In Isaish 7, the Lord promised Ahaz, an unGodly king, that He would protect the him and his kingdom from a pending invasion. The Lord then invited Ahaz to ask Him for a sign. In essence, God extended His grace and provision to Ahaz, who rejected it out of his own pride.
In this message, Pastor Leland Acker shows how this fits into Isaiah’s theme of reasoning with God, and how we can align ourselves with God in our lives so we can experience the peace He offers.
In Isaiah 1:18, God says, “Come, let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
As we discussed last week, to reason with God means to come to the Lord, allow Him to convict you of your sin and correct your sin, and then God will cleanse you and forgive you of your sin.
In Isaiah 6, we see what this looks like, as Isaiah has his reasoning moment with God.
When you find yourself beset by fear, anxiety, regret, sadness or anger, you may feel overwhelmed. In this message, Pastor Leland Acker points out that to overcome the anguish in your life, you need to find peace in your heart. This message, taken from Isaiah 1:18, shows us how to do that.
The hardest days begin when we wake up and realize how far we’ve fallen. How discouraging it is to know how blessed you were, or how great you were, and see how far off course you’ve drifted.
Whether it’s realizing you’ve gained 100 pounds, spent all of your inheritance, or whether it’s something more significant, like realizing the full consequences of a spiritual failure, seeing the devastation in your life and the long road to recovery can be a daunting moment.
Such was the case for ancient Israel during Isaiah’s day. The nation had been led by God out of Egypt, through a parted Red Sea, into the wilderness, and ultimately into the Promised Land. Ultimately, the nation enjoyed military success under King David, and political and economic success under King Solomon.
Those years also saw a Spiritual revival in Israel, as the Temple was built in Jerusalem, which replaced the Tabernacle in Shiloh. Israel was at its peak, militarily, economically, and Spiritually.
But, in the aftermath of the death of King Solomon, greed and self-interests entered in, resulting in a battle between two would-be successors to Solomon, which resulted in the Kingdom splitting in half. That set a series of events into motion which led to rampant idolatry in Israel, and the nation turning its back on God.
By the time Isaiah began to prophesy, the nation was a shell of what it used to be. Instead of being a military power, it was oppressed by its enemies. Instead of being a political power, it was the joke of the heathen nations surrounding it. Instead of being an economic power, Israel experienced famines, droughts, and a fledgling economy.
To solve their problems, Israel often turned to idols, instead of repenting and returning to God. Tragically, Israel could not see the connection cutting themselves off from God, who was the source of all their blessings, and the hardships they endured. So, things got worse.
Then, God called Isaiah to prophesy to the nation.
Isaiah’s ministry to Israel was to call the nation to repentance and to demonstrate the grace and redemption that the Lord brought. This theme was set out in Isaiah 1, where the Lord told the people that they were rebellious, but, “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.”
Despite how severely the nation of Israel rebelled against God, God was still going to set everything right.
This promise is extended to us as well. Now matter how badly we’ve messed things up, God will redeem us and restore us, using the adversity we experience to transform us. This is a promise we can believe in.
“Come, let us reason together, said the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isaiah 1:18).”
Over the next few weeks, we will explore how the Lord will redeem and restore us through a study in the book of Isaiah. You can join us in person at 11 am Sundays at 599 Sunrise Dr. in Early, TX, or joining us on Facebook Live at about 11:15 Sunday morning, or check out the video messages that will be posted here.
May God bless you with comfort, encouragement and peace as we study these passages together.
What was the name of Christ? When people approached Him on the street, how did they address Him?
It is becoming more popular among fringe groups in the Christian movement to try to differentiate between the names “Jesus” and “Yeshua.” Such groups advocate using “Yeshua” over “Jesus” in a supposed effort to align more with the name His family and disciples used. However, their doctrine distracts from the Gospel and causes unnecessary division among Christians.
The thing to remember when it comes to this issue is that the culture in Israel during Jesus’ day was a multilingual culture. Aramaic was the language spoken by the Jews living in the Holy Land, while Latin was the primary language of most Romans occupying the area. However, the international language of the day was Greek, which was not only used by world travelers, but was often the language of the market place.
As is the case with multilingual societies, names are often spoken differently. Take the culture around the Texas border, for instance. A young man may be known by His Spanish-speaking neighbors as “Juan,” while being referred to as “John” by his English-speaking neighbors.
The name, “Jesus,” is the English pronunciation of the Greek name, “Iesus,” which is the Greek pronunciation of the Hebrew name, “Yeshua,” which, pronounced in English would be “Joshua.”
Similarly, “Jesus” in Spanish is pronounced, “Hey-SOOS.”
The pronunciation changes from language to language, but what remains the same is the Christ to Whom the name refers, and the meaning the name conveys.
In Matthew 1, Joseph was told to name Him “Jesus,” because “He shall save His people from their sins.” The name (in Greek, Hebrew, English and Spanish) means “The Lord is Salvation.” Salvation is the Lord’s mission, and it is the very essence of His character.
The Lord came to seek and save that which is lost. Furthermore, He came to redeem and restore us, preparing us to enter into His eternal Kingdom.
One of the great tragedies of the digital age is the temptation to take alternative viewpoints in an effort to differentiate ourselves from others. We all want to be the smartest person on the internet, and a thought leader in the faith.
To do this, we often feel that we have to find a deeper truth that no one else has noticed. Then, we must leverage that to build a following.
This is not only tragic, it is sinful. This is the same thought process employed by the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, as well as the same process employed by false teachers.
The tragedy of the whole thing is that the Gospel gets completely lost in the exchange. When we lose focus on the Gospel to leverage a lesser known (and often illegitimate) doctrinal stance, we deviate from the message Christ gave us. We miss opportunities to see souls saved, we miss the redemptive power of Christ. Worse, we fail to fulfill the mission of Christ.
Christians have referred to Christ as “Jesus” for hundreds of years. Had this been offensive to God, we would know by now.
So, don’t get caught up in the name game. Praise the Lord, and fully believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Embrace His redemption, and look forward to the day He returns and establishes His Kingdom on Earth. And help others to come to experience His salvation and redemption.
In John 9, the Apostle John continues his mission to demonstrate to us Who Jesus really is by recording the miracle of the healing of the blind man. John opens by telling us that this man was born blind, that it was Jesus who saw him, and he recorded the conversations between the apostles and Jesus concerning the man’s condition.
There was a thought process in Israel during Jesus’ day that if good things happened to you, God was pleased with you. If bad things happened, God was angry with you.
In the case of the blind man, what happened? Was God upset with his parents? Or with a future sin this man would commit.
Jesus answered, “neither,” saying that the man was born blind so that the works of God would be manifest in him.
From this passage, we see that the Lord sees us. We then see how God works in our lives, and we see the timeframe by which God works. For more, check out Pastor Leland Acker’s message posted above.
One of the great tragedies of our day is that people are in bondage to sin, yet because of the pleasure of sin, they don’t realize they’re trapped.
The conversation continues between Jesus and the Pharisees in the aftermath of His forgiving the woman who was taken in the act of adultery in John 8. The Pharisees are challenging Jesus’ authority and trying to discredit Him, while Jesus preaches the truth and calls them out on their Spiritual ignorance.
In this message, Pastor Leland Acker warns about the dangers of studying scripture without learning Who God is, and how many high-level Bible scholars spend lifetimes reading and studying scripture without knowing God. Such was the case for the Pharisees.
So, in this passage, Jesus reminded the Pharisees that, like all non-believers, they stand condemned before God. The only escape from this condemnation is through faith in Christ.
Jesus then confirmed His identity and promised blessings to the believers. Listen in as Pastor Leland Acker brings us an encouraging word from this powerful passage.
Having pardoned the woman taken in adultery, confronting the Pharisees for their own sin and addressing their unbelief, Jesus then turned His attention to the people that believed on Him. In a word of encouragement, He said, “If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
How amazing it must be to know the truth and to be set free by it. It seems simple, yet liberating. Easy, yet hopeful.
Then, questions arise in our souls. Questions like the one that plagued Pilate, “What is truth (John 18:38)?” And, “From what are we being set free?”
To answer these questions, lets travel back in time to the days of Christ. Israel was under Roman occupation, and the people faced oppression, not only from the Roman government and military, but from many of their own people.
From the publicans who enriched themselves by extorting tax money from the people, to the religious leaders who enriched themselves by seizing power through the religious institutions. For the people who followed Jesus, there were few points of hope, save for one… that the Messiah would come and set everything straight.
As Jesus walked the earth, the people had become hopeful. The timing of the arrival of the Messiah was nearing as predicted by the Prophet Daniel. John the Baptist fulfilled scriptures in Isaiah concerning the forerunner to the Christ, and John himself pointed out Jesus as being that Christ.
As Jesus taught and ministered, many of the people came to believe that He was, in fact, the Christ that had been promised to deliver Israel. Those who followed found salvation, love, compassion and deliverance in His words.
The people who were constantly being called upon by their own religious leaders to sacrifice more, to suffer more, and to obey more, were being told by Jesus, “Come unto Me, and I shall give you rest.” And, for a time, they accepted that invitation.
Jesus knew that there would be those who would follow for a while, and leave. Indeed, it is a common thing when one is overcome with the struggles of life to cling to religion, or a religious leader, in order to find some sort of answer or resolution. Often, when that resolution is found, or when hope of a resolution is lost, the follower will fall back to their old ways.
It was that pattern that Jesus spoke to when He said, “If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed.” The ones who are truly the followers of Christ are those who continue to follow and trust Him regardless of outcome, who continue with Him until the end.
That level of dedication leads one to know the truth.
What is truth?
Truth is objectively true, and which is true under any consideration. Truth is real regardless of how men may perceive it.
Regarding the Lord, truth is the reality of the Gospel, and the blessing of hope that comes through the Gospel.
Jesus told His followers that if they continued in His word, then they would truly be His disciples. They would know the truth of the Gospel, Who He is, and the truth of God’s grace, and thus they would be freed from the oppression of the religious leaders and the anxieties of living under Roman rule.
For us today, continuing in the word means continually learning the truth of the Gospel from the scriptures. The more we do that, the better we know and understand the Gospel, the more we know the truth, and the more we are set free by the truth.
Being set free by the truth means being freed from fear of God’s judgment, from the questions of whether we’re good enough to get into Heaven, and freed from the fears peddled to us by cable news. We have been set free, because we know the One who holds tomorrow, the One who holds us, and we know that our eternal life and deliverance is in His hand, not ours.
And that is liberating.
The Point... 