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One of God’s greatest gifts to humans is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Joel prophesied about a time when the Spirit’s presence would be available to every person.
Then afterward
I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions. (Joel 2.28)
After the resurrection of Jesus on the day of Pentecost, the promise of Joel became a reality. Acts 2 is the record of that event.
Paul exhorted people to take full advantage of the activity of the Spirit. He wrote, “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 4.17).
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be activated, captivated, and motivated by God’s Spirit.
Isaiah 30.19-26 describes the heart attitude of a Spirit-filled person.
Our Cry – God’s Grace
When our world crashes down upon us (Isaiah 30.13-14), we realize that our self-sufficiency is not enough. We look to someone larger than ourselves for help.
The leader of the Sunday School class I attend told us last week of a time when he wanted to stop using drugs. God used the Kansas City police to rescue him from himself.
In jail, he knelt and surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. At that moment, his transformation began by the grace of God and the power of his Spirit.
His experience has been repeated many times and in many ways. First, the person comes to an end to himself or herself. They surrender to God and they experience God’s grace and power.
God’s grace is available today, just as it was in 700 B.C.
Isaiah wrote, “Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you.
“Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher” (Isaiah 30.19-20).
Sin separates us from God, but when we surrender to God’s leadership his grace is available.
Sin brings adversity and affliction, but grace provides us a Teacher who will guide us to the best life possible.
The Teacher’s voice of clear direction is available to us. “And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it'” (Isaiah 30.21).
This is a beautiful picture of how the Holy Spirit works.
When we come to an end of ourselves and cry out to God in surrender, he graciously comes to us. God is personal and personally interacts with us through the Spirit.
If we are willing to listen and obey, the Spirit will be a Teacher who walks beside us. He will guide us in the right paths of life.
Jesus compared two opposed ways of life. He said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10.10).
If pride, blindness, and self-will direct our lives, the thief will see to it that our world will crash down around us.
If we recognize God’s right to rule our lives and surrender to him, Jesus will make sure that we experience the best life possible.
Cleaning House
I inherited gout from my father’s side of the family. Certain foods trigger a very painful gout attack. When those foods are identified, they are immediately eliminated from my diet.
When our ideas of what is important in life are shown to be destructive, the wise thing to do is to eliminate those ideas. Then, we will be ready to follow the guidance of the Teacher (the Holy Spirit).
Isaiah described the kind of housecleaning that is required.
“Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like filthy rags; you will say to them, ‘Away with you!'” (Isaiah 20.22).
Judgment and grace open our eyes and we can see how foolish it is to serve self-will.
Instead of being activated, captivated, and motivated by pride and self-interest, we choose to be led and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Renewal
When we abandon our idols and walk in step with God’s Spirit, the door is wide open for God’s blessing.
Isaiah used poetic images to describe the abundant life he has for those who surrender to the direction of his Spirit.
— Verse 23 – He will give . . . [that] which will be rich and plenteous.
— Verse 25 – On every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water. . .
— Verse 26 – Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day when the Lord binds up the injuries of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.
I have two responses to this chapter in Isaiah, and I hope you will join me.
(1) I desire to surrender more of my life to the direction of the Holy Spirit.
I choose to cast the idols of my pride and know-it-all spirit aside, so I can receive the perfect direction of the Teacher, the Holy Spirit.
(2) I am stirred to pray for others to cry out to God and to receive his grace.
Please join me in this.
About This Blog
Rudy Ross is an excellent student of Isaiah. Rudy and I have a video you can see on the Bob Spradling YouTube Chanel.
Rudy will bring a different dimension to Isaiah than what is in my blog. I hope you will check out and enjoy my interviews with him.
I am indebted to a book by Dr. John Oswalt on Isaiah for his insights into this powerful book.
If you have a prayer request, please email me at bsprad49@gmail.com or private message me on Facebook. The Maywood Baptist prayer team will pray for you.
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