ISAIAH 41-42 41:1-42:92008 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Isaiah 41-42 41:1-42:9

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. Isaiah chapter 41.

Now, I shared last week, but I think it's worthy of sharing again. The book of Isaiah is like a miniature Bible. Well, there's a lot of breath on that mic, huh? The book of Isaiah is like a miniature Bible. There's 66 chapters in the book of Isaiah, and there's 66 books in the Bible. The Old Testament has 39 books, and the Old Testament is...

It's primarily in regards to, it's primarily about the law and God's application of the law and God's judgment for those who do not keep the law. We see that all throughout the Old Testament. Now there is grace and there is mercy in the Old Testament. We do have that. But the primary message, the primary emphasis is on the old covenant, the covenant that God had with Israel through the law.

The first 39 chapters of Isaiah is similar in that it's primarily focused on the law and the judgment that is applied to those who disregard or disobey the law of God. The New Testament, however, its primary emphasis is not the law, but its primary emphasis is the new covenant, the new covenant with Jesus Christ that we have forgiveness of sins, we have grace and mercy through what he did for us upon the cross. There is...

of and it is taught the law and God's judgment on those who disobey. But the primary emphasis is on the grace of God and it's on Jesus Christ. In the same way, the last 27 chapters of Isaiah, chapters 40 through 66, focus on the new covenant,

the Messiah or Jesus Christ, and the grace and mercy that comes under that new covenant. And so we have the Old Testament and the New Testament, and in the book of Isaiah we have the similar structure. It's so different, in fact, many have speculated that maybe there was two Isaiahs instead of just one. One wrote the first half and one wrote the second half. But there wasn't two Isaiahs. It was written by one man inspired by God,

But it was given to us so that we could see, just like the Old Testament and New Testament, the two covenants and the plan of God. I think it's something that's very encouraging for me because it indicates to us that we have the Bible that God intended for us to have. If there was one more book of the Bible or one less book of the Bible, then it wouldn't match. But because it's exact and because it's split in the same position, we have before us the

God's promise, God's proof that he has given to us the Bible that he intended us to have. Now here in Isaiah chapter 41, we'll be looking forward to God's covenant, which is a covenant that we participate in now through Jesus Christ and belief in his name. But he'll also be talking about idolatry and he'll be challenging those who worship false gods. Now, idolatry in those days was very clear.

You had a statue, some type of object that you would actually kneel before, bow down and worship. That still exists today, but here in our culture, we don't really struggle with idolatry in quite the same way usually.

Our idolatry is much more subtle. It's like Richard was talking about earlier. Those things that we put in place of God that we're more passionate about this thing or that thing or this event or that event.

And we're more passionate about those things than we are of God. Those become idols in our lives. The things that we love more, that we have more priority in our lives, are our gods. And so if God is our passion, if he is the one that we love more than anything else, if he is our priority, then he is our God. But if there's other things in our life that take those place, that take the place of God in passion, love, or priority, then he is our God.

then those things are our gods. So they're more subtle. And unfortunately, because they're more subtle, we can unknowingly become involved in idolatry. And that's why it's important as we study these things to challenge our own hearts and ask the Lord to reveal to us, is there areas in our lives that have become more important to us than God? Are there things in our life that have taken a higher priority? Are there things in our lives that we're more passionate about than

than our relationship with God and what he has done for us. And so we need to challenge our hearts with idolatry. And God starts out here in Isaiah chapter 41, right away challenging those false gods. Verse 1 of chapter 41 says, Verse 2, Verse 3,

Verse 4. Verse 5.

Here is God starts out in Isaiah chapter 41. He's speaking through Isaiah to pronounce really a great question. Who raised up one from the east? Who gave the nations before this one who is raised up and gave him to rule over kings? Who pursued them and passed safely? Who has performed it and done it is God's question.

Now, he goes on to answer the question, and he says, It's believed that in these questions, and what he is speaking about is a man named Cyrus, whom God raised up to deal with the nation of Babylon that had greatly rebelled against him. Cyrus with the Medo-Persian Empire. They were from the east. They came down from the north, conquered Babylon, and then rebelled.

the rest of the territory that was also owned by Babylon. So it's believed that it's talking about Cyrus. But here what God is asking, regardless of who it's talking about, is who is the one that has accomplished such things? Now in verse 1 he says, Or it could also be translated distant lands. He's primarily focused on Israel and he's talking about those distant lands, the lands around Israel. And he's asking them,

to be silent, to be quiet. But then he asked them to come near and to speak.

The picture we get here in Isaiah chapter 41 is that of a courtroom. And we'll see that a little bit later on about verse 17 or so, where God will be calling them to give an account of themselves. He'll be calling those distant lands, the lands that do not know God. He'll be calling those who do not have relationship with him to come and give an account of

That's why in the end of verse 1 it says, let us come near together for judgment. They're coming together to be judged, to stand before the judge and to give an account. What are they going to give an account of? They're going to give an account of who they're worshiping. In the same way that you and I, every one of us, we will stand before God one day and give an account of who our God was, who is our primary passion, who is our priority, and to whom did we love the most.

God calls out to the distant lands to have them stand before him to explain their worship of false gods. And so he asked the question, who did this and who did this and who did this and who proclaimed it ahead of time? Who performed it and made it come to pass? It wasn't false gods. It wasn't those gods that you worship.

But it was I, the Lord God Almighty, the first and the last. This is a reference that's used of God several times throughout the scripture. We'll see it again in Isaiah chapter 44, verse 6, and Revelation chapter 22, verse 13, and

Isaiah 44.6 being clearly a reference to God Almighty, God the Father speaking. Revelation 22.13 being clearly a reference. It's Jesus Christ speaking, indicating for us that Jesus Christ is God. He is the first and the last. There is no other first and the last. They're not tied for first and tied for the last. He is the first and he is the last. He's the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega.

And so God extends this challenge to the false gods or those who worship the false gods. Who are you worshipping and what can they do? They have not performed these things that have come to pass. In the same way, who are you worshipping? And what kind of gods do you have? And what can they do for you? What have they done for you? The gods of this world, the gods that we often get sucked into worshipping, they don't provide for us anything. Instead,

They take away from us and they ruin our lives. They destroy us. They make us empty. We chase after riches or money or just enough to get by. We chase after these things or we chase after relationships and we try to get those things to fulfill us and we're looking for this guy or that girl and we're trying to fulfill our needs that way or we're going down this road or we're worshiping this and we're consumed in life with these other things.

And it just makes us miserable and completely empty. Who has performed the good things in your life? It's not the false gods, but it's God Almighty. And that's the challenge that he extends to those distant lands, to those who do not know God. Hey, if you don't know God, you need to know that God is God Almighty. He is the first and the last. And he is the one who can accomplish great things in your life. Verse 5.

The coastlands saw it and feared. The ends of the earth were afraid. They drew near and came. Everyone helped his neighbor and said to his brother, Be of good courage. So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith. He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil, saying, It is ready for the soldering. Then he fastened it with pegs that it might not totter. Here we find that the distant lands, they see what takes place, they see what God has performed here.

indicating that he is God Almighty. And so they fear, but their fear of God does not cause them to draw near to God. Their fear of God causes them to turn from God.

Instead of seeing what God has said that he was going to do and seeing that he accomplished it and seeing that he is God and almighty and all powerful and responding and saying, while that really is God, let me serve that God. Let me love that God. Let me follow that God. Instead, what do they do? They team up together and help each other rebel against God and continuing in idolatry.

It says, the coastlands or the dislands saw it and feared. They were afraid. They came near and came. But then, verse 6, everyone helped his neighbor. They said, be of good courage. To do what? Well, verse 7 tells us the craftsmen encouraged the goldsmith. Hey, let's make these idols. Let's continue to fashion these images. And here, I'll hold this and you do that. And then we'll put these pegs in place so that it will not totter. Now, we talked about that last week. The carved images.

that totter. It's a scary thing if you have a God that is able to be knocked over, to have a God that totters and shakes and cannot stand fast. The God Almighty, the God of the Bible, is not an idol. He is a true and living God, and he will not totter. But false gods, they will always totter. They will always fall over. They will fall apart. You remember back in the Old Testament when

The nation of Israel had lost the Ark of the Covenant. The Philistines had taken it from them in battle. And the Philistines take the Ark of the Covenant back to the temple of their god, Dagon. And they place it in the temple. And they come in the next morning and they see that Dagon has fallen on his face. The temple, I'm sorry, the idol that was there in the temple, the idol of their god, there before the Ark of the Covenant, fell down face forward. Now,

Nobody went in there and pushed it over. This was the work of God Almighty. And so they come in and see what in the world is going on. And so they set it back up again and they come in the next morning and now it's fallen over but it's broken at the wrist and the feet and I think the head was broken off. This is what happens to false gods before God Almighty. False gods will be broken. They will be shattered. They will not last. But God Almighty endures forever. He will not totter. Verse 8.

But you, Israel, are my servant Jacob, whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham, my friend. Verse 9. You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest regions and said to you, you are my servant. I have chosen you and have not cast you away. Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will uphold you. I'm sorry, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Now God turns his attention, his conversation, his focus to the nation of Israel. He's turning his focus to those who do know God. He's been talking about those who do not know God and saying to them, who is it that you're worshiping? What kind of power does your God have? Why do you continue to turn away? But he looks to Israel, to those who know God, and he says, you don't need to be afraid. If you know God, you do not need to fear God.

God says, you're my servant. I've chosen you. I have not cast you away. It's important for you to know that if you have a relationship with God, if you've put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, that God is with you. He has not cast you away. No matter how it may feel sometimes, he will never leave you nor forsake you. He says, fear not for I am with you.

Don't be dismayed or don't be freaked out because I'm your God. I'll strengthen you. I'll help you and I'll uphold you. I'm going to take care of you, God promises, to those who know Him. He says, fear not. Those who do not know God, they have reason to fear. If you don't have a relationship with God, you have reason to fear because your gods will crumble and your life will fall apart. But if you know God and if you have a relationship with God, you do not have to fear.

We have no need to fear because we're his chosen people. We're not just scraps that happen to get saved because he really loves someone else. You are his chosen person. He loves you. And he died on the cross for you. And if he died on the cross for you, Romans chapter 8 tells us, how much less is it for him to provide everything else that we need? God will meet our needs. He'll supply the things that are necessary for us. He'll take care of us. He'll help us. He'll uphold us.

He'll strengthen us so that we can continue to walk with Him. Verses 11 through 13, God says, I will defend you. It says, Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced. They shall be as nothing, and those who strive with you shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them. Those who contended with you, those who war against you, shall be as nothing, as a non-existent thing.

For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, fear not, I will help you. Again, he says, fear not. I'm going to be with you. I'm going to say to you as I hold your hand, fear not. Don't be afraid. Those that are coming against you, those that have contended with you, those who war against you. God says, I'm going to be with you in such a way, they're going to be as nothing. They're going to be as a non-existent thing. Now that's really hard for us to

to imagine in the midst of a difficulty or trouble isn't it when we're going through difficulty when someone is coming against us or when situations have mounted up against us it's all we can see and we're overwhelmed by this person or this thing or this situation that is happening we're overwhelmed by it but god says look i'm with you don't be afraid don't get freaked out don't run away

Stick right here with me. I'm going to hold you in my hand. I'm going to uphold you and strengthen you. And that thing that you're facing, it's going to be like nothing. It's going to be like a non-existent thing. Paul tells us this later, remember? He says, I consider that our present servings, our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to come. This present life, the difficulties we face,

the issues that we have, those things, those mountains that come against us in comparison to the glory that is to come for those who know God and love God, those who are called according to his purpose. He says, you'll seek them, but you won't find them. Where were those things that troubled me? So where were those things that came against me so strongly? It's like they never existed. They're non-existent things. God says, look, I'll defend you.

Your enemies are going to vanish. I'm going to take care of it. You stick with me and do not fear. Then in verse 14 through 16, he continues to say, I'll help you. He says, fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel. I will help you, says the Lord, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth. You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small and make the hills like chaff. You shall winnow them. The wind shall carry them away and the whirlwind shall scatter them. You shall rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Israel. Again, he says, fear not. Don't fear. Don't freak out. Don't get so caught up in the thing. Don't fear. God says, I will help you.

You don't have to be overwhelmed. You don't have to be so freaked out. God will help you, he says. But notice what he says in verse 15. How is God going to help you? He says, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth. And then what does he say? He says, you shall thresh the mountains and beat them small. Then what does he say? Verse 16, you shall winnow them and

And the wind will carry them away and the whirlwind will scatter them. Here's what God says. Now we could get into what does that actually mean, the threshing sledge and how they would separate the wheat from the chaff. I'm not going to get into that right now. But here's what God says. Look, I'm going to help you. And you know how I'm going to help you? I'm going to make you what you need to be so that you can, so that you will bring these mountains down.

oftentimes we want God to simply take our problems away from us. We face those mountains, we face those difficulties as trials, and then we're overwhelmed and we're distressed and we don't know what to do and we don't know how we're going to make it and we don't know if we're going to survive and we say, God, get me out of this. But oftentimes God says, I'm not just going to take it away and I'm not just going to rapture you out of that problem. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to help you by...

Giving you the tools that you need by equipping you and strengthening you so that you can fight this battle. It's the old adage, don't just take this burden off my back, but give me a stronger back. God desires to help us, to strengthen us, to give us what we need so that we can go through these difficulties and trials and not always take us out of it. Consider the promised land.

The children of Israel as they're going into this land that God had promised them. Now God said, I will drive out those nations before you. So when they went into the land, it was completely empty. It was just like one big ghost town, right? No, that's not how it happened. As they went into the land, what did they have to do? They had to fight. But God, you said you would help us. Yes, I'm helping you fight them. I'm helping you overcome them. I'm helping you drive them out as I promised that I would.

And they go through and they're victorious and then

They've conquered the majority of the land. God says there's much more land to be conquered, but I'm not just going to drive out the people ahead of you because then the land will become useless and overgrown and with beasts and such. And so little by little, as you grow, you're going to be driving out more and more of the inhabitants of the land. That's how God chose to use the promised land. Not just drive them out completely and then they just walked into empty homes and no big deal, no battle, no fight, no struggle.

No, God says, I want to help you struggle. I want to help you with the fight. I'm going to help you fight this battle. Think about Gideon. There's many more examples, but Gideon. The Midianites were there threatening Israel. They were camped against them, enslaving them, and doing bad things for quite some time. Israel cries out to God, and so God says, okay, boom, the Midianites are gone. No, that's not what happens. What does God choose to do? He takes up one man with 300 guys with him,

And he uses them to fight the battle. He helps them fight the battle and gain the victory. In the New Testament, Paul the Apostle three times cried out to the Lord to remove from him a thorn in the flesh. We don't know exactly what it was, but something that greatly troubled him. He cried out to the Lord and the Lord said, My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness. In our weakness, as we rely upon the Lord, God's strength is made perfect.

He doesn't just desire to make those problems vanish or rapture us out of them, but he desires in our weakness that we would rely upon him and that he would strengthen us to endure, to fight the battle, to overcome that mountain in our life. And then at the end of verse 16, he says, you shall rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Israel. The result of all this is we'll praise God.

as we cry out to Him, as we look to Him, as He strengthens us and enables us to fight the battle, to go through, to endure, to overcome, then as we get to the other side, as we overcome this thing, we'll be able to praise God for His great goodness. We'll glory in the Holy One of Israel. We'll be shouting to God praises and rejoicing in what God has done in us and through us. It's the way that God desires to work. Let's look at verse 17.

He says,

Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in desolate heights and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, the myrtle and the oil tree. I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine and the box tree together.

Here God looks at those who are poor and needy. Their tongues fail for thirst. They're incredibly thirsty, but there is no water. I'm sure you've experienced that feeling before, being incredibly thirsty and not having anything to drink. Kind of like the Got Milk commercials, right?

Here God says, those who are needy, those who seek water but there is none, those whose tongues fail for thirst, God says, I will hear them. I, the God of Israel. And he says, I will open up rivers in desolate heights. God says, I'm going to work miraculously to provide the poor and the needy with what they need. Where there is no water, where there's desolate heights, where it's not logical, where it's not possible, I'm going to bring forth water, God says.

Much like the children of Israel as they were in the wilderness, they're crying out for water and God tells Moses to strike the rock and it'll bring forth water. They're in the midst of the desert, no water around, yet God works miraculously. In the same way, for those who are in need, the poor and the needy, God says, I will work miraculously on their behalf. And why? In verse 20 he says, I'm going to do this so that they may see and understand so that they may know and consider that the hand of the Lord has done this. God works miraculously so that we may understand and know that

that he is working, that he is doing this, that he is accomplishing these miracles in ways that no one else could do, that nothing else could be accomplished that way.

Now we can look at this physically. There's physical needs. There's those who are poor and needy physically and they have needs. And God says, put your trust in me. Look to me and follow me. Serve me and I will meet your needs. But we can also look to this spiritually because every one of us has spiritual needs. Spiritually, without Jesus Christ, we are poor and needy and we thirst for

And we cannot satisfy that thirst. And we can try many, many things. This is what Pastor Greg Laurie's story is all about that we'll see on Saturday evening. You can try to fill that thirst with relationships, again, with all those gods. You can try to serve those gods and fulfill that need and satisfy yourself with anything in this world.

But you'll still be poor and needy. You'll still fail. Your tongue will fail for thirst spiritually. You'll still be lacking and you know that you're lacking. But God says, I can supply that need. I can quench that thirst. Jesus in John chapter 7, he stood up on the last day, the great day of the feast, and he said, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Jesus was not speaking literally. He was not speaking about water, but he's speaking about that thirst.

thirst in your soul, that thirst in your heart, that every one of us has that can only be quenched by Jesus Christ, by a relationship with God. And so Jesus says, look, if you're lacking, if you're poor and needy, if you're empty, come to me and I will fill you and I will quench your thirst. Are you thirsty? God wants to satisfy. And the things of this life cannot satisfy. As God goes on to share in verse 21,

He says, Now when he says them, he's talking about the idols, the false gods. He says, Verse 23, Verse 24,

that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do good or do evil, that we may be dismayed and see it together. Indeed, you are nothing, and your work is nothing. He who chooses you is an abomination. So God gives this challenge now to the idols, to those false gods and those who worship them. He challenges the idolaters, and he says, present your case. Again, we have the picture of the courtroom. God is calling them idols.

before him, the almighty judge. And he says, present your case. Prove now once and forever that you truly are gods or that the things that you worship really are gods. And so God gives him several challenges. He uses the word show three times. Let them bring forth and show us what will happen. How do you prove if you're a god or not? Accurately tell the future. Accurately tell the future. Now there's lots of people who try to tell the future, but they're not accurate.

But God in His Word, over and over and over and over and over again, two-thirds of the Bible is prophecy. Many of those prophecies have been fulfilled. Every one of them accurately, 100% to the very detail of every letter. God has proven Himself to be God by showing what will happen in the future. We've seen that many times already throughout the book of Isaiah.

So that's the first challenge. False gods will not be able to accurately tell the future. But then he goes on in verse 22, let them show the former things what they were. So accurately tell the future or accurately tell the past. Now that seems pretty easy, yet history rapidly changes here in our country. The books are changing quite frequently. To accurately tell the past is not as easy as we might think, yet history

Even beyond recent history, I believe God's pointing back farther to creation. Accurately tell us, record for us how it began. How did we get here? How did life in this planet begin? Why do we exist? What were the events that took place? A real God would be able to tell you that. The false gods would not be able to. The real God, God Almighty, records for us there in the book of Genesis the beginning.

The creation, how things began, why life was began, how it began. And it wasn't through any type of being or any type of evolution, but it was God Almighty working, creating, forming and shaping this world as we know it and humanity.

God created. He is able to accurately tell. Many times people ask that. How did Moses write the account of creation if he wasn't there? Because it's not Moses. It's not his account. It's God's account. Because he is God, he can give an accurate account of the things that have happened in the past. He goes on to say, show the things that are to come hereafter again in the future. Yes, do good or do evil that we may be dismayed and see it together. So the final challenge is,

Tell us what's going to happen. Tell us what's already happened. Or do something good or do something evil that we could be dismayed, that we could be freaked out, and we could know that you're a God. It's like the challenge of Elijah on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal. As he sets up the altar for the true and living God, and they set up their altar for Baal, and they call out to God. The great challenge was that the God who answered by fire is God.

And so they called out to their false god. They called out and they called out. They called out. All day they called out to their false god. There was no fire. There was no answer. Elijah prays a simple prayer. Few words. Fire comes down from heaven and consumes the altar. The wood that was on it and the water that had also been placed upon it. God says, do something. Show us that you're God. He has done something. He has demonstrated that he is God. But these false gods can do nothing.

So God says, present your case. Bring forth your strong reasons. Why do you worship these gods? Why do you think that they're gods? They can't help you. They can't do anything. They can't tell the future. They can't tell the past. They're worthless. And he says, those who choose these false gods are an abomination. They're disgusting. To worship false gods, to chase after those things that are not God, is an abomination to God. It's disgusting. They're worthless. They can't help you. They'll just ruin your life. Why would you do that?

Keep God as your passion, as your priority. Love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Verse 25, now God begins to proclaim the one who is to come. He says, I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come. From the rising of the sun, he shall call on my name, and he shall come against princes as through mortar, as the potter treads clay, who has declared from the beginning that we may know, and former times that we may say he is righteous, and he is righteous,

Verse 1.

Verse 29, indeed, they are all worthless. Their works are nothing. Their molded images are wind and confusion. God says, those idols, those false gods, they're nothing. All they can offer is wind and confusion. That's all they can offer. He says, look, I've raised up one from the north and he's going to come. Now, again, many believe this is in reference to a man named Cyrus who is going to come down and conquer Babylon.

And God is saying, look, this is going to happen. This man is going to come. He is accurately telling the future. But of course, ultimately, this refers to Jesus Christ. He is raised up, one from the north. He shall come from the rising of the sun. He shall call on my name. He shall come against princes through mortals as the potter cheds clay. But then he asks, who else has declared?

Who else is able to tell in advance what is going to take place? Who else has said these things that we could say, he is righteous, he's right, he knows, he has seen the future and knows. He says, surely there's no one who knows, there's no one who declares, there's no one who hears their words. God says, these false gods, they're worthless. There's no value to them. We place lots of value to them. These things consume our lives, but God says, it's worthless. Why are you following that thing? It'll ruin your life. It will destroy you.

Those things are not the answer. So what is the answer? Well, we find that as we go into chapter 42, verse 1, it says, Now get the contrast here. He's saying, look, those things are wind and confusion. They can't answer. They can't do anything. They're worthless.

Verse 2, Verse 3,

He will not fail nor be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth and the coastlands or the distant lands shall wait for his law. Here as we go into chapter 42 now, verses 1 through 4, God begins to speak of the one who is to come, the Messiah who is to come, who for us now has already come, being Jesus Christ.

who died upon the cross for us. He is the servant of God. God says, Behold my servant whom I uphold. Behold Jesus Christ. These other false gods, these things that we get chasing and that we get consumed with, they will not satisfy us. They cannot answer for us about the future or about the past. They cannot do good or evil. They cannot help us. They're worthless. So what can help us? What will satisfy us? What will...

be able to work powerfully in our lives. God says, I'll show you. Behold, my servant, Jesus Christ. He's the one who can satisfy you. He's the one who can quench your thirst. He is the one who can work in your life. He says, I've put my spirit upon him. Well, actually first he says, my elect one in whom my soul delights. Remember there, the mountain of transfiguration? Jesus is there with Moses and Elijah. Peter starts rambling on and

God brings a cloud, tells Peter to be quiet and says, this is my son, listen to him. In him I am well pleased. About three years earlier, when Jesus was being baptized, as he came out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove and a voice from heaven came and said, this is my son with whom I am well pleased. God says, this is my servant, my elect one in whom my soul delights. I'm well pleased with him. He goes on to say, I've put my spirit upon him.

Jesus there, as he was beginning his public ministry, he said, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, quoting from Isaiah. We'll get to it in chapter 61. But the Spirit of the Lord had come upon him. It says he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He's going to bring forth justice or righteousness or righteous judgment. Jesus Christ is the one who brings righteous judgment. In fact, bringing forth justice is mentioned three times here in verses 1 through 4. So,

This servant of God, Jesus Christ, God is well pleased with him. The spirit is upon him. He brings forth justice. He's also gentle. Verse three, a bruised reed he will not break. Number four, he will not fail, nor will he be discouraged until he has established justice in the earth. Jesus Christ will not fail. He's going to accomplish that which he said he would. Jesus told his disciples before he ascended into heaven, I'm going away. But if I go away, I'll come back.

I'm going away to prepare a place for you, but I'll come back and receive you unto myself that where I be, where I am, you may be also. He will not fail. Jesus Christ is going to come again. He is going to establish his kingdom on this earth for a thousand years. He is going to rule and reign for the rest of eternity. This is the servant of God. This is the one who can satisfy our thirst. This is the one who can meet our needs. This is the one whom God has provided for us to behold.

And he's gentle. It says, a bruised reed he will not break. If you can picture the reeds, little tiny blades that would be there around the sea. Easily broken. Not very difficult. We're not talking about oak trees or anything. But God's gentle. Jesus Christ is gentle. He says, a bruised reed he will not break. And smoking flax he will not quench. Those flames that are about to go out, he's not going to quench them. He's going to bring forth justice and truth. But it's not...

with a heavy hand. He doesn't smack us around and beat up on us. No, He's gentle. He says, look, behold My servant. He's not going to beat you up.

You're beaten up and you're not beaten up because of God. You're beaten up because of those false gods and those false things that come against you and those things that you worship and the things that you've allowed to slave you. They beat you up and life beats you up and yeah, life is tough and there's difficult things that we face but it's not God who's beating you up. No, God is gentle. So behold Jesus Christ. He's the answer that you're looking for and He's the one who won't break you but He'll be gentle. He'll nurture you. He'll care for you.

He'll help you. He'll strengthen you and transform you so that you can overcome those things that are against you in this life. Look at verse 5. Thus says God the Lord who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it.

Verse 8, Verse 8,

And my glory I will not give to another, nor my praise to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare, before they spring forth, I tell you of them. God again says, look, I am God. I am the God who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes forth from it. I am the one who gives breath to people. God is saying, look,

I am God. I am the creator of the heavens and the earth. Now there is one thing about false gods and that is that they're not the creator of the heavens and the earth. Remember when Jonah was running away from God and he goes on the ship and he tells the people there on the ship that he's running away from God and then this great storm comes and they say, what's going on? Jonah gets the short stick and so he has to confess, okay, I'm running from God but he goes on to say, my God is the God who created the heavens and the earth. And then they freak out.

He's not just worshiping a false god, they realize. He's worshiping the Almighty God. They understand. They know. They recognize the false gods are not the creator of the heavens and the earth, but God Almighty is. God Almighty is the creator of the heavens and the earth. He is the one true and living God. And he tells his servant, that is Jesus Christ, I have called you in righteousness. I will hold your hand. I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people. Jesus is given to the people, to you and I as a covenant.

Not the first covenant, which was we had to come to Him, we had to come to God by our works and based upon our keeping the law. And if we broke the law, we had to follow the things that the law prescribed in order to come and have relationship with God. And we had to offer sacrifices and we had to do all of these things that He laid out there in the first covenant. But now as He gives His servant, as He gives Jesus Christ to us as a new covenant, He

It's not based upon our works. It's not by us being good, and being good won't get us into heaven. But it's based upon Jesus Christ. The work has already been accomplished. He fulfilled it on the cross by dying for your sins and my sins. He took the punishment, the penalty that you and I deserved. The new covenant is that we approach God on the basis of our faith in Jesus Christ.

believing that what he did he did for me in my place that he took my sin he took my punishment and that through jesus christ because of what he did i have restoration i have forgiveness i have fellowship with god i've been justified and that it's just as if i had never sinned i will be glorified not because i'm good not because i i have anything to offer no there's no good thing in our flesh

But I will get to be with Jesus Christ in eternity in a new body, in a glorified body because of what Jesus did for me upon the cross. God says, I'm God. I'm the creator of the universe. I'm the one who has all power and all authority, all wisdom and all knowledge. And I've given my servant, Jesus Christ, as a covenant to the people to bring light to the Gentiles, to open the eyes of the blind. If we don't have Christ, we're blind. Without Christ,

We're blind. That's why we chase all of those false gods. That's why we pursue all those things that can't fulfill us. But God has sent his son, Jesus Christ, to open the eyes of the blind, that we might see and understand how much God has loved us and how he demonstrated that love by sending his son to die for us. He goes on to say, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. Not only does he say,

Bring light to the Gentiles and open the eyes of the blind. But he sets free those who have been held captive. Without this covenant, without Jesus Christ, we're held captive. Now maybe, like the Jews, you say, I've never been a slave. What are you talking about? Jesus told the Jews when they answered with that, he who sins is a slave to sin. God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to set us free from the bondage of sin.

Those things that we do that we know are wrong, but we can't seem to stop doing them, but we continue to find ourselves in them. We were held captive to them outside of Christ, but in Christ we've been set free. We no longer have to be bound to those things and held captive by those things. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to set us free from the bondage that we were in to this world, to our sinful nature, to our sinful lifestyle, to our sinful

He set us free by his son, Jesus Christ, so that we do not have to continue in those things any longer. But now we can choose by the strength of God because he will transform us and help us to overcome. We can choose now by the strength of God to walk with him in obedience to him. God says, I'm sending my son, I'm sending Jesus Christ to bring light once we're in darkness.

But God has brought us into the light to open the eyes of the blind. Once I was blind, but now I see, said the blind man, I think in John chapter 9. God does the same thing for those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and he sets the captives free. We don't have to be bound to sin. We don't have to be bound in slavery that will lead us into eternal separation from God, eternal judgment. God has set us free by his son, Jesus Christ. And so God says,

ends by saying, I am the Lord, that is my name. I'm not going to give my glory to another. No false God, no false idols, none of those things that we worship instead of God or that we pursue instead of God or that are our priorities instead of God, none of those things will share glory with God. He will not share his glory with another. And that is why we must worship him. We must give our lives completely to him. We must be 100% sold out to him.

He says in verse 9, the former things have come to pass. The things I told you about, the things I've told you ahead of time, I told you about, they've come to pass. Behold, I declare to you new things. God's promising still things yet to come. And they will come to pass exactly as God has said. God is saying, look, I am God. I'm the creator. I know the beginning from the end because I am the beginning and the end, the first and the last, the alpha and the omega. And God is saying, me, the creator,

I have offered to you one way. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. If there's things that we've been pursuing that are not of God, that are not God, if we've changed our priorities so that God is no longer the priority and relationship with God and obedience to him is no longer the priority, we're involved in idolatry. If we love something else more than God, we've become idolatrous. God needs to be first and foremost.

In our life, we need to be consumed by him and he has offered to us in this relationship with him the new covenant through jesus christ Jesus is the answer now. There's a bumper sticker floating around that says if jesus is the answer What is the question and it's meant to be a slam on? Christianity and on jesus but jesus truly is the answer and the question is how can I inherit eternal life?

Jesus is the answer. How can I have my soul's thirst quenched? Jesus is the answer. How can I be set free from bondage?

to these things that I don't want to do. Jesus Christ is the answer. How can I be forgiven of my sin? Jesus is the answer. How can I have joy inexpressible? Jesus is the answer. And how can I have true, abundant life? How can I really have life and have great joy and inherit eternity with God? How can I be fulfilled in my life? Jesus Christ is the answer.

Jesus is the answer. He's the one that we need. And if you don't know him, if you don't have him, you need Jesus Christ. And you need to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And if you do have a relationship with God, but you've strayed and you've started worshiping false gods, you need to come back and center your life on Jesus Christ and be filled with him and give yourself completely and wholly to him. Jesus is the answer. And if you're miserable and if you're thirsty and if you're empty and if you're in bondage and if you're blind, Jesus is the answer.

You need Jesus Christ. He's the answer to our needs. He's the answer to our problems. He's the answer to the cry that is in our hearts. He's the one that will satisfy us. God Almighty, the creator of the universe, who created you, knows exactly what you need. He says, you need Jesus Christ. The worship team is going to come up now and we're going to spend some time in worship. And I want to encourage you to meditate on these things and to allow God to speak to you. And if this evening you realize that you need Jesus Christ,

During this first song, there's going to be people up here. Mario and Richard will be up here. They would love to pray with you and help you get right with God and make Jesus Christ your priority, your passion, and your one true love. If you need to get right with God, maybe you've strayed and backslidden, they're up here. They'd love to pray with you and agree with you and help you make that commitment to Jesus Christ. This evening, during this first song, let's just worship the Lord together.

If you need prayer, if you need to get right with God, come on up. Let's seek the Lord together and make sure that Jesus Christ is our priority, our passion, and the love of our life. Let's worship him together. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.