"My God doesn't do parlour tricks for sinners" - Dru
Isaiah 59
Sin, Confession and Redemption (In that order)
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,God could change the weather with one word. But, you are a sinner. What makes you think that he will listen to you? You spend your whole life avoiding and mocking Him. Do you really think you can mock the Creator?
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,One lie is an infinite offense against a perfect God.
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
Take a minute and reflect on your words, thoughts, and deeds. No amount of fast talking will justify you in the eyes of the very measure of good.
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 deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are evil thoughts;
ruin and destruction mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks in them will know peace.
9 So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
You cry out for justice, but if God were to give us what we deserve, we would all be in trouble. Read the poetry in these next few verses. Read them a few times. We not only don't go the right way, we can't even SEE the right way to go even if we wanted to.
Not only did we have no desire to redeem ourselves, we have no ability to either. God took it upon Himself to redeem us for His own glory.
10 Like the blind we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like men without eyes.
At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses are many in your sight,
and our sins testify against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities:
13 rebellion and treachery against the LORD,
turning our backs on our God,
fomenting oppression and revolt,
uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice is driven back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The LORD looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one,
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm worked salvation for him,
and his own righteousness sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,
and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance
and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
so will he repay
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islands their due.
19 From the west, men will fear the name of the LORD,
and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath of the LORD drives along. [a]
20 "The Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,"
declares the LORD.
21 "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the LORD.
From the beginning, God had it planned. We are sinners. Until we confess, and repent. Until we completely surrender, completely lay down our pride, our self righteousness. Until we come prone on our face to a just, holy God, He owes us nothing. Jesus doesn't need your acceptance. You better make sure He accepts you. Meditate on that for a while.
When we confess we are sinners. When we repent of those sins. When we place our faith in Christ's payment for those sins, and in Christ alone. Then, and only then, will we find redemption.
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