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All we like sheep have gone astray
If you remember, last week I brought you a very
strong message. Strong in the sense that the
message made us deeply reflect on our
commitment to God, and His work here on earth.
If you remember, the main points of the message
were that we must strive, renew our strength,
and labor for God.
During last week's message I told you that there
were many things that can disrupt our
relationship with God; in other words, there are
many things that can stop us from striving in
holiness; gaining new strength to persevere, and
to continuously work for God, and when I say
work for God I’m not necessarily speaking about
evangelizing with memorized words, but rather
I’m speaking about working for God through our
testimony. As I’ve said on numerous occasions
and will continue to repeat in the future, our
testimony, that is to say our behavior, speaks
much, much louder than anything we say. So
today's topic will be more or less a
continuation of last week's issue. Today we will
examine the reason why we can’t always strive,
renew our strength, and labor for God. And most
importantly, what we should, and must always
keep in mind in order to avoid being stopped by
our enemy. Let’s now turn to the Word of God.
Isaiah 53:6
- All we like sheep have gone astray; We have
turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD
has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Like I always say, in order to have a better
understanding of the message God has for us
today, we will need to conduct a brief history
review. Isaiah lived during the time when God’s
people were divided into two kingdoms. Israel
was the northern kingdom and Judah was the
southern kingdom[1].
What was happening during this time in history
is that Israel had sinned greatly against God,
and Judah was heading in the same direction.
Tell the person sitting next to you: sin is
contagious. Judah was riddled with moral and
spiritual diseases, and the people had
completely neglected God, as they bowed down to
ritualism and selfishness. And because of the
moral depravity, political corruption, social
injustice, and especially the spiritual idolatry
that existed, the people would soon come face to
face with God’s judgment. This is something
that is well reflected in the words of the
prophet as found in
Isaiah 1:2-4 when we read: “…Hear, O
heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has
spoken: “I have nourished and brought up
children, And they have rebelled against Me;
3The ox knows its owner And the
donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not
know, My people do not consider.” 4Alas,
sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A
brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters!
They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked
to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have
turned away backward…”
So because they were unwilling to heed God’s
warnings, and totally change their ways, Isaiah
prophesied that God would deliver them into the
hands of Babylon, where they would be
enslaved. Look carefully as this is something
that is clearly stated in
Isaiah 39:5-7
when we read: “…Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah,
“Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: 6‘Behold,
the days are coming when all that is in your
house, and what your fathers have accumulated
until this day, shall be carried to Babylon;
nothing shall be left,’ says the LORD. 7‘And
they shall take away some of your sons who will
descend from you, whom you will beget; and they
shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of
Babylon...”
I’m sure that many of you are probably
wondering: why do we need to know these things?
The reason why we need to know these few
historic details is because in them we find
clearly illustrated that what we do today, in
one way or another, will affect our future. In
other words deliberately ignoring what God
reveals through His word, and choosing sin over
God, sooner or later causes us to experience
God’s wrath and judgment. So keeping these few
details in mind, let's now explore the verses
that we are using today, and continue with our
study. Let’s now ask ourselves: what stops us
from walking in, or leads us away from God’s
path?
The answer to our question is easily found in
the first portion of the verse that we are
examining today where we read: “…All
we like sheep have gone astray…”
And I want us to closely note that here we are
told “ALL”. Tell the person sitting next to
you: there are no exceptions. What happens is
that for one reason or another, at times, all of
us deviate from God's path. Here we see how
Isaiah compared the people of that time to lost
sheep.
The Bible often refers to believers as sheep,
and our Lord Jesus Christ as our pastor. For
example, in Psalm 100:3
we find that the psalmist says: “…Know that
the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us,
and not we ourselves; We are His people and the
sheep of His pasture…” And in
John 10:14-15
the Lord tells us: “…I am the good shepherd;
and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
15As the Father knows Me, even so I
know the Father; and I lay down My life for the
sheep…” And I want everyone to pay close
attention to what the Lord tells us here when He
said: “…and am known by My own…” Why do
I want us to pay close attention to this detail?
The reason is because sheep have the
characteristic of learning to recognize the
voice of their shepherd. And when a flock of
sheep remains attentive to the voice of its
shepherd, then they don’t lack anything, and are
never in danger. But what are other
characteristics of the sheep?
Sheep are timid and harmless. Sheep are not
vicious or aggressive animals. Sheep are not
fast animals like the Cheetah, nor do they have
great agility. Sheep are defenseless; their only
defense is to flee. Why have I mentioned the
characteristics of this animal? I have mentioned
these characteristics because I want everyone to
realize that a flock of sheep without a shepherd
is easy prey for predators such as wolves,
lions, bears, and others. So when a sheep
becomes isolated from the flock, and its pastor
is not close by, in other words the person who
protects, guides, and feeds a flock, then they
run the risk of being killed by a predatory
animal. And it’s exactly for that reason that
the Word of God warns us by saying: “…Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking
whom he may devour…” (1
Peter 5:8). And this was exactly what
happened to the people of that time, they went
astray, they deviated from God’s presence. And
unfortunately, this is something that continues
to happen quite frequently within God’s people
today. Why does this happen?
The answer to this question is easily found in
the second portion of the verse that we are
using today when we read: “…We
have turned, every one, to his own way…”
Tell the person sitting next to you: “…We
have turned, every one, to his own way…”
What does this mean? A great fact about human
beings is that all of us have different
opinions; all of us have a different thought
process. All of us have our own opinion of what
is good and what is bad. All of us have our own
opinion of what is right and what is wrong. All
of us have our own opinion of how we should act,
and what we shouldn’t do. All of us have
different opinions, right? And this is exactly
what happened to the people of that time, and
what continues to happen in God’s people today.
In other words, the opinions and rules
established by men became more important than
the Word of God, and this is what led the people
of that time, and continues leading a good
number of believers today towards moral
corruption and spiritual death. Why do I say
this?
I say this because if the opinions we adopt as
part of our life are formed and based on the
things of this world and not on God, then they
are worthless. Look carefully as to how this is
something that we are clearly warned about in
Proverbs 3:7
when we read: “…Do not be wise in your own
eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil…”
And I want us to note that the word "fear" used
here, although it can be used to describe to be
afraid or terrified of someone or something, in
the context of this psalm, the psalmist uses it
to tell the reader to revere, honor, and respect
God[2]. Why is this so important for
the believer? It’s very important to the
believer because if we are not honoring,
revering, and respecting God, then we will never
please Him. It’s for this reason that I’ve
repeatedly said that we must take the time to
listen, and perhaps more importantly, heed the
voice of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
But in order to be able to listen and obey God’s
voice, we must first rid ourselves of our own
opinion; we must get rid of the old man. Look
closely at how the apostle said this in
Ephesians 4:22
when we read: “…that you put off, concerning
your former conduct, the old man which grows
corrupt according to the deceitful lusts…”
How can we put off the old man? This is
something we can achieve only when we stop
listening to, or stop the inner voice of the
flesh from speaking. In other words, we strive,
regain strength, and labor for God so that in
this way we will be able to fight against the
demonic attacks that want to destroy God’s labor
in our life. And how can we possibly achieve
this?
The answer to this question is easily found in
the third portion of the verse that we are using
today when we read: “…And
the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all…”
As I’ve said on other occasions, the devil will
try to stop God’s labor and purpose in our life,
and he will attempt to do so by planting
negative thoughts in our mind. Thoughts that
will make us doubt God's presence. And I want
you to know that this is nothing new, the Lord
himself when he was led by the Spirit into the
wilderness had to suffer the same temptation.
Look closely as what I’ve just told you is
something that is well reflected in
Luke 4:9-11 when
we read: “…Then he brought Him to Jerusalem,
set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said
to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw
Yourself down from here. 10For it is
written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over
you, To keep you,’ 11and, ‘In their
hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your
foot against a stone’...” How many of you
can see the devil’s intention here? The devil
wanted to cause doubt and confusion in the mind
of the Lord, and he attempted to achieve his
goal by using the Word of God. Note that he
said: “…For it is written…” What was the
devil quoting here? The devil was quoting
scriptures. The devil was quoting
Psalm 91, which
deals with the protection that believers find in
God, but he specifically cites verses
11-12 that say:
“…For He shall give His angels charge over
you, To keep you in all your ways. 12In
their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you
dash your foot against a stone…” Why have I
made so much emphasis on our thoughts?
I have made emphasis on negative thoughts, and
in the confusion that the devil wants to produce
in our life because these things, in all
instances, will stop us from laboring for God,
and separate us from His presence. However, when
we trust God, when we allow the Holy Spirit to
labor within us, then these negative thoughts
disappear. Those thoughts that stop us, those
thoughts that rob our peace, and those thoughts
that separate us from God's presence fade before
His holy and divine presence. Look carefully as
to how this is something that is well
illustrated in Psalm
138:7 when we read: “…Though I walk in
the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You
will stretch out Your hand Against the wrath of
my enemies, And Your right hand will save me….”
Tell the person sitting next to you: God’s hand
saves you from your enemies. But how can we
completely trust this? The answer is easy. We
can fully trust that God’s hand protects us and
defeats our enemies when we never stop trusting
that “…the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity
of us all…”
Jesus gave his life as ransom for you and me[3],
He suffered death on the cross, which even today
is recognized as the most cruel and painful
death that exists. Jesus bore all our sins so
that we could now have the privilege of being
called God’s children[4].
In conclusion; many of us find ourselves
facing difficulties in our personal life, many
of us have to make decisions that will affect
our future, and we haven’t the slightest idea of
what to do. But this is something that happens
when we fail to realize that the Lord is leading
us; the Lord shepherds us. Through His word, the
Lord leads us to where we belong and where He
wants us to be.
The people of that time didn’t
heed God’s warnings. The people of that time
didn’t pay attention to what God said, and
therefore suffered greatly.
The Word tells us: “…All we like sheep have
gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his
own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the
iniquity of us all…” Without exception, on
occasion all of us have gone astray, in other
words we have deviated from God's path. This is
because we tend to lock ourselves in our own
opinions, which at all times causes us to stop
listening to God’s voice. But all this can be
avoided, and the attacks from the enemy can be
defeated when we remember that: “…the LORD
has laid on Him the iniquity of us all…”
[1] Wilkinson & Boa Bible Handbook
[2] Blue Letter Bible Lexicon
[3] John 3:16
[4] John 1:12-13
© Jose R. Hernandez |
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