Isaiah 61:4
“And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.”
One would think that the past can have no influence on the future, but when you look at the verse above you will see this is not true. God teaches us that when a person is filled with the Spirit of God, they will build that which was wasted and torn down. Notice, their future was to build the “old wastes.” In order to move forward they had to look back to see what “former desolations” they must rebuild. They must look at what the “waste cities” used to be in order to build the new city. Their future was the past.
Isaiah 49:1
“Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.”
It is very clear from the verse above that Jesus was placed on this Earth to fulfill a purpose. It says, “The LORD hath called me from the womb…” The Messiah was placed on this Earth to reconcile Israel to the Father through His sacrificial death, and He was also placed on this Earth to be a light to the Gentiles. Everything Jesus did while on this Earth was to fulfill that purpose.
Isaiah 44:16
“He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire:”
One of the things that fire has symbolized is the power of God. Israel said in the verse above, “I have seen the fire.” The problem is they had seen the refiner’s fire, but the refiner’s fire was making idols. Instead of looking to see the fire of God, they looked for the fire of the false gods.
Isaiah 36:4
“And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?”
The Devil’s tactics never change. What he did in the past he will do again today. His effort has always been to destroy the confidence in God’s people. He knows that if your confidence is destroyed, you will not have the ability to influence others. That is why he went straight after the confidence of God’s people in the verse above. When you look at the story in the verse above, you find six areas where the Devil will try to destroy your confidence.
Isaiah 14:16
“They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;”
The Devil is the biggest fraud who has ever existed. He promises things he cannot deliver. He threatens with things that he cannot do. He presents himself as someone who he is not. Sadly, most Christians, if not all, have at some time or another yielded to his offers or threats.
Isaiah 11:1
“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:”
There are many great leaders after whom you could pattern your leadership, but there is no greater leader to copy than Christ. Many great leaders have many good qualities, but no leader other than Christ can say that they have no bad qualities. When you look at the qualities of Christ’s leadership, you will see that the result is peace. Verse 6 shows us the result of His leadership when it says, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” This is the type of leader whom you should follow. I find in this chapter four qualities of Christly leadership that every leader should have.
Isaiah 5:2
“And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.”
What did I do wrong? This is the question many people ask when they have invested their lives and done their best to help those who they love to turn out right. Sadly, parents second-guess what they did wrong that caused their child to go wayward. They wonder if they were too strict or not strict enough. They wonder if they spent too little time and question if they gave enough possessions to their child. My answer to every parent is that it’s not the vineyard.
Revelation 14:4
“These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are
virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.
These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and
to the Lamb.”
There is a group of people who often have been overlooked because
of something over which they have no power to control. These people are
often joked about and at times overlooked for a leadership position all
because of a status which they cannot control. Yes, we have Sunday
school classes geared just towards these people, but somehow we still
treat them as if they are still adolescents who need to grow up and
change their status. This group of people who I am talking about are
single adults who for whatever reason have not found that person whom
they feel God wants them to marry.
Revelation 8:3
“And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.”
One of the areas in the Christian life where many get discourage is in the area of their prayer life. We live in times when we want immediate results, but the prayer life is not a click-and-get computer program. The prayer life will certainly exercise one’s faith in God and stretch that faith so that if you will continue trusting Him it will allow you to be a stronger Christian.
3 John 1:5
“Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;”
The actions of fellow Christian brothers and sisters will be some of the greatest hurts you will experience in the Christian life. Throughout my ministry, it has not been the world that has hurt or attacked me in the greatest way, but it has been those who were closest to me and who I considered my dearest friends. Whether or not we like this, it is part of the Christian life that you will have to expect.