ISAIAH 55 - "CHOOSE TRUTH"

"I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this?" (John 11:25-26) The next illistration we will take a look at is Hezekiah. Here was a man who had done right in the sight of the Lord, and was a good king over Judah. He had lived his life trusting God for deliverance from God's enemies; he had caused the people of Judah to worship God, and Him alone; and the Lord was with Hezekiah, and he prospered. However, there came a time in his life, where he chose to go against the 'Perfect Will of God', and instead chose his own will; he chose the lie; the lie that says this world is more important than God. 2 Kings 20:1-21:18 gives an account of this change of heart in the life of Hezekiah, and the consequences of believing the lie. When Isaiah came to Hezekiah while he lay sick in bed, Isaiah told him, "Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live". This thing that was done for Hezekiah was not a bad thing; this was God showing Hezekiah grace, mercy and His love for him. But in that moment, what Hezekiah did was count this life more important than God; he believed the lie that the things of this world, our own life and the other things which the flesh lives for were greater than God, and what God had to offer. In verse 2 & 3, we see that Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and pleaded for God to spare his life. What happen to Hezekiah's heart as a result of accepting the lie, instead of believing God? First off, he began to not trust God. After Isaiah told him that God would give him 15 more years, Hezekiah asked for a sign that God would do what Isaiah said. Next, he began to take stock in the things of this world, and all it had to offer; putting the things of this world above the things of God. He became obsessed with the things of this world; so much so that he had to show off his possessions and the riches of his kingdom to the rulers of Babylon. Jesus warns us in Matthew 6:19-21, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Because Hezekiah was holding onto this life, he began to cherish the things of this life, more that the things of God; he began to lay up treasure upon this world; which caused him to be removed from those treasures in heaven. This is much the same that happens in our lives when we feed our flesh, instead of feeding the Spirit. When we feed our flesh, we begin to care more for the things of this life, more than we care for the things of God. We start holding the things of this world more esteemed that the things of God; and our view of God becomes less; even to the point that we forget He is even here; we forget that He is All Powerful, All Mighty, All knowing; and worst of all, we forget how much He loves us and has provided for us. Again in Matthew 6:24, Jesus is making the point that we can not serve God and this world; "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You can not serve God and mammon." Another thing that happens to us, is we believe the lie that this life means more than what God would have waiting for us; and when that happens, our ability to influence those around us towards the things of God is removed. For Hezekiah this lack of Godly influence resulted in a really bad son; in fact, this son became the most evil king that Judah had ever had. Not only did this son not know God, but he despised everything about God. There is consequences in the choices we make, and God wants us to not have to learn by our mistakes; but He does allow us to go through them, when we choose to. There are obvious ways to feed the Spirit, just like the things we use to feed the flesh are obvious. We feed the Spirit by praying, reading God's word, walking in His ways, loving God and denying the flesh; just to name a few. We feed the flesh when we put anything above God in our lives; anything. Let me play out a scenario to you: Let's say your name is Joe, and God comes to you one night and says, "Hello Joe, my son; You have two weeks left to live your life on this earth; so put your house in order." Would you be ever so grateful that God would have pity upon you enough to give you warning; or would you turn your face to the wall and cry out for more time to partake of this world? I think I would be busy, as quick as I could to 'Be Putting On My Sunday Go To Church Meeting Clothes', as they would say down in Texas. Wouldn't it be great if God would give us a clear and definite time that we would be departing. We could get all that stuff out of our lives that could stumble others; you know, the stuff hidden around that we think no one sees; the stuff that people will find after your gone, as they sift through your belongings; "Say it's not so Joe", is not what you want to be spoken of. You could also begin to share to everyone in your life about how important it is to give our lives fully to God; sharing to loved ones about their need for Jesus; making sure they know how much you love the Lord; but without telling them you know that you will be departing soon. You could also make sure that you have forgiven anyone that has ever wronged you; that you ask forgiveness of anyone that you have wronged; and that you owe no man nothing upon your departure. Wouldn't be wonderful to be able to get ready to go be with the Lord, right before we were going to depart? Well; these things that I have just shared with you for Joe to be able to do, are things we can do now to feed the Spirit. Whatever we do for God, to God, in God; when ever we let God move in us and through us; we are feeding the Spirit. Now; when ever we are doing the opposite of these things, we are feeding the flesh. Which means: when we have those things in our lives which can stumble others, those things which we have hidden; when we do not forgive others, don't ask forgiveness of those we have wronged; don't share God's love to others around us; we are feeding our flesh. "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:" (Matthew 7:24)