Garry spoke this morning from Isaiah 28:11-20. Isaiah prophesied at a time when things may have seemed outwardly prosperous, but God was pointing out problems and issues to His people which they largely ignored. It is not always easy to see beyond the surface of situations, but half-truths can be very deceptive. God had provided His people with a resting-place, a refuge (Is 28;12), but it was all too easy for rulers to make their own agreements with neighbouring countries and to rely on their leaders for peace and prosperity. This refuge would ultimately not prove reliable (Is 28:15b). God’s provision of a cornerstone was enough to keep them safe, but their false refuges would not last. (Is 28:17-18)
Ultimately, our lives need to be built on truth, not half-truths. The truth can be uncomfortable; it can be painful and can jar us, but it is real and we need to build our lives on reality.
We need truth in us. So often, we accumulate wrong beliefs gradually, adding our own definitions and ideas to God’s word (see Matt 15:1-2). We can have wrong perspectives, majoring on minor issues (see Matt 23:23-24) until we have lost sight of God’s heart. Half-truths act as a prison, locking us in, but the truth has the power to liberate us (John 8:31-32). As we accept God’s truth and live by it, it has the power to free us.
We then need to share the truth. People generally are either materialistic (believing that there is no God and that life can be reduced to what we can experience with our senses, often swayed by evolutionary teaching) or spiritually sensitive (but still perhaps having little idea what they actually believe.) Both groups of people need to know the liberating truth of the gospel.
God’s truth in us has the power to change how we live and how others live. If we are satisfied with cosy half-truths, it’s like being in a bed that’s too short for us or covered by blankets that are not big enough (Is 28:20). Half-truths don’t really help. What is needed are zeal and fervour based on truth (see Rom 12:11-12). Heb 3:7-8 reminds us that when we hear the Holy Spirit speaking to us, we need to respond and not delay. God wants us to ‘keep on the boil’, to respond to Him, to embrace the truth, to live the truth and to face the truth. This happens as we read God’s word daily, being washed in it, and as we meditate on it so that it flavours us and colours all our responses, as we seek God in prayer and listen to what He says. We may not be able to do everything, but we are responsible for what God puts into our hands to do. Truth working in and through us will have an effect on our world.
