"The Servant's Humble Steadfastness" Sermon: Isaiah 50:1-11 (video)

(272) "The Servant's Humble Steadfastness" Sermon: Isaiah 50:1-11 - YouTube

 

"The Servant's Humble Steadfastness" Sermon: Isaiah 50:1-11 (manuscript)

 

“The Servant’s Humble Steadfastness”

[Isaiah 50:1-11]

February 28, 2021 YouTube

            Last week we considered God’s comforting of Jerusalem – though she will go into captivity in Babylon, God wants her to understand that God has compassion on her, the Servant Savior will save the people of God, and God is strong enough to save them from the Babylonians.  Despite the suffering they must endure, there will be a good outcome for God and those who believe in Him.  But she doesn’t get it.

            God tells Jerusalem, her sin sends her into captivity.

            “Thus says the LORD: ‘Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce, with which I sent her away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away. Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no one to answer?’”

            God allows divorce for unfaithfulness, so God says He divorced Jerusalem’s mother – the marriage was a failure – she was unfaithful to the marriage.

            God allows people to become indentured servants to someone to whom a debt is owed until the debt is paid, and God says that Jerusalem owes a debt, so God sold her to His creditors until she could pay.

            The point is that Jerusalem is being sent into captivity for her sin.  She is unfaithful to God; she owes God a debt she cannot pay.  God is righteously and justly sending her away until she understands that she needs to change and strive to become the person God has called her to be. Still, God will save His people.

            Jerusalem is asking the Holy God why He is sending her into captivity when she has been faithful more than half the time.  She has half the debt she owes Him.

            We remember Jesus’ interaction with the rich young ruler:

“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: “Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.” And he said to him, ‘Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.’  And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:17-22, ESV).

The rich young ruler respected Jesus as a rabbi and he also had worked to keep the Law as God requires.  However, he had too high an opinion of how well – how much of – the Law he had kept.  Jesus asks him if he has kept the commandments, and he says, always – since my youth.  So Jesus asks him about the first commandment – “If your riches are not a god to you, give them away and follow me” – and he is heartbroken.  He is a sinner.  He doesn’t understand what it means to fully follow the Holy God.

No matter how hard we have tried, we are all sinners.  And if we sin, we should not be surprised to be disciplined for it, Yes, Jesus paid the debt for our sin – we will not suffer eternally in Hell, but we may suffer in some way on earth.

Jerusalem is going into captivity for her sin.

The other side of the coin is Jerusalem doubts that if God’s sends her into captivity for her sin that God will be able to bring her back when her time has been served.

And God is incredulous: “You say you don’t know why I am sending you into captivity, and now you aren’t sure if I can bring you back when your time is done?”

            “Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert; their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst. I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering.”

            God says, “Do you remember the Red Sea?  Do you remember that when Israel was leaving from her slavery in Egypt and making her way to the Promised Land, she came up against the Red Sea – with Pharaoh and his army charging after her?  And Moses held up his staff – as I told him to – and the Red Sea parted, and Israel walked on dry ground to the other side?” 

“Do you remember that Pharaoh hardened his heart, and I turned the Nile to blood and all the fish died and rotted and made the land stink?”

“Do you remember that Pharaoh hardened his heart, and I took the sun away from him and clothed the land in darkness?”

“Do you think I am unable to bring you back from captivity in Babylon?  Do you think I am unable to free you?  Do you think the Babylonians are stronger than I am?  Do you think that any nation or person is able to keep Me from doing whatever it is that I desire to do?”

“I have the power to keep all My threats and all My promises.  I control nature and the kingdoms of men.  And I love you.  You are my people.  I am not doing this to destroy you but to make you fit for My kingdom.”

            “And here’s how I am going to ultimately set you free:”

            Second, the Servant obeys the Father and pays our debt.

“The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.”

The Servant Savior – Who is ultimately the Savior of all those who believe – who are the Israel of God – accomplishes His work of salvation as the Incarnate Son – God in the flesh, Jesus Christ.  God gives Jesus the tongue to be able to teach – He is given wisdom and truth to be able to speak the Word of God to all those who would ask and to those who would contradict Him.

When Jesus was twelve, we read, “After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers” (Luke 2:46-47, ESV).

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52, ESV).

And as an adult, “And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22, ESV).

“The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward.”

Jesus is also completely obedient to the Father – as the same One God, as the Son of the Father, and for the accomplishing of our salvation to the glory of the Father.

Jesus says, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works” (John 14:10, ESV).

Even as He faces the death He knows He must endure, He asks, but submits to the will of the Father:

“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’ And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:41-44, ESV).

In even more straightforward prophesy, Isaiah records the Servant Savior saying:

“I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.”

And we see this come to pass:

“Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ and struck him with their hands” (John 19:1-3, ESV).

Jesus is always responsive to the Father.  He suffered in obedience to the Father.  He is humbly steadfast in His obedience to all that the Father requires of Him.

Jesus says, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14:21, ESV).

If our humble steadfastness in obedience is proof of our love of Jesus and the reciprocal sign of God’s love for us, doesn’t it make sense, even amid suffering and discipline to obey humbly and steadfastly?

God gives Jerusalem this word that she will believe that she will be saved by the Servant Who is humbly steadfast in His obedience to God, so she ought also to strive for humble steadfast obedience in love of the Father and in response to her discipline and the promise of deliverance.

Third, God helps the Servant.

“But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.”

The Servant Savior now speaks about His work and says that God is His helper.  He is not alone in the work of the salvation of His people – this is the plan of God from before the creation.

We remember what Peter preaches, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23, ESV).

And, as we have already seen, when Jesus is in the Garden, God sends an angel to strengthen His for the completion of His work.

God strengthens Jesus, and Jesus – though in His humanity He is horrified and suffers unimaginably – obeys the Father without hesitation: “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51, ESV).

            The Only One Who could suffer the abuse Jesus receives is the sinless Holy Savior.  Anyone else would collapse under the weight of sin and it’s just punishment.  Even after the moment of forsakenness on the cross, God helps Him such that Jesus could confidently say, “It is finished.”  All the work of salvation is finished by the Servant Savior:

            “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7, ESV).

            Our text ends with two different responses to what Jerusalem and we have heard about our sin and the Servant’s humble steadfast obedience:

            We can respond to this by believing and calling out to the Lord, obeying the Servant, and calling out for the help of His Father:

“Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”

As David writes, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4, ESV).

Amid darkness and fear and uncertainly, if we call out for Jesus – the help of our God, He will respond and lead us through – as we need – through the darkness to where He would have us be.

Notice, if we call on the Lord, He will lead us through the darkness to the place that is best for us, though it may not be where we want to be, but God is trustworthy.  He sent His Son for us and loves us and will bring us through the darkness into the kingdom of His marvelous light.

However, we can also respond to this word and reject it – saying we can get ourselves through the dark without the help of God:

“Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.”

If we hear the Word of God and understand we are sinners but reject the work of the Servant and the help of God, no matter what torch we use in the dark, our end will be eternal torment.

Jesus says, “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out” (Luke 13:28, ESV).

God tells Jerusalem not to kid herself, but to understand that her sin is what sends her into captivity.  The Holy God requires that sin be paid for, and He has made the Way through the Servant Savior, or you seek to pay your own debt, only to find yourself divorced.

The Servant obeys the Father takes the punishment for the sin of all the people who will ever believe in Him throughout time and space on himself and pays our debt, so we can also obey the Father and receive His love.

And just as the Servant humbly and steadfastly obeyed His Father with the help of God, so God indwells all we who believe in Jesus with God the Holy Spirit, Who is our help as we maneuver through the dark to His glory.

So, let us follow the example of the Servant Savior, obeying the Father, being helped by God the Holy Spirit, and looking forward to the fulness of our salvation.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we are not holy, but sinners.  Help us to strive for the holiness without which no one will be saved.  Help us to seek the help of the Holy Spirit, to trust in the work of the Son, and to love You as You first loved us.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Review: "40 Questions About Biblical Theology" (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rOgTAJ5YXM&feature=youtu.be

Review: "40 Questions About Biblical Theology" (mauscript)

 

            40 Questions About Biblical Theology by Jason S. DeRouchie, Oren R. Martin, and Andrew David Naselli is part of Kregel’s “40 Questions” series, of which I have reviewed a few volumes already.

            The questions are divided into sections covering “Defining Biblical Theology” – questions 1-9, “Exploring Method in Biblical Theology” – questions 10-19, “Illustration Biblical Theology: Tracing Themes” – questions 20-30, and “Illustrating Biblical Theology: The Use of Earlier Scripture in Later Scripture” – questions 31-35, and “Applying Biblical Theology” – questions 36-40.

            The shorter definition – they give a shorter and longer definition – of Biblical Theology that they come up with is “Biblical theology studies how the whole Bible progresses, integrates, and climaxes in Christ” (20).

            In the first section of the book, they look at three ways to see the Bible as biblical theology: dispensationalism, covenantalism, and the view they embrace – progressive covenentalism (60).  Progressive convenantalism does not specifically distinguish between the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace, as does covenantalism Rather they see the Bible having one continually unfolding covenant (60).

            They address how each of these three views understand biblical theology and why they believe their view is the best one (173ff).

            If you forget that this series is written by Baptists – which of course is fine – but be aware certain views will be promoted, in their critique of convenantalism, they note that believers, not children, should be baptized (191).

            Tin looking at how the Law is to be understood in the New Testament, they argue for four outcomes:  a law will be transformed, maintained, extended, or annulled (253).

            Maintained and annulled are easily understood.  By extended – their example is the law regarding parapet building is extended to the fulness of loving neighbor.  And transformed – their example if the Sabbath – which they argue is no longer required of believers, but now represents the Sabbath rest in the Kingdom (252-253).

            They do not make the distinction between the ceremonial, judicial, and moral law which is the way I have understood the law and the way it crossed into the New Testament world.  (But I am a covenantalist!)

            Question 26 deals specifically with the Sabbath, and I had trouble with this chapter:  the authors argue that God said to rest on Saturday (259).  God said to rest on the seventh day – He didn’t name the day, nor do we know what day the Creation happened – unless Ussher is correct, and then the Creation happened on a Tuesday.

            The place I was very troubled in this question is where the authors say that the Sabbath is a matter of conscience, Sunday is not the Christian Sabbath, and it is heretical to treat it as a moral law (my word) Christian must keep (264).

            I have no problem with there being differing views on the Sabbath.  However, I think it is quite a leap to say a person who believes it is a moral law that Christians ought to keep is heretical!  I hope this language will be rethought in future editions of this volume.

            Each chapter (question) ends with questions for thought and study.  And the book ends with a Scripture index.

            I like this series very much.  It is a thought-provoking series which can well be used by individuals or groups.  The two caveats I give are that they are coming from a Baptist perspective, and it is alright for Christians to disagree on non-salvific matters.

            I recommend this series for personal and group study and hope to continue to read them and profit from them.

            I received this book for free from Kregel in exchange for an honest review.

            [This review appears on my blog, my YouTube channel, Amazon.com, Kregel.com, and Goodreads.com.]

Review: "Surfeit of Lampreys" (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbk3irJ7V08&feature=youtu.be

Review: "Surfeit of Lampreys" (manuscript)

 

            I had to look up the word “surfeit” before I began reading Ngaio Marsh’s book, Surfeit of Lampreys.  Surfeit means “an excessive amount.”  And Lamprey is the family name of the people in the novel – in the mansion where our story takes place.  There are the two brothers, their wives, their children, and grandchildren, a maid, and a driver – an excessive number of Lampreys.

            The family, save for Uncle Gabriel – one of the two brothers – spend money like it is going out of style.  They had been wealthy, but it hadn’t lasted.  That didn’t stop them from spending, so they would occasionally go to Uncle Gabriel for a “loan.”  The family had gathered for just this purpose, but Gabriel was fed up, and he refused his brother the loan.

            Next thing you know, he’s dead, with a skewer through his eye.

            Inspector Alleyne comes to sort it out and must deal with a tight-knit family who is all too good at covering for each other.

            [This review appears on my blog, my YouTube channel, Amazon.com, and Goodreads.com.]

"Comfort for the Despondent" Sermon: Isaiah 49:14-26 (video)

 (256) "Comfort for the Despondant" Sermon: Isaiah 49:14-26 - YouTube

"Comfort for the Despondent" Sermon: Isaiah 49:14-26 (manuscript)

 

“Comfort for the Despondent”

[Isaiah 49:14-26]

February 21, 2021 YouTube

            The past two weeks that we looked at Isaiah, we saw God tell Israel about the coming of the Servant Savior – Who will come some seven hundred years in the future.  God tells them about the work that He will do and how He will successfully complete His work and the whole world will rejoice at the salvation He brings.

            However, the other message that Isaiah has recently brought to them is that they will be conquered and exiled to Babylon for some seventy years.  And that is what is immediately on their minds.

            And we see, first, God has compassion on His people.

            “But Zion said, ‘The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.’”

            Jerusalem responds to the word that God will allow them to be conquered and taken into captivity, during which time many will die of old age – if nothing else.  And the people respond by crying out to God that He has forsaken them – He has forgotten them.  To leave them so long in exile is to throw them away and not think twice about it.

            The wording indicates both an inward and an outward forgetting and forsaking of the people.  They are utterly gone from the mind and heart of God.

            But God tells them that they have misunderstood the discipline of a parent:

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”

God tells them it is more likely for a mother to forget that she has a son than it is that God would forget any one of His people.  God tells them, “no matter how you feel at any moment, I have not forsaken or forgotten you.  You are my people forever.  You are engraved on My hands – every time I use My hands or look at them, I am reminded of you, and I see the walls of Jerusalem constantly before Me. I cannot possibly forget you.”

God cannot forget His people without forgetting Himself.  God cares about His people – the Church – unceasingly.  God cares about you and me who believe unceasingly.

God continues by telling them about what will happen once they return to Jerusalem after their captivity:

“Your builders make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you. Lift up your eyes around and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, declares the LORD, you shall put them all on as an ornament; you shall bind them on as a bride does.”

God explains that at their return, the builders will work quickly to rebuild the wall and the Temple.  Those who destroyed Jerusalem will run away and not return.  People from all the nations will come to be part of Israel – Jews and Gentiles – believers in the God of Israel. And Israel will be the bride of God and she shall wear all those who believe both from the Jews and the Gentiles as ornaments on her.  They shall not only return, but Jerusalem will be restored, and she will prepare for the marriage feast.

When we are disciplined by God, we should not think that God has deserted us or cut us off.  Jesus says, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11, ESV).  God does what is best for us, and He causes all things to come together for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

God has compassion for His people.  He has more compassion for us than our own mothers do.

Second, God restores His Church.

“Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land—surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away. The children of your bereavement will yet say in your ears: ‘The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in.’ Then you will say in your heart: ‘Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?’”

When Jerusalem returns from captivity, she will return believing that she is much diminished – that she has far fewer people returning with her than those who left.  But once she returns, she sees there are more people than had left, and the numbers of people are continuing to grow.  She thought her children were dead.  She thought that she was bereaved and barren.  She thought her return to the land was merely for her to die.  She did not believe there was any way that she would reproduce and grow into a vibrant family again.

She forgot where the people of God come from – she forgot where her children come from.  We in the Church in twenty-first century American forget where the people of God come from.

John writes, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13, ESV).

Luke writes, “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47b, ESV).

And Peter writes, “since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;” (I Peter 1:23, ESV).

God tells Jerusalem and us that death and barrenness are no barrier to God growing His people.  God calls the dead to life and opens the womb.  God restores His Church.  God gives salvation and grows the number of His people through the Word of God.

So, the explosion of believers upon the return of Jerusalem is due to God working among His people – just as the restoration of the Church – the revival of the Church – the growth of the Church in America – and around the world – is the work of God.  Methods and programs will not grow the people of God – they may fill the pews, but they will not bring in believers who desire to hear the Word of God preached.

Certain people in my denomination have recently suggested that the Covid pandemic would be a good opportunity to shut down the small churches and transfer their resources to larger, “healthier” churches where they preach about “the best places to vacation in the United States” and “Jesus’ seven rules for financial wealth” and other such things.

There is an idea that if a church is merely small it is a failure and should be shut down, because there is a misperception that the church is the work of people – yes, we are to preach and teach the Word of God and preach the Gospel, but the growth of the church is God’s work, not ours.  We should pray for growth and revival and be faithful, and, if God is willing, individual churches – and the Church universal – will burst forth with more believers than we could ever imagine.  Because God will not allow the Kingdom of Satan to triumph.

God restores His Church according to His plan and will.

Third, God calls the nations to believe.

“Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.”

One of the ways that God will grow Jerusalem is through bringing the Gentiles in.  God raises His hand – calling those of the near nations, and He raises His signal – calling the distant nations to repent and believe – and people from all nations will believe and bring their sons and daughters to Jerusalem to become the people of God.  With the tenderness of parents, the sons and daughters of the nations will come to believe in the Servant Savior and find their salvation in Him in Jerusalem.

One reason racism is so repugnant is that God saves people from every nation – so we are brothers and sisters with every people.  We are rejecting our family – and people created in the Image of God – when we speak and act in racist ways.  It was a problem n those days and it is a problem in ours, but in the Church – all believers – no matter what people they come from – are to be loved and embraced as brothers and sisters.

“Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”

God tells Jerusalem that the Gentile nations around her will provide for her – and we see this literally happen when Cyrus sends Jerusalem home to rebuild.  Cyrus commands the nations to provide Jerusalem with everything they need to rebuild the Temple and the wall of Jerusalem.

The nations – even the kings and queens of the world – will show obeisance – deferential respect to God and His people.  They will worship God and bow before Him.  Then Jerusalem will know – they will be assured that God is God – everything He ever said and promised will be understood as true, and those who wait on the Lord – not matter what they suffer in this life – no matter how abused and looked down on them the world was – they will not be put to shame.  God will raise all we who believe and receive us into His Kingdom of joy and peace eternally.

As Paul writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18, ESV).

As God calls the nations to believe, some will believe, and God will add them to the Church and restore her.

Finally, God is strong to save.

“Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?”

The question is raised, “God, can we be saved from a mighty nation who has conquered us like its prey.  Can You rescue us from a tyrant who keeps us captive?  Are You sure You’re up to it, God?”

Sometimes we view God as small, yet God is greater than all.  God can do whatever He intends to do.  God’s hand cannot be stayed from saving His people.  God can never be described as small.  There is no greater Being than God.

In case there is any question of God being strong enough to save His people:

“For thus says the LORD: ‘Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.’”

The language here is emphatic – it is forceful and clear:  The captives of Jerusalem will be saved from her captives.  The prey who is Jerusalem will be saved from the tyrants.  God will contend – and save – from those who contend with Jerusalem, and God will save her children – all those who believe throughout the generations.

“’I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.’”

God is not saying that Jerusalem’s captors become cannibals; He is saying that as God most assuredly saves His people from their captors, the tyrants reveal the evil of their hearts.  In saving His people, God shows how vile and violent and dismissive of the Image of God present in every person they are – their hearts betray their attitude as of someone who would eat human flesh and drink human blood.

Jesus speaks of the servants of Satan, “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops” (Matthew 10:26-27, ESV).

Although the tyrants (for the most part) are not eating human flesh and drinking human blood, who they are and what they have done will be exposed in the revealing of the saving of God’s people.

            In that day, everyone will know that the Servant Savior is the Savior, the Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

            This will come in its fullness as Jesus returns:

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:29-31, ESV).

This was a word of comfort to Jerusalem who thought God was forsaking her in the captivity and would forget her.  God has compassion on His people, God restores His Church, God calls the nations to believe, and God is strong to save.

As horrible as seventy years in exile will be – as horrible as your circumstances may be – if you are a believer, God will comfort you and bring you into His Kingdom.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You for comforting Jerusalem and for the comfort You give all Your people throughout time and space.  Help us not to merely see with eyes of flesh, but to see with the eyes of faith that confess You as our eternal Savior.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

"Don't Seek Applause" Sermon: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 (video)

 (247) "Don't Seek Applause" Sermon: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 - YouTube

"Don't Seek Applause" Sermon: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 (manuscript)

 

“Don’t Seek Applause”

[Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18]

February 17, 2021 YouTube

            Today is the first day of Lent: Ash Wednesday.  Even if we cannot be in a church or receive ashes, it is a good time to think about our sin which necessitated Jesus’ incarnating to be our righteousness and to take on the debt for our sin. 

Jesus came to give us life – to free us from the death of slavery to sin, so we have to live lives that are better than that of the Pharisees.  Even though we tend to think of the times that the Pharisees were hypocrites and condemned by Jesus, we need to remember that the Pharisees did work exceedingly hard at keeping the whole Law of God.  Despite their sin, their devotion to keeping the Law was extraordinary and should be an example for us.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about three duties of the Christian – sometimes called “the three great Christian duties,” how they have been hypocritically followed, and how to follow them rightly.  These are the giving of alms, praying, and fasting.

These duties are done hypocritically when we make them all about people noticing and applauding what we have done.  The duties are done rightly when we do them privately and don’t seek to have others know or give us applause for doing them.

First, we are to give to the needy as anonymously as possible.

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

Jesus begins by stating the way that some are wrongly giving to the poor:  they are giving to the poor at times and in places where people will see them giving, and when they give, they blow a trumpet to let people know they are giving, so others will see what they are doing and applaud them.

It is wrong for us to announce to anyone that we gave such and such an amount.  We are wrong to boast in our giving.  We are only doing our duty – loving our neighbor – when we give to the church and other organizations that provide help to the needy.

Jesus says in doing that, they have received their reward.  There is no merit in going around telling everyone how great you are for giving so much to this or that – boasting that you gave this, or you subsidized that.

Jesus says, “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:13-14, ESV).

Jesus says if we can financially or physically meet someone’s real need, we should do so.  It is our duty contained in love of neighbor to meet others’ real needs as we are able – not that we will be lauded or even repaid, but because it is right, and we are able.

As Jesus says, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Our attitude in this duty should be one of knowing how God has blessed us in Jesus, so, in thanksgiving, in the ways we are able, we meet the needs of the needy, with no pomp, no show, no thought of being repaid, or even thanked. We ought to give as anonymously as possible.

As we do these good works with humility and privately, God will reward us as He knows it is best for us.  But – again – we shouldn’t be looking for a reward – even from God – we ought to be so thankful and so obedient – that we just give.

The author of Hebrews writes, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, ESV).

Beginning today, let us help those in need as much as we are able in love for them and in thanksgiving to God.  Let us do so as privately as possible so God would be thanked and receive the glory, and we would be obedient and loving people as Christ has called us to be.

Second, we are to pray privately and not draw attention to our praying.

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

Jesus says it is hypocritical to pray out loud, drawing attention to yourself.  (Of course, it is good and right to pray with other people and in worship, as well as in private – just not making a show of it.)

Some were standing in the synagogues and on the street corners and loudly praying to no one in particular – because the main purpose of their prayer was for people to see them as holy, religious people – praising them for their eloquence in prayer.

Jesus talks about two people praying in the synagogue:  a Pharisee and a tax-collector, and Jesus says that the Pharisee loudly “prayed” – the tax-collector heard him: “The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get’” (Luke 18:11-12, ESV).

The Pharisee – in this case – is not praying to God – he is humiliating the tax-collector and heaping praise upon himself.  He wants others in the synagogue to come up to him and tell him how great his prayer is and what a righteous person he is – and agree with him that he is better than the tax-collector and the others he names.  This is not love for neighbor.  This is not prayer.  This is hypocrisy.

Prayer is not about trying to make others look bad or making us look good.  It is a time of our communication with God in which we ask God to make us more like Jesus – to align our mind and will with God’s.

And in the section of the Sermon on the Mount immediately following this text, Jesus gives the disciples a format for prayer.  He explains to them the things a prayer should contain.

Think of the number of times we are told in the Gospels that Jesus went off by Himself to pray.  Even in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told the three to hold back while He went ahead to pray – and He prayed privately before His Father about His Father’s Will and He submitted to it.

Jesus says, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Now, Jesus does not literally mean we have to pray in a closet.  If you want to, that’s fine.  The point is that – except for those times of communal prayer – we ought to pray privately, away from others, not showing off or desiring to be noticed, but truly seeking the mind of God and the help of God the Holy Spirit to be obedient, growing into the Image of Jesus.

Starting today, let us have regularly – daily – at least – times of private prayer – times when we come before God in private with no one else around listening or hearing us.  Let us pray to God thanking Him and giving Him praise, asking for our daily needs, asking for forgiveness for our sin, asking for the needs of others – for our leaders, churches, family, etc.  Pray that we would become the people God has called us to be.

Finally, we are to fast without bringing attention to our fasting.

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”

Some of the Pharisees were fasting – as is good and right to do – and a duty at times – but they were making themselves look as miserable as possible so people would ask them if they were ok, and they could say that they were fasting – again, bringing attention to themselves, rather than doing it for the right reasons.

Now, some people will ask if this is still a duty for the modern Christian, since it is often associated with times of mourning and repentance in the Bible, and it seems more like a ceremonial duty, not a moral one, so maybe it can be skipped.

We can rightly say it is not necessary to wear sackcloth and to cover yourself with ashes, we are to fulfill the purpose of fasting.

For, others will argue, “But I have a medical condition – or medications – that does not allow me to not eat for any period of time,”

So, what is the point of fasting?  The point of fasting is to keep the body under subjection.  We are not to submit to the desires of our bodies but be in control of them.

What does that mean?

One thing it means it that it is not necessary to completely abstain from food when you are fasting.  Completely abstaining from food is one way to fast, but we can also fast – if we have a legitimate reason for it – by eating less or by eliminating certain favored foods for a time – much like some practice during the season of Lent.

Fasting of some kind can also be a part of prayer – denying yourself to give yourself more time in prayer.  David fasted and prayed for his enemies:

“But I, when they were sick—I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting; I prayed with head bowed on my chest. I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother; as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning” (Psalm 35:13-14, ESV).

To whatever degree we fast, Jesus says, “But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

As with giving to the needy and praying, we are not to draw attention to ourselves – rather, we are to look just like we normally do – not giving any indication that we are fasting.  Denying ourselves and taking control of our bodies for the sake of Christ – for being able to deny the impulses of the body and concentrate on the Will of God, should be a time of private work between us and God.  If it is, then God will give us what we seek in our obedience in fasting.

So, let us plan out a time – whether for the season of Lent or another time – and plan to deny our bodies – to discipline them and take control of them, so we will be able to use them to the Glory of God and turn from sinning with our bodies. Let it become a regular practice to deny our bodies and give ourselves to seeking God instead.

As we begin the season of Lent this Ash Wednesday, let us remember these three duties we find in the Sermon on the Mount.  Let us seek to be obedient in them, keeping our obedience to them as private as possible – desiring our obedience between us and God.  Let us not be hypocrites seeking others’ applause for doing the things God has commanded us.  Rather, let us seek first the Kingdom by loving our neighbor and pursuing our growth in Christ Jesus.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You for the opportunity to do good works for the good of others and for our maturing in the faith and growth in our being transformed into the likeness of Jesus.  Give us strength and guidance to know how best to give to the needy, how to pray that we would be changed and have Your mind and will, and how to best take control of our bodies, so we would not sin against You with them.  Help us not to be hypocrites, but to live lives worthy of You.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

"The Servant's Success" Sermon: Isaiah 49:7-13 (video)

 (237) "The Servant's Success" Sermon: Isaiah 49:7-13 - YouTube

"The Servant's Success" Sermon: Isaiah 49:7-13 (manuscript)

 

“The Servant’s Success”

[Isaiah 49:7-13]

February 14, 2021 YouTube

            Last week we saw Isaiah transition from talking about the servant, Cyrus, to the Servant Savior.  And we saw that the work of the Servant is to incarnate as a human prophet and to bring world-wide salvation.  We continue now to see the Servant’s success.

            We see first, the Servant successfully brings salvation to the world.

“Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers:”

We must notice right away that a single person is being addressed here – “to one.”  And we also need to remember that Jesus, the Incarnate Servant, is both fully human and fully God – fully Divine.  Jesus in His Divinity knows all things, but in His humanity – somehow – things are kept from Him.  We remember Jesus says He does not know when He will return, for example.

So, the Lord – YHWH – Who is the Redeemer of Israel – the Savior of the people of God – and God the Son, the Holy One – speak to the Servant Savior – Jesus – Who is despised, abhorred, and made servant of the kings of the earth. 

Don’t be confused by the Son of God speaking to the Servant Savior, Jesus.  Consider that the Son of God was not always Incarnate – God the Son incarnate in the person of Jesus two thousand years ago, but God the Son exists from all eternity, so the Word of God is coming out of all eternity – because everything happens according to God’s plan – and comes to the Servant Savior – the Incarnate God.

We enter the season of Lent this Wednesday, and we are not unaware of the horrific and abhorrent way that Jesus is treated by the Jews and the Gentiles – being accused of blasphemy and insurrection, turned over for crucifixion at the hands of vicious cowards.

And this was prophesied, was it not?

 “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:1-3, ESV).

And Jesus is a servant – of God and of humans.  Jesus tells His disciples as He washes their feet, “Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him” (John 13:16, ESV).

And God says to the Servant:

 “’Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’”

The Servant Savior is the Chosen of God, and He accomplishes all that is set before Him for the salvation of His people – because God is faithful.  From the Garden of Eden, God promises to send the Savior Who will save the people of God – and He comes in the person of Jesus.

The result of Jesus being the Savior is that all the kings and princes – as well as everyone else – will prostrate themselves before Him.  They will give obeisance – deferential respect – to Him.  As we are told:

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11, ESV).

Isaiah continues, explaining that we who believe only enjoy the blessings of salvation through Jesus – Who is our Covenant – all that He receives through His salvation of His people, He did on behalf of the Church.

“Thus says the LORD: ‘In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages, saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’ to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’’

God – YHWH – says that in the time of favor – as Paul says, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6, ESV) – at the time that God planned all these things would happen, God gave His Son, the Servant Savior, to be a covenant for the people Who believe in Him.

Jesus is the agreement between God and us.  Jesus unites us with Him through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension, so we are made righteous and forgiven for our sin.  We are united with Jesus before the Father and so we can “see God and live.”

The land symbolizes all the blessing that we who believe receive through Jesus, and we are delivered from our slavery to sin through our union with Christ, which occurs by the Father’s command to “come out” and “appear.”

As Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44 ESV).

 With Jesus as our covenant, we are also adopted as sons and daughters:

            “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:4-7, ESV).

            And we are eternally at peace in Him:

            “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near” (Ephesians 2:14-17, ESV).

            The Servant, God Incarnate, is despised by the world and crucified.  But He is raised to eternal life, having saved all those who will ever believe in Him throughout time and space as the Eternal Covent for all those God draws to Himself in salvation – the Church.

The Servant successfully brings salvation to the world.

Second, the Servant meets the needs of His people and protects them.

Some may ungratefully look at the first section of our text and say, “Well, that is wonderful that the Servant came to earth and successfully saved all those God gave Him, but what does He do for us in the meantime?  What has He done for us lately?”

“They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up.”

We’re told that all the people of God will be fed throughout this life – on the barren heights – where there is no vegetation – there will be a pasture for the people of God to eat.  We will never thirst, and the wind and the sun will not overwhelm us because God has pity on us, and He will provide springs of water for us, and God will call on the earth to flatten so our way – our walk – will be easy.  God provides and protects His people in the world.

And a natural reaction to hearing this would be, “Well, that’s not true.  There are Christians who don’t have enough food or water.  There are Christians who succumb to the elements because they have no way to shelter themselves.  And I have never seen the earth change form to make life easier.”

David writes, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3, ESV).

This helps us because when the text says, “I shall not want,” it means “I shall not lack any of my needs.”  The Lord is our Servant Shepherd – the Good Shepherd – and He gives us everything we need.  Not everything we want.  There are many things we want that we don’t need – and we do get some of them, but God promises to give us what we need.  “Give us this day our daily bread” – give us what we need today to be who You would have us be for You.

What we are being told is that God is Sovereign over His Creation.  Everything is His.  He created it and sustains it.  And the Servant Shepherd gives out of all the bounty of the Father what we need for each day.  He is intimately involved with us every day and everything we have and are comes from Him – except our sin.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells His disciples that they ought not to be anxious for anything: “For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:32-33, ESV).

The Servant provides for all the needs of His people and protects them as the Good Shepherd.

And then we are told that the people of God – those whom God draws to the Servant for salvation – are from every people in existence:

“Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene.”

The salvation that the Servant brings is to the world – it is to the Jews – of course – but it is also to those who are from afar – the Gentiles – from the north and west and from Syene.  (There is debate about where Syene is, but it is not Israel – it is a Gentile land.)

All those that God has drawn to Himself through the Servant will come – from Israel and the Gentile lands.  Not a single member of the elect will be lost.  Jesus has accomplished salvation for the world, and each one who is given to Jesus to be His people will come and believe savingly in Him.

As the Servant is the Covenant with His people and God draws people from all peoples of the world to salvation through Him, the Servant provides for the needs of His people and protects them.

Finally, we see that there will be world-wide rejoicing over the success of the Servant.

“Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.”

As we already saw, every knee shall bow before the Servant – all those who believe will rejoice in Him.  And the entire Creation will rejoice in seeing the fulness of the Servant’s successful salvation of His people.

Paul writes: “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now” (Romans 8:19-22, ESV).

All who believe have been saved by the Servant and will be saved on that final day – when we receive our resurrected bodies, and the Creation is freed from its subjection to futility.  And then there will be world-wide rejoicing.

John tells us, “Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth” (Revelation 14:1-3, ESV).

Now we sing, but then we will sing! 

As the Psalmist teaches us:

“Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary” (Psalm 96:1-6, ESV).

The people listening to Isaiah heard these things about seven hundred years before Jesus was born; we hear them now some two thousand years after His ascension.  They and we should be comforted in this news as we wait for His return:  The Servant has successfully saved His people, He provides for our needs, and protects us, and so we sing.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we thank You for choosing to save us through Your Son, the Incarnate Servant.  We thank You for the comforting news that no matter how things may seem on earth, we are saved, our needs are provided for, and we have reason to praise You in song.  Help us to show our joy in You to the world that You would be glorified as You draw Your people to Yourself.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.