When A Nation Calls Evil Good

Grace can feel like a set of keys, and that’s exactly where people get confused. If God has forgiven me, does that mean I’m free to do whatever I want? We push back on that dangerous idea and get painfully honest about what God actually saves us from: sin, slavery, and the slow self-destruction that comes from celebrating darkness.

We spend time in Isaiah’s “woes” and connect them to real life today: chasing comfort through greed, building our own little kingdoms, and exploiting others while calling it success. We talk about intoxicants and addictions of every kind, not as easy targets but as substitutes we run to when we’re trying to fill a hole only God can fill. Along the way, we draw a bright line between having information and having wisdom, because you can “know” plenty and still miss God’s work happening right around you.

We also zoom out to Israel’s story, the modern reality of Israel’s return, and why we don’t buy the claim that God is finished with His people. Romans 11 gives us a surprising perspective: Israel’s stumbling opens the door for Gentiles, yet God’s plan still moves toward restoration. We close with a Spurgeon gut-punch: God’s woes are better than the devil’s welcome, because discipline is sometimes the mercy that pulls us back into the light.

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Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways and we shall walk in his paths.

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Welcome to Come On Up, the radio ministry of the Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

How often do you hear people say, you know, I've been saved, so I can do whatever I want? God has given me license to sin. Yay! Do you really know God? If you are rejoicing in sin, we don't understand sin if that's the case. What did God save us from? From sin. We were slaves to sin. He set us free to serve Him and to have the abundant life, but we go back to it.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

Have you ever had a job that gave you 24-hour access to the building? Did you ever think, man, now I can go steal money from that person's drawer? Or first thing I'll do is use the boss's markers to write all over the walls. Most likely these things didn't come to mind. Giving you keys to the building did not also permit you to cause trouble. Today, Pastor Carl reminds you that God's grace is like this. You're saved by grace alone. But that doesn't give you an open invitation to keep sinning. And now, here's Pastor Carl.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

They were taken captive by Assyria, they were taken captive by Babylon. And now they were brought back into the nation, restored, but Rome was in charge, and just a few years later, Rome would destroy Israel and they would be scattered to the ends of the earth. Today Israel is back. In 1948, Israel was brought back. An impossible thing to do. They should have been destroyed. They were such a small nation and scattered around the world. They should have disappeared. But they were brought back. And this will happen to them again. Israel is flourishing. The people of Israel in the land of Israel are flourishing. And yet today they're a secular nation. They don't really seek the Lord, which makes me scratch my head. But the same pronouncement is applicable to them today. And this is where replacement theology comes in. So it's like, well, you see, God has rejected Israel and He has now made the church Israel, it's the new modern Israel, and He's done with Israel. But that's not the fact either. He says these things, he gives these prophecies because it's his intent to save Israel. It's his intent to save mankind, isn't it? Whosoever will. And in Romans chapter 11, we get a glimpse of why he allows this to happen. I say then, Romans 11, 11, have they stumbled that they should fall? Did they reject God and did they did they trip over the cornerstone in order that I might destroy them? Was this my purpose to destroy them? Certainly not. But through their fall to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. And this is something I don't totally understand, but this is something about God works all things together for good for those who are called by him and those who love him and called according to his purposes, right? If Israel hadn't rejected the Lord, then the gospel wouldn't have come to the Gentiles. That's what this is saying. So we could praise God for Israel's fallenness, but we can't write Israel off because God still loves Israel and it will indeed restore Israel. Does that make sense? Don't forsake me. Walk in my way, seek me, find me. Let me bless you, let me use you, let me be used by you. So back in our study of Isaiah, he goes into some specifics. Verse 8 he said, Woe to those who join house to house and add field to field, till there's no place where they may dwell alone in the midst of the land. In my hearing, the Lord of hosts said, Truly, many houses shall be desolate, great and beautiful ones without inhabitant. For ten acres a vineyard shall yield one bath, and an homer of seed shall yield one epha. This is the idea of expanding in real estate. And does this mean that real estate is a sin? No. What it does mean if if you're into it for the wrong reasons, and if you're stepping over people, if you're taking advantage of people in the purchasing, if you're charging too much in the renting, if you're not making, if you're not watching out for the people that uh you're dealing with, you're gonna end up with all this stuff and no one, nothing to show for. Even the vineyards are not gonna produce the way that you were hoping they would. And this is everything. Are we building our own kingdom? Are we building up what we think is comfortable for us, what we want to do? Instead of seeking after the Lord, what do you have me to do? Again, real estate is one example here. You can have a successful career in real estate and glorify God in it. God can use it to promote his purposes and to provide places for people to live and to thrive. Or you could be a slum lord and just, you know, sock it to people. And eventually you'll get what you're after, which is all this stuff that doesn't do any good for you. What kind of things do we put in our lives that we think will fulfill us? We stock it full in our lives and then we find it's just emptiness. Emptiness. This is the heart of what the Lord is saying here. Verse 11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may follow intoxicating drink, who continue until night, until the wine the wine inflames them. The harp and the strings, the tambourine and the flute and wine are all in their feasts. But they do not regard the work of the Lord, nor consider the operation of his hands. The Lord loves celebrations, right? His first miracle was at a celebration, at a wedding feast, where he turned water into wine. Wine he intended as a blessing for mankind. Wine he attributes his blood to. When we take the fruit of the vine during communion, we remember the blood of the Lord. So it's special to him. But so easily we corrupt it. And we follow after it. It becomes intoxifying to us. The word tells us to not be drunk, but to be filled with the Spirit of God. But what happens? We go after these things because they provide something to us. They meet a need, they fill a hole at least for a few minutes that we don't think can be filled any other way. And the Lord says, I want to fill that hole. I want to fill that need. Don't turn to the bottle, don't turn to drugs, don't turn to pornography. Fill in the blank. All these addictions that we have in our lives are because we're running after solutions that we're trying to fill and running away from God. God wants to have us enjoy all things that He's given to us with Him. When we're celebrating, are we thanking the Lord? And if we're in an altered state of consciousness, how can we really thank the Lord? We thank the Lord with clear minds. So with our whole being, we can give all our praise to Him with all that He's given us to do. And see the work that He's doing in our lives. As we run to these other things, we don't see God at work. We say God isn't working, He left me. He's not doing anything for me. I'm working all around you, and you don't see it because you're stuck in this idol. Verse 13. Therefore, because of this, my people have gone into captivity. Because they built their own kingdoms, because they're looking for things they can only find in me and other stuff. And the reason they do that is because they have no knowledge. Now, this word for knowledge is not just knowing things, it's the complete word of knowing, understanding, and having wisdom. We have so much knowledge today. Google is our best friend. We can know almost anything. But what do we do with what we know? That's understanding. That's wisdom. And the Lord, through Isaiah, is telling Jerusalem that they are not exercising wisdom. They don't have knowledge. They're just doing what they think feels right, what they want to do. They're not seeking after the Lord. Their honorable men are famished. The rich, important people have nothing to eat. Their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore, Sheol has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure, their glory and their multitude and their pomp. And he who is jubilant shall descend into it. People shall be brought down, each man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled. He's saying basically the mouth of hell is opening up and people are being thrown into it. All these people that are doing their own thing, going their own way. It's God against jubilation, celebration, joy. No. But if you're not rejoicing in him, you're rejoicing in darkness. And when you're rejoicing in darkness, you're headed to death. You're destroying yourself. And in his mercy, he says, people will be brought down. Each of them shall be humbled. Each person, the entire nation will be humbled. And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled. The eyes of the lofty. I think they have it all together. We know everything, and we're going to tell everybody else how they should live as well. But we miss. We miss the Lord. And the Lord, because he loves us and he cares for us, because he loves Israel and He cares for Israel, will humble them. So much better for us to humble ourselves before the Lord than to have the Lord humble us. Amen. But if the Lord is humbling us, let's respond and receive his grace and his mercy. Verse 16 But the Lord of hosts shall call, shall be exalted in judgment, and God who is holy shall be hallowed in his righteousness. He is right to bring judgment against his people. His ways are not our ways. He will be hallowed. He will be set apart. In his righteousness, in his judgment, it's obvious that it's different than what Israel is walking in. It will be made clear. God is not going to change his ways to invite us in. He's going to be who he is. He's going to reveal himself, and we're going to seek after him, and we're going to rejoice in him. But if we don't, he brings judgment. And the things that we have he'll take away. Verse 17 says, Then the lambs shall feed in their pasture, and the waste places of the fat ones strangers shall eat. What lambs is he talking about? The other lambs. Not the lambs of Israel. Others from other nations will come in and take over. They will enjoy the land that God made for Israel. Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity and sin as if with a cartrope. In other words, woe to those who are either proud of their sin or woe to those who don't think that they have sin. In their vanity, they justify the things that they do in their lives. And what they're doing is they're pulling this load of sin behind them. And they don't think it's a problem. Look at all this sin I've done. And yet it's leading them to death. And then, in an arrogant way, they say, Let him who's let him make speed with and hasten his work that we may see it, and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come that we may know it. In other words, this God, if He if we're doing anything wrong, he better hurry up and show us. What did God save us from? From sin. We were slaves to sin. He set us free to serve Him and to have the abundant life. But we go back to it and we get stuck in it. And then we say, well, if God were God, then He'd do this. If I'm really that bad, Lamb, strike me dead right now with lightning. Didn't happen. Uh-huh. So I'm okay. Right? Do you see that? Of course, none of us think that way, right? How presumptuous do we get sometimes? God's never done anything to me. Or, you know, the other side of it is just pure pride. I'm right. There is no God. I'm doing my own thing. If there is a God, why doesn't He just do this? Write it in the sky for me. You remember Jesus when the Pharisees and those were seeking after a sign? Jesus said, I'm not going to give you any sign except with a sign of Jonah. When behind that he's saying, I've given you so many signs. I'm working all around you. I'm fulfilling scriptures, you know, prophecies of the Messiah, right and left, and you're missing it. I can't help you if you don't see what I'm doing. This is an attitude of mocking. This is not seeking after the Lord. This is not the attitude that we saw in the book of Psalms, in that Psalm 80, that says, Lord, we know we're in a desperate place, and we need you to shine on us so that we would be saved. We need you to revive us, Lord. And we need you to change us because we're going the wrong way. The other side of that is, huh, God, he's not doing anything. I'm fine, and I'm going to continue doing what I'm doing. And then judgment falls. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. That's what happens when we don't seek after God and His ways. We make ourselves God and we write the rules. And we say, This is good and this is bad. People today are celebrating abortion. I've had five abortions. Yay! How sick! Oh Lord, have mercy on us. We're calling good evil and evil good. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Pride, arrogance. I know it all. I don't need anybody to tell me what to do, right? Do we seek after God? Do we ask Him to reveal Himself to us? Do we ask Him, is this the right decision to make or not? Am I really seeing what I need to see or am I not? It's embarrassing to admit we're wrong, isn't it? It's hard to humble ourselves before the Lord. But when we realize the Lord is so good and gracious and willing to forgive and teach us what is right and good and noble and the things that lead to life, we should want to run to the cross, to the foot of the cross, to God's mercy, fall at his knees and say, Lord, whatever it takes, change me. Whatever it takes, reveal to me the truth. Woe to men, mighty at drinking wine, woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink. What are you known by? Well, I could drink a whole bud. I could drink anybody under the table. Whatever the what's the phrase for that? And you see that in society today. How many YouTube people, and I don't know how many of you watch YouTube, but there are a bunch of people out there doing crazy stupid things and making lots of money that have nothing to do with glorifying God. We exalt that in our world today. What stupid things can you do? That's great. How much can you drink? How many hot dogs can you eat in a minute? You've seen some of these contests. What's the point? They justify the wicked for a bribe and take away justice from the righteous man. Well, I saw this happen, but the price is right, so I I think I've changed what I remember about this situation. Therefore, because of these things, as the fire devours the stubble and the flame consumes the chaff, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom will ascend like dust, because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. They went their own way, they did their own thing, and the vineyard is dried up, and now it's going to be burned up. They become lawless. Do you know what lawlessness means? You live without the law. You either don't know the law, or you know the law and you're you reject it and you ignore it and you go your own way. You write your own law. You despise the word of the Holy One of Israel. Do you hear the broken heart of the Lord calling out to Israel, saying, Israel, you're my chosen nation, Israel. Please don't let it come to this. Turn back to me, Israel. Therefore, the anger of the Lord is aroused against his people, against his people, his chosen people. He has stretched out his hand against them and stricken them, and the hills trembled, and the carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. He started it, and it wasn't enough. So more comes their way. He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar and will whistle to them from the ends of the earth, Hey. I can't whistle. Yes. Yo, enemies of Israel, come on down. This is your chance to plunder my people. Wow. Surely they shall come with speed swiftly. No one will be weary or stumble among them, no one will slumber or sleep, nor will the belt on their loins be loosened, or the strap of their sandals be broken, whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses' hooves will seem like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind. The enemy has his act together. The enemies of Israel were ready. They had disciplined soldiers, they had horses that were fast, they had weapons that were sharp. They were skilled in it. Our enemy is the same way. He's good at what he does. Are we ready when he comes our way? Are we disciplined? Do we have the full armor of God on? Do we have his mind? Are we connected with the Lord to get our commandments and go in the power of the Spirit and accomplish his purposes? Are we just sitting back living life? And then the devil just sideswipes us and we don't even know what hit us. What happens when we forsake the Lord? Their roaring will be like a lion. They will roar like young lions, hungry, full of energy, ready. To defeat anyone or anything that comes in their path. Yes, they will roar and they will lay hold of the prey, they will carry it away safely, and no one will deliver. Israel will be taken captive by Assyria and taken away. And Jerusalem will watch. And soon after fall this the same thing will fall to them when Babylon takes them away. In that day they will roar against them like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and sorrow. And the light is darkened by the clouds. Lord, shine your face upon us. Shine your light on us so that we may be saved. But we run from the light into the darkness. As we wrap up today, I want to share a quote from Charles Spurgeon. He says, God's woes are better than the devil's welcome. The devil wants to bless you. Did you know that? Before he destroys you. He wants to give you all these fun things in the world that give you some satisfaction. Sin is satisfactory for a season, isn't it? But after you get over that high, you're in a real, real low, aren't you? And you think God has abandoned you? You have conviction in your heart, and the enemy throws condemnation to you, and so you're stuck in the hole. But God, in his grace, he disciplines us, he corrects us. How much better it is to have a God that loves us and corrects us to pull us out of the darkness than it is to experience all the quote-unquote joys, thrills of the world that the enemy uses just to destroy us.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

Thanks for joining us for Come On Up. We've been hearing from Pastor Carl, the pastor at the Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina, as he teaches us about the book of Isaiah. Toward the beginning of this book, the prophet Isaiah receives a vision of God's glory, and he is certain that he and the entire nation of Israel will be destroyed in the presence of a perfect creator. But God chose mercy on Isaiah and purifies him of his sin. This is an illustration of how God had mercy on us by sending his Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. We don't have to be afraid to enter into the Lord's presence because the blood of Jesus has already paid the debt of our sin. We are made righteous and holy because of his sacrifice, which was prophesied to us all the way back in the book of Genesis and reaffirmed in the book of Isaiah. We're called to spread this message of hope to all who will hear it. And that is why this program that you're listening to is on the air. If you'd like to hear more from Pastor Carl, you can do so by visiting us online at themountaincross.com. If you're local to Waynesville, we'd also love to invite you to join us in person at the Mountain Cross. We meet every Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Smoky Mountain Cinema. You'll find more information about our services and our monthly faith film nights on our website. Pastor Carl has plenty more to share from the book of Isaiah, so be sure to come on up to the mountain with us again next time as we seek to learn more from the Lord through his word. Come on up is sponsored by the Mountain Cross, a Calvary Chapel fellowship.