Uncategorized

Isaiah 9 and Some Interesting Correlations.

Isaiah 9:1-3 NASB
[1] But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
[2] The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.
[3] You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

John 1:1-16 NASB
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] He was in the beginning with God.
[3] All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
[4] In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
[5] The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
[6] There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.
[7] He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.
[8] He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
[9] There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
[10] He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
[11] He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
[12] But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
[13] who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
[14] And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
[15] John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'”
[16] For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

Isaiah 9:4-5 NASB
[4] For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
[5] For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

Matthew 11:25-30 NASB
[25] At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
[26] “Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
[27] “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
[28] “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
[29] “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
[30] “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Isaiah 9:6-21 NASB
[6] For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
[7] There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.
[8] The Lord sends a message against Jacob, And it falls on Israel.
[9] And all the people know it, That is, Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, Asserting in pride and in arrogance of heart:
[10] “The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with smooth stones; The sycamores have been cut down, But we will replace them with cedars.”
[11] Therefore the LORD raises against them adversaries from Rezin And spurs their enemies on,
[12] The Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west; And they devour Israel with gaping jaws. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.
[13] Yet the people do not turn back to Him who struck them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts.
[14] So the LORD cuts off head and tail from Israel, Both palm branch and bulrush in a single day.
[15] The head is the elder and honorable man, And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail.
[16] For those who guide this people are leading them astray; And those who are guided by them are brought to confusion.
[17] Therefore the Lord does not take pleasure in their young men, Nor does He have pity on their orphans or their widows; For every one of them is godless and an evildoer, And every mouth is speaking foolishness. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.
[18] For wickedness burns like a fire; It consumes briars and thorns; It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame And they roll upward in a column of smoke.
[19] By the fury of the LORD of hosts the land is burned up, And the people are like fuel for the fire; No man spares his brother.
[20] They slice off what is on the right hand but still are hungry, And they eat what is on the left hand but they are not satisfied; Each of them eats the flesh of his own arm.
[21] Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh, And together they are against Judah. In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away And His hand is still stretched out.

Ephesians 2:11-22 NASB
[11] Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands–
[12] remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
[13] But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
[14] For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,
[15] by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,
[16] and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.
[17] AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR;
[18] for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
[19] So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,
[20] having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
[21] in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord,
[22] in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

cultural · gospel · Uncategorized

Is Your Hope in Politics, or God’s Gospel?

Years ago I was a Fox News Christian.  My political ideology took precedence over my theology.  In other words, I cared more about being conservative, than I did about Christ, and the will of God.  I also saw conspiracies all over the place.  It seemed to me that there was a world government that controlled all of the governments of the civilized world.  I thought that the world government was comprised of the ultra-rich and influential.  I haven’t really changed my mind about that.  I do think that the enemy has his minions running a satanic plan.  What has changed is that I no longer think it is possible to fix the problems via politics.  I also think that the enemy can only do what sovereign God allows.  I believe with all my heart, all that matters now, is to preach the gospel to the lost and perishing world.  I read something from Isaiah today that brought this to mind.  

 

Isa 8:11 — Isa 8:16
For thus the Lord spoke to me with mighty power and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying,
“You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy,
And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.
“It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your dread.
“Then He shall become a sanctuary;
But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over,
And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
“Many will stumble over them,
Then they will fall and be broken;
They will even be snared and caught.”
Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

 

Of course, I’m not encouraging you to take this section out of context.  It is obviously a prophecy from God to Israel, through Isaiah.  I get that.  The Israelites were suspicious of the true prophets of God.  They didn’t like the warnings they gave them.  They were relying on their allegiances with pagan nations, they were hoping on pragmatic security and not God.  Relying on our own feeble abilities and righteousness keeps us from God the same way that it kept many of the Israelites from Jesus when he came.  This also reminds me that living in fear of what could happen, and what the government will do to us, is not honoring to God.  God is the one who we should fear.  He is the one who we should concern ourselves with.  We should seek his glory.  The true hope of the world is not electing the right politicians, it is the wonderful gospel of Jesus.  Only the transforming work of God can change the hearts of sinful men, and reform the reprobate heart.  So we preach repentance of sins, and faith in the work of Christ on the cross, to justify men to God, and save their souls from the flames of Hell.