Isaiah – Page 9 – GaryCombs.org

“After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the Lord’s Temple and spread it out before the Lord” (Isaiah 37:14 NLT)

September 21, 2014

When King Sennacherib sent a letter threatening Jerusalem, King Hezekiah put on burlap, went up to the Temple, and spread the letter out on the floor for the Lord to consider. And God heard his prayer and defended him. What threat do you fear today? Have you brought it to the Lord? Spread your trouble out before God. Let Him handle it.

“What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 31:1 NLT)

September 19, 2014

From Abraham’s time until that of Isaiah’s, the people of Israel had often looked to Egypt when they should have been looking to God. Trusting Egypt for help is a metaphor for trusting the world and human strength. Who are you trusting? Egypt or the Lord? Isaiah counsels us to look to the Lord!

“In the night I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek you” (Isaiah 26:9a NLT)

September 17, 2014

Isaiah sought the Lord. As he lay his head down at night, he searched for God’s presence. When he awoke in the morning, he listened for God’s voice. Do you have this habit? Are your last words and thoughts at the end of the day for the Lord? Do you open your eyes looking for Him and listening for His voice? If you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him (Jer. 29:13).

“Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root” (Isaiah 11:1 NLT)

September 12, 2014

Isaiah prophesied God’s judgment of Israel and Judah. Yet, he also prophesied that though the tree would be chopped down, leaving only a stump, there would be a shoot that would grow from the old root. This shoot would grow into a “new Branch,” which is Christ, the Son of David, the Son of God. This “Branch” would become the “Banner of Salvation” to all the world (Isa. 11:10). He is the Branch that bears fruit. We are grafted into this tree by adoption. Believing into His Name we receive God’s salvation and receive the right to become God’s children.

“Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory” (Isaiah 9:1 NLT)

September 11, 2014

Isaiah is filled with many words of judgment and destruction, yet it also overflows with future hope. Isaiah prophesies the overthrow of the Northern Kingdom, “the “land of Zebulun and Naphtali,” by the Assyrians. This prophesy concerning Israel came true during Isaiah’s lifetime. But the prophecy of the future “glory” that would fill the land of Galilee wouldn’t be fulfilled until 700 years later when Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth (Matt. 4:16). More Messianic prophecies are found in Isaiah than any other Old Testament book.

Spend Less

December 15, 2013 | Isaiah 55:1-7 | advent conspiracy, christmas

Pastor Gary Combs continues the Advent Conspiracy 2013 sermon series. This message from Isaiah 55:1-7 challenges us to spend less on Christmas so we can be more satisfied in the person of Christ

“He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5)

September 27, 2013

This Messianic prophecy was written 700 years before Christ. Chapter 53 describes in chilling detail the crucifixion of Jesus. There are two threads of prophecy in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah. One, describes him as the Suffering Servant who will take on our sin, and the second, which describes him as the coming king that will put everything right in the world. Jesus has already fulfilled the first. The second is coming soon.

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8)

September 22, 2013

Isaiah reminds us of the temporal nature of this world compared to the eternal constant of God’s Word. Starting every day with reading and meditating on Scripture lifts our eyes from the fleeting to the fulfillment. For the beauty of creation is just a foreshadowing of God’s coming kingdom.

“For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel,’In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.'” (Isaiah 30:15)

September 19, 2013

After the Assyrians had conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel, they sought to overthrow Judah as well. In response, Judah asked for help from Egypt. God spoke through Isaiah rebuking Judah for trusting Egypt rather than God for their deliverance. In His mercy, He offered salvation to those who would return and find rest in Him. He offered strength to those who would trust Him with quiet faith. Who or what are you trusting for your deliverance?

“’My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.'” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

September 28, 2012

Yet God has revealed His thinking to us through the Scriptures. And when we are born again, we have the Spirit which gives us the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16) to understand God’s revelation. Even so, since God is infinite in wisdom, it would take eternity for us to meditate on His thoughts and to plumb the depths of His knowledge. Lord, teach us to set our minds on Your thoughts, thinking on things as You do.