AWAKE, ARISE, AND TRIUMPH
Thursday – February 16, 2023, Sh’vat 25, 5783
PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD – PART TWO
Greetings dear and precious friends and partners and welcome back to our Bible Study of the Book of Isaiah. What a wonderful Book with an unmistakable message of warning and unrivaled hope. The warning has to do with the grave consequences of sin. The hope is the coming Messiah who has come, paid the ransom, and is now seated at the Right Hand of our Heavenly Father. Jesus, the Messiah, is forever our intercessor, advocate, and our High Priest. As we move forward, please take a moment and share this teaching as widely as possible by every means available to you. Thank you so much for sharing. The featured picture today is of Donna and me at Billy Gene’s Restaurant in Kerrville Texas. Now, let’s turn our attention to our primary Bible text in the wonderful Book of Isaiah continuing to read out loud.
Isaiah 40:1-4 (AMP)
1 COMFORT, COMFORT My people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry to her that her time of service and her warfare are ended, that [her punishment is accepted and] her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received [punishment] from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one who cries: Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord [clear away the obstacles]; make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God!
4 Every valley shall be lifted and filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked and uneven shall be made straight and level, and the rough places a plain.
A good friend of mine recently pointed out that someone he respected said that all sin has its root in pride. I have been giving that some thought and conclude there is much wisdom in that thought. I have not forgotten about our text. This has a lot to do with making straight the way of the Lord. We tend to think it is we are done when we repent of sin. It is far from done dear ones. We have just come from a discussion of King Hezekiah and the devastating effect his pride had on himself and the whole kingdom. What about my pride, your pride? As we entered chapter 40 of our text, we see that the sin is forgiven and the consequences are lifted. How will they, how will we avoid the same devices of the demons? That brought us to the text of making straight the way of the Lord. What about the first sin of Lucifer and the angels that followed him?
Ezekiel 28:17 (KJV)
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
Lucifer was one of the Archangels with great power (delegated of God) and great responsibility, and with that I suppose extraordinary benefits. He got his eyes off his Kingdom mission and off His Maker and on the attributes the Maker gave him entering into pride. God hates pride!
Listen to how pride talks.
Isaiah 14:13-15 (KJV)
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
When we start to hear “I” in the conversation to much or in our own conversation, it is time to hit the carpet in humility, search ourselves, and repent. Intercede for others.
What about the fall of mankind? Listen to the serpent.
Genesis 3:1-4 (KJV)
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
So far so good for Eve except she should not have entertained a conversation with the serpent, period. Now in verse four the serpent directly calls God a liar. She had total authority over the serpent and should have sent him packing at this point and not even for a second entertained his words. Now what happens?
Genesis 3:5-6 (KJV)
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
The spirit of pride is now all over her and she invites it in, changes gods and kingdoms and in comes the curse. She and then He said in effect we know better than God, and this serpent knows better than God. They turned aside to other words.
By: Dr. David R. Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
2 Chronicles 20:20 b (KJV)
20 … Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
Receive the blessing in Jesus’ name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (MSG)
24 GOD bless you and keep you,
25 GOD smile on you and gift you,
26 GOD look you full in the face and make you prosper.
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