Is God more likely to grant a prayer request if lots of people ask for it?

After reading the title of this post, you might be wondering, “Why is Pastor Tim bothering to write about a question that should so obviously be answered ‘yes?’ Of course God is more likely to grant a prayer request if many people ask for it!” Well, I’m writing this post because—from a biblical perspective—the answer to this question is NOT obviously “yes.” In fact, the answer is a definite “maybe, maybe not.”

Let me be perfectly clear on this point before I say anything else: there is nothing we can do to FORCE God to grant our prayer requests—absolutely nothing. We cannot, through any means, bind, coerce, manipulate, or otherwise control God’s decision about our prayer requests. Now to be sure, the Bible does mention human attitudes and actions that will accompany effective prayer. A short list would include repentance (Isaiah 59:1-2), confidence in God’s generosity and goodness (James 1:5-17), obedience (John 15:7-10), persistence (Luke 18:1-8), and treating your wife properly (1 Peter 3:7; yes, it actually says that, guys—look it up!). But here’s the irony—a lack of such attitudes and actions in your life will definitely hinder your prayers, but the presence of such attitudes and actions will not definitely get your requests answered!

Now, does the number of people making a request belong in the category I just mentioned? Will a lack of larger numbers definitely hinder your prayer request? Certainly not! On the flip side, though, will the presence of larger numbers definitely assist in your request getting answered? The MOST we can say is, “maybe, maybe not.”

The one passage I’m aware of that joins together prayer and numbers is 2 Corinthians 1:11 (Note: the statement in Matthew 18:20 about “two or three gathered” is NOT a general teaching about prayer.) In 2 Corinthians 1:8-10, Paul has been speaking of his hope that God will deliver him and his co-workers from physical danger. He writes in v. 11, “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” Paul’s stated desire is that a larger number of people will become thankful to God since they have also made the same prayer request. The request answered would thus be their request as well, and they would be grateful to have it answered. I certainly have to think that, all other things being equal, more gratitude to God is better than less gratitude to God. This thought could therefore be a good motive for us to share prayer requests with others.

But does God take the potential numerical impact of a request into account when deciding on an answer? This passage simply does not say, nor does any other passage of Scripture that comes to my mind. We had better be very cautious, therefore, before we assume that a greater number of requesters brings with it a greater likelihood of receiving the request.

I wrote this post today to help you in two specific ways.

1. To help you think twice before sharing sensitive information as a prayer request.

If you’ve attended church very long, you’re likely familiar with what some have jokingly called the “organ recital”—times for sharing prayer requests that often become dominated by health concerns. When we or someone we love is facing trouble of any kind, we often want to call in the prayer cavalry right away. We want to get the word out so that other people can start praying for that person.

Those of us who are very familiar with how churches often operate can easily forget that not everyone wants to have personal, sensitive information shared quickly or broadly. Some people don’t mind this information being shared for the purpose of prayer, but some people aren’t comfortable with it. We should respect their decision without thinking their request is less likely to be answered if it’s not broadcast.  In this day when companies bend over backwards to protect our personal information, we should do the same for our friends. Make sure you have permission before you share information!

2. To help you not lose hope for your own requests.

We’ve all seen lots of prayer requests go viral on social media. People all over the world get to praying for someone they don’t even know. It can be encouraging to someone to know they have that much interest in their need.

But have you wondered if your own requests are at a disadvantage if they don’t garner that much attention? Perhaps you even put your request out there, but few people seem to pay attention. Does that influence God? Is He swayed by the number of likes, shares, and re-tweets?

I see no reason to think He is. Rather, we are assured that the God who knows the number of hairs on your head is concerned about you on a personal level. He knows what you need before you even ask (Matthew 6:8)! He is listening to you even if no one else is, so don’t lose hope for your requests if they don’t gain much notice from others. God’s children may always come with confidence to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), even if no one re-tweets the fact that you were there.

Does Isaiah 26:3 promise us a life free from anxiety?

Peace of mind. A life free from worry and anxiety. Days that are free of mental turmoil.

It seems that almost all of us are looking for those things these days, and there is a verse in the Bible which, at first glance at least, appears to be a promise from God offering us exactly that – perfect peace of mind. This statement is found in Isaiah 26:3: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

You’ve likely seen this verse around. It is a favorite for greeting cards and home décor, and understandably so— it has a very encouraging tone to it. But have we been understanding this verse correctly in the way we’ve traditionally interpreted it? Often we read this verse and we take it to mean that we can have undisturbed and continuous peace of mind in our lives if we will simply trust God and keep him in the forefront of our thoughts. If this interpretation is correct, it leads us to a potentially unsettling personal problem — probably no one among us experiences undisturbed and continuous peace of mind in our lives! Does that mean we are all just miserably bad at trusting God?

Before we settle on that conclusion to the matter, we should ask ourselves if we’ve been interpreting this verse correctly. After encountering this verse again a few days ago in my daily Bible reading, I’ve started to think that this verse is actually saying something somewhat different than what we’ve typically thought. Allow me to share two observations that have led me to this conclusion.

First, Isaiah 26:1 states that the verses coming after it are part of a song which will be sung “in that day.” In fact, the phrase “in that day” is a very common one in the surrounding context (24:21, 25:9, 27:1, 27:2, 27:12). What is this “day” that Isaiah is talking about? According to the context, it is a day in which the Lord of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem (24:23), a day in which God will take away the reproach of his people from all the Earth (25:8), and a day in which the enemies of Israel will be defeated (much of chapters 25 and 26). These statements are describing nothing less than the future kingdom of Jesus on this earth! Since the whole context of this passage is looking forward to that future time, we have to consider that the “peace“ mentioned in 26:3 might not yet be achieved and thus might not yet be available.

The second observation centers on the word “peace” itself. This word is the somewhat familiar Hebrew term shalom. This word can refer to peace of mind, but it’s range of meaning is much wider than simply that. It can also express ideas like prosperity, health, and safety. Its meaning in a given verse has to be determined by the context. In this case, the next usage of the word “peace“ in verse 12 is rather informative, in my opinion. There, the word seems to mean something like “safety” because the people’s adversaries are defeated (v. 11) and no one but God rules over them (v. 13).

Given these observations, I think the NET Bible has a more accurate translation for Isaiah 26:3: “You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith, for they trust in you.” That may not go quite as nicely on home décor, but it does seem to be a bit more accurate. Even with this translation, keep two observations in mind. First, the phrase “the people” does not focus on individuals but on God’s people as a whole. Second, this verse is still part of a song that will be sung “in that day”—the time of Christ’s future kingdom on earth. Thus, the safety spoken of here is not yet fully realized for God’s people, so it shouldn’t be taken as a promise that we could claim for ourselves today.

So if Isaiah 26:3 is not telling us how we should go about pursuing peace of mind, what other passages should we turn into instead for that information? For one, I would point you to the example of the Psalms. In many psalms, a heart-broken person cries out to God in his anguish, sometimes being very blunt and descriptive about his feelings. Yet these authors eventually turn their thoughts back toward God’s promises and find renewed peace and comfort in them. So be fully honest with God about your thoughts and feelings—vent your spleen to him, so to speak—and then review his promises once again. Clear the air with God and then let his promises be the atmosphere from which you breathe.

And of course, Philippians 4:6-7 speaks very directly to this whole subject of peace of mind: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Pray to God, make your requests, and thank him for the many blessings that you already have. I have always found that the more I thank God, the deeper my peace of mind becomes. Yet even these verses are not a promise that we can stare down anxiety once-and-for-all and never face it again! They simply tell us how to respond whenever anxiety comes knocking at our doors once more.

So the next time you battle anxiety, don’t heap false guilt on yourself because of a misunderstanding of all things! Follow the example of the Psalms, take the advice of Philippians 4:6-7, and worship God for his promise of a coming day when fears and worries will assault us no more!

God--The One, True Know-It-All--Attributes of God Series

            Nobody likes a know-it-all—someone who acts like they know everything. That’s why such people are so annoying—because their attitude is only an act, and everyone knows it but them. However, I believe everyone desires the sense of security that comes from knowing that someone really does know it all!

            This morning as we study God’s attributes or characteristics, we will see that God is the one, true know-it-all! According to the Bible, God knows everything that can be known. The big, fancy word for this attribute is “omniscience,” a word that comes into English from Latin. I want to answer a couple of general questions this morning about what God knows and how He came to know it, then we will talk about some comforting and challenging implications of this attribute of God.

1. What does God know?

A. He knows all factual knowledge about the past, present, and future (1 John 3:20; John 21:17)

            This claim will become obvious as we go on this morning, but the Bible does include a couple of short but direct statements to this effect. In 1 John 3:20, John writes about how God’s knowledge is greater than ours, and he concludes the verse by simply writing, “God knows everything.” Also, in John 21:17, Jesus is having a conversation with the apostle Peter in which Jesus repeatedly asks Peter about Peter’s love for him. Finally, Peter simply says, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Peter was affirming that Jesus is God, and as God, He knows everything. So God knows everything that has happened in the past, He knows everything that is happening now, and He knows everything that will happen in the future. But not only does He know what did happen in the past…

B. He knows what would have happened in the past if circumstances had been different (Matt. 11:20-24)

            In Matthew 11, Jesus speaks out against the people of certain cities who refused to believe in Him. In v. 21 he says, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” Tyre and Sidon were cities that were frequently criticized in the Old Testament for their idolatry, but here Jesus says that they would have repented if they had seen the mighty works that He was performing! This is a fascinating statement because it tells us that God knows all of the various courses that history could have taken. So for example, He knows how the US would be different if the South had won the Civil War, or if Germany had won World War II. Sometimes when I was on vacation as a child, my dad would ask me how I thought my life might be different if I had grown up in our vacation town rather than my hometown. That was always interesting to imagine, but God doesn’t have to imagine it because He actually knows!

C. He knows my very thoughts (Ps. 139:1-4; Gen. 6:5)

            God not only knows what we actually do—He knows the thoughts that lie behind our actions and the thoughts upon which we never choose to act. In Psalm 139:1-4, King David wrote, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.”

            Also, just before the global flood in the Book of Genesis, we read this: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually (Gen. 6:5).” The Lord not only saw the people’s wicked acts, He understood their thoughts as well. And not only does God know the thoughts of my heart…

D. He knows my heart more accurately than I do (Jer. 17:9-10; Ps. 139:23-24)

            It is very easy for us to act a certain way and tell ourselves that our motives were good and noble when in reality they were anything but. But God is not fooled by our mind games. Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

            Now this idea of self-deception is a little disturbing, because we may think, “How will I ever know if I’m deceiving myself?” Well, we can pray the same prayer that King David prayed at the end of Psalm 139: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps. 139:23-24)!” David is admitting that even he doesn’t understand his own heart the way that God does, so he asks God to search him and then lead him. That is the same prayer that we should pray as well.

Well, we have seen now the basics of what God knows, now let’s answer the question…

2. How did He come to know it?

A. Not through the instruction of anyone else (Is. 40:13-14; Rom. 11:34)

            In Isaiah 40:13-14, Isaiah asks some rhetorical questions about God. He writes, “Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?” Since these are rhetorical questions, the obvious answer is—no one! He has not consulted with anyone to acquire His knowledge; no one has taught Him anything. He just simply knows what He knows! This reality is true largely because…

B. He knows the future because He has planned the future (Eph. 1:11; Is. 46:9-11)

            From the moment that God created the world, He had a plan in mind that He is now carrying out. Ephesians 1:11 says, “God works all things according to the counsel of His will.” When the Apostle Paul wrote those words, He may have had a passage like Isaiah 46:9-11 in mind, which says, “I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” According to these verses, why is God able to declare the end from the beginning? Because He has a purpose or a plan that He is able to carry out.

            I used this illustration a few weeks ago, but it bears repeating here. When God tells us about the future in the Bible, He is like an architect giving someone a tour of a job site. The architect is able to tell you what the final product will look like because he has already planned it, and now he is just carrying out his plan.

            God’s knowledge operates the same way. Now, this does not mean that you and I are merely puppets or robots who don’t make any real choices. The Bible always speaks to us as creatures who make real choices for which we are responsible. I’m afraid we’ll just have to wait for God to explain all of this to us someday, but suffice it to say that God’s knowledge comes from His plan for all things.

Let’s conclude this morning by thinking about a few comforting and challenging implications of the fact that God knows all things.

3. Some comforting and challenging implications

A. God knows my needs even before I ask Him to meet them (Matt. 6:7-8)

            Jesus specifically makes this point in Matthew 6:8. This thought is very comforting because we have many daily needs about which we simply forget to ask! For example, when is the last time you asked God to protect you while you sleep? We don’t think about that often around Montezuma, but it’s a real need!

            We also never need to worry that we’ve failed to give God enough information about our needs. We never need to think, “Oh no! I forgot to tell God when that bill is due! How will He ever know?”

            We also have needs come up that can drastically change our lives, like medical problems or a death in our family. Sometimes we’re unprepared to deal with the needs that come during these times, but God was not caught off guard! He knows His plan to help us before we even know we need help!

B. God’s knowledge about my life is first-hand knowledge

            God doesn’t learn about us through some heavenly game of “Telephone” where one angel talks to another angel who talks to another angel until the news finally reaches God. He doesn’t need to rely on anyone else for His knowledge about us.

            Sometimes people treat us unfairly because they received bad information about us. Friends may pull away because they’ve heard some rumor about us, or they may assume that we’ve had bad motives for some decision that we’ve made. But we don’t have to worry about unfair treatment from God! We will never hear Him say, “Rumor has it…!”

C. God knew about all of my future sins when He gave me the gift of salvation

            This is a very comforting thought. In our series on eternal security, we learned that when God grants me forgiveness for my sins, God as my Judge is declaring that my “debt to society” (so to speak) has been fully paid. When He rendered that verdict, He did so not only with knowledge of all my past sins, but with knowledge of all my future sins as well, and He declared that all of them had been paid for by the blood of Christ.

            So you can rest assured that there is no skeleton in your closet that will cause God to re-open the case against you! There is no new evidence against you that will come to light because God already knew about all of the evidence. This thought gives us the confidence and reassurance that we need to thrive spiritually because we never have to wonder if God will change His mind about adopting us into His family.

D. I cannot hide anything from God (Heb. 4:12-13)

            God knows me inside and out, so consequently, I can never fool Him! I could be two-faced and live a double life for a long time, and its possible that my secrets might never get out. But no matter how many people I fooled, I would never have fooled God for a single moment.

            This thought is very sobering. It means that my life is an open book to God. Hebrews 4:12-13 states, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” I think the author of Hebrews may have had Genesis 3 in mind when he wrote that last sentence. After Adam and Eve sinned against God, the Bible says that they sewed some fig leaves together to hide their nakedness, because now all of a sudden they were embarrassed and ashamed. But God wasn’t fooled by a few fig leaves, and He’s not fooled by our attempts to hide our sins today. He’s not fooled when we delete the browsing history on the computer; He’s not fooled when we say hurtful things and then try to pass it off as a joke. Its just fig leaves! King David’s prayer is worth repeated here: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps. 139:23-24)!”

            May we be corrected today by understanding the depths of God’s knowledge, and encouraged by basking in His greatness. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 11:33, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways (NASB)!”

Extreme Makeover: Earth Edition--Isaiah Series

            Call me biased, but I don’t understand why some people can’t appreciate the beauty of Kansas. People who say, “there’s nothing to look at,” just don’t get it! When you can see for miles around you in every direction, there’s too much to look at, and that’s part of the beauty—being able to take in so much at once.

            Honestly, we can see beauty all over our planet—awe-inspiring, breath-taking beauty! But let’s pause and remember that our planet is under a curse from God. The same sky that gives us sunsets gives us tornadoes. How amazing is it that we still see such beauty in our planet even after it has been blemished because of mankind’s sin!

            As we have worked through the book of Isaiah, we have read numerous prophecies about a future kingdom in this world in which the effects of The Curse will be almost completely scaled back. Mankind will once again live at peace with God, each other, and the even the animal world, and we will behold this planet in all of the glory which God created for it. How amazing to think that the beauty of this world could get even better!

            As we close our study of Isaiah today, we will read one more prophecy about this extreme makeover along with one final warning about embracing God by faith before it is too late.

1. What’s the purpose of a kingdom of peace in this world?

            Before we jump into the text this morning, I’d like to briefly follow a rabbit trail and answer a question that may have come to your mind as we’ve been studying Isaiah. Over and over again, we have read prophecies about a time of blessing which I have interpreted to refer to a future kingdom that will be established in this world. We often refer to this kingdom as the “Millennium,” or the “1,000-year kingdom of Christ.” But not all Christians have interpreted these prophecies in the same way. Some groups and denominations have interpreted these prophecies as metaphors which refer to the spiritual blessings that we enjoy through Jesus Christ. So for example, they might interpret prophecies about peace among the nations to refer to peace among Christians today, or a prophecy about Israel being re-gathered to the Promised Land might be interpreted as a prophecy of God’s people being taken to their home in heaven. And so, some people have questioned what the purpose of a Millennium in this world would be. I would like to briefly give two answers to that question.

            A. To prevent Satan from having the final victory over Planet Earth

            As history stands today, Satan has delivered quite a blow to God’s creation by introducing sin into this world through mankind, which caused God to place a curse upon humanity and the planet in which we live. Now, if the history of our planet were to end this way, then Satan would have scored a final victory over Planet Earth by permanently disrupting God’s original plan for it.

            I don’t think the Lord has any intention of giving Satan the last laugh over this planet. That is part of the reason that I think these prophecies that we have read should be interpreted literally and not as metaphors. By establishing a kingdom of peace and righteousness in this world, God will fulfill His original plan for it and prevent Satan from having the final victory.

            B. To demonstrate God’s faithfulness to keep His word

            There can be little doubt that believers in the Old Testament expected God’s promises of blessing to be fulfilled literally. Thus, they were looking forward to a kingdom of peace and righteousness in this world. This was their hope for the future, but if the Old Testament prophecies were actually metaphors, then we must conclude that God allowed Old Testament believers to persist in believing something that was actually a false hope.

            In my opinion, this idea casts doubt upon God’s New Testament promises as well. If the Old Testament prophecies were metaphors, what guarantee do we have that New Testament prophecies are not actually metaphors as well? How would we know that statements about heaven aren’t really metaphors for simply ceasing to exist after we die?

            For the sake of God’s faithfulness to keep His word, I believe that the hope of Old Testament believers will be fulfilled literally; thus, there will be a kingdom of peace and righteousness in this world. Moreover, when we look at the prophecies of Jesus’ first coming into this world, we find that they were fulfilled literally. I believe this observation gives us every reason to think that prophecies about Jesus’ second coming will be fulfilled literally as well.

So with those thoughts in mind, I believe the description that we read in the latter half of chapter 65 is a description of a time that will literally come to pass in this world.  Let’s take a look at this description.

2. God will roll back the effects of The Curse in almost every way (65:17-25)

            The Lord begins v. 17 by saying, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth.” That phrase might sound familiar, especially if you have read the book of Revelation. The apostle John uses the same phrase in Revelation 21:1 as he starts to describe our eternal home with God. However, John and Isaiah must be describing two different points in the future because in Isaiah’s description, as we’ll see, there is still the life cycle of people being born and people dying. Birth and death will not occur in our eternal home with God, so Isaiah is apparently describing “phase one” of a two-part reconstruction of our world. This first phase will occur during Christ’s kingdom on earth as virtually all of the effects of The Curse will be removed. Let’s highlight a few parts of this description.

            A. Humanity will enjoy peace and gladness (65:18-19, 21-23)

            Human beings were not created to be at odds with each other, and we see here that peace will prevail during this time [READ 65:18-19, 21-23].

            B. Long life spans will be the norm (65:20)

            This future kingdom will present an interesting situation. We will live in this kingdom, but we will already have our heavenly bodies—the same kind of body that Jesus had after He rose from the grave. If you remember our study from a few weeks ago, we noted that we will be taken out of the world at the Rapture and given our heavenly bodies at that time. Later, we will come back to the world with Jesus to live here with Him during this kingdom.

            So we will no longer face death, but there will be some people who have lived on earth right up to the start of Jesus’ kingdom. These people will still have their earthly bodies, so they will continue to have children and they will continue to die. But apparently, long life spans will once again be the norm, as they were in the early chapters of Genesis [READ 65:20].

            C. People will enjoy close communication and fellowship with God (65:24)

            In Genesis 1-2, we read about Adam and Eve enjoying unhindered fellowship with God. This kind of intimacy will exist between God and man once again [READ 65:24].

            D. Peace will reign among animals and between animals and men (65:25)

            We read a virtually identical prophecy back in chapter 11, and now the Lord restates it through Isaiah here at the end of the book [READ 65:25].

Once again, we find so much to look forward to as we contemplate this future kingdom which Christ will establish in this world.  We will bask in all that is good about this world with virtually none of these things which are bad! This time will be a thorough foretaste of our eternal home with God, but as the Lord has repeatedly warned us, we must embrace Him from the heart by faith if we want to enjoy these blessings. The fate of those who reject Him will be far different, so in chapter 66…

3. God issues a final warning and promise of blessing (66:1-24)

            In the first part of this chapter, the Lord issues a final warning against the idolatry and hypocritical worship of some of the people. He warns them that they better not think of Him the way they think about their idols [READ 66:1-2a]. These verses are a subtle jab against the mindset of idolatry. Idol worshipers approached worship with the idea that they were doing favors for their god. It was an “I’ll scratch your back, you scratch my back” kind of mindset. But God goes on to stress that such a mindset doesn’t fly in true worship of Him [READ 66:2b].

            The Hebrew term for “humble” in this verse conveys the idea of spiritual poverty. This is the humility that acknowledges that I have absolutely nothing I could use to gain God’s favor. This attitude says, “I am spiritually bankrupt;” I have no spiritual “currency,” so to speak, that would allow me to get anything from God. This is the attitude of the person who truly embraces God by faith. As the hymnwriter put it, “nothing in my hands I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling.”

            God makes it clear that anyone who would worship Him with the attitude that he is doing God a favor which God must then repay is actually offering God something that is offensive to Him [READ 66:3-4].

            My friends, we must understand that God is not fooled by hypocritical worship. If we think that we are doing God a favor by showing up at church or putting Him under obligation to us by putting some money in the offering plate, we better think again! True worship of God flows from the understanding that I am in complete spiritual poverty, yet through Christ, God has lavished upon me the riches of His grace.

            So much more could be said about this marvelous book of Scripture. Even in this long series of sermons, we have barely scratched the surface of the depths of insight in this book. Perhaps the central lesson that we should take with us from this study is that a vastly different fate awaits those who embrace God through Jesus by faith and those who do not. Some of the people in Israel thought they were okay with God because they were born in the right family or because they did the right religious activities. We must not fall into the same error! Being born into a Christian family does not make you right with God; attending church every Sunday does not make you right with God. We can only become right with God by confessing that we are sinners who deserve His wrath, and expressing our faith in Him by believing that Jesus paid the full price for our sins through His death on the cross and proved it by rising from the grave. We must each personally embrace that gift of salvation in order to be right with God. I urge you to do so today!

When the Saints Go Marching In--Isaiah Series

            Over the last two weeks, the nations of the world have been battling in London for athletic supremacy. Countries take great pride in their success at the Olympics. I’ve even heard that some countries are planning to form commissions to investigate why they didn’t win more medals!

            This competitive spirit shouldn’t surprise us, because its characterized the history of our race. Ever since human beings were dispersed by God from the Tower of Babel, our history has been marked by competition and conflict. Sometimes that conflict has been waged on the ballfield, and sometimes it has been waged on the battlefield, but the goal has always been the same—supremacy.

            According to the Bible, history is moving toward a period of time in which the nation of Israel will be exalted over all the other nations of the world—not because there’s anything particularly special about Israel, but simply because God has chosen to stake His reputation upon her destiny.

            If we are to take God’s promises in the Old Testament at face value, then we must conclude that there are glorious days ahead for the nation of Israel—not because of anything they will accomplish, but because of the king who will one day reign over them: the Lord Jesus Christ!

            The final chapters of Isaiah describe the climax of human history in which Israel will play a leading role because of her coming King. This may seem like an odd step for studying Isaiah, but I’d like to direct your attention first of all to the last chapter of Zechariah. Zechariah 14 describes in very straightforward terms the same events that Isaiah describes in more poetic terms. Sometimes, with poetic language, its tricky to discern a precise sequence of events, so Zechariah will give us the framework that will help us understand the prophecies of Isaiah [READ Zechariah 14:1-19]. Let’s make sure we grasp the broad outline of these verses. They describe a time when the Lord will physically appear in Jerusalem to defeat some armies that are gathered there against the people of Israel. The Lord will then become king over all the earth, and all the nations will become subservient to Him. These are the events that we usually call the Second Coming and the Millennium, and you can read more about them in Revelation 19-20.

            So with this outline of events in mind, let’s look at Isaiah’s description of these events in chapters 59-62. Our main points this morning focus on the metaphor of a change of wardrobe that these chapters describe—first for the Lord, then for His people.

I. The Lord puts on His battle armor to come as a Savior to Jerusalem (59:14-21)

            The prophecy in Zechariah focused on the external threat to Jerusalem from foreign armies. Isaiah focuses on the internal spiritual condition of Israel, and we see that it will not be universally pleasing to the Lord [READ 59:14-20]. These verses describe the coming of the Lord that we read about in Zechariah, when the Lord will come with deliverance and protection for those who are in God’s family, and vengeance against those who are not.

            The Lord will then establish His kingdom in Jerusalem, as Isaiah had already prophesied in chapters 2, 9, and 11. Isaiah poetically describes this time as a change to garments of praise rather than garments of mourning.

II. The Lord gives His people garments of praise rather than mourning (60:1-62:12)

           

            A. The nations will be drawn to Israel with offerings and praise for her God (60:1-9)

            B. The children of Israel will be gathered to the homeland that God promised to their ancestor, Abraham (60:1-9)

            These first two points are both characteristics of this time that Isaiah describes in 60:1-9 [READ 60:1-9]. Verse 9 offers an important point of emphasis. This passage describes a parade of people coming to Israel with their wealth, but v. 9 emphasizes that these gifts are “for the name of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel.”

            Israel will be blessed, however, because of their association with Jesus, their King. Think of the way that friends and relatives of famous people tend to get special treatment—that’s the basic idea.

            C. The children of Israel will enjoy peace, blessing, and security (60:10-12, 18)

            [READ 60:10-12, 18] Since the time that the Jewish people first settled in the Promised Land, it has hardly known a time of extended peace, but such is the Lord’s promise for the time of His kingdom.

            D. The children of Israel will all embrace righteousness (60:21)

            [READ 60:21] Notice again that all of this is for the Lord’s glory. This point highlights the reason that this kingdom on earth has been delayed for so long—the Jewish people as a whole have never embraced the righteousness of God; they have never embraced His plan of salvation. When Jesus first began to preach in the Gospels, His message was “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” The king was here, and I believe He was genuinely offering to establish His kingdom, but the people were not spiritually prepared for it, so He called them to repent. By and large, however, Jesus was rejected by the Jewish people, but this rejection only served to further God’s plan to provide forgiveness for sins by sending Jesus to the cross. But when Jesus returns, there will be Jewish believers waiting to greet Him, and they will be the foundation of a righteous remnant who will live in Christ’s kingdom.

            E. Mourning and oppression will give way to comfort, gladness, and praise (61:1-4)

            [READ 61:1-4]

            F. Jerusalem will be honored throughout the Earth (62:1-12)

            [READ 62:1-7]

            And so, in the kingdom of Christ, God will finally fulfill all of the promises that He made to the people of Israel—first to Abraham, then Isaac and Jacob, then to all the people through Moses, then to King David, then to all the people again through the prophecy of the New Covenant that Jesus referred to during the Last Supper. But how does all of this apply to you and me—children of God living in the here and now? Will we live in this kingdom on Earth? We certainly will!

            When Jesus returns to set up His kingdom, you and I will have already been taken out of the world at the Rapture, but we will accompany Christ when He comes back into this world. Zechariah 14:5 said that after the nations have gathered against Jerusalem to battle, “then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.” So a group referred to here as “the holy ones” will be coming with Christ.

            When we compare this verse to the description of Christ’s coming in Revelation 19, we can see that “the holy ones” are you and me! Turn with me to Revelation 19 [READ Rev. 19:11-14] Now these clothes of fine linen were just mentioned in vv. 7-8 [READ Rev. 19:7-8]. So the clothes of fine linen represent righteous deeds done by the saints who are part of the bride of Christ. And according to Ephesians 5, the bride of Christ consists of believers from today—those who are living in what we call “the church age.”

            So when Jesus returns to establish His kingdom, you and I will be in the cavalry right behind Him! What an honor—to join our Lord in His glorious return and triumph! We will be given a role to play in His kingdom based on our obedience to Him today, and we will enjoy the blessings of that time when Jesus—the head of the church—will be King and Lord over all things.

            If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior from your sins, welcome to your destiny!! Someday, we will see this world the way that God created it to be in almost every detail. Doesn’t it thrill your heart to think about it? It should, and thinking about this glorious destiny can keep your joy from eroding today as you face the temporary pressures of this world.

The Faithfulness of a True Husband--Isaiah Series

            How long has it been since you really thought about the vows that you made to your spouse on your wedding day? Can you even remember exactly what you promised to do for your spouse “until death do you part?” Many people have found it very meaningful to renew their vows and thus remind themselves of their promises to each other.

            In our study of Isaiah this morning, we are going to read about God renewing His vows to Israel, so to speak. At various places in the Old Testament, God called Himself the husband of Israel and He took vows, so to speak—He made unconditional promises to them concerning blessings that He planned to give them.

            But there had always been a growing problem in this marriage—God is holy, and humans are not, so how could a holy God have a relationship with unholy people? We discovered the answer last week in chapter 53 in the sacrificial death of the Servant. With God’s plan for taking care of sin now revealed, the Lord once again affirms His promises to Israel and makes a free offer of salvation to anyone who would recognize their need and receive it.

            So picture yourself now watching a husband renew his vows to his wife, and let’s read chapter 54.

1. The Lord renews His wedding vows with Israel (Ch. 54)

            Let me just read this chapter and make a few brief comments, because the words are beautiful and largely self-explanatory. Israel and her God had had a rocky marriage because Israel had been frequently unfaithful to her vows. She had faced and still would face some painful consequences because of those sins. In the first several verses, God compares Israel to a barren woman who may have thought that she didn’t have a joyous future to look forward to, but the reality would be much different [READ 54:1-3]. In these verses, God is re-affirming His promise to Abraham that his descendents would be as numerous as the stars of the sky, and His promise to David that the kingdom of Israel would one day be firmly established and would suffer violence no more.

            The Lord then continues in v. 4 [READ 54:4-10]. I want to briefly emphasize vv. 9-10 because they are very important for the way we think about God’s plan for the future. Some of my dear brothers and sisters in Christ in other churches hold to the belief that God has no future plans for the nation of Israel, but rather all of the promises that God made in the Old Testament are being fulfilled today through God’s work within and among Christians. I feel compelled to disagree with that idea because of verses just like these. The Lord states that His promise of steadfast love to Israel is just like the promise He made to Noah that He would never again flood the whole earth. That promise to Noah was permanent, and I think God’s promises to Israel are permanent as well.

            Thus, I think God does have a future plan for the nation of Israel, and I think we are reading about that plan in verses like vv. 11-17. The Lord is apparently speaking about the city of Jerusalem as He says [READ 54:11-17].

Thus, on the basis of the Servant’s sacrifice that was prophesied in chapter 53, a holy God can re-affirm all of His promises to an unholy people, because a plan is in place for their sins to be forgiven. But the Servant’s sacrifice was never intended just for the people of Israel. It is available to anyone who will claim it as their own. So we see in the next chapter that…

  

2. The Lord invites all comers to find their soul’s satisfaction in Him (Ch. 55)

            Listen to the invitation in v. 1 [READ 55:1]. Notice the odd language of this invitation—the Lord is inviting those who have no money to come and buy from Him. How can you buy something when you have no money? (I think the government needs to ask that question a little more often!) How can you buy something when you have no money? Only if someone else pays the price for you! When we consider our salvation, the old saying rings true—there is no such thing as a free lunch. Forgiveness of sins is offered freely to us, but make no mistake—the price for forgiveness has been paid, and it has been paid by the blood of Christ, as we learned in chapter 53.

            The Lord goes on to state that we will find true satisfaction for our souls if we will accept His offer [READ 55:1-3]. Now what is this reference to King David all about? Well, it touches on promises that God made to David in 2 Samuel 7, where the Lord stated that He would raise up one of David’s descendents to fulfill all of the promises of peace and prosperity that God had made to Israel. You may remember that in Isaiah 9, the prophet spoke of a child who would be born who would sit on David’s throne, and this child would be called “the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Is. 9:6-7). And just to make Himself clear, God led the angel Gabriel to tell Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Luke 1 that Jesus was the descendent and the child that the Old Testament talked about (Luke 1:32-33).

            So the reference to David reminds us of all that David’s descendent was prophesied to accomplish, and when we come to God to find our soul’s salvation in Him, we get to participate in all the blessings that are available through Jesus Christ—the Son of David, the Son of God. These blessings include forgiveness of sins and reunion with God as well as the right to live one day in the kingdom of peace and righteousness that Jesus will establish in this world. As children of God and spiritual siblings of Jesus, we have a place secured for us in His kingdom.

            Verses 4-5 speak of David’s role as a witness to the promises that God has made, and in v. 6, Isaiah makes a passionate appeal for his readers to come to God before it is too late [READ 55:6-9]. Normally, when we hear vv. 8-9, we think of the difference between how much God knows and how little we know by comparison. That thought is true, but its really not the comparison that the Lord is making here. Rather, he is emphasizing that His thoughts and ways are holy and right, and ours are wicked and unrighteous. That is precisely what He said back in v. 7 [READ 55:7].

            You see, this difference in our thoughts and ways is the obstacle that separates us from God. This difference is why we don’t have peace with God until we come to Him for salvation. Our lives are on a path that is wicked, but we don’t realize it because our thoughts are unrighteous, which means they don’t line up with God’s standards, which describe the way things really are. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” My friends, please hear me—if you have never come to God through Jesus Christ to find forgiveness for your sins, you are on the way to death! You must realize that sin has deceived you and told you that you’re okay, but God is telling you the way things really are. But as Isaiah said, if you will recognize the danger that you’re in and forsake your wicked way, God will have compassion on you and abundantly pardon you.

            God is offering you His pardon today, and He will always make good on His word. Look at the next verses [READ 55:10-13]. God will always make good on His word, and His plan is one that will bring joy and peace to His people.

  

3. The Lord reassures us of His full acceptance and His reward for obedience (Ch. 56:1-8)

            In the first part of chapter 56, the Lord mentions two groups of people who were tempted to think that they were “second-class citizens” among God’s people. The first group was foreigners, people who were not ethnically Jewish. The second was eunuchs, people who were unable to have children. It is not uncommon for people in churches today to wonder if they are “second-class citizens” among God’s people. People who did not grow up in Christian homes can be tempted to think this way, as well as people who have had a very public moral failure that they have repented of. Or sometimes people think that if they’re not a pastor or a missionary, they are on some kind of second tier with God.

            But God doesn’t put His children in any such categories. What He looks for is obedience, which He promises to reward. Let’s read vv. 1-8 [READ 56:1-8]. You can see from these verses that God’s true concern is obedience.

            One command that he emphasizes here is the command for the people to keep the Sabbath, which is a word that refers to a period of rest. This command was a major test of faith and obedience for the people in the Old Testament. This command had two parts to it. First, the people were supposed to reserve the seventh and final day of each week to be a day for rest and worship. Second, they were supposed to let their ground lie fallow every seventh year without planting on it or harvesting from it. God had promised them that every sixth year, He would give them a harvest that would last them until the harvest of the eighth year—which was the first year of the next cycle.

            These commands were meant to teach the people to orient their lives around obeying God’s commands. All week long, they would have to keep in mind that the Sabbath was coming, and they would need to get their work done before it came. Every sixth year, they would face a major crisis of faith—will we obey God and believe that He will provide for us?

            Now, do those lessons sound familiar? Do you hear echoes of Jesus’ teaching in those lessons? Remember, the Lord said in Matthew 6, “Do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:31-33). What is the lesson? Obey God, and He will provide! Let Him worry about meeting your needs—you just concentrate on obeying Him!

            The Lord also calls us to orient our lives around obeying Him. In Matthew 16:24-25, He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

            My friends, if you are a child of God, you don’t need to worry that you might be on some second tier. Just obey Him and He will reward you! And if you have never come to God by accepting the sacrifice that Jesus made for you, please understand the error of your way. Jesus died to pay for your sins, and His resurrection is proof that God accepted His payment and offers you forgiveness. Accept Him as your Savior today, and find true satisfaction for your soul.

The Suffering and Triumph of The Servant--Isaiah Series

             In the aftermath of World War I, 900 German soldiers who had violated international law were put on trial for war crimes. It was an open-and-shut case; they were sure to be found guilty. But in a dramatic move, the former crown prince of Germany volunteered to be their substitute. He offered to face both the allegations against the men and the penalty that they were sure to receive. Though his offer was very selfless, it was ultimately refused because it was so impractical—how could one man possibly bear the penalties of 900 men?

            Many people have asked the same question with respect to Jesus Christ—how could He possibly bear the penalty for the sins of the entire world? This claim almost seems too outrageous to be true, but in our study of Isaiah today, we will see that this kind of substitution has been God’s plan for our salvation all along.

            As Olympic athletes long to win the gold medal, so preachers long to preach from Isaiah 53. This passage is so moving and precious that I don’t think I can do it justice, but I hope that I can shed some light on it today and drive its sobering message home to your hearts.

            As we have been studying Isaiah, we’ve been faced with a constant tension. On the one hand, Isaiah has told us about a glorious kingdom that the Lord Himself will one day set up in this world through the people of Israel. On the other hand, we’ve discovered that the people of Israel—and the people of the whole world—are not fit to be part of this kingdom because of their sin. God knew this, of course, but what did He have in mind to solve this problem? Isaiah 53 gives us the answer.

            This chapter is a prophecy about a man whom God simply calls “my servant,” and it describes his early life, his reception by the people around him, his death as a sacrifice for our sins, and the exaltation and honor that he will receive after fulfilling God’s will. Let’s follow this progression of the servant’s life and death.

1. The Servant’s Early Life and Rejection (52:13-53:3)

            The prophecy of chapter 53 actually begins at the end of chapter 52. Just so you know, the Bible wasn’t originally written with chapter divisions—they were added in the 1200’s to help people find the passage they were looking for. Sometimes we find a place where the chapter division feels off by a few verses, but that’s no big deal because we can simply start at the beginning of a section, wherever it begins.

            Let’s jump right into the text [READ 52:13-15; “sprinkle” is a picture of something sinful being cleansed]. These verses tell of the servant reaching unbelievable heights by going through an unimaginable low. It is plain from v. 13 that his ultimate destiny is one of glory and honor, but the path which takes him there is marked with grotesque suffering. Yet this very suffering and disfigurement will bring about forgiveness of sins, and the mighty people of the earth will be shocked when they see the fulfillment of these prophecies.

            So the servant was headed for glorious heights, but the beginning of his journey would not be marked by widespread acceptance and admiration. Look at 53:1-2 [READ 53:1-2; the phrase “arm of the Lord” refers to the servant and pictures Him as the very power of God reaching down into the world]. These words succinctly describe Jesus’ early life to a “t.” The Lord grew up in an unremarkable family in an even less remarkable town. When he first began to preach, his neighbors were offended, because to them he was just “the carpenter’s son”—a peasant just like they were. His family tried to drag Him home at one point because they thought He was out of His mind!

            Jesus did not fit the stereotype of an important person, and thus, by and large, He was not received as one. This attitude toward Jesus remains the same today. I saw this thought graphically portrayed a few years ago at the Louvre Museum in Paris. In a certain room, you will find a magnificent painting depicting Jesus at the wedding feast in Cana from John 2. It is the largest painting in the museum, and it is magnificent to behold, but most people ignore it because of the painting across the room—the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa is considered an all-time masterpiece, though no one could really tell you why it deserves more attention than the painting of Christ across the room. Yet there people stand, with their backs turned toward Christ, because His painting is not a world-famous masterpiece.

            That is how most people think of Jesus still today—He is not considered a masterpiece! Most people will say that Jesus is a great moral teacher, but that’s just political correctness more than anything else. Anyone who takes a serious look at the claims and teachings of Jesus Christ will either fall down and worship Him or they will neuter His message, leaving it impotent and unrecognizable. Make no mistakes my friends—rejection is our natural reaction toward Jesus. It is my natural reaction to Jesus, and it is your natural reaction to Jesus as well.

            Jesus continued to face rejection throughout His life, and the climax of it is described in verse 3 [READ 53:3]. The metaphor in this verse portrays Jesus like someone who has an infectious disease and is thus repulsive to other people. Some of you remember the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in this country, when people were scared and disgusted by the thought of being close to that disease. That’s a glimpse of the rejection that Jesus faced, which of course reached its peak at His crucifixion, which is prophesied in the next section.

2. The Servant’s Death as Our Substitute (53:4-9)

            Verses 4-6 begin to clear up any confusion about what was actually happening to Jesus in His crucifixion [READ 53:4-6]. When the eyes of man looked at Jesus upon the cross, they couldn’t see the reality. The Jews thought they saw an imposter who falsely claimed to be God, and was finally getting the punishment He deserved. The Romans thought they saw a fool who claimed to be a king greater than Caesar. But when God looked at Jesus on the cross, He saw your sin and my sin. He saw the servant—His only Son—as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! As 2 Corinthians 5:21 states, “he became sin who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

            Don’t you see? He was wearing your crown of thorns! He bled from the wounds that were meant for me! He bore the penalty for our sins so that we might be healed, because we had all gone astray—every one of us. Don’t you see? He didn’t die for anything He had done, but for everything we have done.

            Verses 7-9 predict some amazing facts about the details of Jesus’ crucifixion. I have been told by those who focus on evangelism to Jews that they will often read this chapter to Jewish people without telling them its from the Old Testament and then they will ask their listeners to identify who this chapter is talking about. They all easily recognize that its talking about Jesus, and if you’re familiar with His story at all, it is not hard to see why.

            Verses 7-8 describe the way that Jesus would quietly and willingly endure injustice in His trials [READ 53:7-8]. Verse 6 compared us to sheep because of our tendency to wander away; verse 7 compared Jesus to sheep because of His willingness to calmly go along with those who were about to put Him to death. When Jesus stood before the high priest, He only spoke words which condemned him even further in that man’s eyes, and when he stood before King Herod, He simply said nothing at all. Jesus willingly endured injustice which led to His crucifixion.

            In our country, we are keenly aware of individual rights. We have a Bill of Rights in our Constitution; we must be read our rights if we are arrested. We can hardly imagine allowing someone to violate our rights, yet when Jesus was on trial, the Creator stood before His creatures and was willing to endure the greatest injustice in history—why? So He could launch a great escape? No—so He could fulfill the plan of God and die for you and me.

            Verse 9 then describes the circumstances of his burial [READ 53:9]. The first phrase about the “wicked” refers to the criminals who were crucified with Jesus, and the statement about the rich man applies to Joseph of Arimathea, the man who boldly asked for Jesus’ body in order to give Him a proper burial.

            These verses remind us that these events did not happen by accident. Nothing mentioned in this chapter took Jesus by surprise—His life went according to plan! When he came into this world, He knew what the plan was, and as He grew up as a Jewish boy hearing the Old Testament proclaimed, He was hearing His own autobiography! When Jesus died, chaos appeared to reign—the sky turned black, the earth quaked, the veil in the Temple was torn in two. Yet the unexpected had never been more expected, and chaos had never been under greater control!

Isaiah then reveals that the servant’s humiliation was not the final word. There would be more to the story! The dark valley of death would only be the pathway to the glorious light of victory and triumph!

3. The Servant’s Victory and Exaltation (53:10-12)

            Verse 10 picks up the thought of the servant’s innocence from verse 9, and it says [READ 53:10-12a]. For the first part of v. 12, I think the Holman Christian Standard Bible offers a better translation—“Therefore I will give Him the many as a portion, and He will receive the mighty as spoil.” Jesus’ exaltation involved receiving authority over all people. Jesus—in His own words from Matthew 28—has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. He has received the name of “Lord,” the name which is above every name, and it will not be shared. Why is this? [READ 53:12b].

            This exaltation is why 52:15 says that kings will shut their mouths. Humanity will be astonished when Jesus’ exaltation is revealed at His Second Coming, because the “Man of Sorrows” will have become the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

            But please notice that v. 12 tells us that Jesus hasn’t just sat back and enjoyed His victory and exaltation. It says that He “makes intercession for the transgressors.” Jesus is at work right now to apply the blessings that He purchased with His blood to the lives of men, women, and children throughout the world. He is offering the healing that His wounds have purchased and the peace that His punishment has secured. He offers us forgiveness of our sins so that we can be accounted righteous—seen as holy and pure and clean in the eyes of God.

            Make no mistake, my friends—Jesus did not die because He had sinned; He died because you and I have sinned. But He was willing to bear the punishment for our sins, and His resurrection is the proof that we will be forgiven and have eternal life in Him if we will confess our sins to God and believe that Jesus is the sacrifice for our sins through which we can be forgiven. I urge you and warn you today to repent—to come to your senses and change your mind about your rebellion against God and to accept Jesus as your Savior. He is coming again, and you can embrace Him today as your Savior, or stand before Him on that day as your judge!

            If you have already accepted Jesus as your Savior, never forget what had to be done to purchase your salvation. Peter said that if we’re not growing in obedience to Jesus, we must have amnesia, because we’ve forgotten what was done to purchase our salvation. The book of Hebrews says that those who go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth profane the blood of Christ and outrage the Spirit of grace. May we never again take the sacrifice of Christ so lightly by sinning against our Savior!

            I leave you today with a poem from a man who understood the sacrifice of Christ and the depths from which he had been saved:

One Hanging On A Tree

In evil long I took delight,

Unawed by shame or fear,

Till a new object struck my sight,

And stopp’d my wild career:

I saw One hanging on a Tree

In agonies and blood,

Who fix’d His languid eyes on me.

As near His Cross I stood.

Sure never till my latest breath,

Can I forget that look:

It seem’d to charge me with His death,

Though not a word He spoke:

My conscience felt and own’d the guilt,

And plunged me in despair:

I saw my sins His Blood had spilt,

And help’d to nail Him there.

Alas! I knew not what I did!

But now my tears are vain:

Where shall my trembling soul be hid'

For I the Lord have slain!

  

A second look He gave, which said, 

“I freely all forgive;

This blood is for thy ransom paid;

I die that thou may’st live.”

Thus, while His death my sin displays

In all its blackest hue,

Such is the mystery of grace,

It seals my pardon too.

With pleasing grief, and mournful joy,

My spirit now I’ve fill’d,

That I should such a life destroy,

Yet live by Him I kill’d!

Those words were written by John Newton, the former slave trader who also wrote these words:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now I’m found

Was blind but now I see!

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear

And grace my fears relieved

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed

Through many dangers, toils, and snares

I have already come

‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far

And grace will lead me home

When we’ve been there ten thousand years

Bright shining as the sun

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise

Than when we’d first begun!

Becoming a True Fan of Jesus--Isaiah Series

     There’s an old saying which states that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. That’s just one of the reasons that we find things like Elvis impersonators in the world (actually, I guess I don’t really know what the other reasons are!). People love “The King,” and what better way is there to show that love than dress up like him and try to imitate everything about him! This principle also explains why we find events like Star Trek conventions and football games where thousands of adoring fans dress-up in the jersey of their favorite player.

            Now, if this idea about imitation is true, it offers us a great way to think about following Jesus Christ. If we adore Him and want to be His disciple (or student), then we should seek to imitate Him in every way that we possibly can. We should try to act the way that He did and embrace the same priorities that He did. We should hold the same opinions that He did and promote them the same way that He did.

            Isaiah 49-52 brings us into the heart of a prophecy about Jesus Christ, who is referred to in these chapters as simply “The Servant.” These chapters describe some of the achievements that He will accomplish for the Lord, and they also describe the attitude with which He will accomplish them. There is much that we can learn from His attitude that will help us imitate Him today. Let’s see first of all what He will accomplish, and then we’ll focus specifically on His attitude.

1. What Will The Servant Do?

A. He will be used by God to fulfill God’s promises to Abraham (49:8-26; 52:7-10)

            When God first spoke to Abraham and told Him that He was going to bless the whole world through His family, He made some significant promises to Abraham. One of those promises was that Abraham’s descendents would possess the land of Palestine as an inheritance from the Lord. The people of Isaiah’s time may have doubted this promise because they were constantly under threat from other nations, but this passage makes it clear that although the people would be taken out of their land for a time as an act of discipline, God would use The Servant to establish them in their land once again [READ 49:8-23]. God made it very clear in these verses that He had not forgotten about the children of Israel and He had not cast aside His promise to them. Though they would lose their land for a time, they would be established in it once again. Earlier prophecies in this book make it clear that these prophecies will be fulfilled when the Lord Himself reigns from Jerusalem over a kingdom of righteousness and peace.

B. He will extend God’s salvation to the ends of the earth (49:5-6)

            Lest we think that God was only concerned about Israel and cared nothing about the rest of the world, we see here that The Servant would be a source of salvation for the whole world. God has always been concerned about all of humanity; He had simply chosen Israel to be a pipeline of blessings to the rest of the world. Unfortunately, Israel had clogged up the pipeline with their sin, but the Lord states here that He would use His servant to take salvation to the ends of the earth [READ 49:5-6].

All in all, we are seeing a certain overlap with prophecies that we have already read—that the Lord Himself will reign from Jerusalem, re-gather the children of Israel in their land, and extend His blessings and His reign over all the earth. In chapter 53, we will read a prophecy about the crucial events that will make all of this possible. But for the rest of our time, I would like to focus on the attitude with which The Servant serves the Lord. He models the kind of attitude that we should have in our service for God.

2. How Can We Imitate The Servant?

A. We can look to God for fulfillment in the midst of frustration (49:4)

            Let’s face it—serving God can be very frustrating at times. We don’t always see the fruit that we want to see from our efforts. Moreover, service requires sacrifice, and its easy to feel like our sacrifices are going unnoticed, unappreciated, and unrewarded.  Even Jesus experienced frustration in serving God the Father. At times, Jesus spoke to His disciples and said things like, “How is it that you fail to understand?” and “How much longer must I endure you?”

            Isaiah briefly mentioned some of this frustration that The Servant would feel, and he also mentions the attitude that allowed The Servant to handle it [READ 49:1-4]. The end of v. 4 contains the attitude that we must embrace to handle the frustrations that come as we serve. The Servant felt like His labor had not produced the desired result, but He looked to the Lord and acknowledged that God would reward Him for His labor. Jesus endured the most undeserved treatment in history. He deserved nothing but honor and worship, but by and large He received insults, rejection, and a wrongful conviction. But 1 Peter 2:23 says that He “continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”

            Jesus simply placed Himself in the hands of the Father! The only opinion that ultimately mattered to Him was the Father’s! He remembered as well that God does not overlook nor forget the smallest act of service performed in His name.

            One day, God will show His pleasure with our service and reward us for it. That’s the real fruit that we should hope for from our service. If our obedience to God doesn’t produce the results we’d like to see from it today, that’s no big deal, because one day we will see results from it when we receive our recompense from God.

B. We can be accepting of and obedient to God’s teaching—even in the face of insults and opposition (50:4-9; 51:7-8)

            Follow with me as I read a couple of passages [READ 50:4-9; 51:7-8]. In the passage from chapter 50, The Servant describes how the Lord opened His ear to learn, and he states that he did not disobey even in the face of opposition. And how did he remain faithful? He kept a long-term perspective about the whole situation. He knew that one day God was going to render His verdict about him, and the truth would be established for all time. Meanwhile, his adversaries were going to fade out of the picture like an early-morning fog that disappears in the heat of the day.

            Opposition from other people is one of the greatest obstacles that we face as we try to obey God, and we often face this opposition because obeying God makes us stand out from the crowd. The great philosopher Kermit the Frog once sang “It’s not easy being green,” because he tended to blend into his surroundings and get overlooked by others. Well, when we obey biblical standards, we face just the opposite—we stick out like a sore thumb! We stand out among everyone else, and as the old saying goes, the nail that sticks up gets hammered down!

            But we have a very strange reaction when we face opposition for our obedience—we say that it is “unfair” that we be treated this way. We think that life should be nothing but sunshine and rainbows when we obey God, but in thinking like this, we are perhaps the only servants in history who think that we should have it better than our Master! We say that we are following in the footsteps of Jesus, but have you seen where His footsteps led? They led to the cross, and Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mark 8:34). We are following a man who is carrying a cross, so why are we so surprised that the trip isn’t always a pleasant one? What did we expect when we decided to follow a man who was hated and rejected by many of the people around him?

            But you must remember this—you are never more like Jesus than when you suffer for doing what is right! So in those moments, we just have to respond the way that Jesus did, by remembering that after the suffering there is glory; there is vindication; there is the declaration of a God who promises to make all things right!! Only that hope will allow us to persevere in obeying God. Nothing else can carry us through those times of opposition, so call these things to mind, as Jesus did.

C. We can trust in God rather than relying on ourselves (50:10-11)

            Let’s read 50:10-11 [READ 50:10-11]. Quite a pronouncement against those who rely on themselves! The activity described here of building a fire and making torches represents a sinful self-reliance. God certainly is not against hard work or ingenuity or initiative. The context makes it clear that this activity is carried out as a replacement for trusting in God. That’s when our efforts become sinful—when we believe that we can’t count on God or trust Him to keep His word, thus we have to figure everything out ourselves.

            But The Servant—the Lord Jesus—models a different way for us—the way of relying upon God. When I read the Gospels, I am often amazed by how much time Jesus spends in prayer. I’m always tempted to think that if anyone could get by with just a meager amount of prayer, it was Jesus, yet we find Him so often going off by Himself to spend time alone in prayer.

            I am equally amazed when I read Jesus making statements like, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34). Can you honestly make that statement? Can you say that serving God satisfies you the way that food satisfies a hungry appetite? That kind of attitude takes trust in God, because as we’ve seen, serving God can be very frustrating at times. Finding this kind of satisfaction requires that we trust God and believe that His commands are the very best way to live—even if it doesn’t look that way at the moment!

            If imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, then to display fan-like devotion to Jesus, it is clear what we must do—we must imitate Him! That doesn’t mean dressing like Him or wearing the same hairstyle; rather, it means that we express the same kind of character that He had, we embrace the same kinds of attitudes and opinions as He did, and we persevere in these things even when we face opposition. Jesus once told His closest followers, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). He has shown us how to persevere through tribulations by looking to the glory that lies ahead. Let us follow Him confidently even through the valley of death, knowing that He is leading us to greener pastures.