1
00:00:00,940 –> 00:00:07,620
These folks who have been worshipping and praying and reading the Bible and even fasting,
2
00:00:08,140 –> 00:00:12,160
they’re getting frustrated with God! I mean, we’re doing all these things God,
3
00:00:12,160 –> 00:00:14,020
and why aren’t You answering our prayer?
4
00:00:14,020 –> 00:00:17,059
And why has all this trouble then come upon our country?
5
00:00:17,820 –> 00:00:23,040
They feel that God has let them down, and they want to know why.
6
00:00:23,379 –> 00:00:25,900
Welcome to Open The Bible with Pastor Colin Smith.
7
00:00:25,900 –> 00:00:28,059
I’m David Pick, I’m glad you could be with us today.
8
00:00:28,379 –> 00:00:32,860
And Colin, if people were being entirely honest, and we took a show of hands,
9
00:00:33,240 –> 00:00:36,080
I’m rather guessing that many would feel like that today.
10
00:00:36,320 –> 00:00:41,200
Yup. I think it’s a besetting sin of those who really try to serve the Lord best.
11
00:00:41,360 –> 00:00:45,619
You give yourself to serving the Lord, you extend yourself, you make sacrifices.
12
00:00:45,919 –> 00:00:49,779
Then something happens in your life that is not as you would want it to be,
13
00:00:49,779 –> 00:00:53,160
the ministry that you thought was going to absolutely fly, doesn’t,
14
00:00:53,160 –> 00:00:55,820
and you say, well now God, why have You allowed this?
15
00:00:55,820 –> 00:01:01,360
And it’s almost this feeling of a contract that if I do certain things for God, He owes me.
16
00:01:01,560 –> 00:01:06,620
He owes me if I’m a good parent, that my children will follow after Christ, so forth and so on.
17
00:01:06,779 –> 00:01:12,660
He owes me, and that’s a dreadful position to be in, in relation to God,
18
00:01:12,800 –> 00:01:15,580
because that’s not the relationship we have with Him at all.
19
00:01:15,580 –> 00:01:21,860
The relationship we have is a relationship in which we trust Him as our loving, heavenly Father,
20
00:01:22,040 –> 00:01:28,720
and we offer ourselves to Him in response to His unlimited giving of Himself to us in the Lord Jesus Christ.
21
00:01:28,800 –> 00:01:31,000
He owes us nothing. We owe Him everything.
22
00:01:31,000 –> 00:01:35,980
We’ll see that in our message today. It’s from Isaiah, chapter 58.
23
00:01:36,059 –> 00:01:40,260
As we begin our message, Restore Justice, here’s Colin.
24
00:01:40,260 –> 00:01:47,080
Now, I want us to see today the big picture of how knowing Jesus Christ makes a difference
25
00:01:47,080 –> 00:01:50,720
not only to your personal life, but makes a difference to the community,
26
00:01:50,800 –> 00:01:54,279
to the nation and even to the world.
27
00:01:54,279 –> 00:01:59,779
We’re coming to this prayer, Restore my soul, we’re crying to God,
28
00:01:59,820 –> 00:02:05,580
many of us, I hope all of us, Lord, do a new thing in my life.
29
00:02:05,580 –> 00:02:10,320
And when there is a fresh movement of the Holy Spirit in an individual or across
30
00:02:10,320 –> 00:02:14,220
a church, it begins in the heart.
31
00:02:14,220 –> 00:02:18,619
It begins, as we’ve seen, with the renewing of faith and
32
00:02:18,660 –> 00:02:22,220
joy and repentance.
33
00:02:22,220 –> 00:02:26,820
A fresh movement of the Holy Spirit begins in the heart, but what I want us
34
00:02:26,820 –> 00:02:30,779
to see today is it does not end in the heart.
35
00:02:30,779 –> 00:02:33,820
Begins there but it does not end there.
36
00:02:33,820 –> 00:02:39,339
It breaks out into the life and into the lives of other people.
37
00:02:39,339 –> 00:02:44,360
And Isaiah gives us a marvelous snapshot of this, the transforming
38
00:02:44,399 –> 00:02:48,259
power of Jesus Christ, when he moves within his people how it touches the
39
00:02:48,259 –> 00:02:50,979
community and how it touches the world.
40
00:02:50,979 –> 00:02:54,139
And let me just give you the three snapshots so you know where we’re going
41
00:02:54,139 –> 00:02:57,539
because we’re trying to cover two whole chapters today.
42
00:02:57,539 –> 00:03:02,100
First in chapter 58, we’re going to see the church and a snapshot
43
00:03:02,100 –> 00:03:05,320
of God’s people ignoring justice.
44
00:03:05,320 –> 00:03:10,220
Just turning a blind eye to the needs of other people.
45
00:03:10,240 –> 00:03:15,240
That’s the first snapshot, God’s people ignoring justice.
46
00:03:15,240 –> 00:03:17,880
Then secondly, we’re going to have a snapshot of a culture,
47
00:03:17,880 –> 00:03:21,619
and I think you’ll recognize it very quickly.
48
00:03:21,619 –> 00:03:24,759
A culture that is losing justice.
49
00:03:24,759 –> 00:03:28,940
And then thirdly, we’re going to have a marvelous picture of Jesus Christ coming
50
00:03:28,940 –> 00:03:32,259
to bring justice from chapter 59.
51
00:03:32,259 –> 00:03:33,100
So, that’s where we’re going.
52
00:03:33,100 –> 00:03:34,899
Hope you have your Bible open.
53
00:03:34,899 –> 00:03:37,399
Let’s begin then with this picture of God’s people,
54
00:03:37,580 –> 00:03:42,039
and calling this the church ignoring justice.
55
00:03:42,039 –> 00:03:44,979
Now, God says to Isaiah the beginning of chapter 58,
56
00:03:44,979 –> 00:03:50,580
Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sin.
57
00:03:50,580 –> 00:03:55,320
So, what is in this chapter is a word to God’s own people.
58
00:03:55,320 –> 00:03:59,880
Now, that means, therefore, that I have to apply it to myself.
59
00:03:59,919 –> 00:04:02,899
We have to apply it to us.
60
00:04:02,899 –> 00:04:07,600
Chapter 58 is God speaking not to the unbelieving world,
61
00:04:07,600 –> 00:04:10,059
but to the believing people of God,
62
00:04:10,059 –> 00:04:11,100
and that is why I’ve called it
63
00:04:11,100 –> 00:04:13,940
the church ignoring justice.
64
00:04:13,940 –> 00:04:15,820
Notice what God says about his own people,
65
00:04:15,820 –> 00:04:21,880
and I want you to see if you think this might appropriately describe
66
00:04:21,880 –> 00:04:28,519
the church, the evangelical church in America today.
67
00:04:28,640 –> 00:04:31,579
God’s people in Isaiah’s time were very diligent
68
00:04:31,579 –> 00:04:35,160
about their personal relationship with God.
69
00:04:35,160 –> 00:04:40,179
In particular, they were very regular in regard to worship and Bible study.
70
00:04:40,179 –> 00:04:43,440
Verse 2, day after day, they seek me out.
71
00:04:43,440 –> 00:04:48,160
God says, that’s worship, and they seem eager to know my ways.
72
00:04:48,160 –> 00:04:49,420
How do you know God’s ways?
73
00:04:49,420 –> 00:04:54,399
Through the word, so word and worship were a regular part
74
00:04:54,399 –> 00:04:57,959
of the fabric of these religious people.
75
00:04:58,019 –> 00:04:59,619
So was prayer and fasting.
76
00:04:59,619 –> 00:05:04,320
Verse 2, they ask me, well, asking God is prayer, right?
77
00:05:04,320 –> 00:05:09,420
They ask me for just decisions and they seem eager for God to come near them.
78
00:05:09,420 –> 00:05:10,480
So there’s prayer.
79
00:05:10,480 –> 00:05:14,339
And verse 3, they say, why have we fasted and you have not seen it?
80
00:05:14,339 –> 00:05:19,739
So to get the picture, then, believers in Isaiah’s day, it would seem were serious
81
00:05:19,739 –> 00:05:24,899
about worship, about the word, about prayer, and even about fasting.
82
00:05:25,059 –> 00:05:29,140
And yet for all that religious devotion, evidently, bad things were happening
83
00:05:29,140 –> 00:05:30,359
to these people.
84
00:05:30,359 –> 00:05:35,980
Trouble had come to their nation and God isn’t answering their prayers.
85
00:05:35,980 –> 00:05:39,380
And so what you find is that these folks who have been worshiping and praying,
86
00:05:39,380 –> 00:05:43,859
and reading the Bible, and even fasting, they’re getting frustrated with God.
87
00:05:43,859 –> 00:05:47,839
I mean we’re doing all these things God and why aren’t you answering our prayer?
88
00:05:47,839 –> 00:05:50,540
And why has all this trouble then come upon our country?
89
00:05:51,500 –> 00:05:57,059
They feel that God has let them down and they want to know why.
90
00:05:57,059 –> 00:06:01,500
So in verse 3, you’ve got a complaint that God’s people are making against him.
91
00:06:01,500 –> 00:06:02,859
Why have we fasted?
92
00:06:02,859 –> 00:06:04,640
They say, and you’ve not seen it.
93
00:06:04,640 –> 00:06:09,179
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?
94
00:06:09,179 –> 00:06:11,980
If you see what’s happening here, God’s people are saying,
95
00:06:11,980 –> 00:06:13,140
look we’re doing the right things.
96
00:06:13,140 –> 00:06:15,480
We’re worshiping and we’re reading the Bible and we’re praying.
97
00:06:15,480 –> 00:06:17,579
And we are even fasting.
98
00:06:17,640 –> 00:06:22,839
And why are you not being responsive to us then when we’re bringing these prayers?
99
00:06:22,859 –> 00:06:25,200
They feel that God owes them.
100
00:06:25,200 –> 00:06:30,119
They feel that God is under an obligation to them in the light of everything that they
101
00:06:30,119 –> 00:06:32,940
have been doing for him.
102
00:06:32,940 –> 00:06:37,320
Hasn’t he seen their devotion and all that’s happening in the church?
103
00:06:38,820 –> 00:06:42,220
Well yes, God has seen all that’s happening among his people.
104
00:06:42,519 –> 00:06:49,200
He sends the prophet Isaiah to tell them that he is not particularly impressed.
105
00:07:00,260 –> 00:07:02,260
Now you see the point here?
106
00:07:02,260 –> 00:07:09,920
There is a community of believing people who are very regular in worship, and Bible study,
107
00:07:10,640 –> 00:07:20,220
But actually, in the workplace environment and in their relationships, they are not noticeably
108
00:07:20,220 –> 00:07:24,160
different from other people who do not believe and do not worship, and do not read the Bible,
109
00:07:24,160 –> 00:07:27,619
and do not pray, and do not fast.
110
00:07:27,619 –> 00:07:33,119
In other words, the character of the faith of these people in Isaiah’s day was pretty
111
00:07:34,079 –> 00:07:42,200
private piety that left them as self-centered as if they had not known God at all.
112
00:07:42,200 –> 00:07:51,839
The faith of many in Isaiah’s day was a kind of religious glaze that was painted over a
113
00:07:51,839 –> 00:07:56,000
fundamentally self-centered life.
114
00:07:56,000 –> 00:08:03,899
And so God says the second half of verse four, you cannot fast as you do today and expect
115
00:08:03,899 –> 00:08:09,619
your voice to be heard on high.
116
00:08:09,619 –> 00:08:14,799
So God is evidently looking for something different from his people and he lays out
117
00:08:14,799 –> 00:08:16,519
what it is in verse six and seven.
118
00:08:16,519 –> 00:08:18,619
Isn’t this the kind of fast that I’ve chosen.
119
00:08:18,619 –> 00:08:23,899
He says, is it not to loose the chains of injustice, to untie the cords of the yoke.
120
00:08:24,079 –> 00:08:27,179
To set the oppressed free and to break every yoke.
121
00:08:27,200 –> 00:08:31,899
Is it not to share your food with those who are hungry and to provide the poor wanderer
122
00:08:31,899 –> 00:08:39,979
with shelter when you see the naked to clothe him and not to turn away from your own flesh
123
00:08:39,979 –> 00:08:41,979
and blood.
124
00:08:41,979 –> 00:08:46,320
Now if you want one word to describe what God is speaking about here I think that that
125
00:08:46,320 –> 00:08:51,880
word would be justice, because that’s what justice is, it’s not only integrity and trustworthiness
126
00:08:51,880 –> 00:08:59,559
and truthfulness, it is doing right, it is loving your neighbor as yourself, it is caring
127
00:08:59,559 –> 00:09:05,700
about the plight of others as if it were your own.
128
00:09:05,700 –> 00:09:12,559
Now do you see what God then is saying here, you have been to worship, he’s saying.
129
00:09:12,559 –> 00:09:15,179
You’ve been reading the Bible.
130
00:09:15,179 –> 00:09:17,719
You have been praying and some of you have even been fasting.
131
00:09:18,039 –> 00:09:20,679
And I’ve seen all that.
132
00:09:20,679 –> 00:09:25,140
But here God says is my question.
133
00:09:25,140 –> 00:09:30,380
Have you shared your food with someone who is hungry?
134
00:09:30,380 –> 00:09:36,280
Have you done something to help a person who has no home?
135
00:09:36,280 –> 00:09:42,479
What are you doing with regards to children who need clothing?
136
00:09:42,479 –> 00:09:47,500
Now this isn’t isolated shot in the middle of an old testament
137
00:09:47,500 –> 00:09:49,179
prophecy.
138
00:09:49,179 –> 00:09:50,940
You see it all through the Scriptures.
139
00:09:50,940 –> 00:09:54,020
Let me give you some examples from the first letter of John.
140
00:09:54,020 –> 00:09:57,260
1 John chapter 3 in verse 17.
141
00:09:57,260 –> 00:09:58,460
John says this.
142
00:09:58,460 –> 00:10:06,059
If anyone has material possessions and he sees his brother in need but has no pity on
143
00:10:06,059 –> 00:10:11,500
him, how can the love of God be in him?
144
00:10:11,500 –> 00:10:18,460
You have what it takes to meet the need of a brother and no pity within your own heart,
145
00:10:18,460 –> 00:10:21,419
where’s the love of God in that?
146
00:10:21,419 –> 00:10:23,559
Or 1 John chapter four in verse 20.
147
00:10:23,559 –> 00:10:29,859
Anyone who does not love his brother who he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
148
00:10:29,859 –> 00:10:34,880
Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
149
00:10:34,880 –> 00:10:40,239
And perhaps most devastating of all, 1 John chapter three, verse 10, John lays this out
150
00:10:40,359 –> 00:10:43,619
as a distinguishing mark of a real Christian.
151
00:10:43,619 –> 00:10:48,340
He says, how do we know who the children of God really are?
152
00:10:48,340 –> 00:10:52,679
And how do we distinguish the true children of God from the children of the devil?
153
00:10:52,679 –> 00:10:53,700
Strong language.
154
00:10:53,700 –> 00:10:59,640
He says this, well, anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God and nor
155
00:10:59,640 –> 00:11:02,960
is anyone who does not love his brother.
156
00:11:02,960 –> 00:11:08,859
In other words, if you do not love your brother, if you have no compassion within your heart
157
00:11:08,940 –> 00:11:15,119
for other people who are in need, then there is, John is saying, no real reason to believe
158
00:11:15,140 –> 00:11:21,419
that you actually know the love and compassion of Jesus Christ in your own heart, at all.
159
00:11:21,419 –> 00:11:25,739
You’re listening to Open the Bible, with Pastor Colin Smith and our message today,
160
00:11:25,739 –> 00:11:27,000
Restore Justice.
161
00:11:27,000 –> 00:11:31,460
It’s part of our series Restore My Soul, and if you’ve missed any of the series or you
162
00:11:31,460 –> 00:11:35,739
tuned in late today, come to our website at openthebible.org.uk.
163
00:11:36,739 –> 00:11:41,619
There you can stream any of the broadcasts that have already gone out on air.
164
00:11:41,619 –> 00:11:45,979
We’re in Isaiah chapter 58, so let’s continue with the message.
165
00:11:45,979 –> 00:11:47,340
Here’s Colin.
166
00:11:47,340 –> 00:11:49,460
So, you see the big picture here?
167
00:11:49,460 –> 00:11:51,159
That’s what I want us to get.
168
00:11:51,159 –> 00:11:54,320
We’re crying out to the Lord, restore my soul.
169
00:11:54,320 –> 00:11:58,260
I want a fresher, deeper walk with you Lord Jesus Christ.
170
00:11:58,260 –> 00:12:02,000
I want to know, more of you, in my life.
171
00:12:02,000 –> 00:12:05,400
And, we’re seeing from Isaiah that that begins in the heart.
172
00:12:05,419 –> 00:12:11,780
It begins with faith and joy and repentance, but it cannot end in the heart.
173
00:12:11,780 –> 00:12:18,159
It leads us here to the cry of our hearts this morning, the cry of Isaiah’s heart.
174
00:12:18,159 –> 00:12:21,679
Lord, restore justice.
175
00:12:21,679 –> 00:12:27,059
Restore this heart among your people, this passion that regards the plight of others
176
00:12:27,059 –> 00:12:30,419
as if it were our own.
177
00:12:31,080 –> 00:12:37,580
Now, notice for your encouragement what happens when God’s people catch a new passion for
178
00:12:37,580 –> 00:12:39,340
this kind of justice.
179
00:12:39,340 –> 00:12:44,979
If you look at verse 8 and the first half of verse 9 that were read earlier, notice
180
00:12:44,979 –> 00:12:54,320
there how the word then comes three times indicating the consequence of a new passion
181
00:12:55,299 –> 00:12:59,619
A new compassion for the needs of others.
182
00:12:59,619 –> 00:13:00,719
Verse 8.
183
00:13:00,719 –> 00:13:06,039
Then your light will break forth as the dawn.
184
00:13:06,039 –> 00:13:08,799
Your healing will quickly appear.
185
00:13:08,799 –> 00:13:12,159
Then, when.
186
00:13:12,159 –> 00:13:13,159
When?
187
00:13:13,159 –> 00:13:16,320
Well, the when is verse 7 that comes before, isn’t it?
188
00:13:16,320 –> 00:13:18,460
When you share your food with the hungry.
189
00:13:18,460 –> 00:13:22,059
The second half of verse 8.
190
00:13:22,059 –> 00:13:23,880
Then, your righteousness will go before you.
191
00:13:23,919 –> 00:13:26,080
And the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
192
00:13:26,080 –> 00:13:27,599
When will that happen?
193
00:13:27,599 –> 00:13:31,000
Well, verse 7 gives the answer.
194
00:13:31,000 –> 00:13:34,739
When you provide the wanderer with shelter.
195
00:13:34,739 –> 00:13:37,719
This will be your experience.
196
00:13:37,719 –> 00:13:38,719
Verse 9.
197
00:13:38,719 –> 00:13:42,179
Then, you will call upon the Lord and the Lord will answer.
198
00:13:42,179 –> 00:13:45,539
You will cry out for help and he will say, here am I.
199
00:13:45,539 –> 00:13:47,039
When will that happen?
200
00:13:47,520 –> 00:13:50,239
The answer is in verse 7.
201
00:13:50,239 –> 00:13:55,159
When you see the naked and you clothe them.
202
00:13:55,159 –> 00:13:57,280
So there’s the question, the challenge
203
00:13:57,280 –> 00:13:58,479
and the invitation for us.
204
00:13:58,479 –> 00:14:01,859
You want spiritual renewal.
205
00:14:01,859 –> 00:14:05,520
You want a deeper felt knowledge of the presence of Christ
206
00:14:05,520 –> 00:14:06,799
within your life.
207
00:14:06,799 –> 00:14:10,380
Isaiah says, here’s what to pursue.
208
00:14:10,380 –> 00:14:11,760
Reading on, verse 9.
209
00:14:11,760 –> 00:14:14,359
If you do away with the yoke of repression,
210
00:14:14,359 –> 00:14:16,840
with the pointing of the finger and with malicious talk,
211
00:14:17,200 –> 00:14:20,080
if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry
212
00:14:20,080 –> 00:14:22,359
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
213
00:14:22,359 –> 00:14:26,000
then your light will rise in the darkness
214
00:14:26,000 –> 00:14:27,559
and your night will become like the noonday.
215
00:14:27,559 –> 00:14:30,239
The Lord will guide you always.
216
00:14:30,239 –> 00:14:35,239
And he will satisfy your needs as in a sun scorched land.
217
00:14:37,340 –> 00:14:41,239
Now, these are God’s words through Isaiah
218
00:14:41,239 –> 00:14:43,760
to a community of believing people 700 years
219
00:14:43,760 –> 00:14:45,659
before the time of Jesus Christ.
220
00:14:46,880 –> 00:14:49,619
My question, rhetorical question,
221
00:14:51,140 –> 00:14:56,000
do you think that this speaks
222
00:14:56,000 –> 00:15:00,140
to evangelical Christians in America today?
223
00:15:01,799 –> 00:15:05,000
Could it be that God sees our worship
224
00:15:06,119 –> 00:15:08,799
in the vast numbers of people attending church
225
00:15:08,799 –> 00:15:10,559
in this country today?
226
00:15:12,000 –> 00:15:15,500
And our Bible studies and our multiplicity of programs
227
00:15:15,500 –> 00:15:17,219
and our prayer, and maybe even though
228
00:15:17,219 –> 00:15:19,919
it would be to a lesser extent our fasting.
229
00:15:21,320 –> 00:15:25,059
But could it be that he would ask the question of us,
230
00:15:25,059 –> 00:15:27,080
what are you doing about the poor,
231
00:15:27,979 –> 00:15:32,500
the hungry, the oppressed, and the stranger?
232
00:15:33,599 –> 00:15:36,260
Could it be that he is asking of his own people
233
00:15:36,260 –> 00:15:40,900
in the 21st century, do you really care
234
00:15:42,460 –> 00:15:44,580
about those who are so desperately
235
00:15:46,039 –> 00:15:47,020
oppressed?
236
00:15:48,539 –> 00:15:50,400
I think this was focused for me.
237
00:15:51,619 –> 00:15:53,599
Sometimes you have one of these aha moments.
238
00:15:53,599 –> 00:15:57,799
I was speaking to a guy in his early 20s
239
00:15:57,799 –> 00:16:01,059
who had been around church world for some while,
240
00:16:02,219 –> 00:16:06,119
and sadly, I hope this was not his last decision,
241
00:16:06,119 –> 00:16:09,440
but he had decided to reject Christianity.
242
00:16:11,440 –> 00:16:14,140
And he gave me this reasoning, he said,
243
00:16:14,340 –> 00:16:17,239
you know, I came to the conclusion
244
00:16:18,099 –> 00:16:22,419
that it is just too selfish to be true.
245
00:16:23,799 –> 00:16:27,280
And when he explained what he meant by that,
246
00:16:27,280 –> 00:16:30,260
his experience had been along these lines,
247
00:16:30,260 –> 00:16:33,820
that the Christians he had known and mixed with
248
00:16:33,820 –> 00:16:36,419
over a number of years had given evidence, really,
249
00:16:36,419 –> 00:16:39,719
that their lives seemed to be essentially about themselves.
250
00:16:41,099 –> 00:16:42,979
That the church of which he was a part
251
00:16:43,020 –> 00:16:46,539
had been characteristically about us and what we want
252
00:16:46,539 –> 00:16:49,219
and what’s good for those who are already here,
253
00:16:49,219 –> 00:16:50,460
our own members.
254
00:16:50,460 –> 00:16:52,599
That the God that they seemed to believe in
255
00:16:52,599 –> 00:16:55,000
in that church seemed to exist
256
00:16:55,000 –> 00:16:57,479
to make that group of people healthy and wealthy
257
00:16:57,479 –> 00:16:58,940
and comfortable and happy.
258
00:16:58,940 –> 00:17:01,739
And their salvation, that was being spoken about,
259
00:17:01,739 –> 00:17:04,540
seemed to amount to them not suffering in hell
260
00:17:04,540 –> 00:17:06,760
but the plight of others
261
00:17:06,760 –> 00:17:09,719
didn’t seem even to be on their radar screen.
262
00:17:10,939 –> 00:17:12,699
So he said, this is too selfish
263
00:17:12,699 –> 00:17:13,520
to be true.
264
00:17:15,020 –> 00:17:16,739
Now, you see, I think that that’s precisely
265
00:17:16,739 –> 00:17:18,699
what God is speaking about here.
266
00:17:19,839 –> 00:17:23,579
That kind of personal piety that is just a religious glaze
267
00:17:23,579 –> 00:17:26,099
over a fundamentally selfish life
268
00:17:27,459 –> 00:17:31,319
is not the reality of the work of the Holy Spirit
269
00:17:32,239 –> 00:17:33,699
in the lives of God’s people.
270
00:17:34,739 –> 00:17:36,140
So here’s the first snapshot.
271
00:17:36,140 –> 00:17:37,979
It’s a powerfully challenging one,
272
00:17:37,979 –> 00:17:41,099
I think to my heart, and I hope to all of us.
273
00:17:41,140 –> 00:17:44,979
The church ignoring justice.
274
00:17:46,160 –> 00:17:47,680
And I think we would want, therefore,
275
00:17:47,680 –> 00:17:49,780
to stand with Isaiah and take up this cry,
276
00:17:49,780 –> 00:17:53,339
Lord, restore a passion for those who are wounded
277
00:17:53,339 –> 00:17:54,780
and for those who are hurting,
278
00:17:54,780 –> 00:17:59,780
that we may not be those whose religion or faith
279
00:18:00,319 –> 00:18:05,319
is a glaze over a fundamentally self-centered life.
280
00:18:07,359 –> 00:18:08,339
That’s the first snapshot.
281
00:18:08,339 –> 00:18:09,699
Here’s the second.
282
00:18:09,979 –> 00:18:11,939
This is a picture of a culture.
283
00:18:11,939 –> 00:18:13,660
Looking more broadly now.
284
00:18:13,660 –> 00:18:16,780
We’re looking at a culture that is losing justice.
285
00:18:16,780 –> 00:18:19,900
And I think, as you look at Chapter 59
286
00:18:19,900 –> 00:18:22,140
in these moments with me,
287
00:18:22,140 –> 00:18:26,719
you will immediately say, oh, that’s us.
288
00:18:26,719 –> 00:18:29,180
Look at Chapter 59 and verse 14,
289
00:18:29,180 –> 00:18:31,180
the second half of the verse,
290
00:18:31,180 –> 00:18:35,260
Chapter 59 and the second half of verse 14.
291
00:18:35,260 –> 00:18:38,660
Here’s Isaiah speaking about the culture
292
00:18:38,680 –> 00:18:41,900
in which he was ministering 700 years
293
00:18:41,900 –> 00:18:44,459
before the birth of Jesus.
294
00:18:44,459 –> 00:18:49,459
And he says this, truth has stumbled in the streets,
295
00:18:51,880 –> 00:18:56,880
honesty cannot enter, truth is nowhere to be found.
296
00:19:00,060 –> 00:19:02,160
Now see, isn’t that exactly where we are?
297
00:19:03,739 –> 00:19:05,979
In a post-modern culture,
298
00:19:06,020 –> 00:19:08,739
where so many have bought into the idea
299
00:19:08,739 –> 00:19:12,359
that there is no such thing as objective truth.
300
00:19:13,380 –> 00:19:17,319
Only opinion, only what’s true for you or true for me,
301
00:19:17,319 –> 00:19:19,979
only truth the way we see it,
302
00:19:20,900 –> 00:19:22,920
but not what is ultimately true
303
00:19:22,920 –> 00:19:24,939
or what is ultimately false.
304
00:19:24,939 –> 00:19:29,939
Isaiah captures that, truth has stumbled in the streets.
305
00:19:30,939 –> 00:19:33,319
Vast majority of people in our country
306
00:19:33,319 –> 00:19:35,599
do not believe in such a thing as objective truth.
307
00:19:35,599 –> 00:19:37,119
This stumbled in the streets.
308
00:19:37,119 –> 00:19:41,479
Now, what happens when people lose their grasp
309
00:19:41,479 –> 00:19:43,920
of objective truth in a culture?
310
00:19:43,920 –> 00:19:48,500
Here’s what happens when truth stumbles in the streets,
311
00:19:48,500 –> 00:19:51,739
justice falters in the courts.
312
00:19:51,739 –> 00:19:53,859
The one has to follow the other
313
00:19:53,859 –> 00:19:55,979
as surely as night follows day.
314
00:19:56,800 –> 00:19:58,280
Look at what Isaiah says,
315
00:19:59,040 –> 00:20:02,180
look at what he said about justice, in verse 4.
316
00:20:02,180 –> 00:20:05,699
No one calls for justice.
317
00:20:05,699 –> 00:20:09,760
No one pleads his case with integrity.
318
00:20:09,760 –> 00:20:14,760
They rely on empty arguments and speak lies.
319
00:20:15,579 –> 00:20:17,660
Following that theme, through look at verse 9.
320
00:20:17,660 –> 00:20:20,660
Justice is far from us.
321
00:20:20,660 –> 00:20:24,260
Verse 14, justice is driven back.
322
00:20:24,260 –> 00:20:26,099
Verse 15, the Lord looked.
323
00:20:26,099 –> 00:20:27,339
He’s looking for justice,
324
00:20:27,359 –> 00:20:29,920
and he saw that there was no justice.
325
00:20:31,140 –> 00:20:35,420
A culture that is given over to selfishness and to greed,
326
00:20:36,339 –> 00:20:38,500
the courts become about winning.
327
00:20:40,199 –> 00:20:44,439
Legal cases become less about establishing what is true,
328
00:20:44,439 –> 00:20:48,079
but ultimately who can present the best story.
329
00:20:49,459 –> 00:20:50,859
And when that happens,
330
00:20:50,859 –> 00:20:54,780
you find yourself in a world of spin.
331
00:20:55,739 –> 00:20:58,719
Where it’s incredibly hard for ordinary people,
332
00:20:58,719 –> 00:21:01,939
really, to know what is true, and what is right.
333
00:21:01,939 –> 00:21:06,819
Or even for many people to know if such things exist at all.
334
00:21:06,819 –> 00:21:09,660
Now, truth, justice,
335
00:21:09,660 –> 00:21:12,000
and when these two go,
336
00:21:12,000 –> 00:21:14,380
there’s one other that falls with it.
337
00:21:14,380 –> 00:21:15,780
Life.
338
00:21:15,780 –> 00:21:16,619
Look at verse three,
339
00:21:16,619 –> 00:21:19,859
Your hands are stained with blood,
340
00:21:19,859 –> 00:21:22,859
your fingers with guilt.
341
00:21:25,219 –> 00:21:27,260
I cannot read that verse
342
00:21:28,300 –> 00:21:31,699
without painfully thinking of
343
00:21:32,739 –> 00:21:34,859
the loss of life taken,
344
00:21:36,140 –> 00:21:39,739
taken and lost through abortion.
345
00:21:43,719 –> 00:21:45,699
But Isaiah’s speaking into a culture
346
00:21:45,699 –> 00:21:48,140
that we recognize, don’t we?
347
00:21:48,140 –> 00:21:50,040
Truth stumbling in the streets.
348
00:21:51,560 –> 00:21:54,420
Courts, increasingly about
349
00:21:55,619 –> 00:21:58,199
how you can spin a story
350
00:21:59,859 –> 00:22:01,359
and the massive
351
00:22:02,739 –> 00:22:05,819
cull of human life.
352
00:22:08,099 –> 00:22:11,420
So I think that we have to say that we identify
353
00:22:11,420 –> 00:22:14,439
as we open these scriptures with Isaiah’s words
354
00:22:14,439 –> 00:22:17,920
about a culture that is losing justice, losing it.
355
00:22:19,640 –> 00:22:20,819
In other words, losing integrity
356
00:22:20,819 –> 00:22:23,819
and losing trustworthiness and losing truthfulness
357
00:22:23,819 –> 00:22:27,660
and losing doing right and losing loving neighbor as self
358
00:22:27,660 –> 00:22:30,060
and losing caring about the plight of others
359
00:22:30,060 –> 00:22:32,459
as if it were your own.
360
00:22:34,020 –> 00:22:35,500
You’ve been listening to Open the Bible
361
00:22:35,500 –> 00:22:36,920
with Pastor Colin Smith
362
00:22:36,920 –> 00:22:39,579
and the message today, Restore Justice,
363
00:22:39,579 –> 00:22:43,060
and that’s part of our series, Restore My Soul.
364
00:22:43,060 –> 00:22:44,540
If you’ve missed any of the series
365
00:22:44,540 –> 00:22:46,979
or if you’d like to go back and simply listen again
366
00:22:46,979 –> 00:22:49,760
you can do that by coming online to our website
367
00:22:49,760 –> 00:22:52,540
openthebible.org.uk.
368
00:22:52,619 –> 00:22:54,660
There you can stream any of the messages
369
00:22:54,660 –> 00:22:56,739
which have already gone out on air.
370
00:22:56,739 –> 00:22:58,599
You’ll also find us as a podcast
371
00:22:58,599 –> 00:23:00,319
if that’s a better way for you to keep up
372
00:23:00,319 –> 00:23:02,339
with Pastor Colin Smith’s teaching
373
00:23:02,339 –> 00:23:05,400
and those are available on your regular podcasting site.
374
00:23:05,400 –> 00:23:08,060
Simply search for Open The Bible UK
375
00:23:08,060 –> 00:23:10,739
and subscribe to receive regular updates.
376
00:23:10,739 –> 00:23:14,180
You’ll also find a link to the podcast on our website.
377
00:23:15,060 –> 00:23:17,579
Open The Bible is supported by our listeners
378
00:23:17,579 –> 00:23:19,260
and this month if you’ve been considering
379
00:23:19,260 –> 00:23:22,459
setting up a new payment in support of Open The Bible
380
00:23:22,459 –> 00:23:24,199
we have a great offer for you.
381
00:23:24,199 –> 00:23:26,579
To say thank you, we’ll send you a copy
382
00:23:26,579 –> 00:23:31,060
of C.H. Spurgeon’s book, Encouragement for the Depressed.
383
00:23:31,060 –> 00:23:33,739
Colin, how will C.H. Spurgeon’s book
384
00:23:33,739 –> 00:23:36,939
help those who feel discouraged today.
385
00:23:36,939 –> 00:23:40,939
Well, Spurgeon is really a very tender shepherd.
386
00:23:40,939 –> 00:23:44,500
He was a pastor and he spoke with great strength
387
00:23:44,500 –> 00:23:46,859
but also with great gentleness
388
00:23:46,859 –> 00:23:50,699
that arose really out of his own experience of suffering
389
00:23:50,739 –> 00:23:52,839
and especially what he sometimes referred to
390
00:23:52,839 –> 00:23:54,239
as the black dog.
391
00:23:54,239 –> 00:23:57,439
There was a darkness that sometimes came over him
392
00:23:57,439 –> 00:23:59,760
and it was a real struggle in his life.
393
00:23:59,760 –> 00:24:01,180
I mean, he says for example,
394
00:24:01,180 –> 00:24:04,020
the strong are not always vigorous.
395
00:24:04,020 –> 00:24:05,739
The wise are not always ready.
396
00:24:05,739 –> 00:24:08,359
The brave are not always courageous
397
00:24:08,359 –> 00:24:10,619
and the joyous are not always happy.
398
00:24:10,619 –> 00:24:15,619
So this is a realistic view of the Christian life.
399
00:24:15,640 –> 00:24:19,300
He’s speaking into the realities that we all experience
400
00:24:19,300 –> 00:24:22,959
and he’s speaking out of his own personal experience
401
00:24:22,959 –> 00:24:26,900
and what he brings is a wonderful encouragement
402
00:24:26,900 –> 00:24:29,800
to lay our burdens on the Lord
403
00:24:29,800 –> 00:24:33,780
and to trust his promises even in the darkest times.
404
00:24:33,780 –> 00:24:35,920
Well, we’d love to send you a copy of this book
405
00:24:35,920 –> 00:24:37,520
to say thank you for supporting
406
00:24:37,520 –> 00:24:39,520
Open The Bible financially.
407
00:24:39,520 –> 00:24:41,640
This offer is available all this month
408
00:24:41,640 –> 00:24:43,719
if you are able to set up a new donation
409
00:24:43,719 –> 00:24:45,400
to the work of Open The Bible
410
00:24:45,400 –> 00:24:48,680
in the amount of five pounds per month or more.
411
00:24:48,719 –> 00:24:50,680
For full details or to give online,
412
00:24:50,680 –> 00:24:54,920
come to our website, openthebible.org.uk.
413
00:24:54,920 –> 00:24:58,119
For Open The Bible and Pastor Colin Smith,
414
00:24:58,119 –> 00:24:59,239
I’m David Pick and I hope you will
415
00:24:59,239 –> 00:25:01,500
join us again next time.
416
00:25:06,819 –> 00:25:09,300
When people start to reject truth,
417
00:25:09,300 –> 00:25:11,540
it sets off a domino effect.
418
00:25:11,540 –> 00:25:13,800
Find out what’s next to go.
419
00:25:13,800 –> 00:25:16,560
That’s Open The Bible with Pastor Colin Smith.
