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REDEEMED! – part 1
Isaiah 43:1–44:5 (43:1-7)
March 10, 2024

This morning we begin looking at this glorious truth of redemption.

If you were with us LAST WEEK you know Israel has found herself in trouble.
• She was disobedient.
• She was idolatrous.
• And as a result she has found herself in captivity.

Isaiah 42:23-25 “Who among you will give ear to this? Who will give heed and listen hereafter? Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, And in whose ways they were not willing to walk, And whose law they did not obey? So He poured out on him the heat of His anger And the fierceness of battle; And it set him aflame all around, Yet he did not recognize it; And it burned him, but he paid no attention.”

God was angry, He sent Nebuchadnezzar, and He sent them to Babylon.

And the temptation might be
For Israel to assume that it is all over for them.
We have been abandoned and rejected by God.

Sometimes we are tempted to think that way,
Especially when trials come, or when we are disciplined for our sin.
• I have blown it, my trials are evidence of God’s anger,
• I have no right to expect that God will deliver me or save me.

IF YOU FALL INTO SUCH DESPAIR,
Then you need to learn what it means to be redeemed.

Isaiah 43 is addressed to the very same people
Whom God promised punishment to at the end of chapter 42.

SO HOW WONDERFUL IT IS
To come across those first two words of chapter 43, “But now…”

• The story of God’s departure from Jerusalem was not Israel’s final story.
• The story of their exile into Babylon was not their final story.
• There is another chapter to be written.

God has more in store for them.
In fact this chapter says that God is going to bring them home.

Look down at verse 6, “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth,”

Israel was in a rough place to be sure, but there is good news.

In chapter 43 we not only discuss the nature of that good news,
But also the reason for it.

WHY IS GOD GOING TO DELIVER ISRAEL BACK FROM BABYLON?
• After all, they deserved it.
• After all, it was God who sent them there.

Why is God going to bring them back?

And the answer:
BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN REDEEMED.

I did not say that God is going to redeem them,
though in a sense even that is true.

God is going to bring them home because He already redeemed them.
In verse 1, redemption is spoken of in past tense.

“I have redeemed you”

What we are talking about here church is
The nature and benefit of God’s redemption.

• What does it mean to be redeemed?
• What does redemption look like?
• Who is it for?
• How did it happen?
• What are the benefits?

IT IS PURE DELIGHT OF THE SOUL TO UNDERSTAND REDEMPTION.

So in Isaiah 43 and the first 5 verses of chapter 44
We’re going to look at 5 realities of God’s redemption.

This morning we’re going to look at the first reality of God’s redemption of His people.

#1 A PARTICULAR REDEMPTION
Isaiah 43:1-7

If you are someone who likes to read and study theology
And especially if you are someone who likes to debate theological topics, THEN YOU KNOW THAT THIS TITLE IS LOADED.

We call it a Particular Redemption to indicate that it is a redemption which is for a particular people.
• Sometimes it is referred to as an Actual Atonement.
• Sometimes it is referred to as Limited Atonement

But ultimately what we are discussing here is the question of:
WHO DID GOD REDEEM?

Universalism says that God redeemed the whole world and therefore the whole world is saved and going to heaven.

Arminianism (repackaged today as Provisionism) says that God redeemed the whole world, but some rejected it and therefore only those who accept it are going to heaven.

We would say that every single person whom God redeemed is going to heaven, but He did not redeem them all.

He redeemed a particular people for Himself.

And IF THIS IS THE FIRST TIME you’ve ever heard this,
It is likely hitting you sideways.

The methodology of the past 150 years has confused the church.

Typically the invitation of Christianity today likes to go something like this:

“Why don’t you accept Jesus to be your personal savior? He has already paid for all your sins. He has already died. The price for your salvation has already been paid, now why don’t you accept what has already been done?”

• And then you know the organ music is played,
• The lights are dimmed,
• We grease the slide
• And we seek to coerce sinners to just let Jesus save them.

That has been sort of the norm in evangelism for many years.

But, as we have said before, we have a problem here if that is the case.

1) It makes man sovereign over salvation instead of God.
• Salvation then becomes a decision that the sinner makes
• Instead of a decision that God has made.
• This is not only unbiblical (it wasn’t Abraham that chose God),

2) It means that God’s redemption has no ultimate power.
• There you have God supposedly redeeming everyone, but not everyone ends up redeemed.

To which we have to ask, then what did He actually do?
It is a redemption that doesn’t necessarily save anyone, unless they agree to it.

3) It ends up putting people in hell whose sins have been atoned for.
• The offer is made that Jesus paid for all your sin,
• Then sinners reject that and go to hell where they also suffer for all their sins.
• Again we wonder what Jesus did then?

Arguers would say, “No, they only go to hell for rejecting Jesus.”
But is unbelief not a sin? And did Jesus not pay for all sins?

4) It presents a possibility where Jesus might have died and shed His own blood and no one gets saved at all.
• If it is all up to the sinner.
• What if no sinner ever accepted it?

5) It causes believers to misunderstand what it means that God has redeemed them.
• That view means that Jesus did the exact same thing for those who are in hell as He did for those who are in heaven.
• The only difference was those in heaven responded better.

SUCH A VIEW ROBS THE CHURCH
Of understanding and rejoicing in what Christ has done for them.
(that’s what we want to talk about this morning)

6) It allows men to take some credit for their redemption
• Under a universal atonement the reason they are redeemed while other men aren’t is because they were smart enough to accept it.

THAT IS BLASPHEMOUS.

A universal might initially sound good, and it might be a popular and unoffensive way to say it, but it is terribly problematic.

Instead, what the Bible teachers is that
God’s redemption is not universal, it is a particular redemption.
He is redeeming a specific or particular group of people.

YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT REDEMPTION IS.
• It will strengthen your faith.
• It will increase your hope.
• It will delight your soul.
• It will motivate your worship.

NOW, DON’T JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT,
Let’s look at what God has to say here
About His redemption to His children and you can see it for yourself.

Let me show you 4 realities or effects of this particular redemption.

1) YOU ARE MINE (1)

“But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!”

In this verse, God is clearly addressing Israel.
• He’s talking to the same people, who according to ch. 42, He sent into exile.
• He’s talking to the same people who feel that strained relationship with God.

By the end of chapter 42 they had to be wondering
If God was finished with them.

And then we saw the, “But now…”

It is an indicator that
God is doing something for you that you do not deserve.

And God begins to expound this message of grace to His people.

We that God references 3 realities in their life.

“thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob”

The first reality God calls attention to is that HE HAS CREATED THEM.
Obviously this is true for all people, not just Israel.

• This is why Scripture can say that “we are all God’s children”
• We are all the children of God because we were all made in His image.
• We are all the children of God because we are all created by Him.
• This is true of every man.
• Certainly it is true of Israel.

“And He who formed you, O Israel,”

The second reference is to God MAKING A NATION out of them.
Now, God has done that for all people too.

We see it in Genesis 11 at the tower of Babel
• Where God confused the language of all people
• And divided all peoples into separate nations.
• They all originated from God.

He created us all, and He made distinct peoples of us all.
At that point all of humanity is still universally all in the same boat.

BUT THEN we see God doing something for Israel
That He DID NOT DO for all the other nations.

What God did for Israel is why they do not have to fear
That their relationship with Him is over.

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;”

Now first, let’s just examine what it means to be “redeemed”.

“redeemed” translates (GAW-AL)
And it is a word that speaks of being “bought back”.

You have heard the term “kinsman redeemer” (Ruth).
• That was the close relative who would buy back your land or marry your widow in order to keep that which was given to you by God.

Sometimes it is translated “avenger”
• As in the blood avenger who was that close relative who would avenge your life if someone struck your down in murder.

It is a word that simply speaks of buying back that which was lost.
It is a purchase.

And God tells Israel here that
The reason they do not have to fear being totally alienated by God
Is because God has “redeemed you;”

• I have bought you.
• I have purchased you.

We go on to read, “I have called you by name; you are Mine!”

So we talk here about ownership.
We talk here about possession.
God bought them and He now owns them.

We sing it when we sing “Victory in Jesus” – “He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood.”

When we sing “The Church’s One Foundation” – “From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride, with His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.”

This is what it means to be redeemed.
It means to have been purchased.

1 Corinthians 6:20 “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

1 Corinthians 7:23 “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.”

You see that we were bought.
We belong to Him.
We are to be no one else’s.

Acts 20:28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

Revelation 5:9 “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

And this is the redemption of Christ.

Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”

• He bought us from the curse by being a curse for us.
• That was the payment that was made.

Titus 2:13-14 “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

• He “gave Himself for us to redeem us”; to buy us back.

Hebrews 9:11-12 “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”

Hebrews 9:24 “For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;”

There we read how Christ took His own blood into the actual presence of the Father to pay the debt of His people.
• He redeemed.
• He purchased.
• He bought us.

This is what it means to be redeemed.

It is NOT LIKE a food bank or a coat closet

Where excesses of coats or foods are stored
In case someone sometime might need it and want to go and get a coat.

That is place where coats or food is purchased for no one in particular and might or might not ever be used.

That is not redemption, that is benevolence.

God is benevolent to all men, for sure.

But we are talking about redemption
Where He specifically redeemed or bought His people,
And as a result of redemption, “You are Mine!”

The effect of the purchase is ownership.
• Because I bought you, you are Mine.
• If you are not mine, then I have not bought you.

Does that make sense?
THAT IS REDEMPTION.

Now let me show you THE BENEFIT of having been redeemed.
Why it is a good thing that God has bought you.

2) YOU ARE SAFE (2)

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.”

Here we are talking about trials and tribulation.

We love to sing, “Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come. His grace has kept me safe this far and grace will lead me home.”

Here God is explaining to Israel that
Even though they have in effect passed through the fire of Babylon,
That DOES NOT MEAN that He has abandoned them.

• I know your temple was burned.
• I know your city was destroyed.
• I know you have been exiled.
• I know life has been difficult in Babylon.

But I have not left you, and I will not leave you.

WHY?
Because “I have redeemed you…you are Mine!”

You don’t belong to Nebuchadnezzar, you belong to Me.

The presence of trials or hardships in your life
Are not evidence of Me giving you up.

I would not have bought you if I had intended to give you up.

We are taught to look at trials
• Merely as refinement and sanctification.
• Not as the absence of our Father’s love, but rather the expression of it.

Hebrews 12:5-8 “and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.”

God is not abandoning you, He is sanctifying you.

We sing the song “How Firm A Foundation” “Though through fiery trials your pathway shall lie, My grace all-sufficient shall be thy supply. The flame shall not hurt you, I only design, thy dross to consume to and thy gold to refine.”

God did not send them to Babylon to destroy them, but to sanctify them.

And the whole time they were there, He never left them.
AND HE NEVER WILL.

(2) “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.”

Why does God make such a promise?
Because “I have redeemed you…you are Mine!”

Do you understand that church?
• You have been purchased.
• You belong to Him.
You have been redeemed.
You are safe.

Jesus said:
John 6:39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”

We love what Paul told us:
Romans 8:35-39 “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

WHY?
Because “I have redeemed you…you are Mine!”

He bought us and we are His.
He protects what He has purchased.

Now, all we have done so far
Is talk about what redemption is and what the benefits of it are.

We still HAVE NOT ADDRESSED
This issue of it being a particular atonement.

Many would still just say that
What God did for us, He has done for everyone.

• He purchased everyone.
• He protects everyone.
• Sure, some have rejected it, and therefore do not receive the benefits,
• But God bought all men.

We have already read passages that prove this false.

Revelation 5:9 “And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

• He didn’t redeem every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
• But rather He purchased men “from” every tribe and tongue and people.
• He didn’t purchase all.

Acts 20:28, which we already read says He purchased the church.

Acts 20:28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

So we’ve already seen it.

But even if those didn’t convince you, let’s keep going here in Isaiah 43
Let me show you another aspect of what it means to have been redeemed.

You Are Mine; You Are Safe
3) YOU ARE PRECIOUS (3-4)

(3-4) “For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.”

Now here is where it gets extremely interesting.

SO FAR, we have spoken about how God purchased us.

And we know that ultimately that purchase is going to come through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.
• It is Jesus who will shed His blood.
• It is Jesus who will die upon the cross.
• It is Jesus who take His blood to the Father on behalf of His bride.

WE KNOW THAT.

But here in Isaiah THAT HAS NOT YET been discussed.

We know that God told Israel that He redeemed them up in verse 1,
But nothing was said about the price of that redemption.

Nothing was said about what God gave up for them.

And this might surprise you when you read what Isaiah here says that cost was.

(3) “For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.”

• God makes it very clear here that He is Israel’s savior.
• He is very specific as to who He is redeeming and saving.

BUT DID YOU CATCH THE PRICE?
“I have given Egypt as your ransom”

“ransom” translates (KO-FER) – it literally represents the “price of a life”

Exodus 21:30 “If a ransom is demanded of him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is demanded of him.”

Exodus 30:12 “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them.”

A ransom is how much it costs to buy a life.
How much does it cost to buy a life?

Well here, what does God say?
“I have given Egypt as your ransom”

What was the cost of Israel’s life?
• Egypt.
• He says that He gave “Cush and Seba in your place.”
• “I gave them for you.”

When did that happen?
We have all read the story of the Exodus.
• God crushed Egypt that He might deliver Israel.
• God drowned Pharaoh and the Egyptian army that He might deliver Israel.

He did not redeem them both.
• He gave Egypt (a people He created and a nation He set apart)
• In exchange for Israel.

You see the same thing when God says “Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated”
You see that God sent away Ishmael that He might give the inheritance to Isaac.

Can you see that God’s redemption of Israel was a particular redemption?
• Out of Egypt, God only redeemed Israel.
• Israel was purchased, Egypt was the price.

That is NOT TO SAY that Israel didn’t need Christ, certainly they do.
Christ was typified in that Passover Lamb
Which Israel needed to be forgiven before God.

BUT THE POINT to be made here is that
God’s redemption was particular.

So why did God do that for Israel?

(4) “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I loved you…”

“precious” is the word (YAW-KAR) and it is a word that speaks of value.

1 Samuel 26:21 “Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will not harm you again because my life was precious in your sight this day. Behold, I have played the fool and have committed a serious error.”

Psalms 49:8-9 “For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever— That he should live on eternally, That he should not undergo decay.”

GOD SAYS THAT HE REDEEMED ISRAEL
Because they were valuable to Him and because He loved them.

And here is where our minds are overflowing with gratitude.

• We know that in Adam we are a fallen race.
• We know that we are corrupt and sinful and have fallen short of the glory of
God.
• We know that we did not fear God nor do good and thus there is nothing about
us that deserves redemption.

WE KNOW THAT.

Therefore we know that as sinful people
We have no intrinsic value that would warrant salvation.

But, we have tremendous APPLIED VALUE which comes to us from God.

1 Peter 1:18-19 “knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”

We are not valuable in and of ourselves.
Our value is applied because of how God valued us
Based upon what He paid to redeem us.

AND NOTICE WHAT GOD SAYS TO ISRAEL HERE.
• Not only did I give up Egypt for you,
• But you are so valuable to Me
• That I will also give up Babylon.

(4b) “I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.”

God is presently sending Cyrus of Persia to destroy Babylon
Because Cyrus is the one who will set God’s people free.
“I will destroy them to save you.”

WHY?
Because: “I have redeemed you…you are Mine!”

You see God’s redemption was not universal, it was particular for Israel.
He gave up Egypt for them.
He gave up Babylon for them.

You need to understand the nature of God’s redemption.

IT IS A PARTICULAR REDEMPTION.
• He actually pays for and purchases His own.
• They are His.
• Not all are purchased, not all are His.
• And those who are redeemed, are redeemed not because they are valuable, but because God valued them.

He placed a value on them beyond what they are worth.

We are all saying, “Why me?” to this.
We all know we don’t deserve it.

But why Abram? Why Jacob? Why Ruth, Why Gomer?
Why any of us?

Because God chose to redeem us.

Now there is one more point here to this particular redemption.
4) YOU ARE RETURNING (5-7)

(5-7) “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Because you are Mine.
Because I have bought you.
Not only am I protecting you in Babylon, but I am bringing you home.

“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who is called by My name.”

LISTEN TO ME HERE:

God bought them and He will have them.
What God purchases, He receives.

This is why universal redemption is such a ridiculous notion.

In that view you have God supposedly loving and purchasing a people
That He does not protect and whom He will not receive.

How strange is that!?!

NO!!! God chose to love a people, He bought those people, He protects that people, and He will have them.

John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

He bought us and He will have us.

John 6:39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”

John 14:1-3 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

His redeemed are coming home!
There is no chance that they are not coming home!

WHY?
BECAUSE: “I have redeemed you…you are Mine!”

And don’t miss this last point.
It is the explanation of it all.

It explains why God would choose and love and redeem the unlovable.
(7) “Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

FOR MY GLORY!
• God redeemed the undeserving…
• God bought the unworthy…
• So that His grace would be glorified!

If you see your salvation as a definitive proof of your great worth
You don’t understand a thing about salvation.

Your salvation is definitive proof of His glorious grace!

Ephesians 1:3-6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

CHURCH DO YOU SEE IT?

How do you know you will be safe through the fire?
• BECAUSE “I have redeemed you…you are Mine!”

How do you know that when God destroys the world He will save you?
• BECAUSE “I have redeemed you…you are Mine!”

How do you know God will bring you safely home?
• BECAUSE “I have redeemed you…you are Mine!”

He bought you and He will have you!
YOU ARE REDEEMED.

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The Savior of the World – part 4
Isaiah 42:1-25 (14-25)
March 3, 2024

By now I think we’ve all got a handle on the backdrop to the chapter.

We have God speaking to Gentiles
And offering them salvation through His Son.

#1 THE SAVIOR ANNOUNCED
Isaiah 42:1-4

Here God announces the Savior He has chosen to save the world.
• He is meek
• He is mild
• He is compassionate to sinners

#2 THE SAVIOR APPOINTED
Isaiah 42:5-9

There we learned that God is the author of salvation.
God initiated it all.
• He selected Christ
• He sent Christ
• He equipped Christ
• He laid our sins on Christ
• Through Christ He saved sinners

#3 THE SAVIOR ADORED
Isaiah 42:10-13

This is the expected response of God from sinners upon being saved.
We are called upon to worship and adore God our Savior.

• For He is the One who came and not only sought us, but who also slaughtered our enemy.
• He came as a warrior clothed in zeal and set us free from the bonds of the enemy who held us captive.

We respond to Him with a new song of praise.

Tonight we move forward yet again.

#4 THE SAVIOR ADVANCING
Isaiah 42:14-17

We are able here to see something again of the heart of God
And especially His desire and commitment to save sinners.

(14) “I have kept silent for a long time, I have kept still and restrained Myself. Now like a woman in labor I will groan, I will both gasp and pant.”

Here we come across yet another analogy.

In verses 1-4 we saw God’s Savior as meek and lowly and mild and gentle to sinners.
• We understood why.
• Sinners are broken and hopeless and we need a compassionate Savior.

In verses 10-13 we saw Him as a warrior breaking the oppressor’s arm.
• And we understood why there too.
• We were held captive by a mighty foe and we need a mighty warrior to deliver us from his grasp.

But now in verse 14
We get yet another analogy and this time it is of “a woman in labor”.

What do we do with this one?

In the verse itself we get some clue because we see a CONTRAST.

• The verse begins with God revealing that “I have kept silent for a long time, I have kept still and restrained Myself.”

• And then the contrast, but “Now like a woman in labor I will groan, I will gasp and pant.”

So the contrast is our first clue.
God was for a time silent, but now He is not.
God was for a time restrained, but now He is not.
• Now He is loud.
• Now He is vocal.

And God compares Himself to a woman in labor.

Many guys in here are dads and many of you were with your wife while she was in labor.
• Do any of you remember her being meek during that time?
• Do any of you remember telling her, “Honey, you’re being kind of loud you might want to tone it down”?

OF COURSE NOT!

What they are going through is extreme.
Yelling is allowed, screaming is allowed, barking orders is allowed.

And the simple illustration here is that
There was a time when God was perhaps silent and restrained
And mysterious regarding His desire, BUT NOT NOW.

Now, everyone is going to know what He wants.
• Now, He is going to shout His desires at the top of His lungs.
• Now, He is not to be denied.

He is “like a woman in labor”.

SCRIPTURE FURTHER HELPS us understand what is going on here.

In regard to Him having been “silent” or “restrained”,
Consider these texts.

Genesis 15:13-16 “God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

• This was many years before God even sent Israel into Egypt
• And they would be there for 450 years before God would bring them out,
• And 40 more after that as Israel wondered in the wilderness,
• Before God would use them to judge the Amorite.

But even during Abraham’s day
God was already announcing the sin of the Amorite,
His displeasure with Amorite, and His certain judgment of the Amorite.

So for another half a millennium God is going to silently and patiently endure the Amorite without saying anything.

They are not pleasing, but they are allowed to exist.
• He will be “silent” with them.
• He will be “restrained” toward them.

That is to say that
Even though they are living in sin and utter rebellion against God, He is not demonstrably or actively
Confronting that sin or calling them out of it.

It’s wrong, God hates it, but He is silently enduring it.

You see it again with the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 4.

Ezekiel 4:4-8 “As for you, lie down on your left side and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it; you shall bear their iniquity for the number of days that you lie on it. “For I have assigned you a number of days corresponding to the years of their iniquity, three hundred and ninety days; thus you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. “When you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah; I have assigned it to you for forty days, a day for each year. “Then you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it. “Now behold, I will put ropes on you so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.”

There God tells Ezekiel to lay down on his left side,
• Presumably facing north for the northern kingdom
• God will tie him there so that for 390 days (1 for each year)
• He will just sort of have to passively “bear the iniquity of the house of Israel”

And then when that is finished he will flop over,
Facing the southern kingdom and do it again for another 40 days.

Again the point is that for 430 years God passively endured their sin.
It was displeasing, He was angry, but He was simply bearing it.

OR TAKE THE DAYS OF NOAH.
• God was so angry that He had decided to judge the world by flood.
• But it would be another 100 years while Noah built the boat before God would actively judge.
• So there again was 100 years of relative silence and patience on the part of God.

And God, now speaking to these Gentiles says,
“That is how I’ve been with you.”

But now, He is speaking forcefully and loudly and will not be denied.
Now He is screaming “like a woman in labor.”

Now He is making His voice heard from on high.

And we see it as EVANGELISTIC ZEAL on the part of God.

Paul used similar language to the Galatians saying:
Galatians 4:19 “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you—”

• Paul explains his demonstrative tone to the Gentiles as though he were again in labor with them.
• He is not to be denied.

We think of him speaking to the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 5:18-21 “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

• There he is begging and pleading with them to come to Christ.

So you understand what is being said here.

There was a time when God sort of passively bore your sin,
Not in a saving sense as Jesus bore it,
But in a tolerance sense meaning He didn’t immediately judge.

Consider the Psalmist.
Psalms 50:21 “These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.”

• Israel sinned and God kept silent and they took that as approval.
• WRONG, it was simply momentary tolerance as He waited to judge.

It is what God is currently doing with the tares
As He patiently waits for all the wheat to be redeemed.

Don’t confuse His silence or restraint with approval.

But in any case here we see God announcing to the nations that He had previously been silent but NOW He is actively calling them to salvation.

Now He is boldly and loudly proclaiming to the coastlands
That they should leave their idolatry and He will save them.

• He has a gentle Savior.
• He has a warrior Savior.
• And He will save them.
• Now is the time to trust in Him.

And God here begins to give MOTIVATION AS TO WHY they should now listen and trust Him.

1) Namely because judgment is coming.
(15) “I will lay waste the mountains and hills and wither all their vegetation; I will make the rivers into coastlands And dry up the ponds.”

That is an analogy of judgment.
It speaks of a coming day in which God will lay waste this entire world.

There is coming a day when God will terrorize this entire world.
And so today He is calling loudly to sinners to come to His Savior.

Today He is Jonah, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be destroyed!”
• Today He is screaming out to sinners!
• Today He is passionately waiving His arms!
• Today He is active in His call!

We seem Him as the Savior Jesus
Determined to travel from village to village to continue to preach the gospel to all people.

We see Him as Paul telling Titus:
Titus 2:15 “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.”

It is the famous Spurgeon quote:
“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”

That is what God is doing here.
He is actively and passionately calling to sinners like a woman in labor,
That they might escape the coming judgment and be saved.

And can we pause here and take a que regarding evangelism training?
• How badly do we want sinners saved?
• How badly do we want them to leave their sin?
• How badly do we want them to come to faith in Christ?

The gospel is not a timid message, nor is it an optional one.
We are not called to be silent or restrained,
We are called to take this gospel to the very ends of the earth.

Isaiah was told earlier:
Isaiah 40:9 “Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

That is evangelism.
Judgment is coming and men must know it.

But God is not only preaching a coming judgment,
2) He is also preaching a certain salvation.
(16) “I will lead the blind by a way they do not know, In paths they do not know I will guide them. I will make darkness into light before them And rugged places into plains. These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone.”

As sure is there a judgment for all sinners who do not repent…
THERE IS A SALVATION FOR ALL WHO DO.
• God will open the eyes of the blind.
• God will lead them to salvation.
• God will transfer them from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son.

He says, “These are the things I will do, And I will not leave them undone.”

It is a promise of God to the nations that
If they will repent and trust in Him He will definitely save them.

This is a valid promise to every man and every woman.
• We do believe in election.
• We do believe in a particular atonement.
• But we also know that the offer of salvation is a real and valid offer to everyone
we preach it to.

Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

And we take that promise with us to the world.

And we go with the confidence that all whom the Father has given to Christ will come to Christ.

John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

And here in Isaiah we read:
(17) “They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame, Who trust in idols, Who say to molten images, “You are our gods.”

The Savior will be victorious.
He will save those He came to save.
• They will be broken over their idolatry.
• They will be broken over their sin.
• They will lave their idols and their false gods.
• And He will save them.

THIS IS THE MINISTRY AND MESSAGE OF GOD.
It was certainly the ministry and message of Christ.

God didn’t send Christ into the world
To be passive about saving sinners.

He didn’t build a little center and stay seated in it all day just waiting for someone inquisitive to come by and ask what He was doing.
• He went in search of sinners.
• He sent in search of lost sheep.
• He sent out His disciples to go find those sheep.
• He sent them out in pairs, He sent out the 70.

And before He left this world He commissioned His church:
Matthew 28:18-10 “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

It is a call to active duty.
It is a call to determined service.
It is a call to get up, speak up,
And proclaim the gospel like a woman in labor!

This world is in danger of the judgment of God.
They have wrongly mistaken God’s silence and restraint as approval.
• They need to be told that God has not changed His mind about sin.
• They need to be told that judgment is closer now than it has ever been.
• They need to be told that there is a Savior.
• They need to be told that He will save them if they will repent and believe.
• They need to be told that He will set them free from their sin, deliver them from their oppressor, and save them from the wrath to come.

This is what God is doing.
HE IS ACTIVELY SAVING THE WORLD!
HIS SAVIOR IS ADVANCING!
• His kingdom is growing from that small mustard seed to the premiere kingdom of all the world.
• His kingdom is spreading like leaven until the entire lump is completely leavened.

“He has sounded forth the trumped that shall never sound retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat; O be swift, my soul, to answer Him; be jubilant, my feet! Our God is marching on.”

That is what you see here.

Now, if the chapter were to stop here
We would find a very nice and neat conclusion to the point.

God desires to save the nations.
God desires to save the Gentiles.

1. We see Him announcing His Savior.
2. We see Him appointing His Savior.
3. We see Him calling for the adoration of His Savior.
4. We see Him with this final loud and vocal invitation to come and submit to the
advance of His Savior.

In many ways, in our minds, this is the conclusion of the chapter.
• God has confronted Gentile sinners in their idolatry.
• He has called them to repentance and salvation.
• He has promised to save them with the Savior He has appointed and sent.

That’s a nice and neat gospel message all wrapped up right there.

BUT GOD ISN’T FINISHED.

#5 THE SAVIOR ADMONISHING
Isaiah 42:18-25

What in the world do we have here?

All of a sudden God quits addressing Gentiles
And instead He turns and addresses His people Israel.

And He gets just as loud and direct to them.
• God turns to Israel and calls them “deaf” and “blind”

“Hear, you deaf! And look, you blind, that you may see.”

And all of a sudden we realize what God was doing.
This whole time we thought He was preaching to Gentiles only.

We thought it was just about those coastlands or nations.
• God was talking about their idolatry…
• God was talking about their sin…
• God was talking about their impending judgment…

And Israel was just sort of sitting over to the side,
Giving Him some distant “Amens” and “That’s right”.

“That’s right God, tell them! That’s right God, they’re sinners. That’s right God tell them about that idolatry and the coming judgment. Tell them they better repent or else.”

And in Paul Washer fashion God here spins around to them and says, “I don’t know why you’re clapping, I’m talking about you!”

Can you seriously not see your sin here too?
Can you seriously not see the same problems in your life?

If you can’t, you’re even more blind than I initially thought.

(19) “Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the LORD?”

It is God’s way of saying, “I have never seen a more thick headed, undiscerning people than My people are.”

I confront sin in others, sin they are living in,
And they can’t seem to realize that I’m speaking to them too.

(20) “You have seen many things, but you do not observe them; You ears are open, but none hears.”

You sat through this entire sermon and never once wondered if I could be talking to you at all.

You seriously thought this was only about the Gentile nations.

YOU ARE BLIND!

And in fact, your blindness is worse than the Gentiles because you have had and ignored more truth than have ever received.

(21-22) “The LORD was pleased for His righteousness’ sake To make the law great and glorious. But this is a people plundered and despoiled; All of them are trapped in caves, Or are hidden away in prisons; They have become a prey with none to deliver them, And a spoil, with none to say, “Give them back!”

All they have had was general revelation (conscience and creation)
• But you actually had My Law.
• You have ignored way more than they have.

The whole time I’ve been offering them freedom from bondage
It is as though you have failed to recognize that
YOU ARE IN BONDAGE TOO!

• You are also “trapped in caves”
• You are also “hidden away in prisons”
• You also “have become a prey with none to deliver”
• You also are “a spoil, with none to say, ‘Give them back!’”

How can you be so blind and deaf?
It is the equivalent of Jesus constantly looking to Israel and saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

• It is no wonder Jesus said to those same Jews that if the miracles He had worked in Capernaum had been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented.

AND SO NOW THE INVITATION IS GIVEN TO ISRAEL TOO:

(23-25) “Who among you will give ear to this? Who will give heed and listen hereafter? Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, And in whose ways they were not willing to walk, And whose law they did not obey? So He poured out on him the heat of His anger And the fierceness of battle; And it set him aflame all around, Yet he did not recognize it; And it burned him, but he paid no attention.”

EARLIER God asked the nations who is sending Cyrus on you?
• And God said it is Me!
• And you should repent and trust in Me.

NOW God asks Israel a question.
“Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers?”

In other words, who sent you to Babylon in the first place?
• I DID!

“Was it not the LORD”

Why did He send you here?
Because you “have sinned”
• You have failed to obey His Law.

Even though He was silent and restrained about it for many years
THAT DID NOT MEAN HE APPROVED.

It is time for you also to repent!
• It is time for you also to look to His Savior!
• Open your eyes and see your sin!
• Open your ears and hear God’s saving call!

God is once again screaming like a woman in labor
Calling YOU to salvation!

Now, here is yet another place where we love the Bible.
I love how singularly focused the Bible can be.

• Isaiah 42 is an awesome chapter that at first appears just to be a rebuke of the nations and call for them to be saved
• But ends up being a call to the religious hypocrite as well.

TURN TO: ROMANS 1
If you are coming on Wednesday nights you are pretty familiar with Romans 1.

We see God announcing His wrath on the godless pagan of the world.
• This past week we saw their idolatry in verses 18-25
• Next week we’ll see homosexuality in verses 26-27
• Then we’ll see their depravity in verses 28-32

It is some of the most direct language of judgment in Scripture.
It is filled with warnings of God’s wrath
Revealed on sinful people who suppress the truth.

And for centuries church people have loved to sit there in Romans 1
And just give “Amen” after “Amen”.

Like Israel in the first 17 verses of this chapter
• The religious folk just sit back with arms folded
• And a “holier than though” look at the world
• Knowing that they deserve the judgment that is promised.

And that is when Paul does the same thing that God did here in Isaiah 42.

(READ: Romans 2:1-6)

DO YOU SEE THE SIMILARITIES?

God looks at the religious crowd and asks:
As I was laying out the details about the sin of the pagan were you really unable to detect your sin in that at all?

• Were you unable to see ways in which you also have exchanged My glory for an image?
• Were you unable to see ways in which you also have exchanged the natural for the unnatural?
• Were you unable to see way sin which you also have exchanged true for a lie?

REALLY?
You couldn’t see yourself there at all?

But did you just think that since I have been silent about your sin for so long that I was somehow in approval of it?

(4-5) “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,”

That is the same message isn’t it?
Funny how God has been speaking the same truth for thousands of years!

Paul goes on to reveal that
• The same judgment that is threatening the pagan
• Is also threatening the religious person

Only the religious person is in way more trouble
Because they actually had the words of God!

Listen to Paul confront that religious Jew at the end of the chapter.

(READ 17-24)
• Can you not see your sin as God confronts them?
• Can you not see the hypocrisy?
• Can you not see the same things in your life?

Your religion does not hide your heart from God.

And by the time we get into chapter 3
Paul does the same thing Isaiah did back in chapter 42.

(READ 3:9-18)
• We are both in trouble.
• The ignorant pagan and the educated religious person.
• THAT IS THE SAME MESSAGE!

And the SOLUTION is also the same!

(READ 3:21-26)

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World!
• He is the Savior of the Jew first and also of the Greek.
• He is the Savior of Jew and Gentile alike.
• He is the world’s Savior!
• “there is no distinction”
• “all have sinned”
• And justification for all comes only through “the redemption which is in Christ Jesus”

Everyone needs Jesus!
Everyone needs Christ!

The filthy, immoral, carnal, idolatrous pagan needs Jesus!
So does the moral, clean, disciplined, religious person!

The world may wear their sin on their sleeve,
But many a religious person has concealed it in their heart.
But God sees both and God judges both.

Is it any wonder Jesus was so frustrated with His people who had ears but didn’t hear?

John 1:11 “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”

And Jesus would all but preach Isaiah’s message to them.

(18-20) “Hear, you deaf! And look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the LORD? You have seen many things, but you do not observe them; Your ears are open, but none hears.”

In fact,
• He stood overlooking Jerusalem
• And wept for that city
• Saying how He longed to gather them like a hen gathers her chicks, but they were unwilling.

They just wouldn’t hear it.
• Convinced of their own innate goodness they saw no need for a Savior.
• And even when Rome burned their temple to the ground they still couldn’t see that it was the result of their sin.

Don’t let your religion participation fool you.
It certainly doesn’t fool God, He knows your heart.
And even when it may appear He is preaching to others,
He is talking to you!

Isaiah 42 is NOT some ancient passage just for the people of Isaiah’s day.
THIS IS A MESSAGE OF GOD TO US.

It is the same message that Paul preached in his day
AND THAT WAS FOR US TOO.

THE MESSAGE IS THAT EVERYONE NEEDS JESUS.
HE IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD!

• Selected by God.
• Sent by God.
• Equipped by God.
• It was God who laid our sins upon Him.
• It is God who calls us to trust in Him with the promise that if we will, we will be
saved.

Don’t be blind and deaf.
• If you are in your sin and trapped in prison,
• Then confess that to Jesus and ask Him to save you.

• He opens the eyes of the blind.
• He opens the ears of the deaf.
• He delivers prisoners from the dungeon.
• He transfers sinners from darkness to His kingdom of light.

He saved others and He will save you.

download here

The Savior of the World – part 3
Isaiah 42:1-25 (10-13)
March 3, 2024

This morning I want to begin by asking you:
WHAT IS A FITTING RESPONSE TO SALVATION?

• If you were at one point trapped in destructive peril with no way of escape and then someone came and delivered you…

• If that someone who delivered you wasn’t indebted to you at all, in fact they weren’t a personal friend, or immediate family member…

• But this person put themselves at great risk and in grave danger to come and rescue you from your peril…

• If this person had great compassion on you and treated you mercifully and respectfully and didn’t get angry at you even though it was your own foolishness that put you in your predicament…

If that person fully rescued and delivered you from that peril,
WHAT WOULD BE A FITTING RESPONSE TO THAT PERSON?

Well of course we are talking about a specific person
And we are certain that we have in fact been rescued by Him.

We are talking about God who chose to save even Gentiles
By sending His Son into the world to save them.

This is the message of Isaiah 42.
• God is offering salvation to the nations.
• He is offering salvation to the peoples.
• He is offering salvation to the coastlands.

It is the same coastlands who, in chapter 41,
Decided to trust in their graven images instead of in Israel’s God.

• God warned them of the foolishness of such a decision,
• Then in great grace and mercy
• Turns around in chapter 42 and offers them salvation anyway.

We’ve already looked at the first two points of this chapter
But because it has been a week let me bring it back to our minds.

#1 THE SAVIOR ANNOUNCED
Isaiah 42:1-4

Very simply we saw that God determined to offer salvation to the nations.
• Salvation is the plan of God.
• Salvation begins with the motivation of God.
• Salvation is instigated and initiated by God.

This is why in Scripture God is often referred to as our Savior.

God determined to send a Savior
And in these first 4 verses we see who God selected.

“My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My spirit upon Him;”

We are talking about God’s chosen Savior.
We know Him as Jesus Christ.

Matthew’s gospel concurs for Matthew actually quoted Isaiah 42:2-4 in Matthew 12:18-20 and said that Isaiah was talking about Jesus.

He is the One whom God chose.
• He wouldn’t be a bully
• He wouldn’t be manipulative or brutal
• He wouldn’t be fainthearted or quit when it is hard
• But He would come and offer hope to the coastlands (Gentiles)

God was sending a Savior, even One who would save Gentiles.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

That was the Savior Announced
#2 THE SAVIOR APPOINTED
Isaiah 42:5-9

Here we saw the actual commissioning of that Savior to the world.
• Often times we read in the New Testament that it was the Father who “sent” the Son into the world.

We see that Here.

And we see that God would “appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,”

It is a marvelous reality!
• Jesus Christ would be God’s New Covenant.
• Not only for Jews, but here we read even for the nations.

• He would be the One who would shed His blood
• Then take that blood into the very real presence of God, the actual holy of holies,
• He would offer that blood as a payment to God for the forgiveness of the sins of His people.

That payment would be the foundation of this new covenant.
• It would be His death that would enable the transfer of the inheritance.
• It would be His death that would inaugurate this new covenant.
• It would be His death that would bring forgiveness to those who would receive this new covenant.

God sent Him to save.
AND HE SAVED.

God sent Him to (7) “open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.”

AND HE DID!
He came to save and He saved.
Not potentially, but actually.

And then we saw why God was so adamant
About bringing this salvation even to the Gentiles
Who had thus far preferred their idols over God.

(8) “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”

God will not abide idolatry!
God will not sit idly by while some hunk of metal or stone or wood
Gets honored as the savior of the world.

No idol ever saved anyone, only God is the Savior.
AND GOD WILL BE GLORIFIED AS SUCH!

So God sends His Son into the world to save!
• He chose the Savior.
• He sent the Savior.
• He equipped the Savior.
• He laid our sins upon the Savior.
• And through the Savior HE SAVED US…even Gentiles.

ALL FOR THE GLORY OF HIS NAME.

But that brings me now back to the question we opened with.
WHAT IS A FITTING RESPONSE TO THIS SALVATION?

• If you were one of those Gentiles who was saved…
• If you were one of the blind who received sight…
• If you were one of those prisoners who were set free…
• If you were one of those idolators who were forgiven…

What is the fitting response to the One who saved you?

We see that sinful woman in the Pharisees house…
Luke 7:37-38 “And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.”

We see that man who was freed of the legion of demons…
Luke 8:39 “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.”

The woman at the well…
John 4:28-29 “So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?”

When the blind man received sight…
Luke 18:43 “Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.”

Isaac Watts wrote:
“Where the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

THIS MORNING, THIS IS WHAT WE FOCUS UPON.

We saw The Savior Announced We saw The Savior Appointed
#3 THE SAVIOR ADORED
Isaiah 42:10-13

God already spelled it out for us up in verse 8.
• God expects glory for His salvation.
• God expects praise for His salvation.

And in verse 10, in case we missed His insinuation,
God spells it out in UNMISTAKABLE form.

“Sing to the LORD a new song, sing His praise from the end of the earth!”

What does God demand?
SING HIS PRAISE!

Specifically here He calls for the singing of “a new song”.

What does this mean?
• People who are saved are to instantly write a new song that has never before been sung?

No, the phrase “new song” shows up 9 times in Scripture.
Every time it refers to the song which is sung after salvation.

Psalms 40:1-3 “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD.”

Psalms 96:1-6 “Sing to the LORD a new song; Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds 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 idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.”

Even in the book of the Revelation after the 144,000 are saved and sealed during the tribulation.
Revelation 14:1-3 “Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.”

THIS IS THE SONG OF REDEMPTION.
It is not new in its existence, but it is certainly new to the singer.
(Not new chronologically, but experientially)
(It is new to them)

A lost man can sin Amazing Grace as a beloved and famous tune,
But he cannot sing it like the redeemed.

• Only a man who now sees after his blindness can truly sing that song.
• Only a man who has been raised from the dead can truly sing that song.

But once he has received sight and once he has been raised,
He is commanded to sing it!

He is called upon to lift his voice in praise to God.

Psalms 118 is that great Psalm of the champion.
• It chronicles the suffering and trial and crucifixion and victory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And those who are redeemed as a result of His battle are called upon to sing in response.
Psalms 118:22-29 “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. O LORD, do save, we beseech You; O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. The LORD is God, and He has given us light; Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I extol You. Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

The hypocrisy of the Jews was seen in the fact that they sang this song to Jesus at His triumphal entry and then just a few days later determined to crucify Him.

They sang the song as formality from memory,
But only the redeemed sing it a new.

DO WE UNDERSTAND THIS CHURCH?

GOD SENT A SAVIOR WHO ACTUALLY SAVED US
AND WE ARE EXPECTED TO PRAISE HIM FOR THIS!

When God announced to Mary that He would send the Christ through her, how did she respond?

Luke 1:46-55 “And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. “AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM. “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. “HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS; And sent away the rich empty-handed. “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.”

When God revealed to Zaccariah that his son would be the forerunner, how did he respond?

Luke 1:67-75 “And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant— As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old— Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES, And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US; To show mercy toward our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.”

When the angels saw the birth of Jesus on the earth, how did they respond?

Luke 2:8-14 “In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

When Jesus was taken into the temple and Simeon saw God’s Savior, how did he respond?

Luke 2:27-32 “And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel.”

Do you see it church?
• This is fitting!
• This is expected!

God has done that which He did not have to do.
HE HAS CHOSEN TO SAVE SINNERS.

And sinners are expected to respond in praise!
AND THAT INCLUDES US!

1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”

What Peter says there is exactly the point of Isaiah 42.

For who is here called upon to sing this new song?
Isaiah says, “Sing His praise from the end of the earth!”

It is a call to the Gentiles
• Who were formerly not the people of God,
• But who have been redeemed by God’s own son
• And adopted into the very family of God.

They are called to sing!
They are called to give thanks to God!

And then Isaiah gets specific.
(10b-12) “You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it. You islands, and those who dwell on them. Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, The settlements where Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD And declare His praise in the coastlands.”

God deserves glory for saving sinners.

And eternity will be filled with Him receiving that glory.

Revelation 7:9-12 “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again.
• If you can’t get excited about singing the praises of God here on earth…
• If meditating in the glories of God’s wonderful salvation is boring to you…
• If long periods of worship and endless focus upon God wearies you…

Then I can assure you that heaven holds no attraction for you.

You can join with the rest of our blasphemous society
And pretend heaven is all about you and you and talk about it
Being a place of fishing and golfing and hanging out with buddies…

Most people today speak of heaven like it’s a Caribbean cruise.

NOT EVEN CLOSE.
It will be the holiest place you have ever set foot.

When Isaiah saw the glory of the LORD he fell to his feet and expected to die.
It wasn’t until after redemption and atonement that Isaiah could stand in that place.

No unredeemed sinner will ever enjoy heaven.
It will be a place where all focus and glory and honor
Will be forever focused on the God of the universe.

Revelation 4:8-11 “And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.” And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

This is the activity of heaven!
This is the attraction of heaven!

If it holds no interest to you here,
I can assure you, you won’t be participating there either.

Praise and glory is what God deserves and it is what He will receive.

And church, as those whom God has redeemed
We are commanded to bring it to Him with every fabric of our being.

“Sing to the LORD a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth!”

AND JUST IN CASE YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHY HE DESERVES IT,
GOD REMINDS US HERE YET AGAIN.

(13) “The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.”

Well, let’s just state the obvious real quick.
That seems quite the contrast to what we just read about Him up in verses 2 and 3.

(2-3) “He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. “A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.”

It was just 10 verses ago that we read how meek and mild He was.
• We saw Him as gentle and compassionate.
• He wasn’t raising His voice.
• He wasn’t treating broken people harshly.
• He was careful and gentle with the weak and hopeless.

We saw Him compassionately saving sinners
As a gentle Shepherd carrying His sheep.

And now, just 10 verses later
It appears that the script has completely flipped.
NOW HE IS A WARRIOR!

Earlier “He will not cry out or raise His voice”,
But now “He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry.”

Earlier “A bruised reed He will not break”,
But now “He will arouse His zeal like a man of war.”

WHAT IN THE WORLD DO WE DO WITH THIS?

What you are seeing is the difference
In the way our Savior approaches those He is saving
Verses those He is saving them from.

Up in verses 2 and 3
We see the broken and hopeless sinners He came to save.
• They are blind, they are bound, they are imprisoned, they are hopeless, they are broken, they are lost.
• He comes to them in compassion and gentleness. He understands their wounds, He understands their weariness, and He comes to gently bring them back home.

But in verse 13
We find how He must deal with the one who bound them.
• In verse 13 He deals with their oppressor.
• He deals with their jailor.
• He deals with the one who has enslaved them and now holds them captive.

A Savior must be gentle for we are broken people.
But at the same time a Savior must be a warrior
For ours is no timid enemy.

He is that Satan-devil, the usurper and adversary.
• He is the liar and the father of lies.
• He is the deceiver of the garden
• He is the deceiver behind every false prophet

He has been a murderer from the beginning.
• He was behind the murder of Abel
• He was behind the murder of the Hebrew babies in Egypt
• He is behind every murder today

In Luke 18 he had bound a woman for 18 long years so that she was bent double.

In Matthew 8 he had placed an entire legion of demons into a man driving him insane.

Throughout the gospels he had continually deceived the nation through his children the Pharisees to try and earn what God would give them by grace.

He is cruel and deceptive and utterly destructive.

John 10:10a “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”

• He incited God against Job…
• He incited Pharaoh to oppress the Jews…
• He incited Nebuchadnezzar to burn the temple…
• He incited Haman to try and annihilate all the Jewish captives…
• He incited Judas to betray Christ and then hang himself…
• He incited every act of oppression the world sees…

He is cunning and powerful and we are no match for him.

Paul tells Timothy about all of his captives:
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

Paul literally speaks of sinners as those who are
“held captive by him to do his will.”

Even in spiritual warfare we are reminded:
Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

And certainly Paul would understand.
How many times have we read His pitiful cry in Romans 7?
• Written as a man who desperately wants to leave his covetous life of sin but
who has no power to break free.
• He is bound, he is captive, and no matter how much he might want to leave, he
cannot do so.

Romans 7:24 “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”

The apostle John said:
1 John 5:14 “…the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

He is a foe for whom we are no match.

The Psalmist spoke of him:
Psalms 10:5-11 “His ways prosper at all times; Your judgments are on high, out of his sight; As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them. He says to himself, “I will not be moved; Throughout all generations I will not be in adversity.” His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness. He sits in the lurking places of the villages; In the hiding places he kills the innocent; His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate. He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair; He lurks to catch the afflicted; He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net. He crouches, he bows down, And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones. He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

Martin Luther wrote:
“For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.”

And this is our adversary.
We are no match for him.

BUT…
We have a Savior!

We have a Warrior who came to crush the serpent’s head.

We have one according to Hebrews 2:14-15
Hebrews 2:14b-15 “[Who came], that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

He is the One for whom we have waited.

Psalms 10 goes on to talk about Him
Psalms 10:12-18 “Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted. Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said to himself, “You will not require it.” You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan. Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, Seek out his wickedness until You find none. The LORD is King forever and ever; Nations have perished from His land. O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.”

Our Savior comes as a Warrior
That He might attack our enemy and release his captives.

He is meek and mild to us,
But He is mighty and swift when dealing with our enemy.

He came to crush Satan and all those he uses.

Luke 10:17-20 “The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

Did Jesus not crush the legalistic arm of the Pharisees?
• Have you not read Matthew 23 and all the “Woes” which Jesus pronounced upon them?

Did He not set His people free from their yoke and give rest to all He came to save?

He is a mighty warrior who came to crush our oppressor.

We absolutely love 1 Peter 3 which gives us insight into His Satan-crushing crusade.

1 Peter 3:18-22 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”

That verse speaks of where Christ went during those 3 days of His death.
• Peter says “He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison”
• Peter identifies those spirits as those “who once were disobedient…in the
days of Noah.”
• Peter is talking about that place known as Hades, where those fallen angels
who tried to corrupt humanity back in Genesis 6 were sent.

In Luke 16 when we read that story about the rich man in Hades and Lazarus in paradise or Abraham’s bosom, that is this place.

• It is Sheol in the Old Testament, the place of the dead.
• Jesus called it “Paradise” to the thief on the cross.

On this day, Jesus entered that place.
He carried away the saints to be with Him with His Father and according to Peter “He made proclamation to the spirits now in prison”

That word “proclamation” is not the word for evangelism
It is KERUSSO which means “to herald”.

Jesus entered that place and put Hades on its knees!
He rescued those whom He had purchased
And He declared victory over all of Satan’s forces.

Revelation 1 says he stole the keys of death and of hades and He came walking out of that tomb with them.
• He crushed Satan.
• He crushed his forces.
• He crushed his rebellion.
• And He walked out the other side.

Jesus came as a warrior to set the captives free!

Isaiah 59:15b-20 “And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will make recompense. So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives. “A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD.”

THIS IS OUR SAVIOR!
He came to rescue His own!
He came to save His own!

• He saved us from the wrath of God by fulfilling in His body the righteousness which the Law required.
• He saved us from the coming judgment by paying the debt for the sins we committed by dying on the cross.
• He saved us from our bondage to Satan by crushing his head and conquering death.
• He saved us from our sin by releasing us from the enemy and giving us a new nature to be filled with His Spirit.

Yes He came in gentleness and meekness to us
And led us like a compassionate Shepherd.

But He also came in fury and vengeance
He stomped on the head of our enemy and made Him give us up.

• We didn’t need a negotiator…
• We didn’t need a diplomat…
• We needed a sword wielding, head crushing, arm breaking Savior!

AND WE GOT ONE!

He came according to verse 7, “To bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.”

AND HE DID!

Can you praise Him for that?
• Can you “Sing to the LORD a new song..?”
• Can you “Sing His praise from the end of the earth?”
• Can you “give glory to the LORD”?
• Can you “declare His praise in the coastlands”?

That is the expectation of God!
“Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus our blessed Redeemer! Sing, O earth, His wonderful love proclaim! Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest arch-angels in glory, Strength and honor give to His holy name.”

If He has set you free! Then praise Him!
If He has given sight to your blind eyes, praise Him!
If He has breathed life into your dead bones, praise Him!

And this morning this is what we are going to do.

I told the congregation last Sunday night,
We are going to start doing this more and more.

We are going to end our services with songs of praise and worship as we sing back to the Lord songs that are fitting in regard to what we have just heard from His word.

That DOES NOT MEAN that this is not an invitation.
You are still invited to come!

• Are you in sin and long for this Savior to save you, then come!
• Do you need to come and spend time at the altar while we sing, then do it.
• Do you want me to pray with you, I still will. I’ll be right here at this front pew.

You are still invited to come,
But we also want the redeemed to have the opportunity
To respond to God as God requires, with songs of glorious praise!

Church, let us praise the Lord as He deserves.

download here

The Savior Of The World – part 2
Isaiah 42:1-25 (5-9)
February 25, 2024

At this point
• We know about the coming of Cyrus.
• We know that the coastlands are up in arms about it.
• We know that God has sent Cyrus.
• We know that the nations have turned to idols for deliverance.

But as we pointed out this morning,
In spite of our rebellion, God loves the world.

And here in Isaiah 42 He is offering for the nations (coastlands)
To be saved by Israel’s Savior.
He is offering them a Savior who can actually save.

We started looking at this chapter this morning.

#1 THE SAVIOR ANNOUNCED
Isaiah 42:1-4

God is announcing to the world a general overview
Of the Savior that He has selected to save the world.

1) His Calling – “My chosen one”
2) His Communication – “He will not cry out” (meek)
3) His Compassion – “a bruised reed He will not break”
4) His Commitment – “He will not be disheartened or crushed”
5) His Consummation – “the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

This One is God’s certified Savior,
Not just of Israel, but for the whole world.

Isaiah 49:5-6 “And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength), He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

There is a Savior!
• A real One
• Who really does save

It’s why we hold to a PARTICULAR atonement or an ACTUAL atonement

We DON’T BELIEVE that Jesus is nothing more than a potential Savior who must depend on the cooperation of man to save anyone.

No, we believe He is a Savior, sent by God to save sinners,
And He will actually save all those whom God gives Him.

THERE IS NOTHING POTENTIAL ABOUT IT.
Unlike those idols of the nations, Jesus is a real Savior.

That was the Savior Announced
#2 THE SAVIOR APPOINTED
Isaiah 42:5-9

Now we move beyond that initial announcement
ISAIAH BEGINS TO DISCUSS
The actual commissioning of this Savior to the world.

We are not unfamiliar with other commissioning passages.
Zechariah 11:4-5 “Thus says the LORD my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them.”

• We remember that preincarnate conversation between the Father and Son as the Father commissioned the Son to go and pasture the flock of Israel.

God sent Him into the world to save sinners.

Isaiah 42:5-9 is another one of those passages.

It speaks of God’s sovereign intention
To send Christ into the world as a Savior of it.

This is very important stuff for you to know and understand.
• It will deepen your understanding of the heart of God and the work of Christ.
• I don’t mind sharing credit for much of this info with John Owen from his book
“The Death of Death”

Let’s break this segment down a little more as this is so helpful to us.
And we’re going to do that tonight by asking a few questions.

This is the commissioning of the Savior into the world.

1) WHO APPOINTED HIM? (5)

“Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it,”

And let’s camp here for a minute
Because it is important to stop and think on this a while.

What is being introduced to us here is that
The entire PLAN of salvation was in fact INITIATED by “God the LORD”

THE SAME GOD “Who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it.”

The God who made everything and everyone
And who gives live and breath to all
Is the God who is here now actively working
To save the world He created.

This is why throughout the Bible we often see God referred to as “Savior”. Because salvation is His plan.

1 Timothy 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope,”

• You see it also in Titus 1:3 – “God our Savior”

Upon news of being the mother of the Christ, Mary prayed:
Luke 1:47 “And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”

We know it is Christ who came to this earth and who died,
But often times even the Father is referred to “Savior”
That is because saving sinners is His plan.

If God had not determined to save men He would not have sent Christ.
But God did because God is in fact a Savior.

Salvation is instigated by the God who “SENT” His Son into the world.

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Romans 8:3-4 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Jesus even refers to Himself as “sent”
John 5:37 “And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.”

God is the author and instigator of salvation.
• Jesus did not come in rebellion to His Father.
• Jesus did not come independent of His Father.
• It is the Father who, motivated by love, sent Jesus into the world.

And as God determined to save this world which had rebelled against Him, it was God who then “SELECTED” Christ.

We saw that this morning.
Isaiah 42:1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.”

But not only there do we read of this.
Psalms 2:7-8 “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.

Psalms 110:1,4 “The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet…The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”

Those two verses inspired the entire book of Hebrews.

It is God who appointed Christ to be the Savior whom He would send.
Jesus is His chosen Savior.

It was God who actually “INAUGURATED” Christ into the office of Savior.

That is what we are talking about here in Isaiah 42:5-9

Not only did God decide to save the world
Not only did God select Christ to be that Savior,
But God then inaugurated Him or ordained Him into the office of Savior.

Hebrews 3:1-2 “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.”

At His birth angels announced Jesus as the Savior.
Luke 2:10-11 “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

The angels then attributing this to God’s doing in verse 14
Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

It is God who ordained Him as the Savior.

This happened again at His BAPTISM.
Matthew 3:17 “and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”

And again at His TRANSFIGURATION.
Matthew 17:5 “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”

WE KNOW
• It is God who gave Christ a body.
• God visibly sent the Spirit to light on Him.
• That God testified of Him by raising Him from the dead
• And by catching up into Heaven.

God clearly selected Christ and ordained Him to be the Savior.

This is the love of God for the world.
• He did not sit passively by waiting for someone else to do it.
• He was not indifferent as to whether or not it happened.

God so loved the world that…
• He determined to send a Savior.
• He then selected who that Savior would be.
• He commissioned that Savior into the world.

But the point being is that God is the appointer of this.
God is the cause.
God is the instigator of salvation.

Man did not start this.
Man did not cause this.
GOD DID THIS.

And it is not lost on us HOW GOD IDENTIFIES HIMSELF here.

(5) “Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it And spirit to those who walk in it,”

God reveals Himself as the creator of all things.
• He refers to what we know as “General Revelation”
• And He refers to Himself as the creator of all peoples.

And we see something of where His love for the world comes from.
• He created it.
• He cares for His creation.

Do you remember when God told Jonah to preach of Nineveh’s destruction?
• Nineveh then repented
• Jonah was angry at God for not following through and destroying them.

Do you remember what God said?
Jonah 4:10-11 “Then the LORD said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”

God asked Jonah if He did not have the right to have concern over His creation?

You can care for a plant you didn’t create,
Do I not have the right to care for the city that I did create?

• Can I not care for the people in it?
• Can I not care for the infants in it?
• Can I not care for even the animals in it?

Of course He can!
And He does!

God loves His creation and seeks to save it.

This was the foundation of Paul’s preaching in Athens.

Acts 17:22-27 “So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;”

And what we realize is that God cares for all of His creation.
God has love for all of creation.

And this love has motivated Him to select
And commission a Savior to the world to save it.

It is not only for Jews, but also for Gentiles.
God is prompted to save the world.

• He is the instigator of all of this.
• He is the source.
• He is the cause.
• He is the APPOINTER

SO: Who appointed this Savior? God did.

2) WHAT DID HE APPOINT HIM TO DO? (6-7)

“I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.”

You may be seeing some similarity there to what Jesus proclaimed about Himself when He entered the temple in His hometown.

Luke 4:16-21 “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” And He closed the book, 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.”

But that quotation was actually of Isaiah 61:1, not 42:6-7
Even though the similarities are obvious.

But it still speaks volumes of what God sent Christ into the world to do.
HE SENT CHRIST INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE IT.

John 3:17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

When God sent this Christ into the world, surely Christ already possessed all the natural perfection of deity.
• John says that we saw His glory.

But we also see that in this body which God gave Him, God also bestowed on Him the fullness of all that was required that He might save.

Colossians 1:18-19 “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,”

The whole “fullness” was on Christ (that is His human body)
To give Him all that was necessary to save.

John 17:2 “even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.”

So not only did God select Him and send Him,
God also equipped Him to be able to do what He called Him to do.

This was alluded to in verse 1 with the words, “whom I uphold”

This is what we read in the first part of verse 6.
“I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,”

• It was God who equipped Christ in His earthly body.
• It was God who gave Him all the necessary power and authority to save.

God promised Him, just as we read,
That He would protect and assist Christ in this work.

We know Christ had trials.
We know Christ was hated.

And yet, God promised Him even in the midst of this hatred that He would “hold You by the hand and watch over You”

God promised Him that even though
He would be rejected by the builders
That He Himself would still be the corner stone of salvation.

Psalms 118:22-23 “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.”

Psalms 2:2-6 “The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

God promised Christ that in His mission
He would watch over Him to make Him successful,
And Christ counted on these promises in His ministry.

1 Peter 2:22-23 “WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

Christ knew that God had determined to save the world through Him
And that God would not fail in that promise.

God had promised Him success.
Isaiah 53:10-12 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”

• Jesus was promised the satisfaction of His soul.
• He was promised that His saving mission would be a success.
• And Jesus counted on this.

You only have to look at His high priestly prayer to see His confidence in God’s saving plan.

John 17:4 “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”

Even before Jesus died, He knew His Father’s mission was accomplished.

AND WHAT IS THIS MISSION?
WHAT WAS HE SENT FOR?

(6b-7) “I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.”

What a statement by the Father to the Son!
“I will appoint You as a covenant to the people”

Let’s think on that for a moment.
We know what a covenant is.
It is an agreement; a promise from God.

We know about the old covenant at Sinai
Which the people never could keep
And thus brought great wrath on themselves.

But God promised to Israel a NEW COVENANT.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

• God promised a day when He would do what they could not.
• He spoke of a day when He would accomplish salvation for them.

And the anticipation must have been great.

Then Jesus shows up and makes statements like this:
Matthew 26:27-28 “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”

Jesus said, that His blood was the new covenant.

Again, what does this mean?

TURN TO: HEBREWS 9

Hebrews 9 is what I like to refer to as “The Parable of the Day of Atonement”
• The writer of Hebrews walks you through what you were supposed to learn form that great feast in Israel.

On that day you had a priest who took the blood of a goat and entered behind the second veil where he supposedly made atonement for the people.

(READ 1-7) – That was the Day of Atonement.

And you say, what did all that mean?
Well FIRST OFF, it meant you did not have access to God.

(READ 8-10)
• That veil reminded you of the separation you had from God.

The priest went back there on your behalf to make atonement.
• The only problem was that it never fully worked
• Because you had to keep doing it year after year after year. (Hebrews 10:1-4)

BUT THEN CHRIST SHOWS UP.
He said the new covenant was in His blood.

(READ 11-14)

SO CHRIST SHOWS UP
• When He went before God He didn’t go into some manmade symbolic holy of holies, He went into the real one.
• And He didn’t take symbolic goats blood, He took the real stuff, His own blood.
• And “He obtained eternal redemption”

That is to say, He actually purchased our pardon.
Not potential, but actual.
“He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood”

(15a) “For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant…”

So we see that Christ died to usher in this new covenant.
This covenant, He said, was in His blood.

The writer of Hebrews shows us how His death effected this.

-TO RELEASE THE WILL (READ 15-17)
• You never collect the inheritance until after the benefactor dies.
• If there is no death there is no transfer of inheritance.
• If we are to gain Christ’s inheritance He had to die.

-TO RENEW THE COVENANT (READ 18-21)
• When Moses made the first covenant, He ratified it in blood.
• He sprinkled the blood on the people as a sign to say, may this be the penalty of breaking the covenant.
• Christ was forming a new covenant which had to be signed in blood.

-TO REDEEM SINNERS (READ 22)
• The sins of those whom Christ was redeeming had to be paid for
• Blood is on the only accepted currency.
• “The wages of sin is death” and Christ had to die.

So you see how Christ came and rescued us from the old covenant and ushered us into the new covenant through His death.
• He died in our stead.
• He paid for our sin.
• He transferred the inheritance to us.

But in Isaiah we learn that He did this FOR MORE THAN JUST ISRAEL.
“I will appoint You as a covenant to the people” (that is the nations)

It is not just Israel whom God will redeem through Christ,
But people from every nation, tribe, and tongue.

Christ is not just the savior of the Jews, but the Savior of the world.
He shed His blood to purchase men from every nation.

And it is God who appointed Him for this.
It was God’s commissioning for Him to do this.

In fact, it is God who actually laid the sins of the people on Christ.
It is God who appointed that He should die for the sins of His people.

Isaiah 53:6 “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

Isaiah 53:10 “But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.”

• It is God who appointed Him “as a covenant to the people”
• It is God who determined that He should bear their sins.

God also appointed Him “as a light to the nations”

What does this mean?

It is expounded in verse 7
• “To open blind eyes”
• “To bring out prisoners from the dungeon”
• “And those who dwell in darkness form the prison”

You have those who, by reason of their sin,
• Were walking in the darkness of deception,
• Captive to their sin,
• With no hope of ever escaping the coming doom.

Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

AND THIS WAS US!

Ephesians 2:11-12 “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

We were slaves of sin and doomed to suffer.
• We had no hope.
• We had no promises.
• We had no covenant.

But God commissioned Christ into the world
That He might be “a covenant to the people…a light to the nations.”

Worshiping manmade idols had brought no salvation,
God selected and sent Savior to fix all of that!

He opened our eyes!
He set us free!
He gave us hope!

“Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth and followed Thee.”

Isaiah 49:6 “He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Matthew 4:15-16 “THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI, BY THE WAY OF THE SEA, BEYOND THE JORDAN, GALILEE OF THE GENTILES— “THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SITTING IN DARKNESS SAW A GREAT LIGHT, AND THOSE WHO WERE SITTING IN THE LAND AND SHADOW OF DEATH, UPON THEM A LIGHT DAWNED.”

This is the saving plan of God!
• He determined to save.
• He selected a Savior.
• He sent that Savior.
• He supplied that Savior with all that was needed.
• He laid our sins on that Savior.
• And that Savior saved!

He did so
• By coming in human form
• By fulfilling the Law and earning a righteous standing.
• By offering up His own righteous body on the cross
• By offering up His righteous life to God
• ON OUR BEHALF

He became the Savior, not only of Israel but of Gentiles as well.

GOD SAVED SINNERS THROUGH HIM!
THIS WAS GOD’S DOING!

Psalms 118:22-24 “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

So we see who appointed Christ.
We see what He appointed Him to.
One more question:
3) WHY THE NATIONS? (8-9)

“I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images. “Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

Now let’s back up and remember what we saw back in chapter 41.

• God called for that town hall meeting where He asked the coastlands if they knew why Cyrus was coming?
• God revealed that He was the One who was sending Cyrus and the implication was that the nations should have sought mercy from God.
• But instead of seeking God, they sought to be saved by some idol of their own imagination and construction.

• They ran to that idol.
• They prayed to that idol.
• They cried to that idol.
• They trusted in that idol.
• They worshiped and praised that idol.

And yet we know that our God is a jealous God!

So why did God intervene so as to come and save?
“I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”

There is no other Savior but Me!
• I am the One who instigated salvation.
• I am the One who selected the Savior.
• I am the One who sent that Savior into the world.
• I am the One who equipped Him with the power to save.
• I am the One who made Him a covenant and light.

I AM THE SAVIOR!

And now you would bow down to some hunk of stone or metal or wood and praise it for being your salvation?

MAY IT NEVER BE!

I will save and I will be glorified as the Savior!

And God says that I am telling you now so that you will have no doubt when it happens.

(9) “Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

AND SO CHURCH DO YOU SEE WHY YOU WERE SAVED?
Do you see why even Gentiles were included?
Do you see why God chose to save even the nations?

SOLI-DEO-GLORIA!

That is not to diminish His love whereby He loved the world,
• Rather we are called to glorify Him for loving the world.

That is not to diminish His mercy whereby He forgave sinners,
• Rather we are called to glorify Him for forgiving sinners.

That is not to diminish His power whereby He performed salvation,
• Rather we are called to glorify Him for being able to save us.

That is not to diminish His wisdom whereby He conceived of salvation,
• Rather we are called to glorify Him for having such wisdom.

Certainly no idol had such love.
Certainly no idol had such mercy.
Certainly no idol had such power.
Certainly no idol had such wisdom.

But know this in the very depth of your soul.
God saved you so that you would glorify Him!

So that you would magnify His great love!
So that you would magnify His great mercy!
So that you would magnify His great power!
So that you would magnify His great wisdom!

HE SAVES US FOR HIS GLORY!

That we would be a redeemed choir encircling the throne
Giving praise and honor and glory to Him forever and ever!

In fact, that is the next stanza of Isaiah 42!
(42:10-13) “Sing to the LORD a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it. You islands, and those who dwell on them. Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices, The settlements where Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud, Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD And declare His praise in the coastlands. The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.”

THIS IS OUR CALLING CHURCH!

You are saved because God determined to save you!
• He selected Christ.
• He sent Christ.
• He equipped Christ.
• He accomplished salvation through Christ.

You are free because of what He did!
You have hope because of what He did!

Stop running to idols.
Stop trusting in other things.
Trust in Him.
AND GIVE HIM THE GLORY!