WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:02.839 Heavenly Father is right that we should open up our 2 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:08.080 mouths and proclaim with our lips, with words and in 3 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:12.919 song that you are holy, that Lord Jesus, you have 4 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:16.480 paid it all. You are worthy of our praise with 5 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:21.039 our mouth, But not just our mouths. That's the thing 6 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:26.920 we've assembled here as a congregation, not just to praise 7 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:32.079 us with mouths when our hearts are far from you. Lord. 8 00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:36.679 We desire that you would give us true praise in 9 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:41.920 the inmost places, that our whole lives would praise you. So, Lord, 10 00:00:41.920 --> 00:00:45.159 as we open up your word, would you open up 11 00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:49.039 our hearts? Would you open up our ears? Would you 12 00:00:49.240 --> 00:00:54.960 form in us the character and the truth and the 13 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:58.759 maturity and the sanctification that only you can do. We 14 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:00.920 want to step out, We want to step about in faith, 15 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:03.520 in the obedience of faith. Would you meet us with 16 00:01:03.640 --> 00:01:06.200 the power that only you can provide through the power 17 00:01:06.200 --> 00:01:08.920 of your spirit as we look at your word to 18 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:13.040 make us more like your son in whose name we pray. Amen. 19 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:17.959 Scrab our bibles, scrab our Bibles and turn to Isaiah 20 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:21.280 Isaiah chapter forty nine and fifty Isaiah forty nine and fifty. 21 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:28.760 Thank you, We'll oh and there we go. I know 22 00:01:28.799 --> 00:01:31.840 how to carry that next time Isaiah forty nine and fifty. 23 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:33.319 If you don't have a Bible with you, just raise 24 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:35.120 your hand and keep it up and we will find 25 00:01:35.159 --> 00:01:39.000 you and get you a bible or a bulletin or 26 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:41.319 a pen or anything that you might need. Just catch 27 00:01:41.359 --> 00:01:43.599 the eye of one of these ushers and let them 28 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:46.000 know what you need and they'll they'll help you with that, 29 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:52.159 and turn to Isaiah chapter forty nine. If if you haven't, 30 00:01:52.439 --> 00:01:54.480 let me also remind you to fill out a connection 31 00:01:54.599 --> 00:01:57.840 card this morning. We ask everybody to do that every week. 32 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:00.120 It's an important pastoral tool for us that we know 33 00:02:00.519 --> 00:02:02.680 that you are here by name. So whether you're a 34 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:06.519 guest or a member, just please before the worship service 35 00:02:06.599 --> 00:02:08.919 is over, just scan the QR code and the bulletin 36 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:10.879 and on the seat back and fill out a connection card. 37 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:12.439 Let let us put your name down there and let 38 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:16.159 us know you were here. Specifically. You can also include 39 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:18.039 a prayer request. We'll be praying with you and for 40 00:02:18.199 --> 00:02:21.879 you throughout the week. And if you're new, you can 41 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:24.240 leave some contact information. We'll follow up with you. We'd 42 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:26.280 love to connect with you. In fact, right after this 43 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:29.280 service there's a table called Step one. It's out there 44 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:35.039 if you can find it in the lobby and we'll 45 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:36.960 connect with you there. We'd love to answer questions about 46 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:38.120 what it would be like to be a part of 47 00:02:38.120 --> 00:02:40.759 this church. Help you invite you into that, into the 48 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:43.439 process of becoming a part of this church. Answer questions 49 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:46.840 maybe about this text or about the gospel of Jesus Christ, 50 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:50.520 as we've been sinking about the one who died and 51 00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:53.919 was raised and makes us right before a holy God. 52 00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:57.000 We would love for you to have clarity about that, 53 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:03.960 even maybe before you leave today, certainly before you disentangle 54 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:08.039 your self from this community of faith. We want you 55 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:11.879 to be clear about the gospel. And if you are, 56 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:16.520 maybe you'll just come to Christ and become a part 57 00:03:17.080 --> 00:03:25.719 of this church body. Okay, Isaiah, Chapter forty nine and fifty. Again, 58 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:28.479 thank you for your patience. And I know it feels 59 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:30.919 a little crowded out there in the lobby this morning 60 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:36.080 because the student ministry is raising money for camp and 61 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:38.240 you guys are coming through. Let me just tell you 62 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:43.159 generous spirit here. I've already seen the bid sheets. These 63 00:03:43.159 --> 00:03:46.919 are some well paid students. Let me just say good job. 64 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:53.800 Thank you for that. Isaiah, forty nine and chapter fifty. 65 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:56.159 We're going to read our text here in just a moment. 66 00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:00.039 It's got some complexities to it, so I want to 67 00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:03.360 frame this up so that we can best understand it 68 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:06.199 even as we just read the text together in a moment. 69 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:15.879 The situation is this, the people of God are in 70 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:22.160 the midst of some trying circumstances. It is easy for them, yes, 71 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:25.360 on the one hand, to note the hope and the 72 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:29.120 blessings that have already been pronounced for them and given 73 00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:34.240 to them. But on the other hand, they are still 74 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:38.879 not yet back to their homeland, and they are still 75 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:42.120 beset by all kinds of real needs and real problems. 76 00:04:44.199 --> 00:04:49.079 And in the midst of it, they are discouraged, you 77 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:57.040 could say, despondent. And we are not much different, truly, we, 78 00:04:57.079 --> 00:05:02.120 as the people of God redeemed by Jesus Christ, have 79 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:08.040 been given hope and blessings and grace in great measure, 80 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:12.600 and are still, on the other hand, beset by sins. 81 00:05:14.040 --> 00:05:20.959 We're sinned against. We have real needs and real difficulties, 82 00:05:22.759 --> 00:05:27.800 And it is easy, if our eyes are fixed only 83 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:34.000 on the circumstances on the ground, to be discouraged, even 84 00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:41.120 despondent and so here God calls his people to lift 85 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:45.720 their eyes off of not just merely what's going on 86 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:49.959 around them, but to put them on his plan, what 87 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:55.120 he's up to, what he's promised, where he's taking this 88 00:05:55.199 --> 00:06:01.160 whole thing, and in so doing boom in the heart 89 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:05.600 and soul from a place of discouragement to a place 90 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:10.120 of trust and waiting on the Lord. It's a matter, 91 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:17.920 you could say, a vision, A vision that sounds like 92 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:21.680 a fancy word vision. I hear like CEOs talk about 93 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:26.920 vision and like leaders talk about vision. The term vision 94 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:29.959 really just means what is the picture that you have 95 00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:33.240 in your mind of what's going on and where it's 96 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:38.720 all headed. You might have heard this illustration before man 97 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:42.279 goes up to the work site of a cathedral and 98 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:45.680 asks the workers there what are they doing, And one 99 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:48.800 worker says, well, you can see I've got a wheelbarrow 100 00:06:48.800 --> 00:06:50.519 full of stones. I'm taking them from over there to 101 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:53.959 over there. And he asks another worker what are you doing? 102 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:56.480 Says well, I think you can see I'm mixing mortar. 103 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:01.480 And he asks another worker who's sweeping, what are you doing? 104 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:05.639 And she stops, leans on her room for a minute 105 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:12.439 and says, I am building a Cathedral to the Living God, 106 00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:16.160 and it will stand on this countryside for a thousand years. 107 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:23.160 Somebody's got a different forward vision, and that forward vision 108 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:26.000 is going to make a huge difference in the ups 109 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:30.519 and the downs, and the discouragements and the outlook of 110 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:38.839 her every day life. That's the kind of thing that 111 00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:43.720 Isaiah gives us in forty nine and fifty. So we're 112 00:07:43.720 --> 00:07:47.199 going to read it because it has some complexity to it. 113 00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:52.519 I'm just going to call out some structural markers as 114 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:55.360 we go. I think it'll help us get a grasp 115 00:07:55.839 --> 00:08:00.959 on what is a very sort of fluid poem that 116 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:04.600 we call the Second Song of the Servant, the Second 117 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.120 Song of the Servant. Isaiah has four songs of the 118 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:12.959 Servant in his book. This is the second one, and 119 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:17.079 what we see in the New Testament. Again, just to 120 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:19.639 help us understand as we read, what we see in 121 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:23.759 the New Testament, is that the New Testament writers clearly 122 00:08:23.959 --> 00:08:29.199 identify this servant as our Lord Jesus Christ, right, not 123 00:08:29.399 --> 00:08:34.480 just a prophet, this servant, the prophet, not just Israel, 124 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:39.360 but the true Israel, the Messiah of Israel. That's who 125 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:42.759 our New Testament writers identify this servant to be. And 126 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:46.679 the people of God. The people of God who are 127 00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:51.440 referenced throughout are also our New Testament writers identify the 128 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:55.639 people of God, not just those who are ethnically of Abraham, 129 00:08:55.799 --> 00:08:58.240 as some might have thought, but of those who have 130 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:01.720 the faith of Abraham. So who that gets to include? 131 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:05.639 Praise God. Now, let's stand for the reading of God's 132 00:09:05.639 --> 00:09:09.519 Word chapters forty nine and fifty. It's a long one. 133 00:09:09.639 --> 00:09:13.159 There's some complexity. Let me offer some markers along the way. 134 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:25.480 You read along as I read aloud. In chapter forty nine, 135 00:09:25.679 --> 00:09:39.480 the servant speaks about this refreshingly, gloriously worldwide mission, saying this, 136 00:09:40.679 --> 00:09:43.519 listen to me, o coast lands, and give attention you 137 00:09:43.639 --> 00:09:47.360 peoples from Afar. The Lord called me from the womb, 138 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:50.279 from the body of my mother. He named my name. 139 00:09:50.919 --> 00:09:53.720 He made my mouth like a sharp sword in the 140 00:09:53.720 --> 00:09:56.120 shadow of his hand. He hid me. He made me 141 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:59.440 a polished arrow in his quiver. He hid me away. 142 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:03.159 He said, you are my servant Israel, in whom I 143 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:07.159 will be glorified. But I said, I've labored in vain. 144 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:11.759 I have spent my strength for nothing in vanity. Yet 145 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:15.519 surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense 146 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:19.919 is with my God. Now, the Lord says, he who 147 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:21.759 formed me from the womb, and to be his servant 148 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:23.919 to bring Jacob back to him, that Israel might be 149 00:10:23.960 --> 00:10:26.279 gathered to him. For I am honored in the eyes 150 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:28.639 of the Lord, and my God has become my strength. 151 00:10:28.679 --> 00:10:32.720 He says. It's too light a thing that you should 152 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:35.639 be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob 153 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:39.279 and to bring back the preserved of Israel. I will 154 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:44.360 make you as a light for the nations, that my 155 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:49.480 salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Thus 156 00:10:49.559 --> 00:10:53.399 says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, 157 00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:57.840 to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant 158 00:10:57.879 --> 00:11:03.440 of rulers, kings shall see and arise princes, and they 159 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:08.159 shall prostrate themselves because of the Lord who is faithful, 160 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:12.279 the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you. Thus 161 00:11:12.360 --> 00:11:14.720 says the Lord. In a time of favor, I have 162 00:11:14.840 --> 00:11:18.200 answered you. In a day of salvation, I have helped you. 163 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:22.679 I will keep you and give you as a covenant 164 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:27.759 to the people to establish the land, to apportion the 165 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:32.039 desolate heritage, saying to the prisoners, come out to those 166 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:35.799 who are in darkness appear, and they shall feed along 167 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:38.279 the ways. On the bare heights shall be their pasture. 168 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:41.440 And they shall not hunger or thirst. Neither scorching wind 169 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:44.919 nor sun shall strike them. For he who has pity 170 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:49.200 on them will lead them. By springs of water, will 171 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:51.759 guide them. I will make all my mountains a road, 172 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:55.399 and my highways shall be raised up. Behold, these shall 173 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:57.720 come from Afar, And behold these from the north and 174 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:00.480 from the west, and these from the land of sign 175 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:06.480 Sing for joy, oh Heaven's, and exult o Earth, Break forth, 176 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:09.399 oh mountains, into singing. For the Lord has comforted his 177 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:20.320 people and will have compassion on his afflicted. But his 178 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:28.240 people doubt, and in discouragement, they say that that God 179 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:33.679 has forsaken them. And so God declares back to them 180 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:40.759 a picture of his commitment to his people. It's glorious. 181 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:46.120 Back in verse fourteen, but Zion said, the Lord has 182 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:52.279 forsaken me. My Lord has forgotten me. Can a woman 183 00:12:52.679 --> 00:12:55.759 forget her nursing child that she should have no compassion 184 00:12:55.799 --> 00:12:59.039 on the sun of her womb? Even these may forget. 185 00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:01.639 Yet I will not forget you. You. Behold, I have 186 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:07.440 engraved you on the palms of my hands. Your walls 187 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:11.080 are continually before me, your builders, Make haste your destroyers, 188 00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:13.200 and those who laid you waste, go out from you, 189 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:16.720 And lift up your eyes around, and see they all gather. 190 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:19.879 They come to you as I live, declare the Lord. 191 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:23.960 You shall put them on, all on as an ornament. 192 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:28.240 You shall bind them on as a bride does. Surely 193 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:31.120 your waste, and your desolate places, and your devastated land. 194 00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:35.759 Surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants, 195 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:39.159 and those who swallowed you up will be far away. 196 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:43.240 The children of your bereavement will yet say in your ears, 197 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:46.799 the place is too narrow for me. Make room for 198 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:49.440 me to dwell in. And then you will say in 199 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:54.159 your heart, who has borne me these? I was bereaved 200 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.519 and barren, exiled and put away. But who has brought 201 00:13:56.600 --> 00:14:01.759 up these? Behold? I was left alone? Where have these come? 202 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:05.840 Thus says the Lord. Behold, I will lift up my 203 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:09.480 hand to the nations and raise my signal to the peoples, 204 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:12.440 And they shall bring your sons in their arms, and 205 00:14:12.440 --> 00:14:15.679 your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall 206 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:19.360 be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. 207 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:21.840 With their faces to the ground, they shall bow down 208 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:23.600 to you and lick the dust of your feet. Then 209 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:26.320 you will know that I am the Lord. Those who 210 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:34.320 wait for me shall not be put to shame. Can 211 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:36.720 the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives 212 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:40.000 from a tyrant be rescued? For it, thus says the Lord, 213 00:14:40.559 --> 00:14:42.919 Even the captives of the Mighty shall be taken, and 214 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:46.200 the prey of the tyrant shall be rescued. For I 215 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:49.480 will contend with those who contend with you. I will 216 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:52.879 save your children. I will make your oppressors eat their 217 00:14:52.919 --> 00:14:54.679 own flesh, and that we shall be drunk with their 218 00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:57.440 own blood, as with wine. Then all flesh shall know 219 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:02.039 that I am the Lord, your savi, your redeemer, the 220 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:07.519 Mighty one of Jacob. Thus says the Lord. Where is 221 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:11.919 your mother's certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? 222 00:15:12.759 --> 00:15:15.559 Or which of my creditors is it to whom I 223 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:19.440 have sold you? Behold your iniquities. For your iniquities were 224 00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:22.480 you sold? And for your transgressions was your mother sent away? 225 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:25.440 Why when I came was there no man? Why when 226 00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:29.000 I called was there no one to answer? Is my 227 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:32.120 hand shortened that it cannot redeem or have I no 228 00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:35.320 power to deliver? Behold by my rebuke. I dry up 229 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:37.639 the sea. I make the rivers a desert. Their fish 230 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:40.320 die the stink for lack of water, and die of thirst. 231 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:46.399 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and make sackcloth their covering. 232 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:53.639 And so now the servant speaks again. The servants speaks 233 00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:59.279 up regarding the qualifications that the Lord God has given 234 00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:03.480 him to bring all of this about. He gives us 235 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:08.440 these four the Lord Gods. The Lord God has given 236 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:11.759 me the tongue of those who are taught, that I 237 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:14.639 may know how to sustain with a word. Him who 238 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:18.919 is weary morning by morning he awakens. He awakens my 239 00:16:19.080 --> 00:16:23.519 ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord 240 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:26.159 God has opened my ear. And I was not rebellious. 241 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:29.480 I turned not backward. I gave my back to those 242 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:32.360 who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out 243 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:37.200 the beard. I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. 244 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:42.720 But the Lord God helps me. Therefore I have not 245 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:47.440 been disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like a flint, 246 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:49.799 and I know that I shall not be put to shame. 247 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:53.519 He who vindicates me is near, who will contend with me. 248 00:16:54.279 --> 00:16:56.879 Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let 249 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:01.159 him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God helps me. 250 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:04.920 Who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will 251 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:06.880 wear out like a garment, and the moth will eat 252 00:17:06.920 --> 00:17:10.720 them up. Who among you fears the Lord and obeys 253 00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:13.799 the voice of his servant. Let him who walks in 254 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:19.720 darkness and has no light trust in the name of 255 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:26.480 the Lord and rely on his God. Behold all who behold, 256 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:29.480 All you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with 257 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:32.519 burning torches, who walk by the light of your fire, 258 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:37.799 by the tortures that you have kindled, This you have 259 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:42.240 from my hand. You shall lie down in torment. This 260 00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:47.759 is the word of the Lord. Thanks Peter, God, thank 261 00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:54.039 you for your focus, your attention, your stamina, both in 262 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:59.599 your back and your mind. There's some complexity to this 263 00:17:59.640 --> 00:18:04.519 pasage of scripture. Here this vision that Isaiah gives to 264 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:12.200 the people, and Isaiah means for these pictures to be 265 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:18.640 incorporated in the forward vision of the people. These people 266 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:24.519 who are clearly discouraged, even despondent, to lift their eyes 267 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:27.759 and as you see number of times throughout this passage, 268 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:33.319 trust the Lord rely on your God, wait on the Lord. 269 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:37.240 That's what he's calling them to. It's not just calling 270 00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:40.720 to them with a mere assertion. He's calling to them 271 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:47.759 with a vision, a forward vision of what God is doing, 272 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:51.079 what God is up to, and he gives it to them. 273 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:53.880 I think in like maybe we could call three pictures. 274 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:59.359 Three pictures that Isaiah says, incorporate this into your forward 275 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:03.720 vision lest you be discouraged. Here's the first picture. Here's 276 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:11.640 the first picture. The servant's mission to the world. The 277 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:17.759 servant's mission to the world, which means praise the Lord 278 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:23.319 to us, to us, and we'll see also through us. 279 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:28.000 I mean this starts out with a word to the 280 00:19:28.039 --> 00:19:31.079 whole world, to people all over the world. It says, 281 00:19:31.079 --> 00:19:34.279 listen to me o coast lands, which is a Biblical 282 00:19:34.400 --> 00:19:36.720 term really for gentiles. It's one of the ways that 283 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:41.720 the Bible refers to gentiles. Pay attention, you peoples from Afar. 284 00:19:43.319 --> 00:19:48.240 This is for everybody, This includes San Antonio twenty twenty five. 285 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:54.119 It's for us. The servant, he says, is going to 286 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:58.279 be given as a covenant. Praise the Lord. The servant 287 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:00.880 will be given, not just make a covenant, not just 288 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:04.240 announce the covenant, not just explain a covenant. The servant 289 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:10.400 will be given as a covenant for the people, and 290 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:15.599 in doing so he will ultimately bring this about. The 291 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:23.960 people will be freed, fed, led, gathered in, gathered and comforted, 292 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:29.119 says verse nine, saying to the prisoners, come out, appear. 293 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:33.200 I am bringing about freedom. The servant says, I am 294 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:36.799 a covenant that will bring about freedom for the world. 295 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:39.680 It was too light a thing that I be just 296 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:43.079 to restore the tribes of Jacob. I am being given 297 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:45.240 as what do we say at Christmas time, the light 298 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:52.079 of the world. This is for us and not just 299 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:56.279 freed also fed verse nine. They shall feed along the way, 300 00:20:56.359 --> 00:21:00.599 so they shall not hunger or thirst, and the servant 301 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:05.240 will lead us. Verse ten. He who has pity on 302 00:21:05.319 --> 00:21:08.960 them will lead them. This is exactly what Revelation picks 303 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:12.799 up and speaks of the Lamb who is amongst them, 304 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:16.519 who has pity on them, and who will lead them 305 00:21:16.599 --> 00:21:21.160 and not just lead them, gather them. Verse twelve. These 306 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:24.960 shall come from Afar. And I don't think you can 307 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:30.039 get much farther from Israel than San Antonio, can you? 308 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:32.960 Is it? Like? Not exactly on the opposite side of 309 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:38.680 the world from the north and from the west, and 310 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:45.039 they shall be Verse thirteen, they shall be comforted. The 311 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:49.480 Lord has comforted to his people and will have compassion 312 00:21:50.279 --> 00:21:57.039 on his afflicted. God has basically taken the events of 313 00:21:57.480 --> 00:22:02.279 the redemption of Egypt. You know that story. God redeems 314 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:04.559 his people out of slavery from Egypt, and he has 315 00:22:04.599 --> 00:22:09.200 taken the story of his redemption from Babylon, calling the 316 00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:14.640 exiles back, and he said, I am doing something greater 317 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:21.000 and for all the world. This light in my servant 318 00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:25.160 will be of this sort in a spiritual way for 319 00:22:25.400 --> 00:22:29.440 every person in the world, every kind of person, at 320 00:22:29.559 --> 00:22:33.079 least no kind of person will be excluded from this. 321 00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:36.599 Come on coast lands, pay attention to people from from 322 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:41.759 the north, from the west. I am going to do 323 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:44.799 this on a worldwide scale as a matter of spiritual 324 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:48.400 redemption through my servant. And that's what we see in 325 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:51.680 the New Testament. You who were far off, Paul says, 326 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:58.079 had been brought near by the blood of Christ. That's 327 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:03.519 us this picture again, what are we talking about. We're 328 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:08.359 talking about a picture of what God is doing in 329 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:13.079 this world and with this future that should move us 330 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:16.559 to lift our eyes from the circumstances of the day 331 00:23:16.599 --> 00:23:20.039 to day, place them on what God is up to, 332 00:23:20.599 --> 00:23:25.519 and therefore walk in trust instead of discouragement. That's what 333 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:28.519 Isaiah's about with these people. That's what Isaiah's about with 334 00:23:28.599 --> 00:23:34.359 us people. But not only is this mission to us, 335 00:23:36.400 --> 00:23:42.640 It's also meant to be through us. You see what 336 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:46.359 Isaiah says about the servant here the light of the 337 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:52.599 world to gather the nations. This is exactly what Paul 338 00:23:52.680 --> 00:23:56.799 says in Acts thirteen when he says, I gotta go. 339 00:23:57.799 --> 00:24:02.599 I gotta go. Tell everybody about this, because, as it says, 340 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:07.160 I am a light to the nations. Hold on a second, Paul, 341 00:24:07.799 --> 00:24:10.160 are you saying you're the light to the nations. No, 342 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:13.400 I am in the light of the nations. I am 343 00:24:13.559 --> 00:24:15.559 of the light of the nations. I'm a servant of 344 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:18.079 the light to the nations. I worship and follow the 345 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:22.039 light to the nations. And so I must go. This 346 00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:25.200 mission that has come to you has also been given 347 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:31.119 to you. It's been given to us. But listen, if 348 00:24:31.160 --> 00:24:33.680 you're here this morning and you are not a believer 349 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:36.680 in Jesus Christ, you need to understand this is not 350 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:43.319 a book about some other people long ago. Yes, it's that, 351 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:47.839 But it's not only that. This is the plan of 352 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:51.880 God and the mission of Christ that is sent to 353 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:57.799 you Christian. It's been sent to you, and it's working 354 00:24:57.960 --> 00:25:01.640 through you. And if you're here and you haven't come 355 00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:05.920 to trust in Christ, this call this light that we 356 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:10.359 sing about, that we proclaim, this light is meant for 357 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:16.680 you to see and walk towards. That's the first picture 358 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:24.640 that Isaiah gives us. But between that day, that day 359 00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:27.480 of ultimate joy and singing, you see how the earth 360 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:30.880 sings and the heaven sings, and the mountain sings, and 361 00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:34.160 people are fed and freed and led and gathered and comforted. 362 00:25:34.279 --> 00:25:44.799 Between that day and this day that includes difficulty needs. 363 00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:54.559 Between those two, the people can get discouraged. Amen. And 364 00:25:54.599 --> 00:25:58.279 so he gives us this second picture. He gives us 365 00:25:58.279 --> 00:26:02.359 this second picture directly in response to discouragement. Do you 366 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:06.720 see it there? In verse fourteen, Verse fourteen, the people 367 00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:13.759 of God say this, the Lord has forsaken me. My 368 00:26:13.839 --> 00:26:25.559 Lord has forgotten me? Does God forget his people? But 369 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:30.079 you know that the answer I mean here we are 370 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:36.799 in church, the church answer is not wrong. But do 371 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:42.839 we always see it? Do we see that God is 372 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:46.720 committed to his people. Is that a part of our 373 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:51.799 forward vision of reality? Or do we sometimes lose sight 374 00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:54.880 of that as we just look at the circumstances of 375 00:26:54.920 --> 00:27:02.599 the day. Okay, I won't make you answer that out loud. 376 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:04.599 I'm gonna go ahead and do that for you. The 377 00:27:04.640 --> 00:27:10.720 answer is yes, yes, sometimes we don't see it. And 378 00:27:10.759 --> 00:27:13.079 so Isaiah says, I want you to have a picture 379 00:27:13.400 --> 00:27:16.400 of God's commitment to his people, and he gives it 380 00:27:16.440 --> 00:27:22.440 to him in these ways. Number One, see that if 381 00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:29.839 you're his, God can't forget you. If you're his God 382 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:35.240 can't forget you, He responds in verse fifteen through seventeen. 383 00:27:35.400 --> 00:27:40.960 Can a mom forget her nursing baby? I was talking 384 00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:44.079 to someone in between the services just this morning, and 385 00:27:44.119 --> 00:27:46.880 she said, I want you to know that that's not 386 00:27:46.920 --> 00:27:49.160 just a mental thing. That's a physical thing. Like, I 387 00:27:49.160 --> 00:27:52.920 don't know you you tell me. She's like, if a 388 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:57.480 mom is away from her nursing baby or that baby 389 00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:03.799 cries out, she hand forget that baby. There's a physical 390 00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:08.880 suffering and distress that she goes through in response to 391 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:12.720 the suffering of that child. She can't forget that child. 392 00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:15.599 It's not just a mental thing. It's all the way 393 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:18.799 down to the physical level. I believe you. I've lived 394 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:24.640 with a nursing mom date number one, date number one 395 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:26.400 after we had a kid. I don't think we made it. 396 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:31.119 Twenty minutes, we're back to the house. I can't leave 397 00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:39.400 him here, says I can't forget you. You are carved 398 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:45.880 into my hand. What a picture. That's what Isaiah means 399 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:49.920 to give us is pictures. This is his picture. Your 400 00:28:50.160 --> 00:28:56.920 name is been graven into my hands. How will I 401 00:28:56.960 --> 00:29:03.640