DON’T GIVE UP ON HUMANITY
Isaiah 59:1-7
GOD’S
GRACE IN CHASTIZEMENT
V:59.1
Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
nor his ear
too dull to hear.
2 But your
iniquities have separated
you from
your God;
your sins
have hidden his face from you,
so that he
will not hear.
3 For your
hands are stained with blood,
your fingers
with guilt.
Your lips
have spoken lies,
and your
tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one
calls for justice;
no one
pleads his case with integrity.
They rely on
empty arguments and speak lies;
they
conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch
the eggs of vipers
and spin a
spider's web.
Whoever eats
their eggs will die,
and when one
is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their
cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot
cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds
are evil, and acts of violence are in their hands.
RELIGION
VERSUS CHRISTIANITY
The book of
Isaiah was written 698 BC to the Israelites as a warning
Before the
destruction of Jerusalem and the nation being taken into
Captivity.
These verses
describe a nation completely in sin and out of fellowship
With God. The
verses describe the anger of God and His impending wrath.
I want to
focus on the destitute mind of Israel and the compassion of God.
It is by His
grace that He gives us a warning before chastisement.
THE
ATTITUDE OF THE WORLD
V:5 They
hatch the eggs of vipers
and spin a
spider's web.
Whoever eats
their eggs will die,
and when one
is broken, an adder is hatched.
The mindset
of the Israelites was the pursuit of strange doctrine which
On the
surface seem fair and reasonable. But the underlying result was the
Poison of
vipers. Pursuing all unrighteousness and destroying any
Relationship
with God leaves the mind destitute of purpose and
Plan of God.
The egg
represents the doctrine of unrighteousness. Whoever eats the egg dies
immediately because they approve the doctrine and divorce themselves From God. If
you hang around the wrong folk you will do what they do,
And believe
what they believe. You become blind to the truth when you
Embrace the
world.
DON’T
GIVE UP ON HUMANITY
If you know
the story of Israel, you know that God did not give up on them.
He punished
them for their unrighteousness with 70 years of
Captivity in
Babylon. After 70 years He brought them out of
Captivity and
allowed them to rebuild the temple.
THE
ATTITUDE OF THE WORLD
The eggs of
viper could represent the next generation of unrighteous
People. It
can also represent the continual spread of unrighteousness
Throughout
the nation.
Once a
doctrine become popular, it takes hold and spread as the new
Norm. Our
previous president, from the start of His administration
Preached
that the news organizations that we have relied upon for generations
Was fake. At
the end of his administration, half of the nation believed the news reported was
fake.
The Israelites
had taken the God that brought them out of slavery
For granted.
They thought it ok to worship God with their mouths
But not with
their heart. They had become proud of their religion
But not
proud of the God of their religion.
They had swallowed
the snake venom and were dead spiritually.
In 2021, we
are battling Covid 19, a virus that has killed millions around the world. But
many say it is a hoax or fake news.
We have
vaccines that have been proven effective against the
Virus, but
many refuse to be vaccinated because it violates
Their
rights.
They
swallowed the snake venom and may die unvaccinated.
LIES AND
DECEPTIONS
The spider
web is an illustration of entrapment and
entanglement of
the minds of men and women with
lies and deceptions that prevent them from
Knowing the
truth which is the word of God.
The spider
weaves a web from its bowels designed to trap unsuspecting insects for its
meal.
If you
follow around the wrong folk, you will get trapped in their mess.
SPIRITUAL
DEATH
V:5. Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one
is broken, an adder is hatched.
We are
reminded that we are not equipped to handle all circumstances.
We must
trust God to guide us through the webs of deception.
In our self-righteousness,
if we try to handle the situation, we can get
Hurt. If we
involve ourselves in someone else mess it becomes our mess.
Don’t let
the mess of others control your peace of mind and joy
The text says
if the egg of the viper is broken a snake is hatched.
We are not
equipped to crush every situation. Getting in a situation
May put you
at risk. Leave the crushing to God.
God knows and
controls the outcome of anything we trust Him with.
THE GOOD
IN THE WORST
The Word of
God is His special revelation to believers. Wisdom is found
In God’s
Word.
God used the
snake and the spider's web to highlight the evil in man.
However, the
spider and his web are God’s way of preserving humanity.
By observing
nature, God’s general revelation to all mankind, we
See the
usefulness of all creation.
Spiders are
important in our lives.
It is only
our ignorance that puts fear into our lives about anything.
Let’s look at
the benefits of spiders.
Does anyone
like spiders?
Do you want
them in your house?
Can you
tolerate the sight of them? When you see one, is your
First
instinct to kill?
Do you know
that spiders have a useful purpose in nature?
Do you know
that they are a great benefit to you?
1) They eat pests
Their diet consists of common insect pests
you find indoors, like roaches, earwigs, flies, moths, and pesky mosquitoes.
Spiders – they’re on our side.
2) And therefore also prevent the spread of disease
Some of these pests can cause disease.
Fleas, for example, can spread bubonic plague or typhus. They’re pretty nasty.
Other disease-carrying critters they eat
include mosquitoes, flies, and cockroaches.
3) It’s very rare for them to attack humans
There’s no reason for spiders to attacks
humans unless they feel threatened. We aren’t a food source to them – they
don’t suck our blood.
Even the most deadliest spiders are
non-aggressive. The National Geographic says that the black
widow spider will only bite in self-defense, e.g if someone sits on them.
4) Their venom can be used in medicines
The venom from a black widow spider may
cause muscle aches, nausea, a paralysis of the diaphragm, and potentially
death, but it’s being used in inventive ways in medicine.
If spiders
are left alone, we would not need pest control.
If spiders
are left alone, many trips to the vet would be avoided.
When you see
a spider web you don’t know what God has saved you from.
A spider web
is an indication that you have pests in your home.
God introduced
the spider's web as an illustration of the scheme of man in trapping others in
their evil ways.
But when we
look at the value of spiders in our lives we
See that God
has a purpose and plan for everything He created.
There is
some good in the worst of us and there is some bad in the
Best of us.
Don’t write
off someone because you don’t like what
They do or
they have a past that you don’t agree with.
Don’t pass
judgment on someone you don’t know.
You never
know how God is preparing them to be used
To bless
you.
How many of
you got a stimulus check? Maybe God
Provided
2020 and the pandemic to free up money
To you.
God gives us
many examples of people He turned around
To serve
Him.
The Apostle
Paul is a great example. Paul was on his way to
Damascus with
an army to persecute the Church. God
Knocked him
off his horse and blinded him until he understood his purpose was to promote
the Church.
Moses a
murder was forced out of Egypt into Median
Where he
stayed for forty years until God called him back to Egypt
To lead Israel
to freedom.
One Friday
morning two murders were led out of prison with Jesus
To be crucified.
One rejected Jesus and died a sinner. One accepted
Jesus on the
cross and received citizenship in Heaven.
The one who accepted
Jesus deserved to die, but by the grace of
God, he
received eternal life. He became a living example to us that
It is never
too late to accept Christ in your life.
Your situation may be bad, but there is some good
if you look for it.
FIND THE
LOG IN YOUR EYE
If you
consider yourself good, find the bad so you can improve.
Isaiah
64:6-7
6 All of us
have become like one who is unclean,
and all our
righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all
shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the
wind our sins sweep us away.
To God, all
sin carries the same judgment. The wages
of sin is death,
But the
grace of God is eternal life.
THERE IS
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT IN EACH OF US.
GOD’S
GRACE
None of us
deserve His grace. But His love drives His mercy toward us.
Romans
11:26-27
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is
written:
"The
deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn
godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this
is my covenant with them
when I take
away their sins."
We should
never judge a person because we don’t know who is included
In the “all”. All may not be everybody.
Romans 9:27
Esaias also
crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the
sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
We all face
the hardships of life. Some will survive the hardships and some
Will not.
Who is included
in the remnant? You and I do not know.
We should
treat everyone as if they are in the remnant.
The good in
the remnant is only known by God.
Matthew
20:15-16
Don't I have the right to do what I want with
my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
16
"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
DON’T
GIVE UP ON HUMANITY
Rev. M.
Mitchell
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