Isaiah 51 vs 8-23

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Isaiah 51 vs 8-23

Calvary Chapel Cherry Creek

January 31, 2024 • Pastor Matt Korniotes • Isaiah 51:8–23

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Isaiah Chapter 51 Verse 8

· The moth and the worm speak of natural, worldly decay (and even the condition of Gehenna) and the duality being discussed here is that the things of God remain but the reproach and insults of men have an expiration date. Or maybe let me say it this way SHOULD have an expiration date. What’s that mean!?

· The Christian that is growing in the Lord is changing. And you are NOT what you were. Season to season, strength to strength. And so, insults and reproaches from before shouldn’t even fit anymore! AND, the moth and the worm are small, insignificant, easily terminated irritants, just swat them with an identity built in the Lord and in His Word! Fear less, get irritated less, love more…

Isaiah Chapter 51 Verse 9

· We go from three “Listen to Me’s,” to five “Awakes!” And I love that because as you do set your heart and mind to listen to the Lord, seeking to know what He is saying, (as in know it for yourself), there is an awakening that will happen within you! Paul described this in Ephesians 1:18-19 as, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you make know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power!”

· The day is completely different than the night! That is what the word enlightened means, that light comes forth, the DAY breaks. Night is not only different than day because its dark, there’s a whole different feel to the entire experience! And so much more is revealed, so much more work can be accomplished, there’s far more warmth, the list just goes on and on… And so why is it that I don’t see well at times, why is it that I’m so cold at times, why is it that I’m so dark at times…? It’s not that I’m not able to be awake (as it were), it’s that somewhere along the way I stopped chasing the Lord like He stole my purse! HA!

· AND, you always get far more out of the deal with your relationship with the Lord than you are able to invest. I mean that should just be intuitive in that statement! Three “Listen to Me’s” yield five “Awakes!” I know that’s stupid and elementary BUT I have found this to be true and I have watched this consistently be true in the lives of so many! You put in 100% and you get out 166%! That’s this equation…

· Why does He work that way? Well A) because He is exponentially bigger than me! So much more than any part of creation, He is the Creator! AND the Lord calls you and draws you to Himself with this kind of profit because He loves you. So, the bottom line on your life’s balance sheet is that the closer you are to the Lord, the more fervently you are devoted to and walking with the Lord, the greater you will be! And God loves that…

· You know who hates that though, your enemy! And he also has a high ROI (return on investment)! In fact, he strives to out-do God altogether in this realm that if you give him 10%, he will take 95%! AND, if I give God 80%, the enemy ruins the other 20%, eats it away, diseases it with destruction (a little leaven leavens the WHOLE lump), so that I’m stuck repairing or suffering from the 20% I withheld from the Lord even though anything I give to the Lord will profit! So, in a way, the enemy also has a substantial ROI. This is why Paul would write in Ephesians 4:27, “Give no place (even a foothold) to the devil,” because sin takes far more than you ever thought it would from you!

· And folks say well who are these “Awakes” for? For the people of God or for the Lord? Doesn’t really matter! If the people, if the prophet, is calling out and praying that the Lord would awake for him and them then by implication it means that they are waking themselves… So, you can read and interpret these verses either way! Makes more sense to me to interpret them as being towards the people as Psalm 121:4 says, “Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep…”

Isaiah Chapter 51 Verses 10 - 20

· I love this stretch of scripture because essentially it is the statement, “Have you had enough yet!?” I have seen this in my own heart and life and in so many others as well! The Word of God is right there! Salvation and life and strength and breakthrough and just an end to so much nonsense! It’s like you’re in a round-about and you just keep passing it and looking at it and not taking the exit! Awake!

· That word means “WAKE YOURSELF UP!” No one can do this for anyone else. And everyone has the right to waste years and years on this unmerry go round of serving self and thus living in the many shades of fear and darkness. Lust, pride, agitation, frustration, arrested development! Unteachable, uncorrectable, offended constantly… But at some point, the sons and daughters of the King ought to wake up and accept the kingdom, step into their divine due through the blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit which is to OVERCOME the evil one!! Another translation for this word “awake” is to raise up, to be the variant, to master and to finally triumph!!

Isaiah Chapter 51 Verses 21 – 23

· Drunk but not with wine is a call of mercy to the people because its verse 17 says that what has been guzzled down is the cup of His fury, the dregs of the cup of trembling meaning the consequence of the Word of God and the implication here is that as a people, they even lick the bottom of the cup as it says in that verse, “and have drained it out.” What’s that mean? They have settled into a pattern of navigating soulishly, living in a lesser state, rather than trusting the Lord, obeying His Word and thus steering their stories spiritually!

· And so, God gives them the answer and it’s super hard. This is why the majority never enter into the life God has planned for them… Their path has been so difficult already. So many trials and tribulations and troubles and torments, but the answer is to trust the Lord, value His Kingdom over your own or even this life, and to CHOOSE humility. And when you have laid your body like the ground and as a street for those who walk over, that’s when God puts that cup in the hands of those who afflict you… The answer (doesn’t matter what the situation or past or whatever, the answer to fix ME and to fix YOU) is simple…, return to the cross of Christ. Personally, and even practically…

Isaiah 58 vs 1-14

May 15, 2024 • Pastor Matt Korniotes • Isaiah 58

Isaiah Chapter 58 Verses 1 – 3 · This is such a great chapter because it points out that simply doing the right things is simply not the whole story. The objective of these first three verses is to educate them/us, the people of God and the nation of Israel (which is the entirety of the elect) that a limiting factor in our growth, in our maturity, in our lives, our satisfaction and our faith is not only how we discipline our behaviors but much more so the condition of the heart! · I seek the Lord daily, as do many of you. I delight to know the ways of God, as do many of you. I pray for justice and take great delight in approaching God! And yet simply doing those things doesn’t constitute righteousness nor what God has asked of me… The result of this condition is the beginning of verse 3 where the people respond to God, “We are doing what is written but we aren’t getting anything out of it…” See the problem? · This chapter speaks more on fasting and uses the term fast or fasting more than any other chapter in the Bible. And it is authoritative and very revealing as to what fasting is all about. What is fasting? In the context of the Bible, fasting is a withholding of some sort of physical necessity for a period of time for spiritual purposes. Most common, fasting is a total neglect of food but can also be the neglect of something specific as we see in Daniel 10:3 where Daniel fasted for three weeks from “pleasant bread, meat, and wine.” · Why fast, should we fast, and why is it called a fast?! It goes so SLOW! HA! Well, the rest of this chapter we will discuss the why behind fasting. Should we fast? Absolutely! You’ll see that before the end of the study today as well. And why is it called a FAST!? HA! Let’s answer this one now. Perhaps this isn’t the textbook answer but a fast essentially accelerates the work of the Spirit as the flesh is weakened… · So, let’s look at what the issue is with the fasting that is mentioned in verse 3 as we take in the next verses, and this topic is important, you’ll know more as we continue, because Jesus was questioned about fasting in Matthew 6 and His response in verse 16 was, “Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Jesus lays out a very clear directive, expectation and result…, so yes, this is an important topic for any Christian… Isaiah Chapter 58 Verses 4 – 5 · So, the end of verse 3 through verse 5 lays out the problem statement of how not to approach fasting. God says, “In the day of your fast you find pleasure,” which is an indictment that the reason behind the fast was some sort of worldly desire, something I want from God, and we know that because the end of verse 3 goes on to say that the attitude of the one that is fasting is selfishness. Exploiting or increasing the load of the other laborers, those serving you… · This fast is certainly for something personally desired, wanted, demanded as we read in verse 4 that the purpose of the fast is for strife, debate and to strike with the fist of wickedness. This fast is to make YOUR voice heard on HIGH. As we will see as we continue is the exact opposite of the fast that God desires. Isaiah Chapter 58 Verse 6 · Perhaps the single authoritative summarized scripture on the subject of fasting. Survey all of the fasts we find in the Bible; Paul fasted, Gideon fasted, Moses fasted, Elijah fasted, Samual fasted, Esther faster, Ezra fasted…, and some fasted for victory and others for deliverance, and yet survey them all in the shadow of Isaiah 58:6 and you will see that this is why they all fasted… Even Jesus, just not for Himself… · We don’t fast so that our voice will be heard on high, that’s verses 1 – 5. We fast so that God’s voice is heard in here (my brain/heart) without hindrance. We fast so that the flesh might be put into its place and the spirit might have the preeminence. To loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, to break every yoke! · People say there are so many reasons to fast and so many reasons why anyone fasted in the Bible. I don’t see that at all. There is one reason why everyone fasted in the Bible with many results! Look at this result… Isaiah Chapter 58 Verse 7 · I love this! This is a heart and an action, just not an action alone. You are fasting from bread and although it is what you physically need the most, you don’t store it for when you break your fast, you give it to someone who is in need of it. Cover the naked, take care of the people around you, and in doing so you end up asking yourself, “Why am I not like this just in general?” My own flesh becomes evident to me, why? Because it screams and I acknowledge it, but I don’t give to it! Isaiah Chapter 58 Verses 8 – 9 · People could take that (and have taken that) to mean that if you fast hard enough, if you starve long enough, this is what God requires for Him to answer you. That’s just ridiculous on so many levels! My sister lives in Florida. Let me call out to her right now with the most volume-filled shout I can muster! Will she answer!? NO! Why? Because she’s not here! Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life and NO ONE comes to the Father except through ME!” · This is the proof text to James 4:6 where it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble!” God told us through the profit Isaiah that His people reach out to Him all day long expecting to worship but their hands are covered in blood. Isaiah 1:12-17, “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me. I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” · If we have not the heart to humble ourselves and receive the grace of God and serve Him and be for Him and not for us then a thousand prayers, a thousand church attendances, a thousand ministry outings, a thousand Bible Studies…, all thousand apart from the Lord. Jesus said to the church in Ephesus in revelation 2:2-4, “I know your works, your labor, your patience, on and on all the things you do, nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love…” · Folks have asked me over the years what to do…, I pray, I go to church, I serve and yet God doesn’t answer me. I tell them stop! Stop all of that! Why? Because what truly is needed is for us to get to a position of worship, praise and honor unto God even if He never answers us! Humility is the position of approach to God because that looks like the cross. No one, Jesus said, no one comes to the Father except through Him! · It’s not that God wasn’t answering. Its that you are calling to Him not where He is… Angela doesn’t live in Colorado, she’s in Florida! But I shout for her here and she doesn’t answer me…, she must not love me, she must not be good…, no… Unfortunately, the issue is me. And folks don’t want to hear that…, through fasting, this is how we perhaps begin to listen… And the position of our hearts perhaps will go from shouting to service! Look at what that looks like… Isaiah Chapter 58 Verses 10 – 12 · But I demand God to restore me, build me, repair me…, the mystery of holiness is that when you let that go and submit your will unto God’s, (essentially accepting the situation of a doulos/slave/disciple to Christ) that’s when He does those things…, and not a moment sooner. It’s when you become yourself what you are demanding of God…, to serve you, to answer you, to incline His ear to you…, and yet perhaps through fasting I surrender all and weaken my flesh so that I serve Him, I answer Him, I incline my ear to Him…, it’s then…, in that drought, God satisfies the soul…, as James puts it…, God gives His grace to the humble… Isaiah Chapter 58 Verses 13 – 14 · The way up is down, man. It’s true in your home, its true in your marriage, it’s true in your career, it’s true in your walk towards victory in Christ…, it’s just true. Hard and narrow is the path that leads to life…, few find it. Why? Because we all get stuck on the “hard” and on the “narrow.” When we entirely disregard that that path is the PATH OF LIFE! It’s not easy this path, but touch that life, man… (Jesus said it’s Him), and in a mysterious way you begin to actually love and to cherish the work, the labor, the toughness of that path… · I see now. How worth it is. How necessary it is… Without that hard and narrow, the bonds of wickedness would never have broken. The heavy burdens would never have lightened. The oppression in me would have never freed. The yokes that weighed me down and halted me would have never broken!! Many are called, few are chosen, and few find it…, and it’s obvious why…

Isaiah 57 vs 11-21

May 8, 2024 • Pastor Matt Korniotes • Isaiah 57:11–21

 Pride is the absolute worst disease of the spirit in all of creation. Rather than define what pride is, it’s far more-clear to say what it is not. It is not a spirit of service and responsibility towards God and others. It is a spirit of service and responsibility towards self…  Pride cannot be tolerated because it quickly becomes your god. It’s like a drug. There is no dabbling. You touch it and it takes over. Pride is the satanic supplement in the nature of created man that causes every kind of evil and torment… And it’s so extremely dangerous, you stay entirely clear of it as much as possible, because every one of us (in our flesh) loves it…  The only cure for it is to not fight it but to overcome it. If you fight pride, in a way, that itself is prideful. You must ignore it, release it, like the itch of a mosquito bite…, the moment you scratch it, it gets worse. So, the only cure for pride is humility… To cheerfully and joyfully submit myself to God and to others… Proverbs 16:19 says, “Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Isaiah Chapter 57 Verses 11 – 12  That’s quite the challenge from God that is so healthy! All of your works and righteousness, you doing what you think is right…, what has it gotten it you? Where has it gotten you? I am confident that there is no one in this room that would go to work tomorrow for free…, or better yet, what if you had to pay your employer tomorrow to go to work!? Your life delivers what you have invested. It’s as simple as that and the will and want of God is for our good, for our profit!  Perhaps not in terms of money or resources, but I’m also not necessarily saying not! The point is that our life and who we are will be a direct result of the wise investments we make or the unwise investments we make in terms of who’s righteousness we employ. Ours, or Gods!  And this word for profit in the Hebrew (I can’t make this up) its “yaal!” Literally pronounced “yaw-al!” HA! God’s like, “YALL! Come and buy without money and be greatly satisfied!!” You want to work for no profit that’s on you, but for me, profitlessness is one of my personal enemies!  Do you know what is profitable? Love. Kindness. Giving someone the benefit of the doubt. Serving the Lord. Doing for others what you can do for them. Treating others not how you want to be treated but how they need you to treat them. Playing the long game. Being willing to suffer and sacrifice for some sort of desired goal or outcome… Trusting the Lord is profitable even when I can’t see the end… Isaiah Chapter 57 Verse 13  How about we trust the Lord and then when I cry out to the Lord, I call out in hope knowing He will deliver me because it is in Him I have put my trust. Not my mental trust, like my literal action-oriented God trusting decisions… That vibe is totally different than what we just read when we call out to Him in our moment of trouble! Isaiah Chapter 57 Verses 14 – 15  God is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The Creator of all things. Perfect, holy, just and all mighty. And He makes His company only with those that are contrite and humble in spirit. Humble we get. Maybe…  Humility is not considering self-less than others, it’s just simply considering self-less. What’s important to God is important to you and anything that challenges that is muted and starved. Hated and hunted in your heart of hearts. That’s humility. Not the thought or urge to think differently, this is the resolution and discipline to DO differently. That’s humility. It’s the strongest of strengths and it is the non- negotiable of whom God blesses and approves as His people!  But God also uses the characterization of contrite. Contrite gives an essence of guilt. Of remorse. Of sorry. That we know we have fallen short, we know we are saved and accepted by grace, AND we are still sorry. Let me give you another word for contrite. Accountable…  Here are two things that are at the tip top of the list of short order in the world and in the church. Humility and accountability. Many are called, few are chosen. Why? This. God makes His place with the humble and the contrite. Not the humble alone. The humble and the contrite… These He revives! Isaiah Chapter 57 Verses 16 – 18  These verses are difficult and seem out of place. God could perhaps be talking about one who strays or He could be talking about the nation of Israel as a whole. Either interpretation is acceptable. Isaiah Chapter 57 Verses 19 – 21  There is no peace for the wicked. Always searching, always grasping, never arriving…, going from thing to thing, person to person, problem to problem, relationship to relationship and like a self-fulfilling prophecy, always somehow turning out the same, never finding what they’re looking for... Like a troubled sea… It’s an indictment yes, but its also an offering that the peace of God is held out and offered to anyone and everyone…  Peace is far more than the end of war. The word means completeness. Settled on the inside. Sound in heart and mind. Safe. Content. The word even means a friend. It is a return to the closest state of original creation… THAT is profit! You know, war is profitable. The US defense budget for 2024 is roughly $850B dollars. Lay those dollars out and count without any breaks and it would take you 26 thousand years! War is profitable… But did you know, studies have shown, there’s very little empirical evidence of this, but studies have shown that peace is far more profitable than war?  Some financial brains have calculated that peace has a 6,000% return on investment. Why? You stop paying for destruction of valuable assets, destruction of population, destruction of earning/creating power (casualties of war), and destruction/stifling of civil innovation. It’s an interesting idea, the profitability of peace…  But industries would have to change, companies would have to change, experience in war machine design would be worth much less, and the concentration of wealth would well…, have to be far less concentrated…, which the supreme elite would never allow…  But for me, for you…., hey, we will be profitable in this life, no doubt. We have given our lives to Jesus. We have a form of godliness, everyone of us…, few will find out that peace is multiplied millions of times more profitable than war…, but hey…, many are called, few are chosen.

Isaiah 57 vs 1-21

May 1, 2024 • Pastor Matt Korniotes • Isaiah 57

Isaiah Chapter 57 Verses 1 – 2 · “The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart.” Good thing Numbers 23:19 tells us that God is not a man… The righteous perishes and the merciful men are forsaken but nothing is lost on God. The rest of the righteous doesn’t, (can’t), come from this world. That doesn’t even make sense. The satisfaction of the saint can only come from the Spirit. · So as the things of this world continue to be unfair, difficult, frustrating and wearisome, its ok… You don’t go to Subway for a steak. They don’t serve that there. The world is going to do what the world is going to do. People are going to live for themselves. Call things that are evil, good. The world is going to harm you and call it right and fair… All of those things do much less damage if you expect them! · Verse 2 speaks of peace, rest, and uprightness. Uprightness in this world gets you contentions, debates and cycles of swirl! Verse 2 possibly speaks of death as well in the way this is worded and if that is so then we have a verse that reconciles how it is that the Bible speaks of death in certain places as “sleep.” Notice verse 2 says that entering into peace they shall rest in their beds…, and walk in uprightness! Yes, the Bible speaks of death as sleep, yes, the Bible speaks of the dead entering into their graves, and yes, the Bible speaks of the body doing all of those things while the Spirit walks with God! Isaiah Chapter 57 Verses 3 – 10 · This is quite the indictment against those who have essentially harmed the righteous. And the key central verse and theme of the indictment is verse 7. On a lofty and high mountain, you have set your bed. In other words, you have lifted, elevated, promoted yourself in your own heart and life and that truly is the downfall of everything… · Pride is the absolute worst disease of the spirit in all of creation. And rather than define what pride is, it’s far more-clear to say what it is not. It is not a spirit of service and responsibility towards God and others. It is a spirit of service and responsibility towards self… The refusal to submit yourself to others and to God. That is pride and that becomes your god. You cannot serve God and dabble in pride… · There you went up to offer sacrifice…, where? On the high hill you set up for yourself. Pride cannot be tolerated because it quickly becomes your god. It’s like a drug. A secret sin. There is no dabbling. You touch it and it takes over. Pride is the satanic supplement in the nature of created man that causes every kind of evil and torment… And it’s so extremely dangerous, you stay entirely clear of it as much as possible, because every one of us loves it (in our flesh)… · The only cure for it is to not fight it but to overcome it. If you fight pride, in a way, that itself is prideful. You must ignore it, release it, like the itch of a mosquito bite…, the moment you scratch it, it gets worse. So, the only cure for pride is humility… To cheerfully and joyfully submit myself to God and to others… Proverbs 16:19 says, “Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Isaiah Chapter 57 Verses 11 – 12 · That’s quite the challenge from God that is so healthy! All of your works and righteousness, you doing what you think is right…, what has gotten it you? Where has it gotten you? I am confident that there is no one in this room that would go to work tomorrow for free…, or better yet, what if you had to pay your employer tomorrow to go to work!? Your life delivers what you have invested. It’s as simple as that and the will and want of God is for our good, for our profit! · Perhaps not in terms of money or resources, but I’m also not necessarily saying not! The point is that our life and who we are will be a direct result of the wise investments we make or the unwise investments we make in terms of who’s righteousness we employ. Ours, or Gods! · And this word for profit in the Hebrew (I can’t make this up) its “yaal!” Literally pronounced “yaw-al!” HA! God’s like, “YALL! Come and buy without money and be greatly satisfied!!” You want to work for no profit that’s on you, but for me, profitlessness is one of my personal enemies! · Do you know what is profitable? Love. Kindness. Giving someone the benefit of the doubt. Serving the Lord. Doing for others what you can do for them. Treating others not how you want to be treated but how they need you to treat them. Playing the long game. Being willing to suffer and sacrifice for some sort of desired goal or outcome… Trusting the Lord is profitable even when I can’t see the end… Isaiah Chapter 57 Verse 13 · How about we trust the Lord and then when I cry out to the Lord, I call out in hope knowing He will deliver me because it is in Him I have put my trust. Not my mental trust, like my literal action-oriented God trusting decisions… That vibe is totally different than what we just read when we call out to Him in our moment of trouble! Isaiah Chapter 57 Verses 14 – 15 · God is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The Creator of all things. Perfect, holy, just and all mighty. And He makes His company only with those that are contrite and humble in spirit. Humble we get. Maybe… · Humility is not considering self-less than others, it’s just simply considering self-less. What’s important to God is important to you and anything that challenges that is muted and starved. Hated and hunted in your heart of hearts. That’s humility. But God also uses the characterization of contrite. Contrite gives an essence of guilt. Of remorse. Of sorry. That we know we have fallen short, we know we are saved and accepted by grace, AND we are still sorry. Let me give you another word for contrite. Accountable… · Here are two things that are at the tip top of the list of short order in the world and in the church. Accountability and humility. Many are called, few are chosen. Why? This. God makes His place with the humble and the contrite. Not the humble alone. The humble and the contrite… These He revives! Isaiah Chapter 57 Verses 16 – 18 · These verses are difficult and seem out of place. God could perhaps be talking about one who strays or He could be talking about the nation of Israel as a whole. Either interpretation is acceptable. Isaiah Chapter 57 Verses 19 – 21 · There is no peace for the wicked. Always searching, always grasping, never arriving…, going from thing to thing, person to person, problem to problem, relationship to relationship and like a self-fulfilling prophecy, always somehow turning out the same. Like a troubled sea… It’s an indictment yes, but its also an offering that the peace of God is held out and offered to anyone and everyone… · Peace is far more than the end of war. The word means completeness. Settled on the inside. Sound in heart and mind. Safe. Content. The word even means a friend. It is a return to the closest state of original creation… THAT is profit!