Comfort in knowing God is in complete control

Earlier this week my pastor (and mentor) gave me some advice that has stuck with me and already changing the way that I am thinking and living.

He said that ultimately God is in control of all things, ultimately where you at is where God wants you to be....I'll spare you the details... (I am more reformed in thinking than my pastor, he is a free will baptist pastor! but ultimately we both agree that God has ordained things to be the way that they in the end will be....the "how" we get there details can vary depending on how you view free will issues)

So in ministry where ever you are at physically (a chaplain in the Army, a pastor of a church plant, an associate pastor of a long established church, a business person in a large corporation, a construction worker) is where God wants you to be.

He said we all have doubts sometimes...instead of living in the moment of emotion, we can live in the moment of the Spirit. We can stand firm in His Word and in His Sovereignty.

He was saying all of this to help prepare me for my calling into chaplaincy. Where ever the government sends me I will go. It will be exciting and an adventure. There will be things I will see that I have not ever seen yet before. There will be people hurting. There will be a lot of opportunities for love, service and ministry. There will be hardships and times of frustration and maybe even doubt.

While I am not there yet (in the Army) I am able to use this advice already! At UPS Freight, where I work, it is so easy to get so caught up in my work that I ignore people. I ignore the Spirit. I just live in my little "lala" land or I live in the emotions of work: not good. (There is a lot of anger and frustration there)

I told myself tonight at work, "God wants me here now. He has a reason and purpose for me to be here. I might be the only Jesus some of these men will ever see."

I tried today to be a leader. I tried today to love and listen to people. I tried to do all things at work for the glory of God. This is just practice for future ministry. I want to be living it now before I go off to the Army.

What is legacy about anyways?

Think about it with me for a minuet.
The things we do to impress people...
like wearing certain clothing, buying a nice car, building a big house, working for the right company, planning a nice career, knowing the right people, etc...
The reality is that in a century (give or take a few decades), all of our generation will be dead. You (and myself) and everyone that knows/knew you as well. Eventually everyone who has ever have remembered you will pass away...for many people, that is all legacy is. A few memories. Far less will anyone remember your nice clothing, cars, homes, career, etc.
The few exceptions, the few people that have left a memorial legacy (you know the people who made it into the textbooks) are not in their, are not remembered by their things: clothing, homes, cars, etc....they are remembered by their actions. Besides, there are a lot of names in textbooks that people who read the books ignore...they say "who cares?" It is history.

Legacy, what will you be remembered by? And who will care? Who will remember you?

thought of the day

In American culture tolerance is a virtue and conviction a vice

I'm old school

I'm a young postmodern body but living in me is old school personlaity

I don't fit into my own generation. I am an ancient old school man living a culture of new and change.

Albeit not everything about me is old school, when my parents, grandparents, uncles need computer help they call on me. I love the conveniences and technologies we have but that is not really what I am talking about here.

I am speaking and thinking of the way I think, the way I live, the way I go about things, even ministry; I am old school.

I stick out like a cold sore.

This culture is fast paced, I am slow and patient. This culture knows the fastest short-cuts. I have to experience things myself first the hard way. Maybe I am just stubborn.

I preach truth straight from the Bible I don't focus too much on illustrations and stories.

I will tell you something from the Bible and sure there is room for personal experience and illustrations, that is fine.

For me though, I spent my time studying the Word. I will depend more on the Holy Spirit's help to communicate the message properly. He is better at that than I am! I am going to preach the Word

Wanting

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

If am left wanting something but have already prayed about it and supposedly already surrendered it to God; I should have no more longing for that desire, I should though have the continued longeing to draw closer to God but not for that want anymore.

Great Devotional for today

The next best thing to do

Seek if you have not Found. “Seek, and ye shall find.” Luke 11:9.

“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss.” If you ask for things from life instead of from God, you ask amiss, that is, you ask from a desire for self-realization. The more you realize yourself the less will you seek God. “Seek, and ye shall find.” Get to work, narrow your interests to this one. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you only given a languid cry to Him after a twinge of moral neuralgia? Seek, concentrate, and you will find.

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.” Are you thirsty, or smugly indifferent—so satisfied with your experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a gateway, not an end. Beware of building your faith on experience, the metallic note will come in at once, the censorious note. You can never give another person that which you have found, but you can make him homesick for what you have.

“Knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” “Draw nigh to God.” Knock—the door is closed, and you suffer from palpitation as you knock. “Cleanse your hands”—knock a bit louder, you begin to find you are dirty. “Purify your heart”—this is more personal still, you are desperately in earnest now—you will do anything. “Be afflicted”—have you ever been afflicted before God at the state of your inner life? There is no strand of self-pity left, but a heartbreaking affliction of amazement to find you are the kind of person that you are. “Humble yourself”—it is a humbling business to knock at God’s door—you have to knock with the crucified thief. “To him that knocketh, it shall be opened.”

Chambers, O. (1993). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (NIV edition.). Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co.

For me today, this really got me. I had been seeking and dreaming of the "next best thing." M dreams. Today I surrender those even to Him. It is a never ending process of seeking Him and His will, the daily journey of asking for His will....but not just asking for something....but really truely seeking Him with clean hands and clean hearts. Amen

so simple in theory but impossible

The essence of our walk with Christ is in a word "Christ-likeness."

In a few more simple words it is holiness, righteousness, godliness, love and obedience.

Christ was all of those things so it is simpler to say "Christ-likeness." Our walk and relationship with Christ is so simple to summarize. When we do the things Christ did we are as we should be. We are to be obedient to the Word and to God. We are to be holy as He is Holy. We are to be the light and salt and strive for His righteousness. When we are doing all of these things we fulfill our duties as Christians.

That is it. That is all there is to it. Really it is so simple.
Aye, but difficult, albeit impossible without help.

And not just any help, but we have to have help from God. For we are fallen. We are man of depravity. We cannot accomplish true righteousness, true love, true godliness... not without God. We are not as we should be. We are fallen.

So first surrender.

Yes if we want the simple faith and the true Christ-likeness. We must first give up.

We must die to our own self, all our motives, dreams, desires and fall at His feat! We must give it all to Him who sits on the High Throne. We must give it all to Him who came to die so that we could learn to die to ourselves and so we could learn what true love really is and we could have it.

We surrender our will. We surrender our hearts. We surrender first in salvation. And even after we are surrendered to Christ as Lord of our lives....when we are no longer under the power and slavery of sin....we must still surrender daily. WE surrender constantly in prayer and in actions. we worship God in all things we do.

We learn to love. We learn to live in the Holy Spirit. We learn to be holy, but only when we are willing to let go of all we are and let God in. Let God be first. Let God have His will and His way.

So simple but profound. Nothing new but so difficult and true! Amen! Amen

now where Adam left you; know where the Spirit of God has placed you. Do not know either of these so exclusively as to forget the other. Spurgeon

Where I am growing

I am growing towards a call to holiness and godliness. My heart cries out to God for holiness, obviously I am striving but not in the least perfect. I even cry a little as I remember how vulnerable and weak I am as a minister. I am to uphold these high standards for God and his glory yet I fail him. I must die to myself and surrender completely to God for this to even work. In my own power I am not strong enough to be holy yet I desire to be. It is by faith alone through the work of the Holy Spirit, it is not a work of myself but by the grace of God we are free. I just preached on this sort of integrity of the man of God. The holiness we are striving for.

I know I am guilty of slacking off here. I used to go out on walks just to see where the Holy Spirit would take me and talk to whoever He led me to talk to, for evangelism. Here now at our church we have been talking about ways to evangelize in our community now for a year or two but we have yet to actually take the initiative and do something! It should be our primary mission! And that is not entirely true because we do preach the Gospel and have special events highlighting the Gospel I just feel that I am slacking off personally sharing.

I feel that I am striving to have integrity and courage. I don't always have the kind of zeal. I want to be consumed with love for Christ. Sometimes I let my own feelings and plan and logic consume me instead. What a silly mistake. Sometimes I do die out in the routine work of every day. I do scatter myself and try to be good at all things. While I should do all things for the glory of God and with excellence I need to delegate and relax and just focus on laying everything at his dear feet who bled and died for me! Amen! When I surrender all to Him and focus on what he wants me doing, not only do I have enough energy to complete it well I have zeal also that He provides!

Striving for excellence and godliness in all things

2 Pe 1:3–15 ESV:

3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the

knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

This passage has really hit home for me spiritually this past week.

I have been talking with God about my dislike for my job. But this is where He wants me right now. I am the only person demonstrating (or trying too) the characteristics of Jesus in their lives. It is a mission field, UPS Freight. I am to not only talk the talk and walk the walk, but I am to do all things with excellence. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, I am the salt and the light.

People are watching me. I am too be holy and godly. They ask me why I work hard, I get paid by the hour just like them. the work ethic has never been difficult for me. But sometimes I can take short-cuts or be lazy and that is where this passage really hits home. I ma to do things with excellence for the glory of God!

Today at work I made it a top priority. (Not to brag) but it was very relaxing, challenging at the same time and fun to do things right all evening. God blessed me for blessing Him. It was not as stressful as other night I think that my attitude to glorify God was a big factor, He took care of me. I hope I do not forfeit those blessing by posting this blog, for I mean not to take credit for this. In fact it was only through His help whom which I relied upon, that I could have done anything at all tonight. Thank you Lord. Amen

Context, Conclusion and Bibliography for Isaiah 6

Names of Isaiah’s Children and Future Hope

It is important to scan the immediate context right after Isaiah six also to gain even more understanding of this chapter. Along with the foretelling of future prophecies, Isaiah also forthtold and preached about the past and of God’s already established Word. Isaiah seven begins a narrative, where Isaiah acts upon God’s calling. Isaiah is told to visit King Ahaz and speak against him. For King Ahaz trusted in man, worse is the fact that King Ahaz refused Isaiah’s warnings.

In this story Isaiah’s son, Shear-jashub, is mentioned. His name signifies "the remnant shall return.” Shear-jashub went with Isaiah to visit Ahaz. For Ahaz the name of Isaiah’s son would have meant that the threat in Judah would be reduced to a remnant and that small remnant would eventually leave and ‘return home.’ But in the much larger picture, Shear-jashub was meant to convey the promise of a remnant returning to Israel out of captivity.[1]

Later in chapter seven, verse fourteen there is the infamous mention of Isaiah’s second son, “Immanuel.” The name means “God with us.” This verse is used out of context a lot in order to refer to Christ. While it does seem to have a double Christological meaning this is not what Isaiah originally was speaking of. The meaning is not “God (Jesus) is with us,” rather “God with us.”[2] During the Assyrian conquest, God was with Judah.[3] Hezekiah had trusted God and God protected Jerusalem. The verse reads in English “a virgin” will give the birth of Immanuel. In Hebrew the word simply means, “young woman.”[4] This is not the same as the virgin (woman who has never had intercourse) – Mary- giving birth to Christ. This is a different word completely.

Isaiah’s third child was also a sign. His name was “Maher-shalal-hash-baz” (Isaiah 8:3). It signified “Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey” as Isaiah eight verse one clarifies. Similarly to “God with us,” The child’s named was referring to the Assyrian threat. They would soon (swiftly) be gone and destroyed. For the Angel of the Lord would destroy them.

Isaiah 6 in New Testament

Isaiah chapter six has even more meaning when examined within the broad context of the entire book of Isaiah as a whole. (This paper will not examine that full context.) Isaiah’s call to become a prophet is an essential to all of that follows in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah continues his story narrative. The teaching and foretelling of Isaiah builds on the actual history that takes place. A simple example is that of the naming of his sons, as mentioned above. God told Isaiah to name his sons those particular names for those particular reasons!

Also, as mentioned above Isaiah is one of the most quoted books from the Old Testament into the New Testament with sixty-six direct quotations and nineteen allusions to Isaiah.[5] (Again, this paper will be unable to examine all of the references and contexts of Isaiah in the New Testament.)

One of the most famous quotations from Isaiah six in the New Testament is that of Mark chapter four, where Jesus is speaking. Jesus was teaching parables and the disciples asked him what the purposes of these parables were. Jesus quotes Isaiah six , verse nine. Jesus says basically that the Pharisees have hardened their hearts and cannot understand the parables.[6] In fact, Jesus tells the disciples that the parables are intentionally ‘mysterious” to those outside (Pharisees, etc) “in order that” they may not understand.[7] Those who are not willing to repent will not be forgiven. This is a universal truth from Isaiah that applies in the New Testament and even in modern day.

Imagine for a second, Jesus probably felt like Isaiah, teaching things directly to people who were hearing but not understanding and seeing but not perceiving. Even the disciples themselves did not understand completely. Jesus had an amazing understanding of the Old Testament. He dedicated a lot of His time to understanding it.

Conclusion and Application for Today

Starting with the more obvious things, Isaiah teaches that sin has consequences. God is displayed as Holy. God is Holy. This has not changed. God is Holy and cannot have anything to do with sin. Sin is rebellion against God. If man hardens their hearts against God in rebellion. God will continue to harden man’s heart. He is Holy and cannot put up with man’s sin. Not only will God continue to harden man’s heart in the direction of rebellion, but also He must deal with this sin in judgment and punishment. However if man repents of this sin and rebellion, God is there to accept man. God desires to see man repent! Isaiah himself is the model for Israel to repent. Few men followed this model. Hezekiah was one who did and God temporary secured Jerusalem from Judgment because of Hezekiah and Isaiah’s faiths. Although later Babylonian and Roman judgment would follow because men continued to reject God. God is Sovereign, Holy and Good.

When one has tasted redemption and holiness, it is his duty to carry the word of God to the people around who have ears but do not ear, and have eyes but do not see. As mentioned above the inability of people to move from perception to comprehension exists today, also. The call of Isaiah to preach this message exists today, except for modern Christians; this message is in a new light: The light of Jesus Christ. Our message of sin and rebellion is followed with the hope of salvation in Christ, not in being the remnant of Israel, but the remnant of Heaven.

Bibliography:

Constable, Thomas. “Notes on Isaiah.” Sonic Light, 2008.

http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/isaiah.pdf#search='literary%20s
tyle%20of%20isaiah%206'

Copeland, Mark. Ministering Spirits.(2006.) Retreived from
http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/angel/angel_04.htm on 2/13/09.

Evans, Craig. Isa. 6:9-13 in the context of Isaiah’s Theology. JETS 29/2 (June 1986)
139-146.

Evans, Craig. The Function of Isaiah 6:9-10 in Mark and John. Novum
Tcstamentum XXIV, 2 (1982)

Gill, John. John Gill exposition of the Bible. Public Domain. 1809.

Harvey, Barry. On Seeing: Isaiah 6:1-12 Review and Expositor, 97 (2000).

Hendriksen, William and Kistemaker, Simon. Baker’s New Testament Commentary, 12
Volume. Grand Rapids, Mi: Baker Publishing Group. 2001.

Henry, M. Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged
in one volume. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996.

Hill, Robert. ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM AS BIBLICAL COMMENTATOR:

SIX HOMILIES ON ISAIAH 6. St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly 47:3-4 (2003) 307-22

HOUSE, PAUL. ISAIAH'S CALL AND ITS CONTEXT IN ISAIAH 1-6. CRISWELL
THEOLOGICAL REVIEW 6.2 (1993) 207-22

Kirby, Peter. "Ascension of Isaiah." Early Christian Writings. 2006. 2 Feb. 2006
.

LIEBREICH, LEON.THE POSITION OF CHAPTER SIX IN THE BOOK OF ISAIAH.
Hebrew Union College Annual, 1954

LOVE, JULIAN. The Call of Isaiah: An Exposition of Isaiah 6 Interpretation magazine,
1957.

McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Vol. 3, “Isaiah,” Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville,

TN 1982, p. 185.

New American Standard Bible (NASB). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999.

Ortlund, Raymond C., Jr. Isaiah: God Saves Sinners. Preaching the Word series.

Wheaton, Il.: Crossway Books, 2005.

STEINMETZ, David. John Calvin on Isaiah 6: A Problem in the History of Exegesis. The
Divinity School Duke University.

Strong, James. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Nashville:
Thomas Nelson, 1995.

The NET Bible, New English Translation Bible (1996).

The New International Version Bible (NIV), International Bible Society, 1984.

Secondary:
Dillard, Raymond B., and Longman, Tremper III. An Introduction to the Old Testament

(2nd ed.) Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006. ISBN: 9780310263417.

Klein, William, Blomberg, Craig, and Hubbard Jr, Robert. Introduction to Biblical
Interpretation. Dallas, Tx : Word Publishing, 1993.

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[1] Evans. Isa. 6:9-13 in the context of Isaiah’s Theology

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Strong.

[5] McGee.

[6] Hendriksen, William and Kistemaker, Simon. Baker’s New Testament Commentary

[7] Evans. The Function of Isaiah 6:9-10 in Mark and John