- Every action you make in your life is because of some belief you have.
- Different people have different reactions to deer.
- Some people have seen them,
- fed them,
- hunted them
- slammed on their brakes to dodge them,
- Plowed right into them
- The lady who spent days in the hospital because the deer came in the window of the car and kicked her senseless will never forget it.
- No one will be able to rise to the magnificence of the missionary cause who does not feel, know, understand, seek, or have the magnificence of Jesus Christ our Lord. - John Piper
- Isaiah 6
- the seraphs cover their faces and their feet. they were hiding their faces out of respect, and their feet out of shame (uncleanliness)
- Holy Holy Holy - repetition means infinite.
- His glory - kabod in hebrew, doxa in greek, means wealth, greatness, heavyweight
- Like when you see a huge tree torn down by a storm
- Like when you see someone that has died, that a few days earlier was alive
- Awe, dumbfounded, paralyzed, heavy
- Doorposts and thresholds shook - some of the most sturdy parts of the temple.
- Reacting to a vision of the Glory of God
- Isaiah: “woe is me”
- Joshua: “fell facedown to the ground in reverence”
- Peter: “away from me, Lord”
- Tax collector: “Luke 18:13 ¬¶ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‚ÄòGod, have mercy on me, a sinner.‚Äô
- Roman Centurion: “You don’t have to come to my house.”
- Heb. 10:31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
- Book of Hebrews: “Our God is a consuming fire.”
- The Hebrews said, “do not speak to us, but to Moses, and let him speak to us.”
- our sinfulness makes us think that we cannot go to God. The realization of our sin actually drives us away from God if we see Him but do not KNOW Him.
- What is God’s name? do you know it?
- God goes by Moses and says HIS NAME : compassionate
- The letter H sounding letter in Hebrew means ‘the essence of something.’
- Ab means father, and ahab, means love, the essence of the father is love
- Ram means to be high and exalted, raham means compassionate, having pity, to show mercy. the essence of being high and exalted is compassion and mercy
- God’s grace, in it’s purest form, is Him wanting you, when you don’t want Him.
- Smitten with a hot coal (NIV ‘touched’ is lame. strike, smite, smash, slay is hebrew word
- wages of sin is death - those ceremonially unclean lips need to be paid their wages.
- what sinful thing in your life needs to get what’s coming to it? What wages need to be paid out?
- PS2 given away and games trashed
- Isaiah’s means of communicating in the flesh has been cauterized shut! He can no longer communicate on the level of the world.
- Isaiah 6:7
- having been purified, notice that he does not cover any part of himself, like the seraphs do: HE CAN BE FULLY PRESENT TO GOD, NO HIDING LIKE THE SERAPHS
- “guilt is taken away” literally “your evil action has been turned off”
- 2Cor. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
- sin is atoned for” literally “list of offenses has been covered up”
- Now that would be enough. That right there would be a great thing. To see God and have Him purify you of your sins so that you could go home and play solitare on your PC with a clean conscience.
- Enough for us, maybe. But I don’t think you can have an experience like that and go back to normal.
- Plato’s allegory of the cave, you can’t go out and see the world in all of it’s color and then go back in and live in a cave, chained to a wall, seeing only the shadows cast on the wall.
- It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. But if you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad; and you will no longer be able to work for Him on the common sense basis. - Oswald Chambers
- God is seeking people to do His will 100%
- Ezekiel 22:30
- 2 Chronicles 16:9
- Isaiah 6:8
- What if Isaiah saw all this, was purified, and then sat in a quandry about whether the 10% tithe meant before taxes or after taxes? hmmm, boy, now how could I make this work within my budget? -RIDICULOUS!
- Isaiah says, “Here am I, send me”
Monthly Archive for December, 2004
This is an old talk from the Well Retreat a few months ago.
I came across it and thought I’d post my notes.
- Letting your light shine.
- Everyone take a little piece of duct tape=82 about a baseball =
card size
- Many methods of evangelism=82 ie. contagious christianity’s 6
- confrontational
- intellectual
- testimonial
- interpersonal
- invitational
- serving
- Things I’ve personally done
- passed out crackers/glow ropes
- played games with kids
- taught VBS in Burma
- Took clothes to orphan kids
- walked around and talked to strangers, sat in =
restaurants
- walked down greenriver road talking
- walked down greenriver road washing windshields
- Most effective method I’ve ever seen.
- being yourself
- letting the lion defend Himself
- be a witness of what has happened
- the Anti-Advertising movement
- status of a servant
- Phil 2:5-7
- Servants don’t boast in their position
- Servants don’t advertise
- How they should know the truth
- John 13:35 - by our love
- Matt. 5:13-16 - good deeds - phos (shining light) vs. =
phengos=20
(reflected light)
- John 16:7-8 - Holy Spirit convicting
- 2Cor. 4:10-12 - By dying to ourselves - Opening the =
Lid on Christ=20
inside of us
- Emerson quote
- 2 guys in prison, small little old white man, big huge mean black man
at the old man’s death, the mean man yells "That’s the only Jesus I=20
ever knew"
- business men knocking over blind kid’s apple cart.
- Margie Bell crying because I shoveled her snow
- Carry the duct tape and wonder what kind of message people would hear=20=
from you if it were over your mouth.=
I was just reading all of the parts of the NT where it says "final instructions" or "Closing remarks" from Paul.
It’s wild what is all here.
Romans 16:20 - "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet."
What a powerful encouragement!
1 Corinthians 16:12 - "Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity."
Can you imagine saying ‘no’ to Paul? "Apollos did, and apparently had a good reason. I can’t find anything anywhere else about the effect of this on them.
2 Corinthians 13:11 - "…aim for perfection…"
Don’t settle for being a Christian that tells dirty jokes or has a sinful habit, you just get ripped off.
Philippians 4:22 - "All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household."
Caesar isn’t a name-it’s a title. A title for a high up govt. leader. Pretty awesome.
Colossians 4:17 - "Tell Archippus: ‘See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord.’"
This is some sort of inside comment like, "Tell Archippus, you know what to do." And what does it mean? To fill it up! To complete what has been entrusted. He’s saying "Archippus, go for it!"
Fill it up!
Nahum 1:7
The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him…
‘Good’ Hebrew Tobe, same word used in Genesis “and it was good” verses. pleasing, good, beautiful, correct, lovely, etc. Refers to practical or economic benefits, wisdom, aesthetic or sensual goodness, happiness.
‘times’ Hebrew Yom, day, number of days, year, lifetime.
‘Cares for’ Hebrew Yada, to know, understand, observe, intimate friendship, skill in playing an instrument or in hunting
‘trust in Him’ Hebrew HHaysayh, to flee for protection, seek refuge, confide in, hope in, reliable stronghold
Sully’s paraphrase:
the Lord is lovely, right, and good. He is a refuge in trouble no longer how long it lasts, and He is good friends and excellently handles those who hide and depend on Him.
the LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him…
He is this and more. When I have travelled overseas and seen the desperate state of some people, in a Burmese orphanage or in some wide open valley in Central Asia, I can see that God DOES care for those who trust in Him.
Think of a war. Do the people that are fighting each other know each other? No! They think of each other only in the most abstract ways. The Nazis pictured Jews as rats. The American slave traders didn’t call African slaves men but ‘boy.’ Men devalue their enemies so as to make it easier to come against them. But God KNOWS those who run to Him. He knows the name in an omniscient sense of those that war against Him. He does not want anyone to perish but for all to come to eternal life, but HE KNOWS those that are with Him. He KNOWS those that are hiding in Him for salvation, and not trying to fight against Him and do it their own way.
*keep that war idea in mind*
Nahum 1:15
“Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace!”
‘brings good news’ One Hebrew word, Baysar, to announce, bring good news, Often the news pertained to military encounters
‘peace’ Hebrew Shalom: to be safe, complete, tranquility, peace, comfort, Though shalom can mean the absence of strife, it usually signifies much more. It essentially denotes a satisfied condition, a state of peacefulness, a state of well being both internally and externally. It is used of a prosperous relationship between two parties.
So when we talk about the feet on the hills of one bringing good news, it isn’t just “hey, you won the lottery!” or some kind of happy thing to hear, it is “the battle is over.” Isn’t that what every one of our jobs has been since Calvary? THE BATTLE IS OVER! We can now have PEACE, completion, absence of strife and fulness of friendship with God, the creator of the universe. The good news is that the war is over, and God won. And though we were the enemies of God, fighting against Him, He was not fighting against us but against the forces of evil ruling us, and now has made Shalom with us!
I used to know a guy that wanted to re-write the Bible and put an exclamation point behind every sentence! This is definitely one of those sentences! It’s not just good news! It’s good news pertaining to war! Pertaining to a fight! Haven’t we all been there?! Haven’t we all been fighting against God enough, even in our Christian walk! The War is OVER!
Shalom! Be complete and whole! God won!
Micah 7:9
Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD’s wrath, until
he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into
the light; I will see His righteousness.
In Hebrew the word for ‘Bear’ means ‘to lift up’. I will lift up the
LORD’s wrath. I will lift up his judgment and punishment. Both the
words ‘pleads’ and ‘my case’ mean an argument or a debate. The
connotation of the word is a violent quarrel, resorting to violence.
Didn’t Jesus fight the fight that was due to us? Wasn’t there a
tremendous battle to take place as we would each ultimately be defeated
by the first weapon of Satan, sin, and the second weapon, death? But as
we lift up our sin to Him, He picks it up and finishes the fight we
started when we were born as a descendent of Adam.
Many other prophets talk about the day of the Lord, and the way life
will be after God brings salvation. Only a few of the prophets actually
talk about the act of salvation and how specifically it will take
place. I think Micah had some kind of special look at the Messiah. He
is the one that talks about Bethlehem in 5:2 “…out of you will come
for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of
old, from ancient times.” And he talks about a shepherd guiding His
people in v. 4 “He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of
the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will
live securely, for then His greatness will reach to the ends of the
earth. And He will be their peace.”
If that doesn’t talk about the reign of Christ spreading all over the
earth, and Him adopting many people into His flock, I don’t know what
does. “Peace on earth, good will towards men on whom His favor rests.”
the angel army (host is an old word for army) said on Christmas night.
Micah 7:11 “The day for building your walls will come, the day for
extending your boundaries.”
The Hebrew word for boundaries isn’t fence or border, but would be
better translated customs, ways, precepts, edicts, laws, reign. The day
for extending God’s reign is upon us, as we fulfill Christ’s call to
GO.
Isaiah 54:2 “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent
curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your
stakes.”
The tent of the LORD is where He dwells. As more and more people come
to a saving knowledge of Him, the place of His tent grows. Can we put
aside national pride and prejudice, look to the foreign nations, and
pray to God, “Do not hold back Your salvation. The day for extending
Your ways has come. Plead their case and establish their righteousness.
Bring the nations into the light, so they may see Your righteousness.”
Amen! Even so, come Lord, Jesus!
