Isaiah 44

Jesus commissioned us as His witnesses. Here are some ideas on how to witness.

1. Ask, “May I say a prayer?” or, “Is there anything I can pray with you about?” (Works almost every time)
2. “Where do you go to church?”
3. “Have you ever heard of Trinity?”
4. “Was somebody in your family a strong Christian?”
5. “What’s my secret? …. JESUS!”
6. Give a testimony about what the Lord has done for you by asking, “May I tell you what happened to me?”
7. Be generous. Often, when you are unexpectedly generous with someone, they soften and open up. Great entrance for God to work.
8. When someone expresses a physical need, ask “May I pray for you?”
9. Just yesterday I prayed for our mailman because I saw a knee brace on him. He warmed up and said, “God bless you, brother.” It may have made his day. God may have healed him.

Isaiah 43

It’s too bad that we don’t still have S&H Green Stamps or similar examples of redemption. They taught us the principle of how one thing can be traded in to receive another thing. I guess gift cards are sort of similar …. you buy one as a gift, give it to someone who, in turn uses it redeem a meal etc.

God’s Word makes it clear that we can be redeemed from our fate of death because of our sin. Christ’s life and blood were lovingly sacrificed and given in exchange for our worthless lives so we could enjoy eternity WITH GOD IN HEAVEN.

Isaiah 42

I was raised to be a peacemaker … not a brawler. I had my share of skirmishes growing up, but was not known as a fighter. In a high school basketball practice, a teammate began slugging me, so I defended myself. Get the picture?

My mom had four brothers who were more inclined to fist fights growing up in the rough side of Columbus, Ohio. You could consider them “warriors.”

The Lord is a warrior, a defender, a Man of War. He does not turn back from battle, but His battles are not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness and demonic forces. He is on our side. He is our defender. We hide ourselves in His presence and trust in Him to keep us safe so we don’t get defeated.

Isaiah 41

All else is false.

The prophet challenges all false gods to know the future, but they don’t. Then he issues God’s promise to those who trust Him, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” [Is. 41:10]

We don’t know the future, but we know WHO knows the future. He promises to UPHOLD US with His righteous Right Hand … and that is JESUS.

Pastor Moses Vegh used to say, “There is only one thing worse than falling into the hands of an awesome God …. and that is falling OUT of His hands.”

Isaiah 40

A change of tone. Many Bible scholars believe there was a change of authors from chapter 40 on.

Regardless, George F. Handel included much of this chapter in his oratorio, Messiah. In fact, this passage begins the musical work immediately following the overture. It identifies John the Baptist as being “the voice crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord.”

This passage provides text for some, in my opinion, of the most beautiful music ever. Have a listen to the soprano identify our Great Shepherd, Jesus.

Isaiah 39

Hezekiah showed his entire wealth of possessions to an envoy from Babylon. He may have been proud of what God had done for him. It turned out to be an unwise thing to do. It became, in effect, bait for Babylon to invade Israel. Isaiah prophesied that all this wealth would be hauled off to Babylon as well as the sons and daughters of Israel. This was the Babylonian captivity.

Our strength and wealth is in our relationship with God. We humbly praise Him, glorying in Him and not necessarily what He has done for us.

Take this whole world but give Jesus.

Isaiah 38

If you are reading this right now, you are in the “Land of the Living.” King Hezekiah begged the Lord for more life, so the Lord granted him 15 more years. Sadly, one of the meanest and most cruel kings was his son born during his extended life, Manasseh.

One of the positive fruits of living is that we can praise the Lord with our mouths and lives. I often joke that the reason the Lord kept my mom and dad alive so long was because they performed a free concert of praise for Him daily. Dad in his LazyBoy rocker and mom on her 6.5′ shiny black grand piano would sing old Christian songs that nobody else knew … but the Lord, and HE LOVED THEM.

Isaiah 37

Upon receiving a threatening document from the attacking king, Hezekiah laid it out before the Lord and prayed. God responsively assured Hezekiah that He would defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem and give them hope for the future.

Defend He did! That night God’s warring angel went out and slew 185,000 of Sennacherib’s army. This was one of the all-time greatest shows of God’s defensive power.

Note that Hezekiah ALLOWED GOD to deal out His revenge and set no human plot against his enemy. It was ALL GOD. His response, His angel, His victory.

The battle belongs to the Lord. The battle belongs to the Lord. The battle belongs to the Lord. The battle belongs to the Lord.

Get the message?

Isaiah 36

The details may be different, but you find yourself being attacked by an enemy just as Hezekiah was attacked by the King of Assyria. Humiliation, challenge, taunts, fear of the future … this is familiar territory for the Lord. He sees it everyday. Although He may allow it [1 Cor. 10:13], He will always make a way of escape and victory.

What foe can stand against the Lord? There is NONE! He delights in rescuing His people, taking these opportunities to show us HOW GREAT HE REALLY IS.

The battle is not ours, it’s the Lord’s. It’s HIS REPUTATION, not yours, at stake. Just stay in the palm of His Hand.

Isaiah 33-35

Splendor is a marvelous word we don’t often use. We think of a king’s throne room, a large diamond, a brilliant and colorful sunset when we hear the word. It certainly refers to beauty rarely equaled. Although we get momentary glimpses of it, there is a day coming when God’s splendor will be all around, undimmed by human sin and depravity.

You can see God’s splendor in a flower. Study its color, its texture, its fragility.This is the handiwork of the Master Artist of the Universe. He specializes in splendor.