He who has learned to pray
has learned the greatest secret of a holy and happy life.
– William Law
Author: Brian
Follower of Jesus, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Pastor
Sermon Songs: Isaiah 40:1-8
Comfort, comfort comes from our God
Who came and walked upon this sod
Who suffered death, cruel suffering
Great salvation for us to bring
Comfort, comfort comes from above
He gives His strength, His help, His love
His promises forever stand
We’ll dwell with Him at His right hand
– From a sermon on Isaiah 40:1-8
(To the tune of the “Doxology”)
Ministry Monday
Here are some good posts on ministry:
The Dangerous Task of Expository Preaching – Michael Cooper (Lifeway)
The Preacher, the Counselor, and the Congregation – Kevin DeYoung
6 Joys and Perils of Full Time Ministry – Josh Moody (Crossway)
Comfort My People
We all need comfort – comfort in tragedy, crisis, loss, and sickness. Comfort in weariness, sorrow, and depression. Comfort in guilt and punishment. In Isaiah 40:1 we read, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” He is speaking to the Judah exiles in Babylon, but there is application for us. And in these first eight verses we see where we can find the comfort we need.
We find comfort in God’s love (v1-2). He calls us his people. He is our God. We have a relationship together. He wants to minister comfort to us. In verse 2, he speaks tenderly to us. He cares about us. He loves us. Despite our past sins and failures, we are his people. In the struggles of life, we need to know that God loves us.
We find comfort in God’s salvation (v2). One day our trials – our warfare or hard service – will be over. Our sins are pardoned in Jesus Christ. In our trials and in sins, we need to know that God saves us.
We find comfort in God’s coming (v3-5). God’s salvation doesn’t come from a distance, but as God comes to us. And so God came to rescue the remnant out of exile. And as the gospel writers make clear by quoting these verses, God came to earth as a man to save us by dying on a cross for our sins. And God comes to us as we repent and believe, and he causes us to be born again and applies the work of Jesus on the cross to our lives. And God will come one day to usher in a new heaven and earth. In our sin and our guilt, we need to know that God comes to save us.
Finally, we find comfort in God’s promises (v6-8). The words of men will fail, for men are like grass that fades away. But God’s Word will stand forever, and so we can trust in his promises to us – promises to be a refuge and strength in our suffering, promises to forgive us of our sins, promises that one day he will wipe away our tears and put an end to all suffering, sickness, sin, and death. In our suffering and sin, we need to know that we can trust God promises to help us.
We all need comfort. And that comfort is found in God – in his love, his salvation, his coming, and his promises. May God comfort you today!
Thanking God for Himself
Today I want to thank God that he is:
A Saving God – Isaiah 1:18
Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
A Soon and Coming King – Isaiah 9:6-7
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
A Sovereign Lord – Isaiah 14:24
The LORD of hosts has sworn:
“As I have planned, so shall it be,
and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.
A Solid Rock – Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.
Purity Collection
Here are some good posts on pursuing purity:
The Porn-Free Family Plan – Tim Challies
Lot of good ideas!
7 Good Reasons To Stop Looking at Porn Right Now – Tim Challies
Teens and Unrestricted Access: Time to Repent – John Perritt (TGC)
Why We Pursue Purity
A few days ago we considered how to pursue purity. Today, we want to consider why we should pursue purity. I Corinthians 6 gives us several reasons:
First, those who practice sexually immorality will not inherit the kingdom of God (v9-10). These words ought to startle us awake. Living in sexual sin is simply incompatible to a relationship with the Lord. Those who are living together, sleeping around, or practicing homosexual acts have no reason to think they are saved – they are outside the kingdom of God.
Second, sexual immorality belongs to our old way of life (v11). “Such were some of you,” but not anymore. Now we have been washed from that dirty behavior. Now we have been set apart from those sins. Now we are declared righteous in Jesus. We have a new life, and sexual immorality can have no part in it. In other words, we must live out who we now are in Christ.
Third, our bodies are meant for the Lord (v13-18). We are to use our bodies in service to Jesus, not in service to sin. How could we join our bodies to another in sexual sin, when we are joined to Christ?
Fourth, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (v19). How could we desecrate his temple by involving it in sexual sin? God is holy, and as his temples, we must strive to be holy.
Fifth, our bodies belong to God (v19-20). When Jesus died to pay for our sins, he purchased us out of our slavery to sin. We now belong to him. And so we must use our bodies to glorify him. Our actions must honor him.
Sexual immorality of all kinds is a characteristic of the old sinful way of life that is destined for hell. But in Christ, we have been washed and justified; we have a new life. Our bodies are set apart unto God. They are meant for the Lord. They are temples of the Holy Spirit. They belong to Him.
And so we must flee sexual immorality.
Prayer Quote of the Week
Prayer is
the offering up of our desires to God
in the name of Christ,
for such things as are agreeable to his will.
– Thomas Watson
Sermon Songs: Isaiah 1-39
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
He makes our sins as white as snow
He is the soon and coming King
Of this great God, we join and sing
A Sovereign Lord o’er all the land
A Solid Rock on which we stand
Our thankful hearts to Him we raise
We offer Him our endless praise
From a sermon reviewing Isaiah 1-39
(To the tune of the “Doxology”)
The Task of the Expositor
In this high and sacred calling, the task of expository preaching, we are to be men of spiritual wisdom and understanding in the mysteries of the gospel. We must each have a genuine experience of the power of the truth we proclaim. It is incumbent upon us to be able to divide the Word correctly and to feed the sheep as we discern their condition by spending time among them. There must be zeal about us for the glory of God and a compassion for the souls of men.
– Alistair Begg in Expositor Nov/Dec 14
Brian J. Mikul 