photo by Laura Evans [A]nd his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 KJV Dear ICB family, Human beings were created for wonder. Just like we were designed to hunger for food, we were designed with an insatiable itch to behold greatness. It's what causes people to pack 100,000 strong into mega sports stadiums and watch elite athletes compete against one another. It's what drives others to concerts to hear fine orchestras or to see their favorite group in person. Our urge to behold wonder causes some to climb mountains, some to design faster race cars, and others to watch ice skating competitions. We pile into theaters to take in the latest, greatest, most expensive blockbusters with the most mind-bending CGI and the most well-known actors, and we take vacations to the Grand Canyon to simply stare at the beauty of it all. We were designed with an insatiable itch to behold greatness. In short, we love to stand in awe of amazing things outside ourselves. In fact, it seems we just can't get enough. And in those moments in which we forget about ourselves completely, in which all our attention is off ourselves and riveted on the beauty and greatness that exists outside the confines of our own beings, we feel most alive. God is the biggest, greatest, most awesome being that exists. Imagine the power that can call matter and energy into being from nothing. Imagine the creativity that can think up every form of life on the planet. Imagine the mind that can organize and manage the collision of every atom in the universe so that his will is done on both the smallest and the most expansive scale. There is no one like him. And this great God of ours—truly a God of wonder—has called us to behold him. In other words, he's called us to feel the most alive that a human being is capable of feeling. The question is, Are we looking? This great God of ours—truly a God of wonder—has called us to behold him. Imagine you were bedridden in a room with a single window overlooking the Alps. On three sides of the room there are solid walls, but on one side there's a window that allows you to look out and behold wonder. Wouldn't you be thankful for that window? Maybe you'd really like to be able to leave the room, go outside, and see the Alps for yourself. Maybe from the window there are views that lie outside your field of vision, and you long to see more. Nevertheless, would you change that window for anything? We have just such a window. It's called the Bible. Through it we catch glimpses of the greatest wonder in existence. It's there in its pages that the God of the universe has revealed himself for to behold him. But are we looking? Come, press your nose up against the glass, and let your heart take its fill of wonder. Grace and peace, Pastor Eric
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Isaiah 9:6Behold our God!
God is our wonder. He is our counselor. He is our mighty God. He is our everlasting Father. He is our prince of peace. Questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion:
photo by Laura Evans …your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. Isaiah 6:7 NIV Dear ICB family, In Isaiah 59 the prophet swings from judgment to salvation, from the bad news to the good news of the gospel, from accusation to redemption. … your iniquities have separated you from your God; This is Isaiah’s constant theme: God is pure holiness Humans are unclean Judgment is coming Let us repent of our sin And God will save, cleanse, heal, restore, redeem Once we see the pattern, we can see where we are in Isaiah’s repeated sermon and we can recognise God’s holiness, repent of our sin and rejoice in his salvation. But before Isaiah could preach it too many times, it had to be enacted in the prophet’s own life. He had to see God’s holiness. He had to realise his own sin. He had to recognise that he stood under judgment. He had to repent. He had to experience God’s cleansing. Then he could preach it again and again and again. Oh, how we all need to hear these words, “…your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” The unclean lips (swearing, sarcastic, lying, gossiping, slandering, seductive, selfish, cynical) are burned clean by the fire of God and “…my Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever” (Isaiah 59:21) Whatever it is with us - lips or hands, ears or eyes, fingers or feet, heart or mind - the Holy One longs to purify us and with his holy fire to touch us and declare, “…your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” As Pastor Pasha said, “Jesus is that live coal who takes away the sin of the world.” Let us all allow the Holy One, who sits on the eternal throne, to touch us, burn us with his purity and allow him to declare, “…your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Before we can preach the gospel too many times, it has to be enacted in our own lives. We have to see God’s holiness. We have to realise our own sin. We have to recognise that we stand under judgment. We have to repent. We have to experience God’s cleansing. Then we can preach it again and again and again. “…your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Grace and peace, Pastor Neil Isaiah 6:1-13What happens to a person who has a vision of God high and exalted? That person is immediately made aware of his own uncleanness. That was what happened with Isaiah. God's response to that uncleanness was to make Isaiah clean and then commission him into his service. This is the great God we serve, and we invite you to worship him with us.
Questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion
Isaiah 5:8-30; Matthew 23:13-39This week's text from Isaiah acts as a brutally honest spiritual diagnosis of our state before God as human beings.
Life of greedy self-indulgence is detestable to our God, and there are both short- and long-term consequences for living in such a way. Questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion
photo courtesy of the Rogers family Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! Isaiah 6:5 ESV Dear ICB family,
The silver tongued poet-prophet had denounced the state of the nation in no uncertain terms. Personal and private sins along with systemic corruption and oppression all came under his fire and thunder. ‘Woe to you!’ he cried out six times. He had given a full 359º survey of every thing that was wrong with his own nation but now the final 1º remained as he looked into what Pastor Kanat called ‘the mirror of the soul’ and cried out, “Woe is me!” Words and speech and poetry were his forte, but now he cries out that even his strong points are impure, “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” In the consuming holiness of God, any human claims of purity shrivel to nothing. Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and John all saw a vision of the glory of God, and an overwhelming dread or a warning of imminent disaster came on each of them. On Abraham a deep and dreadful darkness descended (Genesis 15:12). To Moses the Lord gave this warning (Exodus 33:20), “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” When Joshua came face to face with the ‘Commander of the Lord’s armies’ he fell down on his face (Joshua 5:14) and similar accounts are given in Ezekiel 1:28, Daniel 10:8-9 and Revelation 1:12. When Peter realised who it was that was sitting in his boat, that he knew what was under the surface of the waves and under the surface of his soul, he cried out, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8). In the consuming holiness of God, any human claims of purity shrivel to nothing. Only Jesus had the right to utter all seven woes, because he in himself is the holiness of God. To summarise Matthew 23:13-39, Jesus said to the scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites: Woe to you, teachers of the law You turn the key in heaven’s door Woe to you, wretched sons of hell The harm you’ve done no-one can tell Woe to you, fools with blinded eyes You do not know what God supplies Woe to you, when you give a tithe And swagger in conceited pride Woe to you, acting out a part With deep corruption in your heart Woe to you, slayers of the just You will depart and bite the dust Woe to you, spawn of ancient snake How do you think you might escape? Your destiny in hell is plain For all my prophets you have slain In the consuming holiness of God, any human claims of purity shrivel to nothing. Complete and final judgment. Or is it? For then comes Acts 9 and a murderous Pharisee comes face to face with the glory of God, the risen Lord Jesus. In his pride, he falls to the ground. He is struck blind, so that he can see. The persecutor of the church becomes the preacher of the gospel. The hypocrite becomes the champion of truth. The sinner becomes a saint. The murderer becomes a martyr. ‘Woe is me!’ then becomes ‘Worthy are you, O Lord!’ Grace and peace, Pastor Neil photo by Lucy Rogers Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. Isaiah 5:2 NIV Dear ICB family, The Hebrew word for ‘bad fruit’ is be'ushim—‘stinkers’—over-ripe, maggot-ridden, mouldy, rotten fruit. All the hard work had been put in by the singing gardener: he found a fertile space, cleared the land, dug it and prepared the soil, planted choice vines, built a watch tower, planted a hedge, built a wall, dug a wine-press. But then when he came looking for fruit he found just little stinkers. They looked bad, tasted bad and smelled bad. But this is not the only place we find God looking for fruit. His first command was, ‘be fruitful and multiply!’ But more often we read about unacceptable fruit being offered to God. The whole creation turned sour underneath a fruit tree when humankind decided that living according to the manufacturer’s instructions was not the way to go. Our ancestors chose to eat the forbidden fruit and were sent out of Eden into exile. The whole creation turned sour underneath a fruit tree when humankind decided that living according to the manufacturer’s instructions was not the way to go. Cain offered ‘fruit of the ground’ but that was unacceptable to the Lord for reasons that are not entirely clear. What is clear, however, is that Cain was not in a good place and his sour grapes turned to anger and his anger to murder and his murder to exile. Noah planted a vineyard, brewed wine, got drunk and for more reasons that are not entirely clear, something evil happened in the tent during his drunken stupor. Nevertheless, what is clear is that Noah was very angry and his anger turned to cursing and his cursing turned his son into a slave and cut him off, effectively in exile. Isaiah sang this song about a vineyard, but the vineyard produced only little stinkers. The disappointed singing gardener pronounces judgment on the ‘finest vine’ with seven woes in which culminate in Isaiah 6:12 with the people of God being sent ‘far away’ into exile. John the Baptist preached that people should ‘produce the fruit of repentance’ and not rely on their ethnic group or any other superficial badge of identity. “The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” Which would be like being sent into exile. Jesus told many stories and parables about planting things and expecting a harvest. Jesus talked about good trees producing good fruit and bad trees yielding bad fruit. Jesus came to a fig tree looking for fruit, but found none and cursed it. Jesus said he was the vine, his Father was the vine-dresser (gardener), and that his followers are the branches. He is looking for fruit, and the only way his followers can produce fruit is by staying connected to the Vine: ‘Abide in me!’. Those branches that bear no fruit are cut off, like being sent into exile. He is looking for fruit, and the only way his followers can produce fruit is by staying connected to the Vine: ‘Abide in me!’. Paul in Romans 9-11 picks up the same theme about us gentiles being grafted onto the olive tree (just to vary the tree in the metaphor) of Israel, but to hold faithfully to the Lord and avoid being ‘cut off’ which would be like exile. Are we seeing a pattern here? Goodness, it appears that the last seven paragraphs all end with the word ‘exile’—now how did that happen? The good news is that there is a way home from ‘exile’ and that there is a way to stay ‘grafted in’ and connected to the Vine, abiding in Christ. For without him we can do nothing. As Pastor Sasha Kim said, “We need to take responsibility for our walk with God, otherwise there are going to be consequences.” Like the fruitless, prodigal son, wallowing in a stinking pig-sty in self-imposed exile, let us come to our senses and start heading towards home. Before we get there with our prepared speeches and explanations and bargaining positions, we shall find the Father waiting for us, running towards us, then sweeping us up in his arms, lavishing on us kisses and honour and welcome. He will put on us a robe in place of those stinking rags from the pig-sty, a ring for our stinking fingers and sandals for our stinking feet. Dear stinking brothers and sisters, let us come home from exile. Let us be joined to Christ! Let us bear much fruit! Grace and peace, Pastor Neil Isaiah 5:1-7; Mark 12:1-12John 15:16-17
Jesus said: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit--fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.” II Peter 1:5-9 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Jesus desires fruitful lives among those who follow him and Peter gives his list of fruit which is similar to Paul’s in Galatians 5. Questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion
photo by Laura Evans The ox knows its owner, Isaiah 1:3 ESV Dear ICB family, What was the essence of Israel's problem? Someone might say that it was their idolatry. Someone else might say it was their sinfulness—their abandonment of God's law as evidenced by their oppression of the weak and vulnerable and their violations of justice. While both of those charges are certainly true, and while God certainly makes a big deal of both of those, there is something else more essential that resulted in Israel's idolatry and sin. Isaiah reveals the essence of Israel's problem to us in 1:4. Simply put, Israel didn't know God. Oh, they knew things about God, but they didn't know him as a husband knows his wife, as two dear friends know each other, or as a child knows his parents. Israel didn't know God. To know God is to know God's character. First, a big part (though not all) of what it means to know God is to know God's character. That is, the person who knows God knows what God is like. The more deeply you know God, the more deeply you know his attributes. Because Israel didn't know God, they didn't grasp what he was like. To know the beauty of God's character is to love that beauty. Second, to truly know the beauty of God's character is to love that beauty. We as human beings inevitably admire, esteem, value, and love what we deem as beautiful. Because Israel didn't know what their gloriously beautiful God was like, they didn't love his gloriously beautiful character traits. That is, they didn't love traits like righteousness and compassion. They didn't value traits like justice and holiness. To love God's character is to imitate it. Third, once we as human beings have identified something as lovely and valuable and desirable, the next step we inevitably take is to move toward that beauty like a moth to a flame. When it comes to lovely attributes that we view in others, that means we begin to imitate those traits. We desire to have those traits for ourselves. If we esteem someone else's sense of humor, we will want to be funny, too. If we love the wisdom we see in others, we will desire to be wise. Because Israel didn't love God's character, they didn't desire to share in his character. They didn't think righteousness was a very beautiful trait to have; therefore, they didn't act righteously. They didn't think that faithfulness to worship one God alone was a lovely attribute; therefore, they dove headfirst into idol worship. In summary, because Israel didn't know God personally, they didn't know what God was like. Because they didn't truly grasp what God was like, there was no way for them to love the beauty of his attributes. Because they didn't love his attributes, there was nothing to draw them into imitating those very traits. To say it in reverse order, Israel didn't want to be holy as God was holy because they didn't love holiness. They didn't love holiness because they'd never seen how beautiful holiness is. And they hadn't seen the beauty of God's holiness because they did not know their God as they should. Do you know him? Do you really know him? I'm not asking you if you know things about God. I'm asking if you've met him face to face, if you've come to know him as you know your spouse, your best friend, your parents, your children, or a close family member. If you know him that way, you will love what you see in him, and that love will compel you to imitate his character. If you aren't growing in holiness, it's because you don't love holiness. If you don't love holiness, it's because you haven't seen it as you should. And if you haven't seen God's holiness, it's because you don't know him as you could know him. If you know him, you will love what you see in him, and that love will compel you to imitate his character. There is simply no biblical concept for a person who knows God yet does not begin to adopt his character. And the adoption of God's character is impossible apart from knowing him intimately. God wants you to know him. In fact, he's promised that his people will know him. "'You are my witnesses,' declares the Lord, 'and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me'" (43:10). And, "Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am" (52:6). So come and know your God. And let your intimate knowledge of him have its intended effect: that you might be holy as he is holy. Desiring to know him more that I might be more like him, Pastor Eric Isaiah 1-4; Matthew 7:21-23The accusation: 1:2–3. Israel had rejected God as their Father.
The judgment: 1:4–12. They were going to be beaten by their enemies, and they would experience poverty and the devastation of war. An appeal to repent: 1:16–17. "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean." Offer of redemption: 1:18–20. "Though you sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow." This four-step pattern repeats itself throughout the first four chapters of Isaiah. This is the diagnosis of Israel: They had turned their back on God. They had relied on their idols. They were full of pride and arrogance. They trusted their military strength and their economic prosperity. They were full of fake spirituality. They had oppressed the widow, the orphan, and the stranger among them. Isaiah preaches the gospel to them: He gives them the bad news first but then offers the hope of redemption. This is the very same gospel message that we find throughout the New Testament. Questions for personal reflection and/or group discussion
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