Don't build THAT again!

In this series we've been in I have been emphasizing all the times when we as the people of God need to build and plant and construct. In my message yesterday however, i wanted to focus on Israel in Isaiah chapter 9:10 because we clearly see them determined about rebuilding something that the LORD seen as evil, but why? let's go over the three points from the message as we looked at three reasons Israel decided to REBUILD instead of REPENT....

1.) PRide &Arrogance

One of the main themes in all of the prophetic books in the bible is of the soon coming judgement of God upon Israel due to their disobedience often coming in the forms of idolatry and immorality. God again and again promises disaster, ruin and destruction of the holy city and temple in Jerusalem. God wasn't just trying to scare the people by the mouths of his prophets, he was simply warning them with the hopes of his people taking heed and repenting. The jews missed the point of their God allowing devastation to take over their land and in a heart of pride they say " the bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with hewn stones" I would add "anyway" after that sentence. How prideful, how arrogant to assume they would just rebuild what the Lord tore down! before we get on Israel i want us to look at our own lives, have you been "fighting" against God? has he destroyed something in your life only for you to attempt to rebuild in your own strength? you may want to quit, repent and humble yourself, it'll save you some time, stress and effort.

2.) Israel misdiagnosed the issue

If i were to go to the emergency room for some pain i was having in my side and the doctors diagnosed me with " chronic gas" they might send me home with a prescription for some over the counter gas medicine and tell me to get some rest or stay away from certain foods for a while. What if my real issue was kidney stones though? in that case the doctors misdiagnosis would be crucial and would alter how i treated my problem. Here was Israel's issue, they thought " the bricks had FALLEN" when in reality GOD HAD KICKED THEM OVER. Had they known God was behind their ruin maybe they treat the issue with a greater level of care and sensitivity. Let us take inventory of our lives today, and ask the Lord to give us insight on the good and the bad in our lives. I pray that we see things how he see's them, in doing so it saves us from despair on one hand and a false resilience and motivation on the other.

3.) Didn't see repentance as the remedy

This point goes hand in hand with the previous point in that if we misdiagnose something in our lives, it affects everything else. Israel perhaps thinking they were just having a bad day or a rough year, was actually in the middle of a storm the Lord had kindled against them. Being on the opposite side of the LORD in a war is the scariest thing imaginable, but at the very same time it's the most hopeful place you could be. Unlike sinful, hateful men, God is a God of amazing grace and mercy! to the one who TURNS which is what repentance means ,our God will turn from his destruction that was headed your way. He doesn't enjoy punishing the wicked but seeks us all to stop fighting him. Israel didn't understand that the way out of their mess was to actually quit! There is a time to be resilient, there is a time to fight and there is also a time to give up, to turn around and sit at the father's feet in humility. Maybe the remedy for your situation is to actually repent, Ask the father today to make it clear to you ......i promise he will!