December 14th - Taylor Mitchell

Hi! My name is Taylor Mitchell! In college, I received degrees in Hospitality Management and Marketing. I now serve alongside my husband, Cameron, on staff at the BCM. I will be on campus full-time in January, so hopefully I will get to know all of you more! Today our theme will be looking at God’s promises in the old testament and how Jesus fulfills them in the New Testament. Today, we will be using the ESV translation.

First, let’s look at the Old Testament to see what God spoke prior to Jesus’ birth. In Isaiah 29, we read of God’s promises of restoration. Isaiah wrote to the nation of Judah trying to warn them of their pagan nature. Although Judah knew the name of God, they were consumed by worldliness. Isaiah hoped to warn them of their true nature and remind them of the truth of who God is and the promises He gives. Isaiah 29:18-19 says “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.” 

Although Judah did not listen to the warnings given by Isaiah, the words that were spoken are true– That Christ’s ruling will be far greater and better than the world we live in now. Now let’s look to the New Testament to see instances over and over again throughout Jesus’ life on Earth that provide glimpses of these promises becoming true. 

In Matthew 9:27-31, we see Jesus allowing blind to see. Also, we see in Mark 7 how Jesus allowed the deaf to hear.

Often times, we become spiritually blind and deaf to the truths of God’s word. It is easy to let desires of the flesh including pride, desire for control, etc. keep us from discerning God’s will for our lives. Life on earth can be filled with hardship, hurt, and brokenness. Just as we saw through the miracles that Jesus performed, we can be reminded of the goodness of God. We can be confident that through the promises we have in a relationship with God through Jesus is that one day we will be united with Him under His perfect rule in a world marked by praise, joy, and justice instead of brokenness and spiritual blindness and deafness. Spiritual blindness can look like not recognizing the sin in your own life Spiritual deafness could look like disobedience to God like being called to do something but choosing to ignore it.

As we have seen God fulfill promises through His word, we can know that He is a trustworthy Father. He can also have hope in the perfect union that we will experience in Heaven when we are with God because of His kindness. Because He sent His Son, fully man and fully God, to die on the cross for our sins, we can overcome the barrier of spiritual blindness and deafness through the restoration that the cross provides. The final part of Isaiah 29 that we read at the beginning says that “The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD” We are called to be humble (or meek) before the Lord. However, pride and worldly desires (like Judah faced) can keep us from experiencing complete joy in Christ. Take time to rejoice in the promises of His word today for it is the greatest gift we could be given.

Discussion Questions

1. What promises seen in Scripture do you need to remind yourself of today?

2. What is the importance of Jesus’ performing miracles on Earth?

3. What in your life currently is preventing you from seeing or hearing what God is trying to tell you? Is it pride?

4. How should the promises that Scripture gives affect us daily?