Isaiah 59 vs 1-12

Calvary Chapel Cherry Creek

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Isaiah 59 vs 1-12

Calvary Chapel Cherry Creek

May 22, 2024 • Pastor Matt Korniotes • Isaiah 59:1–12

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 There’s a triple take on these verses in terms of what they mean for

them (Israel), the world and us. At the time that Isaiah was writing,

the nation was in a very bad predicament. Even to the point that the

nation had been taken, subsumed into the nation of Babylon. And the

people were praying and suffering and no doubt many losing hope and

patience with God in terms of their deliverance. “Why does God not

deliver? He must not be able. Maybe He’s not all powerful. Maybe

He’s not good…”

 One of the most memorable movie lines for me personally was the

line, “If God is all powerful, He must not be all good.” And that line

was when Superman was faced between choosing the life of his wife

or the life of his mother. The point in the movie was to destroy

Superman’s confidence by proving he was not all powerful. But that

really stuck with me… I had to face that with God…, because in a

way, it’s reasonable…

 If God is all powerful, He cannot be all good, because people suffer

and there is pain and there is crime and there is death and there is

disease. Maybe He’s not one of those…, (all powerful AND all good).

And I wrestled. Because I know the truth, I know that God IS good

and that God IS omnipotent…

 The truth is God is both. He is all powerful. He is (Biblical word for

that), sovereign. And He is all good. And those two together mean that

He must also be all faithful and all true. Which means, what He has

said, He must accomplish. Or He is not all good, all powerful, all

faithful and all true.

 And in His sovereignty, He decreed free will. Free will for man is

within His sovereignty. Not outside of it. And for free will to be free

will, (or what He decreed is false), for free will to be free will, then He

must allow things to transpire that He Himself hates because it is not

good, it is not of Him…, or HE HIMSELF is not good at all. So, God

is all powerful, He is all good, and there exists great evil in the world

today…, and not 1% of that evil is from Him AND YET HE

REMAINS all powerful!

 This first verse is a verse of hope for the people of Israel. That God

does see, He does hear, and He is working every angle possible to

bring about their deliverance within His own decree of free will upon

creation….

 AND, if you look at these verses through the lens of the world, world

history, world condition, world situation, this rings so close to home!

The world today is literally calling things that are bad, good…, and

things of God are being labeled as bad…, things of hate. There are

wars and news of wars, poverty, starving, suffering, selfishness is the

culture of the cosmos…, and the Bride of Christ calls out Maranatha!

 AND, for you, for me personally. It’s always too soon to stop hoping

in God and trusting Him at His word that He is not slack, He is not on

break, He is not taking a siesta…, but He is saving and hearing…, we

just don’t see it yet.

 I take the second perspective, the one of the condition of the world as

the most eye opening, eye widening take on this chapter…, check this

out…

Isaiah Chapter 59 Verses 2 – 8

 Is this not the exact, precise condition of this world? And perhaps

especially of the western culture which happens also to be the

pervasive culture in the nation of God, Israel (to whom this chapter

was written)!?

 Check this out…, and this is all over the place in the Body of Christ,

this is all over the place in marriages, this is all over the place in the

public, check this out…, No one pleads for truth (what is truth? Better

yet, WHO is Truth!?) No husband/wife stops the ridiculousness of

selfishidity (new word) and says, “Wait, what would Jesus have me to

do? No matter what, I’m going to do that!” No one leaving a church

says that… No one in the streets in the eye of the media is doing

THAT!

 Check this out, they conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. They hatch

vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web… This is so interesting…, He

who eats of their eggs dies, and if you don’t eat them but seek to crush

them, a viper springs out and gets you! This is crazy on point and

indicative of classic self-serving and pride which always manifests in

deflection and defense. (To use some very popular conditions of today,

narcissism and gas lighting – this is EVERYWHERE)!

 If someone is in sin, acting like a jerk, being so selfish and you feed

into that, both of you become the same and you start a little self-

affirming self-serving club. A little viper club. You can’t serve God

and self because you will end up loving one and hating the other… So,

death in the spirit sets in, man! BUT…, if you stop them and call them

out and tell them they are harming, they either don’t care (hard-

hearted), they turn it around on you (but what about you), or they

straight up deny it!

 You try to crush their darkness with the truth. Hey, you’re being so

mean…, so selfish…, and the response you get is, “No I am not!” And

listen, you can do nothing with a person that denies their sin.

NOTHING. Might as well go talk to a wall. It’s so obvious what they

are doing, saying is so dark and wrong. Anyone would see it…, but

they won’t! These are the days that we live in…

 When Christian, those that follow Jesus or say you follow Jesus, when

someone says, “You’re hurting me,” the response should NEVER,

repeat NEVER be a defense or an excuse or a denial. The response

should always be CARE, understanding and humility. But this is NOT

the condition of the family today, the marriage today, the church today

and certainly not the world today! Please don’t let this childish,

immature, unwise and ungodly condition be YOU!

 Weaving webs of clothing to defend your hard-hearted condition and

God says that web will fail and ultimately you will degrade your own

heart to be so without peace that you’ve forgotten what life is like

when you are in fellowship with the Holy Spirit… Here’s what that

life looks and feels like and none of us want this…

Isaiah Chapter 59 Verses 9 – 12

 This is a description of the inward condition of a hard heart. It’s that

last verse that tells us that…, “our transgressions are with us, and our

iniquities, we know them.” That is a clear statement of zero

repentance. Repentance is not a word that means you have lost. You’re

abdicating. You’ve relinquished or yielded or resigned or stepped

down from your position and in that proved someone else right.

Repentance is you taking back the control that you’ve lost. It is to

make a personal decision to personally progress and improve…

 Being hard hearted and knowing things about me that need to be

addressed and yet just going on with life is actually me saying no to

the things that I want the most. First of all, as a Christian, what I want

the most is to glorify God. For all He is and all He has done. For the

kingdom to come which I am a citizen of and for the love that is mine

through the sacrifice of Jesus.

 AND, justice. To sense that I and the world is just. Righteousness. To

sense that I and the world, the understanding of all things rings right in

my mind and heart. Light, brightness, walls…, structure and things

that create ordinance in my mind, heart and life. Stability is what is

meant by walls…, and knowing which things are walls and which are

doors so I don’t waste my time and get all frustrated trying to open

walls!

 Sight…, stabilized life (as opposed to stumbling), life in abundant

places…, just like Jesus said in John 10:10. Rejoicing and gladness in

the place of growling and sorrow. Ultimately living in a state of

salvation, day to day and with the hope of eternity. What is required of

me for all this? So simple. Remain teachable, correctable, and

honorable enough to address my own issues of the heart…

Isaiah 60 vs 1-22

Pastor Matt Korniotes • Isaiah 60

Isaiah Chapter 60 Verses 1 – 3 · This chapter is very specifically and unmistakenly about Israel as a nation and as a people. First, Israel was without any doubt or controversy the subject of the original text, when Isaiah penned this chapter almost 3,000 years ago. But also, as we make our way through this chapter, Isaiah will blend these comforting promises of God with similar descriptions we find in the Book of Revelation for the state of the world during the Millennial Reign of Christ and we know that reign takes place headquartered out of Jerusalem in Israel. We will even see a few glimpses of the New Jerusalem, Zion, in this chapter. · AND, there are also wonderful promises, truths, comforts and encouragements that we can take from this chapter as well. There in verse 1, Isaiah says, “Arise, shine!” (I bet you didn’t know that “Rise and shine” was a biblical term!?) “For the light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you!” “The Lord will arise over you and His glory will be seen upon you!” · You may recall a verse I shared on Sunday that I’ll bring your attention to again tonight as it is a partial fulfillment of this promise of God. 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory!” The transformative process of the Holy Spirit in the heart and life of a person…, one of the results, “The Lord will arise over you (which speaks of protection, provision and authority), and His glory will be seen upon you!” · Definitely a promise for Israel which begins in Revelation 19 as the Lord returns to claim what He rightly has authority over, but also a promise for me and for you who are also Kingdom citizens when God is pressed by our free will to the front of the line in terms of our personal priority and authority. · Actually, that’s the prerequisite. You ever take a class in college or better said go to register for a class? Some sort of higher learning. Advanced instruction. And that class cannot be selected because you haven’t completed the pre-requisite? Verse 1 is like that. It says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come.” That right there, that’s a response and it is an action. This promise to Israel will come to pass. It is written and no matter what happens with Israel or what they do, Revelation 19 will happen… · AND, the same does not necessarily go for me in terms of the conditional promises contained in the scriptures. I have an ability to respond to the direction, the instruction, the mandates and rule of the Word of God and if I have the ability to respond then I have the responsibility! So, check this out, verses 2 and 3 come after verse 1. Always have, always will… · The glory of the Lord is no earthly light. It’s different. It wreaks of the Holy Spirit described for us so clearly by Paul in Galatians 5. Love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, longsuffering, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. This is the flavor of one who is shining for the Kingdom…, and a good shine is always the reflection of a source! It’s not us or about us…, it’s about Him! · I meet and encounter many, as do you, and right off they (and I have this inclination as well, I just am aware of it and catch and control myself) but you meet people and they love the Lord so much and God is using and has used their lives so much and you talk with them for 2 or 5 or 20 minutes and everything they talk about is them. Their story. Their life. It’s all about them. · Rarely, but it happens, I will interact with a shiner, man… And they are inquisitive of what the Lord is doing and has done here… Encouraging and strengthening the brethren through a quite appropriate ministering and simple silent service. Next time you see the light shining off a mirror stop and listen to see how loud it is… 0db… I want to shine like that to the world, man. It’s only then they’ll listen when I turn up the volume… “The gentiles shall come to your…., LIGHT, and kings to the brightness of your rising….” Isaiah Chapter 60 Verses 4 – 9 · All hints and tips that speak of the physical presence of Jesus ruling and reigning from Jerusalem during the Millennial Reign. Revelation 20:1-6, “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” · Isaiah says the nations bring their gifts for incense (frankincense) and gold, no more Myrrh, the gifts, the spices of burial brought to Jesus at His first coming as now, at Jesus’ second coming He is coming for an entirely different purpose. Not to die for the sins of the world, that has already been accomplished, but to live and to reign for 1,000 years from the place of the name of the Lord your God, verse 9. · Jerusalem, literally translated, well it is really a combination of two words, “Yireh,” meaning “to provide,” or “provided,” (think Jehovah Yireh, “God my Provider”), and Shalem (meaning peace). And so, the holy city of God, Jerusalem, literally translated means “The Provided Peace,” and Jesus revealed in Isaiah 9:6 is the child born unto us, a Son given and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. · So, all that we have read in this chapter is brought to the place of the name of the Lord AND to the Holy One of Isarel because it is now the time of both of their periods of earthly glorification! Isaiah Chapter 60 Verses 10 – 12 · The implication here is that they are gone. Isaiah is so sure of these things coming that he is writing about them in the present tense and the past tense. Exactly how we should handle and trust and lean on the entirety of the Word of God! Nations against Jesus are gone. Gates are left open. Front doors left unlocked. Keys left in cars. Why? Because Satan is bound Jesus reigns! Isaiah Chapter 60 Verse 13 · What is that? That’s a reference to the rebuilt temple… Isaiah Chapter 60 Verses 14 – 18 · And now we jump even further…, to the next stage or age of creation that is yet ahead… Isaiah Chapter 60 Verses 19 – 22 · Revelation 21:1-4, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” · Revelation 21:22-26, “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.” · Isaiah describes it just as John saw it almost to a “t.” And yet, Israel is thousands of years until these things come to pass…, but/AND, these things WILL come to pass. So, they are comforted. The previous chapter promised the work of the Lord in the provision of His Savior. This chapter is the promise of the work being one day soon completed.

Isaiah 59 vs 13-21

June 12, 2024 • Pastor Matt Korniotes • Isaiah 59:13–21

Isaiah Chapter 59 Verses 13 – 14 · This is an interesting (what I’ll call) uncovering of what sin really is, and what sin really does. I’m not just talking about sin as in stealing someone’s car or killing someone or cheating on your spouse. We hear those things and someone says, “Well, I don’t do those things so I’m not as bad as this other guy…” Listen, that is nothing but hard-heartedness, and according to these verses, that’s also hard-headedness… · We should be 0.00001% concerned with the sin of others in comparison to how we are aware of, concerned with, and dealing with our own sin. Which is worse? The sin of a serial killer or your sinful critical nature? When it comes to that which concerns you, most definitely your “lesser” sin is FAR worse… · And these verses pull back the curtain and they show us what our sin, (not anyone else’s), what our sin really is and what it really does. Verse 13 says that sin is a “deportation from our God.” It is quite literally a “revolt,” and as I am employed, deployed, designed and even equipped to introduce the truth of God and the grace of God and the love of God and the character of God, it says there that when I don’t address my sin and GOD FORBID someone else has to do it for me, when I am stiff arming the Holy Spirit and worshipping my emotions or pride or my perspective point that I’m grinding until the other person cries mercy, verse 13 says that I am employing and deploying falsehood. This is what sin really is… · And verse 14 gives us a glimpse of what it does… This is the last thing I want in my life, for justice to turn back and for righteousness to be unwelcomed and delayed. Think of it, that circumstance, that relational disagreement, “If he would just understand what I’m saying, if she would just get my perspective,” and we depart love and service and submission in order to press our point… You already feel as if the entire matter is unfair AND by walking in the flesh, you are assuring it stays that way. Justice turns back… · And righteousness, for things to be right, to return to right, to get to right, by departing from the will and ways of God, what sin does is essentially kicks righteousness out! Here’s the impossible truth, impossible without full surrender and trust in and of the Holy Spirit…, Romans 12:21, here’s how to overcome the wrong of them and it all, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” · Ready for this. If you ever want him to love you the way you need him to, respect him right where he’s at. Like forever. Seventy times seven length of respect…, and God will be glorified and that is the only thing that will change him. If you ever want her to admire and adore you the way you need her to, then love her right where she’s at. Like forever. Seventy times seven length of love…, and God will be glorified and that is the only thing that will change her. · Manipulation, retaliation, retribution and incessant instruction, education, debating, arguing, that will never lead to meaningful change because none of that is of the Lord. Read these two verses again in Isaiah! And yet, every married couple having problems, everyone of them, is because one or both of them won’t do Romans 12:21…, and I get it. It’s impossibly hard… · And because of that, truth falls in a home and equity cannot enter. Irreconcilable differences. Newsflash, every heavenly God-filled and God-blessed marriage has irreconcilable differences. AND, they have a wife, or a husband or in the best scenario both that seek to not depart God, not revolt against the King of kings, they welcome justice for each other and righteousness is not lost in their home. Truth doesn’t fall, it saves and blesses them and equity, ungraspable equity which looks like peace…, it’s there. (A great marriage is a contest of consideration!) · And the next verse gives us timing…, check this out! Isaiah Chapter 59 Verse 15a · I’ve walked in this manner for so long that even an effort to depart from it results in getting eaten alive. Why? Because he doesn’t trust me, she doesn’t trust me… I’ll change my behavior and things will change now… No, they won’t. You’ll feel like the fish being shot in a barrel for a very long time until the result of a real change is accepted by someone you’ve hurt for so long… And, it’s worth it. It’s hard. The earlier you turn yourself over to Jesus, the better… · This is God talking about His own marriage in a way. His wife being Israel, even the world as His estranged bride, and as the Husband, the Priest of His own home, let’s look at how God fixed things… Isaiah Chapter 59 Verses 15b – 17 · It’s worth noting that as God looks at what sin is doing to me, how it rips me off and limits me and restrains me, and it displeases Him. Not in some sort of religious way but in a Fatherly way… · I love this. This is great integrity, great leadership, great love, great grace, just great across the board. No one will do what is right, so God did what was right. This is not only the primary role and calling of all Christians, but this is also the reason God has sent His Holy Spirit to the World! This is how things get fixed. Perhaps not in the way you originally wanted. God here wondered that there was no intercessor… But nevertheless, this fixes things… · Familiar wording too right. God does first and shows us exactly what Paul says in Ephesians 6. And now we get this new way of looking at the Armor of God. When you are determined to walk by faith, stay in the truth, breastplate of righteousness, gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, sword of the spirit…, leading everything in prayer…, its then that you are putting on the garments of vengeance, vengeance against all that the enemy is doing, done and trying to do…, and the zeal of the Lord covers you as a cloak. · And now, Paul says for us to stand…, stand? I want to fight? No. The battle is not yours (2 Chronicles 20:15) it’s the Lord’s! That’s the main issue! We fight the battle and we lose! Or we get so beat up! When the Bible never says that! Jesus told Peter to sheathe his sword! We do things as God has instructed, as He has led, and He takes responsibility! Look… Isaiah Chapter 59 Verses 18 – 20 · God does all the battling in these verses! And when the enemy comes like a flood, God raises a standard… Do you know what that means? Nice try, not good enough… When the enemy floods my life like a flood, I drown! If God doesn’t fight your battle, then you lose and it’s as simple as that! The sooner you get that the sooner you begin to grasp advantage and ultimately success! · And the chapter ends with this amazing promise if we can receive what we’ve read… Isaiah Chapter 59 Verse 21 · Practically played out, that means once you get this, you get it… And you stop being a problem to your spouse, to your boss, to you parents, to your pastor, HA! To the Lord…, to the kingdom…, and you step into Christ! Why? Psalm 34… · Read it! Taste and see that the Lord is good! He is solid ground! He is faithful to His Word… And a life that says YES to God says YES to freedom, deliverance, abundance, peace, redemption and truly ultimately…, success!

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…