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Thursday 3 May 2012

Isaiah 54:1-4 - The fruit of salvation (1)

A key point to note is that Isaiah 54 comes after Isaiah 53, and it wasn't Isaiah who put the chapter numbers in.  The cross is something that has consequences for our lives, and this chapter outlines the response that God is looking for, and the effect of the cross and resurrection in our lives.
The first is to overcome rejection of self. We say “I cannot do”, “I can never be” (have a successful marriage, get my finances sorted out, be a soul winner, produce fruit for God, hold down a job) – i.e. we reject ourselves. The first thing we need to do is shout for joy. The whole prospects for our lives have changed because of what Jesus has done. Things that were previously impossible are now possible.
Instead need to rejoice and enlarge the place of our tent (expect and prepare for success). We need to have a different mindset. We are often conditioned to expect failure, we need to expect success. I am not talking about some cheap form of prosperity teaching here, or a "life will all be wonderful" teaching, but we do need to radically change our outlook and expectations.
Having experienced failure and shame in the past, there can be a deep fear of future failure, of being put to shame again. We need to overcome this. God promises that we will not be put to shame.

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