The Consequences of Ignoring God’s Word

By Pastor Matt Black

08 October 2006
Lord's Day Evening
Isaiah 9:11-17

 

Introduction:  We come to the conclusion of our text in Isaiah 9 tonight.   Stand with me as we read verses 11-17.  Tonight we are going to see the reality of hardness in the heart of man.  We are going to see that there are some people who though they are offered riches will not take it for any amount of pleading.  No forgiveness or riches that are offered in Christ are great enough to persuade them to leave their sin, so they ignore God’s Word, all the while indulging in their own sins.  The title of tonight’s message is “The Consequences of Ignoring God’s Word”.

 

[Stand and read Isaiah 9:8-17]

 

Last week we saw how the people of Israel were asleep and dead to God in their pride.  Their houses were destroyed by the Assyrians, and instead of humbly asking God to forgive them and restore them, they hardened their heart and turned their eyes away from the Lord who had sent the Assyrians, and they acted as if they were invincible.  They were the humanists of their day.  They would not look to the need of their souls, which would have been horribly uncomfortable and sorrowful, but would have brought God’s blessing.  Instead they wanted to act as if God had never revealed Himself to them.   

 

We read in verse 8: “The Lord sent a word into Jacob”.  When God sends a word to you, you had better listen and obey it.  You cannot ignore God without consequences.  Israel (also called Jacob, Ephraim, or the inhabitants of Samaria) was sent this Word, but stamped it “return to sender”.  You cannot turn God’s messages back to Him.  God’s word always has an effect.  God says, My word “shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). 

 

There are two products that occur when God’s word is preached.  It is either obeyed or ignored.  Notice I did not say defied, because if it is ignored, it is also defied.  Most people think that because they have ignored God’s Word, but not outwardly defied it, then they are safer.  Either way, God’s word has consequences always.  It cannot be ignored without consequence or obeyed without consequence.

 

The Consequences of Obedience

For instance, in Psalm 1 we find the Word obeyed and ignored.  Turn over to Psalm 1.  The one who obeys is blessed beyond measure.  The words almost cannot hold the beauty and blessing of God.  Psalm 1:3 says clearly, that the one who obeys God’s Word “shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper”.  The righteous shall shine as stars forever. They are not only remembered, but cherished and loved as God’s dear children for all future ages. 

 

The Consequences of Ignoring God’s Word

But look at verse 4 of Psalm 1.  Here we see the consequences of ignoring God’s Word, “The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6  For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

 

Understanding the Seriousness of our Current Situation

There are some of you here tonight that continue in sin, ignoring God’s Word to you, even though you have more spiritual privileges than any people of any age.  God is at this very moment favoring you with great and extraordinary privileges and advantages.

·         You hold a completed Bible in your hands.

·         You have this Word preached to you in plain, ordinary, everyday language.

·         You have seen God’s Spirit poured out where people have been converted and brought to Christ even this year.

 

And yet there are some here that say, well it is good enough for them, but you continue ignoring God’s Word.  The children of Israel saw many mighty works of God, when he brought them out of Egypt; but we at this day see works that are more mighty and more glorious. 

 

The people of Israel in Isaiah’s time had heard Isaiah’s prophet, and they were held accountable for every message they heard from God.  The Assyrian army was used to destroy them. 

 

Now if God did not hesitate to judge those who had much less knowledge of Christ than we do, how much harsher a judgment will we get? 

 

Turn to Hebrews 10:28-31, “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 30  For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

 

God lets you live.  Under Moses Law, most of us in this room would have already been dead.  God has let us live.  We should all fear greatly because of it.  He has let us live either because by His grace we have responded to His Word, or because He is allowing us to fill up the cup of His wrath.  Verse 30 of this passage has an interesting phrase, “The Lord shall judge his people”.  Here he does not mean His elect as in the family of God, but those who are outwardly attached to His church and who make outward profession of Christ.

 

So God is keeping track. “[W]e must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

 

All will appear.  None are excluded.  At that day we will give account for being those who heard the Word of God. 

 

We can either obey it or ignore it.  And that brings us back to our text.  Look at verse 11.  Israel chose to ignore God, and what did they get? 

 

I.       The first consequence is Inoculation.  Inoculation is to introduce something in small form in order to strengthen the system against that item.  We read in verse 11-12, “Therefore the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin [THE ENEMIES OF REZIN IS REFERRING TO THE ASSYRIANS] against him, and join his enemies together; 12  The Syrians before, and the Philistines behind; and they shall devour Israel with open mouth. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. 13  For the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.

 

 

God gives these people over to their enemies in order to humble them, all the while saying that this was going to happen by His prophet Isaiah.  God gives His word, and if we ignore it, we face spiritual inoculation. 

 

  1. Israel’s situation of inoculation.  Look again at verse 13, “the people turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the LORD of hosts.”  Who was it that was smiting them?  I thought it was the Assyrians, the Arameans and the Philistines!  No, God uses circumstances to get our attention.  He “worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11).  Do you see God in every one of the details in your life?  If you don’t you may be inoculated.  God is either in every detail of life, or He is less than sovereign.  If you see Him as less than sovereign, then you will never fully trust Him with your eternity if you do not trust that He is involved in every detail of your life here and now.  You need to turn to Him who smites you!  He is trying to get your attention!

 

  1. A definition and description of inoculation. What is inoculation? 

 

We are all in danger of spiritual inoculation.  If a person says no to the Spirit of God even though the Spirit has exposed much truth to that person, he is much more prone to continue to say no to the truth in his heart of hearts, all the while he is living in conformity to the outward standard of God’s Word in the church and among God’s people.

 

If a person who has professed Christ continues in sin, God may give him over to the world.  This person may or may not be saved.  The fact is when we claim to know Christ and do not the things that He says, we have made an outward vow to Him, and He must vindicate the integrity of His Word before all.

 

  1. An application of inoculation.  What does this spiritual inoculation look like?

 

You may be here tonight and profess to know Christ, though in your heart you may be lost.  You live day in and day out under God’s Word—you have more spiritual light than almost anyone in the history of the world, and yet you dismiss God’s Word.  You are not gripped by it. And the very fact that you are not gripped by God’s Word even as I speak should make you fear that you could be inoculated against God’s Word. 

 

II.     The second consequence of ignoring God’s Word is a loss of Identity.

14  Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. 15  The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. 16  For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. 17  Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

 

 

  1. The timing. “in one day”.  When the Assyrians overran the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. part of the population was deported, and other peoples from the Assyrian Empire were resettled in Israel. Sargon, the king of Assyria, claimed in Assyrian annals that he carried away 27,290 inhabitants from Samaria, the capital of Northern Israel. The new inhabitants worshipped their own gods, but when the then-sparsely populated areas became infested with dangerous wild beasts, they appealed to the king of Assyria for Israelite priests to instruct them on how to worship the "god of that country." The result was a syncretistic religion, in which national groups worshipped the Lord, but they also served their own gods in accordance with the customs of the nations from which they had been brought. Some Samaritans claim to be descendants of Israelites from the Northern Kingdom who escaped deportation and exile.

 

  1. The tragedy.  Verse 14, “the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, [PALM] branch and rush [REED]”

 

    1. Those who ignore the Lord’s Word will be judged Exhaustively.  “head and tail” signifies the total.  That is, this will affect every part of the person, the life, and the destiny.  There is coming a day when we will be cut off from this world, and at that time God will judge us from head to tail.  He will have a complete inventory of our lives.

 

a.      Our Words: At that time “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36).

 

b.      Our Walk:

Matthew 7:16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

 

    1. Those who ignore the Lord’s Word will be judged Equally.  Both the high palm branch (signifying those of privileged position) and the lowly reeds growing out of the wetlands and water (signifying those of common position) will be judged.  

 

As verse 15 says, “15  The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.”  The ancient and honorable were the esteemed people, and the prophet that told lies represented the common people.  The lying prophet was really just a mouthpiece of the common people. 

 

Look at verse 16, “16  For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.

a.      Here you have leaders that cause people to err.

b.      But look at what it says “they that are led of them are destroyed”.  You alone are accountable for every Word of God you hear!

 

Application:  You cannot blame it on the bad example of a leader!  You cannot blame it on some false teacher!  You must find this out!  Your walk with God is ultimately dependent on a teacher or a leader, but on your personal investment of time with God!

 

So be careful what you listen to.  You must obey every Word of God you hear.  A true Christian is a doer of God’s Word.  A hypocrite is a deceitful hearer only!

 

Application: Of course for us, the timing of this judgment is the Last Day.  We read in Revelation 20:11-12, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”

 

Incidentally, A genetic study concluded from Y-chromosome analysis that Samaritans descend from the Israelites (including descendants of the priests), and mitochondrial DNA analysis shows descent from Assyrians and other foreign women, effectively validating both local and foreign origins for the Samaritans.

 

  1. The legacy.  Look at verse 17, “Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

 

When God says, “I’ll have no joy in their young men”, and I’ll forsake their orphans and widows, God is judging everyone individually.  He says, “every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly.”

 

God sees it, and we shall be judged.  “For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.”  His hand is stretched out ready to strike, and he will strike!

 

Daniel 12:2-3, “[M]any of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3  And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

 

    1. The righteous.  “some to everlasting life”—verse 3 also says, “they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”  Those who are righteous will never lose their identity.  They who in Christ will have an eternal identity—they will “shine as the brightness of the firmament; and … as the stars for ever and ever”.

 

    1. The wicked. “some to shame and everlasting contempt.”  Ignore God’s Word, and you completely lose your identity.  No one will remember you in hell.  You will be forgotten. If you shun the God who offers you salvation, He will forget you forever! 

 

Conclusion: You will give an account for what you do with the Word of God—obey or ignore!  Not choosing is to ignore.  It may be that you are without Christ tonight.  Pray even now that God will have mercy on you.  It is an age of grace.  If you were under Moses Law, most of us would already be dead.  God has graciously allowed you to live.  Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart!