What Have You Done With Jesus? – Part 1
Isaiah 50:1-11 (1-3)
May 12, 2024
This morning we come to one of my favorite chapters in the Bible.
It is one of Isaiah’s famous “Suffering Servant” passages.
Isaiah is giving vivid detail regarding the Savior who was to come.
More than that Christ is speaking to us through him.
To those in Isaiah’s day
• It was a beautiful prophesy to prepare them for the coming Savior
• And to even encourage them to repent of the type of wicked heart
• That rejects God’s will for their lives.
To those 100 years after Isaiah
• (whom Isaiah had been addressing in chapters 40-48)
• It is a relevant warning about stubbornness.
• For in their day, they were being asked to trust that God was using Cyrus and to leave Babylon.
And we are learning
• That the refusal to trust Christ
• Is no different than the people in Jesus day
• Who wouldn’t trust Jesus and leave the world.
Isaiah 50-66 is certainly relevant to Isaiah’s immediate audience
And for all those who come after him.
But what I love so much about these final chapters of Isaiah
Is because in them Isaiah addresses the time period in which we live.
This is Jesus speaking to people who live in our day.
This segment of Scripture addresses the time period after the cross.
In Isaiah 49-66
• Jesus has already come and was rejected.
• Israel has been broken off and Gentiles grafted in (saw that last week)
• And Jesus is calling for Israel to repent and return to Him.
If you’ve ever wondered what Jesus might preach
If He returned to earth to preach the gospel again,
Well you don’t have to wonder, He already preached it.
It is Isaiah 49-66.
This is a great segment of Scripture!
What I want to do first this morning, even before we get into Isaiah 50
Is I want to give you a bird’s eye view of what I’m talking about.
Let me just show you some simple points that will sort of
Walk you through the timeline and explain what I mean.
Let’s start with the first two verses of our chapter this morning.
Isaiah 50:1-2 “Thus says the LORD, “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away. “Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer? Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water And die of thirst.”
What is being referenced there?
He is speaking of the rejection of Christ and the subsequent breaking off of Israel.
• God speaks of how they were divorced and their children sold.
• God says it is a result of their iniquities and sins.
Like what?
(2) “Why was their no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer?”
What He refers to is the coming of Christ
(Which you will see in verses 4-6)
And Israel’s rejection of Him.
That is a present day reality.
From there the message gets VERY EVANGELISTIC.
We will get call after call after call for Israel’s salvation.
Isaiah 51:1-2 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; When he was but one I called him, Then I blessed him and multiplied him.”
What is that?
It is a sermon to people who are trying to be righteous before God.
And what is the encouragement?
Do it like Abraham did it, by faith.
Leave the works, leave the legalism,
Stop stumbling over the stumbling stone
Put your faith in God’s Savior.
Of course the HEARTBEAT of the entire segment comes in Isaiah 53 where the work of this Savior is put on center stage.
Isaiah 53:5-6 “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 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.”
Obviously in all of these chapters we could read more,
But you are familiar with the point being made.
1. You rejected Christ and have been broken off.
2. You are trying to earn your own righteousness to no avail.
3. You need to follow Abraham’s lead and trust Christ.
4. For it was Christ who, through His suffering, atoned for sin.
And the evangelism continues…
Isaiah 54:6-8 “For the LORD has called you, Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,” Says your God. “For a brief moment I forsook you, But with great compassion I will gather you. “In an outburst of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,” Says the LORD your Redeemer.”
Is that not a relevant message for Israel even today?
• We read of the divorce here in chapter 50,
• But in chapter 54 we find God, like Hosea,
• Seeking to draw her back to Himself.
He is promising salvation if she will return to Him.
Isaiah 55:1 “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost.”
There it is again.
• Reminiscent of the deliverance of Cyrus,
• Israel is again promised salvation without cost
• If they will simply come to Him.
Isaiah 59:1-2 “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”
That is almost a repeat of what we’ll see here in chapter 50,
But it is God’s assurance that if they will repent and He can and will save.
The problem is not His inability to save,
But their refusal to repent and trust.
It is so evangelistic.
Isaiah 59:15b-17 “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.”
There again is a reference to the sending of Christ.
• He was the One who came to save.
• He alone could do it.
• If you want salvation, it is found in Him.
Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
That is Christ’s invitation again!
• He is still calling them.
• He is still offering salvation to them.
You can see how relevant this segment is even to our day
As God continues to offer salvation to Israel and to Gentiles.
SO DOES IT WORK?
It absolutely does!
Do you want to see the day Israel repents? (yet future)
There repentance and submission to Christ is found in chapter 64.
Isaiah 64:1-3 “Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Your presence— As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil— To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence! When You did awesome things which we did not expect, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.”
Isaiah 64:6 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.”
That is all salvation language.
That is all repentance and confession and faith.
They repent before God.
And then what happens?
GOD SAVES THEM!
Isaiah 65:8-9 “Thus says the LORD, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it,’ So I will act on behalf of My servants In order not to destroy all of them. “I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, And an heir of My mountains from Judah; Even My chosen ones shall inherit it, And My servants will dwell there.”
God promises to save them and bring them home.
Isn’t that what we’ve been saying?
• That when Israel repents and returns
• God will bring them home
• And usher in the times of refreshing?
Well, look at what God does after He saves them and brings them home:
Isaiah 65:17-25 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed. “They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. “They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. “They will not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD, And their descendants with them. “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.”
The progression is not hard to see.
And there is so much more that is discussed in these final chapters,
I just want you to see what we are talking about here.
THIS IS JESUS SPEAKING!
• He is speaking to the people of our day!
• He is speaking to both Jew and Gentile!
• He is recounting His rejection and offering salvation!
It is a glorious segment of Scripture that you are going to love.
• It is a 5th gospel!
• It is a continuation of the book of Acts!
• It is a prophetic book of Romans!
It has only taken us 15 months to get here, but we are finally here!
SO LET’S START THE JOURNEY.
As I told you a moment ago, Isaiah 50 is one of Isaiah’s 4 suffering servant passages. (42:1-4) (49:1-6) (50:4-11) (52:13-53:12)
You see that here very clearly.
It was actually a text we looked at on Christmas day just a few months ago.
(4-7) “The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord GOD has opened My ear; And I was not disobedient Nor did I turn back. I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting. For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.”
You see the person and work of Jesus there in those 4 verses.
• His incarnation is present.
• His High Priestly office is present.
• His obedience is present.
• His endurance is present.
• His suffering is present.
• His vindication is present.
This chapter is about the work of Jesus and how men responded to Him.
And this chapter answers for us some important questions.
• Why has God broken off Israel?
• What about the One they rejected?
• What about those who reject Him still?
• What about those who didn’t reject Him?
It is also a chapter of warning to those who are resolved
To continue in their own ways and reject Him even further.
Here Jesus addresses all of it.
I titled this chapter: What Have You Done With Jesus?
And that is how we are going to look at it.
In Isaiah 50 we’re going to listen as Jesus confronts
4 types of people based on their response to Him.
The Rebel, The Rival, The Remnant, and The Reprobate.
Every person who has encountered Jesus is one of those 4.
This morning we begin looking at them.
#1 THE REBEL
Isaiah 50:1-3
Here we are addressing the rebel.
In the gospels they are compared to hardened soil.
• They are those who have no interest in the word of God.
• They have no interest in the gospel message.
We read about them right off the bat from John:
John 1:11 “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”
Christ came and they wanted nothing to do with Him.
• They would not submit to Him as King.
• They would not acknowledge Him as God’s Son.
• They would not trust Him as Savior.
They rejected Christ, they called for His crucifixion,
As we saw last week, God broke them off because of their sin.
Romans 10:16-21 “However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say, surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have; “THEIR VOICE HAS GONE OUT INTO ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD.” But I say, surely Israel did not know, did they? First Moses says, “I WILL MAKE YOU JEALOUS BY THAT WHICH IS NOT A NATION, BY A NATION WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING WILL I ANGER YOU.” And Isaiah is very bold and says, “I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I BECAME MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME.” But as for Israel He says, “ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.”
That was them, “a disobedient and obstinate people.”
Romans 11:7-10 “What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written, “GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.” And David says, “LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM. “LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER.”
And since that day Israel has been the continual subject of the world’s hatred and persecution, (even again beginning to rise in our day.)
While they remain the chosen people of God,
While God has promised they will one day return and be saved,
They have nevertheless been subjected to great turmoil
As a result of their rejection of Christ.
And it is the turmoil that is being addressed here in verse 1.
(1) “Thus says the LORD, “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities, And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.”
In the New Testament we use the language “broken off”
But here in Isaiah there are two different analogies used.
• Here she is seen as CHILDREN OF A DIVORCED WIFE
• And she is seen as A SOLD CHILD
Both of these are steeped in an understanding of Jewish culture.
You may remember what Moses wrote in Deuteronomy:
Deuteronomy 24:1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house,”
You may also remember that the Jews had totally misunderstood the purpose behind that command.
Matthew 19:7 “They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?”
When Jesus preached that divorce was a sin
And should not occur apart from adultery
The Jews asked Him why Moses then commanded it in Deuteronomy 24.
And Jesus’ answer was telling:
Matthew 19:8 “He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.”
Jesus said that Moses was not condoning divorce.
• However, because the people were prone to just send their wives away without
setting them free,
• He did tell them at the very least they should give her a certificate of divorce
saying that she is no longer married.
It was not a command to divorce, it wasn’t even a permission to divorce,
But Moses was saying that giving her a certificate
Is better then sending her away and not setting her free.
None the less you understand a little bit of the culture.
If a man in Israel found something in his wife that he didn’t like
He would just write her a certificate of divorce and send her away.
And that is what is being referenced here:
“Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away?”
What is He asking?
• Do you know the reason for the divorce?
• Do you know why your mother was sent away?
• Do you know why your mother were broken off?
There is a SECOND ANALOGY, that of a sold child.
“Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you?”
This is another analogy steeped in a Jewish understanding.
• It was not uncommon in those days for a man to sell even his children in order to pay off his debts.
You see this referred to in various places:
2 Kings 4:1 “Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”
Nehemiah 5:4-5 “Also there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. “Now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
So sometimes when a man had debts
He would sell his children in order to pay them.
THAT SALE IS BEING REFERENCED HERE.
But notice the particular focus on WHOSE DEBTS caused the sale.
“Or to whom of My creditors did I sell you?”
So I hope you are getting the point.
• Israel was broken off.
• Her mother was sent away
• She was sold
AND THE QUESTION IS:
• Do you know why your mother was sent away?
• Do you know which of My debts caused Me to sell you?
And then the answer:
“Behold, you were sold for your iniquities.”
That is to say, “You weren’t sold to pay My debts, you were sold to pay your debts.”
And regarding Me sending your mother away.
“And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.”
I divorced your mother because of your sin.
IN ONE SENSE We Could Say
• It was only the sin of those alive at the time of Christ who actually rejected Him,
• And yet God broke off the entire nation for the sin of that generation.
So you understand God’s point.
The issue we are dealing with is YOUR SIN.
The issue is YOUR INIQUITY.
You are the one with a debt you couldn’t pay.
You are the one with transgressions I couldn’t tolerate.
THIS IS YOUR FAULT, NOT MINE.
WOW! That’s a pretty direct statement from the Lord there.
• We’ve seen plenty of children suffer in a divorce but the parents remind them that this is not your fault.
• We’ve seen plenty of children suffer under the bad money management of a parent but the parent remind them this is not your fault.
BUT IT IS JUST THE OPPOSITE HERE.
You caused this.
This is your fault.
I think we can agree that this is a grievous sin, whatever it is.
Whatever they did, a person ought not do.
God is serious about this transgression and this iniquity.
SO WHAT WAS IT?
(2) “Why was there no man when I came? When I called, why was there none to answer?”
That is a reference to the coming and gospel invitation of Jesus Christ.
Christ came and preached the gospel.
Matthew 11:1 “When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.”
Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:38 “He said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.”
Luke 4:18-19 “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.”
Luke 4:43 “But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”
Perhaps Peter best summed up the ministry of Jesus when He was sent to Cornelius:
Acts 10:36-38 “The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)— you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
That was the ministry wasn’t it?
• He came to His own.
• He came to preach the gospel.
• He came to proclaim the kingdom.
He fed the poor, He healed the sick,
He delivered prisoners, He forgave sinners.
• He offered Himself as the bread from heaven to those who hungered.
• He offered Himself as the light of the world to those in darkness.
• He offered Himself as the water of life to those who thirst.
• He offered Himself as the good shepherd to the abused sheep.
• He offered Himself as the way, the truth, and the life, to all who were lost.
He said it very plainly in Matthew 11:
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
And what was the response to Him?
Matthew 27:22-23 “Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”
• No one came.
• No one answered.
• He was sent to His own and His own did not receive Him.
AND GOD ADDRESSES THEIR THINKING IN ALL OF THIS.
Why did you reject Him?
Why did you not listen to Him?
(2b) “Is My hand so short that it cannot ransom? Or have I no power to deliver?”
Is the reason you didn’t listen to Me because I proved Myself to be a fraud?
I mean, we understand discernment.
• We understand not listening to every “so-called” savior or deliverer.
• We’ve seen enough TV evangelists to know that just because a person claims the power of healing doesn’t mean they can do it.
• We’ve seen enough false prophets to know that just because a person claims to be able to save you doesn’t mean they can.
So that’s fair.
Is that what you found?
Did you find that My power wasn’t all that powerful?
• “My hand so short that it cannot ransom?”
• “I have no power to deliver?”
Is that what you found?
THAT CERTAINLY WASN’T IT.
Mark 6:2 “When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?”
John 3:2 “this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
John 10:31-33 “The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me? The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
John 12:37 “But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.”
The rejection of Jesus was not because
They found Him to be too weak or incapable.
They rejected Him for a different reason.
WHY?
John 3:19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.”
They weren’t discerning, they were sinful.
And that is what Christ says next.
• (2c) “Behold, I dry up the sea with My rebuke” (The Red Sea)
• (2c) “I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink for lack of water And die of thirst.” (The Jordan River) (and, fish do get thirsty)
• (3) “I clothe the heavens with blackness And make sackcloth their covering.” (Plagues of Egypt)
WHAT IS HIS POINT?
I can save. I did save.
My power is obvious.
Your rejection of Me has nothing to do with some weakness you perceived in Me, it has everything to do with your sinfulness.
My rejection of you has nothing to do with some weakness or flaw in Me, but it has everything to do with the sin and iniquity in you.
Because I came and proved My power and offered salvation,
But you rebelled and rejected Me anyway,
FOR THIS REASON
I have sent your mother away and sold you into the hands of creditors.
That is what we call A REBEL
And those are the CONSEQUENCES that rebels received.
THAT IS NOT A SMART MOVE.
And the consequences of such rebellion are severely stated all over the New Testament.
Matthew 11:20-24 “Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. “Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”
Luke 12:47 “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes,”
Hebrews 10:26-31 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
So let’s ask it for the first time here this morning.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH JESUS?
Do you see that it is no small thing to Him
To come and reveal Himself and then have men rebel against Him because they love their sin more?
He has come and offered salvation.
He has come and offered deliverance.
BUT IT IS NOT OPTIONAL.
• He has called you to leave your sin.
• He has called you to deny yourself.
• He has called you to take up your cross and follow Him.
Have you done that or are you a rebel?
If you choose to rebel against His call
There will be no way to pin your judgment on Him.
On the great day of judgment you will NOT be able to say, “Well, God sent me away, but it wasn’t me, it was all Him.”
You won’t be able to say, “God sold me because of His own problems, it wasn’t my fault.”
No, God will judge you for your rebellion.
God will judge those who were offered salvation
But who chose their sin instead.
Luke 19:27 “But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.”
What have you done with Jesus?
• This morning, I invite you to submit to Him.
• This morning, I invite you to surrender.
• This morning, I invite you to leave your rebellion and yield to Him.
Take His yoke upon you and learn from Him.
And even though you have been rebellious, He will forgive and save.
Paul said it best:
1 Timothy 1:12-16 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”
Paul said,
• “I was a rebel,”
• “In fact I was the worst rebel ever.”
• “But He saved me!”
He did it to demonstrate His perfect patience
And to prove that if He can save me, He can save anyone.
That is the offer this morning.
Don’t be a rebel.
Come to Christ in full surrender and He will save you.
