Serving God in the Midst of Godlessness
“Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples.” Isaiah 8:16 (NKJV)
Isaiah served God at a most difficult time. The Lord revealed that, as a prophet, he would see his audience, outside of a small remnant, reject the word from God (6:10 – 13). Even so, Isaiah remained faithful preaching the message of His God over several decades under different earthly kings. How does one remain so faithful in such a God—rejecting culture?
The key to remaining strong spiritually is found in verse 11 of our chapter, “For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people…” To walk God’s narrow way in opposition to the broad way of the surrounding culture demands the resolve to love and obey our God. In his obedience Isaiah was mentoring others to walk the same path as he states, “…among my disciples.” As the Word from God had gone forth and been rejected by the majority, God’s man determines that his mind would be staid on the revelation of God declaring further that he would go, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, It is because there is no light in them” (v. 20).
To walk godly in a godless culture requires unwavering faith in the revelation of God as the Truth to be accepted and acted upon each and every day. Isaiah was able to remain faithful in the face of great opposition because he had been allowed a glimpse of God which revealed his own sinful and needy condition (chapter 6). Such an ongoing revelation is necessary for the disciple to understand the need of total reliance upon God. Jesus would state it this way, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).
Our revelation is God speaking to us through His word. Our daily time in the word and in prayer is our “conversation” with a God Who reveals His love to us in such a way that we grow in love toward Him. The outworking of this is a life of loving obedience lived out as light in the midst of the cultural darkness around us. Dr. Joe Olachea is the pastor of Lakes Community Chapel in Medford, NJ and serves on the Board of Trustees of America’s Keswick
Compass Pointers: “…from the moment we receive Christ into our lives as Savior and Lord, Life becomes a ministry. No longer is it an aimless existence to satisfy ourselves; it becomes a ministry for the blessing of other people.” Alan Redpath
Anchored to the Rock: Jesus didn’t pray about things, He brought this about by prayer. Armin Gesswein
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