Read: Isaiah 11:1-5

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-2)

It is not difficult for us to see that this is a clear prediction of the Lord Jesus. Here in these opening verses is a hint that the Messiah will appear in history in a very obscure way. That is suggested by this word, A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse. Like a great tree that has been cut down, the ancestry of Jesus represented in David and his father Jesse has been reduced to obscurity and insignificance. But out of that lowly stump will arise a shoot, a single sprout, a man who will, as the prophet goes on to say, be filled with the Spirit of God and who will do a great work in the land. When our Lord is referred to as the son of David in the gospels, it is always in terms of royal glory, but when he is called the stump of Jesse, it is a reference to his humble beginnings.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – The One Coming →

Read: Isaiah 9:1-7

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

What a remarkable picture! It hardly needs any exposition. Suddenly, after a great time of trouble, the nation will realize that this glorious King, their Messiah, once came as a little child: to us a child is born. He who was for eternity the Son of God was given to them as a little Baby in Bethlehem. They recognize at last, after centuries of rejection, that this One rightly deserves divine titles. This is Immanuel, God with us.

The four titles Isaiah lists represent that: Wonderful Counselor. Did anyone ever fulfill that more fully than Jesus? He unveils to us secrets about ourselves, counsels us how to avoid the heartaches and problems that otherwise would beset us, showing the way of deliverance from the taint and pollution of sin.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – The Great Light →

Read: Isaiah 7:1-14

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub, to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field. Say to him, Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. (Isaiah 7:3-4)

We are told the precise spot on which God directed the prophet to stand when he made this announcement to the king. You probably read this thinking that it was nothing more than a casual direction God gave to him. But it is very significant. Isaiah was told to go to the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool on the road to the Launderer’s Field; to stand at that very spot and give this announcement to King Ahaz. What is the meaning of that? There at that spot, and only there, the prophet was to inform King Ahaz that he had nothing to fear from these two armies that were threatening the city of Jerusalem. They were only smoldering stubs and were no real threat at all. The account declares that within sixty-five years this deliverance would happen. All this came true, as predicted.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – A Place of Cleansing →

Read: Isaiah 6:8-13

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! He said, Go and tell this people: Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. (Isaiah 6:8-9)

When Isaiah hears the call of God his heart is instantly responsive. By now he has believed what God said. He no longer feels undone and defiled. He believed that when God said he was forgiven he really was forgiven. No longer does he feel unworthy or unable to serve. He is eager to go, Here am I, send me.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Go! →

Read: John 11:55-12:11

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:3)

I believe John chose to include this account in order that we might understand something of what real worship is. Worship is the center of Christian life. Mary took a pound of costly ointment and poured it on Jesus. Later, Judas complains about the extravagance of using what, in effect, was a year’s pay for a laborer, to anoint the feet of Jesus. This account makes clear that she understood the work of Jesus and the change he had made in her heart. She was also deeply appreciative not only of the restoration of her brother Lazarus, but in the magnificent teaching she heard from him as she sat at his feet. This is what accounts for her extravagance here. She spared no expense, she cared nothing for the customs of the day, entering into a supper where women were usually not welcome, letting down her hair in public, an unthinkable act in that culture, and openly expressing her love for Jesus. But that’s how love and worship act. They are uncaring of expense.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Extravagant Worship →

Read: John 11:1-54

Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. Martha answered, I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:21-26)

Martha greets Jesus with a phrase that must have been frequently on all of their lips when Lazarus was sick: Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died. I do not believe this is a word of reproach. Martha is not saying, Lord, why didn’t you come sooner? We sent for you. If you had responded we wouldn’t be in this pickle. It is clear that she realizes the message did not reach him until Lazarus was dead. There was no way he could have responded and gotten there before Lazarus died. Martha’s word is not one of reproach, but rather one of regret: Lord, I wish you could have been here, because if you had, my brother would not have died.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – The God of the Here and Now →

Read: John 8:31-59

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32)

What a wonderful word! It constitutes a short course in discipleship. But it is more than that. It is a declaration that discipleship is the only true path to freedom, to being all that you were meant to be. If you want that, then Jesus says the way is to become his disciple. This is the path to freedom. It is the only way to be all that you want to be.

Here Jesus tells us in precise detail how to be free. It begins with belief: Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him. They had not yet trusted him, but they had believed him. They had been intellectually grasped by his arguments and his words, but they had not yet committed themselves to him. Discipleship begins with belief; even intellectual belief; they were there at the door, at the first step.

Then, he says, if you continue in my word. Listen to Jesus. Compare what he says with your own experience. Does what he says agree with what you have found to be true in living life? The test of any religion is not whether it is pleasing, or whether you enjoy it. The test is: Is it true? Does it accord with life? Does it fit what is happening? Does it explain what is going on? That is the test, and that you can only establish as you continue in his word, as you think long and deeply, read fully and frequently. Jesus suggests here that when you do that something will happen to you: If you continue in my word, you will truly be my disciple. If you read his word and you continue in it, somewhere along the line a crisis will occur. You will find that his words have grabbed you, and you will commit yourself to him, and then you are really a disciple.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – True Freedom →

Read: John 8:12-30

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)

These marvelously gracious words are a reflection on the ceremony that took place each evening in the temple courts, when two giant candelabra (two Menorahs, the many-branched candlesticks used by the Jews), were lighted and they illuminated the whole temple court. It is in reference to this that Jesus declares, I am the light of the world [not merely Israel but the world; to anybody, anywhere]; he who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

We must take seriously these beautiful words because Jesus means them. These are not a politician’s promise that can completely be forgotten after the election. Our Lord means to fulfill these words in any human life: I am the light of the world; he who follows me [not just knows about me], he who walks with me, obeys me and stays with me will have light in his pathway.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – The Light of the World →

Read: John 8:1-11

Then neither do I condemn you, Jesus declared. Go now and leave your life of sin. (John 8:11b)

In this passage, a woman caught in adultery was brought by the church leaders to Jesus. I do not know if we can accurately picture what was going on when this woman was brought before Jesus. I can see her being dragged in, red faced, her hair in disarray. She is angry, upset, rebellious, and bitter, perhaps striking out against her accusers. But when she sees how Jesus handles this crowd of hypocritical judges, and feels that his sympathies are with her, somewhere the mercy and love that was in his face and voice began to touch her. She realized how wrong she was, that she had sinned, and she repented. When she did, Jesus forgave her, obviously anticipating his death upon the cross for her.

The cross is always an eternal event in the mind of God. The sins of the people who lived in Old Testament days were also forgiven on the basis of the death of Jesus on the cross. There is no other way that God can forgive sin. In anticipation of that cross, Jesus forgave her sin. The proof of it is in the words he said, Go, and do not sin again.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – Breaking the Power of Sin →

Read: John 7:25-52

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:37-39)

John is writing this gospel after the day of Pentecost when the Spirit was given in great power and came into the hearts of believers. When Jesus was still on earth the Spirit had not yet been given in that way. The Spirit of God is always present everywhere in the world. He was present before the day of Pentecost as well as afterward. But not in this sense. He was not performing this ministry of making Jesus real. So for the first time we have our Lord’s hint of how this is all going to be accomplished. I must leave, I am going back to him who sent me, but when I do so I will send the Spirit. He goes on and teaches what that means by using a beautiful symbol.

Continue reading Ray Stedman -For Those Who Thirst →

Read: John 6:1-15

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. (John 6:5-6)

Examination time has come. We are not sure why Jesus chose Philip. It may be that Philip was the one whom he thought to be most advanced in the lessons of faith. These disciples all had unique personalities. Peter was loud and brassy. He had his foot in his mouth most of the time. James and John were ambitious and fiery. They lost their tempers easily. Philip was quiet and deep, he seemed to hang around in the background all the time. Yet I am sure Jesus saw in him a man of deep perception. The quiet kind are often the deep thinkers. Perhaps he chose Philip because he was the one who would most likely understand all that was underneath the very dramatic surface phenomena which the disciples were witnessing.

In any event Jesus said to Philip How are we to buy bread so that these people may eat? He did not really expect to buy bread. In fact Jesus knew that Philip could not possibly answer his question. There was no village and no store nearby, and they had very little money besides. His question is clearly designed to set before Philip a predicament that had no human solution.

Continue reading Ray Stedman – The Testing of Faith →