Christmas is Near!

Christmas is near, will you be here?

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21)

Crossway Church is celebrating Christmas on 15th December'19, Sunday at 5pm. We invite you all to be a part of the fellowship, enjoying music and drama and learning the Christmas message. 

A great opportunity for you, your friends and family to celebrate Christmas. Come and let's thank God for his indescribable gift, Lord Jesus Christ!

To a living hope

A man approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, "Eighteen to nothing--we're behind." 

"Boy," said the spectator, "I'll bet you're discouraged." 

"Why should I be discouraged?" replied the little boy. "We haven't even gotten up to bat yet!"

Source Unknown.

1 Peter 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

“To a living hope”

Apostle Paul also understood we needed this supernatural awakening of our inner eyes and ears. He prayed for it -- see Ephesians 1:17-18 -- for the Christians in Ephesus. 

So this hope that we have is a LIVING hope.

Hope can be tangible but also intangible.

Tangible hope: finances, good educational credentials, a good family name, property, influential social network; good reputation

Intangible hope: everything that the Bible encourages us to focus on: faith, love, peace, good conscience

Hope is future-orientated. Paul gives us a hint about this hope, and in I Thessalonians 5:8, he uses the phrase, our hope, the “helmet ”. The helmet protects the HEAD.

So here is the application: What’s in my head? 

Whose thoughts are ALIVE in my head?

Thoughts of work -- the stresses of your day to day job. 

Thoughts of bitterness -- the hurts we received from the boss, from friends, co-workers,

Thoughts about tomorrow -- how to save more money?

What we think about is what we hope for -- But are these things LIVING hope?

Let me invite us to really ask God for changing our  mental patterns -- See, like air pollution, our inner living is also messed up. We focus on the wrong things, the things that discourage us

We focus on all kinds of hopeless news, all kinds of hopeless trends in the media. And we ignore the power of the HOPE we have.  

Note :- From the Sermon notes - series on 1 Peter 1 by Dr. Anil Jacob for Crossway. 

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at stanleytisac@gmail.com

To be Born Again

In his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks tells about Virgil, a man who had been blind from early childhood. When he was 50, Virgil underwent surgery and was given the gift of sight. But as he and Dr. Sacks found out, having the physical capacity for sight is not the same as seeing.

Virgil's first experiences with sight were confusing. He was able to make out colors and movements, but arranging them into a coherent picture was more difficult. Over time he learned to identify various objects, but his habits--his behaviors--were still those of a blind man. Dr. Sacks asserts, "One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person. It is the interim, the limbo . . . that is so terrible."

To truly see Jesus and his truth means more than observing what he did or said, it means a change of identity.

Terry Seufferlein Norman, Oklahoma.   

1 Peter 1:3, 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

“To be born again”

• Let’s reflect on what it means to be born.

• Biologically -- birth begins when two different kinds of cells meet in the mother’s womb.

• The sperm and the egg -- basic biology.

• These are TWO DIFFERENT kinds of biological substances, two different kinds of cells that have different kinds of DNA but they fuse together and that leads to BIRTH.

• Spiritually -- Jesus told Nicodemus that we need rebirth-- not reform or resolution -- this is a QUALITATIVE things

• The initiative is with God the Father

• The power is the invisible power of the Holy Spirit

• The basis of the birth is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

• Spiritually the Bible emphasises that which is invisible. You will see this again and again! 

• So we get confused. 

• Especially men think that all this religious stuff is weird and vague, and we only want to be practical. It’s okay for women and children to believe all this supernatural Sunday school story stuff. It’s okay for poor people who don’t have money. Faith is for people who are sick or poor or mentally weak. Faith is for those who are unsuccessful but those who are actually real do everything independently.

• Well, let me ask you about something called Air pollution.

• Air pollution in Delhi became VISIBLE last Sunday -- the AQI went up to nearly 999 and above in some parts of NCR.

• But was this the start of the air pollution?

• Could your eyes and nose smell the pollution when it began?

• Even if you can see the sun today, and you can see far away, is the air actually clean?

• In other words -- what is the FINAL measure of Air pollution?

• It’s a measurement called AQI by a meter than detects particles my eyes and nose cannot see.

• Just as my nose or eyes cannot fully comprehend air pollution or even run away from it, this new birth is an invisible but GREAT mercy that God has imparted to us.

• In other words -- what is REAL is NOT VISIBLE, Air pollution is Detected by expensive Air Quality Instruments that produce an AQI reading.

• Air Pollution has long-term effects, 

• The Bible’s invisible measurement is that man NEEDS to be BORN Again -- and this happens INVISIBLY 

• Air pollution is invisible but has long term physical effects.

• God’s new birth s also INVISIBLE rebirth 

• It also has LONG TERM effects -- we ARE spiritual creatures in God’s eyes. 

• The BIBLE is our meter for what is REAL -- NOT my eyes or nose or ears or even my mental believes. We believe AQI readings; we can believe the Bible.

• 
  

Note :- From the Sermon notes - series on 1 Peter 1 by Dr. Anil Jacob for Crossway. 

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at stanleytisac@gmail.com 

HIs Great Mercy

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. 

"But I don't ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy." 

"But your son does not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied. 

"Sir," the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for." 

"Well, then," the emperor said, "I will have mercy." And he spared the woman's son. 

Luis Palau, Experiencing God's Forgiveness, Multnomah Press, 1984.

1Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

“His great mercy”

l  God’s mercy means that He didn’t give us what we did deserve for our sins, but that He overlooked it and gave us gifts we do NOT deserve. What is the mercy referring to?

l  Mercy is a quality of the heart -- it is an inner attitude but it shows externally.

l  Mercy is when you have a parking spot in Connaught place, but you give it away to someone who cuts in front of you.

l  Mercy is allowing someone to cut ahead of you in the long queue on a weekend with long lines at a big shop when you are at the checkout counter.

l  Mercy is helping someone at your office to write an email properly.

l  Mercy must be great -- and mercy doesn’t keep records.

l  If we don’t believe that we are sinners, we won’t show mercy. Peter had received mercy from Jesus - three times he said “do you love me,” to Peter -- and this is the same mercy of OURS that we can show to others. 

Note :- From the Sermon notes - Series on 1 Peter 1 by Dr. Anil Jacob for Crossway. 

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at stanleytisac@gmail.com

Being a disciple comes at a cost.

We cannot decide whether or not we will live or die; we can only decide what we will die for. 

Bob Pierce.

Being a disciple comes at a cost. 

1. Jesus must be first (Luke 14, 25, 26)

2. We have to be willing to suffer for Christ, which means to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. We have to be ready to face ridicule and persecution as we lead Godly lives in an ungodly world (2 Timothy 3:12)

3. We need to forsake everything to follow Jesus. This involves taking an informed decision (Luke 14: 28-30). Jesus is to be King and nothing can take precedence over Him and His will for us. 

Note :- From the Sermon notes taken by Sis. Pinky Patra - Series on Discipleship by Dr. Sanjay Patra for Crossway. 

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at stanleytisac@gmail.com 

A true disciple has some identifying marks.

     

           In 1912 William Borden, a graduate of Yale University, left one of America's greatest family fortunes to be a missionary to China. He got as far as Egypt and died of cerebral meningitis. He died--and was only in his 20s--but there was "no reserve, no retreat, no regrets" in his consecration to God.

Source Unknown.

A true disciple has some identifying marks.

          i.            Abides in Jesus’ words by meditating and fasting on God’s word (John 8:31). He       also needs to be a doer of the word (James 1:22).

        ii.            Loves others as Jesus loves us. A love that is visible and sacrificial.

      iii.            Bears much fruit.

The emphasis here is on the word “much”. Jesus is not talking about an occasional good deed but a lifestyle which prompts people to glorify God (Mattew 5:16). Failure to bear fruit will result in us being severed from Christ (John 15:1,2).

Note :- From the Sermon notes taken by Sis. Pinky Patra - Series on Discipleship by Dr. Sanjay Patra for Crossway. 

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at stanleytisac@gmail.com 

True Disciple ?

For every man, education should be a process which continues all his life. We have to abandon, as swiftly as possible, the idea that schooling is something restricted to youth. How can it be, in a world where half the things a man knows at 20 are no longer true at 40--and half the things he knows at 40 hadn't been discovered when he was 20?

Arthur C. Clarke in The View From Serendip.

According to the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20, all believers are called to make disciples. God not only empowers us but His presence is with us always in this great task. In fact, He has promise us that He will be with us always even to the very end of the age.  Hence, to “make disciples” is the goal of evangelization.  

Before we can make disciples, we need to be a disciple. Perhaps we believe in Jesus, worship and serve in church but each of need to introspect into our lives to see whether we are truly a disciple of Jesus. 

The word disciple literally means a learner. One who follows another’s teaching.  They are imitations of their teachers. The goal of a disciple hence is to be like his teacher (Luke 6:40). He needs to strive to be like Him, to be conformed to the image of His son (Romans 8:29). If we are His true disciples we need to follow Jesus and become like Him. 

Note :- From the Sermon notes taken by Sis. Pinky Patra - Series on Discipleship by Dr. Sanjay Patra for Crossway. 

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at stanleytisac@gmail.com 

The practical Advice of one of Jesus’ transformed disciples: Peter

Just a few thoughts from Peter’s life, in his second letter to the Christians in Turkey (Galatia, Bihthynia and so ):

2Pe 1:3  His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 

2Pe 1:4  by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 

2Pe 1:5  For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 

2Pe 1:6  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 

2Pe 1:7  and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 

2Pe 1:8  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Let me just focus on a few phrases in the above passage.

1. Divine Power:                                   In order to live in this world, we do need divine power -- we need God’s mercy, God’s wisdom, God’s grace, and we also can agree that the world around us is deteriorating -- it is falling and collapsing - we don’t need to have a long discussion on the trends in the world today. And what does God provide us? He has provided us very precious promises. That is, we can cling to the promises God gives us and as a RESULT  of those promises, we can start experiencing God’s divine nature -- in other words, our own internal reactions and patterns will change.

2. Partake of his divine nature:

We often say, “Oh, but I”m just human. This is human nature”

Peter says, “NO -- not really -- my nature is changing, I’m reflecting more and more of Jesus. I used to sleep till 9 in the morning, now I get up by 7 am. And two years later. I get up at 6 am and I read the Bible, I pray. I have more discipline”. Yes, it takes time -- but over time, the genuine christian grows in discipline. The number of excuses and justification and rationalization reduces, the responsibility level goes up. That’s the I partaking of the divine nature -- this is Supernatural -- you cannot work it up, you cannot fake it.

3. Make every effort -- diligence

For some reason, from the very time God Created the Earth, He always has invited men and women to work alongside him.

Many times we assume that God has to do things in our lives, in our nature, because we don’t realize that Christian life is a partnership -- we have our roles and responsibilities in   becoming more like Jesus.

Take just one example from the book of Genesis, before the Fall of Man -- Adam had to     name all the animals. But God created all the animals. 

Why does he need Adam to name them?

God gave the man and woman the garden, but they had to keep it and tend to it. 

Why is that? Could not angels do it? Why do things need to be worked on and maintained?

God gave the man everything at his feet, but man had the option to do anything in the     garden except eat fro the tree of the knowledge of good and evil -- so all the time, God     gives us options -- he doesn’t force us to obey him. This was true of Adam, this was true of     Moses and Abraham and David and everyone from the start -- 

***This is why the role of effort and diligence are in our hands.** 

Christian life is not fully automatic! There are gears, just as you have gears in your car. You can stay parked, you can stay in 1st gear, or you can keep shifting the gears up or down -- this is the cooperation you give to the Word of God, the bible, the Holy Spirit, your pastor, other believers and so on -

Disciples MAKE EVERY EFFORT

Faith --> Virtue --> Knowledge -->  

Self Control --> Steadfastness --> Godliness 

--> Brotherly affection --> Love

It is obvious that there is progress as we walk in the path of discipleship that we will eventually reach the summit of the Mount Everest -- that is genuine Christian Love.

Note :- From the Sermon notes - series on Discipleship by Dr. Anil Jacob for Crossway. 

Stanley Thomas Isac                    Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at stanleytisac@gmail.com 

JESUS CALLS HIS DISCIPLES PRIMARILY TO BE WITH HIM, AND AS A RESULT OF THAT TO GO OUT IN MINISTRY AND SERVICE.

In Discipleship Journal, Carole Mayhall tells of a woman who went to a diet center to lose weight. The director took her to a full-length mirror. On it he outlined a figure and told her, "This is what I want you to be like at the end of the program." Days of intense dieting and exercise followed, and every week the woman would stand in front of the mirror, discouraged because her bulging outline didn't fit the director's ideal. But she kept at it, and finally one day she conformed to the longed-for image.  

Daily Bread, August 8, 1990.

Mar 3:14  And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 

Mar 3:15  and have authority to cast out demons. 

There were three purposes for which Jesus called / appointed the 12:

1. To BE with Him -- 

2. To preach -- 

3. To cast out demons.

Let us focus our attention on the first priority. The 12 disciples were PHYSICALLY near Jesus -- for 3 and a half years. They walked with Him when He went in public, they saw Him teaching thousands, they were there when He confronted the Religious Pharisees, when a Roman official came to Him and He healed - they saw it all. That’s why we have the four gospel accounts. These are EYEWITNESS accounts. The disciples were physically near to Jesus. They were given the mandate to preach and could cast out demons in Jesus name. But what is the Foundation, what’s the FIRST thing that Jesus APPOINTED THE TWELVE FOR? The NUMBER ONE PRIORITY of the disciple is to BE WITH JESUS 

 

We may say, “Okay, but today, how am I supposed to BE with Jesus”?

The Disciple’s Spiritual CORE IS Abiding in Jesus    (JOHN 15: 4,5)

Jn 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 

Joh 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 

DEFINITION -- The Oxford dictionary defines abiding as “continue without fading or being lost” -- it could refer to a memory, or a place or a person. 

“Abide in Jesus and Jesus abides in me” --  

Does Jesus continue in you and me? 

Is Jesus fading away to me? 

Is Jesus being lost to you and to me? 

This is where the ministry of the Holy Spirit is so vital for abiding in Jesus because the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, the Bible, are constantly pointing to Jesus.

This means walking in our daily life in such a way that we are confident that Christ would approve of our eating, drinking, sleeping, talking and everything else that we do. 

How about the financial transactions we have -- receipts with or without GST? Isn’t this a common temptation? Save a little money here and there? Isn’t Jesus watching? Or what we look at online? Are we distracted? Bored? 

It may be possible to stumble and fall -- but pick yourself up -- Peter and other disciples did fall, but they picked themselves up because Jesus was compassionate and prayed for them.

Their success is evident because all of us are a result of someone who was a disciple in the last 2000 years and they brought the gospel to us. So the fact that we are listening here this morning is PROOF that discipleship is successful.

Yes, we will sin and make mistakes. 

A lot of that happens when we are distracted.  

But let me take us back to the first reference from the Scriptures -- the key to avoiding this distraction is found in Isaiah 50;4,5 -- when we get up in the morning, God Himself will teach us and prepare us to know how to face the day ahead. 

Martin Luther, who was one of the leaders during the Protestant Reformation in Germany in the 1600s once remarked that he had so much to do in each day that he absolutely needed to pray for three hours or so in the morning. He drew strength from God directly in prayer -- though he was a very learned man. 

During the early 20th century, in the United Kingdom, Smith Wigglesworth was a plumber with a great ministry in healing sick people. He was born illiterate but learned to read the Bible from his wife -- it is said that the Bible was the only book Wigglesworth read. Here is one statement that he made:

“If it is in the Bible, it is so. It’s not even to be prayed about. It’s to be received and acted upon. Inactivity is a robber which steals blessings. Increase comes by action, by using what we have and know. Your life must be one of going on from faith to faith.”

(https://manoahswife.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/bits-of-smith-wigglesworth/  ) 

Let us not get stuck on not understanding what “Abiding” looks like in practice -- 

Can I OBEY Jesus? 

Can you COPY Jesus? 

Can you even take one verse of Jesus’ life and 

DO THAT? Is that impossible? 

So when the disciple remains in Jesus, Jesus will enable that disciple to bear much fruit.

But if a person does not remain in Jesus, he or she will end up doing nothing.  That means, the END RESULT will not amount to being FRUITFUL for God, for Jesus, and will not pass the scrutiny that God will judge all our activities and life with.

YES - - the bible often keeps reducing the options of life to TWO choices in black or white. 

We must reflect deeply about the cost of following Jesus -- this is all in the final analysis -- Do you want your life to be fruitful or to be nothing? (Jesus is not saying here to the disciples that they will lose their salvation, but even many Christians live a life without doing really significant things for Jesus -- they may reach heaven, but is their earthly life just “nothing” or is it ‘bearing fruit”)

So that’s what Jesus Was saying THEN, 2000 years ago -- to the disciples, and today, in 2019 -- Jesus says to you and I “ Abide in me”. 

Note :- From the Sermon notes - Series on Discipleship - by Dr. Anil Jacob for Crossway. 

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at stanleytisac@gmail.com 

JESUS WAS DISCIPLINED IN DAILY SECRET PRAYER

Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions. Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God. Over time the paths to these places became well worn. As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others. They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path."

Today in the Word, June 29, 1992. 

Mark 1:35  And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 

a.        Mark 1:35. This is one verse about Jesus’ lifestyle which stands strong on its own. But we get greater clarity when we read the preceding verses. In short, the previous evening had been a very busy day for Jesus -- he had been healing the multitudes, casting out demons and curing and healing diseased people. This had been so successful that people came to his house. Not just a few people -- but the ENTIRE CITY!

b.        Physically, Jesus must have been exhausted and tired -- if you speak to people who are involved in evangelism or very intense spiritual labours, it is often tiring -- because we are serving others not only with our words, but also from our inner beings. My wife and I had once met a missionary who serves in Chhatisgarh, and he had said that actually the hardest thing to do do is evangelism in missionary work -- because that is the real front line, one feels the resistance of the forces of darkness who don’t want to give up people whom they have captured. Even Paul asked people to pray for him to be bold. So Jesus was tired. You could expect Him to sleep. 

c.         Spiritual strength: you and I as a disciple of Jesus can expect “to be in the secluded place” -- but even if you are PHYSICALLY secluded, disciples DRAW SPIRITUAL strength in Prayer by being in morning fellowship  with our heavenly Father. 

d.        But what does this verse say -- it says He was out early in the morning, WHILE IT was dark. I believe that this is one of the secrets of Jesus’ successful ministry - that he was disciplined, that He had a lifestyle of being secluded from people, and that even he saturated his personal time in prayer.

DISCIPLES draw their power and strength not ONLY with the physical discipline of getting up early in the morning but COMBINING that with dependence on God in prayer.

Military commandos have a disciplined lifestyle; Olympic athletes have a disciplined training lifestyle; in any area of human activity - physical and routine discipline give you very good results.

Here, what we are seeing is ALSO that Jesus was focused in getting His body to obey but ALSO to be AWAY from People when He was CLOSE to God in prayer.

And this is the secret of godly living -- we need to pull away from people in order to be close to God. When we are close to God, in prayer, in meditating on the Scriptures, in bringing our confusions, troubles, doubts to Him in prayer and only sharing them with Him, we will get the results that Jesus got!

How many Christians run around with other believers having “time of fellowship” or “hanging out” and so on -- which is fine. But do they ALSO spend that much time BEING in the presence of God -- even if it is NOT in the morning, at least once a week, Secluding yourself to pray and to have god examine your heart, allow the Word of God to penetrate, and influence and change and convict me? Doe that happen?

That’s the meaning of being in the “secluded place” that Jesus was also secluded -- even from his own disciples.

So there is a part of Christian living that is not very social. Like Jesus, we must spend a lot of time WITH GOD.

e.        Application to me: If Jesus was like this, how much more we need to be full of prayer early in the morning. That’s the only way to prepare for the day ahead and the challenges ahead. Since Jesus prayed early in the morning, I may even ask, will not the disciple of Jesus also want to do what Jesus did?

f.          Another application comes to mind: In Jesus’ life, we see that He spent LOTS of time in secret prayer with God and with nobody seeing Him. But when he had to pray in public, he would pray very briefly and God would answer that public, short prayer. The secret is what is the hidden life of prayer -- this is what Jesus referred to in Mathew 6:6

g.        MODERN APPLICATION:  About 25 years back, Stephen Covey wrote a book called “first things first”. You may have seen it in bookstores. It’s not a Christian book. One thing that Covey uncovered in his study of great leaders is a simple principle that we are seeing in the life of Jesus : “Private victory precedes public victory”. And this is the same thing that Jesus talked about in Matthew 6 -- our father watches what we are doing in secret. What is done in secret will be rewarded publicly by God.

Note :- From the Sermon notes - series on Discipleship by Dr. Anil Jacob for Crossway. 

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at stanleytisac@gmail.com

Are you TEACHABLE ?

We must face the fact that many today are notoriously careless in their living. This attitude finds its way into the church. We have liberty, we have money, we live in comparative luxury. As a result, discipline practically has disappeared. What would a violin solo sound like if the strings on the musician's instrument were all hanging loose, not stretched tight, not "disciplined"? 

A.W. Tozer, Men Who Met God.

GOD GIVES DISCIPLES OPEN, TEACHABLE HEARTS; THE DISCIPLE IS SOMEONE WITH DISCIPLINE

Prophetic Passage about Jesus Before His time/ The Servant - Isaiah

Isaiah 50:4,5

Isa 50:4  The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. 

Isa 50:5  The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. 

1.        In this passage, we have a reference that is written nearly 600 years before Jesus’ life on earth. This is a prophetic passage -- and here we have the Holy Spirit showing us some specific matters about how God’s servants are taught. In Old Testament times, genuine prophets heard directly from God.

a)        One thing that’s very clear is that Isaiah, who is directly writing here, but also a reference prophetically to Jesus is this. Isaiah and Jesus were both “Taught” -- that's the real daily lifestyle of a true disciple -- after all, he or she wants to be influenced and taught by the person he or she is being mentored or coached by, isn’t it?

b)       In these few verses, we may notice the following:

i.          When was the Servant taught? What time of day ?  Notice that it simply says, “morning by morning”.

ii.        For what purpose was the Servant taught?  When we as disciples are taught, whom is this teaching for? It’s for others, it is for those who are tired, fed up, discouraged, and weary --

iii.      Who was the teacher of the Servant? Notice that this is the real purpose of THE MORNING Quiet Time -- to listen in the heart of hearts, in the morning to receive God’s teaching TO us for others. God is happy to teach us early in the morning -- and we must do what he teaches us to do, and then we can encourage and support others.

c)        Now this passage shows the inner secret life of the prophet Isaiah (when we read ahead, it becomes clear that this is also referring to Jesus who will be ), we see that God speaks to the disciple, to the one He wants to teach, and to you as you want to serve God with greater sincerity, heart. God is the one who opens the ears of the heart.

d)       Now notice the major focus of this verse. “Morning by Morning” -- refers to a habitual lifestyle that is unbroken. In other words, there is a certain rhythm, there is a predictability and there is a discipline, a routine that Isaiah had (and Jesus) had in being awoken by God. Only then could the servant of God actually communicate to the people of God what God had spoken.

e)        I can testify personally -- the morning is often the time when there is little external noise, disturbance, and distraction. Mental focus and mental clarity is very high -- and if we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit and yield our bodies to PULLL out of Sleep and push into the day, early in the morning, we will find that we are actually receiving a very clear understanding from the Bible early in the morning. This is something I have experienced many times again and again.

EXCEPTION: We must NOT burden the lady who is pregnant or someone is in surgery or ill or ailing with this verse -- this is not meant to find fault with those who genuinely need to rest and cannot do what is mentioned here. It is not God’s nature, to find fault with those in peculiar situations in life.

Note :- From the Sermon outline - series on Discipleship by Dr. Anil Jacob for Crossway.        

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at stanleytisac@gmail.com

Jesus the right model of Discipleship.

One Sunday morning in 1865, a black man entered a fashionable church in Richmond, Virginia. When Communion was served, he walked down the aisle and knelt at the altar. A rustle of resentment swept the congregation. How dare he! After all, believers in that church used the common cup. Suddenly a distinguished layman stood up, stepped forward to the altar, and knelt beside the black man. With Robert E. Lee setting the example, the rest of the congregation soon followed his lead.

From the very start of Creation, God made men and women to be His image-bearers, to be close to Him in a personal relationship and the purpose of this “Creation mandate” was to work, to relate to the entire created world, and to go forth and multiply.

This was reiterated after the Fall to Noah and to Abraham and Moses and the nation of Israel so that the Fall would be reversed through the plan of salvation - but hte underlying theme is consistent with the Creation mandate -- we must bear His image and go forth and multiply.

Jesus is the perfect and exact representation of God in human form (Hebrews 1:3), so whatever Jesus did and said with the disciples is something we must consider seriously, and it is also consistent with what God wanted from the very beginning. Jesus called and initiated who would be on his first team of 12 - they responded (in various ways, Judas being one of 12 who went bad) -- so there is human agency and divine agency in this process. The primary purpose of discipleship is to be with Jesus (not only passively ) but actively as a result of this being with Christ - which should result in other believers also wanting to know how we can grow into the maturity of Jesus Christ (the unity of which Jesus wants in John 17.              

                                                                  Note :- From the Sermon outline series on Discipleship by Dr. Anil Jacob for Crossway.         

Stanley Thomas Isac

Stanley is serving as the Pastor of Crossway Church in New Delhi, he can be reached at stanleytisac@gmail.com