Surviving the first week of the semester is no small accomplishment, when so many other important things crowd your time. But God has again been good, as He always is. I've decided, for my morning time, to begin the year going over the book of Isaiah at greater depth than ever before. Isaiah is the "gospel prophet," without whom generations of faithful believers would not have known so clearly the hope of the Messiah to come. What a prophet! His ministry spanned well over 50 years, ministering to five different kings of Judah. The last one killed him (sawn him in two, according to Heb 11:37 and 4BC 1137), yet shortly before it, and now out of the public eye (because Manasseh, the evil king, wanted to destroy him), he composed some of the most important chapters in all of Scripture: Isaiah 40-66. The irony is that Manasseh, who caused "rivers of blood" to flow through Jerusalem, after he was taken captive, plead in repentance before the Lord, AND HE FORGAVE HIM after all the evil he had done! I have a sermon on this amazing story: From the Guttermost to the Uttermost.
It was to king Ahaz that Isaiah courageously spoke to from God when he was barely 20 something: "If you will not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all" (Isa 7:9, KJV). I just love that text.
I believe that is what we saw and heard from our GC Conference President as he preached to 7,000 young adults in Baltimore for the 2010 GYC convention last week. God will use young adults to help us older adults stop majoring in minors, and put God first. It is about time.
Don't forget to pray for tomorrow's program. We've done what we could to prepare for it, but with so many moving pieces, the landscape keeps changing. We trust God will use us and use it for His glory. If you go to http://host.propheciesdecoded.com/preparation you can get a glimpse of the program.
In summary, Jesus in Your Church is a live, two-part telecast, on Hope Church Channel. The 11 a.m. to 12 EST portion will introduce Robbie Folkenberg in song, and the Prayer Initiative by Ruthie Jacobsen. We're praying for many thousands to unite in prayer for our church. I will preach on the topic of how to love God with all your heart--To Fall in Love at Last. We'll come back live again at 4:30-6:00 p.m. EST for ninety minutes of exciting stories and testimonies with Pavel Goia and Judith Miranda, plus another message: The Good Life. Connie Vandeman, from the Voice of Prophecy, will moderate the program. Remember to check http://www.hopetv.org/ and look up Hope CHURCH Channel's live feed, unless your church is broadcasting it live.
Our team prayed this morning that the Lord could use the program to contribute to the revival and reformation of our hearts and our church. The time is here.
Blessings to everyone this Sabbath.
Thank you so much for your praying.
"Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?'
Then I said, 'Here am I, send me!'"
[Isaiah 6:8]
No comments:
Post a Comment