Isaiah 38:15-17 English Standard Version

¹⁵ What shall I say? For he has spoken to me, and he himself has done it. I walk slowly all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.

¹⁶ O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these is the life of my spirit. Oh restore me to health and make me live!
¹⁷ Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.

Adam walked with God in the garden. Adam was told not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil because if he did he would die. Adam ate and Adam was cast out of Eden because of the sin of disobedience. Adam lived for hundreds of years in the world so his death was no one of a physical nature it was one of a spiritual nature. Adam no long communed with God. This death is one of separation from our creator. The obstacle to communion with our creator is sin.

Isaiah speaks of a bitterness of living without God. Isaiah cries out for restoration of this life with God in verse 16. In verse 17 Isaiah declares God’s love saved him from the pit of destruction and removed sin as a barrier to relationship.

Isaiah’s words are prophetic. He sees God’s plan from afar off and declares that promise of hope for himself. Isaiah examples our need to end the bitterness of life without God and find this salvation offered. While Isaiah looked forward in time to an event that was coming, we get to look back on that same event that happened in our past as that promise realized. For us the offer is one that can be accepted now.

Isaiah saw how God removed sin out of the way. God did what man could not, remove sin as a barrier to restoration of walking with God.

1 Timothy 6:12 English Standard Version (ESV) Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

We left off yesterday declaring that faith is an active part of every aspect of Kingdom life. How do we activate this faith that we all possess in order for it to be exactly what God promises? In the verse above it says we have a good confession of faith in the presence of many witnesses. What does that look like?

Acts 20:20-21 English Standard Version

²⁰ how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, ²¹ testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here Paul lays out the foundational principles of activating faith. Repent of the life we lead without God and turn to Him for the help promised by placing our faith in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Declare Jesus Christ to be our Lord before witnesses and He will activate this faith of promise.

2 Corinthians 3:18 English Standard Version (ESV) And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

The power to change lives comes from our Lord, who is spirit, who is God. Placing our faith in Christ Jesus is placing our faith in God. The formula for testing faith to prove God as described in Hebrews 11 is complete.

Tomorrow we will begin to explain the promises of God and how it all works together to prove God’s promises.