Welcome to The MHB Podcast. This is Michael Baun. And welcome to my 135th episode. In this episode I want to return to our study of the book of Isaiah. We are in chapter 61. This chapter shows us the grace of Jesus Christ shining bright to guide a lost world. The everlasting gospel is typified in this chapter by Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the Jews’ salvation from Babylon. Israel experienced some degree of prosperity after their homecoming from exile. Israel’s prosperity is representative of the spiritual glory the Church of Christ experiences. There is an ebb and flow to the well being of any particular church. Times are not always good and it’s common for churches to close down after a century of service. But even when specific churches close God often brings new life to the area in the form of a new church. Sometimes He breathes new life into dying churches just like He breathed new life into Israel after their captivity. This process can involve outside actors becoming serviceable to the church. The Jews received great support from the wealth of Gentiles as they converted to Christianity. Israel had been put to shame and sorrow while in exile, but in the future they would have honor and joy. Their affairs would prosper and this prosperity would result in others acknowledging they were the children of God. Greatest among the spiritual blessings will always be righteousness and salvation. Righteousness and salvation make up the center of gravity for why the Church gives thanksgiving and rejoices in the presence of God.
Fundamentally, this chapter is a tale of being reborn from the ashes. It is very fitting for the time the Church is enduring right now. As this podcast is being produced nearly every church has been ordered to close its doors in response to the coronavirus pandemic. As Christians and church leaders it can be overwhelming to think about rebuilding in the aftermath of this crisis. But we can take heart by hearing Isaiah’s reminder that restoration is God’s will and therefore God will make it happen. He will ask us to have the faith to walk with Him, but God’s guidance and God’s providence will ensure that the Church comes back with greater glory than ever before. So long as we continue to give thanks for the righteousness imputed to us by Jesus Christ and His eternal salvation of our souls, we can be certain that God’s blessing will shine upon the Church and all who belong to it. Let’s begin with verses 1-3:
Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Isa 61:2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
Isa 61:3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.
Someone once asked me who my favorite expositor of Scripture is. The question caught me off guard because I’ve read so many and hadn’t really thought about it. But upon further reflection the answer struck me as obvious. My favorite expositor, and indeed the best expositor to ever do the work, is the Lord Jesus Himself. Jesus taught this passage of Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth. He told His listeners that these verses point to Him and this very day the Scripture is fulfilled in their hearing. His listeners admired Him for these words and for His ability to teach with authority. Isaiah was given authority to proclaim liberty to the Jews who were held captive in Babylon. Christ Himself published His joyful salvation to the entire world – past, present, and future.
God directed all of the prophets by way of His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is who qualified each of them for their work and inspired them to see it through. Christ, being God Himself, is one with the Father and the Spirit and so the Spirit rests on Him without measure. Christ incarnate walked with the Spirit of God as His counsel and His encouragement. At His baptism we see the Spirit of God descending from heaven like a dove and resting upon Him. The Holy Spirit is the same person of the Trinity who was given to Christ’s disciples when He sent them out into the world to preach the gospel. Since the day of Pentecost the Spirit of God has been available to indwell any and all people who put their faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit guides you as you walk through life and qualifies you to do God’s work. Your conscience burns with guilt when you’re about to sin because sin grieves the Holy Spirit. This Spirit of God is who helps you understand and assimilate the word of God, thereby sanctifying your own heart.
The Spirit of God is given by God to those who faithfully accept Him. Often you’ll hear people attempt to qualify their false teaching by declaring the Spirit of God speaks through them. Anyone can claim this, but the reality is the Holy Spirit will never contradict the word of God. In order to remain in God’s will you must check everything against Scripture. Throughout the Old Testament characters who were given the Holy Spirit were anointed by God for a particular service. If God has placed a calling on your life you can be certain that, by way of the Holy Spirit, He will furnish you for that calling. Jesus was set apart for the sacred and solemn work of saving the world. God had reserved the eternally important work of salvation for Himself. This is why Jesus is called the Messiah – He alone is the Savior of creation. Christ was sent to us by the Father so everything He said, willed, and did is a perfect image of God the Father. Christ and the Father are one.
We know that preaching the gospel is the right thing to do because Jesus Christ is the first preacher of the gospel. The core of Christ’s gospel is good news. It’s good news to the meek, to the repentant, to the humble, and to those who are poor in spirit. It’s fascinating to me that something each of these have in common is pain. People learn the value of being meek when they see the brutal reality of violence. People learn the value of repentance when they make contact with the evil nature of their sin. People learn the value of being humble when they become self-aware of how limited they are. And people become poor in spirit when they understand the fallen order is not the way things ought to be. The pain of this world allows us to recognize the goodness of the gospel. Could we even understand it without a stark awareness of pain? Would we even be able to see our Redeemer if we were convinced there was nothing to be redeemed from?
I would argue that we fail to make contact with Christ as our Healer until we acknowledge we are broken. During His time on earth Christ was a healer. He healed people of all sorts of maladies and today He works to bind up the brokenhearted. Realizing the wicked nature of our sin is like finally spotting the wound you didn’t know you had. It was always there even though you weren’t aware of it. If we had no Savior our only options would be to harden our hearts against it and become more evil, or to be stuck perpetually with a crushing sense of guilt mixed with dread for the wrath to come. But the gospel of Jesus removes this iron yoke and sets us at ease. He calms the stormy waters and silences our fears. Again we see the necessity of contrast for the sake of our own awareness. How can we notice Jesus healing us if we believe we aren’t sick?
Christ came to us as a prophet to preach, a priest to heal, and as a king to issue proclamations. He proclaims peace and liberty to those who turn to Him just as Cyrus declared freedom for the Jews when they were in captivity. The guilt of unrepentant sin is like a prison. You might say, why not just ignore the sense of guilt? The answer is if we stood in the presence of God our own shortcomings would be so obvious the guilt would destroy us. Such was the case for Isaiah when he stood in the presence of God during his vision. He had to be purged of his sin in that moment because the awareness of it was crushing him. It’s kind of like not realizing how bad you are at something until you do it in the company of professionals. Or when you fix some part of your house and it makes the parts you have yet to fix stand out all the more. Imagine that only multiplied by infinity as you stand in the presence of Perfection Himself. Once we become aware that we are bound over to the justice of God it becomes rather difficult to be unaware of it. Our situation is quite hopeless and God understands that which is why He acted upon it Himself. He interceded for us and paid the debt we could not pay. Because of His sacrifice, we can go into His presence and instead of being overwhelmed with guilt, we are overwhelmed with joy and thanksgiving. This transition from judgment to eternal life is the essence of accepting the gospel by faith.
Without Christ we are bound by the fact that our nature is dominated by sin. This is what it means to be bound by the power of Satan and is analogous to Israel’s captivity in Babylon. Israel was set free when Cyrus defeated Babylon and delivered them. We were set free when Christ defeated Satan and delivered us. Jesus has already overcome Satan because Jesus has already overcome death. Now He extends the grace necessary for us to shake off the bondage of sin. The Son sets us free and we are free indeed. Israel was released from the miseries of exile and we are released from the miseries of sin. By their salvation Israel went from being slaves in Babylon to being citizens as they returned home. By our salvation we go from being slaves in the world to being citizens in the Kingdom of Heaven. The gospel is God publishing His free grace which brings glory to Himself. It is the best news for those who understand the condition of their own souls.
In addition to peace and liberty, Christ also proclaims war against His enemies. He proclaims vengeance against evil. The day of God’s vengeance will be found against sin, Satan, death, hell, and all the powers of darkness. Christ triumphed over all these things when He went to the cross. He exposed them as weak and shameful compared to the true power of God. Any and all human beings who choose to invest their lot with these defeated things will be left in captivity and dealt with as enemies of God. Faith in Christ is the joyful acceptance of His gospel and is the only gateway to salvation. The Lordship of Jesus protects you from the iron grip of totalitarian evil. We are creatures designed for following and imitation. There’s no escaping that element of it. You either choose to follow and imitate God or you choose to follow and imitate something far darker.
Jesus came to be a comforter. His roles as preacher, healer, and deliverer bring comfort to all who receive Him. Jesus comforts those who mourn and who seek Him out in the midst of their mourning. I can’t reasonably explain to you how this happens because it is the work of God’s Holy Spirit. God has enough to comfort you regardless of how deep your grief is. And sometimes it’s not just sadness about yourself or your own life. It’s sadness about the condition of the world. It’s not unusual for Christians to mourn over how godless humanity can be. This is akin to those who mourned over the destruction of Jerusalem. It’s a lament for the suffering of all that is good and holy. By His Holy Spirit Christ provides consolation for these sorrows. The power of God is able to turn songs of sadness into songs of praise. God promises beauty for ashes which means He will turn your sorrow into joy. It was common practice for ancient Jews to cover themselves in ashes during times of great mourning. But God’s desire is to raise them out of the dust and make them beautiful again. The same is true for you. If you let Him, God will use the oil of joy to make your face shine once again. He will clothe you in garments of praise so that – although painful memories linger – the comforts from God will dispose your heart to grow in visible thanksgiving.
God heals our wounds, liberates us from slavery, and provides comfort in our sorrows. All of these things God does for us with the intention of being a planter. His design is for us to be ornaments in His vineyard and to bear fruits of righteousness. All that Jesus does for us is aimed at transforming us into the people we are meant to be. We will be God’s people made serviceable to Him as living trees. God shapes us so that we bear fruits of righteousness and have exemplary conversation which in turn brings glory to God. When others see God’s favor shining on His people and His grace shining in them, they will take occasion to praise Him and thus God is glorified in His saints. Everyone knows the world is dark and contains more than enough suffering. But the light that God’s people shine does not come from this world. So each person who follows in the footsteps of Christ becomes a beacon of light which represents hope and salvation that brings healing, comfort, and deliverance. Let’s read verses 4-9:
Isa 61:4 They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
Isa 61:5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
Isa 61:6 but you shall be called the priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.
Isa 61:7 Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.
Isa 61:8 For I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Isa 61:9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed.
This passage discusses promises made to Israel which would be fulfilled after they returned home from Babylonian captivity. These promises are meant to be applied to us as well because they have spiritual application. Their houses would be rebuilt and their cities raised up once again. In our own context we can think of this as the bastions of honesty and piety being rebuilt in our culture. As generations backslide from God, the culture becomes increasingly dishonest and eventually counts nothing as sacred. If you spend enough time away from God your soul begins to thirst and deteriorate. It becomes like a broken house or a city without walls – leaving you open and vulnerable to deceptions. But by the power of Christ’s gospel your soul is rebuilt and proper order is reestablished. This process of sanctification prepares your soul to be a residence for the Spirit of God. Israel was released from captivity and their city was rebuilt. You are released from bondage to sin so that you may serve God in liberty by faith. You become free to build yourself up so that you bring honor to God. You become the kind of person capable of building up His Church here on Earth.
When Israel was in captivity the Jews were made to be servants to their captors. They worked under the rod of oppression and rested only by the mercy of their oppressors. But when God brought them home they discovered foreign people seeking to serve them. They went from being servants to being served. Their servants did jobs like kept their sheep, fed their flocks, tilled their ground, and dressed their gardens. The spiritual parallel to this involves being detached from worldly possessions. As a Christian, you purchase and use material goods but your heart never becomes entangled with them. You learn and study the world’s ideas but the world’s ideas never possess you. Our hearts become reserved entirely for God and His service. This differentiates you from those who do not know God because they are in some sense enslaved to the world. All they have is this moment and the rewards for their work are temporal in nature. You become liberated by your faith in Jesus and those on the outside appear continually enslaved by comparison.
God’s blessing didn’t stop at the release of Israel from captivity. Not only were they liberated, but they were installed in honorable positions of employment. God entrusted many of them to take charge of the sanctuary and be priests of the Lord. This was a high and holy calling because priests were on the same level as princes in ancient Israel. You can see that God’s plan for His people didn’t stop at liberation, He also intended them to produce great things. The same is true for you. Being in relationship with God doesn’t mean being abandoned once you are liberated from your sins. He has a plan for you. Part of the reason He set you free is so that you can carry out this work. Over time it should become obvious to those around that your life has been set apart for God. How can you tell this about a person? Ask yourself which people act the most like Jesus. Look around and try to spot those who are full of love, joy, and peace. These people are Christians – whether they know it or not.
Another promise God made to Israel was that the wealth of the Gentiles would be brought into the Church. Many non-Jewish people were wealthy merchants and traders. These Gentiles converted to Christianity and pledged their wealth to benefit the kingdom of God. Those who were foreign to Israel would become fellow-saints, brothers and sisters in Christ. The tithing of the Gentiles would become a huge benefit to the Church. Where once Israel was like an island set among a sea of enemies, by the will of God these strangers would seek membership in God’s family and pledge their support. And really what better way to spend your wealth? You could buy a bunch of stuff you don’t need that will eventually crumble, die, and be forgotten. Or you could use it to help build something that will benefit others for generations after you’re gone. A healthy church accepts your tithe and puts it to use in advancing the Kingdom of God. This means your money purchases a culture of love and care for the dispossessed. Most importantly, it allows you to play an active part in the salvation of souls. God uses your tithe to further His own purposes. Could He do it without your money? Absolutely. But when you give your wealth to support the Kingdom of God you become a co-laborer with the Almighty Creator Himself. That’s not a financial burden, it’s a spiritual honor. The Gentiles recognized this and they were quick to act on it.
The generosity of the Gentiles helped to save individual lives as well as entire cities. The ancient world was one of scarcity and this amplified the effects of charitable giving. It wasn’t unheard of for people to seize resources by way of violence when times got desperate. But with plenty of resources flowing into the Church, the priests and their families had enough to sustain themselves as well as make sure the poor survived. A good church never hoards resources that are donated to them. They give money and food back out into the community and this helps smooth over difficult times for people who are down on their luck. It’s hard to say how many violent crimes or robberies have been prevented by the benevolence of the Church. Many of these Gentiles were people who held prestigious positions. Some were nobles of great learning and power. Their notability brought a positive influence to the Church. Not only did it help boost the Church’s reputation, but those outside the Church saw these high powered people transforming their characters. The elite who joined the Church became faithful individuals who patiently endured suffering, expressed holy zeal in their speech, and increased their own productivity.
In addition to wealth and new membership, Israel would also be given an abundance of comfort and satisfaction. So much of this was about a change in perspective. The Jews were in exile seventy years so for most of them liberty was a whole new world. Unlike their pompous predecessors, these people had a fresh understanding of how to value their freedom and their property. It’s actually impossible to have a free society unless your population is willing to assume some degree of responsibility. Each person’s rights are another person’s responsibilities. Let me explain. At the time of this podcast the United States is embroiled in a debate over whether we should lockdown our economy to slow the spread of coronavirus. One side doesn’t trust individuals to make proper decisions and therefore supports a government instantiated lockdown. The other side wants to assume individual responsibility to mitigate against the virus and so views a government lockdown as an egregious affront against their liberties. I stand with those who support individual responsibility and liberty. But even though I support that I don’t think it will work. I’ve seen too many misinformation campaigns suggesting the virus is not a threat and I know too many people who actually believe that. So when I see crowds of people protesting the lockdown – none of them social distancing and none of them wearing masks – it tells me a wide segment of the population does not possess the personal responsibility required to sustain the measure of liberty they seek. In other words, I want the government to end the lockdown but I think ending the lockdown will result in a substantial increase of coronavirus deaths. Your society can only be free if it is composed of competent, responsible, well-adjusted individuals which has been the classic case for America. If you allow your individuals to degenerate then you will lose your freedom.
Israel was given a fresh start and they had the attitude to make the most of it. Many people experience this when they repent of their sins and turn toward Christ. They enjoy a new life where God rebuilds their soul to closer resemble His own. The culmination of this process occurs when we pass away and are glorified before God in heaven. We will inhabit resurrected bodies and we will be as we were always meant to be. The Jews were given back their own portion when they returned home. This means they inhabited the land that God had originally intended to be theirs. But this time they were able to take comfort in it and they had the heart to rejoice because of it. It was a perspective change. Their houses and their temple were not nearly as glorious as they were before the exile, but even so the people were pleased to have them back and were thankful for them. It’s kind of like when you go on vacation and stay at an opulent resort. Your own house doesn’t hold much by comparison. But after being gone for a week or two it still feels nice to get back to your own humble home. That’s because your home is the place where you belong – it’s a place that is set apart for you. That’s how Israel felt when they came home to the holy land. When you become a Christian you receive God and the Kingdom of Heaven as your own portion. Heaven becomes your home so even if you have no home on Earth you may rejoice and have reason to say that you have a worthy portion. Heaven has been your intended home from the beginning. With Christ as your guide, when you pass away you’re just going home.
God promises His people everlasting joy in heaven that will make the duration of their troubles seem trivial by comparison. That was His hope for Israel when He brought them out of Babylon, but unfortunately it wouldn’t take the people long to become rebellious again. Such problems will not plague us in the Kingdom of Heaven. When we pass into eternity our spiritual joy will go uninterrupted because sin will be gone forever. Here’s something to always remember about God: He loves giving blessings and it grieves Him to give judgments. He promises to give His people double the blessings compared to what they lose during judgments. He did this with Job when He restored Job’s wealth and family. In Israel’s case, they shall have twice as much honor compared to the shame they endured. They shall have twice as much wealth compared to what was plundered from them. When they were taken into captivity their miseries were so great they were said to have received double for all their sins. But as difficult as this time was, the blessings of their return would overshadow it with joy. Christ took our portion upon Himself to pay for the sins of humanity. In exchange we will receive the fullness of heaven’s joy. If you belong to God you can be certain He’s going to give you twice as much blessing in heaven than the suffering you endured on Earth.
So we know God’s intention is to bless us with spiritual well-being. But He also intends to be our faithful guide through life in covenant with us. His truth will direct our work. As human beings we have basically zero capacity to determine what’s best for ourselves in terms of eternity. If you doubt this, ask yourself if the things you wanted just ten years ago are the same things you want now. But God knows what’s best for us and by His providence He orders our affairs accordingly. God is going to bring us into true prosperity according to His word. God designed you and so He knows what you need to be doing in order for the design to operate properly. God desires inward truth and honest expression. This means being careful not to lie to yourself or others. It means being sincere in your work. It’s really important that you don’t try to assume responsibilities that are outside of God’s calling for you. Not only will you prevent the person who is actually called to that work from doing it – but you won’t be sincere when you yourself do the work.
I said earlier that it grieves God to subject His people to judgment, but this is not the same as His attitude toward justice itself. God loves justice. He desires His people to carry out the law properly in search of justice. Whether in the court system or simply in disputes between neighbors, it is God’s will that affairs be settled in accordance with proper justice. Injustice angers God and this is why He tends to take aim at those who oppress people. For generations Christians have used God’s love of justice as their basis for humanitarian pursuits including the emancipation of slaves. God gives us the opportunity to maintain justice and order ourselves, but when we corrupt these institutions and we no longer pursue justice, God destroys the pathological system Himself and gives redress to those who wrongfully suffer. Wrongfully persecuting those who are weaker than yourself is one of the most basic expressions of godlessness. All you see is a weak person who can’t resist your unfair treatment. What you fail to see is the omnipotent God who is watching your actions with a wrathful eye. Beware mistreating those who are less fortunate than yourself.
God pleads the cause of the dispossessed because He loves them and He loves justice. Even when His own people commit injustice their actions anger God. Sometimes the Jews would steal resources to give them as burnt offerings to God. He hated that and He rejected their sacrifices. So if God hates ill-gotten gains which are then given over to the Church, how much more does He hate ill-gotten gains which are used for oneself or sacrificed to an idol? When it comes to the character and nature of God, you must remember that moral precepts always come before religious service. First and foremost God cares about the condition of your heart – not the status of your religion. To obey God in your own life is more important than the duties you perform at church.
In other words God despises religious hypocrites. Remember, a religious hypocrite is not someone who professes Christianity yet still struggles with sin. By that description I myself am a religious hypocrite. Contrarily, a true religious hypocrite is one who uses their religion as a justification to embrace sin. They turn their relationship with God into a reason to sin even more. Jesus condemned the Pharisees because they thought they were justified in persecuting widows since they tithed valuable goods and prayed long, drawn-out prayers. The Pharisees were all religion with no heart. They were corrupt on the inside while looking holy on the outside. The optimal mode of being is to be sanctified in your heart and in your religion. But if it must only be one, God prefers your heart over your religion every time.
God promises His people that He will bless their posterity and the children who come after them. These future generations are included on this promise so long as they remain close to God as their forebears did. You can tell which people have been brought up in the ways of Christ by their humility, their cheerfulness, their seriousness when it comes to the purpose of their lives, and most importantly their love for each other. Possessing these traits will cause a generation to distinguish itself as being the blessings of their age. They quite literally make life better for those around them and for those who follow after them. By their faith they become the instruments of God’s glory. A true Christian becomes the reason a non-Christian praises God. The children of godly parents reveal themselves by their good character and education. They are the reason the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
The truth of this carries so much weight that it’s not uncommon for unbelieving parents to start going to church merely because they think it’s a good way to raise a child. Every healthy parent wants what’s best for their kids. They look on the children of godly parents and see the grace of God flowing through them. These eminent blessings become a major attraction for people who otherwise would have never considered the ways of Jesus. So you can see that by blessing those who walk in faithfulness God brings glory to Himself. And that’s one of the major points I always drive home about Christianity. Whatever good a human being is capable of expressing is the fruit of God’s blessing and He should be glorified for it. I believe the way of Christ is the optimal mode of being. It’s the life you were built to live. To do otherwise is to force a square peg into a round hole – it will only cause damage and ineffectiveness. The blessed nature of a godly life is its own greatest selling point. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Let’s read verses 10-11:
Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Isa 61:11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.
These verses are both a celebration of Israel’s homecoming as well as the triumph of the Christian Church by gospel grace. The sacrifice of Jesus has clothed the faithful with righteousness and salvation. This is a victory for which we greatly rejoice in the Lord. When God is the object of our joy, we need not fear allowing ourselves to be captivated by it. I’m sure you’ve had something good happen to you and you’ve been nervous to rejoice because you’re afraid the hammer will drop and you’ll lose it. Such is not the case with God. You can restfully give yourself over to joy because nothing can take God away from you. Israel’s poor circumstances had such a sharp turnaround and their character transformed so greatly that in the eyes of wise men they appeared as if clothed in robes of state or nobility. The Church is clothed in the righteousness of justification and sanctification, thereby covered with an eternal salvation. That is truly something worth rejoicing over.
We have been clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. The garments of Christ are rich and splendid. They are compared to the brightness of the sun. When you invest your faith in Christ you put on His own righteousness as you would clothing. The righteousness of Jesus recommends you for the favor of God. The sanctification of God’s Holy Spirit working on your soul refines the image of God inside of you. You are given the garments of righteousness which makes you fit for covenant with God and communion with Him. This victory is a process that continues on for the rest of your life and into eternity. The righteousness of the church is durable, and the inestimable blessings that follow it will emerge in future generations and will spread to distant regions. That’s why 2,000 years later the words of Jesus are still transforming lives and inspiring people to do good in this world.
There will be times in your life (and times in the church) where you walk through a wilderness season. You won’t feel very inspired and you won’t be sure of what to do next. Sometimes it will feel like God’s blessing is not on you. But by faith you can be sure that the root of God’s providence is still embedded in the church and in yourself. The righteousness and praise that come from a sanctified soul do not depend on external circumstances to shine forth. That’s why history is replete with examples of good people doing good things during bad times. God will provide for the great salvation to be published and proclaimed all across the world to the most remote lands. When you give yourself to Jesus you enter into a covenant with God which cannot be undermined by outside forces. You become a beacon of light to guide those around you and by proxy the entire world. When you give yourself to Christ, the ray of light that someone needs to awaken their spirit and inspire them to do good might very well be you.
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