Listening To Jesus, Through Isaiah.

Ian you have been trying to share your location. (I had been trying to send a pin drop to someone, without success before I turned to the Lord). You need to know you never have to do that with Me. I was here before you, I am here now and I will still be here when you leave. I am so completely part of your life. So let go of those things that are holding you back, let them go and remember, concentrate on the power and the presence of My love, which surrounds you. It is only when you let go and place your trust fully in Me, that I can take you and lift you up to fly like an eagle. I can restore your youthful eagerness, fulfil your expectations and take you far beyond that. So let your mind imbibe the fact of My presence so that you can experience lift-off.

So friends, welcome officially to 2022. I have decided to dig into Isaiah for a time. The challenge is to continue to listen to what Jesus is saying through this prophetic book. It is roughly in two parts. I will tackle ch 1-39 and then have an interlude somewhere else before coming back to the rest.

Just a few words of introduction, to orientate ourselves. Isaiah prophesied in Judah during a time of relative prosperity. The people of Israel had drifted away from God. He highlights two main problems: formality in their religion and adoption of heathen practices. Later when faced with danger, they rather relied on the help of pagan nations for help than Yahweh Himself.

Just to give you a beacon to hold you on course, the key vs in Isaiah is 40:5 “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” This verse is spoken at the commencement of the second part, which starts withthe “servant songs” which point to Jesus. Put that together.

The introductory chapter 1 spells out the problem. It is pretty self-explanatory, but let me highlight a few things. Vs 3 b says Israel does not know, nor understand. This is maybe the key to their backsliding? Why do I say this? Because the lack of knowledge and understanding comes with the loss of contact with God. “The fear of God is the beginning of all wisdom”. Sometimes prosperity does exactly that. It leads to complacency and self reliance. So religious acts are continued, but they are merely outward performances. Other practices are introduced to “enhance” religious experience.

Now here comes my message for 2022. It is from 1:10. “Hear the word of the Lord….listen to the law of our God”. That brings us back again to he very reason for this blog. To encourage us to LISTEN TO JESUS. Put that together with Isaiah 40, which is pointing forward prophetically to a new way in which God is going to speak to the people. That means reading God’s word with more than just a literary interest in it. But taking it to the next step. Combining it with a desire to hear Jesus speaking to you. With an attitude of expectation of God speaking to you personally. Of asking Him, through His Spirit to make His word come alive to you. Of ending every time of devotion with “What do You want me to hear today? How must I respond?” This is sometimes a bit harder in the Old Testament than the New. So lets help each other as we read through Isaiah together.

So won’t you read Isaiah 1, before Monday and try and apply it to our contemporary situation. Then we can chat about it Monday’s blog.