Month: January 2020

145. Answers

Isaiah 58:9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am, If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity.

Then when you pray the Lord will answer your prayer; He will say, “Here I am. I am listening to you and I hear you cry. I know your need and I will provide it.” The then comes after the prayer and the fasting according to God’s choosing, not ours. The fasting is not just literal and physical, but it signifies a humbling and an emptying of self. It is true repentance that cuts deep into the soul and finds entrenched sin, demonic strongholds, and roots of bitterness. These are exposed with godly sorrow. This is a work that the Holy Spirit must do, for we are too prideful and deceived to face up to and deal with our own sinfulness.

Fasting can help, but it is spiritual fasting and repentance in dust and ashes that does the trick and opens the heart to receive the Holy Spirit. This is the work of the Law, which the Sprit uses to convict of sin. Then He uses the Gospel to convict us of the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ. We believe and are saved. Then we are ready to call on the name of the Lord; then He answers: so He promises.

A part of the repentance that prepares the heart for the entrance of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel includes three things: 

1) “take away the yoke:” Be willing to let go of the addictive behaviors that control like a yoke and keep in slave chains. The sinner cannot remove these besetting sins with fleshly effort, but we are willing to surrender them to the working of the Spirit. This may take some time, but God promises to take away the yoke and replace with the yoke of Jesus. This yoke is so much more comfortable and so much better for you.

2) “Take away the putting forth of the finger.” This does not mean the middle finger, but the index finger, the one that points at others and blames them for your problems. Blaming never helps but only harms; it also covers over the personal guilt that we don’t want to face, If fasting helps one to stop blaming and expose before the Lord the sins we would like to hide, then good. But the point is: confess your own sin, not the sins of others.

3) “Take away speaking vanity.” Pride blinds the human heart from seeing our own sin and guilt and admitting to fault. God resists the proud and vain person because he won’t allow room for the Lord. God loves the Pharisee, but the Pharisee won’t let it happen. Pride does not need God; vanity deceives the self into thinking “I am good enough; I can do it myself.” Repentance and faith removes the pride and vanity and allows the Gospel to do its constructive and restorative work.

144. Light, Health, Righteousness, Glory

Isaiah 58:8 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.

The condition for this promise in Isaiah 58 is fasting, but the fasting includes a sincere repentance. Fasting is not ritualistic manipulation in prayer getting God to do something. Fasting involves repentance for sin and for neglect of doing good, and it involves a sincere seeking of the Lord by faith, When repentance and faith in the Gospel are properly fulfilled with the aid of prayer and fasting, then the promises promised will come into effect. Fasting implies hunger and thirst for righteousness, humbling and crucifying the self, and asking in faith for the Holy Spirit to fill the empty places in the soul.

Prayer and fasting signifies praying the Lord’s Prayer, which asks: “Make me better.” Or, as Jesus says: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Then these four promises will come in answer: 1) your light will break forth, 2) your health will spring forth, 3) your righteousness will go before you, and, 4) the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. These blessings do not come as a direct result of prayer and fasting, for these blessings and promises are the spiritual things that God already has waiting for you and yearns to give. He just has no room in a self-centered, prideful soul to pour in the Spirit and His accompanying blessings. Make room!

Pray the Lord’s Prayer with sincere meaning, with repentance and faith, with an emptying of self and a making room for God. Your light will break forth from your eyes and countenance, as it will be God’s love in evidence. Your health will spring forth from a soul that is put together with the love of God, your righteousness will be in front of your life as you go through the world, and behind you God will have your back. Think about it: these spiritual blessings are really awesome. God chooses this kind of fast: He wants to break the yoke and bondage to Sin and Death through the power of the Gospel and the forgiveness of sins. And He will; just ask.

143. Peace, Peace

Isaiah 57:19 I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.

The Lord promises peace: peace to the one who is far off and to the one who is near. Peace from God, the peace of God, covers everything everywhere. “Those near” most likely refers to the Jews and all those who are closer to the revelations of God to the people of earth. “Those far off” most likely refers to those who are farther away from the revelations of God. The peace of God even reaches to those about whom we ask: “But what about those who have never heard?” It is not possible that anyone is out of reach of the natural revelation of the Creator God, if he is living on earth. God promises peace to all people. God loves everyone.

Peace is our inheritance and gift from God. When Jesus was born peace came to all the earth: the angels proclaimed “Peace on Earth”. With Jesus, peace is available for all people: peace with God, peace from God, and the peace of God. With the coming of Christ, God is with us. With the entrance of God into our lives peace is extended to the hearts and lives of all who will accept it.

One result of “peace to all” is that the Lord will heal him.Healing comes from the Lord; healing is a result of peace; peace is a result of Jesus’ coming. We may claim this promise of peace, peace. Peace is ours; it belongs to us as a gift. Because of our faith in Christ there is no good reason to lose our peace. No one can take it away from us no matter what they do to us, although we are allowed to release it and let it go from us if we choose to follow a selfish path. However, we may get it back at any time by repentance and faith in the Gospel.

The Lord creates the fruit of the lips: He is the One who gives us words of blessing to speak. We speak words of forgiveness, love, kindness, grace and blessing to others (and to ourselves). This kind of fruit of the lips engenders peace. Jesus proclaimed: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” The Peacemakers in this Beatitude include all of us, for everyone wants peace, wishes for peace, and yearns for peace. God creates the fruit of the lips that make peace. And the promise for peacemakers (all of us) is that they shall be called sons of God. All peace comes from God; it is He who makes peace.

142. Heal and Lead

Isaiah 57:18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him, and to his mourners.

The Lord promises healing and leading and comforts to His Servant; He also promise to do the same things for His mourners, that is, to those who believe in Him and follow Him. Because of Christ healing comes from the Lord. Christ is the Healer. He heals the soul and the work of Christ puts us together again whole, healthy and strong. We were broken, sick and weakened with sin. Sin has destroyed the soul and brought us brokenness, sickness and weakness. Jesus brings forgiveness, wholeness, restoration and healing. This promise is ours and we may claim it by faith.

The Lord leads us in the way we should go. He takes us from the errant path we were on leading to condemnation and death and puts us on the right path and there He leads us on to life and salvation and promises that the end of the path will be eternal life, health and wholeness. When we are left to ourselves we would mess up and destroy our own life. We can’t see the way, the way out, or the way forward, but He promises to lead us on the way everlasting, the way of life, peace and joy. Jesus is the Way. His leading and guiding will be always for our good and for positive benefit, if we can only give it all to Him and trust Him to lead.

He restores the soul by giving all the comforts we ever need. He does not always promise “creature comforts” which can be temporary, fleeting, and will not last. The spiritual comforts God gives are things like peace and joy in the heart, which no one can touch or take away. Eternal joys and abiding peace are deeply comfortable; the comforts of the soul are deep and abiding and more solid that any worldly comforts that the world gives. God restores comforts, meaning that God’s original purpose, which we lost in sin, has been restored in Christ. “He restoreth my soul.”

141. Dwell with the Humble

Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite one.

The Lord dwells in a high and holy place; He inhabits eternity. The heaven where God lives and rules is an eternal time and place. Eternity is existence without beginning and without end; eternity is without time at all; it just is. God just is; Yahweh is the “I am.” The Lord is, and was, and always will be. The high and lofty One is in the high and holy place. The place is really no place, or every place. God occupies all space, but He is not limited to any space.

This God dwells with the contrite and humble spirit. This is quite a promise: we mortals, limited in time and space, are living with the Eternal One outside of and covering all time and space. The contrite and humble are those who repent and believe. Those who admit they are sinners and that they are wrong, totally depraved, bent on evil, and turned in on oneself are the contrite and humble. These people are the believers in Jesus Christ. In short, in NT terms, it says: all who believe in Jesus have eternal life. God dwells with us, shares His life with us, and revives the heart continually.

Life dwells with us. Jesus is “God with us.” Eternal life is always there with us. It is through the Gospel that God revives and renews. God’s life is an ever-flowing stream continually making new life. The High God dwells with the humble. When we humble ourselves before the Lord, when the Lord Jesus is praised, when He is exalted in our hearts and lips, when we are convicted and contrite because we realize our sinfulness then there is room for God to live there with His eternity. Pride and self crowd the Spirit out and leaves Him no room. The High and Holy actually lives with the lowly and humble forgiven sinner. Wow!

140. Possess and Inherit

Isaiah 57:13 But he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.

“You will possess the land.” “You shall inherit the kingdom.” The promise of land begins in Genesis 12 with Abraham and ends in the New Heaven and New Earth in Revelation 22. In between, the promise has come to us and we possess it now by faith, and we look forward to full entry into the inheritance by sight when Jesus returns. This promise is for “he that puts his trust in the Lord.” Believing in Jesus has many rewards. Possession of the land and inheritance of the mountain are two of them.

The Lord told Joshua and Joshua told the people: “Go in and possess the land the Lord is giving you.” This interesting command is given also to us in the New Testament where the land is the kingdom of God. It raises a question: How do we possess a free gift? Answer: by faith. Faith takes hold of grace and makes the gift my own. We possess a Christmas gift by thanking the giver and enjoying the gift. This gives us some clue in regard to the question, “How do I possess the kingdom?”

Even though God gives the land we must still go in and possess it. The kingdom God gave us is filled with evil gods and enemies of God. We possess the kingdom by going into spiritual battle and driving out Sin, Death, and the Devil who are opposing our entry. With the Sword of the Spirit we defeat the Enemies and drive them out by faith. Through repentance and faith we possess. Through prayer we possess what God gives. The meek inherit the earth, not with strength and violence, but with the stronger power of love, gentleness, forgiveness and mercy. 

It doesn’t look like the Christians in the world are possessing the land or inheriting the mountain. For this reason we need the promise to believe (see) what is really happening in the spiritual (real) world. Trust, possess, inherit.

139. God’s House of Prayer

Isaiah 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

“Even them” = all believers in Christ. The Lord will bring all believers into his eternal spiritual kingdom, both now in time and hereafter in eternity. The kingdom is the “holy mountain,” the place where the Lord God, in His eternal presence, dwells. It is like a mountain in that it is beautiful and huge. Heaven is not pictured in our minds as a mountain as much as it so pictured in the Bible. Spiritually, living in the kingdom of God is like living in a beautiful place surrounded by majestic peaks and panoramic views. The Lord brings us to His Mountain through the Word of Gospel, speaking good news to our spirit and giving promises to believe.

The Lord will make us joyful in His house of prayer. The kingdom is a beautiful and huge house with many rooms; the family lives in this house with God in joy and bliss. This house is a house of prayer, for that is what goes on this this house all the time: unceasing prayer. The prayer in this house is conversation, listening to the Lord and talking with Him as friend to friend, or as son with father. Prayer is the activity of an intimate relationship between an Almighty, Invisible God and a visible, limited human. Most intimate relationships are between equals, and it is called conversation or intercourse. Our relationship with God is between unequal persons, and it is called prayer. We are beggars and He is king, but when we meet at the cross through faith in Jesus we are on a loving and equal level. The Lord God accepts us as equals and listens. This is prayer.

We may dwell in this house of prayer continually by praying without ceasing, living a live of daily repentance, practicing the presence of the Lord, discussing matters with Him, reading the Bible as if we are listening to Jesus’ words of love to us, reminding ourselves of the Gospel of grace at every opportunity or idle moment. In this house of prayer the Lord is making us joyful. Eternal joy and internal peace fills the soul all the time. This promise is for “all people.”

138. God’s House and Name

Isaiah 56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

God gives a place in His house and an everlasting name to those who believe in the Son of God. The promise in this context is for those who join themselves to the Lord, that is, in New Testament terms, they believe in Jesus. The promise is for strangers and eunuchs (non-Jews) who do three things: keep the Sabbaths, choose the things that please God, and take hold of His covenant. This is Old Testament code for “believing in Jesus Christ.” Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath; the Father is well pleased with His Son; and, Jesus is the covenant with God for us. Taken together, it refers to the Gentile (and the Jew) who believes in Christ.

The promise is that God will give to us a place n His house. “In my Father’s house are many rooms, dwelling-places, or mansions.” God’s house is where He lives, where His presence rules, and house is another word for family. We believers are welcomed in the family and household of God. It’s a big family, but God is big. We are given a place as adopted children, sons of God, and brothers of Jesus (also married to Him). In the house of God we have a place even better than sons and daughters have. How intimate and close is this! Nothing on earth compares to the security, warmth, and care that a child experiences when he or she is hugged by a loving Mom and Dad and lovingly tucked in.

And God promises us a name. This new name is named after the Father God; we are in the family and are heirs of Almighty God. And this new name is everlasting; we will enjoy this name for eternity in the house of the Lord. Jesus promises a new name to the overcomer, a name no one knows except for him who receives it. Naming implies a more intimate relationship between two parties. Our eternal relationship with the Lord is the most intimate relationship we will ever know.

137. Joy and Peace

Isaiah 55:12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

The joy of the Lord and the peace of God is a sure promise from the Lord. It comes to us through the Word that comes from the mouth of God. God walks with us with joy and much rejoicing. The Lord leads us daily with peace and calm. This is not a wish or a dream or a hope; it is as certain and sure as God is real. We only hear the Word and believe as the Spirit touches the heart through the ears and eyes. Then we have the Lord with us, who comes with joy and peace. 

Joy and peace are actually byproducts of the Lord’s presence and indwelling. We do not seek joy and peace; we seek the Lord and His righteousness in Christ and when God finds us He brings peace and joy along with Him. We do not have to ask for joy and peace; it comes along with God. We do, however, ask for the Holy Spirit.  Jesus says in Luke 11:13: “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” 

How do we ask for the Holy Spirit when He is already here, dwelling in the spirit? Answer: we are really asking for less of me so that there will be more of Him. We ask for the Spirit by using the thought of the Lord’s Prayer, asking for His name, His kingdom and His will, in addition to His bread, His forgiveness and His deliverance. We pray for repentance (getting out of the way) and faith (letting God have His way), which is what the Lord’s Prayer does. When we have more of the Spirit and less of us, we will also have joy and peace ruling the heart.

By the way, the mountains and trees (all of nature) rejoice with singing and clapping along with us. There is not only joy in heaven when one sinner repents; there is also joy and peace on earth in nature. All creation waits with eager longing for the redemption of human beings, the adoption of sons. If we could only hear the angels and the trees and hills we would never be joyless again or lack peace ever.

136. God’s Word will Prosper

Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

God promises that His Word will accomplish what He pleases, and that it shall prosper in the purpose for which He sent it. The ultimate Word turned out to be Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who accomplished what pleased the Lord, namely, the salvation of souls. The Word of God, Jesus, has prospered; He accomplished His mission. The Lord sent Him and the Word finished the job. The Word was made flesh and dwelled among us.

The Holy Spirit through the prophets and Apostles, who were inspired to write the words of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, wrote down the Word that goes out of the mouth of the Lord. This Word from out of His mouth is available to us today. We can trust it to be true and inerrant. We can trust it to accomplish what God spoke it for, what He sent it for, and what He wrote it down for. It is the vehicle and message by which the Gospel saves us. His Word is spirit and life, and it gives eternal life to all who believe it.

The promise is so sure that we can believe it for every aspect of our lives. Jesus quotes the words of Moses, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God [Matthew 4:4].” Jesus alludes to this very verse from Isaiah 55, “the word of God’s mouth.” Taken literally and figuratively, this is a bold and broad statement of truth that Moses and Jesus speak. It is incredibly hard to believe; in fact, it is impossible to believe without the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit uses the Gospel to convict us of the truth of it and so to believe it, embrace it, and live according to it with all our heart.

Through the Word spoken and written to us we have the forgiveness of sins daily and richly; because of the Word we know that the Lord hears our prayers; by the Word we have an unerring guide to faith and life; because of the Word we live in the confidence of God’s love, God’s peace and God’s joy. We can even believe that the Word of God is useful and profitable for every need and issue of life. All aspects of life are covered. That is a promise from the mouth of the Lord.