Transitional Theology

I need not pause to suggest how delighted I am to be in your midst. My prayer is that God will grant you the desires of your hearts and mature you in Christlikeness.

I want to use this Preaching Moment to highlite this headline: Transitional Theology. The Text I have tagged and targeted for Teaching if Isaiah 40:28-31.

Times were Very Hard for Israel. She was experiencing PERIOD OF Transition filled with Uncertainty. The Northern Kingdom of Samaria had lost her war with Assyria and as a result, has lost her kingdom. These Israelites were then exiled from their homeland; they were on the run fleeing for their lives. And then in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, there were temporary governments in place, a succession of transitional kings. As a result, there were constant revolts, wars, chaos and death was everywhere! The present was peopled with perplexity and the future seemed filled with uncertainty. So in verse 27 they began to question their theological belief in God. Some said, “My way is hid from the Lord,” and others said “my judgment is passed over from my God.” They questioned God’s omniscience and His ability to act in history.

And so, onto the stage of Transition enters the Prophet Isaiah with LOGOS FROM THEOS - A Word from God! In verse 28, he asks Two Rhetorical Questions which he expected to be answered in the Affirmative, “Yes.”

He asks: “Hast thou not known?” Surely you are not ignorant; your forefathers told you, so you know! He asks: “Hast thou not heard?” Surely you have heard proclaimed from priests and prophets regarding Israel’s Theological Beliefs about God.

So Isaiah says: You have both known and heard “that the Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth fainteth not neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding.” The prophets corrects their theological interpretation of their situation and says: Its not that your way is hid from the Lord nor that your judgment is passed over from your God. He says, let me offer you a Word from God during this transitional period!

Now it is my firm belief that in the midst of Transition and Uncertainty, the Prophetic Pastor must have a Logos about Theos regarding the Ethos of the Times. He must have a Word about God regarding the Mood of the Times! There must be a Word about God that strengthens the faith of fainting believers during Times of Transition and Uncertainty. So, I call it TRANSITIONAL THEOLOGY. Not that the theology is transitional or changing; but that it is a Word from God during times of transition and uncertainty!

To lose one’s power to control one’s situation that results in strife, contention, chaos, a break-down of order all around one; to lose a cherished and prized possession, and to be put on the defensive in running for one’s life will cause one to question whether the Lord knows what is going on and if it might be beyond His power to do anything about it! I wonder, can anyone out there relate?

If you can, then first of all, I want to remind you that --

I. AT THE HEART OF TRANSITIONAL THEOLOGY IS THE IMMUTABLE GOD - Verse 28.

In the midst of Transition, we must be reminded of Two Changeless Truths About The Changeless God.

We must be reminded, First, of the Person of God - Who He Is. He is Olam Elohim - the Everlasting God. Even though He is concealed from space and time, time and space is not hidden from Him. He knows what is happening in space and time; what you are going thru is not hidden from the Lord. He will always be the Everlasting God, without Beginning or End. But whatever you are going thru has a beginning and an end! He is YEHOVAH - the Lord. Meaning, even though concealed from space and time, He will always be there for you. He will be present leading the way, helping, strengthening and liberating! Whatever transition and uncertainty you are going thru, remember the Lord is present with you! He is the Creator of the ends of the earth. He created the limits, the boundaries of the earth and therefore everything in between. The extremes and all that’s in between, God is Maker and Controller of. So whatever your situation, whether it be extreme or mild, God is in control!

Being Everlasting, always Present and Creator we must be reminded that God is Incapable of Fatigue and Exhaustion - “He fainteth not.” Why? Because He never flees from anybody or anything. Fainting is not part of God’s nature. “Neither is He weary!” God is incapable of Gasping for breath because of exhaustion from labor! He does not get tired of loving, caring, delivering, saving, healing, restoring, preserving and sustaining the world. For He does it by the Word of His Power! Weariness is not part of God’s nature!