Isaiah - Wicked Rebels

In my journey through Isaiah, I was looking at 31:6 which says, "Therefore, my people, though you are such wicked rebels, come and return to the Lord."

God has amazing patience!

First, He is talking about His people, not those who don't follow Him. These are people who love God and believe in Him. These are people who have received His blessing in their lives.

Second, the phrase, "such wicked rebels" is such a powerful description of our stance before God. Paul was talking about this when he said that he did the very things he hated. He was talking about self control in regards to sin and habits. Here God is hitting us with the truth of our sin. It is rebellion against God, no matter how small or how large. Even as Christ's followers we are wicked rebels. This is a reminder that we need God's grace continually, not just at the moment of salvation. This is a reminder that we must constantly seek His forgiveness and life changing power even though we have received Christ in our lives.

Third, we need to continually "come and return to the Lord." The only way a wicked rebel stands a chance is by the grace of God. He continually calls into relationship with Him. His desire is for us to walk in His holiness. The only way wicked rebels are changed into holy children of God is through the grace of Jesus. We need to come and return to the Lord every moment of every day. As the Bible says, we need to take every thought and action and make them captive and subservient to the righteousness of God.

Fourth, this is a constant process. We can't think that because someone has chosen Christ that He has made them perfect. He has forgiven our sins, and made us holy in His eyes, but we still struggle with the flesh. We still face the challenges of life and our selfish desires. We need to:

1. Spend time in His Word
2. Spend time talking with Him in prayer
3. Spend time listening to Him
4. Spend time with other believers who will encourage and challenge us
5. Spend time serving Him in every area of our lives - be wise stewards of our time, talent, and treasure
6. Spend time bringing others to Him and helping them grow in their faith

The bottom line, is that we need to spend time with God, seeking after Him, and seeking to fulfill His will in our lives.