"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.

"The Servant's Work" Sermon: Isaiah 40:1-6 (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRc2sIE0YDI&feature=youtu.be

"The Servant's Work" Sermon: Isaiah 49:1-6 (manuscript)

 

“The Servant’s Work”

[Isaiah 49:1-6]

February 7, 2021 YouTube

            In our text this morning, we continue to hear about the Second Servant mentioned briefly in the previous chapter – that Servant Who is sent by God along with the Holy Spirit – the Servant Who we also read of in chapter forty-two:

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law” (Isaiah 42:1-4, ESV).

            And we see, first, the Servant is incarnate as a human prophet.

The Servant speaks: “Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar.”

Here we see another aspect of the work of the Servant:  we have seen Him coming to the people of Israel, but here, we see Him coming to the Gentiles – to all the other nations of the world.  So, the work of the Servant encompasses all peoples of the earth – “to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”  And He calls the Gentiles to listen to Him and give their attention to Him.

“The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name”

 

The Servant explains how He comes:  the Lord – that is, God – YHWH – sends the Servant to the peoples of the earth through the womb of the Virgin – as we saw in chapter seven of Isaiah.  The Father clothes the Servant with flesh through the Virgin’s womb – and the Servant is called as a prophet from the womb.

That is not unusual.  We remember what God tells Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5, ESV).

The difference is that this Prophet is not merely formed in the womb, but He is sent into the womb.  He exists before His physical conception.

This, Jesus, Who we know is this Servant, confirms that He is also a prophet: “And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household’” (Matthew 13:57, ESV).

Let us remember that the primary work of the prophet is not to foretell the future, but to preach the Word of God.  Prophesying is normally the preaching of the Word of God.  As Jesus explains, “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them” (Matthew 11:5, ESV).

The Servant speaks of His preaching:

“He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away.”

The Servant is hidden in YHWH.  This means that Jesus, the Incarnate Servant, is perfectly united to God the Father in His work (https://www.epm.org/blog/2019/Mar/22/hidden-with-christ). The work of the Servant is the work of God – the redemption of His people and the glorification of God.

The Servant says His mouth is like a sharp sword and He is a polished arrow.  Why?

The author of Hebrews writes, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, ESV).

The sons of Korah write, “Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; the peoples fall under you” (Psalm 45:5, ESV).

The preaching of the Incarnate God is like a sword – it cuts to the core of a person and confronts him with the truth of the Gospel to which he must respond.

The preaching of the Incarnate God is like an arrow – it hits the mark to which it was aimed and, so, there is no escaping receiving or rejecting Christ.  No one can be agnostic about Who He is – he receives Him as the Servant Savior, or he rejects him.

The preaching of the Gospel cannot fail to bring about the end for which God intends it – to proclaim the Gospel and to glorify God in the reaction of him who hears it.

“And he said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’”

God tells the Servant that the Servant is Israel and God will be glorified in Him.

How can the Servant be Israel?  If for no other reason than not every member of biological Israel receives the Servant as Savior?

            Paul explains to the Romans that God did not fail in His work and will to save Israel.  God did not fail in His promise to save the people of God. 

            “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named’” (Romans 9:6-7, ESV).

            Israel is not biological Israel; she is all those who ever believe in the Servant Savior throughout time and space.  Israel is the Church.

            Paul explains that Jesus is the Head of the Church: “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent” (Colossians 1:18, ESV).

            How does this help us?

            Jesus is the Head of the Church – He is the Head of believing Israel.  He is the Substitute in salvation and before God.  So, Jesus stands in the place of the Church before the Father – He is believing Israel before the Father.

            And the Father is glorified in the work of the Servant Savior and He is glorified in the work of the Church – the Israel of God.  We who are in Christ through salvation glorify God the Father by the Power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus.

            The Servant is the Incarnate Prophet.  He is sent into the womb of the Virgin and called to be the prophet of the Father to preach the Word of God – salvation – to all peoples.  And the Word of God will accomplish all it is sent out to do, and the Servant and His Church will glorify God in being hidden in Him as believers in the Savior.

            Second, the Servant’s work results in world-wide salvation.

            “But I said, ‘I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God.’”

            This may seem like an odd statement for the Servant Savior to make.  How can He feel like His work has been nothing and vanity?

            We must hold before us the fact that the Servant is both fully God and fully human.  In His Divinity, He has all knowledge of the Triune God, but as the Incarnate Servant – a real human being, He does not know everything.  Somehow, His Divine nature is able to keep His human nature from knowing all things.

            Jesus says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate” (Matthew 23:37-38, ESV).

            In the Garden, Jesus cries, “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” (Like 22:42-44, ESV).

            And on the cross, He cries, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Matthew 27:46, ESV).

            In His humanity, it seems to Jesus that His work has failed.  Surely the devil through that he had thwarted God’s plan.  Satan thought that Jesus’ work has been in vain and brought to nothing.  But the devil is not all-knowing.  He does not know that he has helped to accomplish the plan of God – securing the salvation of God’s people and His Glory.

            We should take encouragement from that when we can’t figure out what is going on – when it even seems to us that God’s Church is falling, and God’s plan is failing.  We are merely humans, and we do not know everything.  God is Sovereign, and everything is – and always will – go according to His plan for the good of those who love Him and for His Glory.

“And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him—for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—”

God formed the Servant in His humanity in the womb of the Virgin with the work before Him of making and assuring salvation for all of Jacob and all of Israel – all those who will ever believe throughout time and space – that is, the Church.

For this, the Servant Savior is honored in the eyes of YHWH and in the eyes of all creatures in Heaven and on earth:

“Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

“’Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!’

“And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“’To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’

“And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell down and worshiped” (Revelation 5:11-14, ESV).

The strength of the Servant is the Strength of God – the Power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is indwelled by God the Holy Spirit, just as we are, and in His humanity, that is where His power to do the will and the work of God come from – just as our ability to do the will and the work of God is given to us by God the Holy Spirit.

YHWH says to the Servant, “he says: ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’”

God assures the Servant that the work of God will be accomplished through Him – all the people of Jacob and Israel – from the Jews first and also from the Greeks – the entire Church – will be brought back and be preserved in God’s Hand.  There is no question that everyone for whom Christ died – everyone God planned to save from His Wrath – will be saved and brought into the Kingdom.  No matter how it may look at any moment, God has not and cannot and will not fail to bring all His purposes to fruition.

Jesus confirms this in His prayer, “While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12, ESV).

He is the Light of the nations, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12, ESV).

Jesus brings the Church out of the darkness and into His Light – the Light of Truth and Salvation, as Peter says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (I Peter 2:9, ESV).

            As the light goes out from Jesus and through us, the Truth is exposed, the world hears the Gospel, and God draws the Church to Himself and the Servant Savior, Jesus.  People of every tribe and tongue and nation will hear and believe in Jesus the Savior, and we will be forever one people, Israel, the Church, in the Kingdom that He is preparing for us.

            God sent His Son, incarnate in the Virgin’s womb, as a human prophet to declare His Gospel to all the nations that the Gospel would result in world-wide salvation – of which we who believe are part.

            Let us rejoice in the mystery of the Incarnation and give thanks that God was pleased to send His Son as a prophet to preach the Gospel and to draw us to Him as His people – forever, His Church.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, how can we thank You for the work that You sent the Servant to do?  How can we even understand the fulness of the Incarnation and all that Jesus suffered for us?  Help us to look on Him in humility and believe, opening our mouths with the Gospel on it, and send Your Word forth as a sword and an arrow, and bring it back as a cup overflowing, having redeemed every member of Your Church.  And we ask this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

"You Are Refined for God's Glory" Sermon: Isaiah 48:1-22 (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eagQjV0Lslo&feature=youtu.be

"You Are Refined for God's Glory" Sermon: Isaiah 48:1-22 (manuscript)

                                                     “You Are Refined for God’s Glory”

[Isaiah 48:1-22]

January 31, 2021 YouTube

In chapter 47 of Isaiah, we saw that God will bring judgement against Babylon after God’s people go through exile – and God will bring Babylon down.  She will be deposed from her throne, exposed, and humiliated for who she is and what she has done in her sin against God.

This morning, we look at chapter 48 of Isaiah and look at what is happening to Israel during the captivity.  God explains what He is doing and why and what will happen about one hundred and seventy years in the future from the original hearers of this message.

We see that God refines us for His Glory.

To think about this, let’s understand that one way that metal is refined – purified – is through melting it with extreme heat.  When metal is melted – when it has gone through the furnace – and all the garbage is burnt off, other substances with different melting points can be removed leaving a pure metal – a refined metal.

God begins by describing Israel:

“Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right. For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the LORD of hosts is his name.”

God calls on Israel and Judah to listen to Him – to pay attention.  God understands that they call themselves Israel.  God understands that they are part of the landed people of Israel – she is biologically Israel.  And they say the right things – swearing in the Name of the Lord and confessing the God of Israel.  They call themselves holy.

But it’s like the person with perfect attendance in worship, who knows all the hymns, and can find all the books of the Bible, and is gracious and helpful and volunteers, and thanks the pastor, but doesn’t believe that Jesus is God the Savior.  They are doing what the Law requires and saying all the right things, but there is no heart-belief.

So, God tells them to listen up – to hear what God is saying to them.

“The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, ‘My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’”

God says, “I am going to remind you – so, listen up.  I know you are obstinate – stubborn – and your head is like a block of cement, so I want you to listen carefully:  from the beginning of time, I spoke to you through the prophets and told you what would come to pass – and it did come to pass.  I told you what would happen so you would have no excuse to say, ‘Oh, my idol told me about this.’ No, I told you, because I am God.  I told you what was going to happen, and it came to pass.”

“You have heard; now see all this; and will you not declare it? From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known. They are created now, not long ago; before today you have never heard of them, lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’ You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and that from before birth you were called a rebel.”

“Now I am going to tell you new things – things that haven’t happened – things that will happen, because I am God and I say they will happen.  Since you hear Me tell you these things now, you will not later say, ‘Oh, well, I always knew that would happen.’ I have always known that you would be deaf to My Word and sin against Me in the most treacherous ways – denying Who I am and what I have done.”

Therefore:

“For my name’s sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.”

Despite all their sin against God, God says that for His Name’s sake, He will not bring His anger down on them.  For the sake of His praise, He will not cut them off.

What is God saying?

God is telling them that though they deserve all the worst that God can bring down on them for their sin, God will not do that.  He will not bring His Wrath down on them.  He will not cut them off from the Covenant.  So, others will look at God and see what He does for His people – how He forgives them and brings them back and keeps all of His promises – and they will praise God and even come to heart-belief in Him as their God and Savior.

And we might say, “Well, that’s pretty selfish of God, isn’t it?  To forgive His people just for His own sake?”

The truth is that God is never required to forgive anyone ever.  And it is inexcusable that any of God’s people do not acknowledge the extraordinary kindness of God.

In God’s mercy, He refines His people – He puts us through the fiery furnace in many ways to remove sin from us and to make us into the Image of His Son.  God sets us in the flames – Israel was sent into exile – to burn off the trash and to have the other metals skimmed off so we would be pure gold at the Second Coming.

Paul explains the judgment of believers on the last day with similar imagery:

“For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (I Corinthians 3:11-15, ESV).

Israel – and we – are told this for two reasons:  so, we understand that as we go through affliction, God is using it to purify us, and so we will turn to God in our affliction and seek Him and His forgiveness and His Mercy and His deliverance.

Peter writes to the Christians suffering persecution:

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:6-7, ESV).

For example, for whatever other reasons there may be – and there can be multiple reasons that things happen – one reason that Covid exists is for our being refined to the Glory of God.  One reason – not the only reason – but surely one reason for Covid – is to refine we who believe – that we would turn from sin and acknowledge that there is One God and One Savior, and He is Sovereign over Covid – only He has the wisdom and the ability – which He can bestow on our scientists – to cure and prevent and do away with this disease.  One reason for Covid is to get us to turn from our sin in blaming others and getting into fights and giving up hope over all of the deaths – even if we should get sick or die, but rather to turn and rejoice in the Sovereign God of the Universe and bow before Him, praying for strength and deliverance through this time and from this disease, that we would be purified by this time and cause others to look at how we are responding and be led to glorify God.

Second, God saves His people.

God again tells Israel and Jacob to listen up:   

“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.”

God tells Israel and Judah several things about Himself – which they should know very well:

God is the God of Moses – “I Am Who I Am.”  He is the Self-Existent One.  There is no god but the One God.

He is the God Who is the First and the Last.  Nothing existed before God and God is Sovereign over everything throughout all time.  Before everything was, God is, and God will forever be.

And He is God Who created everything in existence.  God created the land and the sky and everything else in all of creation, and God keeps it existing by His power.  This is not a metaphor – God, literally, created everything that is by Himself out of nothing and it only continues to exist because God keeps it existing. 

The Psalmist writes, “Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants” (Psalm 119:90-91, ESV).

This is the God of Israel and Judah.

 “’Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; he shall perform his purpose on Babylon, and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken and called him; I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way. Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there.’ And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit.”

God tells Israel that He is going to declare something now – something they have never heard before – something no one else could ever tell them – God loves someone and is sending him to accomplish God’s purpose for Babylon.  This person will fight against Babylon and Babylon shall fall.  God and God alone will call this one – who comes and does God’s will because God and God alone call him – God speaks of him and calls him and brings him and prospers his way.  This one will become great among humans because God will empower him and cause him to be great – a victorious conqueror.  We have seen him before – God’s servant, Cyrus, the king of the Medo-Persion empire.

God tells Israel multiple times that He is sending Cyrus to conquer Babylon – God tells them before Cyrus is even born!  God says to draw near to Him – to listen to God when He speaks – He is revealing things that were determined before the Creation took place – things that were always going to take place.  God is revealing them to Israel so she will be comforted in the years of her captivity.  God is going to deliver His people by His mighty right hand through the person of Cyrus.

            Yet, we must be careful in these latter chapters when we read about the servant of the Lord.  We see that sometimes God is referring to Cyrus, and sometimes He is referring to the Savior He will send – the Incarnate Son of God.  And we must distinguish between the two – even when they occur in the same passage.

            Certainly, God delivers His people from Babylon – just as God delivers His people from Egypt, but there is more. “And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit.”

This is not Cyrus in this part of the text – this is a further, Perfect Savior.  We know this because the text says that He is sent with the Spirit of God.  Hear what Luke records:

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“’The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

“And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:16-21, ESV).

God gives – through Isaiah, not only the promise of deliverance from Babylon, but the confirmation of a Savior beyond all saviors Who will save eternally to the Glory of God.

“Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me.’”

Despite this great hope of salvation, God wants them – and us – to understand that when we suffer for our sin, it is because we have not obeyed what God has clearly told us.  Suffering for our sin is our own fault – as it was the fault of Israel – her sin sent her into captivity.

As Peter writes, “For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God” (I Peter 2:20, ESV).

God taught them and He teaches us the things that we are to do – and if we are obedient, we will be blessed.  That does not mean we will never suffer, because this is a fallen world of sin that causes our suffering when we have not sinned, and we are born sinners who need to be refined and made into the Image of Jesus.  But we will have far fewer problems, and we will be more joyful in God if we are obedient.  And if they had obeyed, there would have been no need for captivity and the death of so many people.

God tells them that if they had obeyed, they would already have peace like a river and be covered with waves of righteousness.  Their growth is stilted and broken by their sin.  God refers to the promise to Abraham that his offspring would be like the stars of the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore, and God tells them that their sin has delayed this – and some – those who have not believed – have been cut off and destroyed.

What trouble will we avoid if we do not sin, but follow the Word of God?

God refines us for His Glory, and God saves His people.

How ought Israel respond to this knowledge?  How should we respond?

“Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it out to the end of the earth; say, ‘The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!’

As we will remember:

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20, ESV).

The right response to being refined and saved is to tell everyone!  To go from one end of the globe to the other – and throughout space and time – telling everyone that God is with us and has given His Only Son to be our Savior.  Joy should propel us to tell others that suffering is not in vain, and there is a Savior Who will bring us into a world without sin and suffering on the last day.

 

We are reminded of Who this is:

” They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and the water gushed out.”

When Israel wandered in the desert, God provided water for them from a rock.  And Paul explains: 

“For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ” (I Corinthians 10:1-4, ESV).

God refines us for His Glory.  God saves His people.  Let us go and tell everyone the hope we have now and until the day of Christ Jesus.

For:

“’There is no peace,’ says the LORD, ‘for the wicked.’”

Let us pray:

Almighty God, we hate to suffer and seek ways to escape from suffering, and we are right not to sin, but when we find ourselves suffering, help us to understand that You are refining us for Your Glory – You are making us more like Jesus – disciplining us that we would be fit for the Kingdom.  And let us look forward – no matter what is happening around us, knowing that the Savior has come and will come again to receive us into His Kingdom.  Open our mouths and cause us to spread this good news by the Power of the Holy Spirit.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

Review: "I'm Thinking of Ending Things" (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNJPCuVDj4Q&feature=youtu.be

Review: "I'm Thinking of Ending Things" (manuscript)

             She is thinking about ending things with Jake. It just isn’t working for her.  Jake is clueless – or so it seems.

Someone calls her and tells her the question must be answered – whatever that means – over and over.

Perhaps some things have double meanings.

Iain Reid’s debut novel, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a psychological thriller concerning a girl and her boyfriend and what happens.

The writing is very readable and the dialog flows.  The post-story pages between each chapter leave the reader wondering what really happens.  Until it is revealed at the end of the novel.  I think.

The novel ends with an interview of the author and a discussion guide for book clubs.  And it is advertised to soon be a Netflix movie. 

An enjoyable read.

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

"Babylon Falls" Sermon: Isaiah 47:1-15 (video)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn1KKcVzJY0&feature=youtu.be