Because of Our Father, We Shall Not FearProphecy Chat by Sharon L Clemens

     As I have been teaching the powerful book of Isaiah for the last three months, the Lord has shown me many truths very applicable for our times. This is why I called the class "Isaiah For Today".

     My husband and I recently listened to a CD lesson by John MacArthur entitled "Jesus, Worry, and You--Matthew 6:25-34." The lesson is taken from our Lord's sermon on the mount and deals with the foolishness of WORRY for the believer. Since worry is a besetting sin for every person who calls himself human, I was anxious to hear John's application and was not disappointed. Oh how we need the Lord's affirmation today that we need not worry, in spite of any circumstances in our path.

     Although this Prophecy Chat is not about MacArthur's study in total, let me summarize what he taught from our Lord's sermon on worry before I focus on some truth from Isaiah. It is foolish to worry because of 3 things: Our Father, Our Faith, and Our Future. Because of the awesome power of a loving God, our faith in our God, and the promise of a glorious future with Him, we are not to worry. That sounds simplistic, but it is the essence of Christ's command: "Do not worry..." To obtain the complete study click the link below:

http://www.gracechurch.org/

Grace To You now offers many of its materials by free downloads.

     We are finishing Isaiah by spending time in the last section of the book, chapters 40 to 66. Although this is a large chunk of the Word, these 26 chapters share a common theme--words of comfort and hope to Israel and all believers. The general theme is SALVATION. In the first chapters of Isaiah, the prophet was told to warn Judah of certain judgment because of disobedience; but the LORD God of Israel ends by promising redemption and restoration after judgment. This is a principle of God: He restores after judgment, if there is repentance.

     A recurring thread of comfort running through this last section of the prophet is God's own words about His own character and deity. In order to assure Israel of comfort in the trials to come, He reminds them of the power of the God they worship. Isaiah affirms Christ's teachings about worry by pointing out that anyone who worries when we have such a great and awesome God is foolish. They are not exhibiting reason. There is no other way to say it. Listen to God's declaration of Himself from His prophet Isaiah:

     * Isaiah 41:10 -- "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
     * Isaiah 42:8 -- "I am the LORD [Jehovah], that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images."
     * Isaiah 40:25 -- "To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal? Says the HOLY One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things [the stars], who brings out their hosts by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing."
     * Isaiah 44:6-8 -- "...I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God. And who can proclaim as I do? ...Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, ...Do not fear, nor be afraid..."

     These four verses are just a sampling of the truth in Isaiah's prophecy. Jehovah God proclaims Himself the one and only true God. He testifies to His creation that because He made us and the whole universe of stars and planets and knows them by name, why should we fear or worry? He that created it shall control it for His glory. He holds the universe in His victorious right hand. [Colossians 1]

     Second, He affirms again and again that He alone is the God of prophecy. He reveals the future to his servants, the prophets, to warn and to comfort; He alone knows the end from the beginning. PROPHECY AFFIRMS THE DEITY OF GOD. No false god is able to predict the future as does the true God of the Bible.

     Prophecy is one of the most effective ways of proving the truth of God's Word. Also in the last section of Isaiah, God demonstrates His ability to appoint, control, and proclaim the future by NAME DROPPING. In more than one place, He predicts the coming of a great Gentile world-conqueror from Persia who will destroy Babylon and names this conqueror a century and a half before he is even born:

Isaiah 45:1
"Thus says the LORD to His anointed,
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held--
To subdue nations before him
And loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:..."

     Cyrus, King of Persia, was prophesied to come as a tool in the hand of God--to do God's purpose, although he was a pagan king. Our God prophesies the future with absolute accuracy because He controls the past, present and future. Such is the great God we worship.

     But an even greater than Cyrus was prophesied through Isaiah. Four "Servant Songs" predict the coming of Christ Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, in this prophetic book: Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-13; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12. Isaiah 53 is so full of vivid pictures of Christ's attitude during His atoning death that it is referred to as The Fifth Gospel.

"But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed." 53:5

     What comfort this promise brought to Israel; what peace it can bring us today if we meditate on the truth that since Christ has borne all our sin, we have PEACE in Him! Do not limit this verse to physical healing. The trials of this life are but for a moment; our LORD God Jehovah has gifted us through His grace with spiritual healing that goes far beyond any physical discomfort. As MacArthur summarized in his lesson on Matthew 6, "If we take care of the SPIRITUAL, He will take care of the PHYSICAL." What MacArthur means by this is if we discipline ourselves to get our worries off of our physical needs and circumstances and onto the higher calling of Spiritual victory through Christ Jesus--than God will take care of all our physical needs. Christ put it like this:

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things [earthly needs] will be given to you as well."  Matthew 6:33

BECAUSE OF OUR FATHER, WE SHALL NOT FEAR.

In Him We Wait, Work, and Watch,
Sharon

[Prophecy Chat is a weekly commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is an evangelical, premillennial, dispensational teacher of eschatology. She can be reached for comment or questions by e-mail at farmgrove@verizon.net]