Isaiah 53

But it was for our sins he was wounded, and for our evil doings he was crushed: he took the punishment by which we have peace, and by his wounds we are made well. We all went wandering like sheep; going every one of us after his desire; and the Lord put on him the punishment of us all.

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Ray Stedman says it is hard to understand how anyone can read this great chapter and not see Jesus in it. Jewish people believe that it does not refer to Jesus of Nazareth. But, believe the nation of Israel is the "Servant of Jehovah."

The primary reason for their feeling is that they expected a different kind of Messiah. The Jews formulated a vision of a Deliverer who would come with military might and power. He would overcome the Roman tyrants, set Israel free, and fulfill the promises of God to make it the chief of the nations of earth. Because our Lord did not fulfill those promises, they have maintained that this prophecy does not apply to him.

But, He will...!

I understand everybody doesn't "get it". Isaiah asked "Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" It's not rhetorical. It's a real question.

Will we believe it?

The prophesy clears up some of the misunderstanding. Jesus came, originally, in a very unassuming way. There was nothing to distinguish him as being special. He wasn't "Hollywood Handsome". So, naturally...we looked and said "He's nobody!"

So, when He began fulfilling His ministry...people took issue with Him. He was rejected...for the most part...and actually despised by some. I've thought about this and wondered...why?

Well, let's remember, this was God's plan, not ours. We needed a redeemer and God needed a suitable sacrifice. If Jesus would have come in all his natural majesty and power there is no chance He would have been rejected and crucified.

We would have had a great eternal king but, we would also have still had our own sins to bear. So, we killed Him and in the process, God heaped all our sins on His son...just as He had done for thousands of years through the death of lambs and bulls.

You see, Jesus didn't "replace" the sacrificial rituals". He fulfilled them...once and for all. This had to be accomplished to satisfy God's thirst for justice. "Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness for sin."

We should be thankful He came as a meek servant. It's how he accomplished his purpose. On the stage we call it "Method Acting". It means the actor attempts to "become" the person He is portraying, not simply "act" like it. This method is far more convincing. It convinced the religious leaders of His day that they could kill Him. And, "it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer".

If they only knew...

But this isn't where it ends. Even if it did, we would be blessed. Life can be difficult but...we are always forgiven. We are promised eternal life...in God's presence. We don't need Christ to come again in power and glory.

But the world does...

"Then, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God."

The world will recognize its disobedience and deserved punishment for rejecting Christ. I'll bet some will ask for a "do over" and I suspect Christ will say "I'm not interested in doing that again." Until that time, you and I have the opportunity to be part of the solution. By our lives and testimony we can be instrumental in turning hearts and minds toward God.

Each time we're successful is one less person that will have to face judgement.

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 52

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace,

who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

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This is Isaiah's third call to "WAKE UP!"

The call is for Jerusalem to "get up" and prepare itself for a blessings. The blessed promise is simply that persecution and destruction will end..."The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again... my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it.

Yes, it is I.”

The promise means many things for us. When the future fulfillment of this prophesy unfolds; when Jesus returns, He will come to comfort us and redeem us from the troubles of this world. Furthermore, He will do it in the full light of day. The entire world will notice He has come to save us. He will bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see

the salvation of our God.

   

Everything will change...

 

We will finally be holy. We will finally live in safety. We will finally live in the presence of Christ.

 

Wake up! Our God reigns! Are we prepared?

 

Live boldly out there today...

 

 

Isaiah 51

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth."

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This chapter is not for the weak of heart...it's for those who pursue righteousness.

And, by "pursue righteousness" I mean those who passionately and enthusiastically chase after vindication...to the point of exhaustion. This is a pretty small cohort. Most people I know who call themselves Christians are neither passionate or enthusiastic about their faith. Neither do they feel the need for any vindication. They feel just fine about themselves.

Vindication: Absolution, acquittal, exoneration.

For what?

The very first indication that God is knocking is the sense that something's wrong. Something's missing. The problem is, we can't ignore it because it's nothing missing around us. It's within us. We rarely recognize what it is...we only know it's making us sick.

Sick enough to seek help...

The symptoms are anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, unworthiness, fear, anger, alienation. And most doctors want to give you a Xanax. All that will do is mask the symptoms. It won't heal the disease.

You see, the illness is not a "mood disorder". It's a "genetic disorder". It's called "SIN" and it has damaged our spiritual chromosomes to the degree that any connection to our Father, God is no longer identifiable. We 're orphans.

And we'll die alone...

What many of us did...when we experienced that spiritual sickness...was reach out to God and ask for healing.  And, God said "look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth."

Allow me to suggest that any medicine we take to cure ourselves of SIN must begin with Abraham. Anybody who tells you there is more than one road to God is lying. There is one road. It begins with Abraham and takes us all the way to Christ. If it doesn't...we're taking a placebo. We might feel good about taking it but it won't do a thing for us. You see, "Abraham believed God and righteousness was credited to him". That's it...nothing more.

Good start...

Now, believing God has some specific connotation. Hebrews 11:8 tells us what was so extraordinary about Abraham's faith: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” I'll tell you where that road went. It took Abraham straight to Jesus and his inheritance was a reconstruction of his spiritual DNA that connected him back to God.

Can we step out...in faith...and follow God where ever He leads? If we've never been sick, we won't understand...

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 50

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?

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This is one of the most stinging questions in all of scripture...

We're angry (or, disappointed) with God so we accuse Him of walking away. Life is tough because God isn't dependable. We're left all alone to figure out life. No wonder things are so ugly!

It's not our fault...it's God's fault!

Oh, yeah? Prove it. Show anything that can prove God walked away from us rather than the converse. I understand the lie protects our own ego but it doesn't move us toward a solution to the problems we face.

Our lives are in turmoil because of our own sin. To make matters worse, when God did reach down to help there was nobody home. When He called us nobody answered.

Who abandoned whom?

But...there is One who has not been rebellious. Jesus says "I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced."
 

And this obedient Servant of God will fulfill what is required of Him. He will confound all the wanderers and redeem all the seekers. Trust me...He knows the difference. A wanderer is one who journeys aimlessly through life...guided by the brilliance of their own wisdom. A seeker is one who determines to find the source of eternal light and dwell within it's proximity. Jesus says "Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires." 

This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment".

Hold this analogy close. We are wandering in a dark world. The light we hold is inadequate to guide us home. We can spend eternity insisting our light will get us there. Or, we can ask God for a flashlight.

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 49

"And now the Lord says—he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength—he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

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These next few chapters, 49-52, provides perhaps the clearest picture in the entire Bible of the ministry of Jesus.

Jesus, himself,  said "before I was born the Lord called me...but I said I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”

Chew on this. These are some of the very first words we ever hear from the mouth of Jesus .
1. God called me
2. I obediently responded...in vain
3. I've accomplished nothing
4. The results and rewards are up to God

An interesting perspective: Clearly, Christ was involved in the life of Israel millennia before His incarnation. It would have been a spiritual involvement but it was Jesus...just like the Holy Spirit who lives in us today is the perfect presence of Christ.

I've never really thought about it that way...and, what does it mean?

It means the ability to know and understand God personally during the time of Babylon is established fact. After all, none of us knows God unless the Holy Spirit reveals Him to us. Granted, this was before Pentecost so the lack of personal indwelling would have been a disadvantage. It does, however, help explain how men like Isaiah, or David, or Moses, or Job could have such a solid conviction of their redeemer.

It's because they knew Him...

It doesn't mean everybody did...not unlike today. Jesus looked around at Israel and said "I've accomplished nothing!" But that was just one point on the time/space continuum. It didn't mean Jesus was a failure. It simply meant the unfolding plan of God had not yet come to fruition. The more I consider this, the more I like it. It means all of the mighty acts of God from Creation to the New Heaven are woven into an integrated destiny. It's been Jesus all along.

And God will reward His Son just as Christ said. The reward did not come without sacrifice. Calvary broke the power of sin forever and redeemed a disobedient nation. But...that was too small. Eventually all of the Gentiles were included as well.

Aren't we blessed!

In some ways, the rest is academic. The work has been done. The goal has been achieved. We are now simply waiting to realize the promise. It will come. You know all those fierce warriors of evil that hold us captive to sin? You know all the peace and joy they have stolen from us? We are promised deliverance. "Captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save...then all mankind will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

This whole marvelous truth tells me I should quit looking around asking "WHY? and should start looking up asking "WHEN?"
 

Live boldly out there today...

Isaiah 46 - 48

“Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born.  Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you".

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Chapters 46, 47, and 48  all deal with the same subject, the historic fall of Babylon.

God hates idols. Their only purpose is to turn attention from God. And, God will have no rivals. He is a jealous God. “With whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared? Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales; they hire a goldsmith to make it into a god, and they bow down and worship it. They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they set it up in its place, and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move". Somebody got the bright idea that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob wasn't good enough. They needed to make their own. So...what's the best they could do? They could get the most precious elements known, gold and silver, and hire the most accomplished artisans to fashion a god worthy of worship. What was the result? a hunk of metal that sits there...inert. It can't even move unless the carry it around.

Pretty pathetic effort, if you ask me...

Let's understand that God is not intimidated by this foolishness. The gods of Babylon were not a threat. They can't compete for God's omnipotent place above creation. After all, in His own words, God says "I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me".

End of discussion. But, the idols still have to go.

I believe there's an important reason for God's intolerance. Man is ingenious and inventive. If those idols are not killed dead, man will continue to grow and imagine greater and more significant gods. God will not allow this to happen. Again...not because He is threatened but...because the more sophisticated our gods become, the harder it is to resist them.

In Chapter 47, when we look forward to the Babylon of Revelation we see far more potent idols...magic spells, sorcery, and astrology. None of these idols sit around like dead weight. These idols are inside our heads. They empower mere humans to cross the great divide. Although not chronologically new, these idols represent a new opportunity to interact with time/space dimensions otherwise denied to us.

"To boldly go where no man has gone..."

If that isn't an intent to become God...I don't know what is...

These are idols more familiar to us. Have you ever seen The Long Island Medium?  Theresa Caputo claims to be a medium who can communicate with the dead. Each episode focuses on Theresa as she conducts private and group readings with both believers and skeptics. Can you imagine how powerful this idol might be for a person who desperately misses a loved one?

Witchcraft is another idol. The promise of "spell-casting" that allows us to carry out mystical actions against (or, for) others. So, if I could punish my boss for his wicked behavior toward me I could truly be tempted. It's justice.

Or astrology. based on the premise that there is a relationship between teh stars and events in the human world. Ultimately, Astrology is part of the ancient heresy, Gnosticism, that taught there was a way to capture the mind of God and know the secrets of all creation. Our own pride makes this idol very attractive. So, Gods says “Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror".

Or, not...

As with any idol, "the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves".

Chapter 49 helps us understand why God is so intolerant of idols. Its because eventually they blur the distinction between man and God. Therein is the substance of apostasy. Why do you suppose God went to all this trouble...announcing future events...to a stubborn people? This section of Isaiah closes out with some challenges from . God says  I told you these things before they happened so that you could not say, My images brought them about; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.
Without God saying "My servant, Cyrus..." the Israelites would have somehow believed they escaped from captivity under their own power. God came right out and asked the question. "Which of your idols told you all these things?" So now, idolatry had assimilated itself into their very beings. they could  no longer distinguish between reality and make believe.

The false god is no longer sitting over there as a dead weight...the false god has moved into our lives.

So...we live lifes of desperation. Nothing goes as we plan. Our lives are filled with confusion. Why? because we have come to believe we are the masters of our own destiny. God says "if only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be blotted out nor destroyed from before me.”

I'd like that...but how? God says "Leave Babylon!"

Leave our idols and return to the one true God  Its a commitment we need to renew daily.

 

We don't need to be told what our idols are. We all know...if we're honest...

 

And think about this. If we get distracted from the one true God and follow idols, who pays? We do, of course. We pay eternally. Our disobedience doesn't cost God a thing. But, since He loves us, He want's to rescue us from ourselves. That redemption cost God mightly.

Live boldly out there today...

 

Isaiah 45

“This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut"

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Ray Stedman suggests this is one of the most remarkable confirmations that God is the God of history. He is in control, whether men know it or not. He regulates the affairs of nations and takes full responsibility for all that they ultimately do, even though they do not recognize this. What an encouragement this ought to be to us when we see the high and the mighty of earth strutting about in vain ambition, making great promises of what they are going to do. Let us recognize that they only can do what God says they can do. 

Cyrus was a powerful and wealthy man. If we don't pay attention we'll think the bad guys are getting away with something. "What is God up to?"  God says it's for the sake of Israel my chosen. He says. "It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the Lord Almighty.” Cyrus had to have been thinking..."why on earth am I doing this? I'm getting nothing out of it!"

The bad guys are never winning...

If humanity can get our head around the idea that God is orchestrating history for his purposes and our benefit...rather that argue about His right to do so...I believe we would take an entirely different approach. When humanity is willing to acknowledge the mighty acts of God as "the mighty acts of God" we will honor Him as God. At that point we will understand when He says “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other...Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength."

It's a lens through which we all must look if we hope to find purpose and meaning in life. Even so...many don't...which is foolishness. After all, as C.S. Lewis suggested, "To argue with God is to argue with the very power that makes it possible to argue at all." How foolish man is to attempt that!"

Live boldly out there today...