Isaiah’s commissioning was deeply personal and intimate. His call was just between God and him, starting with a terrifying realization of his inadequacies, followed by the atoning power of God cleansing his corrupt sinful nature. So, when God asks this rhetorical question…Isaiah, in obedient faith, freely volunteers himself without even waiting to hear the nature of his commission. Be careful of fervent exhortations from the pulpit, emotion-charged prayer meetings, or passionate pleas from a visiting Evangelist that pressure you into a call God hasn’t already given. The Lord’s commission will be given in the quiet of sweet fellowship…while the others merely offer confirmation and validation of your decision.
Month: November 2024
Ezekiel 3:14 ” The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the Lord upon me.”
We see in Chapter 2 of Ezekiel his commission, to bring what would be a very unpopular message from God. Ezekiel’s new ministry would be painful and frustrating, his audience unresponsive to any of it. But all God desired for Ezekiel was a faithful delivery and unwavering obedience to the message. That’s why here in Chapter 3 we see an overwhelmed, sad, discontented, and indignant Ezekiel literally being pushed ahead by the Spirit of God…its inner compulsion overpowering his will. For Ezekiel knew God’s message that he was to proclaim…but he also knew his countrymen and the consequential rough road ahead.
II Corinthians 12:9 ” But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ “
When we look at Paul’s “thorn in the side” in II Corinthians 12:7-10, we see that God’s grace is greater than any adversity, discomfort, or calamity that could come into our life. That’s because, for Paul and us, God’s promise here can give us strength and encouragement to look beyond the anguish. And thus, we can be like Paul and take a Spiritual view of the tribulations we go through and rejoice rather than beg God to remove the problem. For all we know, these problems could be blessings in disguise…God’s mercy concealed within the depths of our distress; His grace hidden in the middle of our troubles; His love enmeshed in our afflictions. We can then echo Paul’s confident words in verse 10 when he said, “That’s why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
We have come to worship the Living God, the Almighty God, the All-gracious God.
Let us come together as one and praise God. First, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever.” (Revelations 1:18) Just think, without Jesus Christ’s resurrection and new life our lives would be hopeless & doomed. Second, “I am God Almighty.” (Genesis 17:1) Another word for this is El Shaddai…all powerful God. Finally, “For You, O Lord are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You.” (Psalm 86:5) Our God is gracious and merciful to us when we least deserve it. So, with hearts full of gratitude, let us worship our God together.
Isaiah 24: 17 ” Terror and pit and snare await you, O people of the earth.”
We see in Isaiah 24-27 what it called, “The Day of the Lord… the time of judgment on the whole earth and its destruction by God. This section is often called “Apocalyptic”, which is a genre in which something hidden is now revealed. Here, Isaiah holds up before both sinner & saint the clear teaching of “The Day of the Lord”…with every person being judged…especially verses 17-18 which show that no one will be able to escape His wrath. Elsewhere in the Old Testament we see this reference to the great & terrible Day of the Lord in Amos 5:18-19 and Joel 1:15-29. But even in the New Testament it is spoken of by Paul in Frist & Second Thessalonians as a warning of being ready & vigilant for Christ’s return.
II Thessalonians 1:10 ” The Lord is glorified in His holy people.”
Interestingly enough, this quote comes not from Charles Spurgeon, but from his beloved wife, Susannah. “The moment we come into any trial or difficulty, our first thought should be, not how soon can we escape from it, or how we may lessen the pain we shall suffer from it, but how can we best glorify God in it.” The bottom line is, we don’t like to suffer in any shape or form. But life doesn’t care about our wishes… and we all know this – adversity & troubles will follow us throughout our life here on earth. But we also understand that we learn much more in the valleys than the mountaintops. And our focus then should be in glorifying God in the midst of all our sufferings… not trying to avoid them.
God doesn’t bless us because we’re good. He blesses us because He is good.
There is not one of us that are absolutely good, that’s because our motives will ruin it every time. James 1:17 explains this as every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights of Whom there is no variation or shadow…hence, there is no dark shadow side to God. He is consistently good, and matter of fact, God doesn’t even know how to be anything but good. And so, if we call on Him, He will richly bless us with all good things. (Romans 10:12)
Proverbs 11:23 ” The desire of the righteous ends only in good, but the hope of the wicked only in wrath.”
Plainly we can see the contrast of the righteous and the wicked in their destinies here. This is repeated in Job 8:13 which tells us, “Such are the paths of all who forget God; the hope of the godless shall perish.” But for the righteous there is hope… or as I Thessalonians 5:9 says, “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain Salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” When our desire is for the Lord, we will experience happiness & wisdom as we seek for the ultimate plan & purpose in life. But if we rebel against God, the expectation for us is only anger, frustration, rage, and defiance.
II Samuel 2:7 ” Now then, be strong and brave.”
If you talk to any First Responder…if they’re honest…they’ll admit they can be0 afraid. Afraid when they run into a burning building, afraid when they enter a domestic violence situation, afraid when they head into an active shooter 911 call. Our human nature uses fear to keep us safe, but fear can also debilitate us to the very core, impairing our reasoning and weakening our will. Psalm 31:24 tells us to, “Let your heart take courage.” In other words, we need to grasp and hang on to the Lord’s strength as we take confidence and courage in Him and not the perceived danger before us. Remember, courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you.
Jude 17-21 ” But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, ‘In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.’ These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as your wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”
Both Peter and Jude were alarmed at the great number of false teachers that were being accepted into the Church. And just as Peter confronted this apostasy in II Peter 2:1-3:10, Jude also confronted the threat of false teachers using our freedom in Christ and the free gift of God’s grace as a license for immorality. Both warned against these teachers preaching a philosophy called antinomian, which believed that since salvation was by grace alone, the requirements of the moral Law were irrelevant…kind of like having your cake & eating it too. But both Peter & Jude sternly denounced this type of thinking…instead urging the people to grow in their knowledge of God’s Truth in order to bear a firm witness of His Truth…all the while willing to bring back those whose faith had waivered.
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