The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Isaiah 1-4
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 6:Kings and Prophets: God divides the kingdom people.
Background Information: Isaiah 1-4
Imagine yourself standing in a valley and looking into a mountain range. Some mountains are very close, and some are separated by a much greater distance. From your vantage point, you cannot tell the distance that separates them from you and from each other. Prophecy is like looking into a historical mountain range. Some was forthtelling, not speaking of the future but rather speaking God’s truth into the present. Some was foretelling of a future time. When speaking of the future, some prophetic preaching was focused on the near future, while some spoke of events that were hundreds of years in the future. Some future events were even further in the distance; they spoke of the coming of Christ and beyond. Isaiah ministered primarily in the south to Judah during the time of the downfall of the northern kingdom, Israel. Isaiah was a contemporary of Amos and Hosea, who ministered in the north, and Micah in the south. Isaiah accurately proclaimed what future history would look like for Israel and Judah. Some don’t believe Isaiah could have written these words because of their presupposition against supernatural revelation from God. The fact is that Isaiah’s accuracy verifies his status as a spokesman for God. He was a true prophet. His greatest prophecies were of the coming of the Lord Jesus. One of the better-known of these is:
“Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14
No true prophet of God was interested in the future merely to satisfy human curiosity. We tend to be fixated on the future: “What will the weather be this weekend?” “Who will win the election/ball game?” “What will happen to me and mine?” Our future focus often serves to remove faithfulness from our daily lives. We worry about the future instead of simply being obedient in the present. The prophets spoke of the future to instruct the people about why judgment was coming. It was because of their failure to obey God. The prophets spoke of the future to give hope on the other side of judgment; God would be faithful, although they were not. We live on the other side of the mountain peak of the coming of Christ. His return is yet in front of us. It is okay to check on the weather predictions, but we must refuse to live worrying about the future. Today, between the advents of Christ, we must seek first the kingdom of God.
“But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore, don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:33-34
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