“If I walk with the world, I can’t walk with God.”
D.L. Moody
Passage
2“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, The one that remains faithful.
3“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.
4“Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.
5“For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.
6“The foot will trample it, The feet of the afflicted, the steps of the helpless.”
7The way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.
8Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O Lord, We have waited for You eagerly; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls.
9At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
Isaiah 26:2–9 (NASB95)
Background
Quote-Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts (now Northfield Mount Hermon School), Moody Bible Institute, and Moody Publishers. Moody gave up his lucrative boot and shoe business to devote his life to revivalism, working first in the Civil War with Union troops through YMCA in the United States Christian Commission. In Chicago, he built one of the major evangelical centers in the nation, which is still active.
Passage-The book of Isaiah is Narrative History, Prophetic Oracle, and even a Parable (chapter 5). The prophet Isaiah wrote it at approximately 700 B.C. Isaiah is the first book in the Major Prophets. They are called Major Prophets for the large amount of material they wrote not because their message was more important than any other prophet’s was. Key personalities are Isaiah, his two sons, Shearjashub and Maher-shalal-jash-baz.
Isaiah contains some of the most incredible prophecies of any book. It contains foreknowledge, in incredible details about the Messiah, and the future reign of Jesus Christ. The purpose of the book of Isaiah was to call God’s nation, the nation of Judah, back to faithfulness and to declare the coming Messiah “Immanuel”. God calls and commissions His prophet to declare to Judah and Israel condemnation, conviction, and ultimately great hope.
Written by Jay Smith, Biblehub.com
Opening Statement
We are happy the storm is gone. Finaly, our lives can get back to the way they were, but should they? Should we return to the way things were or should we contemplate where we are and what brought us to this place?
Ask: After a hardship or difficulty, what do we tend to do?
Point: We relax but we also say, “boy am I glad that’s over” and we return to the way things were, or try to.
Ask: Is “returning to the way things were” dangerous or bad?
Point: It can be if the causes for “the storm” were brought about by or influenced by “the way things were.” Please read the following:
17“But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!
18“For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
19“For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.
20“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:17–20 (NASB95)
Ask: What does verse 18 mean in relation to the calm after the storm and God in that calm?
Point: In a Christian walk we learn things, discard things, and grow our hope in Jesus through difficulties. Do not neglect that which we learn in those trials. But Why?
Ask: Why should we learn to focus on God and His word in the calm like we did in the Storm if the difficulties are over?
Point: Because we still worry the storm might return. Please read the following:
6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6–7 (NASB95)
Ask: If we are walk in the calm after the storm why should we be praying?
Point: Verse 6 from Philippians above has the answer.
Ask: If we are showing “thanksgiving” in the calm after the storm how do we do that?
Point: Please read the following:
14For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;
15and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
16Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
2 Corinthians 5:14–17 (NASB95)
Ask: What does that mean, “…behold, new things have come?”
Point: The answer is a question; what did we learn from our time in “the storm?” Please read the following:
8Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
9He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.
10“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:8–10 (NASB95)
Ask: What is the psalmist trying to tell us with the line, “…know that I am God?”
Point: That the world of the flesh and the kingdom of Heaven operate under His laws, ways, and ideas not Mans.
Ask: If we recognize that God’s ways are best, what should that prompt us to do after the storm has passed and calm has returned?
Point: Please read the following:
27“All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
28“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
29“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:27–30 (NASB95)
Ask: What does that mean for us if we take His yoke upon us?
Point: It means we may not understand all things but we believe God’s way is the right way even when we don’t understand why. Please read the following:
1In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security.
2“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, The one that remains faithful.
3“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.
4“Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.
Isaiah 26:1–4 (NASB95)
Closing Statement
After the storm we tend to slip back into old habits, old ways. The discipline of diligence is relaxed, and less strict rules slide back into our lives. Sometimes, we forget why we dropped into the storm in the first place, or we no longer see the need for the rules we put in place to help get through the difficulty. But if it’s a choice between going back to the old, worldly ways or sticking with the new ways God showed us, we are better served continuing to walk with God.