The Way-An in-depth study of God's Word with Paul Orr

Send us Fan Mail

Isaiah now declares God's sixth and final woe of this section. Unlike the others, this woe is against the Assyrians. All the plundering and treachery that they cruelly committed against others would now come against them. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap, Galatians 6:7

Hezekiah, although one of Judah's best kings, had tried to establish an alliance with Egypt that failed. Then he tried to bribe the Assyrian king and that failed as well. Any alliance we attempt to make apart from the truth found in Jesus Christ and His word will fail and fail miserably every time.

God heard the prayers of the righteous remnant in Judah. God answered those prayers by extending His grace to Hezekiah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. God would deliver them in such a way that only God could receive the glory. It would be an awesome deliverance by a Mighty God. 

Deliverance, peace, prosperity, health and forgiveness will only take place by God's sovereign grace. No foreign alliance, political prowess or human cunning can accomplish this. Knowing this, we must live our lives in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ and His word. We do so, knowing that God will protect, provide and one day soon He will receive us to Himself.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever, Amen. 
Jude 24,25

Contact Paul at [email protected]
Beginning Sunday May 5th, we have changed locations and will meet on Sundays at 10 am. If you are interested in joining us either live or on Zoom, please contact us at the above email address.

Send us Fan Mail

In this chapter Isaiah proclaims to us Christ the coming king. How amazing that one day we will be taken out of time and enter into eternity with Jesus, our righteous king forever. 

But before Jesus returns and set up His eternal kingdom, God's final judgment must take place. God's final judgement takes place in Daniel's 70th week, a time very close on the horizon.  At the completion of God's awful judgment, transgression, sin and iniquity will be finished for all of eternity. Jesus will be fully unveiled as all prophesy and vision are sealed up. Jesus will be anointed the Most Holy as He establishes His eternal kingdom of justice and righteousness.

Everyone entering the millennial kingdom of Jesus will be His true followers. Never again will we know deception, hypocrisy or ungodliness. Evil schemes and wicked plans will be gone forever. No longer will the poor be destroyed with lying words nor the needy deprived of justice. It will be an eternity filled with justice. From justice will flow righteousness. As a result of righteousness filling the kingdom of God, we will live in quietness and eternal assurance. All our dwellings will be safe and secure. We will find perfect rest in the kingdom of God. 

As a follower of Jesus, this is what our hearts long for. This is the blessed hope that we have in Christ Jesus. How our hearts cry out, maranatha; come quickly Lord Jesus!

Contact Paul at [email protected]
Beginning Sunday May 5th, we have changed locations and will meet on Sundays at 10 am. If you are interested in joining us either live or on Zoom, please contact us at the above email address.

Send us Fan Mail

This fifth woe is a continuation of the fourth woe. Judah has put their trust in the wisdom and military might of Egypt rather than in God. The wisdom and might of Egypt is less than zero before God. How sad that Judah would refuse to put their trust in God who cannot fail and place their trust in Egypt who can only fail. Sadly, both Judah who sought ungodly help will perish as will Egypt who offered to help.

We are so guilty of the same when we make alliances with the world and place our trust in worldly wisdom. How often do we rely on the power and might of man? How sad that a professed follower of Jesus would do such a thing. Disaster is the absolute outcome of all those who place their trust in human wisdom and strength rather than God.

In spite of Judah's grave transgression, God will keep His word and preserve them. He will preserve them without the use of human vessels. His protection and deliverance of Judah will be miraculous.  Only God will get the glory. 

In light of God's faithfulness and the future promise of His kingdom to be ruled by His anointed Messiah, God is calling on Judah to repent. It is the only reasonable response. 

For us today, to be able to look back on God's faithfulness through the sureness of His word in the countless fulfilled prophesies that we have already seen, we all have every reason to live obedient, faithful, godly lives in Christ Jesus.

Contact Paul at [email protected]
Beginning Sunday May 5th, we have changed locations and will meet on Sundays at 10 am. If you are interested in joining us either live or on Zoom, please contact us at the above email address.

Send us Fan Mail

We now take another pause in the woes declared upon the rebellion of Judah and look ahead to the ultimate restoration that God promised to His people. In this brief break from God's impending judgment, Isaiah reminds us of God's grace, mercy and His justice. He declares to us the blessing of waiting upon God in the midst of terrible trials and tribulation.

He also describes for us the wonder and beauty that awaits us in the millennial reign of Jesus. There will be blessing upon both the field and the flock. There will be an abundance of life-giving water on every mountain and hill. The light in this time will be bright and brilliant beyond our comprehension. It will be a time filled with peace and righteousness. It will be a time where pride does not exist even in the slightest. What is described is wonderful, beautiful and magnificent yet who among us can even begin to imagine the amazing glory that lies before us. 

But before all of this takes place, the final judgment of God must come. At the completion of God's final judgment, culminating at Armageddon, Jesus Christ will be fully revealed as He ushers in His glorious kingdom.

For us as followers of Jesus, we must always remember the glorious future we have in Him. We must always keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Let us have a song in our heart. May we be filled with gladness. May we always seek the presence of God. Stand firm in the power and might of the LORD. Stay obedient to Jesus and His Word regardless of cost of consequence. Keep your hand to the plough and don't look back!

Maranatha

Contact Paul at [email protected]
Beginning Sunday May 5th, we have changed locations and will meet on Sundays at 10 am. If you are interested in joining us either live or on Zoom, please contact us at the above email address.

Send us Fan Mail

We now come to the fourth woe against Judah. This woe deals with the fact that Judah made an alliance with Egypt rather than God in order to gain protection from the Assyrians. How did Judah, God's people, get to this point. It all started with pride. Pride not repented of at its inception will rapidly expand, contaminate and destroy everything it touches. As followers of Christ, there is no room for pride in our lives in the least.

Great judgment would soon come upon Judah, but it was not neccessary. If they would simply return and repent, God would give them rest, quietness and a strong unwavering confidence in the greatness of God.  But they would not. God has called all of His children to a life of rest, quietness and confidence, yet how many choose to live below all that God has offered to us.

All that we are studying now is a picture of the greater judgment of God that looms on the near horizon. This passage is filled with lessons for us all. There is no need for us to make the same mistakes that Judah made.  We are living in a lull at the moment. Things seem to have quieted down. But rather than relax, we must recognize that we are in a season of preperation. Take this time that we are living in to draw near to Jesus. Let this be a time that our roots of faint will grow deep and strong.

May our hearts and eyes continually look up as the return of Jesus draws near.

Maranatha

Contact Paul at [email protected]
Beginning Sunday May 5th, we have changed locations and will meet on Sundays at 10 am. If you are interested in joining us either live or on Zoom, please contact us at the above email address.

Send us Fan Mail

Isaiah now delivers a third woe to God's people. Judah, filled with pride, hypocrisy and disobedience, is now convinced that they could hide their thoughts and actions from God. They declare, "who sees us?" "Who knows us?" How ridiculous. Everything is known to God.

 Their thinking is completely twisted and turned around. These are God's people who have descended to this low level of thinking. All of us are capable of this level of thinking when we allow pride to thrive within our lives. We must stay true always to Jesus Christ and His word regardless of cost or consequence.

Isaiah then takes time to remind us that there is indeed blessing after the discipline of God. He takes us ahead to the millennial reign of Christ. A time when all of creation will be restored. Every square inch of this planet will be paradise. There will be complete physical and spiritual healing. Pride will never exist again for all of eternity. The truth of Jesus Christ and His word will be known and embraced everywhere by everyone.

What a glorious future we have in Christ. His return at times seems so far away and yet it is upon us. In order for us to live for Jesus every day and endure the brutal evil circumstances by which we are all surrounded, we must keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus and the wonderful future that He is now preparing for us.

Keep your hand to the plough and don't look back, the kingdom of God is at hand.

Contact Paul at [email protected]
Beginning Sunday May 5th, we have changed locations and will meet on Sundays at 10 am. If you are interested in joining us either live or on Zoom, please contact us at the above email address.

Send us Fan Mail

We now take a look at Isaiah's second woe for Jerusalem. The first woe dealt with pride and drunkenness. This woe deals with hypocritical religious activity displayed in her empty worship. God has no desire for hypocritical empty worship. His response of judgment, designed to discipline not destroy, will be both stunning and brutal.

God responds with images of warfare. God will distress, encamp, lay siege and raise up siegeworks all around Jerusalem. This is God's response to empty, hypocritical religious activity. The outcome for those who choose pride, hypocrisy and disobedience will be spiritual blindness. They will stagger like a drunk without consuming intoxication drink. They will fall into a deep supernatural sleep that God will put upon them. Even more, they will become spiritually illiterate. There will be a famine of the hearing of the word of God.

All of this has been written for our learning. Pride, hypocrisy and disobedience sadly fills much of the church today.  In so many cases, the wisdom of man is considered to be superior to the word of God. The miserable, poor, blind, naked church of Laodicea is growing like a weed.

As believers we must remember that Jesus is coming soon. The judgment of God has begun in the house of God. Soon his judgment will be poured out on this Christ rejecting world in a way beyond our ability to imagine. All this must precede the return of Jesus. For us as His followers, we must remain true to Jesus Christ and His word. We must remain faithful and obedient to the death. We must keep our hand to the plough and never look back. 

Maranatha!

Contact Paul at [email protected]
Beginning Sunday May 5th, we have changed locations and will meet on Sundays at 10 am. If you are interested in joining us either live or on Zoom, please contact us at the above email address.

Send us Fan Mail

In this study we look at the fact that Jesus Christ is our sure foundation. A true Christian life is built solidly upon Jesus Christ and His word. There is no other foundation.

Not only is Jesus our sure foundation, but He also gives us clear instruction as to how we are to build our lives, ministries and His church. Everything built on Jesus must be built in righteousness and justice. There is no room for political alliances, false gods, lies or falsehoods in building a work of God. All that is built on Jesus Christ must be built in accordance with His word. There is no other way to build a work of God.

Also, we looked at the need to listen, to heed, to hear God's word and then to respond in total obedience to His Word. There is no other acceptable response for a true follower of Jesus Christ.

Lastly, we need to realized that God works in our lives like a farmer works his soil, plants his seeds and gathers in His harvest. God is the Master Farmer. God runs His divine plow through our lives in order to prepare our lives for the great things He intends to do in us and through us for His glory.

For a follower of Jesus to be greatly used by God, they must first be greatly broken by God. There is no other way.

Contact Paul at [email protected]
Beginning Sunday May 5th, we have changed locations and will meet on Sundays at 10 am. If you are interested in joining us either live or on Zoom, please contact us at the above email address.

Send us Fan Mail

We now begin a new section. This section consists of six woes. Woes is a strong declaration of certain impending judgment from God. The unbelief of Israel has brought these woes upon them. Sadly, Israel, both the Northern and Southern kingdoms were believing and trusting in everything but God.

The first woe deals with their pride and the awful drunkeness that results from their pride. This great transgression filled the nation beginning with the leadership. How could the people have any hope if their leaders were not willing to live a life of trust and obedience before the LORD. 

God in His longsuffering had sent prophets to the people. These prophets brought to the people a simple message that even a child could understand. If they would repent, submit, yield, trust and obey God completely, He would give them security and peace. Yet the hardened hearts of the people refused the grace of God and embrace a covenant with death. They believed that they could not be touched by the judgment of God. Sadly, in a very short period of time, they would realize that no one can escape the judgment of God.

In the midst of all this, God wants His remnant to know that He is sovereign over all nations both then and today. God is in control! Furthermore, Jesus is coming again. His return is at hand. As we live in this world, evil imploding all around us, we must always be encouraged by the reality that God is sovereign, and Jesus is coming again!

Contact Paul at [email protected]
Beginning Sunday May 5th, we have changed locations and will meet on Sundays at 10 am. If you are interested in joining us either live or on Zoom, please contact us at the above email address.

Send us Fan Mail

We continue to look at "in that day" speaking specifically of the end of the great tribulation and the start of the millennial reign of Christ. Here we have a song of restoration. It is a song of a beautiful vineyard. This vineyard represents Israel. It is a beautiful counterpart to the vineyard song of Isaiah chapter 5.

All provision and protection in the millennial reign of Christ will come from Him. Peace and righteousness will cover every square inch of the earth. It will be a time of unimaginable feasting and joy. It is a time that our hearts desperately long for, yet we have never even come close to realizing the magnificence and wonder that awaits us.

All that God's word speaks of concerning our glorious future with Him in His kingdom is an absolute certainty. What God says in His word "shall come to pass", "it shall be in that day".

We as believers, as true followers of Jesus Christ have every reason to be filled with hope. We alone, in this lost world, have true hope; Christ in us the hope of eternity! Knowing the hope that we have in Jesus should cause us to live in faithful, humble obedience to His word regardless of cost of consequence. 

We need to be a bright light shining in this dark world. However, the lost will never see the light of Christ in us unless what we say lines up with how we live. So often our words are simply what we want to be, but it is our actions define who we truly are. May we all live the life of Jesus to the fullest till the day He calls us home. 

Contact Paul at [email protected]
Beginning Sunday May 5th, we have changed locations and will meet on Sundays at 10 am. If you are interested in joining us either live or on Zoom, please contact us at the above email address.