Jesus Is My Hope

I pray that everyone is remaining safe and healthy. In the midst of this difficult situation of social distancing, yesterday I preached on having faith, even a lttle faith, faith as a mustard seed. Luke 17:6 says that if we possess even a little faith, "faith as a mustard seed" (v. 6a), which is the smallest of all seeds, "you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you" (v. 6b).

In other words, great things can be done with even a little bit of faith. We all need to join together in prayer every day and this coronavirus pandemic can be defeated. Just click on the "Sermons" tab above and you will be taken to that message on my podcast. And now to today's Bible Insight:

Isaiah 42:4a says, "He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth." The Messiah will accomplish His purposes. He will bring justice. This was fulfilled in part when Jesus came over two thousand years ago, providing salvation and new life for all who trust Him as Lord and Savior.

The full and final fulfillment will be at His second coming, when Jesus will set up His kingdom on earth and reign for a thousand years in righteousness and with justice. "And the coastlands shall wait for His law" (v. 4b) indicates that His millennial rule with truth and justice is worldwide. All the earth will benefit from His justice.

"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" (v. 5). The promise is from God: "Thus says God the LORD" (v. 5a). He created the heavens, the earth, and all life on the earth out of nothing.

"Who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it" (v. 5b). God created us not only as living, breathing beings, but He created in us a spirit, or a self-awareness. No plant, no animal, no other part of creation has that. We know our past; we can know God, along with His holiness; and we can know for certain that He will fulfill all His promises for the future.

He will give you new life. "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles" (v. 6). God reminds us of His promises: "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness" (v. 6a). The Son, like the Father, is righteous, and the Father sent Him to us. "And (I) will hold Your hand" (v. 6a). They have a common purpose and they walk together in it.

"I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people" (v. 6b). The promise of salvation in Christ. The promise of a future eternity with Christ. Jesus introduced this "new covenant." In the upper room, when Jesus broke the bread and gave them the cup, He refers to the new covenant: "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matt. 26:28).

"Which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (v. 28b) refers to the purpose of Christ's death. It was the atonement for our sins. "As a light to the Gentiles" (Isa. 42:6b) is one of the many prophecies in Isaiah concerning the Messiah's purpose. His purpose was to save, but He not only came to save the people of Israel, He came to save all of us as well. He is my hope. Amen.

Jesus Is My Comfort

"He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street" (Isaiah 42:2), is a reference to the fact that Jesus was quiet, patient, and kind in His dealings with people in His ministry during His first coming. Even when the scribes and Pharisees confronted Him and challenged Him, He did not lose control. He spoke hard, confrontational truths, but always with loving patience and kindness, which should be exemplified in us.

After being tempted for forty days in the wilderness, Jesus went to His hometown of Nazareth and entered the synagogue. He was handed the book of Isaiah and He read these words: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD (Luke 4:18-19, quoting Isaiah 61:1-2a).

Then He said, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21). And all the people "marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, 'Is this not Joseph's son?'" (v. 22). So Jesus stated the situation plainly: "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country'" (v. 23).

He knew the people. They only wanted to see a sign. They selfishly wanted only what they could gain. So Jesus said: "Asusredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian" (vs. 24-27).

That did not make for very happy campers. In fact, the people "were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff" (vs. 28-29). And what did Jesus do? It says, "Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way" (v. 30).

"Passing through the midst of them, He went His way" (v. 30). Jesus didn't get angry, though they threatened His life without cause. He didn't yell at them, or scold them, or even challenge them in any way. He simply walked away! "Passing through the midst of them, He went His way" (v. 30). He kept His cool and He remained patient and kind.

Isaiah describes the Messiah as bringing justice to the people and having compassion for the weak and oppressed: "A bruised reed He will not break" (Isaiah 42:3a). Not breaking "a bruised reed" carries the idea of compassion. The thought is that the Messiah, when He comes, will have compassion for those who are weak and downtrodden—the least among them.

Reeds grow by the water. They are hollow, and when the wind blows hard or an animal coming for a drink pushes them aside, they are easily bent or "bruised." Shepherds often used reeds to make small whistle-like musical instruments. But if the reed became creased, it was useless. If still in the ground, it died. If the shepherd's reed instrument was bent and creased, it would crack and splinter. It would no longer be of any use.

People living under the pressures of poverty and oppression, like the reed, were easily "bruised." The Messiah would come to give them comfort, hope and faith. The few, the wealthy, the politically powerful, had created an unjust culture in Israel. The many, the poor, suffered under that corrupt culture. The Messiah would not reinforce that culture, He would overturn it.

His purpose is salvation—to deliver hope, joy, and the promise of eternal life. No matter what your circumstances now, faith in Jesus, the Messiah, makes certain the hope of living in His presence forever.

Verse 3b continues: "And smoking flax He will not quench." "Smoking flax" (v. 3b) is a smoldering wick in an oil lamp. The fire is still alive, but dying. This again refers to the weak and suffering. They are beaten down by the social structures of the day as well as severe poverty and suffering. The Messiah would not add to their suffering, instead "He will bring forth justice for truth" (v. 3c). He gives salvation and a future in heaven. He is my comfort. Amen.

Forsaken, But Not Forgotten

At "about the ninth hour" (Matt. 27:46a), or about 3:00 in the afternoon, Jesus, approaching death, cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (v. 46b). This was Jesus' fourth saying from the cross. He quoted the first part of Psalm 22:1-2, which reads: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; and in the night season, and am not silent."

With the words of David in Psalm 22, Jesus expressed the agony of His heart: abandoned by the Father! But why? Why had God abandoned Him? Why did the Father turn His back on Jesus in this, His moment of greatest agony?

The night before, in the garden, prior to His arrest, Jesus had prayed three times saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me" (Matt. 26:39a). His heart hurt within Him knowing what was to come. And each time He concluded with the words: "nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will" (v. 39b).

We will never fully understand in this life what Jesus experienced on the cross at that moment. We can't fully understand. It is too great for us. But what Jesus was doing both in the garden and on the cross, was expressing the profound agony of being separated from the Father, though it be only for a moment.

The very moment Jesus took our sin upon Himself He entered into the agony of separation from the Father. The Father abandoned Him because He became sin, paying the penalty for us. In the shear agony of that moment, Jesus experienced something far more horrible than physical pain. He experienced rejection—rejection by the Father. As it says in the Word: "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).

The Father abandoned the Son for our sake, for our salvation. But can I really grasp the full scope of this truth? No! As Martin Luther once said, "God forsaking God. Who can understand it?" Yet even so, just to think of this truth calls me to worship and adoration.

Have you taken time to consider that Jesus was abandoned by the Father while paying the penalty for your sin, so that you might not be abandoned? Think about it! And trust Him by faith. Have a blessed Good Friday, and stay safe. Amen.

Jesus Is My Servant

We are living in unusual and hard times. With the whole nation observing "social distancing" in the war against the spread of the coronavirus, churches for the first time in my life are not gathering for worship, but are attending "virtual" services online. Continue to pray for one another and always remember who Jesus is:. According to Isaiah 42:1-9, He is God's chosen servant.

The Lord God opens our passage by declaring, "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!" (v. 1a). "My Servant" is a term applied to several of Israel's faithful spiritual leaders over the preceding centuries: Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Caleb, Job, and Zerubbabel. A century and a half later the same term is used of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom God used to invade Judah as His instrument of judgment in 586 B.C.

God the Father calls Jesus "My Servant" (v. 1a). He is God's elect, God's chosen servant. He comes doing the Father's will. God the Father upholds Him and delights in Him, as He accomplishes the Father's will in our lives.

It is in the accomplishment of that purpose in my life that makes Him my servant as well. He is my servant, not in the sense of doing my will, but in that He did for Me what I could not do for myself. He saved me by His grace!

The Lord God continues by stating the purpose for which He sent the Savior. First, the Lord says, "I have put My Spirit upon Him" (v. 1b). We see this when Jesus was baptized. When He came up from the water "the Holy Spirit descended in bdily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, 'You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased'" (Luke 3:22).

Then the Lord adds, "He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles" (v. 1c). Jesus brings grace, saving grace, to you and me. But there is more to it than that. It looks forward to the second coming, when He will establish and rule over a kingdom in which justice prevails throughout the world—a revolutionary idea in the ears of the Israelites. The Messiah would come not just for them, but also for the Gentiles, whom they regarded not just as pagan, but as unclean. The whole world will experience the righteousness and justice of the King.

The bottom line is that Jesus came for you and me—for our salvation. He came to suffer and die for our forgiveness. He came to change us—to make us pure and clean and righteous like He is. But He is also coming again. He is returning soon to complete the process and take us to heaven to spend eternity with Him. He is my Servant. Amen.

A Call to Prayer

What's happening!?! The worldwide coronavirus pandemic seems to get worse by the minute. President Trump, in the midst of offering hope, warned that the next two weeks would be "brutal." On April 1, the news was reporting over 858,000 cases worldwide, only to have that number increased within minutes to over 911,000 cases. Worldwide, the death count from the virus was over 45,000. In the United States, the totals were over 203,000 cases, with nearly 4500 deaths.

People have asked me if this is a plague sent by God to punish our nation, or perhaps the whole world, for our sin. They ask if this is one of the plagues of Revelation, indicating that we are in the last days. To answer these questions, we need to first understand the purpose of plagues in the Bible and what caused them.

In the Old Testament, plagues seem to come from one of two sources. One, a plague can have purely natural causes, as in Amos 4:10 where it speaks of "a plague after the manner of Egypt." Sent by God, these natural disasters were intended to bring repentance. Two, there are times when a plague appears to be more of a direct strike from God, as in Exodus 11:1, where we are told, "And the LORD said to Moses, 'I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt.'"

The seven last plagues of Revelation 15-16 are referred to as the completion of the wrath of God: "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete" (Rev. 15:1). These plagues are aimed solely at the people of the Antichrist. But the coronavirus does not so discrimiinate. It ravages believer and unbeliever alike.

So it would seem more likely that this is simply a natural disaster rather than a supernatural act of God. Still, as in Amos 4:10, God intends for it to bring us to our knees in repentance and prayer. A neighbor told me that he believes, though not an indication that we are in the Last Days, it may be a "dress rehearsal," testing the church to see how we respond.

So how should we respond? Second Chronicles 7:13-14 says, "When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Natural disasters, especially something as devastating as the coronavirus pandemic we are now experiencing, is intended to bring us to our knees. The response God wants from us is four-fold: (1) Humble yourself brfore God—get on your knees, or better, prostrate yourself before God; (2) Pray; (3) Seek after God; and, (4) Repent—"turn from [your] wicked ways" (v. 14a). That is what God wants from you.

Do these four things and God will respond in three ways: (1) He will hear your prayers; (2) He "will forgive [your] sin" (v. 14b); and, (3) He will "heal [your] land" (v. 14b). When we seek God in the face of pestilence, He respionds in mercy. God is still in control. Have faith. Trust Him. Amen.