Prophets like Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah and the rest made significant contributions to humanity, because God communicated His will to them.
On the other hand, when prophets don’t hear from God and seers fail to catch a glimpse of His plans, their service to society is worthless.
When God called Isaiah into the ministry, he learned that his preaching would serve to blind those who see and stop up the ears of those who could hear.
“Keep listening, but do not comprehend;
keep looking, but do not understand.
Make the mind of this people dull,
and stop their ears,
and shut their eyes,
so that they may not look with their eyes
and listen with their ears
and comprehend with their minds
and turn and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9-10)
Jesus is the best example of how a perfect message that is delivered by a perfect individual can have different responses.
- Some people heard Isaiah and Jesus and turned to God with sincere devotion.
- Other people refused to commit to either messenger. They didn’t oppose the message of Isaiah or Jesus, but neither did they wholeheartedly follow.
- People who heard the same message as the first two responses, hardened their hearts. Their spiritual blindness intensified as they increasingly refused to surrender their self-will and arrogance.
It’s astounding that religious leaders, who should have embraced God’s purposes, resisted what God was doing before their eyes. As a result, some of the leaders who heard Isaiah and Jesus became blind guides and led their followers astray.
Be astounded and stunned;
blind yourselves and be blind!
Be drunk but not from wine;
stagger but not from strong drink!
For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep;
he has closed your eyes (the prophets)
and covered your heads (the seers). (Isaiah 28:9-10)
Worthless Worship
Like me, I think every minister can remember a time – or many times – when they simply went through the motions during a worship service. God’s servants are responsible to give their listeners a word from the Lord.
Listed below are some of the ways that I have failed to hear from God on behalf of the people I served.
- Hardness of Heart: A willful and self-centered approach to life results in the inability to hear from God. For example, if our heart is set on a particular ministry objective, and we chose to not consult with God, we won’t hear from Him.
- Sin: We can’t go where Jesus is and stay where we are. If we are captured by sin, we won’t be able to recognize where Jesus is leading us.
- Lack of Prayer: Listening prayer is essential to hearing from the Lord. God generally doesn’t kick down the door to our heart. Listening is essential to hearing from Him.
- Ego: God’s program doesn’t revolve around our ego. If pride in our ministry is of paramount importance, we will find it difficult to hear God’s challenging words.
Over the years, I could plead guilty to all of these obstacles to hearing from God. I am thankful for His grace and mercy, but I also wonder what God could have done with someone more aligned with His purposes.
Here’s how Isaiah described the religious leaders of His day. You may remember that Jesus quoted this passage to His audience.
The Lord said:
Because these people draw near with their mouths
and honor me with their lips,
while their hearts are far from me
and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote,
So I will again do
amazing things with this people,
shocking and amazing.
The wisdom of their wise shall perish,
and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden. (Isaiah 29:13-14)
You may remember the chorus of the popular song by Hillsong Worship.
Jesus, I believe in You
And I would go to the ends of the earth
To the ends of the earth
For You alone are the Son of God
And all the world will see
That You are God
You are God
My wife, Toni, was in charge of our church’s nursery for many years. Like every church nursery worker, she was continually searching for dedicated help.
Once, when she heard this chorus, she said to me: “They sing of going to the ends of the earth. I whish they would start by going up the hall to the nursery and helping.”
The truth is, we can say one thing in song or a sermon, but act in a completely different way when called upon to obey the Lord.
This is a sure fire way to qualify as people who can’t see or hear what God is doing in the world.
A Problem Turned to A Solution
Isaiah called his audience to account with an insightful comment about their behavior.
You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay?
Shall the thing made say of its maker,
“He did not make me,”
or the thing formed say of the one who formed it,
“He has no understanding”? (Isaiah 29:16)
God’s solution to our hearing and seeing problem is to pray from the heart another beloved song.
Lord, You are the Potter and I am the clay.
Mold me and make me, have Thine own way
Lord, I need Your Spirit, Lord, I need Your grace;
help me to run this Christian race.
You are the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me, have Thine own way.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 