“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” II Corinthians 4:5-6

Saturday, July 7, 2012

The sustaining words of Jesus


“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.” Isaiah 50:4

This verse begins the third of four “servant songs” found in the book of Isaiah. I’ve been meditating on this particular verse all week in preparation for my sermon tomorrow. I’m preaching on Jesus calling the disciples to leave fishing, and become fishers of men.

I’ll bring up some of Jesus’ “hard” teachings in my sermon tomorrow. I’ll ask questions about commitment, and obedience, and adherence to Jesus’ teachings, trusting the Spirit to prompt and push my hearers to wrestle with the words of Jesus. But as I pray and think in my office tonight, I can’t help but come back to this verse in Isaiah 50. “…that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.”

Wow.

Conviction.

Isaiah prophesies that Jesus would “sustain with a word him who is weary”. May I remember tomorrow that Jesus’ words truly are sustaining words. His words sustain the weary! 

Oh, I pray that Jesus’ words tomorrow from the pages of scripture would uplift and sustain the weary hearts of my listeners!

Do His words sustain you?

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