Month: October 2019

• 53. A Peaceable Habitation

Isaiah 32:18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

God promises heaven in the afterlife and heaven on earth in this life. The paradise life with God in heaven is described as peace, quiet and safety: “peaceable habitation,” “sure dwellings,” and “quiet resting places.” Everyone seeks a place where there is peace and quiet. We need to live in a home of safety and comfort. 

God created such an idyllic home for His creatures in the beginning; it was called the Garden of Eden. However, sin, disobedience and rebellion destroyed access to such a wonderful paradise. The Fall brought the curse; part of the curse we live with is stress and strife. We will never escape it until we enter into the Kingdom of God. We may enter the Kingdom now by faith, but at the same time we still live under the curse. We live in two worlds at the same time. The stresses of life will not be taken away, and we cannot fully enjoy the Resting Place of God’s presence. We wait in faith for The Day when the Enemies are removed from life and the curse is taken away.

Genesis 1 and 2 is restored again in Revelation 21 and 22. The promise is certain to be fulfilled for God’s people: they shall dwell in peace and safety again, according to God’s original intention and eternal purpose. This is the promise. Enter into that Place now by repentance and faith; then wait in faith for the full realization of the promise after the general resurrection of all bodies.

While we wait in faith, we enjoy the present hope in the heart. The mansion Jesus prepared for us is in the human spirit where God dwells today. We may enter into that Prepared Place any time we need to. There is a place of peace and quiet rest that is as near as our heart and our mouth. When we confess and believe Jesus, peace rules and guards our hearts and minds. Peace exists alongside the curse. We don’t need to believe the curse: we see it and feel it every day. But we do need to believe the promise of peace: we don’t see it, but faith makes it real.

• 52. Peace and Assurance

Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.

God can promise peace, quietness and assurance forever because of righteousness. Righteousness works peace; righteousness effects quietness and assurance forever. The righteousness of God is a gift of grace given to all believers in Christ, for it is earned by Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Righteousness is free, final, total, and eternal, received by faith. This righteousness is the righteousness of God, granted to us on account of the merits of Christ. Righteousness is absolutely required for entrance into the kingdom of God. Heaven is barred to anyone or anything that is not righteous and pure.

The righteousness we have is an alien righteousness; it is alien because it is not inherently ours; it is outside of us. Therefore, it is certain; there can be no doubt since it does not in any way depend on us or on anything in us. It is alien, but it is ours by grace; it belongs to us. We can claim the righteousness of God as our own. Therefore, we have absolutely met the requirements for entrance into the Kingdom where God reigns, and we can live there forever. 

Righteousness is all we need for life now and life forever. And it is also a force that is actively working for our good. First, the work of righteousness shall be peace. We enjoy peace with God, peace among people, and peace in our soul. We yearn for peace, and the good news is: we have it. “We have peace with God through Jesus Christ.” Second, the effect of righteousness is quietness and assurance forever. The Holy Spirit uses the gift of righteousness to quiet and still our troubled hearts. He grants the assurance of everything we need and seek. And it is forever. Within every human heart is a knowledge and an aching for eternity. We innately know there is more than just this life and death. The freely gifted righteousness of God assures that we are in that eternity. Eternal life is ours; that is quietness and assurance. The work and effect of righteousness gives us a promise we can live with.

•  51. Judgment and Righteousness

Isaiah 32:16 Then judgments shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.

God promises judgment and righteousness, and the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. We could not by ourselves believe that our sin is judged at the cross and that God declares us righteous, but the Holy Spirit convinces us that it is true. Now we believe the promise. 

The wilderness is the emptiness of our hearts and the meaninglessness of our lives; into this inner desert God judges the sin that causes it. We believe that our sin is judged definitively at the Cross of Christ, and so the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin so that we repent, and He convicts us of judgment so that we believe. The fruitful field of our souls remains in righteousness, for it is the righteousness of God earned for us and graciously given by Jesus, and so the Holy Spirit convicts us of the righteousness of God; we believe it and so we are. When we are accounted righteous the heart becomes a fruitful field producing the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc.). There is more abundance and beautiful fruit within us than we will ever see, until we see Jesus face to face. Then we will know as we are known.

We cannot prove that sin is judged and forgiven; we cannot prove that we are righteous; we cannot prove God and His promises. However, we see by faith, and the Holy Spirit convinces of the Truth. We receive the Gospel mixed with faith, and the truth sets us free.

God promises Judgment: our sin is judged and we ourselves are not judged; we are saved and accounted righteous. Judgment is a good thing, when bad things are judged. Judgment of sin makes us righteous, and that is a good thing. If we do not see our sin judged on Christ, or we do not allow it to be so, then we must bear the judgment of sin by ourselves; and that would be a bad thing. But there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus our Lord.

•  50. Spirit Poured Out

Isaiah 32:15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.

The Holy Spirit was poured upon us from on high on the Day of Pentecost. This promise was fulfilled, and it continues to be fulfilled every day in the life of believers ever since. The figurative image of a poured out Spirit is the picture of the wilderness becoming a fruitful field and the field looking like a forest. The image is one of fertility and abundance. This is a metaphor for the spiritual fertility and abundance of the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in the believers’ lives and in the Church. Since we can’t see the spiritual world with our physical eyes the Spirit gives us mental images of something that we can see. We have seen deserts and fruitful fields and forests. Now we transfer that picture to the spirit within the heart: what was dry, empty and parched has become fertile and abundant. This is what it really looks like to the eyes of faith, faith that comes through hearing the Word of Christ. We should be overwhelmed and thankful. If we could only see what happened to us in Baptism!

It looks like a miracle; and it is. What a difference it makes when the Spirit is poured upon us from on high; we go from drought to fruitfulness, from emptiness to fullness, from darkness to light, from ugliness to beauty, from sinner to saint, from life to death; and other Biblical images that are promised in Scripture. When we were baptized the Spirit was poured out; when we receive Holy Communion the Spirit is poured out; when we hear the Gospel the Spirit is poured out. Whenever we repent and believe the Spirit is poured out.

We are in desperate need of a daily outpouring. We just don’t always realize it because we don’t want to believe are so dry, empty, parched, hungry, thirsty, and poor in spirit. But the Spirit uses life experiences along with the Word of Law to convince us that life without God is no life at all. The Spirit pours Himself upon us through the Gospel to open the eyes to see the desert within and receive the refreshing rain of Life in the Spirit. The really good news is that this poured out Spirit is always ready and available. The Spirit then prompts us to avail ourselves of the outpouring, The promise is realized again and again.

•  49. Cast Away Idols

Isaiah 31:7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.

Every sinful human being has idols. Everyone makes his own idols. It is a sin. Anything that distracts from worship, trust, and attention to God alone for any good is an idol. Every idol leads us away from God and from good. For this reason our lives end up in a chaotic, confused mess. The First Commandment is still the First Commandment. Having other gods always leads to sin with all its consequences. Every sin is a result of, and evidence of, idolatry and unbelief.

But there is a promise for all sinners, for all who make idols: Every man shall cast away his idols. When the Lord has drawn us to Him and we are converted to faith in Jesus Christ we begin to trust in Jesus alone, other gods crumble, and we cast away the idols we have made. This will happen “in that day,” which mean the Day of the Messiah, the Day when Jesus the Christ comes to rescue us and bring us into the Kingdom of God, the Day of the Gospel of the New Testament; the day in which we are living is “that day.” 

“That Day” is a continuous process of sanctification and spiritual growth until the Lord finishes what He started in us, the day of our death and resurrection when we shall be changed. When Christ returns That Day will arrive and we will live forever without idols, for God will be all in all forever. Sin and self will no longer get in the way of God giving and our receiving of all the wonderful gifts and blessings God has waiting for us. The Joy of the Lord, into which we will then have entered, will be so awesome that we will never again want anything but God. God promises that One Day we will be idol-free. What a glorious day!

• 48. Defend, Deliver, Preserve

Isaiah 31:5 As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.

The Lord promises to defend the Church (and each individual Christian), and He will deliver the Church, and He promises to preserve it. The Holy Spirit “calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”

Jerusalem is the invisible Church on earth, the whole body of believers in Jesus Christ of the New Testament. We don’t see this activity going on, but that doesn’t mean it is not there. We have this promise: the Lord is defending the church against all Enemies within and without. The Enemy is constantly and subtly deceiving believers with false ideas, false teaching, and false doctrine, attempting to keep God’s people away from the saving truth of the Gospel of life. In the face of deceitful teachings the Spirit is defending us with the pure Word of the Gospel in order to keep us in the one true faith.

The Lord is always delivering us from the threats and attacks of the Enemies of the soul. Sometimes we see and feel the dangers and threats; sometimes we don’t. Either way, He is there to deliver. The Lord hears our prayer to “deliver us from evil.” Bad things happen to the individual believer and to the body of Christ, but He delivers from the evil of them. He promises to deliver and keep us in the faith until the end. No matter what we endure the Lord says we will endure it and come out on the other side of the “evil” with our faith intact. We are always being delivered and He is building our lives on the Solid Rock. We have a Deliverer; we have nothing to fear.

The Lord promises to pass over our Church to keep, protect, and preserve our life and connection with The Life. No matter where we are or where we go or what we are going through, He is always near to pass over and preserve. The Destroyer is intent, but he cannot enter the place where the blood of the Lamb is sprinkled. The blood of the innocent Lamb is sprinkled over our hearts so that the Evil cannot come, Enjoy your life under the protection and preserving of the God who died and rose for you.

• 47. Salvation and Strength

Isaiah 30:15 For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.

The promise of salvation and strength is conditional: it is conditional on repentance and faith. If you return to the Lord and trust in Him, that is, repent and believe, then you will be saved and you will find strength. Repentance and faith is always the condition and the means of entering into the kingdom of God, being saved, and receiving eternal life. John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth announced the Kingdom; “The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.”

Repentance and faith does not cause salvation and strength; the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cause. Repenting and believing simply receives the free gift, already earned and given by Jesus. God does it all: He even gives us a repentant and believing heart. When the Holy Spirit works repentance and faith in the heart through the Gospel we own the promise. We have salvation and strength.

In returning and rest you will be saved. Jesus pronounced, “Come unto me…and I will give you rest.” Coming to Jesus is returning to the Lord, for Jesus brought us back to God the Father where we belong; He bought us back = He saved and redeemed us. Coming to Jesus is resting on the everlasting arms. Strife and striving is gone. We are no long tired and weighed down with sin and guilt. Coming to Jesus is quietness and confidence, for there is nothing left for us to do. We can be confident simply trusting in the finished work of Christ. Coming to Jesus is not only resting and trusting; it is also where we find strength. Spiritual strength is the ability to cope with the struggles of life and overcome. Coming to Jesus is to cease striving and know that He is God: we have no more unrest from wondering if I am doing enough good works or whether I have done the right thing. Worry not; Jesus is taking care of it. We can rest in confidence. The arms of Jesus are always open and welcoming: Come! Return! I have salvation and strength for you.

• 46. Joy in the Lord

Isaiah 29:19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

The Lord will increase the joy of the meek, and the poor will rejoice in the Lord. Jesus announced the Kingdom of God with the Good News like this in Matthew 5: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” These “blesseds” are promised for the meek and the poor. The meek and the poor include us, regular people who are spiritually humble, lowly, and poor. With Jesus’ proclamation this Isaianic promise comes true. This promise is for me: I am among the meek and poor, if I admit I am a poor, miserable sinner. For me there is joy and rejoicing. When I hear the Gospel of forgiveness, life, and salvation I am filled with joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength. I can rejoice in the Lord always.

Even though we feel the emotion of joy commonly enough, the Joy of the Lord is not so easy to explain. Spiritual joy produces emotional joy, but it is much deeper and permanent than the material joy of Christmas morning or the joy of falling in love. The joy of forgiveness, deliverance, salvation, and new life is abiding and beyond the temporary joy of new things and pleasant surprises and the emotions of loving and being loved. 

The joy of salvation is so great that even God Himself and the angels of heaven rejoice when one sinner repents. Every time we repent and believe the Gospel we experience joy and give joy to the Lord. That kind of joy in the Lord may be ours any time and in any circumstance, whether we feel it or not. We have that joy even when we feel depressed and sad for one reason or no reason at all. God lifts our spirits, but we also need to realize that God is pleased with us and His heart bursts with joy when we joyfully receive His gifts of salvation. We bring more joy to the Lord when we repent and believe than when we do a good work or a kind service for someone.

When we believe we have joy; when we believe God’s love and grace again and again the Lord promises to increase our Joy in the Lord.

•  45. Hear and See

Isaiah 29:18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.

The deaf will hear and the blind will see. These prophecies were fulfilled during the ministry of Jesus the Messiah. This prophecy and the miracles of Jesus are also pointing to the spiritual world; in the spirit we hear the words of the book, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we see the light and the truth. When we hear and see Jesus we come out of silence and darkness. The eyes of faith see. Ears and eyes are opened to the heart when we hear the gospel and see Jesus. We hear with faith and we see with the eyes of faith.

We may stop our ears and cover our eyes in willful resistance to the love of God, but when the Gospel is preached we hear the truth and see the light. This promise we have received. The words of the book enlighten the eyes of our hearts. We see and understand spiritual truths, and we are saved for eternity. We need this promise because we are spiritually blind and deaf. The Holy Spirit, through the Gospel, opens the inner eyes and the spiritual ears. “I was blind, but now I see.”

Everything comes into focus; everything needful is understood. When clarity and light flood the soul everything makes sense; we are overwhelmed with joy. Using our own reason and strength brings nothing. Physical eyes and ears, by which we learn about the world around us, cannot see or hear spiritual life and truth. Empirical science cannot provide the answers we need; spiritual and eternal life and hope can only come through Jesus Christ. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 

We will do well when we receive healing for deafness and blindness. The more we read the Word and hear the Gospel the clearer we see and the louder we hear. Jesus heals: believe the promise.

• 44. A Marvelous Work

Isaiah 29:14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and  wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

The Lord promises to do a marvelous work among His people: this He did when Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again. This work of Christ is marvelous in many ways, the most marvelous is that He is our salvation and eternal life. That God could become a human being to live and die and live again for us is a wonder in itself. That God could die is a marvelous wonder, that God would die in our place is another marvelous wonder; that we could have undeserved grace, life and forgiveness is a wonder that we should not take for granted.

The wonder of Christmas and the wonder of Easter, the wonder of Baptism and the wonder of Holy Communion, and the wonder of the Almighty, Eternal, and Creator God coming so close to us so as to live in us is marvelous. Creation is a marvelous work; Re-creation in Redemption is even more marvelous. The work that God did for us is marvelous; the work that God does in us is even more marvelous. “When I in awesome wonder behold…” all the works He has done for me out of unending love for me I am floored by His “Amazing Grace.”

The wisdom of the wisest men on earth will perish, and the greatest understanding of the wisest men on earth will pass away with the heavens and earth. God’s wisdom and His way will always be beyond our understanding in greater ways than we will ever be able to comprehend. Therefore, we can only praise God forever and never get bored, grow old or tired of worshiping the awesome God, who has done such wondrous things for us, 

Believing this promise changes our life and thought, our future and our eternity. God has taken His awesome power and glory and combined it with His love and mercy: grace and truth has come to us through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. “God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.” So we sing, so we believe, and so we live under the power of this promise.