“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.” Isaiah 58:8
Wow, is it possible that before we already show up somewhere, that our righteousness can precede us? Let it be so Lord. Let it be that no matter where we go, that no matter who sees us, they already know we are clothed in your righteousness Lord.
“Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God.†Isaiah 45:14
This scripture is speaking of something that will happen in the future, more precisely it is during the millennial reign of Christ. In the meantime, since Jesus said “The kingdom of God is within you,†Let’s live such a life in the Spirit that others around us will say, “Surely God is in Thee.â€
“Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.” Isaiah 45:8
Even if you have been a believer for several decades, it doesn’t hurt to be reminded again the heavenly order. First, let hearts be open to salvation, then let righteousness spring up. The order has never changed, first is salvation then comes righteousness. Man can never through righteousness obtain salvation.
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.” Isaiah 42:1-3
This prophecy is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ and His bringing salvation to the Gentiles. Praise God, for I am a Gentile, a saved one. The Spirit of God plays the major part in salvation. Verse one says that the Spirit was upon God’s servant; again that servant is the One and only Jesus Christ. It was the power of the Spirit that brought forth salvation to the Gentiles. Verse three talks about a “smoking flax.” That is what happens when a fire is about to go out. It represents a life that is soon to be snuffed out. It represents Gentile’s desperate and holding out for truth, desiring salvation, but they have not much hope left. Church, there are millions of these smoking flax people all around us. We must not let the last flicker of hope go out. The answer again is found in verse one. It is a Spirit led, Spirit filled, Spirit powered believer who can cause the fire to burn. So much of what the church offers today is worldly and fleshy and void of the Spirit. No doubt many who use worldly means to reach the lost have sincere intentions. But we must understand that it is the world that smothers the fire, it is the absence of the Spirit that deprives fuel for the fire. “Quench not the Spirit.” (I Thessalonians 5:19). The Spirit does not need our help; we need the help of the Spirit. The Spirit of God just needs someone to perform through. If we quench the Spirit there is no other way for us to “bring forth judgment unto truth.” This generation like never before needs to be confronted by a Spirit filled people. You must be one.
“And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” Isaiah 4:1
It is similar in our day. We have people, who want to cover up their reproach and take on the name Christian, or even worse, take on the name of the Lord, but never surrender to the Lord. The only thing that can ever take away a man’s reproach is the blood of Jesus Christ.
“There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.” Ecclesiastes 5:13
There is no one who knows this better than American Christians. Our nation is so blessed with prosperity, but it has only been to our own hurt. Materialism and the life of ease has captured the hearts of multitudes of Christians. This has hurt the body of Christ and grieved the heart of our Lord who was the one who blessed us in the first place. Yet, we can still rise out of this; we can still come back to our first love. Let’s not hurt and hinder ourselves anymore.
“There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going: 30A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any; 31A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.” Proverbs 30:29-31
And even more amazing than a King whose troops are with him is a shepherd (pastor) who is likeminded with the body and the body is like minded with him. Look out devil
“The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: 16The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.” Proverbs 30:15-16
In spite that it is harder than ever to find a good church these days, there are just some Christians who will never be filled or satisfied. They jump from church to church or from this doctrine to that doctrine, and yet never find what they are looking for. More than likely, their problem is that they refuse the living water of God to satisfy them. They look for other people and things to satisfy, but they never look for God.
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35
You wouldn’t think people who were redeemed and set free from their sin by love, would find this that hard to accomplish.
“These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.” John 12:16
Our understanding of the word of God will be impaired if the Lord is not glorified in our life.
