days of Isaiah, by one author, and before the exile.

ii. “There is no evidence of corresponding post-exilic practices. A prophet in the post-exile could not have written like this.” (Motyer)

iii. “All in all we prefer to think of the reign of Manasseh, for the abominations of this king are all found in this chapter.” (Bultema)

b. The righteous is taken away from evil. He shall enter into peace: Though the righteous were ignored and persecuted by the wicked leaders of Judah, God would not forsake them. When they perished, when merciful men were taken away, God used it to bless the righteous, to take them away from evil and to allow them to enter into peace.

2. (3-10) The spiritual adultery of God’s people.

a. Whom do you ridicule? The wicked among God’s people made fun of the righteous. They mocked them, and God heard it. Here, the LORD challenges them, simply asking “Who do you think you are? Who are you mocking? Are you not children of transgression, offspring of falsehood?”

i. This speaks to a common sin of human nature – to see the sins or the problems of others while being blind to our own sins or problems. (Sound familiar, Remember the Pharisees?)

b. Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree: Here, the LORD begins to expose the spiritual adultery of His people. They are “hot” with passion for other gods, worshipping them in the ritual worship places of Canaanite paganism (every green tree…. among the smooth stones of the stream…. on a high and lofty mountain).

i. In this picture, the LORD is the husband of Israel, and their passionate, chronic attraction for idols was like the lust of an adulterer. His people pursued the false gods like a lover runs after the focus of their love, and they yield themselves to the idols as a lover yields themselves to their beloved (you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me).

ii. “According to the presentation of verse seven, the whoredom of Judah is compared to that of an adulteress who has become so impudent that she no longer commits her sins in secret but publicly and shamelessly. She acts without any restraint and refuses to blush with shame.” (Bultema)

c. Under every green tree: The picture of “spiritual adultery” is especially fitting, because many of the pagan gods the Israelites went after were “worshipped” with debased sex rituals. A green tree might be a place of such idolatry because the evergreen tree spoke of constant fertility.

d. Slaying the children in the valleys: One of the Canaanite gods the Israelites worshipped was named Molech, and he received children as sacrifices. Molech was “worshipped” by heating a metal statue representing the god until it was red hot, then by placing a living infant on the outstretched hands of the statue, while beating drums drowned out the screams of the child until it burned to death. Molech was one of the “lovers” God’s people forsook the LORD for in their spiritual adultery.

i. People who would not make a small sacrifice for the LORD God would kill their own children for a pagan idol! “And as the love of harlots is oft hotter than that of husband and wife, so superstition many times outdoeth true religion.” (Trapp)

e. Even to them you have poured a drink offering, you have offered a grain offering: These are the sacrifices that should have been given to the LORD. But His unfaithful people gave them to idols instead.

i. “For the devil is God’s ape, and idolaters used the same rites and offerings in the worship of idols which God has prescribed in his own [worship].” (Poole)

f. Also behind the doors and their posts you have set up your remembrance: In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, God told Israel to inscribe His name (YHWH) and His word on every door post. Here, there was a perverse twisting of that – they remembered their pagan gods behind the doors and their posts.

i. “The sensitive Israelite reader would, of course, remember that it was the word of God – and, most aptly, the assertion that there is only one God – that was to be inscribed on the doors.” (Grogan)

g. You are wearied in the length of your way: As time went on, the spiritual adultery of God’s people wasn’t rewarding. After the initial thrill of their spiritual adultery wore off, they were wearied. But even then, they would not repent (Yet you did not say, “There is no hope”).

B. God describes His dealing with His disobedient people.

1. (11-13) The end of God’s patience with His people.

a. And of whom have you been afraid, or feared, that you have lied and not remembered Me: Here, the LORD confronts the fact that His people do not fear Him, and that they do fear someone or something else. Nor taken it to your heart: Their superficial relationship was connected to a low view of God, and their lack of respect for Him.

b. Is it not because I have held My peace from of old that you do not fear Me? Why did God’s people lack respect for Him? In part, because He showed mercy and did not punish their sin immediately. They made a crucial error, common to fallen humanity: they mistook God’s mercy and forbearance for weakness or lack of resolve.

c. I will declare your righteousness and your works, for they will not profit you: God’s people didn’t trust in Him, and the things they did trust in – themselves, and their idols (let your collection of idols deliver you) could not help them. Their idols were so weak and helpless that a breath will take them.

d. He who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land, and shall inherit My holy mountain: This is the contrast to those who turned away from God. Trust in the LORD makes a person secure, while trust in one’s self or in idols ends in ruin.

2. (14) A stumbling block removed.

And one shall say,“Heap it up! Heap it up!Prepare the way,Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”

a. Heap it up! Heap it up: This doesn’t describe setting things in the way of those coming to God. Instead, using the same imagery as Isaiah 35:8, which describes a highway for God’s people, meaning a raised road that is above all obstacles. Heap it uprefers to the building of this road, so that God’s people can return to Him without obstacle.

b. Prepare the way, take the stumbling block out of the way of My people: Whatever gets in the way of our getting right with God must be taken out of the way. In the following verses, the LORD deals with those obstacles.

3. (15-21) God describes the way of peace and restoration.

a. For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: To be right with God, the first thing to do is to understand His great majesty. The LORD introduces Himself to His people with titles reflecting His great majesty and expects His people to respond to Him as such a glorious God.

b. To revive the spirit of the humble: Though God is the High and Lofty One, and lives in the high and holy place, at the same time He will live with men – with him who has a contrite and humble spirit. This is the second thing to being right before God: being contrite and humble before the God of great majesty.

c. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry: The third thing to understand in getting right with God is His great love. Here, the LORD shows His mercy to His people but promises to relent and not be angry forever. Though God disciplined His people, He now says, I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, and restore comforts to him.

d. Peace, peace, to him who is far off and to him who is near: In His mercy, God invites all men to peace – both him who is far off and him who is near. Each one can receive God’s shalom, which is more than the absence of hostility; it is the gift of precious well-being.

i. In Ephesians 2:17, Paul speaks of Jesus fulfilling this promise exactly: And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. As revealed through Paul, God shows that him who is far off refers to the Gentiles, while him who is near is the Jewish man. Both can come to peace through receiving God’s gift through Jesus.

e. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest…. there is no peace…for the wicked: In contrast to those who return to God, the wicked are still without peace. God’s great mercy is held out to man – but it must be received.

i. “Their minds are restless, being perpetually hurried and tormented with their own lusts and passions, and with the horror of their guilt, and the dread of Divine vengeance due unto them, and ready to come upon them.” (Poole)

ii. Isaiah 57:20-21 is a good example of how the sea was thought to be a dangerous, dark, restless place in the mind of the ancient Jews. No wonder that in the new heaven and the new earth, there is no more sea (Revelation 21:1).

Shallow fresh waters will be ours. “He leads me besides still waters…” but “then the shadow of the valley of death” faces us…will we be trampled down or rise up in His authority and stand?

Trample by Kim Walker Smith

[Intro]

In the name of Jesus

In the name of Jesus

[Verse 1]

The very same power that rolls back rocks from a dead man's cave

Is the very same power that I feel stirring in this place

The very same spirit that raised my Savior from the grave

Is the very same spirit alive and moving here today

[Chorus]

Oh, I’ve been given all authority

To trample every enemy

In the name of Jesus

All things in the name of Jesus

I've been given all authority

To trample every enemy

In the name of Jesus

All things in the name of Jesus

[Verse 2]

The very same liar that tried to take my hope away

Is the very same liar that I see silent here today

The very same darkness that keeps trying to prevail

Is the very same darkness that I'm sending back to hell

[Chorus]

Oh, I’ve been given all authority

To trample every enemy

In the name of Jesus

All things in the name of Jesus

I've been given all authority

To trample every enemy

In the name of Jesus

All things in the name of Jesus

[Post-Chorus]

In the name of Jesus

[Bridge]

For it is done

By the power of the blood

I belong to You

Your Kingdom come

By the power of the blood

I belong to You

For it is done

By the power of the blood

I belong to You

Your Kingdom come

By the power of the blood

I belong to You

I overcome

By the power of the blood

I belong to You

Your Kingdom come

By the power of the blood

I belong to You

I overcome

By the power of the blood

I belong to You

Your Kingdom come

By the power of the blood

I belong to You

Let us pray…