Hope and Strength is found in God

Pr Michael Koh

17-08-2016

Prophetic word spoken to Israel during a time of oppression.

Isaiah 52 New King James Version (NKJV)

God Redeems Jerusalem

52 Awake, awake!
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city!
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Shall no longer come to you.
² Shake yourself from the dust, arise;
Sit down, O Jerusalem!
Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion!

³ For thus says the Lord:

“You have sold yourselves for nothing,
And you shall be redeemed without money.”

⁴ For thus says the Lord God:

“My people went down at first
Into Egypt to dwell there;
Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
⁵ Now therefore, what have I here,” says the Lord,
“That My people are taken away for nothing?
Those who rule over them
Make them wail,”^[a] says the Lord,
“And My name is blasphemed continually every day.
⁶ Therefore My people shall know My name;
Therefore they shall know in that day
That I am He who speaks:
‘Behold, it is I.’”

⁷ How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
⁸ Your watchmen shall lift up their voices,
With their voices they shall sing together;
For they shall see eye to eye
When the Lord brings back Zion.
⁹ Break forth into joy, sing together,
You waste places of Jerusalem!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
He has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The Lord has made bare His holy arm
In the eyes of all the nations;
And all the ends of the earth shall see
The salvation of our God.

¹¹ Depart! Depart! Go out from there,
Touch no unclean thing;
Go out from the midst of her,
Be clean,
You who bear the vessels of the Lord.
¹² For you shall not go out with haste,
Nor go by flight;
For the Lord will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The Sin-Bearing Servant

¹³ Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;
He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
¹⁴ Just as many were astonished at you,
So His visage was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men;
¹⁵ So shall He sprinkle^[b] many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For what had not been told them they shall see,
And what they had not heard they shall consider.

God’s strength coming to the people of God. Act based upon what God is showing, not on external things. Yes, things don’t look good but awake and put on strength.

Restoration of the Holy Spirit upon our lives.

Romans 8:22-30 New King James Version (NKJV)

²² For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. ²³ Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us^[a]with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰ Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

The Holy Spirit is praying even though we do not know what we are praying or how to pray. The person of the Holy Spirit has hope of a future, a yearning for God’s purposes to be fulfilled. This hope is God’s reality. It draws the present into the future. It is the presence of God’s future in us and He has assured us of the future. In this hope we are saved.

Praying in the Spirit is the Holy Spirit groaning. We have the firstfruits of the Spirit. The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. The Holy Spirit is searching for the heart of God. We are moving into the river of God. He works all things for good.