Who has believed our message? Easter Series Part 2
Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. Isaiah 53:1-2
Centuries before Jesus was born, God was preparing His people for the Coming One and synthroid sale online the new thing which He was about to do in the earth.
Who has believed our message?
What message? It was the message revealed throughout Scripture, particularly in the Messianic prophecies; and up close, Isaiah was referring to the message about the Suffering Servant introduced in chapter 52—the Servant who would be high and lifted up and greatly exalted (see Isaiah 52:13 and http://www.firstofallpray.com/?p=6250).
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
This was the next question asked by Isaiah. It is safe to say that the arm of the Lord is revealed to those who have believed the message. After all, the New Testament declares that we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand (see Romans 5:2; emphasis added). In other words, because you believe, God has introduced you to His grace and has revealed His arm to you. What you believe is of utmost importance; your eternal destination depends upon it. Both the Old and New Testaments agree concerning this.
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot…
Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (see Luke 2:52, NIV). But Jesus mainly grew quietly, in the secret place, before God.
…and like a root out of parched ground…
Prophetic voices had ceased in the land ever since the days of Malachi, over four hundred years prior to the birth of Christ. The very time into which Jesus was born was parched and http://www.biocide.es/comprar-priligy-en-las-palmas/ obscure. The Galilean region where Jesus was raised was under Roman occupation; it held no mystique or glory. His family—Joseph and Mary—were of humble means; although both could trace their lineage back to King David, the mundanity of the ensuing generations had leached the glamour out of the more recent branches of the family tree—Joseph was but a lowly carpenter and Mary was merely a young mother. And Jesus was but a Boy growing up in an obscure time, in a parched region, to a nondescript family.
He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him…
As the people of God awaited the advent of the Messiah, they envisioned that He would appear on the scene as a glorious King, arriving in the regal power of majesty and commanding instant respect and acquiescence. Surely, only such a Man could put Israel back on the map and bring recompense upon all of her detractors. A young Man from a tiny village and straight out of the carpenter’s workshop was the last One they were expecting. Although their Scripture clearly stated that the Messiah would have no stately form or majesty that they would look upon Him, nevertheless they expected Him to be more impressive than the young Man who had just started preaching around Judea…
…nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
Recently I read an entertainment article about the dashing good looks of the actors who had played the role of Jesus on stage or screen throughout the years. A photo-essay accompanied the article, and indeed, those men were quite the heartthrobs.
And yet Scripture is clear; you’d never peg Jesus to be the Messiah from His yearbook photo. As a matter of fact, His appearance lacked the “it” factor so valued in cultures—including ours—throughout the ages. The attractive quality that first drew Israel and sweetenedbynatureblog.com order cialis new york then the world to Jesus had nothing to do with His looks; it was not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life (see Hebrews 7:16). It was the life of God flowing through Someone who otherwise seemed absolutely unremarkable. This is what attracted the multitudes to Him.
Jesus emerged from a quiet, hidden upbringing during an obscure time, in a parched region, from a nondescript family, with an unimpressive resume, and bearing an unexceptional appearance. And this was the perfect will of God.
As you live your life, don’t dismiss the plain, the common, and the everyday. God delights in using unremarkable people, places, and situations.
Jesus proved it.
Dorothy
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29
Read MoreThe Suffering Servant—Easter Series Part 1
Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were astonished at you, My people, so His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many nations, kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; for what had not been told them they will see, and what they had not heard they will understand. Isaiah 52:13-15
As I was researching the prophecy in Isaiah about the sufferings of the Messiah on behalf of mankind, I discovered something I never knew before. I learned that there are four sections in the book of Isaiah commonly known as “The Servant’s Songs”. They are:
- Isaiah 42:1-4 about the chosen Servant
- Isaiah 49:1-6 about the mission of the Servant
- Isaiah 50:4-9 about the steadfast, obedient Servant
- Isaiah 52:13-15 through Isaiah 53:1-12 about the suffering Servant
Jesus was that Servant. He was the chosen Servant (see Isaiah 42:1). He was the Servant given the mission to redeem Israel and all the nations of the earth (see Isaiah 49:6). He was the obedient Servant even in the face of being struck and having His beard pulled out (see Isaiah 50:5-6). And He was the suffering Servant, submitting unto death, even the death of the cross (see Philippians 2:8).
Behold, My servant will prosper…
God’s Servant would prosper. This kind of prosperity had far more to do with prudence, wisdom, and spiritual impact than it did with acquiring great wealth. However, as you view the span of twenty centuries since Jesus’ death and resurrection and consider all of the souls He has since rescued from a fiery, destitute eternity—millions upon millions of us—possibly billions—each one of us is a bounty credited to His account. His scale tipped over a long time ago, and more and more souls are still being heaped up upon it every day. He has indeed prospered.
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
This verse speaks of the honor and exaltation this Servant would so richly deserve. Ironically, it also speaks of the manner by which He would die—high and lifted up on the cross at Calvary. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14; see also Numbers 21:8-9).
Just as many were astonished at you, My people…
This indicates both the historical hatred toward the nation of Israel and God’s miraculous intervention time and again—in the face of that hatred—on their behalf.
…so His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men.
Like the race to which He was born, Jesus would be hated. His appearance, or visage, would be marred more than any man to the utter disfigurement of His face. His form—His shape, outline, or figure (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H8389&t=KJV)—would likewise experience disfiguring beatings to a far greater extent than that sustained by any man. And all of this took place after His arrest and before He even reached the cross.
Thus He will sprinkle many nations…
This was His mission. His blood was shed on behalf of many nations—for Israel first and for the rest of the world as well—for whosoever would believe on Him.
“Sprinkle” is an interesting word. The word used here is not a gentle, delicate thing such as I received when I was “baptized” as a seven-month-old—a bit of water was sprinkled on my forehead as I grabbed at the minister’s black-rimmed glasses. No, the Hebrew word is nazah and means to spurt and spatter as well as to sprinkle (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H5137&t=KJV). Think opened arteries. They don’t sprinkle. They spurt. Opened veins ooze—not a little, but copious amounts of blood.
As Jesus’ blood spurted and spattered throughout His agonizing trial and crucifixion, nations were being sprinkled by His blood. The way was being inaugurated for whosoever would believe in Him to enter through the veil—that is, His torn flesh—to be cleansed from their sin and receive everlasting life (see Hebrews 10:19-20).
…kings will shut their mouths on account of Him…
The day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (see Philippians 2:10-11). On that day, man’s agendas will cease; man’s wisdom will be silenced; kings will shut their mouths. Everything will be summed up in Christ (see Ephesians 1:10).
… for what had not been told them they will see, and what they had not heard they will understand.
This gospel must be preached to all the nations (see Mark 13:10). There may be individuals among the nations who never hear; others will be among those of whom Jesus spoke: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (Matthew 13:13, NIV); the truth just doesn’t register with them. But a third category of humanity is the group spotlighted in this verse—those who did not know the gospel, but upon its entrance into their lives, they both see and understand the good news of salvation. Many of us are in that group.
Every man, woman, and child who has ever lived throughout the earth’s long, rolling generations, will one day see and understand the truth about the Servant who came to suffer and die for them.
May God help those of us who are privileged to know this truth to live our lives with one main purpose in mind—that multitudes more will see and understand the message of the Suffering Servant—Jesus—on this side of eternity.
Dorothy
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. John 3:14-15
Read MoreJames 4:17—The sin of omission
Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17
Remember when James wrote in chapter 2, “For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery’ also said, ‘Do not commit murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law”? He was referring to two of the more recognized “sins of commission”, adultery and murder. The base word of “commission” is “commit”. The sins of commission are, therefore, “action” sins—sins you commit. Very often, the discussion of sin focuses on the sins of commission.
However, James refers to the “sins of omission” in verse 17. The base word of “omission” is “omit”, which means to leave something out, to neglect to do something, or to leave something undone. When I told my pre-algebra students to do numbers 1-20 for homework, but to omit #s 16 and 17, they reveled in that omission. They loved the word “omit”.
Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it…
If my students knew to do 1-20, omitting 16 and 17, but instead did 1-15, omitting not only 16 and 17, but #s 18, 19, and 20 as well, they did not get a pass. Their unauthorized omissions were counted against them. No excuses, no questions asked. You see, they knew to do those problems, but chose not to do them. I never said, “Oh, honey, you meant well; that’s OK.” Because it wasn’t.
James wrote very clearly: Anyone who knows the right thing to do and yet doesn’t do it…
…to him it is sin.
This greatly expands our view of the field of sin. How about that Scripture that keeps nagging at you, shining light on something you need to attend to or adjust? If you blow it off, you’ve sinned—the sin of omission. No excuses. No questions asked. Ever sense the leading of the Holy Spirit tugging at your heart to give a certain amount of money to a friend in trouble? Again, if you dodge it, you’ve sinned. No excuses. No questions asked. What if you’re in on a conversation among Christians and the topic of another believer comes up—and the expertly sharpened tongues come out? You know you need to step in to stop it, but you don’t. You’ve sinned. No excuses. No questions asked.
And you walk away each time a little less confident, a little more dejected, feeling weighed down by the load of your omission. Join the club of the redeemed who’ve blown it—we’re all members. It’s at times like this that we so desperately need to go before the Lord for mercy.
Simon Peter opened the door to denying the Lord by shrinking from declaring what he knew to be true about Him after Jesus’ arrest. He was snared by the sin of omission. You’ve heard the story. Here’s the tail-end of it:
But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly (Luke 22:60-62, emphasis added).
That was the best thing that could have happened to Peter under the circumstances—to meet the gaze of Jesus. When you feel disappointed in yourself, deflated, and embarrassed about your omission, that’s when you’re catching the Lord’s eye. Through your sense of conviction, He’s helping you to acknowledge the omission and is leading you to repentance. This is what was going on in Peter when he went out and wept bitterly.
But God didn’t leave Peter in that bitterly remorseful state. After Jesus rose from the dead, an angel instructed the women at the tomb, “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you’” (Mark 16:7, emphasis added). Peter’s omission had left him feeling disgraced and isolated, unworthy of the Lord he had denied. But here, the singling out of Peter was for honor, not shame. As for you, when you acknowledge your omissions to the Lord, He will lift you up from your place of defeat as well.
Be proactive. Practice yielding to those inward promptings of the Holy Spirit. Apply those Scriptures the Lord lays upon your heart. Do that right thing you know to do, and do it with all your heart. You will grow in wisdom and the fear of the Lord, and those sins of omission will become fewer and further between.
You will never regret omitting the omissions!
Dorothy
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock…Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. Matthew 7:24, 26
If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. John 13:17
Read MoreJames 4:13-16—Boasting
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. James 4:13-16
Our generation is probably the most calendar- and clock-driven generation to ever exist on the planet—and things don’t look like they’re changing any time soon. Because of this, I wonder how James would write this portion of his letter if he were alive right now.
Whenever I leave the house I think about this section of James as I tell my cats when I’ll be back—not that they can tell time, mind you. “I’ll be home in two or three hours, by the grace of God,” I say to their whiskery stares, adding something like, “And you know how gracious He’s been; He’s not about to change now!” I say it this way because I believe that it is His will for me to return safely home; He’s been so good about protecting me in potentially disastrous situations in the past, and I actively trust Him to continue.
But James wasn’t writing about that. The key to understanding his thought process concerning these four verses is in verse sixteen: “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.” He was not directing believers to avoid making advance plans; he was simply letting them know that he was being knocked over by the stench of the fleshly, boastful arrogance oozing from their conversations about those agendas.
Have you ever found yourself in a “testimony competition”? You know—the kind where one person shares what God did, and then another pipes up with a “Well, yeah; but get this!” and proceeds to outdo their neighbor’s story of blessing? It can go on and on without anyone realizing they just dismissed someone’s encounter with God as trivial. Something which on the surface appears to be a glorious conversation turns into vying for bragging rights—about God, of all things!! When that competitive nature kicks in, watch out! Wonderful testimonies can quickly deteriorate into a showy “flesh-fest”.
I’m not saying don’t share your testimonies—absolutely not! What I am saying is this: before you share, savor your neighbor’s blessing from God. The Lord came through for them. That’s worth valuing! And then check your heart. Are you hoping to top them? Then hold your thought. A well-timed testimony is like apples of gold in settings of silver (see Proverbs 25:11); on the other hand, a testimony shared to pump up your “spiritual resume” is the same as seeking your own glory—which really isn’t glory at all (see Proverbs 25:27).
This kind of testimony competition is similar to the situation to which James was referring; however, instead of boasting about past victories, these folks were bragging about their future.
James gave his readers an example of their arrogant boasting when he said, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’” He didn’t mean for them to stop traveling, to quit doing business, or to cease making a profit; nothing is wrong with those things. What James sought to expose was this: They were showing off. They were focusing on what big shots they were.
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
I do not believe for a second that James was instructing believers to be morbid about their life-expectancy, either. I do believe, however, that his aim was to jolt them out of their habitual boasting with the stark reality of the unpredictability of life. He intended to refocus their sights—off of their self-perceived awesomeness and on to finding out what God had to say about things. Instead of boasting, he was saying, ask the Lord what His will for you is.
But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
Whether it’s about your plans, your abilities, your status, or anything else you may use to one-up others, James pegged it all as arrogant boasting. All such boasting is evil.
Be very aware of your motives. Let the Holy Spirit shine a light on what’s rolling around on the inside of you when you start to get competitive while talking with others. Ask Him for help with your part of the conversation—what you should share, when you should share it, and with whom you should share it. He will surely train you in the fine art of listening to Him when conversing with others, and He will help you to stay on top of those unruly motives.
Dorothy
It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glory to search out one’s own glory. Proverbs 25:27
He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. John 7:18
Read MoreJames 4:12—Who are you to judge your neighbor?
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? James 4:12
The Lord God is the Judge. He is the Lawgiver, and all just laws find their origin in Him. Lawlessness, the refusal to submit to righteous laws, has been at work for centuries according to 2 Thessalonians 2:7. This rebellion seems to be swelling to a crescendo in our time; wherever you look, you’re likely to see its effects.
And because of the prohibition stated time and again in the Bible about judging your brother, all too often the church world feels like it’s been painted into a corner in regards to addressing cultural decay. Christians think they are not allowed to call sin what it is—SIN—for fear of judging someone.
Ezekiel 33:1-9 is clear. Believers, as watchmen, have a responsibility to warn concerning the approach of wickedness. The New Testament urges us to be ready to snatch folks out of the fire, having mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh (Jude 23). God’s standards apply to everybody. And His standards won’t budge, despite shifts in popular cultural thought.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 declares, “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” You see, evil is evil; when you are called to refrain from judging others, it’s the person you’re not to judge; you absolutely have the right to discern sinful behavior.
It’s what you do with your discernment that is the issue here.
If you observe your brother stealing, you have the right—and the responsibility—to see to it that the thief and his theft are justly confronted. When you see the decaying morality of the culture creeping into the church—even into your own circle—you have the right and the responsibility to address it.
However, to rail against a brother or a sister is not discernment; it’s judging. When you feel the need to let others know how off someone is; when you desire to bring down the good name of a ministry, a preacher, or an individual Christian; when you’d rather see someone suffer and be disgraced more than you long to see them restored, you have abandoned your place and are assuming the role of judge—a role reserved for God alone.
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The way you respond to perceived sin or error in someone else’s life is huge to God. Due to the fact that you and I don’t know everything about everything, we must be very careful to watch over our hearts when we think someone else is off-base. Have you considered that your discernment might not be fully accurate? Have you reckoned with the fact that you weren’t created to discern every motive of another person’s heart? Have you faced the fact that whether your discernment is accurate or not, your name is not “Holy Ghost”?
What are you doing with your discernment? Each of us must give an account before God for how we handle the perceptions, discernments, hunches, and observations we pick up about others. Each of us, likewise, is accountable for how we guard our hearts and words when faced with someone else’s indiscretions or vulnerabilities.
It has been said that the person who bothers you the most needs you the most. James wrote, “For we all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2a). John wrote, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). Anytime you discern error or sin in someone, ask yourself this: How would I want to be treated if others perceived that I was in error or sin? Treat your brother and sister the same way you would want to be treated. If you refuse, remember this: There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
May our discernment be true and our responses pleasing to the Lord.
Dorothy
But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. Romans 14:4, emphasis added
For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:13
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