Listen to Mary, she stopped me today to help her with a project of her own, then helped with mine

Some thoughts on Isaiah 53

http://gospelforchico.com/pages/isaiah-53

this is so good

Some friends are using Isaiah to share the gospel

What's in the gospel?  The answer might surprise you (prophecy, the resurrection, eyewitnesses, personal testimony), listen below and find out.  We truly have good news, it's about God.  I was priveledged to share with Open Gate Christian Fellowship in Willows on the topic.

Here are some of the passages mentioned:

The Gospel and Prophecies About Jesus 
Other Ingredients 
The Gospel Glorifies God 
God Really Works

The quote at the end

And here is the video shown to the fellowship.  I met Mary outside of the Chico State Library on a Sunday afternoon last month when I first started using Isaiah 53 in the gospel.

I've spoken with a few Muslims before, we always seem to get bogged down in the conversation on the idea that God's justice is like weights on a scale.  That is, if your good deeds can outweigh your bad deeds then God can let you in heaven.  

I showed Isaiah 53 for the first time to a Muslim today.  He recognized that it is about Jesus, and he was interested to know that it was written before Jesus was even born.  We spoke about who is good really, when it counts, and spoke about the Ten Commandments.  

Today, instead of saying, no, that God doesn't weigh our good deeds and bad deeds on a scale, I said, "Yes, and it really does matter how bad the bad deeds are."   I went on to explain that while we consider our sins to be very small, but they are in fact very large.  Lying can get someone the death penalty even here if it is treason.  Jesus said to not fear man who can kill the body, but fear God who can kill the body and send the soul into hell.  The seriousness of the crime depends on the authority that is offended, and we have offended the greatest authority who would be just and right to give us the punishment that we deserve.  Jesus said that God's justice is so thorough that it will grind us to powder if it lands on its.  Our good deeds that we think are big are really despised by God who sees them as a worthless bribe to get around true justice.  

The scales have just tipped.

The offense that we thought was so small should now be our greatest fear if God really cares about it.  The young Muslim man said that God can decide that, it is up to him to judge.  I told him that God has told us what his judgment will be, that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire, and that no thief or murder or adulterer or fornictor will inherit the kingdom of God.  A lie is one lie too many, if God is perfectly just.

It's not that we're so bad that we deserve an award or recognition for our accomplishment, it's that God is so good that no sin or sinful person could survive in his presence.  I'm not telling him how bad he is, I'm helping and see how good God really is.

I told him that God is even more rich in mercy (see what I told Kaibo, the guilty man set free by a gift that cost a rich man everything).

His name is Racan, which sounds like Rock On!  Pray for him, he is checking out 'The Case For Christ' tonight, he is interested in learning more about Jesus.

I asked him if he thought I was telling him the truth.  He said that it is way different than what Islam teaches.  I certainly agree with that.  I told him it matters what the truth is.  Isaiah 53 is evidence that Jesus is the Truth, and that there is much more evidence worth looking at.  He's watching this movie tonight

The Case For Christ  (2007, 1:11:31) 
Chicago Tribune legal editor and atheist looking at the evidence and documentation for Jesus as if it would be presented in a court of law.

People near downtown Chico in September who have just read Isaiah 53 were asked the question, "Who is this written about?", and gave an audible answer:

(btw, Isaiah's scroll was written 700 years BC)  'Other' answers included: 'um, is it about gay people?', and 'Abraham Lincoln?', ha, I love this job.

After their responses, people tell me what their beliefs are, and the results are shown above. I'm not guessing whether the person knows Jesus or not, I only write down what they tell me what category they're in.  

I asked most people (sometimes I forgot), "Are you a good person?", to which they gave an audible answer:

Some observations:

• People from all different backgrounds will recognize that the passage is about Jesus.
• People that call themselves Christian are not the majority downtown in Chico or on the Chico State campus. 
• People that call themselves good are in the overwhelming majority. 
• 'Christian' and 'non-religious' people alike have the same reaction to the passage and show some level of surprise when they hear how old it is (100 years B.C., at least).  
• The majority of people calling themselves Christian had not seen this passage before.  
• The 10 Commandments help a lot of good people realize that they really aren't good when it counts.  (I do try to help them see this in a graceful way!  See video of my conversations with Mary and Josiah)

As easy as it's been to start a conversation by show someone a copy of Isaiah 53, an even easier excuse to start a conversation has been this survey.  I wasn't careful with the results, so take it for what it's worth, as the focus was really on where the conversation was going.  This helps me stop someone walking the other way, as well as striking up a conversation with a stranger that is sitting down, killing time.

80% of people I approach are willing to read the passage.  After telling me they think the old poetry is about Jesus, and upon hearing how old the passage is, most are willing to hear more and this leaves an open door for the gospel.

God is good!

Imagine you're in a courtroom (today I was a prospective juror), you're a guilty criminal and the judge crashes down the verdict with a bang of the gavel... GUILTY!  Pay $1 million or go to jail for the rest of your life.  

Not much of a choice.  It's time to get a change of clothes, meet some new friends, and decorate your new room... what goes good with cinder block?

At that moment someone walks in the courtroom and says "Judge, I care about this defendant, I've sold everything I have and want to pay their fine."  He pays the clerk, justice has been served.  

The guilty criminal can go free because his fine was paid.

[Philip] heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 

And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this: 

     “ He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; 
       And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, 
       So He opened not His mouth. 
       In His humiliation His justice was taken away, 
       And who will declare His generation? 
       For His life is taken from the earth.”

So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.

I wasn't able to catch this one on video, sorry!  But you can read the rest here.  

The Ethiopian was reading Isaiah 53, and Philip used this to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with him, since that's who the prophecy was written about!  Read the Isaiah 53 tab above.

Can you preach Jesus from Isaiah 53?  Philip could.  See the Basic Training page for some ideas.

I was wandering around last Saturday Sept 11th at the plaza.  While speaking with a couple of friends I met sharing the gospel some time before, another one their friends walks up.  Augie Fash is the 2004 national yoyo champion, interesting.  One young man was juggling and talked with Augie about some mutual friends when someone asked if he'd yoyo for us.  This was great!

Upon seeing the most amazing yoyo demonstration of my life, Augie gave an interview.

Some of these questions reveal if there's confidence in the promises of the Bible, and they reveal where Augie puts his trust, in Jesus.  What a thrill it is to meet a believer, have fellowship, and encourage each other in Christ.

I caught Augie Fash here as he was getting ready for a trip to China, and he's probably on the airplane even right now. He'll be demonstrating his yoyo prowess for a bit in the land of the rising sun.  Augie said he doesn't talk with people about Jesus as much as he'd like.  Think about what he'll be doing in 300 years... will he get to keep the trophies or the fame of his skill?  All the time spent here on worldly things, even great things, won't leave a ripple in eternity.  

God can give Augie a heart to share the gospel and he'll get to see the results forever: people that were changed by the gospel will tell their friends for eternity how great God was to reach them right where they were with the good news of Jesus.  Pray that Augie won't waste his life, it's easy to do, but that God will continue show the importance of abiding in Christ, being set apart by God's Spirit, preaching the gospel.

I really enjoyed meeting him!  He's a fun guy to talk with, and I hope to see him around.

Enjoy watching a recent competition.

Can anyone find a link to a story about his trip?

Josiah hears the gospel, and believes it is the truth.

I look forward to meeting him again.

Listen as Mary reads Isaiah 53 and hears the gospel.

See my thoughts on Isaiah 53 for more on this.

You'll notice that I asked Mary if she's a good person, it's because Jesus didn't die for good people; if we were good, he wouldn't have to die.  Mary already knew that she isn't perfect, but the law shows it's much worse than that.  The law brings the knowledge of sin, reveals the righteous standards of God, leaves us helpless, and drives us to Christ.

Paul wasn't ashamed of the gospel because he said it reveals the righteousness of God; He is just and will punish every sin, and we can be made right with God by faith alone, not by keeping the law.  He poured his wrath out on his son on the cross, demonstrating his righteousness, once for all sin, for all time.