CHOOSE WISELY
BY Steven Garofalo Copyright January 4, 2023
IN ISAIAH 1:16-17 THE PROPHET ISAIAH GIVES US SIX KEY ACTION POINTS TO HELP US START LEADING CULTURE BACK TO CHRIST. THIS IS WHAT ISAIAH SAID: “WASH YOURSELVES; MAKE YOURSELVES CLEAN; REMOVE THE EVIL OF YOUR DEEDS FROM BEFORE MY EYES; CEASE TO DO EVIL, LEARN TO DO GOOD; SEEK JUSTICE, CORRECT OPPRESSION; BRING JUSTICE TO THE FATHERLESS, PLEAD THE WIDOW'S CAUSE.”
1) FIRST, WE SHOULD MAKE OURSELVES CLEAN BEFORE GOD. ISAIAH SAID IN VERSE 16, “WASH YOURSELVES; MAKE YOURSELVES CLEAN”. THE INVITATION BY ISAIH TO REPENT HAS TWO PARTS: FIRST IS THAT THE PEOPLE MUST “WASH THEMSELVES”. ISAIAH IS NOT SPEAKING ABOUT PHYSICALLY WASHING OURSELVES WITH WATER, BUT BY SEEKING JUSTICE, BY REBUKING THE OPPRESSOR, AND DEFENDING THE FATHERLESS. THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT ISAIAH CALLS US TO WASH OURSELVES CLEAN OF SIN AND TURN BACK TO GOD. WE WILL GET INTO THIS IN GREATER DETAIL IN THE NEXT FIVE POINTS.
2) SECOND, ISAIAH SAYS THAT WE SHOULD PRIORITIZE REMOVING ANYTHING GOD CONSIDERS AN EVIL DEED, AND DO SO IN FRONT OF GOD’S EYES, MEANING TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR SINS, CONFESS THEM, AND ASK GOD FOR HIS FORGIVENESS. GOD WILL REMOVE OUR SINS IF WE REPENT AND TURN TO HIM. REPENTANCE INVOLVES TURNING FROM OUR SIN TO THE PRACTICE OF JUSTICE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS, IN RELATION TO THE OPPRESSED AND THE ORPHAN WHICH WE WILL DISCUSS SHORTLY.
3) THIRD, WE SHOULD WORK VERY HARD TO CEASE TO DO EVIL IN THE FIRST PLACE AND INSTEAD LEARN TO DO GOOD. DOING GOOD KEEPS US FROM DOING EVIL AS THEY ARE OPPOSITES. WE WILL NEVER BE PERFECT WHILE ON EARTH, BUT WE OUGHT TO BUCKLE DOWN AND WORK HARD TO CEASE DOING EVIL AND IN TURN BECOME DISCIPLINED AND DEPENDENT ON GOD (ASKING HIM) TO HELP US OVERCOME OUR SIN, WHICH IN TURN WILL HELP US WITH THE DESIRE TO “DO GOOD”.
4) FOURTH, WE SHOULD READ GOD’S WORD DAILY AND SEEK TRUE JUSTICE ACCORDING TO HOW THE BIBLE DEFINES JUSTIC AND INJUSTICE. HOW CAN WE ADMINISTER PROPER GODLY JUSTICE IF WE DO NOT SPEND TIME IN GOD’S WORD TO BEGIN WITH? THIS LEADS US TO NUMBER FIVE.
5) FIFTH, ONCE WE READ, UNDERSTAND, TRUST IN AND APPLY GOD’S WORD AS THE INTIMATE STANDARD FOR JUSTICE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO “CORRECT OPPRESSION”. WE HEAR ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE AND OPPRESSION EVERY DAY, BUT IT’S ALMOST 100% INCORRECT AND WRONG BECAUSE IT’S BASED ON SINFUL MAN MADE LAWS THAT HAVE BEEN DISTORTED FOR POLITICAL REASONS. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT TRUE SOCIAL JUSTICE IS? I WANT TO CHALLENGE ALL OF YOU TO READ YOUR BIBLE IN ITS CORRECT CONTEXT AND NOT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ANY ONE PEOPLE GROUP, RACE, GENDER OR OTHERWISE. GOD’S JUSTICE IS LEVEL AND EQUALLY APPLIED TO ALL PEOPLE. THE SCRIPTURES HAVE ONE AND ONLY ONE INTERPRETATION AND MANY APPLICATIONS. IF WE READ THE APPLICATION AS THE PROPER CONTEXT, WE WILL MAKE THE SCRIPTURES SAY WHAT WE WANT THEM TO SAY AS OPPOSED TO WHAT GOD IS TELLING US. THE DANGER OF THIS IS THAT IT THIS LEADS TO THE WORSHIP OF OUR IDEAS AS AN IDOL-MAKING US, MANKIND AS THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS INSTEAD OF GOD. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE SAW PEOPLE “TALING A KNEE” AT THE FOOTBALL GAMES, IN OUR COMMUNITY, AND SHOCKINGLY, WITHIN MANY CHURCHES, WE WOULD BE WISE TO SOBERLY ACCEPT THAT THE ONLY KNEE WE OUGHT EVER TO TAKE SHOULD ONLY TO WORSHIP THE LORD GOD OF SCRIPTURE IN JESUS CHRIST. FOR A CHRISTIAN TO TAKE A KNEE FOR POLITICAL REASONS IS MAJOR VIOLATION OF GOD’S WORD AND A SERIOUS SIN. THIS IS WHAT EXODUS 20 SAYS THIS:
“AND GOD SPOKE ALL THESE WORDS, SAYING, IN EXODUS 20:2-4-5: “I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD, WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, OUT OF THE HOUSE OF SLAVERY. “YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME. “YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELF A CARVED IMAGE, OR ANY LIKENESS OF ANYTHING THAT IS IN HEAVEN ABOVE, OR THAT IS IN THE EARTH BENEATH, OR THAT IS IN THE WATER UNDER THE EARTH. YOU SHALL NOT BOW TO THEM OR SERVE THEM, FOR I THE LORD YOUR GOD AM A JEALOUS GOD, VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS ON THE CHILDREN TO THE THIRD AND THE FOURTH GENERATION OF THOSE WHO HATE ME,..”
I WOULD SUBMIT THAT TAKING A KNEE IS NOTHING SHORT OF BOWING DOWN AND SERVING MAN IN DEFIANCE OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. FURTHERMORE. IF YOU HAVE TAKEN A KNEE YOU HAVE BOWED DOWN, AND SHOULD CONFESS YOUR SIN (BOWING BEFORE HIM)- BEFORE GOD AND MAKE SURE NEVER DO SO AGAIN. THIS IS NOT A MINOR ISSUE WITH GOD.
6) SIXTH AND LAST SHOWS US WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE FAIL AT ONE THROUGH FIVE. WHILE THE CHURCH IN PARTICULAR HAS DONE A GOOD JOB AT PROVIDING MATERIAL, EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL SUPPORT TO THE WIDOW AND THE FATHERLESS, IT HAS DROPPED THE BALL IN FAILING TO “BRING JUSTICE TO THE FATHERLESS AND PLEADING THE WIDOW'S CAUSE.” WHY HAS THE CHURCH FAILED? BECAUSE OVERWHELMINGLY, MOST ALL CHURCHES HAVE BOUGHT THE NOTION THAT WHAT GOD TELLS US IN SCRIPTURE REGARDING MORAL ISSUES (WHICH INFORMS US ABOUT EVERYTHING) AND POLITICS. THE CHURCH HAS SADLY BOUGHT INTO THE FALSE NOTION THAT SOMEHOW IT’S BIBLICALLY WRONG TO PREACH ABOUT MORAL OR POLITICAL L ISSUES WHEN NOTHING IS FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. SINCE THE JOHNSON ACT OF 1954, THE CHURCH HAS TIGHT THE MOUTH OF THE LOCAL PASTOR, MAKING THE CHURCH MORE AND MORE EXCLUSIVITY INTROSPECTIVE. AS A RESULT, THE CHURCH HAS SLOWLY BOILED, LOOSING IT’S SALT AND LIGHT EFFECT IN THE WORLD. THE LIGHT ON THE HILL PRESIDENT REAGAN SPOKE ABOUT IS NOW BUT A MERE FLICKER.
AS A RESULT, OVER THE PAST DECADES, THE CHURCH HAS BY DEFAULT, HANDED THE WIDOW AND THE FATHERLESS, MAINLY THROUGH THE POOER OVER TO THE GOVERNMENT, MAKING. THEM DEPENDENT ON HUMAN GOVERNMENTS INSTEAD OF GOD AND THE CHURCH FOR THEIR NEEDS. THEY NOW LOOK TO THE GOVERNMENT, NOT GOD FOR THE DEPENDENCE. THE GOVERNMENT IS HAPPY TO REWARD AND PROVIDE THEM WITH LIFE LONG DEPENDENCE ON MONEY, HOUSING, FOOD, HEALTH CARE, UTILITIES, CELL PHONES AMONG OTHER THINGS, IF THEY WILL ONLY PLEDGE THEIR ALLEGIANCE TO THE GOVERNMENT OVER GOD. AS A RESULT, THE FAILURE OF THE CHURCH TO BRING JUSTICE TO THE FATHERLESS AND PLEAD THE WIDOWS CASE IN COURT HAS RESULTED IN GENERATIONS OF WELFARE DEPENDENCE. AS A RESULT, THE FAMILY UNIT HAS BEEN SEVERELY DAMAGED AND AMERICAN COMMUNITIES HAVE BECOME ABORTION RIDDEN AND FULL OF FATHERLESS CHILDREN VOID OF GOD’S IMAGE IN WHOM THEY WERE MADE.
ALL OF THIS DAMAGE HAS BEEN AND CONTINUES TO BE DONE FOR THE SIMPLE FACT THAT AS A GOVERNMENT, AS CITIZENS AND EVEN AS THE CHURCH, WE HAVE FAILED TO “CHOOSE WISELY”.
LET’S PRAY FOR OURSELVES, THE CHURCH, FOR OUR LEADERS, OUR NATION, AND FOR THE COUNTLESS FATHERLESS AND WIDOWS WHO OFTEN ACKNOWLEDGE GOD, BUT WHO SADLY BOW BEFORE THE AUTHORITIES WHO GIVE THEM FREE STUFF INSTEAD OF TRULY TRUSTING IN THE TRUE GOD-PROVIDER. EVEN THE AFFLUENT HAVE NEGLECTED THE FAMILY IN PURSUIT OF WEATH, POWER, INFLUENCE AND RICHES. THAT IS A DISCUSSION FOR ANOTHER DAY. AMERICA AND MUCH OF THE WEST IS AT A CROSS ROADS. THE CHOICE IS OURS-“WILL YOU CHOOSE WISELY” AS ISAIAH TELLS US OR NOT? THE CHOICE IS OURS.
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