Dramatic Change

Read Isaiah 24, 26, 35
 
Isaiah 24:1 & 6 Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people…6 Therefore, a curse consumes the earth. Its people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive.
 
AS you read these chapters, you probably shuddered at the severity of God’s judgment. Perhaps you’ve even wondered if this is the same God who blessed Judah in the previous lesson. Or is he the same God who sent Jesus to die for your sins?
   Yes, be assured. This is the Everlasting God, who is holy. Sin is so intolerable to him, he will destroy even his own corrupted creation to cleanse the earth.
   Still, the devastation described here is momentary. What is truly fearful is to know there is an eternal fire known as Hell. In Hell there is no release from agony - ever. Think of the worst pain you’ve experienced. Magnify it a great deal. Then consider living in this torment for eternity. Go ahead. Shudder.
   Why do we stop on this scripture and not immediately go to the salvation promises to follow? One reason is to reinforce Hell’s reality. Many, even the majority of people who say they are Christians today, do not believe in Satan or Hell. The church has fostered a casual attitude toward sin and God. Who wants to talk of destruction when we can talk of salvation?
   But we must believe the danger before we will listen to the rules of safety. Until we believe the truth of sin’s eternal death, we will not believe we need God’s eternal salvation. It is certainly true: people must pay the price for their sin. They are destroyed by fire, and only a few are left alive. We thank God he has sent Jesus to pay the price, so we will know his dramatic rescue and be saved into heaven. 
 
Dramatic Change for You
 
Isaiah 35:4-6 Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.” 5 And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. 6 The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.
 
DRAMATIC change – that’s what God loves to do. He makes the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear and the mute laugh. He floods the desert and dries the pathways through the seas. What’s more, God turns dry bones into life, sin-dead souls into salvation.
   Yes, saved in Jesus, you are the result of dramatic change. You once were not, and now you are. You once were dead to sin. You now are alive in your Lord Jesus Christ.
   Dust to rain, death to life, that’s our God. And there’s more. When the rain changes dry dust to fertile soil, something else needs to happen for the soil to bear fruit. Seeds must be planted, nurtured and harvested.
   When God resurrects your soul, your mind is prepared to know him. Your heart is prepared to harvest a love for him. Your voice is able to speak for him. It’s time to plant the seeds of knowing God into people’s minds.
   Seek his Word. Fill your life with him – God in the morning, God at midday, God in the evening. Pray to the Holy Spirit to rain God down on your life. You will become a person of great purpose, working to bring dramatic change to the world.