Strongholds in the Church: Unbelief

The Lord must lay bare the strongholds in our churches. Unbelief dries up the futures of congregations.

Unbelief.

The person or thing our church fears losing is our idol. Fear of people, fear about finances, fear of offending big-donors, preoccupation with keeping up the numbers, fear of losing a leader, fear about our reputation in the community or the denomination, fear of “losing” a family or a person, fear of “losing” our old church the way it was, etc. (Psalm 34:4; Isaiah 54:14; 1 John 4:8).

Fear cripples congregations, and then it is a short step to a kind of arteriosclerosis, a hardening and constricting of the life-blood of the Holy Spirit’s ministry, leading to corporate death.

Seek to know the holy, reverent fear of the Lord (Proverbs 14:16, 26; 31:30; Isaiah 11:3; 33:6). Prayer puts a church on God’s agenda. It moves a congregation from unholy fear to the life-giving resources of the Throne.

A prayer-saturated church gains God’s perspective on circumstances and the future. It sees ministry from God’s perspective rather than the world’s. A congregation into knee work will not be weak-kneed when the challenges and opportunities come.

Give no honor to intimidation (Nehemiah 4:1-9; 6:1-19). Fear no person, no organization, no power other than Jesus (Psalm 76:7; Isaiah 35:3-4; 41:10, 13; Revelation 14:7).

When we have no fear but God, we break the yoke of the adversary off our church (Isaiah 58:6).

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Suggested: "150 Years Ago Today"

14th Virginia at Pickett's Charge, Gettysburg

With the Sesquicentennial of the War between the States ramping up these days, a number of 150th blogs are being done, including some by national newspapers. Some of them only use documents and newspapers from the period. Some of them are more editorial in nature. All of them I have found are decidedly one-sided in their orientation -- one particular side.

If you  enjoy that historical period, here's a suggestion: One Hundred Fifty Years Ago Today.

It is the fruit of my 28-year interest in the War. Interaction on that blog so far has been disappointing, so I thought I'd let readers on Sunday in the South know about it. If the readership on One Hundred Fifty Years Ago Today does not increase in the next few months, I'll consider putting it aside.

You can subscribe by email and get a post each day there is an event of interest 150 years ago that day. Just input your email address below, and the updates are effortless on your part.

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Recent Posts on "One Hundred Years Ago Today"

• Lincoln avoids assassination plot
• Plot to assassinate Lincoln in Baltimore
• Lincoln receives anonymous threat
• Davis makes Cabinet appointments
• Jefferson Davis inaugurated
• US Arsenal in San Antonio surrenders
• Davis arrives in Montgomery, Lincoln kisses a girl
• Montgomery: Friendly but determined negotiation
• Columbus to Pittsburgh in cold, pouring rain
• Lincoln: "nothing going wrong"

Isaiah 61 - The Year of the Lord's Favor

Opening thought:  Perhaps it was Christmas morning when you were a kid. Perhaps it was when you were 8½ months along. Perhaps it was waiting for the Chick-FilA to open. Perhaps it was the sale of your home. It was the moment you had been waiting for. Today’s passage of Scripture is about just that. Today’s passage is the moment we have been waiting for. Isaiah has talked about the Messiah. He has told us a lot about Him. Today is the moment we have been waiting for. Today the Messiah Himself speaks.

Contextual Notes:

Isaiah’s prophecy continues to focus on one Man. After 39 chapters of pointing to the coming Messiah-King who will judge sin, then chapters 40-55 point to the comfort (40) the Servant-Messiah will bring by suffering, dying, rising (53), and thus fulfilling all God’s covenants (54-55). This Messiah’s suffering changes our future despite our present sinful condition (56). His kingdom is open to all (56:1-8) despite our sinfulness (56:9-57:13) to those who will repent of their sin and find healing and peace (57:14-21). Not mere religious activity (58:1-5), but his Kingdom is about serving like the Servant Himself (58:6-10) in blessing and restoration (58:11-14). Yes, sin separates us from God (59:1-8) and others (59:9-15a), but the Redeemer’s intercession for those who repent (59:15b-21) results in hope (60:1-9), honor (60:10-14), and transformation (60:15-22).

This is the moment we have been waiting for. Now the Messiah Himself speaks! What does He say? He proclaims again his Royal favor for God’s people (61:1-3a), prosperity for the land (61:3b-9), and the joy of salvation (61:10-11).

Key Truth: Isaiah wrote Isaiah 61 to let Israel hear the coming Messiah who brings favor, prosperity, and joy.

Key Application: Today I want to show you what God’s Word says about the Messiah’s blessings.

Key Verse: Isaiah 61:1-2: In verse 2 note the comfort (chaps. 40-66) and vengeance (chaps. 1-39) of Isaiah’s prophecy.

Pray and Read:  Isaiah 61

Sermon Points:

1.   Messiah proclaims favor for the peoples! (Isaiah 61:1-3a)

2.   Messiah proclaims prosperity for the Land! (Isaiah 61:3b-9)

3.   Messiah proclaims joy of salvation! (Isaiah 61:10-11)

Exposition:   Note well,

1.   MESSIAH PROCLAIMS FAVOR! (Isaiah 61:1-3a)

a.   He proclaims again His commission to avenge and comfort God’s people (61:1-3a), to restore the land (61:3b-9), and to clothe Zion in the joy of salvation (61:10-11).

b.   Isaiah, in his poetic genius, spirals prophetic sequences at us in order to make his point. Each time he runs the same sequence, he gives more information, making the picture clearer.[1] One of those patterns is in chapters 51-53. Isaiah announces the deliverance of the peoples (51), then the renewal of Jerusalem (52). The climax comes in chapter 53 when Isaiah reveals the Messiah as the Suffering Servant.

c.   There is a similar pattern in Isaiah 59-61. The Redeemer’s intercession (59:15b-21) brings deliverance from sin-caused separation from God (59:1-8) and others (59:9-15a). That deliverance of chapter 59 brings the restoration of hope (60:1-9), honor (60:10-14), and transformation (60:15-22) in chapter 60. Then chapter 61 comes. In chapter 53, Isaiah tells us about the Suffering Servant Messiah. In chapter 61, the Messiah Himself steps forward to tell us of Himself!

d.   The Suffering Servant of 53 is the same one in 61. That means he is the same Man prophesied in the Servant songs of 42:1-9, 49:1-9, 50:4-9. That means that he is the same as the Root of Jesse (11:1,10), the same Child Born and Son Given who will reign as a divine King on David’s throne (9:6-7), the same Child born of a virgin (7:14), the same holy seed (6:13) as the LORD high and lifted up (6:1-3).

e.   This is why it is so significant that in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus chose this passage of Scripture to read, the passage from Isaiah 61 where the Messiah Himself speaks for himself. He does just that in the synagogue in Nazareth.

f.    61:1 – The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon Me - In a Trinitarian reference, the Messiah speaks saying the Father sent him with the power of the Holy Spirit. “He has mashach-ed (anointed) me,” here a direct admission that He is the Messiah that Isaiah has described (also 11:2; 42:1; 48:16; Psalm 45:7). And indeed the Spirit was upon him at birth (Luke 1:35); at baptism (John 1:32; 3:34). And he is to set prisoners free, the Hebrew text making sure we understand it is complete liberty, from slavery of blindness (6:9-10; 35:5; 42:7; 49:9; Psalm 146:8)

g.   61:1-2 The Year of the Lord’s Favor: This is a reference to the 50^th Jubilee Year (Leviticus 25). Israel never seems to have observed a Jubilee year, but the Lord proclaims one here. The messianic prophecy was quoted by Christ in the synagogue in Nazareth, but only in part. He closed the scroll after reading the proclamation of the Lord’s favor and made no mention of ‘the day of vengeance of our God’ (Luke 4:17-21). This incident is significant for several reasons.

                    i.    First, Jesus was announcing publicly that He was the Messiah promised by the prophets, and he chose the passage where the Messiah speaks for himself. The Servant is Christ

                  ii.    Second, it suggests two comings of Christ here, the first to save, and the second to judge. This ‘day of the Lord’ that other prophets talk about – Jesus and the Apostles did too (Matthew 12:36; Luke 21:22; Romans 2:5; 2 Peter 2:9). The Judge will be Jesus (50:11; John 5:25-30).

                iii.    Third, it reveals how Jesus viewed the Old Testament (as the gospel) and illustrates interpretation of the OT. Predictive passages typically are not clear as to time and may link events separated by many years.

h.   This passage shows that 49:1-4 cannot be Israel, but is a Man who acts as an Intercessor on behalf of others. He gives

                    i.    Crown of beauty: Instead of ashes of mourning on the head, he sets not just a diadem, but a manifold gifting of royal favor.

                  ii.    oil of gladness: symbolizing a reward for having sought justice (61:3; Psalm 45:7; Hebrews 1:9)

                iii.    garment of praise: symbolizing an inward purifying change which is expressed in praise (61:3b; Zechariah 3:1-5; Matthew 22:11-13).

i.    APPLICATION: Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He will proclaim favor over you if you will repent of your sin and come to him, asking Him to be your Redeemer, to buy you back from your bondage to sin and give you liberty – real liberty. Will you repent and let him save you? Will you submit your life to this King?

2.   MESSIAH PROCLAIMS PROSPERITY! (Isaiah 61:3b-9)

a.   Israel will experience reconstruction and restoration (49:22-23; 60:3-11) by the nations so that Israel can serve God (61:6). The nationality of Israel will not be swallowed up by the Gentiles flooding into the Kingdom (v. 7).[2] This is Paul’s One New Man of Ephesians 2. The Lord insists the work receive pay (61:8a; 1 Timothy 5:18).

b.   APPLICATION: We are called as priests with Israel. This is the precious doctrine of the priesthood of the believer. We can be priests only through the work of the Great High Priest. Through Him we have free access to the fountain of salvation and the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:14-16).[3]

c.   Blessing will be evident (61:7; Genesis 26:12-31; 41:37-41), confirming his covenant (61:8b). Oaks of righteousness – repeating 60:21

d.   Note also again our paired words of mishpat (judgment, justice) (61:8) and righteousness (tzedeq) (61:10). Here also tzedeq (robe of righteousness) is paired with yashuah (salvation), a word whose root is Hellenized into Jesus.

e.   APPLICATION: Messiah does not proclaim a prosperity that is rooted in greed, a prosperity that is linked to a faulty name-it-and-claim-it theology that focuses on material wealth. Messiah’s prosperity is greater and deeper, more powerful, and more profound. It is a spiritual prosperity. Colossians says that greed is idolatry.

3.   MESSIAH PROCLAIMS JOY! (Isaiah 61:10-11)

a.   There are various interpretations of who is speaking in these last two verses. The Jewish Targum, an Aramaic translation of the OT with its own interpretations, says the city of Jerusalem is speaking. Most Reformed/Calvinist interpreters say the speaker is the Church or the early Jewish Church based in Jerusalem, following the “Jerusalem” insertion by the Targum and making sense with their theology of the replacement of Israel with the Church. The masterful evangelical commentators Keil & Deilitzsch say this is the Lord Himself speaking, and I must agree.

b.   This is a Song of Praise sung by the Messiah. In 59:17, the Messiah puts on armor for battle (Ephesians 6:10-17), but there he gives festive clothes of a new order to celebrate salvation and righteousness (61:10). The Seed will produce its fruit, dying to provide salvation (61:11; John 12:23-24; 1 Corinthians 15:36, 42-44). Verses 10-11 picture the Messiah’s investiture as a Priest (Exodus 29:5-9; 39:28), even a High Priest and King, for the robes point back to 6:1 where the Lord is high and lifted up, and his train fills the Temple. Zechariah also understood that “Yeshua” the High Priest would be King, and there would be harmony between the two (Zechariah 3; 6:9-13).

c.   This is not the Church replacing Israel, as our dear Reformed and Calvinist brethren teach. God’s promises to everyone, especially Israel his chosen people, are irrevocable (Romans 11:26-29). For God to replace Israel with the Church makes his promises lies and impugns his character. It is not the early Messianic Jewish Church either. That view comes from the Targum which inserts the interpretation, “Jerusalem says” before verse 10, but the Jewish writers of the Targumim were intent on interpreting the Hebrew Bible in terms that refuted the way early Christians saw the OT. But it is understandable that it could be misunderstood, with the wearing of garments of salvation and righteousness (59:17; 61:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Paul says that marriage is a picture of a mystery, referring to the unique relationship between Christ and the Church (61:10b; Ephesians 5:32).

d.   “Clothed” Paul uses the image of salvation’s clothing in Romans 13:14 and Ephesians 4:22-24. Christ used it in several parables, such as where the guests were dressed in special garments provided by the host (Matthew 22:11-14). Being dressed in such garments showed the wearer to be an invited guest, with a right to join the celebration. The redeemed of Revelation 7:9 are dressed in robes of white.

e.   APPLICATION:  When we are clothed with the Lord’s righteousness, we also wear these garments of salvation and righteousness. Only by being clothed in Christ’s salvation and righteousness can we enjoy life in the future kingdom of the Lord.

Invitation:

---

[1] Moses does the same thing, e.g., Gen 1 and 2, Exod/Num and Deut, and the general shape of the Torah: (1) Narrative (Gen 1:1-2:22); Poetry (2:23); Epilogue (2:24-25); 2. Narrative (3:1-13); Poetry (3:14-19); Epilogue (3:20-24); (3) Narrative (4:1-23); Poetry (4:23-24); Epilogue (4:25-26); (4) JOSEPH: Narrative (Gen 37:1-48:14); Poetry (48:15-16, 20); Epilogue (48:21-22). (5) Narrative (Gen 1-48); Poetry (49:1-27) – Jacob prophesies over 12 sons of Israel); Epilogue (49:28-50:26). (6) Narrative (Exod 1 – Num 23:6); Poetry (Num 23:7-10, 18-24, 24:3-9, 15-24) – Balaam prophesies over 12 tribes of Israel); Epilogue (Num 24:25). (7) Narrative (Num 25 – Deut 31); Poetry (Deut 32:1-44 – Moses prophesies over the 12 tribes of Israel); Epilogue (Deut 32:44-52). (8) Narrative (Gen 1-Deut 32); Poetry (Deut 33) – Future of 12 Tribes of Israel; Epilogue (Deut 34).

[2] Says even Charles Simeon, Horae Homiliticae, 5:467-72; and Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), 3:462.

[3] Alexander

Potential

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Lincoln Unmasked

Strongholds in the Church: Judgmentalism, Unholy fear

The Holy Spirit must lay bare the strongholds in our churches. There are false ideas, false thought patterns, habitual sin patterns, deception or other things behind the corporate sins we see in the Body of believers (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). We are not talking about personality flaws or differences of opinion. We are talking about destructive forces that seek to derail a church’s mission and direction. 

Unholy fear. The person or thing we fear losing is our idol. Fear of people, fear about finances, fear of offending the big-givers, preoccupation with keeping up the numbers, fear about our reputation in the community or the denomination, fear of “losing” a family or a person, fear of “losing” our old church the way it was, etc. (Psalm 34:4; Isaiah 54:14; 1 John 4:8). 

Seek to know the holy, reverent fear of the Lord (Proverbs 14:16, 26; 31:30; Isaiah 11:3; 33:6). Give no honor to intimidation (Nehemiah 4:1-9; 6:1-19). Fear no person, no organization, no power other than Jesus (Psalm 76:7; Isaiah 35:3-4; 41:10, 13; Revelation 14:7). When we have no fear but God, we break the yoke of the adversary off our church (Isaiah 58:6).

Judgmentalism. A critical spirit manifests itself in prejudice, judgmental attitudes, self-righteousness (Matthew 6:23:25), the elder-brother attitude (Luke 15:25-32), accusation (Revelation 12:10; James 4:11-12), fault-finding (Ephesians 4:29-32), pet doctrines and a condemning heart (Hebrews 12:15) toward those who disagree. 

Cold hearts and cold love are the opposite of the attractive, winsome, loving, and redemptive grace of Jesus (Acts 4:33; 11:23; 14:3; 2 Corinthians 8:9).

Old Fogy Club at your service

The Richmond, (VA) Daily Dispatch newspaper on December 11, 1860, printed a letter to Governor Moore of Alabama of a group offering its patriotic services to the State's defense.

To His Excellency, the Governor of the State of Alabama--

Sir:

The undersigned, a veteran of four wars, the Indian war of 1798, the war of 1812, the Tus-ke-se-ha war, and the Indian war of 1836; also, and by no means least, Captain of the squad of Honorary Members of the Montgomery True Blues, and Commander-in-Chief of the well known, patriotic, and reliable "Old Fogy Club," begs leave to offer to your Excellency, in behalf of the State of Alabama, the services of the said last mentioned body of true and faithful citizens; begging, at the same, to remark, that he would also offer the services of that other gallant corps which he commands, but that it is already included in the general offer of the company of which it forms an honorable part. 

In offering to your Excellency the services of the "Old Fogy Club," the undersigned feels proud to say that he offers, for the present emergency, men who must fight, because they cannot run. Your Excellency may, therefore depend on one corps, at least, that will stand fire; for the undersigned will certify, that what with gout, rheumatism, accidental lameness, and private afflictions of one sort and another, there is not a man in the company who could get further than Fight's Spring in a whole day's march. 

Your Excellency may, however, rely on a good fighting company, with this understanding--on which the undersigned most unhesitatingly insists: We must feed and that well!--And in order that your Excellency may fully see and appreciate and make preparations for the corps, the undersigned submits a statement of rations needful for each of the 25 men in his command, per diem: 

Mutton or Beef, (good)	2 lbs.
Oysters	3 dozen (plants.)
Fish	At pleasure.
Vegetables	At pleasure.
Condiments	At pleasure.
Bread and Crackers	At pleasure.
Whiskey or Brandy	1 quart.
Wine	Occasionally.

If, with this stinted allowance, (in times of great public distress,) your Excellency thinks the "Old Fogy Club" can be of service to the State, your Excellency may have them mustered in immediately — not to march exceeding five miles per day. 

Respectfully, your abide serv's.

M. W. R., Captain.

Isaiah 60 - Awaken to the Glory!

Resurrection

Contextual Notes:

The first 39 chapters of Isaiah’s prophecy focus on the coming Messiah-King who will judge sin. Chapters 40-55 focus on the comfort the Servant Messiah will bring by suffering, dying, and rising again, thus fulfilling all God’s covenants (54-55). From chapter 56, Isaiah focuses on how Messiah’s suffering changes our future despite our present sinful condition. Messiah’s kingdom is open to all (56:1-8). Repentance is the key to healing and peace (57:14-21), not mere religious activity (58:1-5). Serving like the Servant (58:6-10), which brings blessing and restoration (58:11-14). Though sin may separate us from God (59:1-8) and others (59:9-15a), the Redeemer intercedes for those who repent (59:15b-21). The result? An awakening to hope (60:1-9), honor (60:10-14), and transformation (60:15-22) – the Millennial Reign of this Messiah.

Key Truth: Isaiah wrote Isaiah 60 to teach Israel that the Redeemer-Messiah’s Reign will include an Awakening to the reality of His Hope, His Honor, and His transformation.

Key Application: Today I want to show you what God’s Word says about being a father.

Key Verse: Isaiah 60:1

Pray and Read:  Isaiah 60

Sermon Points:

1.   Awaken to Hope! (Isaiah 60:1-9)

2.   Awaken to Honor! (Isaiah 60:10-14)

3.   Awaken to Transformation! (Isaiah 60:15-22)

Exposition:   Note well,

1.   AWAKEN TO HOPE! (Isaiah 60:1-9)

a.   After announcing that the Redeemer will come to Zion, to those who will repent (59:17a, 20-21) and bring his people into a covenant, Isaiah now turns his attention to the restoration of Jerusalem, and he sees something that is glorious. The tone now shifts again as Isaiah describes the future glory of Jerusalem, calling Zion to awake (60:1-3). Still drowsy, she is urged to look and see the glory of fulfilled hope (60:4-9). And what does he urge a sleeping Israel to see? The end time Messiah reigning on his throne in what theologians call the Millennium. This is the second time Isaiah has done this. In chapters 51-52, he announces the deliverance of the peoples and in chapter 52 the renewal of Jerusalem. In chapter 53 Isaiah reveals the Messiah as the Suffering Servant. Next time we will see this pattern, because in our sequence (chapters 59-60), the Messiah himself speaks, revealing himself in chapter 61.

b.   One of the most persistent themes of OT prophecy envisions the end of history when the Messiah will set up a kingdom on earth with a capital at Jerusalem. From there, the Messiah-King, a descendant of David, will rule over all the nations on the planet. This bright vision comes after the Messiah’s crushing defeat of evil and the great spiritual conversion sweeping the nations and Israel. Theologians often call this period the Millennium, a word meaning 1,000 years. This vision is found here in Isaiah 60:1-61:6 and in many other places in Isaiah: 2:1-4; 4:2-6; 9:6-7; 11:1-16; 24:1-13; 32:1-5; 33:17-27; 35:1-10; 52:7-10; 61:1-6; 66:15-23. And Isaiah is not the only place: Jeremiah 31:1-27; 33:14-34; Ezekiel 20:32-44; 34:20-31; Daniel 2:31-45; 7:1-28; 9:20-27; Hosea 3:4-5; Joel 2:28-3:2, 9-21; Amos 9:9-15; Obadiah 15-21; Micah 4:1-5; Zechariah 2:1-13; 14:1-21; and Malachi 3:1-5; 4:1-6.

c.   ILLUSTRATION: Christ commanded the leper to “Be clean,” but the leper had no power to obey himself, but as Christ speaks the leper is cleansed (Matthew 8:1-4). The leper understood. So when God commands Jerusalem to “Arise,” he enables Jerusalem to arise. It is a word of power as when Peter commanded the little girl Tabitha to arise (Acts 9:40). In the same way, we are called to Arise and Shine, and he gives us the ability to do that.

d.   60:1 – Qumi ori – Arise, shine. Having received the light, her salvation, Zion is to be a light – evangelism. Zion can be a light because light has come to her. Now Zion is called to radiate that light. This salvation dispels the darkness of ignorance, sin, and evil.

e.   Qum (Arise) – I want to look at the important first word here, qum (arise). The Hebrew word for arise is qum, a very important word in the history of redemption. I noticed this several years ago when I was preaching chronologically through the journeys of the children of Israel in the Wilderness. In Numbers 10:35-36, Moses shouts in praise to the Lord, “Arise, O Lord, let your enemies be scattered!” Moses is prophesying the resurrection of Jesus Christ that His enemies may be scattered. And in Christ’s resurrection, his enemies, even the last enemy, death, was defeated. Note also that the text mentions that the ark traveled three days before Moses prophesies to the Lord to arise. Notice that the Ark of the Covenant, i.e., the Presence of the Lord, was seeking a place of rest for the people of God.

f.    John Gill writes of Numbers 10:36, “Perhaps Moses, under a spirit of prophecy, might have a further view, even to the conversion of the Jews in the latter day, when they shall return and seek the true Messiah, and be turned to him, and when all Israel shall be saved.”

g.   We have learned that the best commentary on Scripture is Scripture itself. It explains itself. Two Psalms have the same line and the same word, qum (arise) as Numbers 10:35 and Isaiah 60:1. Psalm 68:1 explains Moses’ words as a clear prophecy of Jesus Christ’s ascension in Psalm 68:18: “When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men, even from the rebellious – that you O Lord God, might dwell there.”  (see Paul’s understanding of this verse in Ephesians 4:7-10). And verse 19 prophesies Jesus as Savior: “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.”

h.   In Psalm 132:8 we find Moses’ declaration quoted: “Arise O Lord, let your enemies be scattered,” where the arising is connected with the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:8-16). See verse 11: “The LORD swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: ‘One of your own descendants I will place on your throne . . . for ever and ever.” And verse 17 connects David and the Messiah: “here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one.”

i.    Before we get too far afield, but with this additional commentary on the word qum (arise), we see that this word doesn’t just mean to wake up from sleep, but to wake up from death – to be resurrected.

j.    ILLUSTRATION: Edward J. Young agrees: “This glory . . . was manifested in particular in the history of redemption, as in the Shekinah and the pillar of cloud and fire. It accompanies salvation, for salvation is a manifestation of the Lord’s glory.”[1] Young sees something important here. Salvation as the glory of the Lord and a result of arising (qumi), i.e., resurrection. Because of the resurrection, salvation has come, and we are called to radiate it to those around us.

k.   Arise – This arising is in resurrection, and it results in a radiance, a shining forth, for our Light has come. Our Messiah has come. Our Redeemer has come to Zion, to those who repent of their sins (59:20), and he has made a covenant (not with us, but on behalf of us) (59:21). The result is the new life of resurrection, that brings hope (60:1-9), honor (60:10-14), and transformation (60:15-22). It causes us to radiate with evangelism. It penetrates the darkness of sin (60:2). It shines forth the glory of this Messiah (60:3-4), breaking the power of depression and failure (60:5), reassigning the desolate inheritances (49:8-9).

l.    60:4 – Look!  The text says, “lift up your eyes and look.” If we simply look around us and see the present sin and distress around us, we may well be discouraged. But if we look up, or if we look ahead, the situation is very different. Everything around us is transformed by the certainty that God is near and that his perspective is superior to our own.

m. APPLICATION:  Paul understood this whole concept. Galatians 2:20. What about you? Are you living the Christ-life? Are you living for yourself? Do you make decisions based on what will make you happy or more money rather than on what your Lord approves of? In your business, in your family, whose standards do you use when making a decision? Yours? The worlds? Or the Lords? Are you living a life of submission to the Lord of your life? If not, why not?

2.   AWAKEN TO HONOR! (Isaiah 60:10-14)

a.   The nations that persecuted Israel will honor her (60:10-12) and nature herself will overflow (60:13-14).

b.   Here are themes of the return of the people to the Land (60:4; 49:222-23); foreign kings bringing wealth to the city (60:5b-9), bowing down before God (60:14-15), the nations reconstructing the city (60:10; 44:28; 45:13; Ezra 1:4; 6:3-5)

c.   APPLICATION: Repentance of our sin (59:20) brings us a Redeemer who brings us honor. Being a Christian is an honor. Being a Christian gives us spiritual authority in the heavenly realms and the natural realm. Why is it an honor? Because we have the honor to bear his Name. That’s all it takes to make Christianity honorable. Even for those being persecuted for their faith, Christianity is an honor for them to endure trials for his Name.

3.   AWAKEN TO TRANSFORMATION! (Isaiah 60:15-22)

a.   God’s presence transforms not only the city but also her people (60:15-122). 60:18 – No more mourning or invasions of this city (54:14-17).

b.   60:19-20: God’s presence. The city mentioned here could never match the Jerusalem after the Exile or any city outside the end-time. The only comparable city to the one here is very much like the heavenly city found in Revelation 21-22. These verses tie together the chapter, ending the way it begins, with the light of God (Psalm 36:9). Compare 60:3-5a, 11, 19 with Revelation 21:23-27).

c.   60:21-22: Only those who serve the Lord will live in Jerusalem, and they will prosper (54:13). Verse 21 reveals why the promises of the chapter await fulfillment. The material blessings must be accompanied by inward righteousness that comes from the Messiah himself, that God may display his splendor, and he will act in the fullness of time.

d.   APPLICATION: One of these days a King will sit down literally on a throne in Jerusalem, the King of Kings, and he will judge the nations. Where will you be? Will you be celebrating in his presence and worshiping Him? Or will you find yourself one of his enemies, one that he never knew? Jesus is coming back, and he is coming back to your world. He’s coming back without a warning. He’s coming with wrath and force. He’s coming with power and judgment. And He’s coming on a white horse!

Invitation: Won’t you leave your pride behind, repent of your sins, and come to him today?

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[1] Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1960), 3:443-4.