Sermon Tone Analysis

ss=MsoNormal style='margin-left:189.0pt;text-indent:-1.75in'>*Their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men*      *                                                                               Is 29:13             *8~/10~/08 a.m.*Is 29:1-14*    * *

 

Since Judah was hopelessly out of touch with the Lord, neither they nor their wise men would be able to fathom the “wondrously marvelous” thing which God was about to do in their midst.

Both the distress into which Judah would fall at the hands of the Assyrians, and the miraculous deliverance therefrom, would be inexplicable by political logic or historical precedent (29:14).

Why is Judah so out of tune with God’s word?

Why have they rejected every effort of this man of God to make them understand?

The fault was in their approach to worship.

*Their devotion was insincere, formal and traditional*.

They said the right words, but these words did not come from the heart.

They recited the proper ritual, but *fear of the Lord did not govern their life *

* *

* Is 29:13 13 Therefore the Lord said: *

*     “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths  And honor Me with their lips,  But have removed their hearts far from Me, *

 

Jerusalem, in profession, clung to the worship of Jehovah, and had even recently accepted a purification of religion at the hand of Hezekiah, who had “removed the high places, … and cut down the groves, and broken in pieces the brazen serpent,” because the people burnt incense to it (2 Kings 18:4).

But her religion was a /mere/ lip-service, which God detested—it was outward, formal, and hypocritical

*     *

*And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, *

* *

*V13.

**commandment ~/precept of men*—instead of the precepts of God, given by His prophets;

 

They do not make the word of God the rule of their worship, nor His will their reason: / / 

 

They worshipped God, not according to his word,

but their own inventions,

the directions of their false prophets

or their idolatrous leaders,

or the ways of the nations that were round them.

* *

*The tradition of the elders* was of more value and validity with them than the laws which God commanded Moses.

In the days of Hezekiah, they had more an eye to *the precept of the king* than to God’s command.

*Our Saviour applies to the Jews in his time*, who were formal in their devotions and wedded to their own inventions, and pronounces that in vain they did worship God, Mt. 15:8, 9.

 

Their* fear* or reverence was merely an intellectual accommodation* taught by the precept of men.*

True worship must begin with a proper reverence for God and His Word.

*Does this scripture have any viable application for us today?*

* *

*Are people today worshipping God with their mouth and lips but not with their hearts?*

* *

*Is the fear of the Lord taught by mans’ wisdom rather than Gods’ wisdom?

*

* *

*The commandment of men has A LONG HISTORY *

It began in the Garden of Eden when Satan deceived Adam and Eve into believing that if they would eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, *they would be like their Maker.

*

 

*The commandment of men -The New Spirituality *

This deceptive view is an apostasy *– *

*      it offers a form of godliness while denying God* by proclaiming

that every man and woman, all nature, and stuff in general are divine,

that everything is God-you, me, the trees, stars, the moon, and so forth.

Denies absolute truth, ultimate judge

The practice of talking to spirit or master guides-beings

Believe that the Bible is no more the Word of God than any other book

* *

*The commandment of men - A HISTORIC HIGH IN POPULARITY *

 

Why is the New Age Spirituality growing so rapidly?

* *

*It allows a person to claim spirituality while being accountable to no standards*.

The New Age Spirituality justifies and encourages the culture's growing acceptance of rampant *pornography, abortion on demand, euthanasia, doctor-assisted suicide, hedonism, occult practices, promotion of same-sex relationships, multiculturalism, political correctness, even condom distribution *in schools.

These are all cleverly packaged and integrated into our culture *through films, television, music, best-selling books, and public school curricula.*

*The commandment of men -THEIR PATTERN OF THOUGHT *

 

What each individual follower wants to believe and practice.

Most pick and choose what to think by the standard "if it feels good and works for me, it's all right" 

 

*Political Correctness * 

.

*Tolerance* means

·        that one person never expresses a judgment about someone else's ideas, beliefs, and values from a biblical view of absolute truth.

·        Tolerance demands that you not only accept the other view but that you value their view-unless, of course, their view is Biblical Christianity.

Tolerance is very intolerant of Bible-minded Christians.

* *

*Diversity or sensitivity training* is about the normalization of the homosexual lifestyle.

* *

*Multiculturalism* is not the study of many cultures but the criticism of the Western Cul­ture and its founding on Christian principles.

Multiculturalism also desires to destroy patriotism.

* *

*Feminism* is not about equal rights for women

·        but about the destruction of a patriar­chal society in favor of a matriarchal society.

·        In other words, the goal of feminism is the destruc­tion of the family by eliminating the husband and father as the provider, protector, and prin­cipled leader of his home.

* *

*Political correctness* is

·        *about destroying the family*,

·        *replacing the role of the father with the role of the state*,

·        *normalizing sexual perversion, *

·        *and ridiculing traditional morals and virtues that stem from Christianity*

* *

*People laugh about political correctness* as if it is some kind of joke, but losing your free­dom of religion, freedom of speech, property rights, and parental authority is no laughing matter.

*Thought control is not funny*, and many Christians have been prosecuted under state hate-crime laws for sharing the gospel and for publicly speaking out against homosexuality.

If you doubt me, then you should order World­view Weekend's DVD, "The Criminalization of Christianity," which documents many such cases.

It is available from our online bookstore at www.worldviewweekend.com.

*A segment of the church buys into The commandment of men - this New Age Spirituality & overlays it with Christian termi­nology*.

*The commandment of men presents: *

·  A highly ambiguous notion of truth;

·  A quasi-universalistic view of salvation;

·  A lack of a proper appreciation for bibli­cal authority versus personal experience or individual "revelation";

• Openness to pagan religious practices ­like Hindu Yoga-including integrating them into Christian life and worship;

• Openly questioning the relevance and reality of essential historical, biblical doctrines such as the Trinity;

• A reading of Scripture heavily biased towards a "social gospel";

• Little or no talk of evangelism or saving lost souls;

• A salvation-by-osmosis mentality, sug­gesting that "if you hang out with us long enough you're in."

The pastors have begun to reveal just how dramatically they deviate from a truly Biblical fear of God

·        "discover­ing the Bible as a human product," rather than the product of divine fiat.

·        believes the Gospel is found in other world religions.

·        the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, saying it really would not matter if we found out through DNA testing that Jesus had an earthly father named Larry.

Yes, it would matter.

It would mean Jesus Christ was not the sinless Savior.

It would mean the Bible is filled with errors, and Jesus was not God incarnate.

*Several studies suggest that the majority of Americans agree with The commandment of men  philosophies while claiming to believe in the God of the Bible*.

* *

*The Associ­ated Press reported* on June 23, 2008 that a June 2008 report released by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that *"57% of evangelical church attenders said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life*.

In all, *70 percent of Americans with a religious af­filiation shared that view* and 68 percent said there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their own religion."

*This report reveals that a Biblical fear of God is now in the minority in America.

*

 

But what does this really mean?

Although they claim a fear of God that has a form of godliness, more and more people embrace philosophies that actually deny the God of the Bible as well as the authority of Scripture.

Whether adults, teenagers, or college stu­dents, Christians need to turn people from the lie of *The commandment of men * to the True fear of God.