Repair The Breach
Repair the Breach
Good Morning,
We, as Americans, have had our heritage slowly and methodically taken away from us. The great founders and framers have been maligned. Our founding documents have been assaulted and ignored. Our national sins have been magnified while our deeds of righteousness have been forgotten. This is a tragic and satanic process with cataclysmic effects. It will be, to quote one vile President, the fundamental restructuring of our nation.
Forgetting or failing to learn of who we are, where we came from, and why certain choices were made will cripple our abilities to plan and implement future decisions.
Isaiah 58:12 “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.”
In Isaiah’s day, he preached about a day to come when some would go back to the foundation of their nation, they would raise up the ideals of past generations and repair the breach or the broken place in the philosophical structure of their society.
Preachers today, and I speak of Baptist men, have failed to learn their spiritual roots. As they develop their ministry, they have failed to honor the old paths, the old men, and most have no idea why the word “fundamentalist” even came into being in the Christian world. (July 1, 1920, Curtis Lee Laws, Convention Side Lights Watchman-Examiner)
Young men, enamored by scholars and tempted by the casual church ambience, have drawn toward reformed theology, or worldly worship, knowing NOTHING of the roots of that philosophy or the reason Baptists were so harassed by reformers. Why was it that Baptists stood so firmly, countless times to their own death? Without that knowledge, religion is adrift with no charts or destination.
We need to know who we are, why we are what we are, why some things matter SO MUCH, and why there needs to be a gruff resistance to any other direction. One simple young preacher said he wanted to redefine fundamentalism. The poor guy was like a five-year-old trying to reinvent a car. He knows there are tires and a motor, but he is tragically ignorant of countless elements that went into the development, safe production, and operation of the vehicle. Yes, this self-appointed youth, set to redirect the course of Fundamentalism, knew about standards, soul winning, and a trust in the KJV (although his loyalty to any of these might be seriously questioned). He failed to learn WHY, WHO, AND WHAT!
Isaiah 58:12 “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.”
In order to properly build what God desires and restore the paths, one must begin with the foundation of many past generations and find the “old waste places” so that he may, with God’s help, rebuild exactly what was there before.
Isaiah saw the trouble, saw the nation going into captivity, and was comforted in the fact that one day, the nation would be restored, the throne would enjoy the seed of David ruling, the Covenant would be made intact again for the Jew, and the paths would be restored.
For the Bride, the New Testament Christian, we too have a foundation laid by the Apostles. We too, can see the preachers admiring the altar of the heathen (Ahaz; 2 Kings 16:10) and sending the plans to our current-day worship leaders to model. We can see the people drift from humble devotion and holiness to a worldly style of life and religious activity. We are watching churches change from being God-fearing and striving for holiness to casual in their Christian beliefs and complacent; captivity is approaching.
We need to reach back to the old ways (the foundations of many generations) and repair the breach. If we do not, compromise will come along with the temptress, Delilah, and with our fundamental hair, will lose our power and spiritual eyesight. The Philistines will laugh at the foundations and the ways of our roots, while we miserably grind at the worldly wheel of contemporary worship.
Pastor