Podcasts about my servant

7 takeaways from this study Invite honest spiritual diagnosis. Like the priest examining skin, ask trusted, mature believers to help you “see between” (i.e., discern) surface symptoms and deeper heart issues. Treat words as covenant weighty. Refuse gossip, venting, and subtle character attacks. Before speaking, ask: “Will this build this person's name, or damage it?” Watch for “spreading marks.” Pay attention when a small compromise, habit or resentment begins to spread into more areas of your life. Act early; don't wait for “raw flesh.” Guard your environments. Examine your “house” and “garments” — your home culture, media intake, and closest relationships. Remove influences that repeatedly pull you toward uncleanness. Pursue restoration, not disposal. When someone falls, think in terms of Leviticus 14 and Matthew 18 — clear, sometimes firm steps whose goal is reconciliation and return, not humiliation. Practice confession in safe spaces. Cultivate relationships where sins can be confessed without fear of public exposure, yet with a commitment to real change and mutual prayer (James 5:16). Come to Yeshua as the Leper-Bearer. Do not try to “clean up” first. Bring your visible failures and hidden rot to the Messiah who bears our plagues and alone declares us clean. Leviticus 13–14 presents צָרַעַת tzara'at (“leprosy”) as a covenantal condition rather than a simple medical diagnosis. The text treats skin, garments, and houses as potential carriers of impurity. It assigns priests the task of careful observation and verdict. These chapters sit within a broader biblical pattern that links visible affliction to inner and communal realities, and they anticipate a figure who bears the community's plagues and restores access to God. Key terms and covenant framework To begin, let’s recap some several foundational Hebrew terms in Leviticus. קָרְבָּן korban/qorban (“offering” or “gift”) denotes what is brought near to God. It derives from קָרַב karav (“to approach”). קָדוֹשׁ kadosh (“holy”) describes what is set apart for God. Its opposite on the broader spectrum is חוֹל khol (“common,” “profane”). Within that spectrum, another axis appears: טָהוֹר tahor (“clean”) versus טָמֵא tamé/tamei (“unclean”). These categories answer a central question: may a person, object, or place approach the divine presence. Alongside these stand terms related to the condition itself. צָרַעַת tzara'at refers to the condition often translated “leprosy.” הַמְּצֹרָע ha‑metzora (“the leper”) denotes the afflicted person. The Greek Old Testament (Septuagint/LXX) uses λέπρα lepra (“leprosy”) from λέπις lepis (“scale”), which influenced traditional English renderings. Within this framework, Leviticus does not primarily ask whether a condition is dangerous to public health. It asks whether a person or object is fit to approach the holy. The priest as observer and discerner Next, the text defines a specific role for the priest. Priests do not prescribe remedies. They look, examine, and declare. Leviticus 13 repeatedly uses verbs of seeing. It commands that a person with a suspicious mark “shall be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests” (Leviticus 13:2 NASB95). The priest then looks and pronounces the person clean (tahor) or unclean (tamei) (Leviticus 13:3). This activity reflects the idea of discernment expressed by the Hebrew word בֵּין bein (“between”). Discernment involves seeing between options, not merely reacting to appearances. In this context, the priest discerns between temporary, harmless eruptions and conditions that indicate deeper defilement. The verdict has immediate communal consequences. An unclean person must live outside the camp and cry “Unclean! Unclean!” (Leviticus 13:45–46 NASB95). Signs, criteria, and the logic of examination From here, the text lays out detailed criteria. Leviticus 13:3–8 describes a swelling, scab, or bright spot on the skin. If the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears deeper than the skin, the priest declares it tzara’at and pronounces the person unclean (Leviticus 13:3). If the spot is not deeper than the skin and the hair has not turned white, the priest isolates the person for seven days and then re‑examines (Leviticus 13:4–5). As the chapter continues, it applies similar logic to other situations: spreading versus non‑spreading rashes raw (living) flesh inside a white area conditions on the scalp or beard eruptions after boils or burns total whiteness of the body ordinary baldness In each case, depth, color, and spread determine the verdict. Some severe‑looking conditions, such as total whiteness, may be declared clean (Leviticus 13:12–13). Other less conspicuous signs, such as raw flesh appearing within whiteness, result in an unclean verdict (Leviticus 13:14–15). The text requires time, repetition, and attention to change over time. The priest does not rush. He isolates, observes, and only then pronounces. ConditionResultDeep lesion with white hairTameiSpreading lesionTameiRaw/living fleshTameiYellow-haired scalp diseaseTameiStable non-spreading eruptionTahorEntire body turned whiteTahorHealed lesion turned whiteTahorBaldnessTahorWhite spots (bohaq)Tahor Garments and houses under inspection Furthermore, the same pattern extends beyond human skin. Leviticus 13:47–59 addresses “a mark of leprosy” (נֶגַע צָרָעַת nega tzara'at) in garments of wool or linen, or in leather items. If the mark is greenish or reddish and appears deeper than the material, the priest isolates the item for seven days (Leviticus 13:49–50). After washing and further observation, persistent or spreading marks result in burning; disappearing marks allow the garment to be used again (Leviticus 13:53–58). ConditionVerdictGreen/red mark under investigationIsolateMark spreadsTameiMark unchanged after washingTameiMark reappearsTameiMark disappears after treatmentTahor Leviticus 14 then moves to houses in the land. If a “mark of leprosy” appears as greenish or reddish depressions that seem deeper than the wall surface, the priest orders the house emptied and examined (Leviticus 14:33–36). He shuts it up for seven days. If the mark spreads, he commands that affected stones be torn out and thrown into an unclean place. He has other stones and plaster used to repair the house. If the mark returns after repair, the house is condemned and demolished (Leviticus 14:43–45). If the mark does not spread and fades after replastering, the priest declares the house clean (Leviticus 14:48). ConditionVerdictGreen/red depressionsIsolateMark spreadsTameiStones removed and repairedReevaluateMark returns after repairsTameiMark does not returnTahor In this way, Leviticus treats garments and houses almost like extensions of the body. The same logic of observation, isolation, treatment, and re‑evaluation governs all three. Symbolic movement from surface to core At this point, a pattern emerges. Tzara'at affects skin, clothing, and structures. Rabbinic literature often notes a progression: first the house, then the garments, then the body. This order suggests a movement from environment to personal sphere to the person himself. The biblical text does not explicitly state this sequence. However, the parallel procedures support the idea that impurity can permeate all layers of life. This perspective also clarifies why the total whiteness of the body in Leviticus 13:12–13 can result in a “clean” verdict. In that case, nothing remains hidden. The condition has reached full exposure. Some commentators take this as evidence that the text addresses a covenantal sign, not an ordinary communicable disease. The priest evaluates the meaning of the mark in relation to God's covenant with Israel, rather than functioning as a physician. Inner origin of defilement When the wider canon comes into view, this ritual logic links to broader moral teaching. Mark 7:20–23 records Yeshua's statement that “that which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man” (Mark 7:20 NASB95). He lists evil thoughts, immoral behavior, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness as originating within and defiling a person (Mark 7:21–23). In this light, the outward mark of tzara’at can be read as a visible sign of inner disorder. The priest's task then resembles spiritual discernment. He recognizes when something has moved from superficial irritation to deep‑seated corruption. This reading does not require that every case of tzara'at derive from a specific sin. It does, however, align the ritual legislation with the larger scriptural theme that the heart is the true source of uncleanness. The ‘plague’ of the tongue Building on this, a long‑standing Jewish association links tzara'at with לָשׁוֹן הָרַע lashon hara (“evil tongue,” i.e., slander). Leviticus 19:16 commands, “You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD” (NASB95). Psalm 34:13 similarly urges, “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit” (NASB95). Rabbinic works such as the חפץ חיים Chafetz Chaim systematize this connection. They describe lashon hara as spreading “plague” through a community. In that framework, tzara'at becomes a physical counterpart to social and moral rot. It functions as a divine alarm that something in the speech life of the covenant people has turned destructive. At the same time, these traditions also draw careful boundaries. They exclude from lashon hara necessary testimony about abuse or wrongdoing that must be exposed to protect others or correct grave injustice. Thus, Scripture's concern for truth and protection of the vulnerable remains intact. Summary: What is and isn't lashon ha-ra It is derogatory information: Describes a person's negative characteristics. Spreads potentially harmful information. Embarrasses the person discussed. Garners ill-will against the subject. What it isn't: Helping the person in question. Discussing with a trustworthy person — not a tale-bearer — whether correction is needed and how to do it. Helping a victim or preventing victimization. Resolving a major dispute: peacemaking. Discipline, exclusion and restoration Turning now to the New Testament, similar patterns of exclusion and restoration appear. Matthew 18:15–17 outlines a process for dealing with sin within the community. First comes private confrontation. If that fails, the offended person brings one or two witnesses who practice discretion. If the sinner still refuses to listen, the matter goes before the congregation. Persistent refusal leads to treating the person “as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:17 NASB95). Paul applies a similar process in the morally challenged Greek port city of Corinth. In 1Corinthians 5, the apostle commands the congregation to remove a man engaged in flagrant immorality “so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Corinthians 5:5 NASB95). In 2Corinthians 2:6–8, Paul then urges the congregation to forgive and comfort the now‑repentant man, to prevent overwhelming sorrow. Thus, exclusion serves a restorative aim, like the temporary isolation of the metzora. This parallel underscores a key principle. The goal is not permanent banishment. The objective is cleansing, healing, and reintegration into the people of God. Leviticus 14 will make this explicit in its detailed restoration rites. The suffering servant and the bearing of plagues Isaiah 52–53 is a key passage for understanding the true solution to tzara’at foreshadowed in Torah. Isaiah 53:4–5 states, “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:4–5 NASB95). “Stricken” is translated from נָגַע naga (“to strike, to plague”), the same root behind נֶגַע nega (“mark,” “plague”) in Leviticus and for the 10 plagues during the Exodus. Isaiah 53:6 adds, “the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isaiah 53:6 NASB95). It continues, “My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11 NASB95). Here, one righteous figure bears both the guilt and the afflictions of many. Earlier Jewish sources sometimes refer to this figure as a “leper” or afflicted Messiah, drawing on the association between being “stricken” and the imagery of tzara'at. In this context, the servant takes the role of ultimate bearer of uncleanness and sin. He functions as the one on whom the community's nega falls, so that others may be cleansed and restored. Jewish commentators wrestle with Isaiah 53 Within this framework, it is helpful to note how different Jewish streams interpret Isaiah 52:13–53:12 and then compare those readings to the text itself. To begin with, many modern rabbinic commentators identify the “Servant” with Israel as a nation or with a righteous remnant. On this view, the plural language elsewhere in Isaiah about Israel as “My servant” (e.g., Isaiah 41:8–9; 49:3 NASB 1995) governs the reading of Isaiah 53. Israel suffers in exile, is “despised and forsaken” (Isaiah 53:3 NASB 1995), and bears the hostility of the nations. The nation's suffering then has a redemptive dimension for the world. However, this approach must handle details such as the Servant's innocence (“He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth,” Isaiah 53:9 NASB 1995) and vicarious language (“the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him,” Isaiah 53:6 NASB 1995). National Israel in the book of Isaiah is repeatedly rebuked for sin (e.g., Isaiah 1:2–4 NASB 1995), so applying the Servant's consistent righteousness to the same corporate entity requires either restricting the Servant to a purified subset of Israel or treating the description as idealized. By contrast, Karaite interpreters, who reject the binding authority of the Talmud, tend to read Isaiah 53 more straightforwardly. Some Karaite exegesis identifies the Servant as a singular, future, righteous figure closely tied to messianic expectation, though not associated with the New Testament. Others still apply the passage corporately to Israel. Where they see an individual, they emphasize the Servant's innocence, his unjust suffering “for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5 NASB 1995), his death (“cut off out of the land of the living,” Isaiah 53:8 NASB 1995), and subsequent exaltation (“He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted,” Isaiah 52:13 NASB 1995). In doing so, they align more directly with the plain singular grammar of the chapter, while differing sharply in identifying who that righteous sufferer is. At the same time, classical Talmudic sources preserve yet another line of interpretation. In Babylonian tractate Sanhedrin 98b, one opinion names the Messiah as “the leper scholar,” and then cites Isaiah 53:4: “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried” (Isaiah 53:4 NASB95), inserting the word “leper” into the paraphrase. Other midrashic materials occasionally apply parts of Isaiah 53 to righteous individuals or to the Messiah son of Joseph, a suffering messianic figure distinct from the royal Messiah son of David. These readings treat the Servant as an individual who bears sufferings and reproach on behalf of Israel and sometimes of the nations. In this way, they track closely with the passage's singular subject, his innocence, his bearing of others' sins, and his death followed by seeing “offspring” and prolonging his days (Isaiah 53:10–11). When these approaches are set alongside the text, several features stand out. The Servant is consistently singular: Suffers willingly and unjustly. Bears the sins and iniquities of “many” (Isaiah 53:11–12 NASB95). Dies as “cut off” and yet afterward sees offspring and days prolonged. Corporate-identity interpretations must explain how a sinful nation can be described as entirely righteous and substituting for others, while individual‑messianic interpretations must explain how one person's suffering can rightly stand in for the guilt of many. The passage itself keeps these tensions in view and holds together vicarious suffering, innocence, death, and exaltation in a single Servant figure. More ancient witnesses weigh in Within this same line of comparison, medieval Jewish commentators provide two influential and contrasting approaches to Isaiah 52:13–53:12. To begin with, Rashi (11th century) reads the Servant almost entirely as Israel. He anchors his interpretation in earlier “servant” passages where Israel is explicitly named: “But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen” (Isaiah 41:8 NASB95; cf. Isaiah 44:1–2; 49:3). For Rashi, the “despised and forsaken” figure (Isaiah 53:3 NASB95) fits the persecuted, exilic nation. The nations, having misjudged Israel as cursed, will one day recognize that Israel's suffering has brought them blessing. On this reading, “He was pierced through for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5 NASB95) means that Israel is pierced because of the sins of the Gentile nations, not as a substitute bearing Israel's own guilt. However, when this interpretation is measured against the chapter's details, certain tensions appear. The Servant is described as wholly innocent: “He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth” (Isaiah 53:9 NASB95). Yet earlier in Isaiah, Israel is repeatedly indicted: “Alas, sinful nation, people weighed down with iniquity” (Isaiah 1:4 NASB95). To address this, national‑Servant readings must either treat the Servant as the ideal righteous Israel within Israel, or as a future purified Israel no longer marked by sin. In addition, the text repeatedly sets the Servant over against “we” and “our”: “All of us like sheep have gone astray… but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isaiah 53:6 NASB95). A strictly corporate view must explain how the same entity can be both the guilty “we” and the innocent “He” who bears their iniquity. By contrast, Ramban (Nachmanides, 13th century) offers a more individual, often implicitly messianic reading. While he acknowledges that “servant” can sometimes refer to Israel, he argues that the specific language in Isaiah 53 goes beyond the nation. He highlights the Servant's spotless righteousness, his voluntary acceptance of suffering, and the clearly substitutionary statements: “He was pierced through for our transgressions … the chastening for our well‑being fell upon Him” (Isaiah 53:5 NASB95). Ramban notes that Israel's own sins are heavy and frequent in the book; therefore, Israel cannot coherently be both the guilty party and the innocent substitute. Ramban also draws attention to the Servant's death and subsequent exaltation. Isaiah 53:8 speaks of Him being “cut off out of the land of the living” (NASB95), while Isaiah 53:10–11 states that after making “His soul a guilt offering,” “He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand” (Isaiah 53:10–11 NASB95). For Ramban, this pattern — suffering, death, then seeing offspring and prolonged days — points to a particular righteous sufferer whose story does not end in defeat. He stops short of identifying this figure with Yeshua, but he preserves the text's singular, personal shape and its vicarious logic. Set alongside the passage itself, these two medieval readings frame the main options. A corporate-national reading underscores Israel's role in redemptive history, but must re‑configure clear “He/We” contrasts and absolute declarations of innocence. An individual‑servant reading preserves the straightforward grammar, the Servant's blamelessness, and the repeated emphasis on bearing others' iniquities, but must then explain how one righteous sufferer can justly carry the guilt of “many” (Isaiah 53:11–12 NASB95). Isaiah 53 itself holds together a singular Servant, perfect righteousness, substitutionary suffering, real death, and subsequent exaltation, and it invites every interpreter — medieval and modern — to reckon carefully with that full portrait. Yeshua's ministry: healing and priestly declaration In the Gospels, this pattern converges in the ministry of Yeshua. Luke 5:12–14 records a man “covered with leprosy” who falls on his face and begs, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean” (Luke 5:12 NASB 1995). Yeshua touches him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy leaves him. Then Yeshua commands him, “Go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them” (Luke 5:13–14 NASB95). This episode unites divine authority and Torah observance. Yeshua both heals and sends the man into the priestly system for formal recognition of restoration. The priest confirms what the Messiah has already accomplished. Luke 17:11–19 narrates the healing of 10 lepers. All cry out from a distance. All are cleansed as they go to show themselves to the priests. Yet only one, a Samaritan, returns to give glory to God and falls at Yeshua's feet in gratitude. Yeshua notes that only this foreigner came back and tells him, “Your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:19 NASB95). Here faith, gratitude, and cross‑boundary mercy stand beside physical cleansing and priestly verification. Holiness, community, and ongoing application Taken together, these texts present a coherent picture. Holiness (kadosh) requires separation from defilement. Clean and unclean (tahor and tamei) categories govern approach to God and participation in the covenant community. Outward signs, whether on skin, garments, or houses, reveal deeper realities and require careful discernment. Speech can function as a plague. Communities must deal with sin and abuse honestly yet with a view to restoration. At the same time, the prophetic witness and the Gospel narratives direct attention to a central figure who bears iniquity and affliction for many. Through Him, ultimate cleansing and restoration become possible. He both fulfills the priestly discernment and surpasses it by providing effective atonement. In daily practice, these themes invite self‑examination, responsible speech, wise pastoral care, and hope. They call communities to resist both careless toleration of evil and harsh, hopeless rejection of the fallen. They also summon individuals to bring their visible and hidden uncleanness to the One who discerns truly and cleanses completely. Step beyond diagnosis into restoration. In Leviticus 13 we watched tzara'at expose what is wrong. In Leviticus 14 we'll see how God makes a way back. Next Shabbat, we'll explore the cleansing rites for the metzora, the strange use of birds, cedar, scarlet, and hyssop, and how these ceremonies whisper of resurrection, new beginnings, and a Messiah who not only declares us clean but brings us home to the community. The post Can spiritual issues cause physical problems? A biblical look at ‘leprosy’ (Leviticus 13; 2Kings 5; Isaiah 53) appeared first on Hallel Fellowship.

7 takeaways from this study Guard your heart more than your rituals. Regularly ask: “Am I trembling at God's word, or just going through motions?” (Isaiah 1:11–17; 66:2). Let your practices flow from repentance, justice, and mercy. Treat approach to God as a privilege, not a right. The Levitical pattern of טָהוֹר (tahor, clean) vs. טָמֵא (tame, unclean) reminds you to examine what in your life is “fit” or “unfit” to bring into God's presence — habits, media, speech, relationships. Live as light, not as a mirror of the culture. Israel was called to be a “light to the nations,” not a copy of them (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6). In daily decisions — ethics at work, how you handle conflict, how you speak online — ask, “Am I leading or just blending in?” Hold religious symbols and traditions loosely, but God's character tightly. Isaiah and the idol passages (e.g., Isaiah 44) warn against turning aids into objects of trust. Use traditions, liturgy, and symbols as tools to focus on God, not as things with power in themselves. Expect God to work suddenly after long seasons. Zion's “birth before labor” (Isaiah 66:7–9) teaches that God can move in a moment after years of apparent delay. Stay faithful in “ordinary time” — prayer, Scripture, obedience — so you are ready when He acts quickly. See yourself as part of a priestly calling. If God can take some from the nations as “priests and Levites” (Isaiah 66:21), then every believer has a bridge‑building role. Practically, that means: carry others' burdens, pray for them, and help them “draw near” to God through your words and presence. Read judgment passages as invitations, not just threats. The flood, destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and Isaiah's warnings all include advance mercy. When you encounter hard texts or hard providences, respond with, “What is God inviting me to change or trust right now?” rather than only fear or speculation. The central claim of Isaiah is simple. God seeks a people whose worship arises from a humble and obedient heart. He restores such a people through His chosen Servant. He then gathers peoples from all nations into one worshiping family in Zion. The language of holiness Leviticus 12 addresses childbirth and resulting ritual impurity. Leviticus 13 addresses the condition often translated as “leprosy,” but much broader in scope. The text uses a cluster of holiness terms. From the root ק־ד־שׁ q-d-sh (to set apart) comes the word קֹדֶשׁ qōdesh (“holy”; set apart). It stands opposite the concept חֹל khol (common; profane). Between these poles stand two further categories. טָהוֹר ṭāhôr (clean; fit to approach God). And טָמֵא ṭāmēʾ (unclean; unfit to approach God). Leviticus teaches a movement from “far” to “near.” The noun קָרְבָּן qorbān (offering; literally “that which draws near”) comes from the root ק־ר־ב q-r-v (to approach). Offerings teach how an unclean or distant person may draw near to the presence of God. This Heaven-directed ritual framework (Exodus 25:9, 40; 26:30; Numbers 8:4; Acts 7:44; Hebrews 8:5) becomes a living parable. It shows how God takes a people from טָמֵא ṭāmēʾ and חֹל ḥol and moves them toward טָהוֹר ṭāhôr and קֹדֶשׁ qōdesh. Isaiah will later apply this pattern to Israel's spiritual condition. The book of Isaiah presents a consistent call for God’s people to embrace genuine worship that flows from humble, obedient hearts rather than empty religious observance. From beginning to end, Isaiah contrasts true devotion with outward ritual that lacks faithfulness. Israel’s failure to fulfill her calling is ultimately answered through the Servant of the LORD, whom Messianic believers recognize as Yeshua the Messiah. Through His work, God brings restoration, redemption, and covenant renewal to His people. A central theme throughout Isaiah is the restoration of Zion. Though nations rise and fall and mighty empires appear powerful for a season, they are temporary in comparison to God’s eternal purposes. Isaiah foresees a time when God will redeem Zion with astonishing power and timing. In Isaiah 66, the imagery of a child being born before labor pains symbolizes a sudden and unexpected act of divine redemption. Yet Scripture also teaches that birth pangs often accompany God’s redemptive work, establishing a pattern in which suffering and restoration are closely linked. The remarkable image of “birth before labor” emphasizes the surprising nature of God’s intervention. His promises are fulfilled according to His timetable, often in ways that surpass human expectations. This theme echoes Yeshua’s teaching that His coming will be like a thief in the night, catching many by surprise. Ultimately, Isaiah’s vision extends beyond Israel alone. God’s purpose is to gather people from every nation, tribe, and language into a worldwide community of worshipers who honor the God of Israel through His Messiah. In the end, Zion’s restoration becomes a blessing to all nations as God’s kingdom is established and His glory fills the earth. Isaiah as an arc Some interpreters describe Isaiah as a χίασμα chíasma (chiasm). This common biblical literary structure mirrors themes between the beginning and end of a passage. Isaiah 1 and Isaiah 66 reflect each other. Isaiah 1 opens with a rebuke of corrupt worship. God rejects sacrifices offered by a people whose hearts remain far from Him: “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams…” Isaiah 1:11 NASB95 He continues: “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.” Isaiah 1:13 NASB95 Yet the text does not condemn sacrifices as such. It condemns the moral condition behind them. Thus, we see right afterward the beginning of Heaven’s prescription: “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” Isaiah 1:16–17 NASB95 The problem lies not in קָרְבָּנוֹת qorbanot (offerings), but in the לֵבָב lēvāv (heart: mind and emotions) of the people. The sacrifices prescribed in Torah were holy. The problem is that worshipers were simultaneously practicing injustice. Isaiah 66 returns to this issue. It contrasts corrupt religion with humble, trembling reverence. God declares: “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.” Isaiah 66:2 NASB95 The book thus starts and ends with the same concern. God weighs the inner posture of worshipers. Ritual without repentance remains unclean. The Servant of the LORD and Israel's failure Between Isaiah 1 and 66 stands the figure עֶבֶד יְהוָה ʿeved YHWH (servant of the LORD). The servant songs (especially Isaiah 42, 49, 50, and 52:13–53:12) show how God will restore true worship, purify His people, and ultimately gather the nations to Himself through the work of the Servant of the Lord. At times, the servant appears to be Israel itself (Isaiah 41:8–9; 49:3). Yet Israel is also the problem. She has not fulfilled her calling as a holy nation and a light to the nations. “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.” Isaiah 42:1 NASB95 Here the Servant brings מִשְׁפָּט mishpāṭ (justice) to the nations. This language exceeds what Israel, in its disobedience, has done. The Servant realizes Israel's ideal calling. Isaiah 49:6 deepens this role: “I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” NASB95 The phrase אוֹר גּוֹיִם ʾōr goyim (light of the nations) recalls Israel's vocation in Exodus 19:6 and is later echoed in Matthew 5:14–16 and Acts 13:47. The servant becomes the concentrated expression of Israel's mission. Isaiah 53 then marks a turning point. The Eved Adonai is connected to Israel but it no Israel, as the Prophet Isaiah's entire ministry rebukes how the people of Israel are failing to serve God properly. The servant bears Israel's iniquities. He takes on the very sicknesses and uncleanness that have filled the preceding chapters. The Eved Adonai is not and was not synonymous with the Jewish people. “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities….” Isaiah 53:5 NASB95 “…the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” Isaiah 53:6 NASB95 Here the Servant functions as an ultimate קָרְבָּן qorbān (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 7:27; 9:12; 10:10; 1Peter 3:18). He embodies the movement from far to near. He carries the uncleanness of the people and opens the way for restoration. Seeing, hearing and the ‘fear of the LORD’ Isaiah links uncleanness with spiritual blindness and deafness (Isaiah 6:10; 11:3; 32:3; 37:17; 64:4). The prophet sees the LORD and cries: “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips.” Isaiah 6:5 NASB95 He lives among a people with טְמֵא שְׂפָתַיִם ṭemēʾ sefatayim (unclean lips). God then cleanses Isaiah's lips with a coal from the altar. This scene parallels Leviticus. What is טָמֵא ṭāmēʾ becomes טָהוֹר ṭāhôr by God's initiative. The prophet may then speak. Isaiah frequently plays with the verb רָאָה rāʾāh (to see). In Leviticus 13, the priest “looks” again and again at the suspect skin condition. The text uses rāʾāh to mark careful discernment. The priest must distinguish between tahor and ṭāmēʾ. Isaiah extends this idea to the heart. Does Israel live as if God “sees” all (Isaiah 29:15; Psalm 14:1; Ezekiel 8:12; 9:9)? Later rabbinic tradition notices a verbal pun between יִרְאָה yirʾāh (fear; reverence) and יִרְאֶה yirʾeh (he sees). The יִרְאַת יְהוָה yirʾat YHWH (fear of the LORD) arises when one knows that God truly sees everything we’re doing. Yeshua alludes repeatedly to Isaiah's diagnosis. In Matthew 13:13–15, He cites Isaiah 6 to explain why He speaks in parables. The people think they see and hear, yet they neither perceive nor repent. In John 9:39–41, He challenges leaders who claim to see but remain blind. The same spiritual uncleanness persists. Corrupt worship and empty religion Isaiah condemns worship that has divorced ritual from righteousness. In Isaiah 1:13–14, God says He hates the people's festivals and new moons. Many have taken this as a repudiation of Torah itself. Yet at the end of the book, the same prophet writes: “‘And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from sabbath to sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me,' says the LORD.” Isaiah 66:23 NASB95 The same festivals now mark universal, purified worship. The problem, then, never lay in Shabbat (Sabbath) or the festivals, nor in sacrifices. The problem lay in those who practiced them without justice, mercy and humility. Earlier in the chapter, the prophet sharpens the rebuke. Proper sacrifices become abominable acts when offered from a corrupt heart: “But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man; He who sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog's neck; He who offers a grain offering is like one who offers swine's blood; He who burns incense is like the one who blesses an idol. As they have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their abominations, So I will choose their punishments And will bring on them what they dread. Because I called, but no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen. And they did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.”” Isaiah 66:3-4 NASB95 The qobanot remain the same. Yet their spiritual value reverses. Worshipers treat God like a vending machine. They treat offerings like tokens to manipulate blessing. In Levitical terms, they bring a קָרְבָּן qorbān while their לֵבָב lēvāv remains far away. Their approach becomes טָמֵא ṭāmēʾ. Israel's call as light to the nations Isaiah repeatedly returns to Israel's mission among the nations. God did not set Israel apart merely to be different. He appointed Israel as a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6 NASB95). The priestly role stands at the center. Priests draw near to God and help others draw near as well. Israel, then, should serve as a corporate priesthood for the nations: “I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations.” Isaiah 42:6 NASB95 In Isaiah 49:6, this light extends “to the end of the earth.” The servant manifests the ideal vocation of Israel: He embodies what a faithful Israel would look like. He restores justice. He brings revelation. He draws people from the nations into the worship of the true God. Yeshua (Jesus) adopts this Servant of the LORD language: “I am the Light of the world.” John 8:12 NASB95 He then says to His disciples: “You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14 NASB95 The pattern flows from master to disciples. The Servant as ultimate Israel enables a remnant to share His role. They become אוֹר עוֹלָם ʾōr ʿolam in Him, a light to the world. The nations, vanity and the rise and fall of Empires Isaiah places Israel's story against the backdrop of world empires. Assyria, Babylon, and others rise and fall under God's hand. The nations and their glory are transient. Isaiah 40:6–8 compares humanity to grass that withers, and later in the same chapter makes a similar analogy to empires: “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket…” Isaiah 40:15 NASB95 The word הֶבֶל hevel (vanity; vapor) captures this theme, as in Ecclesiastes. By contrast, God's word stands forever (Isaiah 40:8). Therefore, it is folly for Israel to trade covenant identity for the approval of passing empires. When Israel follows the nations instead of leading them, it loses its priestly calling. Israel was called to be a light to the nations and a leader among the peoples of the earth, demonstrating God’s wisdom and righteousness. Yet too often, the nation followed the ways of the surrounding cultures instead of leading them toward the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As a result, the Lord raised up foreign powers as instruments of discipline, using them to correct His people and call them back to covenant faithfulness. Idolatry expresses this exchange at its most obvious. Isaiah 44 mocks craftsmen who shape idols and then bow to their own work. He mocks idols fashioned by human hands from the very same wood used to build fires and bake bread. The second commandment forbids such images (Exodus 20:4–5). Israel must not reduce God to the likeness of created things. To do so reverses the proper order and empties worship of truth. These false gods cannot save, speak, or act; they are burdens rather than deliverers. The false gods are made in the image of their creators, while we are made in the image of God Almighty. To worship our own creation is a desecration of God's image in us.  Zion: Birth, restoration and surprise Isaiah 66 introduces a striking image of Zion's rebirth. The prophet asks: “Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once?” Isaiah 66:8 NASB95 The text amazingly describes a birth that precedes labor pains: “Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.” Isaiah 66:7 NASB95 This reversal of normal sequence has drawn commentary across centuries. Many Jewish interpreters see here the sudden redemption of Jerusalem and the rapid return of exiles. Others see a future, climactic restoration. Still others recognize multiple layers — a near-term fulfillment after the Babylonian exile and a further, eschatological horizon. The unifying theme remains clear. Zion is ultimately a work of God. צִיּוֹן Tziyyon does not arise merely from human strategy or political will. God brings it to birth. He asks: “‘Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?' says the LORD.” Isaiah 66:9 NASB95 Zion's restoration thus follows the same pattern as individual cleansing. God moves what is טָמֵא ṭāmēʾ (unfit to approach the Presence) toward טָהוֹר ṭāhôr (fit to approach). He takes a profaned city and reconstitutes it as קֹדֶשׁ qōdesh. Zion and the nations: From judgment to pilgrimage Earlier in Isaiah, Zion stands under judgment. The city has become corrupt. The temple has turned into a place of empty ceremony. Yet the end of Isaiah presents a transformed picture. Nations now stream to Zion, not to conquer, but to worship. Isaiah 66:19–21 describes a mission outward and a gathering inward. Survivors go “to the distant coastlands” to “declare My glory among the nations” (NASB95). These nations then bring Israel's exiles back “as a grain offering to the LORD” (NASB95). Then comes the shocker of the restoration: “I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites,” says the LORD. Isaiah 66:21 NASB95 Here, cleansed Gentiles are made fit for priestly service. Those once טָמֵא ṭāmēʾ and חֹל khol become טָהוֹר ṭāhôr and קֹדֶשׁ qōdesh. God Himself reassigns their status. This anticipates later language where non‑Israelites become “fellow citizens” and members of God's household (Ephesians 2:11–22 NASB95). Isaiah thus anticipates a priesthood enlarged beyond ethnic Levi. Yet it preserves the priestly pattern. God draws people from afar and gives them access to His presence. Birth pangs, judgment and the Day of the LORD The imagery of birth and labor pains widens into the theme of the “day of the LORD.” Prophets like Joel and Zechariah describe cosmic signs. The sun darkens. The moon turns to blood. Nations gather for judgment. Yeshua engages this imagery in Matthew 24. He lists wars, famines, and earthquakes, then says: “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” Matthew 24:8 NASB95 The Greek phrase ὠδίνων ōdinōn (birth pains) parallels the Hebrew חֲבָלִים ḥăvālim. These events signal a coming climax, but they do not yet constitute its fullness. Yeshua also stresses suddenness. He compares the coming of the Son of Man to the days of Noah and Lot (Luke 17:26–30). People ate, drank, married, and conducted business. Judgment then arrived swiftly. Those outside God's refuge “did not understand until the flood came and took them all away” (Matthew 24:39 NASB95). The pattern remains consistent. God often gives extended warnings. Yet when the decisive moment arrives, it still surprises the unprepared. The image of “a thief in the night” (1Thessalonians 5:2 NASB95) fits here. The redemption arrives with both long buildup and sudden impact. In this frame, the birth of Zion before labor pains underscores divine initiative and surprise. New creation, New Jerusalem and lasting transformation From a Messianic Jewish perspective, the relationship between Isaiah 66:7–9, Yeshua's teaching on the “birth pains” (ὠδίν, ōdin) in Matthew 24:8 and Mark 13:8 preceding the coming of the Son of Man, and the rabbinic concept of the “birth pangs of the Messiah” (חבלי משיח, ḥevlei Mashiaḥ) reflects complementary dimensions of the same redemptive process. In the flood narrative, Noah and his family are the minority who remain after divine judgment is executed on a corrupt world. Noah preached to the people for 120 years until God shut the doors of the ark and even after the doors were shut, God waited an additional 7 days before the waters started coming down. While the “taking away” occurs through the floodwaters that remove the majority of humanity, Noah is preserved through the ark and emerges onto a renewed earth. In that sense, the decisive removal is experienced by those who are judged, while Noah's family is “left” to inherit a cleansed world and participate in a new beginning of human history under God's covenant. A similar pattern appears in the account of Lot. Lot and his immediate family are removed from Sodom prior to its destruction, while the cities themselves are “taken away” through fire and brimstone as an act of judgment. Lot tried to warn his in-laws to come with him to safety and they laughed him off. Although Lot and his family are physically led out by the angels, the narrative emphasizes that what remains after judgment is not the old order but a radically transformed landscape. In both accounts, the contrast is between those preserved through judgment and those removed by it, highlighting a consistent biblical theme of separation between the righteous and the judged as God brings about renewal. These are both harbingers of the new heavens and the new earth. Isaiah 65–66 extends this pattern to a cosmic level. God promises “new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22 NASB95). The old order passes. The new emerges. Revelation 21–22 echoes this vision with the image of the New Jerusalem descending from heaven. In both Isaiah and Revelation, Jerusalem is both a place and a people. It has geographic coordinates, yet it also symbolizes the gathered people of God. The city's restored holiness corresponds to the purified hearts of its inhabitants. The Servant's work and the Spirit's presence make this possible. The Greek term παλιγγενεσία palingenesía (regeneration; Matthew 19:28; Titus 3:5) captures the idea. God does not merely repair. He recreates. He brings about a new beginning that includes both individuals and creation. The role of the Spirit and the ongoing mission The Spirit is Heaven’s continuing presence on Earth. In John 14–16, Yeshua calls the Spirit ὁ παράκλητος ho paráklētos (the Helper; Comforter; Advocate). This term parallels Hebrew נָחַם nāḥam (to comfort), from which מְנַחֵם Menachem (comforter) derives — a name that came to be associated with the Messiah. The Spirit applies the Servant's work to individuals and communities. Romans 8 presents the Spirit as the power who leads believers, intercedes for them, and conforms them to the image of the Son. The same Spirit who inspired Isaiah's vision now drives the mission that Isaiah foretold. He sends emissaries to the nations. He gathers a people who tremble at God's word. Heaven’s search for the humble and contrite In our journey through Scripture we see a coherent message. Leviticus introduces the language of holiness, cleanness, uncleanness, and approach. Isaiah applies that language to the spiritual condition of Israel and the nations. The prophet exposes corrupt worship and empty religion. He then presents the Servant of the LORD as God's answer to Israel's failure. Through the Servant's suffering and vindication, God restores Zion and opens priestly access to the nations. He transforms people from טָמֵא ṭāmēʾ (unfit to approah) to טָהוֹר ṭāhôr (fit), from חֹל khol (profane) to קֹדֶשׁ qōdesh (set apart). He brings forth in a day this new nation of priests for the world. He surprises the world with a redemption that arrives like a birth before labor and like a thief in the night. At the heart of it all lies God's search for a humble and contrite people who tremble at His word (Isaiah 66:2). Their worship, purified by the Servant's work and empowered by the Spirit, fulfills the ancient vision. Zion becomes a light to the nations. And from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, “all mankind will come to bow down” before the LORD (Isaiah 66:23 NASB95). The post Can a nation be born in a day? Exploring Zion's sudden birth in Scripture (Isaiah 66; Leviticus 12) appeared first on Hallel Fellowship.

As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. – Isaiah 53:11

The Sin-Bearing Servant13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.14 Just as many were astonished at you,So His visage was marred more than any man,And His form more than the sons of men;15 So shall He sprinkle many nations.Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;For what had not been told them they shall see,And what they had not heard they shall consider.Isaiah 53 New King James VersionThe Sin-Bearing Messiah53 Who has believed our report?And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,And as a root out of dry ground.He has no form or comeliness;And when we see Him,There is no beauty that we should desire Him.3 He is despised and rejected by men,A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.4 Surely He has borne our griefsAnd carried our sorrows;Yet we esteemed Him stricken,Smitten by God, and afflicted.5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,He was bruised for our iniquities;The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,And by His stripes we are healed.6 All we like sheep have gone astray;We have turned, every one, to his own way;And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,Yet He opened not His mouth;He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,So He opened not His mouth.8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,And who will declare His generation?For He was cut off from the land of the living;For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.9 And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death,Because He had done no violence,Nor was any deceit in His mouth.10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;He has put Him to grief.When You make His soul an offering for sin,He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,For He shall bear their iniquities.12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,Because He poured out His soul unto death,And He was numbered with the transgressors,And He bore the sin of many,And made intercession for the transgressors.

7 takeaways from this study Bring your whole self to God. Treat prayer, worship and daily life as korban — “offering,” or that which comes near — by being fully present, not half‑hearted. Let love cost you something. Choose costly, inconvenient acts of love (time, energy, money) as your “fragrant offering” to God. Do every task as unto the LORD. Whether cleaning, working, or serving, act as if God Himself is your boss. Practice servant leadership. If you lead (home, work, ministry), lead by lowering yourself — serving listening, and bearing others' burdens. Love your nearest neighbors first. Apply “love your neighbor as yourself” to spouse, children, roommates, and close friends before “the world.” Die to self daily. Regularly ask, “What part of my pride, comfort, or control needs to ‘get on the altar' today?” Live as God's dwelling place. Remember you are now a living tabernacle; carry God's presence into your workplace, neighborhood, and relationships. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Messiah also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 5:1–2 NASB 1995 This is not an abstract idea. It is rooted in the concrete pattern God gave Israel in the Torah, especially in the מִשְׁכָּן Mishkan (“dwelling place,” the Tabernacle) and the קָרְבָּנוֹת korbanot (“offerings,” the things that approach). What does it really look like to “imitate God” in love today? The pattern behind ‘be imitators of God’ Paul's phrase “be imitators of God” in Ephesians 5:1 uses the Greek word μιμηταί mimētai (“imitate,” “copy a pattern”). Imitation always raises a question: imitate what? God has not left us guessing. He gave Israel a visible, enacted pattern in the Torah: The pattern of the Mishkan in Exodus (Exodus 25–40) The pattern of the offerings in Leviticus (especially Leviticus 1–2) The larger pattern of His dealings with Israel in the prophets (Isaiah 48–49 and beyond) Moshe (Moses) himself asked, “Show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18). God answered by both revealing His character and giving a pattern — “the pattern shown to you on the mountain” for the Mishkan (Exodus 25:40). Paul draws on that same pattern when he speaks about Messiah's sacrifice as a “fragrant aroma” (Ephesians 5:2), echoing the repeated phrase in Leviticus, “a soothing aroma to the Lord” (Leviticus 1:9). So, to imitate God, we do not just reach for vague spirituality. We look at the concrete story God told through Israel's worship, and then at how Messiah fulfills and deepens that story. Called to draw near The book of Leviticus is called וַיִּקְרָא Vayikra (“And He called”) in Hebrew, from its opening word: “Then the LORD called to Moses…” (Leviticus 1:1). This calling comes from the Mishkan, from within the Tent of Meeting. It is a summons to draw near. קָרְבָּן korban comes from the Hebrew root קרב karav (“to draw near, approach”). A korban is not just “something you give.” It is “the thing by which you draw near,” in other words, it’s the offering-bringer. In Leviticus 1:1–9, we see the burnt offering described: The animal comes from the herd or flock, “a male without defect” (Leviticus 1:3) The worshiper brings it “to the doorway of the tent of meeting” (Leviticus 1:3) He lays his hand on its head, and it is accepted “to make atonement on his behalf” (Leviticus 1:4) The entire animal is burned on the altar as “an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD” (Leviticus 1:9, NASB 1995) The person does not simply send the animal off. He identifies with it by laying his hand on its head. In that act, he is, in a sense, saying, “This is me going in. Let this be accepted for me.” This becomes a powerful picture of how we approach God in Messiah. When we trust in Him, we “lean” our whole weight (worth, glory, faith, trust) on Him, just as the Israelite physically leaned on the korban. He goes in before the Father as our substitute. A restful aroma Leviticus repeatedly uses the phrase רֵיחַ נִיחוֹחַ re'ach nichoach (“soothing aroma,” “pleasing aroma”). The word נִיחוֹחַ nichoach comes from the same Hebrew root as Noah’s name נֹחַ Noach (“rest”). You could almost say “a restful aroma.” That raises a paradox. How can the smell of burning flesh be “restful” or “soothing”? To the modern mind, sacrificial slaughter feels barbaric and repulsive. Yet that reaction is part of the point. It is meant to shock us into seeing how serious our alienation from God really is. An innocent animal — who never chose to sin, transgress, rebel — dies so that the worshiper can draw near spiritually by its blood. That injustice should bother us. It hints at something far worse and far more costly: the innocent suffering of Messiah Himself. This “restful aroma” signals that something has been put right. Judgment has fallen. A costly substitute has given its life. Reconciliation has begun. Rest, in a sense, now has a basis. From common to other: The Mishkan as training in holiness Outside the camp is ordinary, “common” life. Inside the Mishkan's courts and especially beyond the inner veil is the concentrated presence of the Creator, the One who is other, “holy” than His creation. Exodus 40:34–38 describes how the cloud filled the Mishkan so strongly that even Moshe and the priests could not enter at first. As the cloud and fire moved, Israel moved. When the cloud rested, Israel rested. It was like following a Leader through the wilderness: The cloud and fire guided their travel and their rest (Exodus 40:36–38). The visible presence in the center of the camp taught them to stay oriented to God. The very layout of the Mishkan trained them to respect the boundary between common and holy. Holiness (קֹדֶשׁ kodesh, “set apart”) here does not mean otherworldly and irrelevant. Rather, it means dedicated for God's special purpose. The Mishkan was not man's religious invention. It was a Heaven-designed pattern for reconciliation between a holy God and a compromised people. This pattern is as relevant as ever. We live in a world that treats everything as common. The Mishkan and the korbanot remind us that God is not just “there” in a vague sense. He is holy. To draw near, something must change — both in our status and in our hearts. The innocent substitute and the cost of sin Stop and soak in the emotional impact of the sacrifice at the Mishkan. An innocent sheep, goat, or bull dies because the human worshiper has broken fellowship with the Creator. To us, that seems oppressive or even unjust. Yet that discomfort exposes how numb we often are to the horror of sin. We are like frogs in a slowly heated pot. The water grows hotter, but we adjust. We stop noticing how dangerous our situation is. From the outside, it looks insane to stay in the boiling water, or, spiritually speaking, in the “muck” of rebellion and brokenness. Sacrifice is God's wake-up call. It says, “This separation is deadly. This is what it costs to fix it. The innocent must suffer.” All this points forward to the ultimate innocent substitute, the “Lamb of God” who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). In Isaiah, He appears as the עֶבֶד יְהוָה Eved Adonai (“Servant of the LORD”), especially in Isaiah 53. Israel, the Servant, and the Son Here are the main “Servant Songs” in Isaiah: Isaiah 42:1–9 Begins: “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights…” Themes: Justice to the nations, gentle yet firm, a light to the nations. Isaiah 49:1–13 Begins: “Listen to Me, O islands, and pay attention, you peoples from afar…” Themes: Called from the womb, Servant named “Israel,” restoring Jacob and being a light to the nations. Isaiah 50:4–11 Begins: “The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples…” Themes: Obedient Servant, suffering, not turning back, offering His back to those who strike. Isaiah 52:13–53:12 Begins: “Behold, My Servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.” Themes: Deep suffering, rejection, bearing sins, substitutionary atonement, ultimate vindication. PassageKey themesMessianic connection to YeshuaIsaiah 42:1–9• “My Servant… My chosen one in whom My soul delights” (Isa 42:1)• Spirit-empowered Servant brings justice to the nations – Gentle: “A bruised reed He will not break” (Isa 42:3) • Light to the nations, opening blind eyes, freeing captives (Isa 42:6–7)• Echoed at Yeshua's immersion: “My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Matthew 3:17)• His Spirit-anointed ministry to the poor, blind, and oppressed (Luke 4:16–21)• Yeshua as light of the world (John 8:12) and to the nations (Luke 2:32)Isaiah 49:1–13• Servant called “from the womb” and named by God (Isa 49:1)• Called Israel, yet sent to restore Israel (Isa 49:3–6)• Made “a light of the nations” and “My salvation to the end of the earth” (Isa 49:6)• Mirrored in Yeshua's conception and naming (Matthew 1:20–21; Luke 1:31)•Servant both represents Israel and rescues Israel, fitting Yeshua as the faithful Israelite who restores His people (Romans 11:25–27)• Explicitly fulfilled as salvation reaching the nations through the gospel (Acts 13:47)Isaiah 50:4–11• “Tongue of disciples” to sustain the weary (Isa 50:4) – Obedient Servant: “I was not disobedient nor did I turn back” (Isa 50:5)• Offers His back to those who strike Him, face to those who pluck out the beard (Isa 50:6)• Trusts God as vindicator despite shame and opposition• Yeshua as the obedient Son who always does the Father's will (John 8:29)• His suffering, mockery, and abuse before crucifixion echo this imagery (Matthew 26–27)• He entrusts Himself to the Father's vindication in resurrection (1Peter 2:23–24)Isaiah 52:13–53:12• “My Servant will prosper… be high and lifted up” (Isa 52:13)• Startling suffering and disfigurement (Isa 52:14)• Despised, rejected, “a man of sorrows” (Isa 53:3)• Bears our griefs and sorrows; pierced for our transgressions (Isa 53:4–5)• The LORD lays on Him the iniquity of us all (Isa 53:6)• Like a lamb led to slaughter (Isa 53:7)• Makes Himself a guilt offering (אָשָׁם asham) and justifies many (53:10–11)• Central Messianic prophecy in the Besorah (gospel) preaching (Acts 8:30–35)• Yeshua's atoning death as substitutionary sacrifice, bearing sins of Israel and the nations (1Peter 2:24–25)• Lamb imagery connects directly to Passover (Exodus 12; John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7) and sacrificial system (Leviticus 1–7)• Resurrection hinted: “He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days” (53:10) However, many scholars and teachers see additional Servant sections that connect with these: Isaiah 41:8–9: Israel as “My servant” Isaiah 44:1–2, 21: “Jacob My servant… Jeshurun whom I have chosen” Isaiah 45:4: “My servant Jacob, and Israel My chosen one” Isaiah 48:20; 49:7: Further Servant language and mission themes Isaiah 48–49 speaks both of Israel as God's servant and of a Servant whose calling seems to go beyond the nation itself: “Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.” (Isaiah 48:12) “He said to Me, ‘You are My Servant, Israel, in whom I will show My glory.'” (Isaiah 49:3) Yet this Servant also has a mission to Israel and to the nations. From a Messianic Jewish reading, this points to a layered meaning: Israel as a people is called to be God's servant, His representative. But Israel fails to live out that mission consistently. Therefore a singular Servant arises, embodying Israel's calling and extending it to the nations — Messiah Himself. The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the TaNaKh) uses the word παῖς pais for “servant” here. Pais can mean “servant,” but also “child” or “son.” That linguistic overlap helps us see how the idea of “Servant of the LORD” connects closely with “Son of God” in the New Covenant writings. Messiah, the faithful Son, takes up Israel's mission where Israel failed. He lives as the perfect eved Adonai, the true Israelite who fully embodies God's purposes. From ‘I am the first and the last’ to Lamb of God Isaiah's declaration, “I am the first, I am also the last” (Isaiah 48:12) echoes later in the book of Revelation. Apostle Yokhanan (John) sees “one like a son of man” standing among seven golden lampstands: “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore…” Revelation 1:12–13 NASB 1995 At the end of the book, we hear: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 22:13 NASB 1995 The same One whose identity language echoes Isaiah's “first and last” is also the slain and risen Lamb. He is the One whose blood washes robes white (Revelation 7:14). Again, we encounter a paradox: We wash garments in blood, and they become clean. Just as the korban system seems shocking, so does this cleansing image. But both point to the same truth: Reconciliation costs life. And that life, once given, brings true purity. This picture escalates through Scripture: God calls Avraham (Abraham) out of confusion and into a land of promise. God forms a people, Israel, as His covenant partner. God dwells among them in the Mishkan. God “tabernacles” among us in Messiah: “the Word became flesh, and dwelt (σκηνόω skēnoō, “tabernacled”) among us” (John 1:14). God finally dwells with redeemed humanity in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:3). Each stage intensifies God's desire to dwell in the midst of His people and to transform them. ‘Living sacrifice’ We can ask how the Mishkan model applies today. Apostle Paul answers this: Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Romans 12:1 NASB 1995 This is the bridge from Leviticus to our daily lives. We do not bring bulls and goats to a physical altar today, because the Temple is not currently in service. Yet the original and enduring principle of korban — of drawing near through the all-in offering of ourselves — has always held. The “altar” is our whole life in Messiah. We present ourselves — heart (mind and emotions), soul (life), resources (time, energy) — as a continual offering. We “lean” on Yeshua, our once-for-all korban, and then live as those who belong entirely to God. This does not erase the Torah instructions. Rather, it fills them full of significance and internalizes them. The journey through the courtyard, past the altar, through the Holy Place, and into the Holy of Holies becomes a spiritual pattern every time we seek God in prayer, obedience, and service. Love of God and neighbor: One movement, not two The Bible’s greatest commandments are tightly intertwined to the sacrificial pattern. Yeshua sums up the Torah and the Prophets with two commands: Love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and might (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37). Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39). Loving God “with all your heart, soul, and strength” means you hold nothing back. You love Him with your emotions, your life itself, and your resources. That is sacrificial. It fits the pattern of korban. But you cannot stop there. Real, charitable love for God spills into love for neighbor, starting with those closest to you: your spouse, family, friends, community. In Ephesians 5, Paul applies Messiah's sacrificial love to marriage: Husbands are to love (ἀγάπη agapē, “self-giving, charitable love”) their wives. Messiah loved the ἐκκλησία ekklēsia (“assembly, congregation”) and gave Himself up for her (Ephesians 5:25–27). Agapē is not sentimentality. It is costly, loyal love, much like the Hebrew חסד ḥesed (“lovingkindness,” “covenant loyalty”). It washes, sanctifies, and beautifies the beloved. To imitate God, then, is to let our relationships be reshaped by this sacrificial love. This includes servant leadership in the home, mutual honor, and a refusal to “lord it over” others. Servant leadership and submitting under the status quo Paul's language on submission in Ephesians 5 means “be subject.” The term points to moving “under” an existing order, not to become passive, but to change it from beneath. This connects to Yeshua's own teaching. The greatest must become the servant; the master behaves as the slave of all (Matthew 20:26–28). At Passover, Yeshua models this by washing His disciples' feet (John 13). The Master takes the role of the lowest servant. This is profoundly consistent with the Mishkan pattern. The God of Israel, exalted above all, chooses to “go low”: He dwells in a tent among a redeemed slave people. He accepts the death of innocent korbanot for their sake. Ultimately, He sends His Son to suffer and die to bring them near. If God leads this way, then leaders in His kingdom must also lead by going low. They bear the burdens of others. They open themselves to accountability. They genuinely care what others need, not just what they plan to give. They serve first, then lead. Dying to self and living in Messiah Messiah calls us to be willing to lose your life in order to save it (e.g., Matthew 16:25). This is not just about physical martyrdom, though many have literally died for their witness. It is about daily death to self, laying down pride, fear, and self-protection. Fear of death can drive people to horrific choices. But those who know Messiah has already passed through death and risen gain new courage. They can hold even their own life more loosely. They can choose faithfulness over survival at any cost. This brings the circle back to Leviticus and Ephesians 5. To “walk in love” as Messiah did is to live as a continual offering: We “climb on the altar” daily as living sacrifices. We trust that when something in us dies — selfishness, ego, comfort — something truer comes alive. We lean on Messiah as our korban, entering “through the veil” into God's presence (echoing Hebrews 10:19–20). In this way, the ancient smoke of the מִזְבֵּחַ עֹלָה, mizbeach ʿolah (“altar of burnt offering”) becomes a living metaphor. Our lives rise before God as a re'ach nichoach — a restful aroma — not because we are perfect, but because we are in Messiah, the ultimate fragrant offering. Hands on the korban, hearts in the Presence Heaven invites us to see our discipleship through the lens of Israel's story: The Mishkan shows God's desire to dwell in the midst of His people. The korbanot show the cost of drawing near. The Servant of the LORD in Isaiah shows the mission of Israel and of Messiah. Ephesians and Revelation show how Messiah fulfills and magnifies that mission. To “be imitators of God” is to do what the Israelite did at the gate of the Mishkan: place our hands, and our hope, on the innocent Substitute (Yeshua), and then follow where He leads. It is to let His agapē love and His ḥesed loyalty reshape our worship, our work, and our relationships, so that our whole life becomes a “fragrant offering” to the God Who loves to dwell with His people. The post The innocent must suffer? Why biblical sacrifice still matters in the age of Messiah (Ephesians 5; Leviticus 1–2; Isaiah 48–49) appeared first on Hallel Fellowship.

Rev. Shawn Stafford was preacher for this service. Isaiah 42:1-9: “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” 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: “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, to open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

Order of Service: - Prelude - Hymn 171 - O Word of God Incarnate - Isaiah 42:1-9: “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” 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: “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, to open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. - Devotion - Prayer - Hymn 179 - Jesus Loves Me! This I Know - Blessing - Postlude Service Participants: Rev. Shawn Stafford (Preacher), Ellie Mittelstadt (Organist)

Many believe that Jesus came to reward good people and punish the bad. The Bible teaches quite differently, though! Study along with Truth For Life as Alistair Begg considers how punishment and rewards are truly assessed through God's Servant. ----------------------------------------- • Click here and look for "FROM THE SERMON" to stream or read the full message. • This program is part of the series ‘Here is My Servant' • Learn more about our current resource, request your copy with a donation of any amount. • Share the Gospel this holiday season by giving gifts that lead others to Jesus! At truthforlife.org/gifts you'll find ESV Study Bibles for both men and women for only $15, children's hardcover storybooks—three books for just $10, and a brand-new evangelism booklet by Alistair Begg, only $1 each! Helpful Resources - Learn about God's salvation plan - Read our most recent articles - Subscribe to our daily devotional Follow Us YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter This listener-funded program features the clear, relevant Bible teaching of Alistair Begg. Today's program and nearly 3,000 messages can be streamed and shared for free at tfl.org thanks to the generous giving from monthly donors called Truthpartners. Learn more about this Gospel-sharing team or become one today. Thanks for listening to Truth For Life!

At Christmas, it's important to remember that the baby in the manger is the Servant with a mission that the prophet Isaiah sang about. Find out why He didn't come just to help “nice people” do a little better. Listen to Truth For Life with Alistair Begg. ----------------------------------------- • Click here and look for "FROM THE SERMON" to stream or read the full message. • This program is part of the series ‘Here is My Servant' • Learn more about our current resource, request your copy with a donation of any amount. • Share the Gospel this holiday season by giving gifts that lead others to Jesus! At truthforlife.org/gifts you'll find ESV Study Bibles for both men and women for only $15, children's hardcover storybooks—three books for just $10, and a brand-new evangelism booklet by Alistair Begg, only $1 each! Helpful Resources - Learn about God's salvation plan - Read our most recent articles - Subscribe to our daily devotional Follow Us YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter This listener-funded program features the clear, relevant Bible teaching of Alistair Begg. Today's program and nearly 3,000 messages can be streamed and shared for free at tfl.org thanks to the generous giving from monthly donors called Truthpartners. Learn more about this Gospel-sharing team or become one today. Thanks for listening to Truth For Life!

The prophet Isaiah sang songs about God's Servant. Listen to Truth For Life as Alistair Begg connects the dots between the Servant in Isaiah's songs and the baby in the manger. Learn about His character and mission—and why it's significant for us today. ----------------------------------------- • Click here and look for "FROM THE SERMON" to stream or read the full message. • This program is part of the series ‘Here is My Servant' • Learn more about our current resource, request your copy with a donation of any amount. • Share the Gospel this holiday season by giving gifts that lead others to Jesus! At truthforlife.org/gifts you'll find ESV Study Bibles for both men and women for only $15, children's hardcover storybooks—three books for just $10, and a brand-new evangelism booklet by Alistair Begg, only $1 each! Helpful Resources - Learn about God's salvation plan - Read our most recent articles - Subscribe to our daily devotional Follow Us YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter This listener-funded program features the clear, relevant Bible teaching of Alistair Begg. Today's program and nearly 3,000 messages can be streamed and shared for free at tfl.org thanks to the generous giving from monthly donors called Truthpartners. Learn more about this Gospel-sharing team or become one today. Thanks for listening to Truth For Life!

Contrary to what many may believe, God isn't some elusive spirit waiting for the clever few to find Him. In Isaiah's prophetic song, we discover what God reveals about His identity, power, and purpose. Study along with Alistair Begg on Truth For Life. ----------------------------------------- • Click here and look for "FROM THE SERMON" to stream or read the full message. • This program is part of the series ‘Here is My Servant' • Learn more about our current resource, request your copy with a donation of any amount. • Share the Gospel this holiday season by giving gifts that lead others to Jesus! At truthforlife.org/gifts you'll find ESV Study Bibles for both men and women for only $15, children's hardcover storybooks—three books for just $10, and a brand-new evangelism booklet by Alistair Begg, only $1 each! Helpful Resources - Learn about God's salvation plan - Read our most recent articles - Subscribe to our daily devotional Follow Us YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter This listener-funded program features the clear, relevant Bible teaching of Alistair Begg. Today's program and nearly 3,000 messages can be streamed and shared for free at tfl.org thanks to the generous giving from monthly donors called Truthpartners. Learn more about this Gospel-sharing team or become one today. Thanks for listening to Truth For Life!

The prophet Isaiah pointed out the futility of idol worship thousands of years ago. So why does idolatry remain so prevalent? Listen to Truth For Life as Alistair Begg explores the answer and points out how even good things can become objects of worship. ----------------------------------------- • Click here and look for "FROM THE SERMON" to stream or read the full message. • This program is part of the series ‘Here is My Servant' • Learn more about our current resource, request your copy with a donation of any amount. • Share the Gospel this holiday season by giving gifts that lead others to Jesus! At truthforlife.org/gifts you'll find ESV Study Bibles for both men and women for only $15, children's hardcover storybooks—three books for just $10, and a brand-new evangelism booklet by Alistair Begg, only $1 each! Helpful Resources - Learn about God's salvation plan - Read our most recent articles - Subscribe to our daily devotional Follow Us YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter This listener-funded program features the clear, relevant Bible teaching of Alistair Begg. Today's program and nearly 3,000 messages can be streamed and shared for free at tfl.org thanks to the generous giving from monthly donors called Truthpartners. Learn more about this Gospel-sharing team or become one today. Thanks for listening to Truth For Life!

When life turns upside down, it's easy to question, “Where is God in this? Does He care about me?” Learn to find assurance in His Word as we examine the prophecy of Isaiah that encouraged God's exiled people. Listen to Truth For Life with Alistair Begg. ----------------------------------------- • Click here and look for "FROM THE SERMON" to stream or read the full message. • This program is part of the series ‘Here is My Servant' • Learn more about our current resource, request your copy with a donation of any amount. • Share the Gospel this holiday season by giving gifts that lead others to Jesus! At truthforlife.org/gifts you'll find ESV Study Bibles for both men and women for only $15, children's hardcover storybooks—three books for just $10, and a brand-new evangelism booklet by Alistair Begg, only $1 each! Helpful Resources - Learn about God's salvation plan - Read our most recent articles - Subscribe to our daily devotional Follow Us YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter This listener-funded program features the clear, relevant Bible teaching of Alistair Begg. Today's program and nearly 3,000 messages can be streamed and shared for free at tfl.org thanks to the generous giving from monthly donors called Truthpartners. Learn more about this Gospel-sharing team or become one today. Thanks for listening to Truth For Life!

Read magazines or scroll through social media, and you'll quickly spot modern-day idols: beauty, sex, power, and whatever money can buy. They can't satisfy the deepest longings of the heart—but God can! Learn why on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg. ----------------------------------------- • Click here and look for "FROM THE SERMON" to stream or read the full message. • This program is part of the series ‘Here is My Servant' • Learn more about our current resource, request your copy with a donation of any amount. • Share the Gospel this holiday season by giving gifts that lead others to Jesus! At truthforlife.org/gifts you'll find ESV Study Bibles for both men and women for only $15, children's hardcover storybooks—three books for just $10, and a brand-new evangelism booklet by Alistair Begg, only $1 each! Helpful Resources - Learn about God's salvation plan - Read our most recent articles - Subscribe to our daily devotional Follow Us YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter This listener-funded program features the clear, relevant Bible teaching of Alistair Begg. Today's program and nearly 3,000 messages can be streamed and shared for free at tfl.org thanks to the generous giving from monthly donors called Truthpartners. Learn more about this Gospel-sharing team or become one today. Thanks for listening to Truth For Life!

The best way to identify false gods is by getting to know the one true God and His Word. While many people believe you can get to heaven through different paths, the Bible categorically refutes this claim. Find out why on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg. ----------------------------------------- • Click here and look for "FROM THE SERMON" to stream or read the full message. • This program is part of the series ‘Here is My Servant' • Learn more about our current resource, request your copy with a donation of any amount. • Share the Gospel this holiday season by giving gifts that lead others to Jesus! At truthforlife.org/gifts you'll find ESV Study Bibles for both men and women for only $15, children's hardcover storybooks—three books for just $10, and a brand-new evangelism booklet by Alistair Begg, only $1 each! Helpful Resources - Learn about God's salvation plan - Read our most recent articles - Subscribe to our daily devotional Follow Us YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter This listener-funded program features the clear, relevant Bible teaching of Alistair Begg. Today's program and nearly 3,000 messages can be streamed and shared for free at tfl.org thanks to the generous giving from monthly donors called Truthpartners. Learn more about this Gospel-sharing team or become one today. Thanks for listening to Truth For Life!

A Sermon from Philippians 4:4-9   1. We are being formed (shaped) by how/where we carry our concern. (vv. 4-7) 2. We are being formed by the things on which we think. (vs. 8) 3. We are being formed by the people we follow. (vs. 9)   GOSPEL CONNECTION “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street. 3 “A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 “He will not be disheartened or crushed Until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.” 5 Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it, 6 “I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, and I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, 7 To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.” Isaiah 42:1-7    APPLICATION How can you be an effective peacemaker this week?   MEMORY VERSE “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8

Disobedient Generations and Lost Opportunities - Matthew 21:33-465 G Living – Do everything you do…For the Glory of GodFor the Good of your fellow manTo get the Gospel to non-believers For the Growth of your fellow ChristiansWith a Grateful heartToday we are going to see Jesus tell another parable story that rebuked the unrepentant generation that failed to give Jesus the glory due His name.Matthew 21:33-46 They would have instantly recognized the vineyard as a reference to Israel, and the Master of the house as God Himself (Isaiah 5:1-7).God has every right to expect all of us to give Him the glory He deserves, and be both faithful and fruitful stewards of what He Has entrusted to us.In Jesus' story the servants are obviously the prophets that God had sent to His people, many of whom were mistreated by people who didn't want to hear and obey the messages God sent through the prophets.Long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the Heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. - Hebrews 1:1-3Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush (daka-H1792) Him; He has put Him to grief; When His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My Servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities. - Isaiah 53:10-11It is so sad that that generation missed Jesus their cornerstone. It is sadder still that for 2,000 years Jews have still been looking for the Messiah who has already come. It will be equally sad if today you despise Jesus and build on another foundation (Acts 4:5-12; 1 Peter 2:4-10)That generation lost the opportunity for national Israel, but the day will come when they Israel will turn to Jesus in mass and be fully restored. In the meantime the gospel goes forth to everyone, Jew and Gentile alike (Acts 1:6-8).For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite (daka-H1792) and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite (daka-H1792). - Isa. 57:15The religious leaders were supposed to bring God glory through their work in Israel. We are to bring God glory through our work in the church and in the world's “seven mountains of cultural influence” – family, church, government, education, media, arts/entertainment, and business.Jesus has delegated to us His power of attorney to represent Him while He is gone! How do you know you are doing it well? If you are doing what Jesus would do it if He was here, you are being faithful and fruitful!

Saturday, 6 September 2025   For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:50   “For whoever, if he should do the determination of My Father, the ‘in heavens,' he – he is – My brother and sister and mother” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus extended His hand toward the disciples and exclaimed, “Here are My mother and My brothers!” In order to explain that, He next says, “For whoever, if he should do the determination of My Father, the ‘in heavens.'”   Jesus sets the parameters for whom He is referring from the previous verse, explaining what He meant. But what is the “determination of My Father” that He is referring to? The answer to the thought is found in John 6 –   “Then they said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?' 29 Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.'” John 6:26   This explains what Jesus is referring to. Jesus is not (by a long shot) telling His hearers that they must observe the Law of Moses. That is what Jesus came to fulfill. He is not telling us that He is kin to the stock of Israel and that we must bless them to receive a blessing, even if His literal descent is from Israel. He does not say that those who have big churches full of wealthy congregants are His family.   The famous, beautiful, athletic, politically connected, royalty, etc., are excluded without believing in Jesus. Cutting out all categories of people, Jesus identifies those whom He is referring to as those doing “the ‘determination of'” His Father. To exactingly identify them, He next closes out Matthew 12, emphatically saying, “he – he is – My brother and sister and mother.”   Genealogy is excluded. This is why Paul says –    “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:26-29   Paul further says –   “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” 1 Corinthians 1:20, 21   It is true that at the time of Jesus' ministry, those of Israel who were under the law were expected to observe the law. Nobody should dispute that. But Jesus' words in John 6, as explained by Paul and the other apostles in the epistles, tell us that we are to have faith in the works of the Son. His works include sinless perfection in His life before the law, His death in fulfillment of it, and His resurrection, which proved that it was so. Belief in this is what God expects of His people. This is the good news of Jesus Christ.   Life application: To cut out much of the theological error that rushes your way from the pulpit, computer, TV screen, etc., remember what God is doing in the world as explained in Scripture. God has a plan of redemption set forth to restore humanity to Himself.   That plan of redemption is based on the work of His Son, Jesus Christ. This plan, centered on His Son, is often co-opted by those who want to control others in various ways. At the time of the early church, it was Judaizers coming in and trusting in the flesh, boasting over those they circumcised.   As the church developed, various cults and sects have arisen to pull people away from the gospel. Eventually, the church became such a large and powerful entity that it exalted itself and its doctrines above the simple gospel. Because of this, the reformation occurred.   In America, a nation that allows freedom of religion, people took advantage of others by proclaiming aberrant ideas through a manipulation of Scripture. Sometimes, there is the exalting of a particular version of Scripture, not Jesus, who is the focus of that Scripture, as a supposed necessary condition for salvation.   Today, unconditionally supporting Israel, a nation that has rejected Jesus at this point, is said to be a necessary condition for receiving God's blessing. In fact, this false teaching is explicitly taught by many supposed Jesus-centered ministries. It is Jesus, not a person, Bible version, nation, or denomination, who brings salvation.   When should believers support a church? The answer is when that church proclaims the gospel. When should believers exalt a people group or nation? The answer is when that nation exalts Jesus Christ. Israel, as a nation, has not yet done this. But unlike other nations, they are explicitly prophesied as someday doing so. For this reason, prayers for them should be raised to God that His will be done in this rebellious group of people.   At the same time, we should be willing to evangelize and pray for all people, telling them about the saving message of Jesus Christ. This alone will bring people to a right relationship with God.   “So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” Acts 15:8-11   Lord God, thank You for the simple gospel of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Help us to have our priorities right, clearly thinking through what it means to be in a right standing before You. Your word tells us what it is! It is through faith in Him and what He has done. Yes, thank You for this simple gospel. Amen. Matthew 12   12 In that time, Jesus, He went – the Sabbaths – through the grainfields, and His disciples, they hungered, and they began to pluck kernels and eat. 2 And the Pharisees, having seen, they said to Him, “You behold! Your disciples, they do what it permits not to do in Sabbath.” 3 And He said to them, “Not you read what he did, David, when he hungered, he and those with him? 4 How he entered into the house of God and the bread ‘the before-setting' they ate, which not it is being permitted him to eat, nor those with him, if not the priests only? 5 Or not you read in the law that, the Sabbaths, the priests in the temple the Sabbath profane, and they are guiltless? 6 And I say to you that the temple – greater, it is here. 7 And if you had known what it is, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' not you condemned the guiltless. 8 For Lord, He is – even of the Sabbath – the Son of Man.”   9 And having departed thence, He went into their synagogue. 10 And, you behold! Man, he is, having a withered hand. And they queried Him, saying, ‘If it permits, the Sabbaths, to cure?' That they should accuse Him.   11 And He said to them, “What man, he will be from you, who he will have one sheep, and if this, it should fall into a pit on the Sabbaths, not he will seize it and he will raise it? 12 Therefore, how much man – he excels a sheep! So too, it permits – the Sabbaths – to do good.” 13 Then He says to the man, ‘You outstretch your hand.' And he outstretched it, and it reconstituted, healthy as the other. 14 And the Pharisees, they took counsel against Him, having gone out, how they might kill Him.   15 And Jesus, having known, He withdrew thence. And they followed Him, great crowds. And He cured them all. 16 And He admonished them that not they should make Him apparent. 17 That it should be fulfilled, the ‘having been spoken' through Isaiah the prophet, saying:   18 “You behold! My Servant whom I chose, My beloved in whom it approved, My soul, I will place My Spirit upon Him, And judgment to the Gentiles, He will proclaim. 19 Not He will wrangle, nor He will clamor, Nor anyone – he will hear in the streets His voice. 20 A reed, being battered, not He will break, And flax being smoldered, not He will extinguish, Until if He ejects judgment into victory. 21 And in His name, Gentiles, they will hope.”   22 Then he was brought to Him ‘being demon possessed,' blind and mute, and He cured him, so the blind and mute speak and see. 23 And they were astounded, all the crowds. And they said, “Not any, this, He is the Son of David?”   24 And the Pharisees, having heard, they said, “This, not He ejects the demons if not in Beelzebul, prince of the demons.” 25 And Jesus, having known their thoughts, He said to them, “Every kingdom, having divided against itself, it desolates, and every city or house having divided against itself, not it will stand. 26 And if the Satan, he ejects the Satan, he divided upon himself. How then, it will stand, his kingdom? 27 And if I, I eject demons in Beelzebul, your sons – in whom do they eject? Through this they, they will be your judges. 28 And if in God's Spirit I, I eject the demons, then it preceded upon you, the ‘God's kingdom.' 29 Or how, any, he can enter into the house of the strong and his goods through-seize, if not first he should bind the strong? And then, his house he will through-seize. 30 The ‘not being with Me,' he is against me. And the ‘not gathering with Me,' he scatters.   31 Through this, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy, it will be forgiven men, but the ‘Spirit blasphemy' not it will be forgiven men. 32 And whoever if he should speak a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever, if he should speak against the Holy Spirit, not it will be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in the coming.   33 Either you make the tree good and the fruit of it good, or you make the tree rotten and the fruit of it rotten. For from the fruit, the tree – it is known. 34 Viper's offspring! You can, how, speak good – being evil? For from the surplus of the heart, the mouth, it speaks.  35 The good man, from the good treasure of the heart, he ejects good, and the evil man, from the evil treasure, he ejects evil. 36 And I say to you that every inactive utterance that if they will speak, men, they will render a word about it in judgment day. 37 For from your words, you will be justified, and from your words, you will be condemned.”   38 Then, they answered, some of the scribes and Pharisees, saying, “Teacher, we desire to see a sign from You.” 39 And having answered, He said to them, “Generation – evil and adulteress – it seeks a sign, and not it will be given it, if not the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40 For just as Jonah, he was in the lunker's belly three days and three nights, thus He will be, the Son of Man, in the earth's heart three days and three nights. 41 Men, Nineveh, they will arise in the judgment with this generation and they will sentence it, for they reconsidered at the proclamation of Jonah. And you behold! Jonah's greater is here! 42 Queen, south, she will arise in the judgment with this generation and she will sentence it, for she came from the extremities of the land to hear Solomon's wisdom. And you behold! Solomon's greater is here.   43 And when the unclean spirit, it departs from the man, it traverses through waterless spots seeking rest, and it finds not. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house whence I departed.' And having come, it finds ‘holidaying,' having been swept and having been arranged. 45 Then it traverses, and it takes with itself seven other spirits, itself eviler, and having entered, it dwells there. And the last of that man, it becomes worse than the first. Thus it will be also – this evil generation.”   46 And He yet speaking to the crowds, you behold, His mother and His brothers had stood without seeking to speak to Him. 47 And, he said, someone to Him, “You behold! Your mother and Your brothers, they have stood without seeking to speak to You.” 48 And answering, He said to the ‘telling Him', “Who, she is, My mother, and who, they are, My brothers?” 49 And having extended His hand to His disciples, He said, “You behold! My mother and My brothers. 50 For whoever, if he should do the determination of My Father, the ‘in heavens,' he – he is – My brother and sister and mother.”

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Thursday morning, the 7th of August, 2025, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Book of Isaiah 42:1: ”Behold! My Servant whom I uphold…” Then we go to the Gospel of Matthew 12:18. Again, our Heavenly Father says: “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!” Our Heavenly Father is talking about His only Son, Jesus Christ, and He refers to Him as His Servant.You and I are called to be servants. Our Saviour is a foot washer. He's a washer of people's dirty feet. The greatest thing He ever did was to die for us and that very night that He was betrayed, you can imagine what was waiting for Him, and He knew it, what did He do? He washed His disciples' feet first, before He went out to be crucified. Paul, in my humble opinion, probably the greatest of all the apostles, says, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.”I want to tell you a little story. Early this morning, like I do every morning, I got up and made my wife, Jill, a cup of tea. As I was going through to my prayer room to start to prepare and seek the Lord for this very message that I am delivering to you today, I happened to walk past the kitchen, and last night we went to bed early and some dishes were in the sink that hadn't been washed. And I thought, “Well, Jill will get up just now and then she will wash them,” and I felt the Holy Spirit say to me, “What would Jesus do?” And I had to stand still. I said, “I am sure He would wash the dishes first.” So I turned around, washed the dishes, dried them, and put them in their rightful place. Then I came through to my prayer room, and I am now delivering to you the message which the Lord gave to me today.Today, wash the dishes, make that favourite meal for your husband. Ja, but you know I am also holding down a job, and it is much easier just to go in and get something ready-made from the shops. No, make something for him. It doesn't matter if you are not the best cook. It will mean so much to him. Mow the lawn for your mom and dad. No, but we have a contractor that does that. You do that. It will make such a difference. Let's be like Jesus today! Remember, charity, which is another word for love, charity begins at home. God bless you as you wash the dishes,Goodbye.

Tuesday, 5 August 2025   “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. Matthew 12:18   “You behold! My Servant whom I chose, My beloved in whom it approved, My soul, I will place My Spirit upon Him, and judgment to the Gentiles, He will proclaim” (CG).   In the previous verse, Matthew noted that Jesus' actions were prophesied by Isaiah. To support this, he quotes Isaiah, saying, “You behold! My Servant whom I chose.”   The word hairetizó, to make a choice, is found only here. It signifies to select as one's own. The words are a loose rendering of Isaiah 42:1 –   “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold.”   The Greek translation of Isaiah rewrites the Hebrew to indicate that Isaiah was speaking of Jacob, saying, “Jacob is my servant, I will help him.” Israel is called the Lord's servant in Isaiah 41:8 –   “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen.”   This is probably why the Greek changes Isaiah 42:1 to read Jacob.  However, there is a developed thought being made between Jacob (Israel) and the coming Messiah in the words of Isaiah, where the Messiah is given as representative of Israel. As for Matthew's citation, he continues with, “My beloved in whom it approved, My soul.”   The Hebrew is close, reading, “In Him, My Chosen, it accepted, My soul” (CG). The Lord God is saying that He is fully pleased with the One He has chosen to represent His people. Therefore, Matthew continues with, “I will place My Spirit upon Him.”   The Hebrew of Isaiah 42:1 says, “I gave My Spirit upon Him” (CG). The Lord, looking forward in time, speaks in the perfect aspect, as if it is already done, knowing that the Messiah would perfectly fulfill His will. This event occurred earlier in Matthew –   “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'” Matthew 3:16, 17   God ordained that Jesus would come and that He would fully and adequately deal with what was necessary to redeem man, restoring him to a right relationship with his Creator once again. Everything given in type and shadow under the Mosaic Covenant would be perfectly realized in Jesus Christ. As such, Matthew continues with, “and judgment to the Gentiles, He will proclaim.”   The Hebrew reads, “Verdict to the Gentiles, He must cause to bring out” (CG). The word verdict, mishpat in Hebrew, signifies the system of law and truth, “especially a sentence or formal decree (human or (participant's) divine law, individual or collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty” (HELPS Word Studies).   A comparable word is given in the Greek cited by Matthew, krisis, a decision. That extends to a tribunal and, thus, justice rendered by such a tribunal.   Isaiah's words refer to what the Messiah would come to do, including bringing out a verdict to the Gentiles, meaning the non-Jewish people. Matthew says that Jesus is the One who fulfilled these words through His ministry. The Pulpit Commentary rightly states –   “The thought here, therefore, is not of Christ's power to punish and avenge (though he refused to use it as yet), but of his bringing a revelation which should eventually spread, not only to the Jews who now rejected him, but to the Gentiles whom they despised.”   Life application: Because of prophecies, such as those from Ezekiel and especially Daniel, a timeline is set in the Old Testament concerning the timing of the coming of the Messiah. There is a very precise and limited time in which He could have come.   Further, other prophecies give the necessary genealogy of the coming Messiah, such as being from Judah. Israel is still waiting for their supposed Messiah to show up. This negates the timeline provided by Daniel, but it also negates the prophecies of lineage.   This is because it is impossible to prove such a lineage today. There are no existing records to prove from which tribe a person descends. There is a claim that some genetic markers help isolate the priestly class of Israel, but that is not what is necessary to prove a Messiah, because priests descend from Levi, not Judah.   As the timing of the coming of the Messiah is known to have occurred already, and as the genealogical records of those who could be the Messiah were destroyed after a certain point in time, either the prophecies are wrong and the Hebrew Scriptures are not the word of God, or the Messiah has come at the set time and with the proper credentials.   Looking back on history, there is only One who is documented to have met those requirements. And more, there is a written record of His coming found in the four gospels. Comparing what those writers say to what was prophesied before His coming, we can be perfectly confident that Jesus is, in fact, the fulfillment of God's plans in this regard.   If we believe in Jesus, we have put our eggs in the right basket. Be sure to believe the gospel, the good news, concerning Jesus Christ!   Lord God, with a bit of study, we can be wholly confident that what was prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. As You sent Him to not only be the Messiah of the Jews, but to be the One who would render right judgment to the Gentiles, we praise You because of Him and through Him. Thank You for Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

April 25, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 2 - 1:30PM Session   Bud leads a bible study reflecting on Isaiah. As an inspired profit of God, Isaiah would be aware of coming savior and the potential eternal punishment for those who have rejected God.   Isaiah 40-45 - God's People Are Comforted 40 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. 2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the Lord's hand Double for all her sins.” 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; 5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 6 The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” 9 O Zion, You who bring good tidings, Get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, You who bring good tidings, Lift up your voice with strength, Lift it up, be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. 11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young. 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance? 13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, Or as His counselor has taught Him? 14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, And taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, And showed Him the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, And are counted as the small dust on the scales; Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. 16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. 17 All nations before Him are as nothing, And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. 18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? 19 The workman molds an image, The goldsmith overspreads it with gold, And the silversmith casts silver chains. 20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution Chooses a tree that will not rot; He seeks for himself a skillful workman To prepare a carved image that will not totter. 21 Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. 23 He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless. 24 Scarcely shall they be planted, Scarcely shall they be sown, Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth, When He will also blow on them, And they will wither, And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble. 25 “To whom then will you liken Me, Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the Lord, And my just claim is passed over by my God”? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Israel Assured of God's Help 41 “Keep silence before Me, O coastlands, And let the people renew their strength! Let them come near, then let them speak; Let us come near together for judgment. 2 “Who raised up one from the east? Who in righteousness called him to His feet? Who gave the nations before him, And made him rule over kings? Who gave them as the dust to his sword, As driven stubble to his bow? 3 Who pursued them, and passed safely By the way that he had not gone with his feet? 4 Who has performed and done it, Calling the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am the first; And with the last I am He.' ” 5 The coastlands saw it and feared, The ends of the earth were afraid; They drew near and came. 6 Everyone helped his neighbor, And said to his brother, “Be of good courage!” 7 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. 8 “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend. 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: 10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' 11 “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. 12 You shall seek them and not find them— Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing. 13 For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.' 14 “Fear not, you worm Jacob, You men of Israel! I will help you,” says the Lord And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 15 “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. 16 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. 17 “The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 18 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. 19 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, 20 That they may see and know, And consider and understand together, That the hand of the Lord has done this, And the Holy One of Israel has created it. The Futility of Idols 21 “Present your case,” says the Lord. “Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob. 22 “Let them bring forth and show us what will happen; Let them show the former things, what they were, That we may consider them, And know the latter end of them; Or declare to us things to come. 23 Show the things that are to come hereafter, That we may know that you are gods; Yes, do good or do evil, That we may be dismayed and see it together. 24 Indeed you are nothing, And your work is nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination. 25 “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 though mortar, As the potter treads clay. 26 Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know? And former times, that we may say, ‘He is righteous'? Surely there is no one who shows, Surely there is no one who declares, Surely there is no one who hears your words. 27 The first time I said to Zion, ‘Look, there they are!' And I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings. 28 For I looked, and there was no man; I looked among them, but there was no counselor, Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word. 29 Indeed they are all worthless; Their works are nothing; Their molded images are wind and confusion. The Servant of the Lord 42 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. 4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” 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: 6 “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, 7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. 8 I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. 9 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 10 Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth, You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, You coastlands and you inhabitants of them! 11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, The villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 12 Let them give glory to the Lord, And declare His praise in the coastlands. 13 The Lord shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies. Promise of the Lord's Help 14 “I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once. 15 I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And dry up all their vegetation; I will make the rivers coastlands, And I will dry up the pools. 16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them. 17 They shall be turned back, They shall be greatly ashamed, Who trust in carved images, Who say to the molded images, ‘You are our gods.' 18 “Hear, you deaf; And look, you blind, that you may see. 19 Who is blind but My servant, Or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, And blind as the Lord's servant? 20 Seeing many things, but you do not observe; Opening the ears, but he does not hear.” Israel's Obstinate Disobedience 21 The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable. 22 But this is a people robbed and plundered; All of them are snared in holes, And they are hidden in prison houses; They are for prey, and no one delivers; For plunder, and no one says, “Restore!” 23 Who among you will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come? 24 Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, He against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in His ways, Nor were they obedient to His law. 25 Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger And the strength of battle; It has set him on fire all around, Yet he did not know; And it burned him, Yet he did not take it to heart. The Redeemer of Israel 43 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. 4 Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life. 5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west; 6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!' And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth— 7 Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” 8 Bring out the blind people who have eyes, And the deaf who have ears. 9 Let all the nations be gathered together, And let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, And show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; Or let them hear and say, “It is truth.” 10 “You are My witnesses,” says the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. 11 I, even I, am the Lord, And besides Me there is no savior. 12 I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses,” Says the Lord, “that I am God. 13 Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?” 14 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I will send to Babylon, And bring them all down as fugitives— The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships. 15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King.” 16 Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea And a path through the mighty waters, 17 Who brings forth the chariot and horse, The army and the power (They shall lie down together, they shall not rise; They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick): 18 “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. 20 The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen. 21 This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise. Pleading with Unfaithful Israel 22 “But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; And you have been weary of Me, O Israel. 23 You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, Nor wearied you with incense. 24 You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; But you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your iniquities. 25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. 26 Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted. 27 Your first father sinned, And your mediators have transgressed against Me. 28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; I will give Jacob to the curse, And Israel to reproaches. God's Blessing on Israel 44 “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant, And Israel whom I have chosen. 2 Thus says the Lord who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you: ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant; And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; 4 They will spring up among the grass Like willows by the watercourses.' 5 One will say, ‘I am the Lord's'; Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord's,' And name himself by the name of Israel. There Is No Other God 6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God. 7 And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them. 8 Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.' ” Idolatry Is Foolishness 9 Those who make an image, all of them are useless, And their precious things shall not profit; They are their own witnesses; They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed. 10 Who would form a god or mold an image That profits him nothing? 11 Surely all his companions would be ashamed; And the workmen, they are mere men. Let them all be gathered together, Let them stand up; Yet they shall fear, They shall be ashamed together. 12 The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals, Fashions it with hammers, And works it with the strength of his arms. Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails; He drinks no water and is faint. 13 The craftsman stretches out his rule, He marks one out with chalk; He fashions it with a plane, He marks it out with the compass, And makes it like the figure of a man, According to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house. 14 He cuts down cedars for himself, And takes the cypress and the oak; He secures it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it shall be for a man to burn, For he will take some of it and warm himself; Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread; Indeed he makes a god and worships it; He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it. 16 He burns half of it in the fire; With this half he eats meat; He roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He even warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, His carved image. He falls down before it and worships it, Prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” 18 They do not know nor understand; For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, And their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 And no one considers in his heart, Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire, Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it; And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; A deceived heart has turned him aside; And he cannot deliver his soul, Nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” Israel Is Not Forgotten 21 “Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me! 22 I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” 23 Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, And glorified Himself in Israel. Judah Will Be Restored 24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself; 25 Who frustrates the signs of the babblers, And drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, And makes their knowledge foolishness; 26 Who confirms the word of His servant, And performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,' To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,' And I will raise up her waste places; 27 Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers'; 28 Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ' Cyrus, God's Instrument 45 “Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: 2 ‘I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 4 For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me. 5 I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; 7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.' 8 “Rain down, you heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, And let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it. 9 “Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands'? 10 Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?' Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?' ” 11 Thus says the Lord, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me. 12 I have made the earth, And created man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded. 13 I have raised him up in righteousness, And I will direct all his ways; He shall build My city And let My exiles go free, Not for price nor reward,” Says the Lord of hosts. The Lord, the Only Savior 14 Thus says the Lord: “The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush And of the Sabeans, men of stature, Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; They shall walk behind you, They shall come over in chains; And they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you, And there is no other; There is no other God.' ” 15 Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior! 16 They shall be ashamed And also disgraced, all of them; They shall go in confusion together, Who are makers of idols. 17 But Israel shall be saved by the Lord With an everlasting salvation; You shall not be ashamed or disgraced Forever and ever. 18 For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other. 19 I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain'; I, the Lord, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. 20 “Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save. 21 Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me. 22 “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. 23 I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath. 24 He shall say, ‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him. 25 In the Lord all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory.' ”   Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrvkBVo1Cd4 Duration 35:38

April 25, 2025 - Equipped 2025 - Day 2 - 3:30PM Session   Rick addresses the ability of Isaiah to predict events in the future to significant detail while being a significant number of years (700) before the events would come to pass.   Isaiah 48-53 - Israel Refined for God's Glory 48 “Hear this, O house of Jacob, Who are called by the name of Israel, And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah; Who swear by the name of the Lord, And make mention of the God of Israel, But not in truth or in righteousness; 2 For they call themselves after the holy city, And lean on the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is His name: 3 “I have declared the former things from the beginning; They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it. Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. 4 Because I knew that you were obstinate, And your neck was an iron sinew, And your brow bronze, 5 Even from the beginning I have declared it to you; Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you, Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them, And my carved image and my molded image Have commanded them.' 6 “You have heard; See all this. And will you not declare it? I have made you hear new things from this time, Even hidden things, and you did not know them. 7 They are created now and not from the beginning; And before this day you have not heard them, Lest you should say, ‘Of course I knew them.' 8 Surely you did not hear, Surely you did not know; Surely from long ago your ear was not opened. For I knew that you would deal very treacherously, And were called a transgressor from the womb. 9 “For My name's sake I will defer My anger, And for My praise I will restrain it from you, So that I do not cut you off. 10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. 11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another. God's Ancient Plan to Redeem Israel 12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob, And Israel, My called: I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. 13 Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, And My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When I call to them, They stand up together. 14 “All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? The Lord loves him; He shall do His pleasure on Babylon, And His arm shall be against the Chaldeans. 15 I, even I, have spoken; Yes, I have called him, I have brought him, and his way will prosper. 16 “Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord God and His Spirit Have sent Me.” 17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go. 18 Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea. 19 Your descendants also would have been like the sand, And the offspring of your body like the grains of sand; His name would not have been cut off Nor destroyed from before Me.” 20 Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, Declare, proclaim this, Utter it to the end of the earth; Say, “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!” 21 And they did not thirst When He led them through the deserts; He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them; He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out. 22 “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” The Servant, the Light to the Gentiles 49 “Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. 2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.” 3 “And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.' 4 Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, And my work with my God.' ” 5 “And now the Lord says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, So that Israel is gathered to Him (For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, And My God shall be My strength), 6 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; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.' ” 7 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 of the Lord who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You.” 8 Thus says the Lord: “In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages; 9 That You may say to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,' To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.' “They shall feed along the roads, And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights. 10 They shall neither hunger nor thirst, Neither heat nor sun shall strike them; For He who has mercy on them will lead them, Even by the springs of water He will guide them. 11 I will make each of My mountains a road, And My highways shall be elevated. 12 Surely these shall come from afar; Look! Those from the north and the west, And these from the land of Sinim.” 13 Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people, And will have mercy on His afflicted. God Will Remember Zion 14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, And my Lord has forgotten me.” 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. 16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. 17 Your sons shall make haste; Your destroyers and those who laid you waste Shall go away from you. 18 Lift up your eyes, look around and see; All these gather together and come to you. As I live,” says the Lord, “You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all as an ornament, And bind them on you as a bride does. 19 “For your waste and desolate places, And the land of your destruction, Will even now be too small for the inhabitants; And those who swallowed you up will be far away. 20 The children you will have, After you have lost the others, Will say again in your ears, ‘The place is too small for me; Give me a place where I may dwell.' 21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, Since I have lost my children and am desolate, A captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; But these, where were they?' ” 22 Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, And set up My standard for the peoples; They shall bring your sons in their arms, And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders; 23 Kings shall be your foster fathers, And their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, And lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.” 24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, Or the captives of the righteous be delivered? 25 But thus says the Lord: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, And the prey of the terrible be delivered; For I will contend with him who contends with you, And I will save your children. 26 I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh, And they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know That I, the Lord, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” The Servant, Israel's Hope 50 Thus says the Lord: “Where is the certificate of your mother's divorce, Whom I have put away? Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you? For your iniquities you have sold yourselves, And for your transgressions your mother has been put away. 2 Why, when I came, was there no man? Why, when I called, was there none to answer? Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Indeed with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness; Their fish stink because there is no water, And die of thirst. 3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, And I make sackcloth their covering.” 4 “The Lord God has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned. 5 The Lord God has opened My ear; And I was not rebellious, Nor did I turn away. 6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. 7 “For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. 8 He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me. 9 Surely the Lord God will help Me; Who is he who will condemn Me? Indeed they will all grow old like a garment; The moth will eat them up. 10 “Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness And has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord And rely upon his God. 11 Look, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with sparks: Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled— This you shall have from My hand: You shall lie down in torment. The Lord Comforts Zion 51 “Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, And to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. 2 Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, And blessed him and increased him.” 3 For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody. 4 “Listen to Me, My people; And give ear to Me, O My nation: For law will proceed from Me, And I will make My justice rest As a light of the peoples. 5 My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The coastlands will wait upon Me, And on My arm they will trust. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, And look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, The earth will grow old like a garment, And those who dwell in it will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not be abolished. 7 “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, Nor be afraid of their insults. 8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment, And the worm will eat them like wool; But My righteousness will be forever, And My salvation from generation to generation.” 9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord! Awake as in the ancient days, In the generations of old. Are You not the arm that cut Rahab apart, And wounded the serpent? 10 Are You not the One who dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep; That made the depths of the sea a road For the redeemed to cross over? 11 So the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 12 “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die, And of the son of a man who will be made like grass? 13 And you forget the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day Because of the fury of the oppressor, When he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor? 14 The captive exile hastens, that he may be loosed, That he should not die in the pit, And that his bread should not fail. 15 But I am the Lord your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared— The Lord of hosts is His name. 16 And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.' ” God's Fury Removed 17 Awake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk at the hand of the Lord The cup of His fury; You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, And drained it out. 18 There is no one to guide her Among all the sons she has brought forth; Nor is there any who takes her by the hand Among all the sons she has brought up. 19 These two things have come to you; Who will be sorry for you?— Desolation and destruction, famine and sword— By whom will I comfort you? 20 Your sons have fainted, They lie at the head of all the streets, Like an antelope in a net; They are full of the fury of the Lord, The rebuke of your God. 21 Therefore please hear this, you afflicted, And drunk but not with wine. 22 Thus says your Lord, The Lord and your God, Who pleads the cause of His people: “See, I have taken out of your hand The cup of trembling, The dregs of the cup of My fury; You shall no longer drink it. 23 But I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, Who have said to you, ‘Lie down, that we may walk over you.' And you have laid your body like the ground, And as the street, for those who walk over.” God Redeems Jerusalem 52 Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you. 2 Shake yourself from the dust, arise; Sit down, O Jerusalem! Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck, O captive daughter of Zion! 3 For thus says the Lord: “You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord God: “My people went down at first Into Egypt to dwell there; Then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. 5 Now therefore, what have I here,” says the Lord, “That My people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them Make them wail,” says the Lord, “And My name is blasphemed continually every day. 6 Therefore My people shall know My name; Therefore they shall know in that day That I am He who speaks: ‘Behold, it is I.' ” 7 How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” 8 Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, With their voices they shall sing together; For they shall see eye to eye When the Lord brings back Zion. 9 Break forth into joy, sing together, You waste places of Jerusalem! For the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God. 11 Depart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from the midst of her, Be clean, You who bear the vessels of the Lord. 12 For you shall not go out with haste, Nor go by flight; For the Lord will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard. The Sin-Bearing Servant 13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. 14 Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men; 15 So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider. The Sin-Bearing Messiah 53 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.   Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnGl00h-CJo   Duration 37:06

Behold! My Servant... I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people... Taught at Calvary Chapel Ukiah on March 30, 2025. [44 minutes]

Hebrews 7:20-21 And inasmuch as it was not without an oath (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever'”); The author of Hebrews magnifies Jesus' authority by again contrasting how each was appointed. God's appointment of the Levitical priests did not come with an oath, meaning God could terminate their service. His word did not prevent Him from replacing them. However, in contrast, because Jesus was appointed a priest with an oath, we should have great confidence to trust in Jesus. Since God swore Him into office and won't change His mind, Jesus serves with authority forever. No one loves perfectly. We are all weak and sometimes overcome with natural, selfish, demonic impulses. How can one approach God's throne with confidence to ask for grace to help when he or she has so many times turned their backs on Him and tried to do things in their own strength, or even worse, knowingly repeated sinful actions and spoke hurtful, damaging words? What makes them think God forgives their sins? How can He and be just? What kind of love can just wave a hand and turn a blind eye to such adultery and treachery? Perhaps human love can just overlook transgressions, but holy, just, righteous love cannot. The love of righteousness demands that sins must be punished, atoned for, and justice served. The very foundation of His throne is righteousness and justice, but lovingkindness and truth go before Him. (Ps. 89:14). It is for this reason that God swore when He appointed Jesus to be a priest forever. He could intercede for the transgressors. Listen to Isaiah's revelation of the Messiah, God's appointed high priest. Isaiah 53:10-12 But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt coffering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge [knowledge of what? Their iniquities] the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors. Consider the hope this fosters in the hearts of those who trust in Jesus and draw near to Him when they sin and need mercy and when they need grace to love. They can rest in the reality that Almighty God, their heavenly Father, cannot deny Jesus when He intercedes for them. Not only does He intercede for them, asking for God to be merciful, but He also advocates for them. He stands beside them to comfort them and give them grace to love with Him. This is the reality of living to love with Jesus. We live and love based on the authority of God's word (His oath) regarding His Son, our high priest, our Savior, and constant, gentle companion.

Why Christians Support Israel 4 Reasons I would support Israel even if I wasn't a Christian: First, after the horrors of the holocaust and Adolph Hitler's genocide of 6 million plus Jews, the civilized world agreed that Jews should finally have their own home country to live in after centuries of persecution. Second, it makes the most sense for that homeland to be right where Israel is. They have a historical claim on that land going back to 1405 B.C. Third, Israel has become one of the world's best democracies. It is the best place in the Middle East to be anything but a follower of Sharia Law. Fourth, Israeli citizens and other Jews have made momentous contributions to the world. “The problem is that one side has supported a two-state solution – I'm talking about Israel. The other side never did and still doesn't. One side uses terrorism to achieve its goals – the other side retaliates against terrorism. One side is accused of genocide but doesn't do it; the other side would actually love to do it. People keep saying Israel has the right to defend itself, but when Israel does, they object to it.” - Bill Mahar Biblical reasons to support Israel: First, our Christian faith is rooted in God's dealings with Israel. Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” - Genesis 12:1-3 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. - Genesis 17:8 Being the nation to bring the Law and the Messiah into the world is not just the greatest blessing for the nation that was chosen, but also the greatest burden any nation has ever had to bear. And now the LORD says. Who formed Me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob back to Him (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; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.” - Isaiah 49:5-6 But some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree. Do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are remember IT IS NOT YOU WHO SUPPORT THE ROOT, BUT THE ROOT THAT SUPPORTS YOU. - Romans 11:17-18 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers, For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. - Romans 11:28-29 Second, there are prophecies related to Israel being fulfilled, and that are yet to be fulfilled. Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. But the land shall be abandoned by them and enjoy its Sabbaths while it lays desolate without them, and they shall make amends for their iniquity, because they spurned my rules and their soul abhorred my statutes. YET FOR ALL THAT, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to utterly destroy them utterly and break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I AM the LORD. - Lev. 26:42-45 Third, it really is a timeless principle that God will bless those who bless Israel, and curse those who curse Israel.

Election      Election derives from the Greek verb eklegō (ἐκλέγω) which, according to BDAG, means “to make a choice in accordance with significant preference, select someone or something for oneself.”[1] According to Norman Geisler, “The word election (or elect) occurs fourteen times in the New Testament. An elect person is a chosen one; election (or elect) is used of Israel (Rom 9:11; 11:28), of angels (1 Tim 5:21), and of believers. In relation to believers, election is the decision of God from all eternity whereby He chose those who would be saved.”[2] Geisler further states, “The words chosen and chose are used numerous times. The terms are employed of Christ (Luke 23:35; 1 Pet 1:20; 2:4, 6), of a disciple (Acts 1:2, 24; 10:41; 22:14; John 15:10), and even of Judas (John 6:70; 13:18), who was chosen to be an apostle. Soteriologically, a chosen one is a person elected to salvation by God.”[3]      Election is that free choice of God from eternity past in which He chose to save and bless some (Eph 1:4-5). The elect are the ones chosen. God elects groups (Luke 6:13-16; John 6:70) and individuals (1 Ch 28:5; Acts 9:15). Election is to salvation (Acts 13:48; Eph 1:4-6; 2 Th 2:13), spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3), holy and righteous living (Col 3:12; 1 Pet 2:9), and service for the Lord (Jer 1:4-5; Gal 1:15-16; cf. Acts 9:15). In election, God is sovereign and people are free. Both are true. This is why Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). Here we observe the coalescence of God's sovereignty and positive human volition as the Father gives and people come of their own choice.[4] We observe something similar in Acts where Luke wrote, “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” (Acts 13:48). Here we observe Gentiles who were appointed to eternal life, and that they personally exercised their volition and believed in the Lord for salvation.[5] Robert B. Thieme Jr., states: "[Election is] the recognition by God, before the foundation of the world, of those who would believe in Christ; the sovereign act of God in eternity past to choose, to set apart, certain members of the human race for privilege, based on His knowledge of every person's freewill decisions in time. While God is sovereign, having the right to do with His creatures as He pleases, never has He hindered or tampered with human free will. He did not choose some to be saved and others to be condemned. Instead, in eternity past, God first chose to accomplish the work of man's salvation through the Son. Then, He looked down the corridors of time and elected for salvation everyone He knew would believe in Jesus Christ (Eph 1:4). God elected believers in the sense that He knew ahead of time that their free will would choose for Christ….Moreover, God did not elect anyone to hell: unbelievers are condemned to eternally reside in hell only because they have used their volition toward unbelief (John 3:18)."[6] Predestined by God      When writing to the Christians at Ephesus, Paul said, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph 1:4-5). The word predestined translates the Greek word proorizō (προορίζω), which means, to “decide upon beforehand,  predetermine.”[7] Harold Hoehner defines the word similarly as, “to determine beforehand, mark out beforehand, predestine.”[8] Geisler notes, “Just as God predetermined from all eternity that Christ would die for our sins (Acts 2:23), He also predestined who would be saved. As Paul says, ‘Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son' (Rom 8:29).”[9] According to Paul Enns, “Even though election and predestination are clearly taught in Scripture, man is still held accountable for his choices. Scripture never suggests that man is lost because he is not elect or has not been predestined; the emphasis of Scripture is that man is lost because he refuses to believe the gospel.”[10]      Predestination refers to what God purposes for us. The Bible reveals that God has predestined us to adoption as His children (Eph 1:5), to our ultimate conformity to Christ (Rom 8:29–30), and to the blessings of our future inheritance (Eph 1:11). Warren Wiersbe states, “This word, as it is used in the Bible, refers primarily to what God does for saved people. Nowhere in the Bible are we taught that people are predestined to hell, because this word refers only to God's people. Election seems to refer to people, while predestination refers to purposes.”[11] According to Robert B. Thieme Jr., predestination refers to “God's predetermined, sovereign provisioning of every believer for the purpose of executing His plan, purpose, and will in time (Eph 1:4-6, 11).”[12] Thieme further states: "In eternity past God decreed, or established with certainty, the believer's destiny for time and eternity. However, the divine act of predestination is never to be confused with the ideas of kismet [the idea of fate] or any other human-viewpoint system of fatalism. God did not negate free will or force anyone into a course of action. Rather, He only decreed and provisioned what He knew would actually happen. He predestined believers based on His eternal knowledge that they would, by their own free will, accept Jesus Christ as Savior. Long before human history began, sovereign God determined that every Church Age believer would be united with the resurrected Jesus Christ, the King of kings. Those who believe are predestined as heirs of God and joint heirs with the Son of God—sharing the eternal destiny of Jesus Christ Himself (Eph 1:5). Furthermore, God predestined believers with everything necessary to fulfill His plan in time. No Christian is dependent upon human energy, personality, or human effort, because God established a grace way of life and furnished the divine means of execution (2 Tim 1:9). Every believer in this age has equal opportunity to either accept or reject God's predestined provision. Regardless of personal failure or success in time, all believers are predestined to be completely “conformed to the image of His Son” in resurrection bodies in heaven (Rom 8:29)."[13] Foreknowledge      Peter wrote of God's elect as those “who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Pet 1:1-2). Here, the word foreknowledge translates the Greek noun prognōsis (πρόγνωσις), which means “to know beforehand, know in advance”[14] Foreknowledge simply means that omniscient God, from eternity past, knew in advance all that would happen in time and space, and He knew the actions of every person and whether they would be saved or not. Jesus communicated His foreknowledge when He said to His disciples, ‘“There are some of you who do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him” (John 6:64). God also knew His own actions in time and space, either to direct, permit, or overrule human or angelic decisions, and to judge everyone fairly for their actions. According to Norman Geisler: "Being omniscient, God also eternally foreknew those who would be saved: “Those God foreknew he also predestined” (Rom 8:29). Indeed, they were “elect according to the foreknowledge of God” (1 Pet 1:2). Since His foreknowledge is infallible (He is omniscient), whatever God foreknows will indeed come to pass. Hence, His foreknowledge of who would be saved assures that they will be."[15]      In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29). The word “foreknew” translates the Greek verb proginōskō (προγινώσκω) which, according to BDAG, means “to know beforehand or in advance, have foreknowledge.”[16] Here, the word connotes God's knowing people in an intimate sense and not merely what they will do. This speaks to the richness of the relationship God has with each individual. Though we exist in time and space and live our lives in a chronological manner with one experience sequentially following the next, God exists in the eternal realm, beyond time and space, in the eternal now. This means that God is present at all times and places in human history simultaneously. Scripture speaks of what God foreknew from eternity past as it relates to the choices of His elect, but His foreknowledge is not detached or impersonal; rather, it is intimately connected to the formation of His family and the execution of His purposes in the world (see Jer 1:4-5). Prevenient Grace      Prevenient grace refers to the grace of God that precedes and prepares a person's heart and will for salvation. The term “prevenient” means “preceding” or “coming before.” According to Geisler, “Prevenient means ‘before,' and prevenient grace refers to God's unmerited work in the human heart prior to salvation, which directs people to this end through Christ…This grace is also seen in the fact that ‘the goodness of God leads you to repentance' (Rom 2:4). Thus, prevenient grace is God's grace exerted on our behalf even before He bestows salvation on us.”[17]      Because God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9), He works in a preparatory manner to convince the fallen human heart to welcome Christ (2 Tim 1:9). Jesus spoke of the role of the Holy Spirit in the dispensation of the church age, saying, “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:8-9). According to Geisler, “The act of convicting, then, is that by which God persuades a person that he is a sinner and, thus, is in need of the Savior.”[18] This prevenient work of God is necessary because of the sinfulness of mankind. It is not considered to be salvific in itself but rather a preparatory grace that allows individuals to cooperate with God's saving work in Christ. In this perspective, salvation is seen as a cooperative process where individuals have the ability to accept or reject God's offer of grace. Christians are Elect in Christ      From eternity past, God intended for His grand plan of salvation for all humanity to be achieved through His Son. Scripture reveals “the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14), and “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), and He is “the Lamb who has been slain” from the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8). Jesus is the Father's Chosen One. God said, “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen One in whom My soul delights” (Isa 42:1). And He said of Jesus, “This is My Son, My Chosen One” (Luke 9:35). And Peter describes Jesus as “chosen and precious in the sight of God” (1 Pet 2:4). Jesus was chosen by God before the foundation of the world to be the Savior of all mankind, and Christians are elect because we are in Christ. Geisler states: "Christ is eternal, and the universal church was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4); hence, in the mind of God, the church of God is eternal. Further, Christ is the elect of God (Matt 3:16–17), and we are elect in Him; not only is Christ the elect One, but in the New Testament those “in Christ,” the church, the members of His body, were elect in Him before time began."[19]      Scripture reveals that Christians “are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Pet 1:1-2), that Christ “was foreknown before the foundation of the world” (1 Pet 1:20), was “chosen and precious” in His sight (1 Pet 2:4), and that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4). The prepositional phrase “in Him” (ἐν αὐτῷ) speaks to our election and union with Christ (Eph 1:4). According to L. B. Smedes, “This strongly suggests that God elects people for salvation in the same decision that He elected Christ as their Savior.”[20] Because Jesus is God's Chosen One, it is asserted that we, God's elect, were chosen at the same time as Christ, and He “saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Tim 1:9). When we believed in Jesus as our Savior, God placed us into union with Christ, for “by His doing you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:30). Paul wrote, “I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen [eklektos], so that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory” (2 Tim 2:10).      The prepositional phrase, “in Christ” (ἐν Χριστῷ), emphasizes the idea of believers being in union with Christ. This union is not merely a metaphorical expression but signifies a profound spiritual reality. The Apostle Paul frequently uses this expression to convey the intimate and transformative relationship that believers have with Christ (Rom 8:1; 12:5; 1 Cor 1:2, 30; Gal 3:28; Eph 1:3-4; Phil 1:1; Col 1:2; 2 Tim 1:9; 2:10). Being “in Christ” signifies that believers are, in a real spiritual sense, united with Him. This identification includes sharing in His death, burial, and resurrection, for we have been “crucified with Christ” (Gal 2:20), and “we died with Christ” (Rom 6:8), were “buried with Him” (Rom 6:4), and “have been raised up with Christ” (Col 3:1). In a real way, we were with Him on the cross, in the grave, and at His resurrection. In the eyes of God, His experience has become our experience. This identification with Jesus is real, even though we were not physically alive at the time of His crucifixion, burial, resurrection, or ascension into heaven. Furthermore, “In Him we have…forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph 1:7), “have been sanctified in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:2), have “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23), and are told there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). This kind of identification in and with another is true in other instances. For example, it was said of Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb” (Gen 25:23), even before Israel was called into being as a nation. Similarly, the writer of Hebrews speaks of Levi who “paid tithes” (Heb 7:9), and this while “he was still in the loins of his father” Abraham (Heb 7:10). This means that Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek, even before he existed, as he was in the loins of his father, Abraham.[21]      Furthermore, being “in Christ” reflects a believer's new position before God. It signifies that, through faith in Christ, believers are accepted and justified before God. Their sins are forgiven (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), and they are seen through the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). The phrase also emphasizes that believers participate in the benefits of Christ's redemptive work. This includes reconciliation with God (Rom 5:10), adoption as children (Gal 4:5; Eph 1:5), the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16), and the status of being a new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17). Believers are seen as co-heirs with Christ, sharing in the inheritance of eternal life (Eph 1:3-14; Rom 8:17). This positional truth is foundational to the concept of salvation by grace through faith. While being “in Christ” has personal implications, it also has a corporate dimension. It speaks to the collective identity of the Church as the body of Christ, with believers being interconnected and sharing a common life “in Christ.” Robert B. Thieme Jr., states: "Through the baptism of the Spirit at salvation, every believer of this age is removed from his position in Adam and secured in his position “in Christ” (1 Cor 15:22; Eph 2:5–6; cf. Gal 3:27). The believer, no longer spiritually dead, is made a “new creature” with a totally unprecedented relationship with God (2 Cor 5:17a). The “old things” that once kept him alienated from God have passed away; phenomenal “new things” have come by virtue of his position in Christ (2 Cor 5:17b). The believer shares Christ's eternal life (1 John 5:11–12), His righteousness (2 Cor 5:21), His election (Eph 1:3–4), His destiny (Eph 1:5), His sonship (John 1:12; Gal 3:26; 1 John 3:1–2), His heirship (Rom 8:16–17), His sanctification (1 Cor 1:2, 30), His kingdom (2 Pet 1:11), His priesthood (Heb 10:10–14), and His royalty (2 Tim 2:11–12). This new position can never be forfeited."[22]      In summary, the prepositional phrase “in Christ” encapsulates profound theological truths about the believer's union with Christ, identification with His redemptive work, a new positional standing before God, and the communal identity of the Church as the body of Christ. It serves as a key concept in understanding the richness of Christian salvation and the transformative impact of faith in Jesus Christ. Dr. Steven R. Cook   [1] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 305. [2] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2004), 220–221. [3] Ibid., 221. [4] Other passages that emphasize God's sovereign choice: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44), and “no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father” (John 6:65). Paul wrote, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph 1:4-5). And to Christians living in Thessalonica, Paul wrote, “We should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth” (2 Th 2:13). [5] Romans 9:1-18 is often cited when discussing election to salvation; however, when one looks at the context of Roman 9, it does not pertain to salvation, but to God's selection of the progenitors of the nation of Israel. In a similar way, God sovereignly selected Nebuchadnezzar to be the king over Babylon (Dan 2:37-38; 5:18), and Cyrus as king over Persia (Ezra 1:2). In fact, God's sovereignty is supreme when it comes to selecting all human rulers, for “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings” (Dan 2:21), and “the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Dan 4:17). At times, He even raises up young foolish kings to discipline His people, as He told Isaiah the prophet, “I will make mere lads their princes, and capricious children will rule over them” (Isa 3:4). [6] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Election”, Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, (Houston, TX., R. B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, 2022), 81. [7] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 873. [8] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 193. [9] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation, 221. [10] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 329. [11] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 11. [12] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Predestination”, Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 203. [13] Ibid., 203-204 [14] Moisés Silva, ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 138. [15] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation, 221. [16] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 866. [17] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Three: Sin, Salvation, 222. [18] Ibid., 222. [19] Norman L. Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume Four: Church, Last Things, 50–51. [20] L. B. Smedes, “Grace,” ed. Geoffrey W Bromiley, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1979–1988), 551. [21] These two analogies with Rebekah and Levi help convey the idea of a connection or representation that transcends mere physical existence. In the case of Rebekah, the passage refers to the statement, “Two nations are in your womb” (Gen 25:23), highlighting that this declaration occurred before Israel was called into being as a nation. This serves as an example of a connection that existed before the actual historical formation of the nation. Likewise, the reference to Levi paying tithes while still in the loins of his father, Abraham (Heb 7:9-10), is another analogy used to illustrate a connection that goes beyond the immediate physical existence of the individual. It suggests a representation or identification that precedes the individual's own existence. [22] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Position in Christ”, Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 200.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Today's encouragement comes from this very popular verse. My guess is that most of you have heard this verse since you were children. John wanted his readers to know of God's character and faithfulness when we agree with Him that we have sinned. Let me remind you of what John wrote in verse 7. “If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” For God to send His Son to die for our sins on the cross is a declaration by God that we all have sin. Obviously, if mankind didn't have sin, then certainly Jesus would not have had to come to die for them. Therefore one thing living in the light of the truth means is that I agree with God that I have sinned. Confession of sin is to agree with God about what He sees in us. He knows all things about us, much more than we know about us. That however isn't a bad or discouraging thing, it is a wonderfully encouraging truth because God is love. Because God is love and light, His light by its very nature exposes sin and darkness, and then destroys it. That's exactly what God did at the cross. He demonstrated His faithfulness and righteousness in Christ by taking upon Himself all the sins which He sees of His people. The blood of Jesus which was shed for them, the life of the Son, powerfully cleanses them of every unrighteousness in their lives because He forgives them. Who is God being faithful to when He forgives those who confess their sins? He is being faithful to His word and His Son. Here is the promise made to Jesus. Isaiah 53:10 But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. Isaiah 53:11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors. John didn't encourage us to ask forgiveness when we sin so God will forgive. Rather, He encouraged us to agree with God that the death of Christ was necessary. Jesus died for sins because God is faithful and righteous to forgive and promised to cleanse us of them. This means that He doesn't look at us and see our sins when we confess them. He looks at us and sees the righteousness of His Son! So when we become aware of our sins, let us be quick to agree that this is why we need Jesus, and it is why God sent His Son. Then may we receive the forgiveness and cleansing of our sins with great joy and gratitude.

Penal Substitution      Penal substitution is the idea that Jesus bore the penalty for our sins on the cross. He was judged in our place and bore the wrath of God that rightfully belongs to us. The record of Scripture is that “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed” (Isa 53:5), and “the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him” (Isa 53:6), for “by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (Isa 53:11), and “the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering” (Isa 53:10a). Jesus is presented in the NT as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). We're also told that God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf” (2 Cor 5:21), and that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us” (Gal 3:13), and that “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Pet 2:24). In this way, the sins of all humanity were imputed to Christ while He was on the cross, suffering as our substitute. And we must always remember that the sacrifice of Christ was purely voluntary, as He said, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11), and “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative” (John 10:18). And Jesus has “been offered once to bear the sins of many” (Heb 9:28), and “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust” (1 Pet 3:18).      Louis Berkhof states, “The Bible certainly teaches that the sufferings and death of Christ were vicarious, and vicarious in the strict sense of the word that He took the place of sinners, and that their guilt was imputed, and their punishment transferred, to Him.”[1] And Charles Ryrie adds, “Only the substitutionary death of Christ can provide that which God's justice demands and thereby become the basis for the gift of eternal life to those who believe.”[2] And according to Lewis Chafer, “The doctrine of satisfaction embodies the conception of Christ's death, that it was a penal substitution which had the objective purpose of providing a just and righteous ground for God to remit the sins of those for whom Christ died.”[3] John Walvoord agrees, saying: "This point of view, variously described as vicarious or penal, holds that the atonement is objectively directed toward God and the satisfaction of His holy character and demands upon the sinner. It is vicarious in the sense that Christ is the Substitute who bears the punishment rightly due sinners, their guilt being imputed to Him in such a way that He representatively bore their punishment. This is in keeping with the general idea of sacrifices in the Old Testament and is explicitly taught in the New Testament (see John 1:29; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 3:13; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 2:24)."[4] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. states: "The punishment incurred by Adam when he sinned—spiritual death—is passed down to the entire human race. Everyone is born under this penalty of sin, hopelessly in debt to God. The debt has been paid by the perfect humanity of Christ, whose substitutionary spiritual death on the cross “canceled out the certificate of debt” (Col 2:14). Man now stands free to accept Jesus Christ and receive the gift of an eternal relationship with God."[5]      What's unique about Jesus is that He is both our High Priest as well as the sacrifice for our sins. In the OT, priests would offer animals to die as the sacrifice, but Jesus offered “Himself as a guilt offering” (Isa 53:10) in order to take away sins. The writer to the Hebrews states, “Christ appeared as a high priest” (Heb 9:11), and this in order “to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb 9:26), and this was a once-for-all sacrifice, as He “offered one sacrifice for sins for all time” (Heb 10:12).      Sin is the breaking of God's law, for “Everyone who commits sin also breaks the law; sin is the breaking of law” (1 John 3:4 CSB). The penalty for breaking God's law is death, for “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). Jesus took our sins upon Himself and “bore our sins in His body on the cross” (1 Pet 2:24), and He “died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). And He died for the sins of everyone, for “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Though Christ died for everyone, the benefits of the cross are applied only to those who believe, and “everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7). Additionally, we receive “the gift of righteousness” (Rom 5:17), and “eternal life” (John 10:28). At the moment of faith in Christ, we are “justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24).   Propitiation      Jesus' death on the cross was a satisfactory sacrifice to God which completely paid the price for our sin. We owed a debt to God that we could never pay, and Jesus paid that debt in full when He died on the cross and bore the punishment that rightfully belonged to us. In Romans, Paul states that we “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith (Rom 3:24-25a ESV). Here, Paul used the Greek word hilasterion (ἱλαστήριον)—translated propitiation—to show that Jesus' shed blood completely satisfied God's righteous demands toward our sin, with the result that there is nothing more for the sinner to pay to God. Jesus paid our sin-debt in full. The Apostle John tells us “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2; cf., 4:10). Jesus' death on the cross forever satisfied God's righteous demands toward the sins of everyone for all time! God has “canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col 2:14). Regarding Christ's death, J. Dwight Pentecost states: "You can be adjusted to God's standard, because God made Christ to become sin for us. The One who knew no sin, the One in whose lips had never been found guile, took upon Himself our sin in order that He might bear our sins to the cross and offer Himself as an acceptable substitute to God for us—on our behalf, in our place. And when Jesus Christ identified Himself with sinners and went to the cross on their behalf and in their place, He was making possible the doctrine of reconciliation. He was making it possible for God to conform the world to Himself, to adjust the world to His standard so that sinners in the world might find salvation because “Jesus paid it all.” You can be adjusted to God, to God's standard, through Christ, by His death, by His cross, by His blood, and by His identification with sinners."[6] John Walvoord adds: "The work of Christ in salvation has still another major aspect of what is called in the Bible “propitiation,” “the sacrifice of atonement,” or satisfying God's righteous demands or judgment upon a sinner. Illustrations of this can be found in Romans 3:25 and 1 John 2:2; 4:10. The idea of propitiation is that God as a righteous God must demand punishment for those who sin against Him. Christ in His death on the cross provided propitiation, atonement, or satisfaction of that claim, so that God is fully satisfied now in saving a person who does not deserve to be saved."[7] Robert Lightner states: "The death of Christ satisfied the righteous demands of God the Father. Because of sin His holiness had been offended, and only a sinless sacrifice could meet His righteous demands. Jesus Christ the Righteous One provided in Himself the perfect sacrifice. Paul set forth Christ as the propitiation for the remission of sins (Rom 3:25). Because of the blood He shed Christ provided in Himself the appointed place where a holy God could meet sinful man. Christ is now our place of meeting—our mercy seat (cf. 1 John 2:2; 4:10). The need for propitiation stems from the sin of man and the holiness of God. It is man who needs to be reinstated or reconciled with God. God's holiness and righteous demands remain unchanged. Since there must be a basis upon which God may receive sinners, satisfaction must be made for sin: propitiation provided just such a basis through the death of Christ."[8] Paul Enns states: "Propitiation means that the death of Christ fully satisfied all the righteous demands of God toward the sinner. Because God is holy and righteous He cannot overlook sin; through the work of Jesus Christ God is fully satisfied that His righteous standard has been met. Through union with Christ the believer can now be accepted by God and be spared from the wrath of God."[9]      There are several concepts at work in the doctrine of propitiation. First, God is holy which means He is completely set apart from sin and cannot look on wickedness with favor. The Scripture states, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You cannot look on wickedness with favor” (Hab 1:13), and “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Because all mankind is marked by sin, we are all in danger of the fires of hell, unless we turn to Christ as our Savior. Second, God made a way for His righteousness to be satisfied, and this through the cross of Christ. As Christians, we “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Rom 3:24-25a ESV). And John tells us “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2a; cf., 4:10). God is forever satisfied with the death of Christ. Third, the wrath of God is removed because Jesus was judged in our place and bore the punishment that rightfully belongs to us. Paul wrote, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Rom 5:8-9). Dr. Steven R. Cook     ___ [1] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 376. [2] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology, 357. [3] Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, vol. 3, 143. [4] John F. Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord, 157. [5] Robert B. Thieme, Jr. “Barrier”, Thieme's Bible Doctrine Dictionary, 22. [6] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things Which Become Sound Doctrine, 89. [7] John F. Walvoord, What We Believe (Galaxie Software, 2007), 76. [8] Robert P. Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology, 195. [9] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology, 325.

Morning Worship Sermon with Rev. Bud Hance Scripture reference Isaiah 52:13-15 The Sin Bearing Servant 13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;  He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. 14 Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men; 15 So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider.

Matthew 12:1-21   At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. 2 Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath!” 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions— 4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5 Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? 6 But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here.7 But if you had known what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” 9 Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might bring charges against Him. 11 But He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable then is a person than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”13 Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as tohow they might destroy Him. 15 But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, 16 and warned them not to tell who He was. 17 This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: 18 “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul delights; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel, nor cry out; Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20 A bent reed He will not break off, And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish, Until He leads justice to victory. 21 And in His name the Gentiles will hope.”     BIBLE READING GUIDE - FREE EBOOK - Get the free eBook, Bible in Life, to help you learn how to read and apply the Bible well: https://www.listenerscommentary.com     GIVE -  The Listener's Commentary is a listener supported Bible teaching ministry made possible by the generosity of people like you. Thank you! Give here:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com/give     STUDY HUB - Want more than the audio? Join the study hub to access articles, maps, charts, pictures, and links to other resources to help you study the Bible for yourself. https://www.listenerscommentary.com/members-sign-up   MORE TEACHING - For more resources and Bible teaching from John visit https://www.johnwhittaker.net  

Isaiah 49 1 Listen to Me, O islands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He named Me. 2 He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, In the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; And He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver. 3 He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, In Whom I will show My glory.” 4 But I said, “I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord, And My reward with My God.” 5 And now says the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the Lord, And My God is My strength), 6 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; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” 7 Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, To the despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, “Kings will see and arise, Princes will also bow down, Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.” 8 Thus says the Lord, “In a favorable time I have answered You, And in a day of salvation I have helped You; And I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people, To restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages; 9 Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go forth,' To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.' Along the roads they will feed, And their pasture will be on all bare heights. 10 “They will not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down; For He who has compassion on them will lead them And will guide them to springs of water. 11 “I will make all My mountains a road, And My highways will be raised up. 12 “Behold, these will come from afar; And lo, these will come from the north and from the west, And these from the land of Sinim.” 13 Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted. 14 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me.” 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. 16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. 17 “Your builders hurry; Your destroyers and devastators Will depart from you. 18 “Lift up your eyes and look around; All of them gather together, they come to you. As I live,” declares the Lord, “You will surely put on all of them as jewels and bind them on as a bride. 19 “For your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land— Surely now you will be too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who swallowed you will be far away. 20 “The children of whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears, ‘The place is too cramped for me; Make room for me that I may live here.' 21 “Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has begotten these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And am barren, an exile and a wanderer? And who has reared these? Behold, I was left alone; From where did these come?'” 22 Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My standard to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. 23 “Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you will know that I am the Lord; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame... --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/maranatha-ministries/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/maranatha-ministries/support

Behold, My Servant.” Those provocative words begin some of the most powerful and moving poetic expressions of grace found anywhere in the Old Testament. The Servant Songs of Isaiah prophesy the highly anticipated ministry of a mysterious figure known as the Servant of Yahweh who would fulfill the greatest divine mission the world will ever see.Isaiah's Great Light will lead you through a study of Isaiah's songs, written from the heart of a pastor desiring to help you see and experience the grace and kindness of God witnessed consistently throughout the ages.Get the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Isaiahs-Great-Light-Salvation-Servant/dp/193495280XConnect with Kyle Swanson:X: https://twitter.com/KyleJSwansonInsta: https://www.instagram.com/kylejswanson/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-b-a-r-podcast/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Behold, My Servant.” Those provocative words begin some of the most powerful and moving poetic expressions of grace found anywhere in the Old Testament. The Servant Songs of Isaiah prophesy the highly anticipated ministry of a mysterious figure known as the Servant of Yahweh who would fulfill the greatest divine mission the world will ever see. Isaiah's Great Light will lead you through a study of Isaiah's songs, written from the heart of a pastor desiring to help you see and experience the grace and kindness of God witnessed consistently throughout the ages. . This book ... will help you to capture the central thrust of these prophecies and show you the biblical roots of God's unfolding plan of salvation. Kyle Swanson has done an excellent job in helping to survey these breathtaking accounts of the Lord's Servant and to see them in their intended expression. I believe you will be greatly blessed in reading these pages as Kyle brings clarity to the study and application of Isaiah's glorious message. Dr. Steven J Lawson Dallas, TX Founder and President of OnePassion Ministries   Buy the book here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Isaiahs-Great-Light-Salvation-Servant/dp/193495280X/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=sBy5T&content-id=amzn1.sym.444ba109-cdf8-4a96-9f01-f73a5ebc80ca%3Aamzn1.symc.adba8a53-36db-43df-a081-77d28e1b71e6&pf_rd_p=444ba109-cdf8-4a96-9f01-f73a5ebc80ca&pf_rd_r=F3DZNY0BADP7M1PS76EZ&pd_rd_wg=syFD0&pd_rd_r=d5e237a0-fa72-4d31-a227-a948601c4706&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m   Follow Kyle on twitter https://twitter.com/KyleJSwanson Follow Kyle on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kyle.swanson.54 The sermon series here https://redeemeraz.org/sermons?sapurl=LytkdnF4L2xiL21zLytrNDIyamRoP2JyYW5kaW5nPXRydWUmZW1iZWQ9dHJ1ZSZyZWNlbnRSb3V0ZT1hcHAud2ViLWFwcC5saWJyYXJ5Lmxpc3QmcmVjZW50Um91dGVTbHVnPSUyQjR6emZnajk=   Please let us know in the comments where in the world you are tuned in from and make sure to give this video a like and subscribe to our channel to help promote sound Bible content on YouTube. Please consider becoming a supporter of Exposit The Word. Your one-time gift or regular monthly giving will help us reach more people with the Gospel and to help us equip people with sound bible teaching via online media and the production of physical Gospel tracts. https://exposittheword.com/support-us/

Sunday December 10, 2023 All things are new in Christ. People, universe. Something the world had never seen before. Isa 42:1 "Behold, My Servant, whom I... for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2921

The Names of GodMessiah - The Anointed OneJesus is more than a man, he is the Messiah. Yet at the same time he is very much a man, just like you and me. Imagine what it was like for each person who encountered Jesus in the flesh, the anointed Son of God standing before them.Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; 
My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
 I have put My Spirit upon Him;
 He will bring forth justice to the nations.- Isaiah 42:1 NASB 1995The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus *said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”- John 4:25-26 NASB 1995Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.- John 20:30-31 NASB 1995We also read from Luke 4:16-21 and John 11:25-26.May you know Jesus as Messiah, the anointed son of God. May you receive His anointing and walk in the fullness of all He has for you today!Become a PatronCultivate Connection has reached listeners in 157 countries, averaging 1,100 downloads a week. Help us reach even more by sharing Cultivate Connection with others.If you are one of the many who have been blessed by Cultivate Connection, become a monthly patron. As a patron, your generosity helps us create, host, and promote experiences that help others grow their relationship with God. Learn more on our website at CultivateConnection.com

Today, Senator Jim DeMint and Dr. Chaps consider the epic battle we fight as Christians. Senator DeMint discusses his new book, "Satan's Dare." If God asked Satan to consider you, would you pass the "dare?" 'Jim DeMint has fought tirelessly for freedom, prosperity, and traditional American values against the Washington swamp for over two decades. Today, he leads and trains a new generation of conservative warriors as Chairman of the Conservative Partnership Institute. DeMint represented South Carolina in the U.S. House (1999–2005) and U.S. Senate (2005–2013). Known for policy innovation, he authored leading conservative reforms in health care, education, taxes, and entitlements. DeMint garnered national acclaim from conservatives for leading efforts to ban congressional earmarks, the source of billions of dollars of wasteful spending for decades, which had led to corruption and widespread abuse. He also successfully led the fight to stop the McCain-Kennedy amnesty bill in 2007. DeMint is also the founder of the Senate Conservatives Fund, which played a major role in the election of many of the Senate's leading conservatives, like Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Tom Cotton. Get free alerts at http://PrayInJesusName.org © 2023, Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, PhD. Airs on NRB TV, Direct TV Ch.378, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, GoogleTV, Smart TV, iTunes and www.PrayInJesusName.org

Morning Worship Sermon with Rev. Bud Hance Scripture reference Luke 10:1-2 The Seventy Sent Out 1 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. 2 Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the hardest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Isaiah 49:6 6 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; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'

Sermon, "Behold, My Servant" by Barry Heasley from the Lewiston Church of Christ on September 17, 2023.

     It is in the understanding of the suffering and death of Christ that the sinner appreciates God's great love and the price that was paid for our salvation. Christ suffered in our place, bearing the penalty that rightfully belongs to us. Scripture tells us that “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18a). Perhaps no section of Scripture in the Old Testament bears greater testimony to this truth than Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12, in which the prophet reveals the Messiah as the Suffering Servant. Isaiah 53 is mentioned several times in the New Testament as specifically referring to Christ (Matt 8:17; John 12:38; Acts 8:30-35; Rom 10:16; 1 Pet 2:22-25), so that there is no mistake in the minds of the New Testament writers that the passage points to Jesus. According to John Stott, “The New Testament writers quote eight specific verses as having been fulfilled in Jesus…eight verses out of the chapter's twelve are all quite specifically referred to Jesus.”[1] And Arnold Fruchtenbaum notes: "It was Isaiah the Prophet who first provided the hope that the day would come when the burden will be lifted. In Isaiah 53, God declared that the Suffering Servant, the Messiah, would be the sacrifice for sin…The point of Isaiah 53 is basically this: The animal sacrifices under the Mosaic Law were intended to be of temporary duration, a temporary measure only. God's intent was for there to be one final blood sacrifice, and that would be the sacrifice of the Messiah Himself."[2]      In Isaiah 53:10 we observe the Father's judgment on Christ for our sin, and Christ's willingness to be judged in our place. Isaiah wrote, “But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand” (Isa 53:10). It was the Father's will for the Son to go to the cross to die for sinners, but we must also realize that Christ willingly went to His death and bore the Father's wrath in our place. It is simultaneously true that God sent and Christ went. Jesus was not forced upon the cross, but willingly, in love, surrendered His life and died in our place. Jesus said, “I lay down My life for the sheep” (John 10:15), and “no one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative” (John 10:18). Paul wrote, “Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Eph 5:2), and “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Eph 5:25), and “the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Gal 2:20). The writer to the Hebrews tells us that Christ “offered up Himself” (Heb 7:27), and “offered Himself without blemish to God” (Heb 9:14).      As a result of Jesus bearing the sin of many, Isaiah wrote, “He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand” (Isa 53:10b). When Isaiah said, “He will see His offspring”, it meant that Christ's death would bear the fruit of spiritual offspring as people turn to Him as Savior and are born again (cf. John 3:3; 1 Pet 1:3, 23). Fruchtenbaum notes, “The Servant's seed would be those who benefit from His death by spiritual rebirth. The moment they accept for themselves His substitutionary death for their sins, they are born again spiritually by the Holy Spirit. By this spiritual rebirth, they become the Servant's seed.”[3] And the phrase, “He will prolong His days” refers to Jesus' bodily resurrection, never to die again. And the phrase, “the good pleasure of the LORD” most likely speaks of heaven's wealth that will be known to those whom Christ will justify and who will share in His riches and heavenly estate (John 14:1-3; 1 Pet 1:3-4).      Though Jesus suffered greatly on the cross, His death was infinitely purposeful, as it satisfied the Father's demands toward our sin, and also justified the many who would trust in Christ as Savior. Isaiah wrote, “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (Isa 53:11). Here is a picture of substitutionary atonement, as the Suffering Servant will “justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities” (Isa 53:11b). Peter also reveals the doctrine of substitution when he states, “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet 3:18). It is important to grasp that Christ bore our sin, but this did not make Him a sinner in conduct. On the other hand, we are declared righteous in God's sight because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to us at the moment of salvation, but this does not make us righteous in conduct. God gives us “the gift of righteousness” (Rom 5:17) at the moment we trust Christ as our Savior. This is what Paul meant when he stated, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21). Paul understood the doctrine of substitution, that Christ died in the place of sinners and that sinners are declared righteous because of the work of Christ credited to their account. This explains Paul's desire to “be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Phil 3:9). Concerning Isaiah 53:11, Edward Young states: "When the servant bears the iniquities of the many and has been punished for the guilt of these iniquities, the act of bearing the iniquities in itself has not changed the character of those whose iniquities are borne. When the iniquities are borne, i.e. when the guilt those iniquities involved has been punished, the servant may declare that the many stand in right relationship with God. Their iniquities will no longer be able to rise up and accuse them, for the guilt of those iniquities has been punished. Thus, they are justified. They are declared to be righteous, for they have received the righteousness of the servant and they are received and accepted by God Himself. Of them God says that they no longer have iniquities, but they do have the righteousness of the servant. This can only be a forensic justification."[4]      If we had stood at the trials of Jesus, seen His beatings, seen His crucifixion and sat at the foot of the cross, surely we would have wept at the injustice and brutal cruelty of it all. However, the Scripture reveals that it was the will of God that Christ go to the cross and die for sinners (Acts 2:23; 4:28), that His death would be an atoning sacrifice that satisfied every righteous demand of the Father (Rom 3:25; 1 John 2:2). In the willing death of Christ, we have the Father's righteousness displayed toward our sin as well as His love toward us, the sinner, whom He seeks to save.      There is a purpose to the suffering of Christ. He suffered that we might have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. His substitutionary death propitiated the Father's righteous demand for justice concerning our sin and now we can come to God with the empty hands of faith and receive the free gift of eternal life and be clothed in perfect righteousness. This was accomplished while we were helpless, ungodly, sinners and enemies of God (Rom 5:6-10). God graciously acted toward us to reconcile us to Himself, and this was accomplished through the suffering of Christ.   [1] John R. W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove, Ill. Intervarsity Press, 1986), 145. [2] Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Messianic Christology: A Study of Old Testament Prophecy Concerning the First Coming of the Messiah (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 1998), 130. [3] Arnold Fruchtenbaum, The Book of Isaiah: Exposition from a Messianic Jewish Perspective (San Antonio, TX. Ariel Ministries, 2021), 577-578. [4] Edward Young, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40–66, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1972), 358.

Following the Sabbath debate, Matthew presents an interlude to the opposition and rejection of Jesus. He reminds his readers in Matthew 12:15-21 that Jesus is the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. This particular pericope can be summarized in three words — “Behold, My Servant!” Matthew uses Biblical prophecy to present the Servant's charge, commission, and character.

John 19:18 “There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.” Listen to the prophecy fulfilled in John's explanation of the crucifixion. There are none of the gory details, just a few important things to know about Jesus's death so His readers might believe that Jesus is the Messiah of whom the prophet Isaiah wrote in 53:10-12 “But the Lord (that's God, the Father) was pleased to crush Him (that's Jesus the Son), putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.” This is John's point in testifying that Jesus was crucified with two other men, two other transgressors. We learn from Luke's account that they were criminals. From an earthly perspective, Jesus' death looked like the deserved death of the other men who had broken Roman laws. But it was not as it appeared. Love is willing to be misunderstood, suffer unjustly, and be shamed, despised, and rejected among men in order to please the Father. It seems that followers of Jesus have more reasons today to expect the same treatment. Do not be shocked when true Christians are considered criminals by the world and by religious people. Let's notice Isaiah's comment, “because He poured out Himself to death.” Let us live to love with Jesus with the understanding that our Father is not only pleased when we pour ourselves out in death to self in order to love with Jesus, but that we will be rewarded with Him as well. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

What Is This Person Like?   If you don't see the Holy Spirit as a person, you'll never develop a personal relationship with Him.   “God, the Father” “God, the Son” “God, the Holy Spirit”   HOW DO YOU DEFINE A PERSON   A person is a being with a soul   “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! Matthew 12:18 NKJV   He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Matthew 26:38 NLT   Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 10:38 NKJV   A person's soul is made up of three components: mind, will, and emotions. 1. The Mind of the Holy Spirit “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT   When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. John 16:13 NLT   “the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything” John 14:26 NLT   Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:27 NKJV   2.  The Will of the Holy Spirit   Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.  Acts 16:6 God's General Will   God's Specific Will   Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”Matthew 28:18-20 NLT       And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Romans 8:17 NLT   We come to know the general will of God by His Word, while we come to know the specific will of God by His Voice.   When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.  John16:13 NLT   No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days,' God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. Acts 2:16-17 NLT   3. The Holy Spirit's Emotions   But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 NLT   And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30 NLT   Grief is deep sadness you feel at the loss of intimacy with someone.   So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And “don't sin by letting anger control you.” Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:25-32 NLT   Sin does not grieve the Holy Spirit because He is a killjoy and doesn't want you to have fun.  Sin grieves the Holy Spirit because it hurts people and He loves people.   Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” Acts 8:22-23 NKJV   Bitterness will poison you emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically.  Sin is an event; iniquity is a lifestyle. Sin is an act; iniquity is a habit.   INVITE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO SHOW YOU   Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalms 139:23-24 NLT   INVITE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO CHANGE YOU   Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.  Psalms 51:10 NLT    INVITE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO FILL YOU   Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 NLT    Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT

Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12The Sin-Bearing Servant13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.14 Just as many were astonished at you,So His visage was marred more than any man,And His form more than the sons of men;15 So shall He sprinkle many nations.Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;For what had not been told them they shall see,And what they had not heard they shall consider.53 Who has believed our report?And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,And as a root out of dry ground.He has no form or comeliness;And when we see Him,There is no beauty that we should desire Him.3 He is despised and rejected by men,A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.4 Surely He has borne our griefsAnd carried our sorrows;Yet we esteemed Him stricken,Smitten by God, and afflicted.5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,He was bruised for our iniquities;The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,And by His stripes we are healed.6 All we like sheep have gone astray;We have turned, every one, to his own way;And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,Yet He opened not His mouth;He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,So He opened not His mouth.8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,And who will declare His generation?For He was cut off from the land of the living;For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.9 And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death,Because He had done no violence,Nor was any deceit in His mouth.10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;He has put Him to grief.When You make His soul an offering for sin,He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,For He shall bear their iniquities.12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,Because He poured out His soul unto death,And He was numbered with the transgressors,And He bore the sin of many,And made intercession for the transgressors.The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Is 52:13–53:12.

Isaiah 42 - Behold! My Servant! - Patrick FarrellFile Size: 54796 kbFile Type: mp3Download File [...]

Behold, My Servant. An eye and ear opening message concerning the Holy Spirit's usage of the word -Behold- in the Holy Scriptures.

Behold, My Servant. An eye and ear opening message concerning the Holy Spirit's usage of the word -Behold- in the Holy Scriptures.

Behold, My Servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. – Isaiah 52:13

Behold, My Servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. – Isaiah 52:13

Moses, My Servant, is Dead - Dr. Wayne Sehmish

Matthew 12:15-21 Jesus just gets done preaching on the sabbath and then he tries to get away, many follow him, he heals them, and then he warns them to not make him knows to fulfill prophecyThis is beginning to show the turning of the story towards crucifixion. Jesus knew what was going to happen- so he was telling his followers to cover for him. We, as Christian people are going through the hardest time I have seen in my lifeA time where our faith is being tested more than any other time in the past 30 yearsThe fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah towards Jesus is a promise fulfilled that gave those earliest disciples hope, and it should give us hope as well. ”Till He sends forth justice to victory” God chose Jesus- God chose you for Victory V18 Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!It was God's design and plan that he would choose Jesus, send Jesus, be Jesus, redeem the world. “Till He sends forth justice to victory;”This has been God's plan since the beginning of time- “let us make man in our own image” Part of making sense of this world is the understanding that God is working out his planPsalm 33:11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.Jesus is the plan- God sent his son (himself) to redeem the world- this should give you hopeRomans 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.In due time! People went 700 years without hearing from God- and here he is! God chose himWhat does it mean to youIf God chose Jesus, and is running the show- then God chose you! And that means VICTORYYou've heard the “before I formed you in the womb I knew you” and “the plans I have for you”And that's true! It may not be what you expect it to be or what you want it to be- but he chose you! And that should give you a measure of hope in this hopeless world to know he chose you!Ephesians 1:4-5 READ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, That means- before the earth was created- God knew that you would exist- that he would call you and you would live for him- You're not just some cog in massive wheel- God KNOWS you1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, - Man- I hold on to that- I'm SPECIAL- The God of the universe chose ME- I don't think I'm better than anyone- but I sure am glad whose I am- I am HIS- He owns me and I LOVE ITI have sat in situations- thought- ‘how did I end up here' Because he CHOSE ME FOR VICTORYJohn 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; Romans 8:29 John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you Deuteronomy 7:6 SAYS a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.Are you reflecting on that? Are you letting that minister to you? Because its TRUE- VICTORY Jesus had the spirit of God- you have the spirit of God for Victory “I will put My Spirit upon Him” is the promise of Isaiah and the fulfillment found in “this is my son in whom I am well pleased' and ‘ the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove' John 1:32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.The Trinity- Father, Son, Holy Spirit are 3 in 1. They are the Godhead and work in concertJesus worked through the power of the Holy Spirit while he was on this Earth. How it worked. But Jesus didn't expect that we would walk through life through our own power- no wayWe needed and need the Holy Spirit to be able to walk on this earth We NEED YOU HOLY SPIRITGalatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”When we cry out to God in faith, we receive the spirit of adoption and his SPIRIT to help usRom 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. 1 Cor 3:16 Says the Spirit of God dwells in you1 Corinthians 6:19 Says ...