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Rediscovering God's Mission Dr. Stanley N. Helton 55th CCCWC English Adults Workshop December 29, 2012

Greetings from

The Story of God (Bible) The Beginning Abraham’s Family Egyptian Slavery Wilderness Wandering Conquest of the Land The Judges United Kingdom Divided Kingdom Judah Alone Babylonian Exile Restoration to the Land Between the Testaments Life of Jesus The Early Church

Important Dates c. 1000King David Reigns 922The Kingdom Divides 722/1Israel (N) Falls to Assyria –612Nineveh Falls –606Battle of Carchemish 597Jerusalem Falls to Babylonians 587/6Babylon conquers Judah

The Divided Kingdom

Important Dates –539/8The Persians become Dominant 536Cyrus allows Jews to Return 520Haggai and Zechariah inspire the People to Rebuild Temple 516/5Second Temple Built 457Return led by Ezra 445Nehemiah Rebuild Jerusalem’s Walls –400End of Canonical OT History –331Alexander the Great

God's Mission 1.God Forms a Distinct People 2.To Participate in God's Life 3.For the Sake of the World

The Call 1) Revelation of God 2) God's Motive 3) God's Commission 4) Our Objection 5) God's Reassurance 6) God's Sign

Isaiah: Accepting God's Mission

Book of Isaiah Begins The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Some Chronological Stuff Albright’s Dating Uzziah783–742 BC Ahaz750–735 BC Jotham735–715 BC Hezekiah715–687 BC

Call of Isaiah (Isa 6:1–2) In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

Call of Isaiah (Isa 6:3) 3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

Call of Isaiah (Isa 6:4–5) 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Call of Isaiah (Isa 6:6–7) 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

Call of Isaiah (Isa 6:8) 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Call of Isaiah (Isa 6:9–10) 9 He said, "Go and tell this people: " 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

Call of Isaiah (Isa 6:11a) 11 Then I said, "For how long, Lord?" And he answered:

Call of Isaiah (Isa 6:11b–12) "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, 12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.

Call of Isaiah (Isa 6:13) 13 And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land."

The Call 1) Revelation of God (6:1–4) 2) God's Motive (6:9–10) 3) God's Commission (6:9) 4) Our Objection (6:5) 5) God's Reassurance (6:7) 6) God's Sign (hot coal; v. 6)

God's Mission 1.God Forms a Distinct People 2.To Participate in God's Life 3.For the Sake of the World

Some of the Fruit of Isaiah’s Ministry

The Song of the Vineyard 5:1 Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. 2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.

The Song of the Vineyard 3 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?

The Song of the Vineyard 5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. 6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.

The Song of the Vineyard 7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!

Major Theme: New Exodus Is. 43:19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild animals will honour me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.

Major Theme: New Creation Is 65:17 For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.

Major Theme: New Creation Is. 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says the LORD; so shall your descendants and your name remain. 23 From new moon to new moon, and from sabbath to sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the LORD.

God's Mission 1.God Forms a Distinct People 2.To Participate in God's Life 3.For the Sake of the World