A Nation in Crisis

Sermon OverviewScripture Passage: Isaiah 59:1-4Isaiah 59:1-2 says, “Behold the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; Nor is His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”Our beloved America is a nation in a crisis. The prophet, Isaiah, boldly pointed out the sins of his day; upon a closer look, we can see distinct parallels to the sins of our day.-Bloody hands: “For your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity...” (v. 3)-Lying lips: “Your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity....” (v. 3)-Wicked hearts: “No one calls for justice, nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.” (v. 4)How did Isaiah’s people come to a place where God would not hear their prayers? What brought about bloody hands, lying lips, and wicked hearts?First, the people had been feeding on a diet of deception. Much like the day of Isaiah, poisonous philosophies are being swallowed down by our next generation.Second, the people were caught in a web of wickedness. Satan has a web of evil, and its most terrifying quality is that it is difficult to see. Our youth don’t understand that porn, alcohol, sexual immorality holds them captive by the enemy.Third, the people were trashing the truth. Isaiah 59:14-15 says, “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.” In this illustration, truth lies prostrate on the ground. In America, truth has been knocked down by doctors of philosophy, dishonest politicians, and false preachers.Adrian Rogers says, “The job in America today is to put truth back on her feet.”Apply it to your lifeProverbs 23:23, “Buy the truth and do not sell it.” Pastor Rogers tells us, “Truth is a prize to possess. There is a price to pay, you must buy the truth. You must study it, pour over it, learn it, live it, know it. And you must preserve the truth.”