A Polished Shaft Hidden in His Quiver

June 23, 2024

Scripture referenced 17 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

Isaiah 42:1-9 First servant song, introduction of God's servant, read in full as lead-up to Isaiah 49

1 “Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights— I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.
3 He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice.
4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he has set justice in the earth, and the islands will wait for his law.”
5 Thus says God Yahweh, he who created the heavens and stretched them out, he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it, he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it.
6 “I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will keep you, and make you a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations;
7 to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.
8 “I am Yahweh. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images.
9 Behold, the former things have happened, and I declare new things. I tell you about them before they come up.”

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Isaiah 42:10

Closing verse of first servant song, the coastlands hook connecting to Isaiah 49

10 Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and their inhabitants.

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Isaiah 49:1-13

Main text of the sermon, the second servant song

1 Listen, islands, to me. Listen, you peoples, from afar: Yahweh has called me from the womb; from the inside of my mother he has mentioned my name.

2 He has made my mouth like a sharp sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. He has made me a polished shaft. He has kept me close in his quiver.

3 He said to me, “You are my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

4 But I said, “I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength in vain for nothing; yet surely the justice due to me is with Yahweh, and my reward with my God.”

5 Now Yahweh says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and to gather Israel to him, for I am honorable in Yahweh’s eyes, and my God has become my strength.

6 Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel? I will also give you as a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.”

7 Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and rise up; princes, and they shall worship; because of Yahweh who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

8 Yahweh says, “In an acceptable time I have answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you. I will preserve you, and give you for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritage,

9 saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights.

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them: for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water.

11 I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be exalted.

12 Behold, these shall come from afar; and behold, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.”

13 Sing, heavens; and be joyful, earth; and break out into singing, mountains: for Yahweh has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted.

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Isaiah 9:6

Quoted as another Isaiah forecast of Christ, read in full

6 For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

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Ephesians 6

Referenced for the sword of the Spirit as the only offensive weapon in the full armor of God

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise:

3 “that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.”

4 You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

5 Servants, be obedient to those who according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ;

6 not in the way of service only when eyes are on you, as men pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

7 with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men;

8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive the same again from the Lord, whether he is bound or free.

9 You masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with him.

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.

11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

15 and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace;

16 above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

18 with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints:

19 on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Good News,

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

21 But that you also may know my affairs, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make known to you all things;

22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our state, and that he may comfort your hearts.

23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love. Amen.

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Revelation 19:15

Sharp sword coming from the mouth of Christ, quoted to show Isaiah 49 points to second coming as well

15 Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp, double-edged sword, that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He treads the wine press of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty.

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Matthew 26:37-39

Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus sorrowful and praying for the cup to pass, illustrating the humanity of Christ

37 He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled.

38 Then he said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me.”

39 He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”

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Mark 15:34

Jesus crying out from the cross, Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani, illustrating the feeling of labor in vain

34 At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

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Hebrews 5:7

Jesus offering prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears, hurt because of his reverent submission

7 He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear,

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1 Peter 2

Quoted at length about Christ suffering as an example, entrusting himself to the one who judges righteously

1 Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking,

2 as newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, that with it you may grow,

3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious:

4 coming to him, a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God, precious.

5 You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

6 Because it is contained in Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen, and precious: He who believes in him will not be disappointed.”

7 For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected, has become the chief cornerstone,”

8 and, “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” For they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

10 who in time past were no people, but now are God’s people, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

11 Beloved, I beg you as foreigners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

12 having good behavior among the nations, so in that of which they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they see, glorify God in the day of visitation.

13 Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king, as supreme;

14 or to governors, as sent by him for vengeance on evildoers and for praise to those who do well.

15 For this is the will of God, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:

16 as free, and not using your freedom for a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God.

17 Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

18 Servants, be in subjection to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the wicked.

19 For it is commendable if someone endures pain, suffering unjustly, because of conscience toward God.

20 For what glory is it if, when you sin, you patiently endure beating? But if, when you do well, you patiently endure suffering, this is commendable with God.

21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps,

22 who did not sin, “neither was deceit found in his mouth.”

23 Who, when he was cursed, didn’t curse back. When he suffered, didn’t threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.

25 For you were going astray like sheep; but now have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

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Psalm 67

Quoted in full as an example of Israel called to be a light to the nations, the spreading circle of God's blessing

1 May God be merciful to us, bless us, and cause his face to shine on us. Selah.

2 That your way may be known on earth, and your salvation among all nations,

3 let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you.

4 Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you will judge the peoples with equity, and govern the nations on earth. Selah.

5 Let the peoples praise you, God. Let all the peoples praise you.

6 The earth has yielded its increase. God, even our own God, will bless us.

7 God will bless us. All the ends of the earth shall fear him.

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Psalm 96

1 Sing to Yahweh a new song! Sing to Yahweh, all the earth.

2 Sing to Yahweh! Bless his name! Proclaim his salvation from day to day!

3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples.

4 For great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised! He is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but Yahweh made the heavens.

6 Honor and majesty are before him. Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to Yahweh, you families of nations, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.

8 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come into his courts.

9 Worship Yahweh in holy array. Tremble before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns.” The world is also established. It can’t be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar, and its fullness!

12 Let the field and all that is in it exult! Then all the trees of the woods shall sing for joy

13 before Yahweh; for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, the peoples with his truth.

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Psalm 117

Quoted in full, praise the Lord all nations for his loving kindness

1 Praise Yahweh, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples!

2 For his loving kindness is great toward us. Yahweh’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise Yah!

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Acts 13

Paul and Barnabas quoting Isaiah 49:6, turning to the Gentiles after Jewish rejection, Gentiles rejoicing

1 Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

2 As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them.”

3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus.

5 When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. They had also John as their attendant.

6 When they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar Jesus,

7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God.

8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

9 But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him,

10 and said, “Full of all deceit and all cunning, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

11 Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season!” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him. He went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

12 Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

13 Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos, and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.

14 But they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.

15 After the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, speak.”

16 Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen.

17 The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as aliens in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it.

18 For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.

19 When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance, for about four hundred fifty years.

20 After these things he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

21 Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

22 When he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he also testified, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’

23 From this man’s offspring, God has brought salvation to Israel according to his promise,

24 before his coming, when John had first preached the baptism of repentance to Israel.

25 As John was fulfilling his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, one comes after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

26 Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to you.

27 For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.

28 Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed.

29 When they had fulfilled all things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb.

30 But God raised him from the dead,

31 and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people.

32 We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers,

33 that God has fulfilled the same to us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your father.’

34 “Concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’

35 Therefore he says also in another psalm, ‘You will not allow your Holy One to see decay.’

36 For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers, and saw decay.

37 But he whom God raised up saw no decay.

38 Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins,

39 and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

40 Beware therefore, lest that come on you which is spoken in the prophets:

41 ‘Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which you will in no way believe, if one declares it to you.’”

42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

43 Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.

44 The next Sabbath, almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God.

45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed.

46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, “It was necessary that God’s word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

47 For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the uttermost…

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2 Corinthians 6:2

At just the right time I heard you, on the day of salvation I helped you, applied to Christ and believers

2 for he says, “At an acceptable time I listened to you, in a day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.

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John 17:13-21

Jesus's high priestly prayer, praying for unity of believers including all who would believe through the disciples' word

13 But now I come to you, and I say these things in the world, that they may have my joy made full in themselves.

14 I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

15 I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one.

16 They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.

17 Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.

18 As you sent me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.

19 For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

20 Not for these only do I pray, but for those also who will believe in me through their word,

21 that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.

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Psalm 133:1-3

Read as benediction, how good and pleasant for brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity

1 See how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity!

2 It is like the precious oil on the head, that ran down on the beard, even Aaron’s beard; that came down on the edge of his robes;

3 like the dew of Hermon, that comes down on the hills of Zion: for there Yahweh gives the blessing, even life forever more.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Pastor Ray walked through the second of Isaiah's servant songs, Isaiah 49:1-13, showing how it fits into a larger picture that Isaiah began in chapter 42. The sermon traced how the servant described in those passages finds his ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, and what that means for the people who follow him now.

What was said

Pastor Ray opened in Isaiah 42, the first servant song, as necessary background for chapter 49. He pointed out that the servant introduced there is described as someone who would not grandstand, who would not break a bruised reed, who would be given as a covenant to the people and a light to the Gentiles. The gospel writers and John the Baptist both apply this figure to Jesus, and the passage ends with a call for the coastlands, the farthest reaches of the earth, to sing a new song to the Lord.

That final word, coastlands, is what binds the two passages together. Isaiah 49 opens with exactly the same word, a deliberate continuation of the same song. Pastor Ray read it as the servant himself speaking, describing being called from the womb, having his mouth made like a sharp sword, and being hidden in God's quiver like a polished arrow. The servant's voice would not be wasted; it would hit its mark.

The passage then names the servant as Israel, and Pastor Ray took time to work through what that means. Israel in the Old Testament can refer to the blind and rebellious nation, to the believing remnant within it, or to the ideal Israel that the nation was always meant to be but never fully managed to become. Jesus is the answer to that last category. Where Israel was called to be a light to the nations and repeatedly fell into the darkness of those nations instead, Jesus fulfilled the calling perfectly.

There is also a passage where the servant says he has labored in vain and spent his strength for nothing. Pastor Ray read that as the humanity of Christ showing through, pointing to Jesus in Gethsemane sweating drops of blood and asking that the cup pass from him, and then to the cry from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" The suffering was real. But in both places, Jesus kept entrusting himself to the Father. That pattern, Pastor Ray said, is the one that believers are called to follow, continuing to trust the one who judges rightly even when the situation looks untenable.

He then moved into the Acts passage where Paul and Barnabas quote Isaiah 49 directly when they turn to the Gentiles. Paul tells the synagogue that since they have judged themselves unworthy of eternal life, the word will go to the Gentiles, and he frames it as the fulfillment of God's command: "I have placed you as a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." The Gentiles who heard it rejoiced. The servants who carried it were persecuted and driven out of the district, but they left filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Ray closed by drawing a line from Isaiah's servant songs into Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17. Jesus prays not only for the disciples he had with him but for everyone who would believe through their word, asking that they would all be one. Pastor Ray connected that unity to Psalm 133 and to the particular situation of a church in a resort valley, where visitors and locals are constantly coming and going, and where the visible oneness of Christians carries its own witness.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

Pastor Ray shared how Moses found himself with his back to the Red Sea even though God had led him every step of the way there. Have you ever been in a situation where following God faithfully seemed to land you in a harder spot, not an easier one? How did you respond?
The sermon described Israel as called to be a light to the nations, but said they often fell into the darkness of the nations around them instead. In what ways do you think Christians today face a similar pull, and what helps you stay oriented toward being a light rather than being absorbed into the surrounding culture?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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That's right. Yep. Well, good morning, everybody. How are you? Good.

I didn't mean to stop you in your tracks, David. I'm gonna tell you, Craig from Montgomery had a mass shooting there last night. Oh, okay. We will. We will.

Right now. God, I just heard of a shooting in Montgomery, Alabama, and we know so many people there. We're connected in so many different ways there. We're connected with our brothers and sisters around the world anyway, Lord. But we just ask that you would bring about peace and comfort in the midst of extreme difficulty, Lord.

I don't know any of the details of anything that happened, but I pray that your presence would be felt and that your that your way would be in focus. And I pray that, Lord, when it looks like evil is winning the day that we would that we would turn our face like flint towards you. In Jesus' name, we ask for your comfort, your healing for also for anyone who is ailing after the fact. Physically, we ask for doctors and surgeons and all the medical personnel that would be able to help them to live through this. And for those, Lord, that are affected by it, I pray that you'd bring them into your perfect peace.

In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Would you all stand with me? And there's a bit going on outside. You all saw that, I assume.

I'm glad to be here with you. Let's sing this. A mighty fortress is our God. No No key change. Thank you.

That's gracious of you. Thank you. Go ahead. Hymn number one fifty one. Amen.

Amen. And amen. Wow. Our next song this morning will be, Jeff, have you in your room for Jesus? Hymn number four seventy eight, if you happen to have a hymnal, which I do.

Have you in a room for Jesus? Alright. Y'all can have a seat. I have a few announcements and they are. First BBQ, that just happened.

It's happening again. Sorry, Jeff. I've got the little clicker. I I usually go through these. June 23, that's today, that happened in between services.

It'll happen like that again, weather permitting on July 14, August 18, September 15, right between services about 10:00 whenever the preacher stops talking. It'll start right out here and then go till about the time it was five minutes after when I got up here this time, but it'll go till about eleven. Games, food, fun fellowship, there were lots of folks today, lots of food. First b is having a camp out. FBC actually having two camp outs.

First b, church camp outs, July 19 through the twenty first and August twenty third through the twenty fifth down at Palisades Lake. Brian McCooley knows about this and Mike Demetrius knows about this and he'd be glad either one of them be glad to give you more information. Time is coming and there it is. We have Jeff is in the booth today. Sound booth volunteers are needed.

If you feel like you're particularly gifted in the area of technology and you'd like to help with that, there's a lot going on in that booth besides just kind of clicking the slides. That's kind of the easy part of what's going on usually, if I'm not fighting you with the little clicker up here. But you can talk to Nick. Nick would be glad to help train you. Blake would be glad to help train you.

So that's good. Sound Blues volunteers. And the reason that I'm dressed the way that I'm dressed or most of the reason is because Vacation Bible School, hometown Nazareth where Jesus was a kid is starting tomorrow, Monday through Thursday, nine through 11:30, I think. Here at the church, they'll start out in this room and spread out all over the church. Vacation Bible School, this is a huge time in the life of a church and we have a very lively bunch of volunteers and a very lively bunch of kids coming.

If you know of a child, we I just met somebody out here that said, you don't know us. We were here last year during Vacation Bible School and I think you were gone and this week, I'm actually gonna be gone too. I didn't plan it on purpose. I tried not to do this this time, but she said, we're taking your place. We're from California, we're here on vacation and we're volunteers.

They went through the whole process and they brought four kids for the VBS too. So that's pretty neat. They're on vacation and yet still doing this. So Vacation Bible School tomorrow through Thursday. Sisters Saved by Grace, I think that this particular slide was made by AI.

I'm not positive, but it's got apostrophes in weird places and the sign looks funny. I think that it was AI, not sure. Sisters Saved by Grace, Thursdays at 6PM at Mike Yockel Park. So if you leave out of here and go up Kelly, when you get to a green space, a park on the side of the road, that is Mike Yockel Park. They're studying Psalms together, Sisters Saved by Grace, 6PM.

It'll be a fun time. Sunday school, this starts on July 7. We will have children's church until then, so that's just one more Sunday. They'll have children's church just like it is. And miss Crystal will still be teaching her class.

There she is back there in the back. Miss Crystal still be teaching her class. You're still teaching yours. I didn't know that. Good.

So middle school middle school, high school still going on. Fantastic. The third through the fifth grade doesn't have Sunday school for the summer. Okay. That's enough of an announcement.

Does anybody else have an announcement that I have I'm remiss and didn't know anything about? Okay. So third to fifth grade might have the summer. If they want to, they can go down with miss Crystal. That's true.

Okay. Thank you very much, Crystal. Anybody else have anything? I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh, I do know what it is.

While they're figuring out how to get that to a black screen, there it is. Diane and I and that field some of the wildest calls you can imagine. And if it's not us filled in the call, sometimes we get a voicemail message that you just wouldn't believe. So she got a voicemail message that said, hey, this is so and so. I am trying to get together the world's largest group of people dressed like a butterfly and singing a certain song.

It's gonna happen in the park this week. Would you announce that at church? I just did. Okay? I don't know who it is.

I don't know what they are. They didn't leave a time. We don't know where it is, but that's the most ridiculous thing that happened in the last twelve hours. Yes. Thursday.

Thursday is a men's study at lunchtime from 11:55 to one down the hall. Thank you for remembering that, Chuck. That's a good good time. They're going through first Peter together. That's really really good.

Thank you. Would you stand with me? Glad y'all are here. I'm glad to be here. I'll get in more into kind of the attire in a minute.

As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul long at after thee. The deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after thee. Amen. Is there another one? Here we are.

What a friend we have in Jesus. Hymn number six thirty. Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I'm gonna invite Ferry and Steve Baldock forward and Bob.

Lord God Almighty, ask for your blessing on these who have gathered in your name to sing your praises, Lord. Not just them, their families, their extended circles of associates and friends, Lord, and through them to the very uttermost parts of the earth. We know that day after day, you pour forth speech through creation, but Lord, you also use particular people who have taken in your word, who are ready to breathe it out. Lord God Almighty, may your name be praised among your people. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.

God, I thank you for this time of offering where we can show a little bit of what you have given, given it back and trust to you to use it for the carrying forward of your gospel message. Lord God Almighty, I'm thankful to be a part of a people who are surrendered to your will. We want to do your will. We want to. We don't always know what that is.

We want to do your will, Lord. We want to do it in your way. I've been thinking this week of Moses reluctantly at first, but then wholeheartedly following after you, going as you directed and taking the people and still finding himself at the Red Sea, still finding himself that seemed like an untenable, indefensible position. And Lord, you led him to that place leading others. Lord God Almighty, I'm overwhelmed by the goodness that you showed in him that when there seems to be no way that you are that way.

If we would just stand in humble obedience, take it to the Lord in prayer, and allow you to show us the way out of our difficult circumstances. Allow you to show us how to lead others out of theirs. In Jesus name, I'm thankful that Christ walked it out perfectly, that he walked it out perfectly. Lord, would you take these offerings? We know that your will done in your way, Lord, will not lack your supply.

I pray, Lord, that we'll be doing your will and we'll be doing it exactly in your way. In Jesus name, amen. Can we go forward one click there? For some reason, I can't click off of that slide. There we are.

Okay. So before I get started today, this is where we're going. Isaiah forty nine one through 13. It's the second of the suffering servant or the servant songs in Isaiah. The first one is Isaiah 42, which introduces us to the servant or the suffering servant, and I will share that one with you before I get to this one.

But I wanna tell a couple stories first. Sorry, one story at least. I have been pastor here for twelve years full time, and did a couple of internships before that. But before doing this pastorate, the only other US based pastoral experience that I had was in the summer of nineteen ninety one when I was 19 years old. I was in college and there was an offer at the Baptist Union, flyer up on the board and it said, hey, who wants to go to Panama City Beach for the summer and serve as missionary?

And I and a few of my friends did that. We had 13 guys and 13 gals. We had two condos of guys and two condos of gals. I don't think the condos were designed for seven people each. But we lived there.

I had a buddy from Sierra Leone and another guy from Costa Rica and got to be really close friends with a lot of these folks. Minister alongside one of my best friends who who has since passed away. And I think back very very well, it's very fond in my memory of that time and it's the closest that I'd ever felt to God before and I grew up in church my whole life and I enjoyed it. We did a normal job from 08:30 in the morning till five in the afternoon, and we had a thirty minute lunch break. I worked at Alvin's Island Magic Mountain Mall selling sportswear to vacationers.

When the sun was shining, nobody came in the store. When it was raining, we couldn't handle all the people that came into the store. But it was Alvin's Island Magic Mountain Mall, Panama City Beach, Florida, right next to Miracle Strip Amusement Park, and we I loved it. My normal attire was this. It was flip flops and shorts and a t shirt, that's the way we ministered.

At work, we did actually dress up a little bit for work, for our normal jobs. It was the innovator program of the Home Mission Board Southern Baptist. And we earned our way so that we could pay our rent, so that we could minister in campgrounds from 05:30 in the evening until the last customer was served sometime around 10:30 or eleven at night. Get up and do it all again the next day. And that was my that three months was my pastoral US experience.

And I say that, well, campground ministry is not exactly like being a pastor and it is not. We did that four or five days a week and then on Sundays, I got elected in a very Presbyterian sense. They told me, you don't have a choice here. And I became the pastor of the Ocean Park RV Resort, which is kind of like the Gros Ventre Campground a little bit. There's one little building and they had a box, a cardboard box full of hymnals, which I was thankful for because singing is really close to my heart.

I've been doing it my whole life. And a few chairs and a couple of tables and a laundry, know, over in the corner washing machine and a dryer. And so the first time that I got elected to do this and they said, you're it. There were four campgrounds that we did that we served, but that one was the one that became my little my little flock. And it changed every couple of weeks because people vacation for a week or two and then go.

And the first Sunday I got up, I preached after the song service, led that and then we did a couple a skit and then we did the the sermon. And I looked out and in my home church that I grew up in, it's a small church, but you didn't know if you're sitting in the congregation who the pastor was gonna call on for the closing prayer. It was always, oh, don't look at him. Don't look at him. If you look at him, it's gonna be you, you know.

And I saw a guy who came and he was he had a big Bible with him and he had on a three piece suit with the vest, like full vest, that in Panama City at the Ocean Park RV Resort. He had a big evangelist haircut and he and when I said, would everybody stand up and brother, I don't know your name, but would you leave lead us in the closing prayer? And the guy, Bible under his arm says, dear Lord, thank you for sending this young man to try to preach to us. This is opening line. Afterwards, he gave me a card that said, wake up, oh you sleeper.

And he he was a he was an itinerant evangelist. And he said and he gave me a Bible and he said, use the King James if you're gonna preach. Yeah. It was pretty awesome though. I have to say, I love I love that experience.

I love that guy. And each week I go back and it might be four or five people show up, but it was awesome. It was a really good experience and the only pastoral experience I had before being called here as an intern. This passage today is oh, and by the way, after that summer, my home church asked me if I would preach and so I actually had three three or four of the guys that were on that trip came to church that night. We all wore our t shirts and our flip flops and our shorts that we ministered in all the time.

And that was the first chance that I had to really preach as a grown up kinda in my home church. Isaiah 49, here we are. I've been thinking about this a lot. You all know that last week I told you we've had several funerals and had one more still to come. In eight days, we did three funerals.

Couple of weddings and Friday, got to do a baptism up in Mosquito Creek all the way up in the mountains. And the extreme highs and the extreme lows of the past few weeks have been very very apparent to me, and my heart has been going back to these servant songs of Isaiah. So 49 is where we're gonna spend most of our time, but 42 is right here, an introduction of God's servant. And you see it's a capital s, so it's somebody. There are differing interpretations about who this suffering servant is.

The Jews believe that it is the nation of Israel. It is the people of Israel. We'll get into that, but Christians believe that this is Jesus. It's a great understanding that God has forecasted seven hundred years ahead of time how he would bring about his will and his salvation. Here it is, introduction to God's servant or the first servant song is this, Isaiah forty two one through nine.

I'll try to get through it rather quickly to get to the Isaiah 49. Behold my servant whom I uphold, my elect one in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit on him. He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles, the nations. He will not cry out nor raise his voice nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

This servant was not someone who would be grandstanding, grandstanding and gaining masses all the time from the beginning. He would plot a bruised reed, he will not break. A smoking wick or flax, he will not quench. We know from the New Testament, the gospel writers attribute this to Jesus. John the Baptist attributes this to Jesus.

He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged. He till he has established justice in the earth. And the coastlands shall wait for his law, the furthest extent the coastlands shall wait for his law. Thus says the Lord God, 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.

I, the Lord, have called you, capital y. This is pointing to someone, Jesus. I have called you in righteousness and I will hold your hand and I will keep you and I will give you as a covenant to the people. Now, oftentimes when we do communion like we did last week, I'll say that they all knew what the old covenant was about. They all knew the old covenant that it was on them to kinda keep God's law and they knew that they had failed at it.

Jesus, the only righteous one God says, I have called you in righteousness. I will hold your hand and I will keep you and I will give you as the covenant. When Jesus said to them, this is the new covenant in my blood. He's fulfilling this. As a light to the nations, the Gentiles, it's not just for God's chosen people, the Jewish nation.

To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, set the captives free is the way. You might have heard that. Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord that is my name 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 praise to the Lord. God is speaking of his servant. We'll get into who that is. The last verse forty two ten says this, sing to the Lord a new song and his praise from the very ends of the earth. You who go down to the sea and all that is in it, you coastlands and you inhabitants of them.

Coastlands are highlighted not because I'm going to the beach or because my wife and daughter beat me to the beach. You coastlands and you inhabitants of them. This is a hook that in Isaiah 42 comes back up in Isaiah 49. It's the last thing he says in 42, it's the first thing he says in Isaiah 49. It's the continuation of the song of the servant.

Listen, oh coastlands to me and take heed all of you peoples from afar. Not just these of this holy little called out group, the the Jews by which Jesus would be born. Messiah would come into the world. They're supposed to be a light to the nations. He will fulfill that.

Listen, oh coastlands to me and take heed you peoples from afar. Coastlands, coastlands, coastland, and the Lord has called me, capital m, the humanity and the divinity of Christ. In this Psalm, Rich Steeks said that's his favorite part of the Psalm. It shows the glory and divinity of God, the father along the divinity of God, the son, and also the humanity of God, son. The Lord has called me from the womb, from the matrix, the very innermost part of my mother.

He has made mention of my name. Did he forecast Christ beforehand? Since Genesis. Over and over and over and over again, this is seven hundred years before Christ right here. Isaiah nine six, we read this a lot in Christmas time when we're all bundled up.

We don't usually read it in flip flops. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, the prince of peace. That's also in Isaiah. And he has made my mouth like a sharp sword. Now, how many places in the New Testament do we see it?

We see it in Ephesians when we're taking on the full armor of the Lord. The only offensive weapon that we have is the word of God, which is the sword of the spirit. And Jesus' mouth, Messiah's mouth would be like that sharp sword. God's word would come out of his mouth. And if you look in at another instance where and there was like a sword coming out of the mouth.

Here it is. From his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it he may strike down the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron and he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. That's revelation. Sounds like revelation.

That passage is not just Jesus's first coming. You know, Isaiah's forecast in seven hundred years of Christ when he says, didn't come to condemn, I didn't come to judge, I came to save. I came to be an example. I came to show you the way. I am the way, the truth, the life.

He also is going to return and he will return in judgment. So he's made my mouth like sharp sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he has hidden me, and he's made me a polished shaft. In his quiver, he has hidden me. So how would it be that God would overcome the evil that's present in the world? The evil and the evil one.

How would it be? We sang a mighty fortress is our God. Right? Not grandstanding, simply walking out in submission to the spirit, the will of God the father, suffering servanthood. He made me a polished shaft and he has hidden me in his quiver.

This is an arrow that goes straight and it hits its target. And he said to me, you are my servant, oh Israel, in whom I will be glorified. You're my servant, Israel. Now, brings up Israel and when we see that in the Old Testament, it can mean the blind, deaf, rebellious unbelievers of Israel because that happens a lot in the Old Testament. It can mean that.

It can also mean believing Israel. The believing ones who have trusted in God's way though they do not know exactly what it is. I mean, Abraham and Isaac, if you look at that, God provided a way when it seemed to be no way, trusted in God and allowed for him to make a provision, the ram, when he was asked to sacrifice Isaac. Blind, deaf, rebellious, unbelieving Israel or believe in Israel or is it the ideal Israel? And sometimes it's each one of these things, sometimes it seems to be available for all of them, but the last one is answered in Jesus as Messiah.

So the ideal is he fulfilled the law. We'll get into it in a minute, but Israel was supposed to be a light to the nations, but instead of being a light, they fell into the darkness of the nations around them often and God would call them back out. Isaiah was one of the prophets that was calling them back out of that. Then I said, I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain.

This shows the humanity of Christ. The humanity of Jesus walking out in submission to the spirit, but also going through some incredibly difficult trying trials, especially near near to the cross, but he was walking towards them. Matthew twenty six thirty seven thirty nine in the Garden Of Gethsemane. He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed, sweat drops of blood, it says in another gospel. Then he said to them, my soul is consumed with sorrow.

He's a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Even unto the point of death, Y'all stay here and keep watch with me. And going a little further, he fell face down and he prayed, my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will but as you will. He recognized the difficulty of the situation and he put it he trusted God with his outcome by saying your will instead of mine be done. Mark highlights from the cross, Another time where it feels like it might all be in vain.

At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eloy, Eloy, Lama Sabachthani, which is translated, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Hebrews points it out for Jesus again. During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and with tears to the one who could save him from death, And he was hurt because of his reverent submission to the father's will. He said, then I said, I have labored in vain. It feels like I have labored in vain.

I've spent all of my strength for nothing and in vain, yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, sounds like David, will not my God do what is right? Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord and my work is with God. He was trusting in God though he felt forsaken. First Peter two, one of my favorite passages from that little book. And this is the Ray McDaniel translation.

I don't know. I I stole the slide from another sermon, and it's got all the y'alls in here. I don't know of another translation that is using y'alls. The Cotton Patch Gospel maybe, but it's it's a for y'all have been called y'all, the people of Christ. Y'all have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for y'all, leaving y'all an example for y'all that y'all should follow in his steps.

In his steps, he who committed no sin nor was any deceit found in his mouth and while being reviled, he did not revile in return and while suffering, he uttered no threats. But he kept on entrusting himself to the one who judges righteously. May I say that as you are walking out this Christian life in humble obedience to the Lord and he's directing your steps in whatever little area of ministry he has given you, as you're walking it out, there will be times when you feel like, I'm not sure why I'm in the position I'm in. I'm not sure why this has fallen to me. Did I hear correctly?

Keep on entrusting yourself to the one who judges rightly. Like I said in the prayer, Moses had his back to the Red Sea and God led him every step of the way to get him there and he led him through it and he will lead you through it. Keep on entrusting yourself to the one who judges rightly. Isaiah 49, back to that. Five.

And now the Lord says, the Lord who formed me from the womb to be his servant. That sounds a little bit like Jeremiah, doesn't it? When Jeremiah is in the pit, oh, wait a second, we've got an echo there too. Jeremiah the prophet. He's down in the pit and he says, God, I don't think I can keep on doing this.

I know that the word came from you, but when I deliver it, they wrap it in a wrap it around a rock and throw it in the river. When I deliver it, they burn it up. They don't listen to what I'm having to say. You are my man for this job, Jeremiah. You keep on being faithful.

You keep on carrying the word. You're giving them the opportunity. Seems like forty years of fruitless ministry because they didn't respond well to him, but he was still faithful. Jesus here in Isaiah, and now the Lord says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him, the wandering unbelieving Israel back to him, so that Israel is gathered again to him into being believing Israel. For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord and my God shall be my strength.

Indeed he says, it is too small a thing that you should be my servant. To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel. The preserved ones. This is I've already given you an example of the unbelieving Israel being called out. This looks like an example of believing Israel that you are to restore the preserved ones.

Though they have been a remnant for a while, you are to bring them back around. Messiah. So believe in Israel is that. I will also give to you as if that weren't enough, I'm gonna give you as a light to the Gentiles. It's not just for the Jews.

So in God's covenant with Abraham, he meets Abraham. They make a covenant. They split the bull. They walk together between the pieces of this bull in a Hittite ceremony. That's wild.

God makes a deal with him that he would bless those that that Abraham blesses. He curse those he curses, and he's telling him to bless. He's telling him to be a light, and he tells his sons and his grandsons and his whole line that they are to be a light to the nations, that they're to follow after his spirit, that they are to follow his law when they get the law. I will also give you as a light to the Gentiles. The Jews are said to be a light to that that was their goal, but Jesus fulfills that perfectly.

Israel is a light to the Gentiles. One example of Israel as being a light to the Gentiles, probably my favorite Psalm, Psalm 67, what Derek Kidner calls the spreading circle of God's blessing. God be gracious to us and bless us. Does that sound selfish so far? It kinda does.

It almost sounds like a prosperity gospel up to that point, but that's just the first line, not even the end of the sentence. God be gracious to us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us. Say la, let it ring out, so that your way may be known on all the earth. That's why we're looking for the blessing of God and it's not necessarily material blessing. That your way may be known on the earth, that your salvation will be known among all of the nations.

Let all the peoples praise you. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy. That's a third person command. To the nations to be glad and sing for joy because salvation is available in Christ.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy for you will judge the peoples with uprightness. Keep on entrusting yourself to the one who judges rightly. And guide the nations on the earth. Selah, let that ring. And let the peoples praise you Lord.

Let all the peoples praise you for the earth has yielded its produce. God in his wisdom keeps on producing. The rain falls on the just and the unjust alike. Creation pours forth speech every day and there's no language where it can't be heard. The earth has yielded its produce.

God, our God blesses us, God blesses us so that all the ends of the earth may revere him. God has a a means to get his message out and they are the believing people that have accepted his grace and are now able to proclaim it going forward. Psalm 96 echoes all of that. I won't read all of it. I did in the first service.

I went two minutes long. Psalm 96. Go back and read it this afternoon. It's great. Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice.

Let the sea roar and all it contains. Let the field exalt and all that's in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy. Before the Lord for he is coming, he is coming to judge the earth. This is another one of those split range prophecies.

Isaiah and the Psalms don't only proclaim the first coming of Christ, but they proclaim the second coming of Christ too. He will judge the world in righteousness and he will judge the peoples in his faithfulness. Psalm one seventeen. Praise the Lord all the nations, Lord him all you peoples for his loving kindness is great towards us and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord.

Back to Isaiah. I will also give you There's a great book by Walt Kaiser. He's an old testament professor of I think it's Crown College Seminary, I'm not sure. But it's a great, great, great book called Israel as a light to the nations. You would enjoy reading that, I promise.

I'll also give you as a light to the Gentiles, so that you should be my salvation to the ends of the earth. Christ has ultimately fulfilled the promise of being a light to all the nations. You should be my salvation to the ends of the earth. Let's look in Acts and we're gonna see Paul at this portion of Acts, it's primarily about Paul's journeys and about where he is with his cohort. And it says, on the next Sabbath, nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.

That's unusual. It's an it the assembly is synagogue. It is a place where people gather and this says, nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord because the gospel was growing the church. And this is before there was a real separation between Judaism as its practice and Christian practice. It was opening up because the light to the nations had been had been expressed.

Here it is. The next Sabbath, nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and they began contradicting the things that were spoken by Paul and they were themselves blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first, and since you repudiated and you judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life. That is unbelieving Israel, and that is a possibility.

Behold, we're turning now to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us and they quote this passage, I have placed you as a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed, they heard the gospel, it clicked, they accepted it, and they were made whole. And as many as have been appointed to eternal life, believe.

They took it in, they believed in. Now, anytime in in Panama City when I was 19 years old, in a campground with somebody swinging on a swing set smoking a joint. They'd watch the show, hear the things, the puppets, the full deal. And then afterwards, they'd have questions, and we'd hang around till they had satisfied we'd either satisfied them and you have three responses. Anytime you proclaim the gospel to anybody, it's gonna be like Paul on Mars Hill.

Some people will accept it and they'll change who they are for their life and into eternity. Some people will reject it out of hand and say, that's not for me. And other people will say, I'll I'll hear more on this later. You you you got me in a spot where I'm intrigued now. When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing.

They accepted it, glorifying the word of the Lord, and the word of the Lord was being spread throughout that whole region, but the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and they instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district. Do you notice the suffering of the servants, small s's? They're following after Christ and where he was crucified, they are persecuted. But they shook the dust off their feet in protest again they went to Iconium and the disciples were continually filled with the joy and with the Holy Spirit. Back to back to Isaiah 49.

Thus says the Lord, the redeemer of Israel, their holy one to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to the servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship because the Lord who is faithful, the holy one of Israel, he has chosen you, Jesus. Thus says the Lord, in an acceptable time, I have heard you and in the day of salvation I have helped you and I will preserve you and I will give you as a covenant to the people. Jesus is walking this out his whole life, he's walking this out as a covenant to the people. 42 also says, I will appoint you as a covenant to the people. When Jesus speaks of the new covenant in his blood, this is fulfillment of this.

As a covenant to the people to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritages, the things that were abandoned and lost under the old covenant will be renewed in you. For God says, at just the right time, I heard you. This is second Corinthians. At just the right time, I heard you on the day of salvation, I helped you. Christ from the cross and arising from the grave and then everyone who puts their trust in God is helped at just the right time.

God hears. Sing, oh heavens, be joyful, oh earth, and break out into singing, oh mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people and he will have mercy on his afflicted. I'm gonna go forward from here into the New Testament. And I want you to think about this because we were having the little deal out here today, and we're all gonna be sitting around fellowshipping together, and in all of the hard stuff, all the highs and all the extreme lows, what I've noticed is in both, we wanna celebrate with each other in the highs, rejoice with those who rejoice and for those who have found themselves literally walking through the shadow of death, we wanna mourn with those who mourn and we do that in unity. This is from Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17.

But now I come to you father and these things I speak in the world so that you so that they may have my joy made full in themselves. I have given them, he's talking about his disciples, your word and the world has hated them because they're not of this world even as I'm not of this world. I I don't ask you to take them out of the world father, but to keep them from the evil one while they're in this world. They're not of the world even as I'm not of the world. We have been changed.

Sanctify them lord in the truth. Your word is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes, I sanctify myself. I walk out in submission to the spirit in humility every task.

For their sakes, I sanctify myself so that they themselves also might be sanctified in the truth. I'm not asking this. This is continuation of that 20 through 21. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, the disciples that he had instructed and trained and been walking with for three years and the gathering entourage that heard his teaching all the time. He says, I'm not just praying for these folks, but also for all who will believe in me through their word.

That includes you, believer. If you're a believer in Jesus, Jesus prayed for you on the night before the crucifixion. That they may all be one, unified. Even as you father are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us and as they are in us, they will be drawn together into an essential unity, so that the world may believe that you sent me. Amen.

I've got one more slide I think is the benediction, but I'm thankful. I'm thankful for God putting in front of us exactly the next step. He doesn't tell us all of the steps. Thank God he doesn't do that. But he just tells us the next right step.

Jennifer, would you come forward? Oh, I do have Psalm one thirty three to read. No, that's the that's the benediction. I'll get to that. Come on up.

Let's sing this. Would you stand with me? Take my life, lead me lord. Hymn number six sixty four. The altar is always open.

If you want to talk afterwards, I'll turn the mic off. We'll talk. As far as dwelling together in unity, we have the opportunity in this place. I I did I was talking about resort ministry when I started off. And y'all know we live in a resort.

Y'all know that? Like everybody that comes here, they they come here and they are seeing the glory of God whether they know it or not. And you have a voice to be able to articulate that. I'm praying right now that we, all of the churches of this valley, all the Christians of this valley, visitors and locals alike, that we would be drawn into an essential oneness in Christ, a unity in the body that's expressed in Psalm one thirty three one through three. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to live together in unity.

It's like the precious oil on the head running down upon the beard as on Aaron's beard, the oil which ran down upon the edges of his robe. That's that's a statement of abundance. Right? Unity is good for us. It's like the dew that lands on Mount Hermon and comes down the Mountains Of Zion for the Lord has commanding the blessing the Lord has commanded the blessing there.

Life forever. God's eternal life will be proclaimed through our unity. God, would you help us to be unified, to just lay down all of the fighting and draw us into the very center of your gospel. Convict of sin, convince of righteousness, and allow us the illuminated word that will help to light our path. In Jesus name, amen.

Amen. Jenny Sherman's grandson. Yeah. Right. She was a 101.

That one was easy. Yeah. Yeah. Hey there. How are doing?

Doing service. Praise God. Thank you. Where are you from? Kansas.

Kansas. Alright. Cool. I was gonna say, does that there was no Jayhawk on there. I thought that was that would have been a little more obvious.

This is from Houston. Okay.

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Light To The Nations Moses Red Sea Trust Persevering In Ministry Suffering Servant Isaiah Unity In Church

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