Ephesians– overview of 3:1-9; The moral quality of prophecy and miracles.

Isa:24:14 They raise their voices, they shout for joy; They cry out from the west concerning the majesty of the Lord. 24:15 Therefore glorify the Lord in the east, The name of the Lord, the God of Israel, In the coastlands of the sea. 24:16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs, "Glory to the Righteous One," But I say, "Woe to me! Woe to me! Alas for me! The treacherous deal treacherously, And the treacherous deal very treacherously."

Isa 25:5 Like heat in drought, You subdue the uproar of aliens; Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is silenced. 25:6 The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. 25:7 And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. 25:8 He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken. 25:9 And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

Isa 25:10 For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain, And Moab will be trodden down in his place As straw is trodden down in the water of a manure pile. 25:11 And he will spread out his hands in the middle of it As a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim, But the Lord will lay low his pride together with the trickery of his hands. 25:12 The unassailable fortifications of your walls He will bring down, Lay low and cast to the ground, even to the dust.

We bring all of our suffering, deserved and undeserved, to the light of the virtue of God – forgiveness, truth, love, perseverance, patience, compassion, righteousness.

Christ has cleansed us and opened the door to the new and living way.

It is actually a very old way, but the door has newly been opened.

This is our power over sin – the desire to walk on the new and living way without fear of failure, knowing what Christ has done to sin and death. Only the pure and clean can do it and every believer is such in Christ. We decide if we want to continue in sin or walk on that wonderful way. And know this, no matter what you have done to this point, that door is always opened to you.

Nicodemus, an early intellectual concerning all things spiritual, asked how in the world someone could be born-again. But it happens every day. Suddenly, a man who puts his faith in the gospel finds himself caught up in the love of God. Suddenly the entire animated world around him has changed and he is made aware that all the universe is the creation of his God and Father, and his God and Father has a purpose. The light of Christ opens his eyes to the world, and doesn’t dull them, to see the creativity which animates all life, even our own participation in it, every color brighter, every meaning clearer, every shape more shapely, every note more musical, every word written and spoken more explicit. Above all, every human face, all human companionship, all human encounters, recognizably a family affair, or potential family affair. The animals too, flying, prowling, burrowing, all their diverse cries and dins, and majestic hills and valleys, rivers, seas, weather, sky, stars, moon; all the earth irradiated with the glory of God for the reborn.

These are the eyes that see because they walk on the new and living way.

Psa 119:18 Open my eyes, that I may behold

Wonderful things from Thy law.

Isa 6:9 And He said, "Go, and tell this people:

'Keep on listening, but do not perceive;

Keep on looking, but do not understand.'

Isa 6:10 "Render the hearts of this people insensitive,,

Their ears dull,

And their eyes dim,

Lest they see with their eyes,

Hear with their ears,,

Understand with their hearts,

And return and be healed."

Isa 42:1 "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.

Isa 42:2 "He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street.

Isa 42:3 "A bruised reed He will not break, And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.

Isa 42:4 "He will not be disheartened or crushed, Until He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law."

Isa 42:5 Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk in it,

Isa 42:6 "I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,

Isa 42:7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon, And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

Be careful that your eyes don’t become dull by viewing life, the earth, and the people on it with the eye rather than through the inner eye of the heart.