"In righteousness, you shall be established!"

Isaiah 54:14: In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and you shall be far from terror, for it shall not come near you.

This was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah some 700 years before Christ died on the cross. Today, as a believer in the New Covenant, you can say, "In righteousness I am now (already) established!", because He has already done it for you on the cross some 2,000 years ago! In cross-reference, 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For He made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Christ)."

What does 'righteousness of God in Christ' mean? It means 'in Christ, you are now in right standing with God'. In other words, there's no more animosity between God and you, because of what Christ has done for you on the cross. It also means 'God is not angry with you anymore' (see Isaiah 54:9) because all the wrath (anger) of God against your sins have been satisfied & punished on the body of Jesus at the cross!

Isaiah 54:17d also says 'your righteousness is from God'. It means you cannot become 'righteous' by your own deeds and efforts, but you can only be 'righteous' through Christ. It's a gift from God (Romans 5:17), and only to be received by faith.

I love to read Isaiah 53, 54, and 55 together as one. It always reminds me of Jesus' perfect work on the cross (Isaiah 53) so that I am now made 'righteous' through Him (Isaiah 54), and in turn, let it 'flow to others' so they are 'filled' as well (Isaiah 55)! In short, Isaiah 53 leads to Isaiah 54, and then in turn leads to Isaiah 55. It's a continuation.

Isaiah 55:1 then says, "Everyone who thirsts; come to the waters; and you who have no money; come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy 'wine' and 'milk' without money and price." Here, Isaiah was talking about God's free gift of His salvation & righteousness, because Somebody has paid the full price for it (at the cross)! Your thirst for God's righteousness has already been 'satisfied' through Christ! Not only that, in Him, you also receive the fullness of His joy ('wine' in this verse is a 'picture' of His joy) and His love ('milk' here is a 'picture' of His love/affection). For a record, Jesus 'turned water into wine' on a 'joyous' wedding occasion (John 2:9), and 'bosom'/'breast' in the Scripture speaks of God's love (John 13:23).

And you know what? There was actually an 'exchange' done on the cross between Jesus and you. Your 'thirst' for righteousness was 'quenched' when Jesus forsook His, as He said, "I thirst!" on the cross (John 19:28). His righteousness has been 'imputed' on you, and so, instead of you 'thirst', He 'thirst'! He did it so you can now be 'clothed with the robe of righteousness' (Isaiah 61:10). It means His righteousness was forsaken, so you can now be made righteous through Him!

And as He 'thirst', the Roman soldiers dealt Him a last cruel blow by giving Him sour wine (vinegar/a form of 'acid') to drink, thinking that He was 'thirsty for water'. This was in fact a form of cruelty (and sarcasm) instead of showing genuine concern (note: you don't give someone vinegar/acid to drink when he/she is thirsty for water!). So, not only Jesus suffered 'indescribable' wounds (Isaiah 53:2) on His outer body, imagine those 'acid' burning through His wounded lips, dry esophagus, stomach, and intestine in His inner body! And this was in addition to some six hours of being nailed on the cross (with non-stop bleeding)! He then finally said, "It is finished!" His work was finally done (John 19:30, Revelation 21:6), and He did it just for you (for He knows you by name), because He loves you so dear.

Entering a phase of 'enlarging'

Isaiah 54:2(NKJV): "Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes."

As you enter a new phase in your life, the Lord is also bringing you to a place of 'enlarging'. He is not a 'diminishing' God. He is a God who 'expands' and 'enlarges' you, till you see all your God-given destinies fulfilled. In Isaiah 54:4, the Lord also says, "Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed; neither be disgraced, for you will not be put to shame; For you will forget the shame of your youth (younger days), and will not remember the reproach of your 'widowhood' anymore." These are His words of assurance as He leads you into a new phase. It's a fresh one. It's a new one. And it's definitely a better one! People of God, old things have passed away, and behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I was ministering to someone recently, and I saw a vision of 'a beautiful young, fresh, green shoot (of plant) sprouting out from the soil'. I asked the Lord what it means, and He simply said these words, "Fresh. Young. Green". Amen! And yes, a new start is taking place! It's your time to let go of those 'shames' in the past. It's your time to let go of those 'reproaches' in the past. The days of the 'swarming locusts' (that may have eaten up your God-given zeal, courage, and destiny) are over! The Lord is resurrecting those areas of your life, and take heart, He surely hasn't forgotten you. Give these areas to the Lord again! There's a fresh touch, and there's a new start. I see Him 'touching' some of these areas now. To some of you, it may be your family relationships (parent-children, husband-wife, etc), and to some, it's your health that He's 'touching'. I also see the Lord reviving some careers, businesses and ministries, and He's 'touching' your finances afresh as well. Praise the Lord! Allow Him and receive in your spirit.

The Lord also brought my attention to these three words in Isaiah 54:2: Curtains, cords, and stakes.

Curtains: When there's a larger space, there'll be a larger stretch of curtains. There's an 'enlarging' in your spirit, and when your 'inside' is enlarged, your 'outside' will follow suit.

Cords: This speaks of your capacity to 'contain'. When there's a greater capacity to 'contain', it means the cords need to be lengthened as well. There's an 'enlarging' in your 'green pastures', and when your 'green pastures' is enlarged, more 'sheep' can come grazing and be fed. This applies to your business and ministries as well.

Stakes: This is like a 'nail', a 'picture' of God's Word (see Ecclesiastes 12:11) being strengthened in you. There's also an 'enlarging' in your understanding of His Word and in His things, and just as the 'stake' is being strengthened, there's also a strengthening (deepening) of your understanding of His Word and His things.

Amen!

Revived in His glory!

Exodus 33:18 (NIV): Then Moses said, "Now show me Your glory."

Have you ever wondered why did Moses ask God to show him His glory (Exodus 33:18) at that juncture of his life? I did, and one day, God answered me with two words: 'down' & 'out'. As I was studying Exodus chapters 32, 33 & 34 again, I found it to be very true. Indeed, Moses was 'down' at that time, and his people was 'out'!

Let's go straight to Exodus 32 now. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of God's writing (Exodus 32:16), his heart 'broke' and 'was shattered' when he saw how his own people bowed down and worshiped the gold calf they've recently made. He was also angered that these people had forgotten their very God (who miraculously brought them out of Egypt with great signs not long ago). Obviously he couldn't control his emotion, and he broke the tablets (Exodus 32:19-20). And that's not it yet! He then had to see how three thousand of his own people die by the sword, brothers killing brothers (Exodus 32:27-28). For a man with a shepherd's heart as he was, that was indeed a real big blow! He must have felt terrible, and he must have felt how much a failure he was (in leading God's people). It was definitely a time of 'spiritual low' in his life. Imagine just not too long ago, these dead were some of those who shouted and praised God with songs of victory after the incredible Red Sea crossing! In short, morale was at a low, the leader was 'down', and the people 'out'.

The Bible says at that juncture, Moses just wanted to be alone (Exodus 33:7-9) and away from his people.

Maybe you are now in a similar situation when 'nothing seems to be happening' in your life. Worse still, you have so far been disappointed, and your dreams never seem to come true. Or maybe you are feeling like a failure, thinking that you amount to nothing good. Or you are going through a 'spiritual low' and 'stagnancy' when nothing seems to be 'moving'.

Beloved, take heart. He has not forgotten you. In fact, if you would believe, He's going to 'show up' like you've never seen before.

Let's get back to Moses now. Exodus 33:12-16 says he was already at the 'end' of himself, not knowing what to do anymore. And if God would still not 'go with him', he'd rather not continue! That was indeed the turning point, and it was then that God said Moses had found favor (grace) in His sight. When you've reached a point when you can't by your own, that's when He can! It was then that God assured him: "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest" (Exodus 33:14). He wanted Moses to know He hasn't forgotten him, and in fact, He was going to do something unprecedented for him. When Moses asked God to show him His glory, that was indeed a difficult request (as no man, sinful man as he is, can see God and still live; for in Him there's no sin, and the wages of sin is death). However, God in all His love and grace never said 'no' to Moses. He did open a 'way'. Today, you have this 'way' too! (see John 14:6) He then asked Moses to stand on the 'rock' (a 'picture' of Jesus), and as His glory ('kabowd' in Hebrew, meaning 'splendor, weight in a good sense, richness, His very presence') passed by, He'd put him in the cleft ('naqar' in Hebrew, meaning 'crack, pierce, thrust') of the rock and cover him (Exodus 33:21). This is a 'picture' of Jesus' body being broken & pierced on the cross, just for you. Moses saw ('raah' in Hebrew, meaning 'behold, enjoy, have experience of) God's glory! And you know what? Everything changed after that for him! Hallelujah!

Because of Jesus & what He's done for you on the cross, you'll always have hope!

He's reviving you now. He's resurrecting your lost dreams. He's breaking your 'stagnancy'. He's lifting you up from your 'doldrums'. He's breaking every curse that hinders you. And yes, He's bringing you 'life' again! Will you allow Him, the King of Glory (see Psalm 24) in? In spite of whatever wrong you've done in the past, and no matter how you've failed, you can still find grace (like Moses did), and yes, only in Christ your 'rock'. Will you look to Him again? He's a God of 'second chance' & He's opening a way for you again!

Now, as I end this writing, let's see what happened to Moses after that. After the 'glory encounter' at the 'rock', God did ask Moses to go up to Mount Sinai again, and with new tablets in his hands (Exodus 34:4). This time, as he came down from the mountain, things were completely different! Praise the Lord! The Bible says the skin of his face shone (Exodus 34:29-30), radiant & glorious. Nobody's bowing down to gold calf this time, nobody's lost in ungodly revelry, and of course, no anger and no breaking of tablets! A big change indeed, the people were ready, and God's words were released successfully!

Today, as a believer in the New Covenant, the glory of the Lord (& Jesus is the King of Glory) shall be released (& manifested) through you again, touching many more lives, just as in the Old Covenant, the law (which Jesus has already fulfilled perfectly some 2,000 years ago) was released through Moses in his day (Exodus 34:31-32).