This Week's Sunday School Lesson, Jesus Our Righteous Judge", Isaiah 59:1-21, 5/24/20

       

JESUS THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE

Isa 59:1-4, 15-21

GOD KNOWS YOUR SINS

V:1.  Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,

   nor his ear too dull to hear.

2 But your iniquities have separated

   you from your God;

   your sins have hidden his face from you,

   so that he will not hear.

A. In these first two verses. God indicates to us His omnipotence,

     His omnipresence, and His omniscience.

    1. Too short to save:  His omnipotence, all power

    2. Ear to dull to hear:   His omnipresence, everywhere all the time

    3. Your iniquities have separated you:  His omniscience knows

         everything

B. By God's grace, we are protected from our enemies and given

     Eternal life

     1. God hears our conversation and judges them as evil or good.

     2. The evil that we do separates us from God.

     3. Perhaps our prayers are not effective because of our sins.

GOD JUDGES THE EVIL THAT YOU PLAN

V:3.  For your hands are stained with blood,

   your fingers with guilt.

   Your lips have spoken lies,

   and your tongue mutters wicked things.

   4 No one calls for justice;

      no one pleads his case with integrity.

     They rely on empty arguments and speak lies;

      they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

A. Those who don’t know Lord and those who reject His teaching

      are self-centered and only interested in promoting

      their own agendas.

    1. When we are not God-centered, we are under the influence

        of the  devil and his demons.

     2. The more we get from God the more evil our desires are.

WE WERE CHOSEN TO BE GOD’S ROLE MODELS

B. The Jewish people were elected by God to be His role models.

    1. Freed from Egyptian control, they reject God’s priesthood.

    2. In I Samuel 8:7, they rejected Samuel and his sons as judges and

         demanded a king so they could be like the surrounding nations.

    3. This was a milestone in Israel’s break away from God as their

         ruler.  This took place around 1098 BC

     4. Instead of having God as their King, they chose to    

         have a man as their King  

      5. Almost 400 years later, God warns Israel of an impending

          destruction of their nation as a result of their sins.

      6. Israel was no longer the holy nation He planned them to be.

  C. The Church was designed by God to be the role model for the

       world.

      1. As long as we worship the Lord we have nothing to fear

      2. He ordained us to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

      3. We are to follow His commands in dealing with each other.

      4. When we show love and compassion to our neighbors,

          God returns the favor to us.

    

         Mark 4:24

         "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure     

          you use, it will be measured to you — and even more.”

  

THE TRUTH SHOULD PREVAIL

Isa 59:15-21

V:15 Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.

16 He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him,

and his own righteousness sustained him.

A. The nation of Israel had degenerated to the point that God took notice

     and decided to chastise the whole nation.

    1. Evil thoughts and actions, and injustice were common.

    2. God is not pleased when we know to do right and refuse

        to follow His guidance,

    

        

       James 4:17

      Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

   3. When we fail to what is right, God will chastise us.

        James 5:1-2

        Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that   

         is coming upon you.

  4. God is not pleased when we see injustice and we want take a stand

      for His righteousness.

  5. To keep our mouth shut when we see injustice enables the

      oppressor.

    

      Isa 1:17

      learn to do right! Seek justice,

      encourage the oppressed.

      Defend the cause of the fatherless,

      plead the case of the widow.

B. When we don’t stand for righteousness,  God in His own time

      Will step in right all wrongs

    1. We lose the opportunity to strengthen our faith when we remain    

         silent.

    2.  Gal 6:9-10

         Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will    

         reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have    

         opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who   

         belong to the family of believers.

SEE JESUS AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR

V:17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation    

  on his head;

  he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a   

  cloak.

18 According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies

     and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due.

A. Jesus is the Lord of our salvation.

    1. He put on human flesh to bring justice to His elect, and to

        provide the way to the Kingdom of God, through His atoning

        blood.

    2. His mission statement is found in Isaiah 61

            

       Isa 61:1-2

       the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord  is on me,

       because the Lord  has anointed me

       to preach good news to the poor.

       He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

       to proclaim freedom for the captives

       and release from darkness for the prisoners,

       2 to proclaim the year of the Lord 's favor

   3. Victory over His enemies and salvation to the elect

        was completed in His first coming with His

        death on the cross.

  4. The judgment of His enemies, Satan, and His demons, will

       be completed after His second coming.

  5. While we await Jesus second coming, the breastplate of rightness

       covers our hearts, and the helmet of salvation covers our minds.

WILL YOU BE READY WHEN JESUS RETURNS?

V:19. From the west, men will fear the name of the Lord,

         and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.

        For he will come like a pent-up flood

        that the breath of the Lord  drives along.

        20 "The Redeemer will come to Zion,

        to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,"

        declares the Lord .

       21 "As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the Lord . "My     

       Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will   

        not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or   

        from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,"

        says the Lord.

A. This part of the prophecy will not be fulfilled until the 1000 year

     reign of Christ on the earth.

    1. After Christ's second coming, there will be a 7 year tribulation

       period, after which Satan will be bound for 1000 years.

    2. Doing that 1000 year reign of Christ, Satan will not have

         influence over man.

    3. The devil  is allowed to roam seeking who he may devour until

       the second coming of Christ.

      Rev 20:2

      He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and    

      bound him for a thousand years.

      B. At the coming Judgment day, everyone shall worship Jesus

    

          Isa 45:23

          I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in    

          righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow,    

          every tongue shall swear.

       1. Those who accepted Christ as Lord and Savior will worship

            in His Glory.

           Rev 20:6

           Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The     

           second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God

            and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

THE WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE

    

          John 14:23

          Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My

          Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home

          with him.

THANK JESUS FOR OUR HOPE IN HIS RETURN

Rev. M. Mitchell

Asst. Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church

5510 West Sam Houston Park Way North

Houston, Texas 77041

For More Lesson, follow me on facebook and

Visit my blogs: remmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot,com

Bible Study Lesson, The Joy In Praising God

THE JOY IN PRAISING GOD

   

In today’s environment, we need an encouraging word from

the Lord. We can start with encouraging ourselves with

the Word of God. Tonight, let’s consider praise.

For the believer, praising God should be as automatic as

your heart beat. I believe the heart beat of the Christian is in

his praise.

We should praise God for who He is, for what He

Has done and what we cannot conceive Him doing in the

future.

We have a saying; He is worthy to be praised. There are many

benefits to praising God. There are psychological, physiological,

emotional, and spiritual benefits to praise.

The word praise is from the Latin word pretium which means price

or value.  One writer concluded that true praise is the sincere

acknowledgement of a real conviction of worth.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for praise is halal which

Includes praising in prayer, with musical instruments, singing

and dancing.

Everyone should praise God in their own ways. The Bible is filled

with ways God designed for praise.

We must be careful that our praise is motivated by our love for God,

and our desire to please Him with an attitude of thankfulness.

It is easy to repeat words of praise with empty meanings. That is

false praise.

Matt 15:8-9

"These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain;

their teachings are but rules taught by men.”

We are in difficult times and therefore we should seek the Lord

for His guidance to joy. Here is what He says to us;

    

Psalms 30:5

For his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favor lasts a lifetime;

weeping may remain for a night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Praise is the way to joy.

Praise must come from the heart, out of love and obedience.

Let us spend some time looking at why we should praise

God.

A COMMAND TO PRAISE

Psalms 150:6

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord .

  

Psalms 29:1-3

29 Ascribe to the Lord , O mighty ones,

ascribe to the Lord  glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

worship the Lord  in the splendor of his holiness.

PRAISE ORDAINED BY GOD

Psalms 8:2

From the lips of children and infants

you have ordained praise

because of your enemies,

to silence the foe and the avenger.

WAYS TO PRAISE GOD

PRAISE WITH YOUR MOUTH

Psalms 103:1-2

Praise the Lord , O my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the Lord , O my soul,

WITH SONG  

Ps 101:1-2

101 I will sing of your love and justice;

to you, O Lord , I will sing praise.

2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life —

when will you come to me?

WITH YOUR HANDS

 Psalms 47:1-2

1. Clap your hands, all you nations;

shout to God with cries of joy.

2 How awesome is the Lord Most High,

the great King over all the earth!

WITH DANCE

Jer 31:4

4 I will build you up again

and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel.

Again you will take up your tambourines

and go out to dance with the joyful.

    

2 Sam 6:14

14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.

FROM THE HEART

Deut 4:29

But if from there you seek the Lord  your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.

BENEFITS OF PRAISE

INVITES THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD

    

Psalms 22:3

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

EMOTIONAL BENIFITS

LIFTS YOU UP

Psalms 42:5-6

Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and  my God.

BRINGS COMFORT   

Psalms 22:25-26

26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;

they who seek the Lord  will praise him —

may your hearts live forever!

BRING JOY  

Psalms 100:4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psalms 4:7

7 You have filled my heart with greater joy

than when their grain and new wine abound.

PHYCOLOGICAL BENEFITS

BRINGS PEACE  

Psalms 4:8

I will lie down and sleep in peace,

for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

ELIMINATES ANXIETY

Phil 4:6-7

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

BRINGS COMFORT TO THE BODY AND SOUL

Psalms 103:2-6

PRAISE REMEMBERS THE WORKS OF GOD

Praise the Lord , O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits — 

REMEMBERS GOD’S FORGIVENESS

3 who forgives all your sins

REMEMBERS GOD’S HEALING

and heals all your diseases,

REMEMBERS  REDEMPTION

4 who redeems your life from the pit

REMEMBERS GOD’S LOVE

5. crowns you with love and compassion,

PRAISE BRINGS SATISFACTION

6.  who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. ‘

STRENGTHEN YOU SPIRITUALY

Romans 4:19-22

Abraham was a hundred years old — and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

GIVES YOU COURGAGE    

Psalms 56:4

In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I will not be afraid.

What can mortal man do to me?

GIVES YOU VICTORY

Psalms 18:3

I call to the Lord , who is worthy of praise,

and I am saved from my enemies.

COOPERATE EFFECT OF PRAISE

BRINGS US TOGETHER  

Psalms 149:1-2

Praise the Lord.

Sing to the Lord a new song,

his praise in the assembly of the saints.

Heb 10:24-25

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

HUMBLES US   

James 4:7-8

7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

MY PERSONAL CONVICTION

Ex 15:2

The Lord is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation.

He is my God, and I will praise him,

my father's God, and I will exalt him.

PRAISE THE LORD EVERYBODY

Rev. M. Mitchell

This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "The Work Of Our KIng", Isaiah 49:1-10, 20, 5/17/2020

       

THE WORK OF MY KING

Isa 49:1-10, 20

V:1. Listen to me, you islands;

hear this, you distant nations:

Before I was born the Lord called me;

from my birth, he has made mention of my name.

A. Before you were born, God planned your service

     To Him.

   1. He knew you by name and called you to the mission

       of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

   2. God has a particular place and a particular

       people He wants you to minister to.

B. Your ministry will span beyond where you are located

     And to people may not know.

   1. God has a way of bringing His chosen to you from

       far away places.

   2. Before the pandemic, our Bible Study was focused

        in the church location.

   3. Today with zoom, our Bible Study can reach the entire

        world.

   4. My lessons are posted on my blogs which have been

        visited by over 40,000 people from all around the world.

    5. God will make a way for us to proclaim the Gospel,

V:2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,

in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

he made me into a polished arrow

and concealed me in his quiver.

3 He said to me, "You are my servant,

Israel, in whom I will display my splendor."

A. Once we accepted Christ as our personal Savior,

     God began a training program to get us prepared

     For the mission, He decided before our birth.

   1. He will train us in the Word through the power of

       Holy Spirit to influence the lives that He will

       Bring it to us.

   2. God has design our education to be effective in

       the mission

B. The verbs sharpen and polished indicated the trials and

     Tribulations of our lives that builds and strengthens our faith

     In God's righteousness.

  1. Once David was ordained to be king of Israel at 15 years of

      age, it took 15 years being chased by Saul before he was

      ready for the job.

   2. Joseph was gifted by God with dream interpretation in his

       teens.

      a. He was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, taken to

          Egypt where he rose to the overseer of Potifers' house.

      b. He was accused of attempted rape by Potifers sex craze

          wife and thrown into jail.

      c. He extinguished himself as a servant of the jailer.

      d. Through all that, he was faithful to God and rose to

           second in command of Egypt.

   3. God selected us to be his faithful servants. He will

        train us for the mission.

      a. Our main job is to glorify God in our service

V:4. But I said, "I have labored to no purpose;

I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.

Yet what is due me is in the Lord 's hand,

and my reward is with my God."

A. We didn’t start this journey as mature Christians.

     1. We started as sinners saved by God’s grace.

     2. In our early years, we spent our time pursuing

         the desires of our flesh.

    3. Our goals were patterned to build a life according to

        the world’s standards.

B. Once accepting Christ, we are being groomed to follow

     God’s divine plan.

   1. The God we serve,  protected us doing our sinfulness

       and tolerated our behavior to the point where He

       drew us to Himself.

    2. What God has for you is for you and nothing can

         change that.

    3. God’s plan includes our spiritual growth where

        we store up treasures in Heaven.

     4. It is what we do for Christ that pleases God,

V:5 And now the Lord  says —

he who formed me in the womb to be his servant

to bring Jacob back to him

and gather Israel to himself,

for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord

and my God has been my strength — 

6 he says:

"It is too small a thing for you to be my servant

to restore the tribes of Jacob

and bring back those of Israel I have kept.

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,

that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."

A. The conversation to the mission of Jesus Christ.

    1. He stepped out of heaven, took on human flesh

        in the body of a virgin named Mary.

    2. The mission of Jesus is to bring salvation to all

         mankind.

    3. Jesus will not return until salvation has been offered  to everyone

        on earth

       Rom 2:10-11

       but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the

       Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.

    4. We were born in the darkness of the devil, shaped in the sin the

        devil created

B. Those who follow the commands of the Lord are strengthen to

     do His will.

   1. Jesus took on human flesh to redeem Israel and re-gather them

       to the promised land.

   2. While He was in the flesh, He was strengthened by the Holy Spirit.

   

       Mark 1:12-13

       At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13 and he was in the

      desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals,

       and angels attended him.

   3. Even though Jesus was the same as God the Father, He humbled

       Himself to be obedient to the Father’s commands.

     4. Jesus set the example of service with the reward of being honored

         by the Father

     5. Whenever you and I serve God He takes notice

V:7. This is what the Lord  says —

the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel —

to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,

to the servant of rulers:

"Kings will see you and rise up,

princes will see and bow down,

because of the faithful Lord,

the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."

A. God knows the end from the beginning.

    1. Throughout the Old Testament, never learn to worship

        God through any long period.

    2. They dishonored God with the worship of idols and mistreating

        their brothers and sisters.

    3.  The Old Testament ended with a 300 year period in which there was

          no prophet from God.

    4. The New Testament began with Jesus being rejected and crucified

         by the nation He came to redeem.

B. This verse looks forward to the second coming of Christ

     when Satan will be bounded for 1000 years.

     1. Christ will reign during those 1000 years and

         Israel will worship God.

    

        Rev 20:2-3

        He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan,    

        and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss,

        and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the

        nations anymore until the thousand years were ended.

        Rev 20:4

       They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

      2. Christ will be honored by all mankind from the time of the

          eternal judgement.

          Rom 14:11

          It is written: “As surely as I live,' says the Lord,

          'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.”

V:8. This is what the Lord  says:

"In the time of my favor I will answer you,

and in the day of salvation I will help you;

I will keep you and will make you

to be a covenant for the people,

to restore the land

and to reassign its desolate inheritances,

9 to say to the captives, 'Come out,'

and to those in darkness, 'Be free!'

"They will feed beside the roads

and find pasture on every barren hill.

A. This prophecy has not been fulfilled.

    1. Israel is still fighting for control of parts of

        the promised land.

     2. It is obvious that the nation has been favored.

         a. Israel ceased to exist in 1500 AD and was reestablished in

            May 1945.

B. Jesus ratified the covenant with His voluntary death

    On the cross

    1. All sins, past, present, and future have been atoned with

        the blood He shed on the cross.

    2. The atonement is the payment for our sin required by the

         Father.

   

       Rom 5:11

      And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

      by whom we have now received the atonement.

C. Jesus gave His mission statement in His first message to Synagogue

     In Galilee

    

       Luke 4:18-19

       18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to     

       preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,

       to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the

       blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.

D.  Abiding in Jesus we have all we need.

    

      John 16:23

      Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my   

      name, he will give it you.

V:10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,

nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them.

He who has compassion on them will guide them

and lead them beside springs of water.

    

Isa 49:22

22 This is what the Sovereign Lord  says:

"See, I will beckon to the Gentiles,

I will lift up my banner to the peoples;

they will bring your sons in their arms

and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

 A. God describes the abundance in heaven or

      the Millennium Kingdom where

      The true Israel, Jews, and Gentiles will dwell

       together.

     1. At the second coming of Christ, the Church will

         taken to heaven to reign with Him.

    

         1 Thess 4:15-18

         15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still

          alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not

          precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord, himself will

          come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the

          archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will  

          rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be

          caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

          And so we will be with the Lord forever.

     2. After this, only nonbelievers will be left on earth to go through

         the seven-year tribulation.

         a. Christ will do battle with Satan and bound him into hell for

             a thousand years .

         b. During the thousand years, Christ will reign on earth

             and a new Israel will be formed to worship Him.

         c. Under Christ's reign, there will only be joy and peace.

B. The good news is Christ is already reigning in our lives.

     1. It is up to us, to let Him be King in our lives

     2.  Matt 11:12

          From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven  

          has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.

THANK GOD FOR KING JESUS

Rev. M. Mitchell

Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church

5510 West Sam Houston Parkway North

Houston, Texas 77041

For more lesson, follow me on facebook or visit

my blogs; revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com