It's the Christmas season and this chapter of Isaiah concerns the unfortunate choices of King Ahaz of Judah. But, as is the case in much of Isaiah and the prophets, it is woven with an abundance of verses regarding the coming of the Messiah. This chapter is no exception.
We're coming in on the close of our discussion in Isaiah 53. Today we're homing in on the end game of Jesus' work on the cross.
We're still in Isaiah 53. We're discussing God's wrath. His anger. But did you ever consider that the driving force of His intense anger is His intense love. Think about it. It's not a far stretch to think of your own children and the anger you'd feel toward any harm that would ever come to them. My dad told me I'd never understand love until I have my own children, and that I'd not hesitate for an instant to stand in the way of harm, even if it meant my life. He was exactly right. We tend to forget that God is a person. He just happens to be The Person.
And He loves us. For almost everyone, when life's circumstances seem overwhelming the question usually arises, 'Why is God allowing this to happen?' Hopefully this series might help in getting some perspective.
We're looking at Isaiah 53 today. There are way too many zero's you have to add to the probability that Isaiah's prophecy could ever be fulfilled. But it did. And there's so much to learn.
We are continuing our discussion from last week in Isaiah in our effort to understand the full impact of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.
Many of us remember the exact incident when we "gave our life to the Lord". We now had our guaranteed security, on our way to heaven for sure and certain. It's a scary proposition. I've heard so many say, "It doesn't matter what I do, what sin or sins I commit. From now on I'm guaranteed my salvation". That kind of attitude frightens me beyond description. A one time "prayer of confession" is the beginning of a lifetime commitment of love and obedience. It's the beginning of a journey, not an end in and of itself. We've been guaranteed that Jesus paid the price on the cross. He did the work of bringing peace between sinful man and Himself, and Jesus continues to do the work, every day, every moment. We yield and He gives us the continued ability. Yes, we may fail from time to time, but He stands ready to wash us clean, every moment, every day.
We actually had someone say this to us when we lived in Salt Lake a number of years ago. It was during the 2007-08 financial debacle. In our discussion he asked us what's the worst and we replied we could go bankrupt! "So what's the worst that can happen?" he responds. "We could end up living in the car!" "Thank God; you have a car".
How do you respond to that kind of counsel when you're feeling hard pressed. Bottom line is that we knew he was right. We forgot who was in charge. |
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