Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
HOPE is something ALL of us need from time to time, am I right? As I am writing this it’s 1am. I am wide awake in the middle of the night having already slept a few hours and rather than toss and turn in bed, I’m having a wonderful time in God’s Word finding HOPE that I’d like to share with you, my friends.
God spoke these words which Isaiah wrote for us: “Be silent before Me, you nations of the earth. Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of discernment and judgment.” (Is. 41:1) God invites all people, of all places at all times to meet with God and learn from Him and grow in an authentic relationship with God. Do you see God challenges us to engage our minds, our wisdom, our discernment with right judgment?
The relationship God has designed us human beings to have with Him and the invitation of the Bible, God’s truth, is that we fully enter into relationship with this God through Jesus Christ; and then we frequently do some personal soul searching to evaluate our thinking, our understanding, our attitudes, our behavior. This God who is extending this invitation is the Eternal God, the Creator God, the Incomparable God and the HOLY God who describes Himself in Isaiah 40 as we saw the past three days, and He invites EVERY human being to come to Him in His truth.
Next God spoke to Isaiah specifically with great hope for the people of Israel and yet God at the same time invites us, all non-Jews of the world, to watch and learn from Israel about the relationship God is offering all of us who are not Israel yet are created and loved by the only, true, living, almighty, eternal God: “You Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham, My friend. I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you, I said, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So 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. 41:8-10)
As you know from God’s perspective “Israel” and “Jacob” can be synonymous since God changed Jacob’s name to ‘Israel’ during their second encounter at Bethel. (Gen. 35:9,10) Did you notice God clarified that He is speaking to the people “whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham, My friend”? We understand the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his sons are the people God chose from all peoples of the world to be His people, a people living in His covenant relationship with Him, and thus a model for all peoples of the world to understand God and the relationship God wants with ALL people. (Exodus 19:3-6)
And did you notice God’s comment about the relationship God had with Abraham? God used three words: “Abraham My friend”! Do you remember Jesus Christ, God the Son, made a similar statement about His disciples during their Passover meal together the evening before He went to the cross? John the disciple was at the table with Jesus, and he tells us Jesus said: “My command is this: love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are My friends if you do what I command… I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and I appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last…” (John 15:12-16)
Do you see the similarity between what Isaiah wrote as God’s message to Israel and the words of Jesus to His disciples 700 years later regarding the miracle of being a friend of God? Now here’s the big question for us today: those disciples were all Jewish men, so is God saying this love He has for Israel is exclusive to Jewish people or is God saying the love He has for Israel is also available to anyone through Jesus Christ, God the Son?
The apostle Paul spent much of Ephesians 2 describing this miracle of non-Jews being drawn to God by Jesus. The Holy Spirit led Paul to write: “…remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth… at that time you were separate from Christ, (Messiah) excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace who has made the two groups (Jews and Gentiles) one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility by setting aside in His flesh the law with its commands and regulations. God’s purpose was to create one new people out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross by which He put to death their hostility… For through Jesus, we both have access to God the Father by one Holy Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers but now fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of God’s household…” (Eph. 2:11-22)
There are some contrary ideas these days about what God was saying to both Jews and Gentiles through Paul in the first century and how we should understand it today. I believe strongly that God’s unique, ‘covenant relationship’ with Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has not changed and will never change because God doesn’t change. (Mal. 3:6) In the future there are still some unfulfilled special experiences for Israel with God and with the nations.
But the Church, which Jesus established (Matt. 16:18) by His death and resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2) and over which the risen Jesus Christ is the Head, (Colossians 1:15-22) this global church has been comprised of both regenerate Jews and Gentiles since the days of that Pentecost arrival of the Holy Spirit. Therefore we born again Gentiles can consider born again Jews our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we can be led by the Holy Spirit to wisely claim the promises of God written by Isaiah 2700 years ago for all people God has drawn to himself.
Thus, I celebrate, and I choose to live in the power and promise of Isaiah 41:9,10 “I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So 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.”
Now as you let that sink in to your soul my friends, both my Jewish heritage friends and my Gentile friends, all who have trusted Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord, let these powerful words of God become an exclamation point of God’s promises for us: “I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you..” (Is. 41:13)
And as God brings His sovereign, eternal, unlimited power to bear in our lives and our situations, please remember, God has an even larger purpose than helping us and here’s how God says it: “…so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has accomplished it.” (Is. 41:20)
God draws people to Himself as they see the wonder of God’s work in His people, right? So, are you embracing these promises today and are you a walking advertisement for the wonder of God and His great loving work in His people?
Here’s a wonderful worship song, with a Christmas flavor, to help us celebrate these great Isaiah 41 promises. Can you make the application to your situation today, whatever it is? What great things does God want to accomplish to deal with your fear or anxiety or worry today?
Today’s Scripture: Isaiah 41:1, 8-13, 20.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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