Sy Mrs. Bessie Wilbon1 *‘A New Day For God’s People” Isaiah 2:2-4 December 4, 1983 INTRODUCTION The prophet Isaiah was no blind optimist. He suffered no delusions regarding the degeneration in the society of his day. He ; was painfully aware of the evil in Judah and ; Jerusalem and did not hesitate to speak out ; against it. But Isaiah did nor despair. ; Dishonesty, injustice, irreligion, and im morality were everywhere evident, and the prophet did not see much to inspire hope in the future. Would it be different if he lived in our day? In this fabulous age man has technical know-how to make of the earth a veritable garden of Eden, but seems de termined instead to turn it into a hell. It was ^iot much different in Isaiah’s day and since he had never heard of evolution, his confidence was not based on some theory that man would just naturally become better and better. Rather, when he spoke of the future with assurance, it was an assur ance rooted and grounded in God. Isaiah was aware of the evil about him, but he also knew of the power of God to bring reality a new kind of life for His creation. He knew that the new day would be the Lord’s doing, not man’s. LESSON BACKGROUND Isaiah received his call to the prophetic ministry “in the year that King Uzziah died”, (Isaiah 6:1), about 740 BC. Uzziah had been a good king, in general, but the spiritual, moral and ethical life of the nation had begun to deteriorate even before he died. This decline continued during the reign of his son Jotham. The latter “did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,” but the people worshipped pagan gods, (2 Kings 15:34-35) and were corrupt (2 Chron icles 27:2). The Kingdom Will Be Established (Isaiah 2:2) “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exhalted above the ;hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.” The "mountain of the Lord’s house is a refer ence to the Kingdom of God, the church, the -antitype of the existing Zion. This figure is :made clear in one of the prophecies of :;Daniel in which a stone “cut out without ;:hands” became a “great mountain, and Tilled the whole earth,” (Daniel 2:34-35). ™ (V. 3) “And many people shall go and say, -Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of "the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: tand he will teach us of his ways, and we will Irwafk in his path&; for out_of_Zian_shall go Torth the law, and the word of the Lord from ^Jerusalem.” This coming kingdom will ^include not only the Jews; people from all ‘^nations will be attracted to it and accepted. Note the joy and evangelistic fervor of ;these people as expressed in their words, *“Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain :of the Lord.” Their enthusiasm seems to ilequal that of the man of whom Jesus spoke, twho found a great treasure hidden in a field Hand sold all that he had in order to possess wit. Even today there are those who share ithis eagerness for the Kingdom of God. Are j»we among that number? f The new day of which Isaiah spoke was to ?be a day when justice would be practiced, fand men would no longer make war against ► one another. Instead of resorting to force to ►settle differences and difficulties, or even ►relying on international law, those of all ►nations who have responded to the word of ►the Lord will seek to settle their problems ►according to His will. ► Zion's Future Glory (Isaiah 62:1-3). This ►Scripture is taken from the last part of glsaiali. God’s promise of Isaiah 2 would be jrfulfilled, but it would be accomplished in Ppart by severe judgment upon Israel for her pins. The passing years would seem to bring ^despair. Yet even for such a time as this ►Isaiah had a word of comfort. There was a ►hope for the future that resided in the power L4| God to bring into being a kind of life ►different from the present one. The pro mised glory would certainly come. [r Isaiah was not content that Israel forever pemain in sin and darkness. Neither God Pnor His prophet would cease to labor until Hthe glory promised to Zion would be [realized. We can share the confidence of Isaiah, yviore than that, we can rejoice in the fact £that through Christ the new day of which Hsaiah spoke has come - a day of light and «iot darkness, a day of new life and hope. With the psalmist we can declare, with a confidence not even he could have known. ^‘This is the day which the Lord hath made, jve will rejoice and be glad in it,” (Psalm 318:24). Those of us who consider this lesson >oday should be able to go forth with Renewed confidence in the way of the Lord with a determination to walk in w>th Him in 11131 w«y .—.:.: It Was.The Pouter ()j (uni Working Through Mr!" Mrs Miller: “It Wasn’t Me Helping That Baby!” By Teresa Simmons Post .Managing Kditor The baby lay motion less even a small whim per at this late hour would have satisfied the fearful mother. But there she lay listless with a frown of defeat upon her little face Prayers had been" ex hausted but not the mother’s faith. She still had enough of that to believe God worked through peo ple. So she picked up the telephone and called Beu lah Miller * ’’Mrs. Miller can you come and see about my baby, please?’’ the mother asked. "But my brakes on my car are no good. I'll come as soon as I can tomor row,” Mrs. Miller replied sympathetically. But just as Mrs Miller placed the phone on the receiver and started wash ing the dishes again she heard vocie say. "Go now." Mrs.-Miller jumped in her car. ignoring the bad brakes, and started her journey to the mother's home. There she observed a motionless baby. . "something is wrong with its legs," Mrs Miller thought. Pity wasn’t the answer. There was something stronger within the heart of Mrs. Miller, as if she was once again becoming an instrument of God to help others. Mrs. Miller placed her hands over the baby's legs praising God for His power. "It wasn’t me who helped that baby." Mrs Miller will tell you. “It was the power of God working through me." Mrs. Miller left the baby and mother sleeping peace fully. The next day the laugh , ter rang throughout the house. The baby was perky, the mother was joy ous simply because Mrs Miller had obeyed the voice she had heard for over 40 years. God beckoned to Mrs. Miller through her dreams. The message was I-— Beulah Miller. 71, has been teaching the Word of find faithfully for over 40 years and founded the Home Mission Prayer Band. < Photo By Teresa Simmons ' to spread His Word. "I was about 29 then and I was in the world and I wasn’t ready .1 was running. I didn't think I was quail tied But I was lying on my bed of affliction Everyone thought I had died but during that time I saw God across a big ditch and He was asking me, Why don't you do what I tell you to’’’ I said. 'Oh. I>ord. if you just let ine up I’ll do what you tell me to do ’ He then said ‘Go home and teach the Word of God. See whom you can help "I woke up and asked my family if they had seen God and they said no The’next morning I felt better and I got up." That same day Mrs. Miller started the or ganization of the Home Mission Prayer Band m nrst tamiiy and friends did not take Mrs Miller seriously. But then when she began to organize the Home Mission Prayer Band, which is now 40 years old, those around her began to respect the com mitment she had made to God and many decided to become involved. Her husband Joe Miller has been with the group since its conception and has been the hymn leader. Her sister joined later. Others who have been with the Prayer Band for mi merous years include “ Lizzie Jennings, mother ot the Band, and llosetta Odum, leader Presently" 'there are about 20 active members "Our mission is to go from one home to another and pray We help the sick and needy and have sent money nationwide to those who need it." More importantly Mrs Miller and the Prayer Band, which has numbered as many as 40. gains souls for the Lord Today Mrs ^liiler .is 71 and her husband 74 They recently celebrated 54 years of marriage They have two daughters. 12 grands and 21 great grands and are active members of James Chapel Baptist Church near Fort Mill On most Mondays Mrs Miller still visits the sick Her special gifts from God have become sort of a le gend and people often call her on the phone to pray for them or to use her healing hand. Tuesday evenings are meeting times for the Prayer Rand.- "We report on how people in the hos pital or sick at home' are doing and we take up money from ourselves for them " The dreams that wor ried Mrs Miller at the age -contained a special _ message ”t was amonR a crowd of people and I would see God standing before me In reality I went to an older lady who said there was something God wanted me to do and she said that I'd better get ready to do it The df“am hive come true The crowd oi people are those Mrs Milter have come m contact with throughout the past 40 years those who have I.. ’ mehed by the power Get Quick Results With A Ml VllLO'ITt: IM >ST Display Or Classified Ad! of God And as for God’s pre sence in Mrs. Miller’s dreams the interpretation clear- He is never far away from an open-hearf ”1 can't do a thing until God tells me to do it.” I" •counseling /nr* CONSULTATION W • TRAINING Marriage & Family Counseling Consultation. 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