Bad Leaders Produce Unacceptable Worship (Isaiah 29)

Isaiah 29 (1-8, 9-14, 15-24)

"The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught'" (Isa 29:13, NIV).

Isaiah 28-33 continues the discourse (which begun in Isaiah 7) of the foolishness of trusting the nations instead of the Lord, by dealing particularly with the specific political situation in Judah: Would Judah trust God or not? The same approach was seen in ch. 13-27 where particular nations were addressed (13-23) before addressing the world as a whole (24-27).

An Altar to the Lord in the Heart of the Land (Isaiah 19-20)

Isaiah 19–20

"On that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the center of the land of Egypt and a pillar to the Lord near her border" (Isa 19:19, HCSB).

Background:

• In both Canaan and Egypt the storm god was depicted as riding on a cloud (Isa 19:1).
• At least twice in Egypt's history a period of total political breakdown followed a period of absolute monarchy. Isa 19:2 seems to reflect knowledge of this tendency.
• Egypt was easily the most idolatrous nation in the ancient Near East. Only surpassed by modern Hinduism.
• Egypt was famous for its ancient wisdom. The first known collection of proverbs comes from Egypt (1900 BC?).

(3+1) Purposes of the Church

Edmond P. Clowney (pastor & theologian), explained the purposes of the church in terms of:

1) Ministry to God
2) Ministry to believers
3) Ministry to the world

1) Ministry to God: Worship. In relationship to God the church's purpose is to worship Him, for God has destined us in Christ "to live for the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:12). Worshiping God fulfills the major purpose of the church with reference to God. I was surprised to hear/learn that Worship means to ascribe worth (ship) to God (Isaiah 6:3; Romans 11:33-36).

2) Ministry to Believers: Nurture. According to Scripture, the church has an obligation to nurture those who are already believers & build them up to maturity in the faith (Colossians 1:28), and not just to an initial saving faith.

3) Ministry to the World: Evangelism & Mercy. Jesus said, "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). This is the primary ministry the church has toward the world, together with a ministry of mercy even toward those who are ungrateful, wicked and selfish (Luke 6:26).

4) Keeping these 3 purposes in Balance. All 3 purposes must be emphasized continually in a healthy church. A strong church will have effective ministries in all 3 areas. Attempts to make 1 of these 3 purposes primary will always result in some neglect of the other 2. For example:

• emphasizing worship results in inadequate Bible teaching, shallow understanding of Scripture, immature believers
• emphasizing edification of believers results in spiritual dryness due to little joy in worshiping God or telling others about Christ
• emphasizing evangelism results in immature Christians who emphasize growth in numbers but with less genuine love for God and others

Don't you think this is a short simple explanation of the purposes of the church?

Blessings,

Ben