TELL US ONLY SMOOTH THINGS!

God has a message for the contemporary church and it is found in Isaiah 30.

“What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the Lord. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances (enter into relationships) not directed by My Spirit. . . . For without consulting me you have gone down to Egypt for help. . . . You have tried to hide in his shade” (Isaiah 30:1-2, NLT)

I have written several times in the last couple of years that I believe we are moving into a very stormy and turbulent period, not just for the church but for all of mankind. Yes, there may be momentary respites from the coming storm cycles in business, finance, weather and world affairs but no observer can deny that serious storm clouds are gathering.

A few days ago I read an article in the New York Post in which they asked, “Why has there been a rash of suicides among some of the brightest and best financial executives in the world?” The article, written in the early part of March, detailed that since January 1 of this year there have been eight (8) suicides among key financial workers, and seven of the eight have been under fifty years of age.

As I prepare this article, the world has been baffled by the disappearance of a Malaysian passenger jet with 239 people on board. Russia is amassing troops on the Ukrainian border after annexing Crimea and thumbing its nose at the rest of the world. China is beginning to awaken and is making its strength known as a major player in business, finance and military might. The U.S. continues to sink under the weight of a massive, growing debt and America’s status as the world’s most important nation is eroding before our eyes! On Saturday, March 22, there were at least nine earthquakes in the state of Oklahoma that registered between 2.2 and 4.0 on the Richter scale . . . Oklahoma!

The stormy days are increasing in frequency and will progressively get more intense as time passes. After Jesus described many of the events that would lead up to His return for His bride, He described these events as birth pains (see Matthew 24:8).

I know that messages like this are not popular with most of today’s church. The majority of messages given in contemporary churches are on subjects such as “how to cope; how to have a happy and fulfilled life; how to be successful; how to be free from fear.”

God spoke to Isaiah and gave him a message for a people much like the crowd in today’s American and Canadian churches. Here is the message God gave him for a rebellious people (church):

“Now go and write down these words.
    Write them in a book.
They will stand until the end of time
    as a witness
 that these people are stubborn rebels
    who refuse to pay attention to the Lord’s instructions.
 They tell the seers,
    “Stop seeing visions!”
They tell the prophets,
    “Don’t tell us what is right.
Tell us nice [smooth] things.
    Tell us lies.
Forget all this gloom.
    Get off your narrow path.
Stop telling us about your
    ‘Holy One of Israel.’” (Isaiah 30:8-11, NLT)

The word translated “nice” in verse eleven is translated “smooth” in the original. The rebellious O.T. Israel (church) wanted only to hear smooth things. In essence, they were saying, “We don’t want to hear anything that would convict us of our bad behavior; we don’t want to be challenged to change or to repent; we don’t want any convicting messages that hit us like a bump in the road.” Isn’t it interesting that we have a popular TV preacher running around saying, “Because you repented at salvation, you never have to repent again.” That is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “Tell us nice/smooth things—tell us lies.”

Smooth messages are not going to get us ready for the hell that is about to break loose on the world. We need God’s men and women to call us back to the place in God where we should be, and for many of us this means that we need to repent of our coldness and indifference. We don’t need lies and happy messages . . . we need the Word of the Lord delivered to us with directness, love and hope. Hope is the confident expectation that God is in charge and that no matter what we are called to face, He will be with us (see Psalm 23:4).

In Isaiah 30 God went on to say,

“Because you despise what I tell you

And trust instead in oppression and lies,

Calamity will come upon you suddenly—

Like a bulging wall that bursts and falls.

In an instant it will collapse

And come crashing down.” (Isaiah 30:12-13, NLT)

But for those who will listen God has an answer for the coming catastrophe

“In returning to me and resting in me will you be saved.

In quietness and confidence is your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15, NLT)

“Returning to me” means to repent of the previous course of action, and to return to their original place of faith and trust in the Lord. The Jewish people had begun “seeking shade/shelter” in Egypt; in other words, they were going to the world for help instead of seeking the Lord. The word of the Lord is to stop going down to Egypt and return to seeking and trusting Him!