Isaiah 66:1-24, Philippians 3:4-21, Psalms 74:1-23, Proverbs 24:15-16
Today is October 2nd welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today as we move forward and take the next step through the Scriptures, and yeah we’re at the beginning of a new month and a new quarter. And, so, we’re just getting oved in and an understanding of where we are and doing what we talked about yesterday, thinking about finishing well, finishing strong in a…in a year that has done a lot to challenge us. So, let’s dive in. And we’re working our way through the book of Isaiah, and we’ve actually reached the conclusion. Today will be our final day in the book of Isaiah for this year. We’re reading from the Lexham English Bible this week. Isaiah chapter 66.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in Philippians today we kinda dropped into the middle of something that was being said that we had finished up with yesterday. And, so, we see Paul kind of doing the boasting thing again where he’s like…he’s kinda forced to boast in order to defend himself from things that people are saying. So, he’d rather not be doing this at all, but he has to do it. And, so, he’s saying what he’s done. Like, “I was circumcised on the eighth day. I…I’m from…I’m an Israeli. Like, I’m a natural born Hebrew from the tribe of Benjamin. I was a Pharisee. I was so zealous about it I persecuted the church. I was blameless in keeping the law trying to be righteous before God.” And then Pals says, “but all the stuff that I did, it doesn’t mean anything to me. It…it's…it’s a loss. Like, I count it as a loss because of what I have gained in Christ.” And that juxtaposition is Paul again saying what he has always said in his letters. “I was trying to obey the rules. I threw myself at it wholeheartedly. I wanted to be able to be righteous before God, so that I could one day be welcomed by God, so that one day I would be righteous before God. And, so, I did all the right stuff, but it wasn’t going to me there. So, now I realize it was a loss, like I count it as a loss because of what Jesus has shown me since I’ve met the Lord.” And once again this is Paul trying to say, “the rules are not the relationship. The rules do not come before the relationship to gauge whether there is a relationship.” For Paul that’s like backwards, for Jesus as well. The spirit of the whole thing had been lost and so all that was left were rules when the rules were actually a byproduct of a relationship. And basically…I means…here’s a way of looking at it. If you’re married…even if you’re not married you’re gonna understand this…if you’re married you don't…you don’t dig out your marriage covenant and read it every time you have a fight, right? Every time you have a disagreement you don’t dig out your marriage license and begin reading and say, “wait a minute. These were our vows. This is what we said.” I mean there are times that this needs to happen, but this isn’t what defines the relationship. Love defines the relationship. And when two people are in love than the rules become apparent and you don’t have to like study and ritualize and try to make the relationship work by the rules. If there’s no love there it’s going to be pretty tough to do. And this is what Paul is trying to argue. Like he had tried to do this, always knowing his failures because the law showed him his failures, always having an understanding of God being displeased because of his failures. Everybody felt that way. Like nobody could live up to the law. Everybody felt that way on a continual basis just looking for the other shoe to drop. And that’s what Paul is trying to say. Like that’s not freedom, that’s not freedom. Christ came, fulfilled the law, God began a new thing by raising Him from the dead, faith in Jesus makes us righteous before God, fulfills all of those requirements that we think we have to live up to. We are free to be in love with God, free to be in love with God as He is in love with us. Rather than understanding him as an angry deity we now see Him as Father as our Papa as a loving child would refer to their parents. That’s what Paul has been after today. And, so, he says something very famous. “I haven’t achieved that. That’s where this is going. We are all on that path. Why would you want to turn from that path and go back into bondage because somebody’s telling you something different than what I’ve been telling you. Let me tell you my credentials.” And then he goes through his credentials. “I have done this.” That’s his point. “I have done this with all of my heart, and it cannot be achieved, but Jesus came and revealed Himself to me and revealed how this actually works. It’s a leap of faith and I have not achieved this. I can’t achieve this, it can only be achieved inside me by God”, which is the same for all of us. We can’t achieve anything. Everything that we have is a gift from God. “So, I haven’t achieved it” Paul says, “but I am trying. Like I am doing one thing. I am forgetting the things that have gone behind me and I am pressing toward the things that are ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” And that should do for us what it would’ve done for the Philippians and what it did for the Philippians. And it encouraged to them. It reminded them. And, so, yeah most of what we just talked about are things we have talked about before, but Paul repeats these things in the letters and the letters got passed around from church to church so people were being continually reminded in those early days, just like we are continually being reminded now because we forget. And in the same way we get back to the rules. We know our failures. We know we can go to the Father and ask forgiveness but we know our failures. And, so, we live sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop. We live feeling as if we don’t keep our act together something bad’s going to happen when that’s simply…at least according to Paul, at least according to Jesus, that’s not how this works. And, so, once again we are reminded of God’s mercy and grace and we need to press forward because of the deep and growing love of the relationship that we have with God. The rules become apparent. There are things we wouldn’t do against our spouse because we love them, and we wouldn’t want to break their heart and we wouldn’t want to cause them pain and suffering. There are things that we wouldn’t or shouldn’t do in our relationship with God for the same reasons because we are committed in a covenantal relationship and in love. Let’s remember that as we head into the end of the week.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You. We thank You that You loved us first. There is nothing we can do. There is nothing we have done to earn that. You have loved us and come for us. And this salvation that we are working out in fear and trembling isn’t about how often we step out of line. It’s about us being aware of what we will not do because we are committed to You, because we are in love with the creator of our souls, with the lover of our souls. So, Holy Spirit come. Make this a reality. May we live into this fully in the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
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Still reeling, not reeling, just still kind of floating from the announcement we made yesterday about China and Ben expecting their first child, their first baby. And the outpouring of love and good wishes and prayers is so encouraging. It’s like a lifting…lifting spirit and we need that. We need…we need our spirits lifted in these days. And, so, thank you for…for that. And thank you for your continued prayers and…and…and just joy we go through this process and through…then through the winter months and into the spring and then as spring brings new life and this spring will bring really new life into our family and so we’re very excited. And thank you. Thank you for your…your love and being a part of life here in community as…as we move forward.
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And that is it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hello this is Lacey from Cape Cod Massachusetts I’m an elderly woman alone in the world with no family. It’s just me and my precious dog and Jesus and I’ve had some serious serious health issues with my back and I’m severely arthritic but my dear precious dog has been very sick and I beg your prayers that…for healing for her and mercy for me because I just cannot imagine life without her. The loneliness and isolation is just so painful. And before Covid…but now with Covid it’s 10 times worse. She’s my baby and my precious companion and I need her, and I love her. Please pray for mercy. Thank you in Jesus’ name. God bless you all. Thank you. I’ve been listening for over a year…about a year. Bye-bye.
It is September 26th this is joyful Jay from the Everglades. I just want to say thank you DABbers. Thank you, Brian, Jill, China and all who make this daily campfire happen. I’m a longtime listener and very rare caller. Change is coming. My fear of saying the wrong thing is less than my fear of not being known by a community of believers who live fearlessly in loving each other and want to be known by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Oh Lord to let people in, to let people know me, you know this is my struggle. Thank you for opening my year and opening my heart. Thank you to all of those who call in on a regular basis. Your voices, your accents, the cadence in your speech. This is how I’m getting to know you. I will not know you because I can see you, but I will know you because I know your voice. Your words bring me joy and at times lay a heaviness on my heart. Just hearing the different tones, the tunes of all your voices and songs. I am crying as I listen to people saying they prayers. Hearing the songs, hearing the prayers, hearing the encouragement is nourishing to my spirit, leaving me wanting more of this community and a desire to change and desire to be known by you. Thank you, Lord Jesus. This is JB saying thank you for all of you calling in and setting an example of caring for each other in prayer. Have a great day. Blessings in the Lord Jesus. Bye.
Good morning DAB family this is Dawn of a New Day from California calling to lift up our sister Tammy from Canada. Tammy God has you in the palm of His hand as your reaching out, your crying out, your trusting and believing even in the face of not feeling like you can still hold on and trust God. In the name of Jesus, you will not crack, you will not fold, you will not lose your mind. You will get the best sleep you have ever received ever. And Father we give You praise, we give You glory, and we give You honor right here and right now not just for Tammy’s sweet sleep but for every person that has insomnia for every person that feels as if their sleep deprivation is cracking their life God. We trust You are Lord. We lift this ministry up to You God. We lift up every prayer request. We lift up our sister who was invited by her two brothers who is excited to be a part of our DAB family God. We lift up each and every heart the grows in Your word that loves Your word. We lift up every single person that listens and absolutely believes and trusts You more God. I pray that we will spread this word of this ministry, that we would then learn and grow and serve, believe God that we would reach out and reach in and…and absolutely not give up. We love You like never before, and we thank You now for loving us back. We love you Tammy. Your DAB family is calling out your name and glory not just this day but in all the days to come and we will hear your testimony of your breakthrough and sweet sleep. God bless you sister. Thank you for calling in for the first time. DAB family sew a seed of support today. God bless you all.
Good afternoon DAB family this is Lady of Victory on Monday, the 28th of September calling in for Jody who called in for prayer for Desiree, a 15-year-old, I believe, who has been diagnosed with cancer that has metastasized to her lungs and other parts of her body. So, we want to lift her up in prayer. God, we thank You, we glorify You, we magnify You because You alone are worthy to be praised. God what a report to have said about someone so Young who is dealing with all that she’s dealing with God. And yet according to Jodi she is not lost for Jesus joy. Some of us have been diagnosed with a lot less God and we have turned our backs on You. And, so, God we thank You for the joy that Desiree has in You in spite of God the diagnosis. Now God our prayer is that You would heal her on this side of every disease God. We recognize that cancer is a name and You said that at the name of Jesus every knee is going to bow. And, so, God we tell cancer to bow in the name of Jesus. God, and we lift her up before You. We ask that a miracle will be performed for Your daughter. God but if that is not Your perfect will for Desiree’s life God it sounds like she’s ready to meet You and to hear those words good and faithful servant well done. And that’s not what we want God while ultimately that’s all of our desires. God but we want her healed on this side, but we also want Your perfect will to be done and established. Comfort the hearts of those around her God who are lifting her up who have to see her suffer. Do it for Your glory.
Hi, DABbers I may first time call inner just started listening to the Daily Audio Bible this January, it is an answer to prayer, truly. I just wanted to call in because after five years of having Ménière’s disease, it’s a…a vestibular disorder a balance disorder, I was able to, little by little, build up an art business but I got very used to working alone, as hard as it was. And since social distancing has occurred, I’m just having a really hard time I find now connecting with people and I’ve always been so gregarious. And there’s so many winds of doctrine out there I…I don’t feel like I fit anywhere anymore. And I…I know that that’s not God’s will for me, that His will is that I live in community but I’m very, very, very confused and I feel very lost and in a real desert place. Not depressed but lonely but yet I feel that there’s this glass around me that I can’t cross over. Also, if you’ll pray for my son. He’s been an addict for 10 years. He’s living in Philly now in a sober home but he’s…he’s using when he can and just so afraid of him dying. God has kept him for 10 years even as a homeless person and he’s had many, many maybe over 40 rehabs. But I really hope that you hold Jesse up in prayer and for his complete deliverance…
Hi family is Purely Pampered of main. I have an answered prayer praise report to call in. Yesterday we helped my son and his fiancée move into a new apartment about an hour away. My future daughter-in-law found a full-time job and today my son started a two-month temporary job. Right before we left their apartment for the last time, I asked them to indulge me and I thanked God for all the wisdom they gained through the challenges they’ve had these past 2 ½ years living there more than I could never go onto and I prayed that as they closed and locked the door they could let go and leave behind all of the pain and look forward to their new beginning. I told them that hundreds of thousands would be rejoicing with them when I called in this praise report. Thanks to each of you prayed for them and thanks to each of you that took the time to call in and pray for them. I won’t list your names, but you know who you are. I so appreciate you. There’s just no explaining how it feels, for others lifting up my family’s needs. Thank you. Please continue to pray for all of us dealing with transgender pansexual and gender spectrum issues in our families. We so need those prayers. I love you family. Bye for now.