"Whom Should You Fear?" Sermon: Isaiah 51:9-16 (manuscript)

 

“Whom Should You Fear?”

[Isaiah 51:9-16]

March 14, 2021 YouTube

            In the opening verses of this chapter, we see that righteousness is given by God through Jesus – the Servant Savior – to the people of God, and since they are righteous, they have no reason to fear men because the wicked will eternally be eaten as a cloth is eaten by moths and worms.

In this morning’s text, we are told the primary reason that all those who believe in the Savior should not fear men.  It is divided into two sections.

First, God is Omnipotent; remember His works.

“Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?”

And the twenty-first century Christians said, “What?”

God is told to awaken – does He not recognize what is going to happen as Jerusalem is taken into captivity?  Where is the God of Jerusalem?

God is told to put on strength – to show that He is the all-powerful One – the Almighty – to do something new for His people, just as He has done in the past – in the days of old – in the generations of old.

Jerusalem is remembering the things that God has done in the past for His people, and they call on Him to do something now.  They call on Him to use to power of His arm – His Sovereign Power over all things.

And that’s not wrong, is it?  We are told to call on God – to seek His Will – to pray. 

James writes, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:1-2, ESV).

Jesus tells His disciples to pray, and we are to pray.  We are to ask for our daily bread – whatever we need this day to be the people of God as God wills us to be.

And then Jerusalem follows this up by asking the rhetorical question, “Aren’t You the One Who cut Rahab into pieces and pierced the dragon?”

These examples are in a code that Jerusalem would have understood:

The sons of Korah write, “Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—'This one was born there,’ they say” (Psalm 87:4, ESV).

So, Rahab refers to a place, not to the prostitute of the book of Joshua.

Isaiah tells us who Rahab is back in chapter 30: “Egypt’s help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her ‘Rahab who sits still’” (Isaiah 30:7, ESV).

Rahab is Egypt.

And the dragon?

Ezekiel prophesies, “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt; speak, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his streams, that says, ‘My Nile is my own; I made it for myself.’ I will put hooks in your jaws, and make the fish of your streams stick to your scales; and I will draw you up out of the midst of your streams, with all the fish of your streams that stick to your scales. And I will cast you out into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your streams; you shall fall on the open field, and not be brought together or gathered.         To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens I give you as food’” (Ezekiel, 29:2-5, ESV).

This code is used to show that the cosmology of Babylon is not the cosmology of Genesis – to awaken Jerusalem to think about what God has done in her past.  The Creation history of Babylon is a myth; the Creation history of the Bible is true.  And the God of the Bible is the True and Almighty God.  They need to know this with surety as they prepare to be exiled in Babylon.

The Babylonians believe that there are two equally powerfully gods that fight each other over the chaos in the beginning of time.   Mummu wants to create order, but Tiamet wants to maintain the primordial chaos.

The point is that just as God is the Almighty Who defeated all the gods of Egypt – who are not gods, but idols, so God is Almighty over Babylon and her so-called gods.

Tiamet is the so-called god of the primordial chaos – represented by the sea.

But Jerusalem remembers:

“Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?”

Remember that God, the One God, the Almighty God delivered His people out of Egypt, and when they faced the Red Sea, with Pharaoh’s army in hot pursuit, God divided the sea and the children of Israel waked across dry ground to the other shore – and when the Egyptians made their way to the dry ground, God let the waters return and drown the Egyptians.

God, not Tiamet, is Sovereign over the waters and all of Creation.

If we want assurance that God is Almighty – that there are no other gods who can compete with Him or thwart His Will – look at the history of God recorded in the Bible – see the Almighty God – Who is our God.

Don’t fear being exiled in Babylon, or Covid, or President Biden or President Trump – God is Sovereign over all of these – He is the Almighty.  Everything He wills comes to pass. And God has promised Jerusalem that the day will come when her exile will be finished, and she will return.

“And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

A day will come – some seventy years after the exile begins – when God will return Jerusalem by His Mighty Right Hand – just as He delivered them from Egypt – and bring them back to Zion – to Jerusalem.  And there will be singing and everlasting joy – gladness and joy – all the effects of sin and evil will be banished from the Kingdom of God and His people.

And this is partially fulfilled in Jerusalem’s return.  God leads them out of Babylon, returns them to the land and there is singing and joy and gladness.  But sin and evil are not banished – yet.  Still, this is the promise of the Almighty God – He will do it.

Surely, we remember this promise as it is revealed to us in Revelation:

 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away’” (Revelation 21:1-4, ESV).

God is Omnipotent – Almighty over all His creation.  Look to God’s past works to see that this is true.  Be assured that no matter what we go through, God is the All-powerful God, and He is Sovereign over all that is happening.

Second, God is Omnipotent; whom should you fear?

“I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass,”

God speaks and stresses that He is – most assuredly, the God of Moses, the God Who spoke to him in the burning bush – the “I AM” of Israel.  And God says to remember that He is their comforter – He is their advocate.

We remember the word from Isaiah 40: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:1-2, ESV).

And Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17, ESV).

“Helper” here is the same word as “comforter” in the Old Testament – so the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is our Comforter – our Advocate.

So, God – the Triune God – the Almighty God days, “If I am Your Comforter – your Advocate – your Helper, why should you ever be afraid of a human?”

David writes, “As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more” (Psalm 103:15-16, ESV).

Jesus says, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28, ESV).

In other words, the Only One we should fear is God.  We ought to be in awe of God and obedient to God.  And the wicked ought to tremble in fear.

If God is the Omnipotent, Sovereign, Only God – and we are believers – we never have any reason to fear any human – only God.

And we might think, “Well, that’s easy to say, but what if you are being stalked, or have a gun held to your head, or are terminally ill, or the government begins an authoritarian crack down on her people?”

Jesus says the worst anyone can do to us is kill us, and then we shall immediately be with Him.

At this point, there is a bracket in the text and Isaiah speaks:

“and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the wrath of the oppressor? He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the pit, neither shall his bread be lacking.”

Isaiah tells Jerusalem – as they fear being taken into captivity – and some will be killed and some will die – “have you forgotten that our God is the All-powerful, Sovereign God is the One Who made us?  Have you forgotten that He is the One Who stretched the heavens across the sky and laid the foundation of the earth in the Creation?”

We were created to glorify God, whatever that means for us. As Paul writes, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV).

Are we in fear all day long because of this or that?  Are we afraid that something of someone might kill us?  Are we afraid of the spiritual forces that are seeking to destroy us?

James tells us, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7, ESV).

The Almighty God has promised release those who bow before Him – who come to Him in humility, believing and repenting of sin.  All who believe savingly in Jesus will never descend into Hell, and all who believe savingly in Jesus will have their daily needs met.  The God Whose will cannot be thwarted promises this, and He cannot lie.

God continues, “I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of hosts is his name. And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

The sea is not just symbolic of chaos and evil and death for the Babylonians, it is similarly symbolic in the Bible – so we have John tell us in the book of Revelation that the “sea is no more” – referring to the end of chaos, death, and evil, not the end of the physical sea.

So, God again says that He is All-powerful and Sovereign over the sea and its roaring waves – not Tiamet.  God does not sin or do evil, but sin and evil are under His control and are part of the plan that best accomplishes the glorifying of God.

This same God has given us His Word and put it in our mouths – the Word delivered by the mouths of the prophets.  He protects us from the evil that tries to do to us what God has forbidden.  He is the God Who is establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth for His Kingdom.  He is the One Who chose Jerusalem to be His people – all those who believe savingly in the Servant Savior.

Paul writes of our confidence against those we could fear:

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’            

            “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31-39, ESV).

            All those who believe savingly in the Servant Savior in Jerusalem are eternally the people of God, and all those who believe savingly in Jesus throughout time and space are eternally the people of God.

            So, God is Omnipotent, and Jerusalem has nothing to fear in going into exile, and we have nothing to fear from what men may do to us.

            Let us remember that God is Omnipotent and remember all that He has done throughout history, and let us not fear humans, but God Alone.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, we are a frail and forgetful people.  Bring to mind what You have done and all we have been told about You in Your Word.  Cause the Holy Spirit to strengthen us, to grow in faith and obedience, and not to fear what man can do.  And may the works You have ordained for us be a glory to You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

"Listen & Hear" Sermon: Isaiah 51:1-8 (video)

 (287) "Listen & Hear" Sermon: Isaiah 51:1-8 - YouTube

"Listen & Hear" Sermon: Isaiah 51:1-8 (manuscript)

 

“Listen & Hear”

[Isaiah 51:1-8]

March 7, 2021 YouTube

            Last week we saw that some of Jerusalem were questioning God as to why they are going into exile – into the Babylonian captivity, and God makes it clear to them that they are going into captivity for the sake of their sin.  Sending them away from the land is God’s discipline of them.

            We also saw more about the Servant Savior – how He will submit to God the Father and take on and pay the debt for all the sins of all those who believe in Him throughout time and space, and the Father will help Him to do this.

            As we continue in our text, God addresses those in Jerusalem who are striving for righteousness.

            And we see, first, the Lord is the source of righteousness.

            “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD:”

            God calls on those who are striving for righteousness – those who are pursuing righteousness – those who are keeping the Law of God and not sinning to the best of their ability – truly – and God tells them to listen.  (These vigorously seek righteousness – they are dissatisfied with sin and its promises.) Those who pursue righteousness – those who seek the Lord – are to listen to Him.

“look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.”

And God tells them to look at where they come from.  Understand where they get the ability and the desire to pursue righteousness.

“Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you;”

God suggests that they look to Abraham and Sarah the parents of Israel.  And that might seem like a good place to claim their pursuit of righteousness comes from.

God speaks to Abraham, and we read, “And he brought him outside and said, ‘Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:5-6, ESV).

God chooses Abraham and Sarah to be the parents of Israel.  God promises Abraham that his descendants will be like the number of the stars in the sky.  And since Abraham believes God’s promise by faith, God counts it to him as righteousness.

But that’s the wrong answer.

“for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him. For the LORD comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.”

God says, “But I am the One Who called Abraham.  I chose to bless him.  I made him a people for Me.”  The Lord God is the only source of righteousness.  It is from Him and to Him and by Him that anyone can pursue and strive after righteousness.  The godly of Jerusalem – the believing remnant of Jerusalem – who pursue righteousness – are hewn from the rock by God for His purposes – for His glory – and by His power indwelling in believers Who is the Holy Spirit.

God does not want them to become confused and think that their pursuit and success in righteousness is of their own power or by virtue of their heritage.  Rather, they ought to rejoice and give thanks, for God has gifted them with the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit so they desire and strive after holiness.

And the same is true for modern believers.  We strive after righteousness – we desire to keep the whole Law of God and not sin against Him – because God causes us to have that desire and gives us the ability to pursue it, and as we do so, it is credited to us as righteousness.

Paul writes, “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11, ESV).

The Lord God – Who is sending His people into captivity – is the Comforter of Jerusalem – He is the Comforter of all those who will believer.  He is the Comforter of all we who believe through all our trials and tribulations.

God tells those who seek Him – and righteousness – God will restore His cursed, fallen creation.  The Lord will comfort Zion – Jerusalem.  He will change the wildernesses and make it into a new Eden – deserts will be the new garden of the Lord.  And in the garden, there will be joy and gladness and thanksgiving and the voicing of songs!

This is the restoration all creation is awaiting:

“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. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:19-23, ESV).

Glimpses of this begin to be seen as Jerusalem is freed from the Babylonian captivity.  Glimpses begin to be seen as we see people from every nation believing savingly in Jesus as God and Savior.

The Lord God is the source of our righteousness through Jesus.

Second, the righteousness of God is for all peoples.

“Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.”

God calls His people – those who seek after righteousness – to understand that the Torah – the Law of God – the revealed word – will go out from Jerusalem to all the peoples of the world, and God will set justice before them – He will make clear to them the difference between staying in their darkness and being in the light of God through Jesus.

As John writes, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 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 1:9-13, ESV).

And Jesus says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23, ESV).

God demands the attention of His people to tell them what will come to pass.

Similarly, God demands our attention to the whole Word of God – to know Him and His salvation – to know how He would have us live and how to strive after righteousness and holiness.

“My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait.”

Freedom from Babylon is a forerunner of the spiritual salvation that is found only in the Servant Savior God sends.  Just as God will save His people from slavery in Babylon, God will save His people from slavery to sin and the devil.

God makes the point that salvation and judgment come together.  God does not merely grant forgiveness – the debt to Him must be paid – there must be a judgment for the sins of God’s people.  As we saw last week – this is taken on by the Servant Savior for our sake and to the Glory of God.

And so, it is not just Jerusalem that looks forward to the salvation of God – from Babylon and from God’s Wrath against our sin, but the coastlands – all the Gentile nations come to hear of the salvation that is only found in God through Jesus.  They wait for God to exercise His Power in sending His Son in the person of Jesus for the sake of all those who will believe.

In the doxology to Paul’s letter to the Romans, he writes, “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen” (Romans 16:25-27, ESV).

God continues by presenting the created universe as temporal, but human life – damned and saved – as being eternal.

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.”

The sinful, fallen creation that we observe is temporal and will be renewed and restored on the final day.  The restoration will be through purification – and all that is wrong and evil will vanish like smoke and wear out.  All that is less than perfection and holiness – as it will be in God’s kingdom – will die and be sent away – including those who never believe savingly in Jesus.

Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Luke 21:33, ESV).

The psalmist writes, “They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end” (Psalm 102:26-27, ESV).

And Peter explains, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (II Peter 3:10-13, ESV).

The righteousness of God is for all peoples and involves both the eternal salvation and judgment of all of Creation.

Third, the righteous have no reason to fear men.

“Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings.”

God again calls His people to listen to Him – to hear what He is saying.  As they are taken off into captivity, even with the promise of salvation and righteousness for all those who will believe in the Servant Savior – if the Law of God is in their hearts – if we have believed and seek after obedience to it – there is no reason to fear the reproach of men.  All we who believe should not fear when men put us down and threaten us for believing in the Servant Savior.

The psalmist writes, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6, ESV).

“Well, they could kill us!”

Jesus says, “so what?”  “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28, ESV).

Jesus is not saying that believers should run head-long into situations where we will be put to death.  No, He is saying that those who have been made righteous through Jesus have nothing to fear from the people of this world.

Why not?

 “For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool, but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.”

The reason why those who strive after righteousness and holiness do not need to fear what the world does to them when they are striving to live according to the Law of God is that the righteous will be with God – eternally saved – forever.  Nothing can take the salvation away that we are given through the work of the Servant Savior.

However, the wicked – those who never believe savingly in Jesus – will eternally be like a garment eaten by moths or wool that is eaten by worms.

Jesus says, “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:29-30, ESV).

And John records, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15, ESV).

Eternal salvation is a call to fearlessness because our salvation is founded on the goodness of God.

So, the righteous – those who have been made righteous by God through Jesus – have no need to fear men.

            For the Lord God is the source of our righteousness.  Merited by Jesus and applied by God the Holy Spirit.

            And this righteousness that God gifts is for all the peoples.

            And as those who have been saved and made righteous, the evil of the world should not make us fear.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, we are weak and do tend to fall into fear.  Send the Holy Spirit to grow us in faith, to help us to hold on to the fact that salvation is utterly from You.  You have made us righteous, and we will be in Your kingdom forever – without a doubt.  Cause the Holy Spirit to continue to strengthen us and to pursue righteousness in this life with our whole being, and may You be glorified.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

"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