Part Two

 

Verses 14 & 15 are clear - He hates religious ceremonies  - done to appear as if we are obedient,  yet we're not. Though we say many prayers - He will not hear: YES, GOD PROMISES NOT to hear the prayers of those who pray from their minds but not their hearts. How can we change our ways? How can we give ourselves to Him, not our religion which exalts us, not God? God's solution is found in verses 16&17 - Wash, Cease, Learn, relieve and Judge: 

Wash and cleanse your heart through the washing of the Word - applied to your heart by the Holy Spirit. 

Cease to do evil - how?  by

Learning to do well. When we give our Father's Spirit complete access to our hearts, He will teach us how to do good and not evil, how to do what He calls good, not men. We will no longer gather together endlessly while ignoring the oppressed,  the fatherless,  and the widows in our communities  - we will no longer sing endless songs about our loving, all powerful,  compassionate God while not extending His love and compassion to those who need it most:  

To the poor (lacking in love, not just food and shelter)  - we will live our lives, corporately and individually,  outwardly - not inwardly alone. We will care for the fatherless  - The weak, the least  - those who have no one to care for them - yet our Father sees them and cares for them and desires to care for them through us  - His people,  His BODY  - who did nothing but touch and feed and heal people when he (Jesus) walked the earth in obedience to His Father's will! Jesus heard and obeyed His Father's voice to go to the lost sheep of Israel doing good  - preaching the Gospel by demonstrating God's love - not just speaking about it - Can we do any less than obey His call to go into all the world? 

God is crying out in verse 18 to His people today - even as I write this  -  Come Now! Do not hesitate! Do not procrastinate! Now is the time, the appointed time of your salvation  - Let us reason together,  saith The Lord.  Let the Lord speak to your heart - let Him show you the "more excellent way" - let Him free you from bondage to man, from man's fallen ways  - dressed up outwardly to look holy....  Let the Lord free you now by welcoming Him as Spirit  - for where the Spirit of the Lord is - there is LIBERTY! Two choices - Be willing and obedient or refuse and rebel.  To obey you must be willing - your will must freely submit to His  - you must want to obey - from your heart  - refusal brings death  - by the sword - by the words of the Lord's mouth - which cannot be undone - and cannot fail to come to pass  - either He speaks your name now "Obedient One" or later "rebellious son".

Isaiah 1:22  - Remember- one of the hallmarks of Babylon is mixture.  There used to be righteousness in the "Faithful city" - now, it's unfaithful, a harlot, full of murderers -  hear me now - our churches are full of murderers - pastors,  leaders, who kill, steal and destroy the people's destiny - the people's calling in Christ- they make them sit at their feet and call it "faithfulness". They render them powerless and call it "faith" -  They do not raise up spiritual sons and daughters to the Lord but instead commit the sin of Onan. They  "love gifts and follow after rewards" . They love the honor and praise of men but care not for God's respect. They judge not (love not) the Fatherless neither does the cause of the widow come before them ( this is where you pause and weep for yourself,  for your church, for your denomination). 

Part Three coming soon