Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Isaiah 6-10
CHAPTER 6
VIEW OF HEAVEN
· In the year 739BC, the year that King Uzziah died.
· I (Isaiah) saw the Lord (no man has seen God at any time…but here Isaiah does see the Lord)
· … sitting on a throne (God the Father sits on the throne, Jesus is at His right hand)…this is the seat of authority, power, words of the King of the universe.
· … high and lifted up (God is not on our level … we must look UP to Him)
· … and the train of His robe filled the temple (He is not only royal, but must be big if the tail of his robe is that long.)
· Above it stood seraphim (angelic creatures)
· … each had 6 wings
o With 2 he covered his face
o With 2 he covered his feet
o With 2 he flew
· And one (of these seraphim) cried out to another …
o HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the Lord of hosts
o The whole earth is full of His glory. (Is this ever something to look forward to?…today?…the earth is filled with rebellion, cynicism, sarcasm, coldness, aloofness distance … but here we see what God intended for His creation to display…His glory…order, freedom, worship, unity … all the things that make a man great .. but only because and if he is doing what God created him to be.)
· … And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
o As these seraphim called out, their voices shook the doorposts of the temple … this is tremendous power in their voices…stronger than any ‘boom-box’ you’ve ever heard.
· Now we have Isaiah’s resonse:
· WOE IS ME, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips (lips without integrity) , and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.
· WHY WOE? For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. (again, no man has seen God at any time…but Isaiah did!! Wow!!!)
· In Isaiah’s humility, one of the seraphim flew over to him and carrying a handful of live coals with tongs from the altar, he touched Isaiah’s mouth, saying:
o Behold your iniquity is taken away and your sin purged.
· THEN THE LORD SAID…
o “Whom will I send, and who will go for Us (note: the Godhead is plural!)”
· Isaiah then, with his lips loosed, said, “Here am I, send me”
·
CHAPTER 7
· Isaiah was sent to Ahaz, with the following message:
· Don’t worry about
· Now a principle of interpretation:
o Head of
o Head of
o Head of Ephraim is
o Head of Samaria = Remaliah’s son
o From this we can determine that “head” means the leader, the prominent one, the one who sets the pace or tone.
o Thus, the head of a country is it’s capital, the head of a city is it’s king/mayor.
· Then God tells Isaiah to tell Ahaz to ask for a sign that this is going to happen.
· Ahaz refuses to ask for a sign or test the Lord…so the Lord gives him a sign anyway…
o NOTE: you can only do this if you are in total control of the future.
· The sign from God:
o “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
§ NOTE: This sign came to pass WAY after the time of Ahaz…so how could this be s sign to Ahaz?
§ A. It wasn’t a sign to Ahaz…it was a sign to the “house of David”
o Note the fulfillment:
§ Matthew 1:23 (NASB) 23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
o But God says that BEFORE that Child can discerne good from evil, the land of Syria will be abandoned by both her kings…then used by God to come upon Israel and bring judgment on her.
·
CHAPTER 8
· God predicts
· Why? Because the people refused “the waters of Shiloah that flow softly
· Fear God … nothing else.
o Isaiah 8:13 (NASB) 13 “It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Thots on the 4th of July 2008
Today is July 4th, 2008. I’m BBQing and listening to an account on TV about the Marines who took Iwo Jima, the movie "The League of Grateful Sons" … about Veterans who are now talking about what it was like to be in that war…and how their biggest worry was that they would not live up to their father’s honor. And they are taking time to talk with their sons about what it was like to fight, how they felt, the challenges they faced. I’m thinking of you son, you are visiting with Lisa today. You have gone with her to the
As I’m watching these men as they share with their sons what God has done in their lives, I long to share that same God I know with you. My prayer is that you will grow up and not miss capturing the baton of gratitude to God I have for the country He has , allowed me to grow up in, and for the freedoms we share, that are slipping away from our country. I pray you and the country you will grow up in, that God will allow you to enjoy the freedoms that your grandpa fought to win for you. Don't let them slip away. Be courageous. Be a man. Be strong.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
EZEK 1-5
ISAIAH
CHAPTER 1
· To
o Isaiah 1:2 (NASB) 2 Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.
· PZ-Even in the middle of all the rebellion, which deserves God’s judgment, God always reserves for Himself a remnant.
o Isaiah 1:9 (NASB) 9 Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like
· God: Because of your rebellion, I won’t hear your prayers.
o Isaiah 1:15 (NASB) 15 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
· So what is God’s counsel to you rebellious son’s?
o Isaiah 1:16 - 17 (NASB) 16 “Wash yourselves,
o make yourselves clean;
o Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
o Cease to do evil,
o Seek justice,
o Reprove the ruthless,
o Defend the orphan,
o Plead for the widow.
· The ultimate counsel—Let’s be reasonable:
o Isaiah 1:18 (NASB) 18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.
· Your conditions:
o IF YOU – Then you will …:
§ Isaiah 1:19 (NASB) 19 “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land;
o BUT IF YOU – Then you will … :
§ Isaiah 1:20 (NASB) 20 “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
· You (the faithful city:
o Have become a harlot (unfaithful)
o Have become murderers
o Your silver to dross
o Your wine to water
o You love bribes
o You do not defend the fatherless or protect the widow.
· THEREFORE THE LORD SAYS—I will:
o Get rid of My adversaries
o Turn My hand against you
o Restore your judges
· THEN YOU:
o Shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.
CHAPTER 2
· To
· PROPHECY: Later days ßThis is key to understanding: this is yet future.
o Mountain of the Lord’s house will be raised up
o The nations shall flow to the mountain of the house of the Lord
o People will say:
§ Let us go to the mountain of the Lord (house of God) =
§ HE WILL:
· Teach us … and we shall walk
· Judge … and they shall beat their swords into plowshears…
· COUNSEL TO
o God: Let us walk in “light of the Lord” … But God, You have forsaken Your people….WHY?
o You (
§ Filled with eastern ways
· Soothsayers like the Philistines
· Pleased with children of foreigners
· Land is full of silver and gold
· No end to their treasures
· Land is FULL OF HORSES
· No end to chariots
· Land is full of idols
· They worship the work of their own hands
· The “day of the Lord of hosts” shall come upon everything proud and lofty
· The Lord alone will be exalted in that day (but idols will be abolished)
· In that day (of the Lord)
o Man will cast away idols
· PZ: … when He arises to shake the earth mightily (more about this is in Revelation)
CHAPTER 3
· To
· Bad times coming
o Children will be princes
o Babies ruling over them
o A CHILD WILL BE INSOLENT TOWARD THE ELDER
· Why? ...
o Because their tongue and their doings are AGAINST THE LORD
· MESSAGE TO:
o THE RIGHTEOUS:
§ Isaiah 3:10 (NASB) 10 Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions.
o BUT TO THE WICKED:
§ Isaiah 3:11 (NASB) 11 Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he deserves will be done to him.
· NOTE: There are things we receive based on “what we deserve”
§ Children are their oppressors (God is saying this is wrong…but this will be the way it is)
§ Women rule over them (again God is saying this is wrong … but this will be the way it is)
· Note: This is clearly presented as NOT God’s plan, but the results of man rebelling against God. Man not taking up his God given responsibility under God; and woman rejecting God’s role for her and usurping her man’s God given role. This is the ultimate in role reversal and is NOT LOOKED ON FAVORABLY BY GOD.
CHAPTER 4
· PZ: “In that day”
o 7 women shall take hold of one man saying:
§ Isaiah 4:1 (NASB) 1For seven women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach!”
o COMMENT: It appears a time will come when men will reject women to the point that good women will be under a reproach because men will not marry them. At that point good women will be coming to men and asking them to just let them “take their name” and these women will provide all their own support…this is a pathetic conclusion to the direction we see even today in our society where men do not take up their responsibilities…mainly because women will have either usurped their roles or refused to take up God’s clear design for them to submit to their husbands.
o Isaiah 4:2 (NASB) 2In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of
§ Branch of the Lord = Jesus. Jesus will finally be called “beautiful” by the Jewish people…this is yet future.
o Isaiah 4:3 (NASB) 3It will come about that he who is left in
§ This is surely a time to look forward to. It appears there are going to be those in
o Isaiah 4:4 (NASB) 4When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning,
§ This will occur when the Lord has finally cleaned
o Isaiah 4:5 - 6 (NASB) 5then the LORD will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. 6There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.
§ This is a description of what the new Jerusalem will be like “in that day” yet future..
· .
CHAPTER 5
OBSERVATIONS
· OWNERSHIP: God planted a vineyard on a “very fruitful hill”
o He tended it well, digging out the rocks, tilling the soil and planting the best vines in it.
· EXPECTATIONS:
o He built a tower (to watch over it);
o Built a winepress (in expectation of coming fruitfulness)
· DISAPPOINTMENT:
o He expected it to bring forth good grapes
o BUT it brought forth wild grapes
· SO The message to
o You judge…
o Q1. What more could I have done to My Vineyard?
o Q2. Why, when I expected it to bring forth good fruit, did it bring forth bad fruit?
· SO, Let Me TELL YOU what I will do to My vineyard…
o I WILL
§ Take away it’s hedge (remove its protection) and it shall be burned
§ Lay it waste (remove its provision) and it shall not be pruned or dug
§ Command the clouds not to rain (take away what it needs for life).
· SO WHO or WHAT is this Vineyard?
INTERPRETATION:
· The vineyard of the Lord of hosts = “the house of
· The pleasant plant = “the men of
7 WOES
· Woe1: Multiply houses and land-desolation coming
o Isaiah 5:8 - 10 (NASB) 8 Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field, Until there is no more room, So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land! 9 In my ears the LORD of hosts has sworn, “Surely, many houses shall become desolate, Even great and fine ones, without occupants. 10 “For ten acres of vineyard will yield only one £bath of wine, And a homer of seed will yield but an £ephah of grain.”
· Woe2: To those who spend a lot of time drinking (alcohol): -- headed to exile and humility.
o Isaiah 5:11 - 17 (NASB) 11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink, Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them! 12 Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD, Nor do they consider the work of His hands. 13 Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst. 14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it. 15 So the common man will be humbled and the man of importance abased, The eyes of the proud also will be abased. 16 But the LORD of hosts will be exalted in judgment, And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness. 17 Then the lambs will graze as in their pasture, And strangers will eat in the waste places of the wealthy.
· Woe3: to those who promote evil using lies – God’s coming and knows what your doing.
o Isaiah 5:18 - 19 (NASB) 18 Woe to those who drag iniquity with the cords of falsehood, And sin as if with cart ropes; 19 Who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it; And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near And come to pass, that we may know it!”
· Woe4: to those who call good evil and evil good.
o Isaiah 5:20 (NASB) 20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
· Woe5: To those wise in their own eyes, and clever in their own sight.
o Isaiah 5:21 (NASB) 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes And clever in their own sight!
· Woe6: to heroes at drinking wine
o Isaiah 5:22 (NASB) 22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking,
· Woe7: to men known for mixing strong drink.
o Isaiah 5:22 - 23 (NASB) 22 Woe to … valiant men in mixing strong drink, 23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!
· .
HERE’S WHAT’S COMING:
· Isaiah 5:24 - 30 (NASB) 24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble And dry grass collapses into the flame, So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust;
o WHY? For they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
· 25 On this account the anger of the LORD has burned against His people, And He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down. And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets.
o For all this His anger is not spent, But His hand is still stretched out.
· 26 He will also lift up a standard to the distant nation,
· And will whistle for it from the ends of the earth;
· And behold, it will come with speed swiftly.
· 27 No one in it is weary or stumbles,
· None slumbers or sleeps;
· Nor is the belt at its waist undone,
· Nor its sandal strap broken.
· 28 Its arrows are sharp and all its bows are bent;
· The hoofs of its horses seem like flint and its chariot wheels like a whirlwind.
· 29 Its roaring is like a lioness, and it roars like young lions;
· It growls as it seizes the prey
· And carries it off with no one to deliver it.
· 30 And it will growl over it in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land, behold, there is darkness and distress; Even the light is darkened by its clouds.
BAD NEWS COMING…WHY? Because they have rejected the Lord.