I have been reading a book by J.D. Greear, below are some highlights:

If you are going to walk with the Spirit, you have to be going where he is going! And from the moment he came to earth he has been going to the unbelieving world.

[Some traditions believe the Holy Spirit is given] to make you healthy and wealthy; he’s presented as the source of blessing to those who have faith. In more fundamental tribes, the Holy Spirit has two primary ministries: to write the Bible and convict us of sin. Basically, you are a nail, the Bible is a hammer, and the Holy Spirit’s job is to pound you. . . . In Reformed churches, you won’t hear a lot about the Spirit, as they tend to attribute much of his work to the gospel and the sovereignty of God.

He quotes Charles Haddon Spurgeon writing:

If Jesus is precious to you (as he is to the Spirit), you will not be able to keep your good news to yourself; you will be whispering it into your child’s ear; you will be telling it to your husband; you will be earnestly imparting it to your friend; without the charms of eloquence you will be more than eloquent; your heart will speak, and your eyes will flash as you talk of his sweet love. . . . It cannot be that there is a high appreciation of Jesus and a totally silent tongue about him. . . . If you really know Christ, you are like one that has found honey; you will call others to taste of its sweetness; you are like the beggar who has discovered an endless supply of food: you must go tell the hungry crowd that you have found Jesus, and you are anxious that they should find him too. Every Christian here is either a missionary or an impostor.

These are really challenging words. Blessings, Steve

A lot is going on, do we need a hero? Do we believe our hero has already come? Do we believe that we need a Savior? Look around the world, turn on the news, pick up a Newspaper or go to an internet news site. Things do not look to good to me. Looks like there are a lot of injustices going on.

Do any of you ever wonder, “Where is God?”

Today we look at a passage where the King enters Jerusalem and He is hailed as King. This next week we celebrate the victory of the cross, but sometimes we have to wonder, “Where is God?”

I do not want to let you stew on that too long. I believe that I can honestly say that God is with us in every tragedy and everything we face, yet God will come and make things right. We look at passages like today’s, we remember Palm Sunday, yet, honestly, we usually only focus on Jesus entering Jerusalem at that time. But Jesus is coming back.

Today, we are going to look at a passage in which it is prophesied that Jesus will enter Jerusalem humbly, riding on a donkey. But do not forget the second part of the passage. There is a double prophesy in this passage. Jesus is coming again.

I want us to look at Zechariah 9:9-10 where it is prophesied that Jesus will humbly enter Jerusalem. I want to look at Matthew 21:1-11 where this passage is fulfilled.

The Application:

Surrender and share.

Read with me Matthew 21:1-11:

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Now, let’s read Zechariah 9:9-10:

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
¹⁰ I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

1. First, notice this passage prophesies that the King will come and the King has come. We see this in verse 9 and we see it’s fulfillment in Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; John 21:4-9; Luke 19:29-38
   1. Let me summarize the first eight verses of this passage. It is important that we do not divorce the passage from the context.
   2. In the beginning of this chapter there are prophesies against the nations surrounding Jerusalem. Notice verse 8 says that God will protect His house. That is my summary, but the point is that God will protect Jerusalem. Zechariah was likely written around 520 B.C. to Israel, post exilic Israel. This was after they had come back from being exiled to Babylon. But they still were under Persian rule.
   3. You ask, what happened with these prophesies of judgment on the surrounding nations? I am glad you asked. Alexander the Great carried out the fulfillment of these prophesies. God used Alexander the Great to carry out the judgment. This was after the battle of Isus in 333 B.C. “He went into Syria and knocked off Syria, came over to the coastline and took Phoenicia which amounted to Tyre and Sidon…moved south and took care of Philistia, all of the cities of Philistia that are named in verse 5, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron. But amazingly enough, after destroying the nations, he saved…whom? Israel. And he spared them. And he absolutely to the tee, fulfilled the prophecy penned hundreds of years before the man was ever born, a prophecy written in a book he never saw. It was God’s way of saying, “When you see Alexander do this, know that just as that part came to pass, so will part two. And if I can use a pagan human being to judge nations and to save My people, wait and see what I’ll do with the God-Man, Jesus Christ in the end of the age.”[1]
   4. That is what is going in the first few verses in this passage. We then come to verse 9, which is the verse concerning Jesus.
   5. The passage says, “Rejoice.” The passage says to “rejoice, greatly.”
   6. Why? Your King is coming to you.
   7. Now that is something to be excited about, right?
   8. But the next verse might be a downer. Imagine, we are in a war situation and the King is coming in to save us. How do you want the King to arrive? Do you want the King to come in a tank, or a Volkswagen? I would choose the tank any day and twice on Sunday.
   9. But the passage says that the King will come Humble and riding on a donkey, really?
   10. Now, that is something to motivate the troops.
   11. Now early in Israel’s history, very early, it was respectable to ride around on a donkey. But by Solomon’s time, it wasn’t. See, Solomon brought into Israel horses. He had literally…some say 30,000 horses in his private group of horses. He introduced the horse. And from that time on, nobles and soldiers and important people rode horses and the donkey lost its dignity. You were really admitting your poverty by putting around on a donkey.
   12. But the passage acknowledges Jesus humility.
   13. Could we miss King Jesus because He came in humility?
   14. I think we certainly could.

How the “Horse Whisperer” Trains Wild Horses

Long before the “dog whisperer,” Cesar Milan, there was the “horse whisperer.”

Monty Roberts was raised in the horse business. He learned there was one way to train horses: by “breaking” them. Through domination and force, which at times included striking the horse with whips or even tying and suspending the horse’s feet and legs, a trainer would impose his will upon the animal until it reached the conclusion that total submission was the only way to survive.

In his early teen years Roberts began to study the behavior and communication patterns of wild mustangs in the badlands of Nevada. He took note of the nonverbal communication among the horses …. Drawing on this observation and his firsthand experience with horses, Roberts developed a breakthrough training technique he first called “hooking on” as opposed to “breaking down” the horse’s will. This new training method was based on a cornerstone concept he eventually trademarked called JoinUp®. Join-Up not only stopped the “breaking” norms of traditional horse training, it showcased how to cooperate with the horse’s own spirit, innate ways, and means of communicating as a member of the herd.

The personality and full potential of the horse emerge through loving freedom and desire rather than domination …. The Join-Up technique invites an untamed horse that has never been ridden to willingly accept the saddle, bridle, and rider. It is a thing of beauty to watch. Monty Roberts enters a round pen with a wild horse. In as little as half an hour, he’ll be riding the horse.

Roberts creates an atmosphere of mutual respect that communicates, “I’m not going to hurt you, and you don’t have to follow me if you don’t want to.” After a brief period of introducing himself and interacting with the horse … Roberts turns his back to the animal and walks away.

At this point the horse trains her eyes on Monty with all-out intensity and attention. She is asking herself, “Where is he going?” and “Do I want to stay by myself?” The horse must choose: “I want to be with you. I want to join up and follow you on the way.” She quickly decides, “My safe place is with you.” Dropping her head (equine language for “I submit to you”) and trotting to Roberts’s side, the horse says, “I choose to follow. I want to be with you.”

I believe at this point, Jesus wants us to choose Him. But Jesus is coming again.

1. Second, in verse 10, this passage prophesies judgment, this is still to come.
   1. Jesus is coming as the judge. Verse 10: I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
      and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
      and the battle bow will be broken.
      He will proclaim peace to the nations.
      His rule will extend from sea to sea
      and from the River to the ends of the earth.
   2. If you turn to Revelation 14:14, it says: I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
   3. This is about Jesus coming as judge. We see this also in: Luke 21:27; Phil. 2:9-11
   4. See also 2 Peter 3:9-10: The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
   5. You see verses 9-10 of Zechariah are a double prophesy. They were fulfilled in Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, but they will be fulfilled when Jesus comes again as judge and literal King.
   6. We could even look at Zechariah 9:1-10 as a triple prophesy since Alexander the Great fulfilled part of the passage.

Close:

Do you ever get discouraged when you turn on the news, or read the paper? It makes sense if you do. Be encouraged today that Jesus will come and make things right. Judgment will come. Justice will come. Why is Jesus waiting? He is waiting so that more people can choose to follow Him. Truth is, some of us want justice and that makes sense, but true justice would send us all to hell. Instead, Jesus came humbly on a donkey and surrendered to the cross so that we can be saved.

The application is to “surrender and share.”

So, today, surrender to Jesus. He is our rightful King. He is the only King.

Share Jesus. Judgment is coming and we need to be covered with the blood of the Lamb. Our friends, family and co-workers need to know Jesus.

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/2165/the-saga-of-two-conquerers-part-2

Introduction:

We have been talking about the prophesies from Isaiah 53. Today we come to our last sermon on Isaiah 53. Next week we will look at a prophesy regarding the triumphal entry.

Many times I catch myself knowing that I cannot earn my way into Heaven but almost living as if I can. In other words, I pride myself in living the right life. That is good, but for what purpose? I must live the right and pure life for Jesus, not for me. Do I want my righteousness, which will not get me anywhere? Or, do I want Christ’s righteousness, which is free? I cannot have both. Mercedes is three years old. She wants both apple juice and chocolate milk in the morning. In fact she wants many things. She will think critically of many things. In fact, I do as well. I will weigh things critically in my head. I am not good at quick thinking. But this ought to be a “no brainer.” I need and ought to desire Jesus’ righteousness. Jesus freely gives me right standing with God.

Before we move on, listen to something I read from Ravi Zacharias regarding the cross:

Apologetics Study Bible:

Ravi Zacharius:

I often think back with nostalgia to growing up in India and the late-night conversations we would have about a Hindu play or some event that featured Hindu thought. Now, through the lens of Jesus Christ, I have learned to see how deep-seated culture and religion can be and how only the power of the Holy Spirit can reveal the error of an ingrained way of thinking. Consequently, whenever we speak with someone from another faith, it is essential to remember that we must not attempt to tear down another’s belief system but rather to reveal the hungers of the human heart and the unique way in which Christ addresses them.

For the Hindu, karma—the moral law of cause-and-effect—is a life-defining concept. Life carries its moral bills, and they are paid in the cyclical pattern of rebirth until all dues are paid in full. Hinduism here conveys an inherited sense of wrong, which is lived out in the next life, in vegetable, animal, or human form. This doctrine is nonnegotiable in Hindu philosophy. Repercussions of fatalism (that is, whatever happens will happen) and the indifference to the plight of others are inescapable but are dismissed by philosophical platitudes that do not weigh out the consequences of such reasoning. Thus it is key to bear in mind that although karma is seen as a way of paying back, this payback is never complete; hence life is lived out paying back a debt that one cannot know in total but that must be paid in total. That is why the cross of Christ is so definitive and so complete. It offers forgiveness without minimizing the debt. When we truly understand that forgiveness, we develop a loving heart of gratitude. There is a full restoration—in this life and for eternity.

The Christian should also understand the attraction of pantheism, the Hindu view of seeing the divine in everything. It superficially appears more compatible with scientific theorizing because it presents no definitive theory of origins. Life is cyclical, without a first cause. Pantheism also gives one a moral reasoning, through karmic fatalism, that one is trapped in the cycle until one escapes, without the need to invoke God. But in the final analysis, it is without answers when one needs to talk about the deepest struggles of the soul. Hindu scholars even admit this in their creation of a path of bhakti (love, devotion) to satisfy the inescapable human hunger for worship.

It is here that a keen understanding is needed. Krishna’s coming to earth as an avatar—that is, one of the incarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu—in a way brings “God to man.” But a huge chasm still remains. How does one bring man to God? For this, there is only one way—the way of the cross. A profound and studied presentation of the cross, and what it means, is still the most distinctive aspect of the Christian faith. Even Gandhi said it was the most unexplainable thing to him and was unparalleled. For the Christian, the cross of Jesus Christ is the message “first to the Jew, and also to the Greek” (Rm 2:9)—to the moralist and the pantheist, to the religious and the irreligious. We can communicate this message with a Hindu acquaintance or friend only through a loving relationship. The love of Christ, a patient listening and friendship, and the message of forgiveness provide the path to evangelism.

Let’s talk more about the cross. Let me tell you my theme and the key application:

Great Idea, theme:

Jesus Paid it all, so He is Lifted up. Jesus is exalted.

I hope we are all convicted by this passage. I recently heard that if I am reading the Bible and I do not find something I do not agree with, then I am reading it wrong, then I am lacking understanding. In other words, if when I am reading the Bible I do not come upon a passage where I stop and think: “hmmm, I don’t like that.” Then I am not really understanding what I am reading. The person who shared this was not meaning that I notice errors in the Bible, there are none. What he was talking about is that as I read God’s Word I must be convicted. This was a heavy convicting truth to me. As I read the Bible I must look for God to speak words of conviction into my life.[1]

So, application in this passage:

We all must bow our knee to King Jesus. (Eph. 3:14; Phil. 2:6-11)

Let me now put the Theme and application together:

Theme:

Jesus Paid it all, so He is Lifted up. Jesus is exalted.

Application:

We all must bow our knee to King Jesus. (Eph. 3:14; Phil. 2:6-11)

Read with me Isaiah 53:11-12:

After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

1. Jesus paid it all.
   1. How did Jesus pay it all?
   2. Jesus took my place and your place on the cross.
   3. If you look in your Bibles you will notice that verse ten is in the past tense. But then verse eleven is in the future tense. In fact, from chapter fifty-two verse fourteen through fifty-three verse ten the passage is in the past tense. In that section God is looking down on our salvation as done. But now it changes. Now, all the verbs are in the perfect tense and the pronouns are plural. The verbs are the imperfect tense.
   4. Why is that significant? This is showing that Jesus is continuously making intercession for us.
   5. Verse 12 at the very end of the verse says that He bore the sin of many and made intercession for us. “Intercession” is an imperfect verb. Jesus is continually interceding for us. 1 Timothy 2:5 says that Jesus is our one Mediator.
   6. Hebrews 7:25 and Romans 8:34 are important:
   7. Hebrews 7:25:Therefore he is able to savecompletely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 
   8. Romans 8:34: Who then is the one who condemns?No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
   9. Jesus paid our sin debt. Jesus intercedes for us. Amen!
   10. In death we have hope.

Death: Our Enemy and Teacher

In Christ and the Meaning of Life, German theologian Helmut Thielicke tells the story of a young [soldier] who reached out to pick a bouquet of lilacs and uncovered the half-decayed body of [another] soldier beneath the bush: “He drew back in horror, not because he had never seen a dead man before—he drew back because of the screaming contradiction between the dead man and the flowering bush.”

Thielicke notes that the soldier’s reaction would have been different if the man had come upon a dead and faded lilac bush instead: “A blooming lilac bush will one day become a withered lilac bush—this is really nothing more than the operation of the rhythm of life—but that a man should be lying there in a decayed condition, this was something that simply did not fit, and that’s why he winced at the sight of it.”

We can only understand the mystery of death if we see it through the lens of Adam’s rebellion against God. We are pilgrims who traverse an “empire of ruins” with death as our fellow traveler. Unable to rid ourselves of this cheerless companion, we attempt to rehabilitate it instead, treating death as if it were a neighbor and not a trespasser.

We clothe it in our best dress and apply make-up to its waxen features. Laid out before us in stiff repose, death looks as if it were merely asleep and if we do not look too carefully, we can almost convince ourselves that it has a beating heart within its breast and warm blood pulsing through its veins. We whisper to ourselves that it is not as alien as it first appeared. But this fool’s dream vanishes the minute we attempt to embrace death, finding that it repays our kiss with only sorrow and loss.

Death is not a natural stage in the cycle of human development. Death is a curse. The presence of death is an intrusion. It is “natural” only to the extent that nature itself suffers from the stroke that fell upon Adam as a consequence for his sin. Nature endures death but not willingly. It groans in protest, loathing the bondage to decay which death has brought upon it and yearning for “the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). Death is “the last enemy,” a tyrant who acts on sin’s behalf and whose sway over us was finally broken at the cross but will only be fully realized at the resurrection (Romans 5:21; 1 Corinthians 15:26).

Death is our enemy but, like the law, it is also a schoolmaster that leads us to Christ. Death’s hard lesson exposes the true nature of sin. Indeed, the law and death are strange allies in this mysterious work. In the hands of God both act as a goad, puncturing our denial and prodding us to turn to Christ for relief from death’s sting.[2]

1. This brings me to the next point. In death Jesus is exalted.

1. Jesus is lifted up.
   1. Verse 12 in the Isaiah passage begins with “Therefore.” This means that because of Jesus’ sacrifice Jesus is given a portion with the great. This is meaning a few things but I only want to focus on one and that is Jesus’ exaltation.
   2. The whole focus of the passage we have been studying is in Phil 2:6-11. This is called “the Christ Hymn.”
   3. 2:6-11:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

⁷ rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father. ^[3]

1. Every knee should bow, now let’s apply this.

• Bow our knees, both of them. (Eph. 3:14)
  1. When I was a child I would go to my brother’s baseball games and I loved the concession stand. I still do. There was a candy called “now or laters.” They were sweat and took forever to chew up. Question: Are you going to “bow now or later”? Am I going to bow, “Now or later”? I prefer to bow now. I must bow both knees now.
  2. Sometimes we only bow one knee. My pun is intended. I must surrender my life to Jesus as Lord. I must live Luke 9:23. I must deny myself and take up my cross and follow Jesus.
  3. This means that Jesus is not in my passenger seat, He is driving my life. Then I cannot be in the passenger seat because I may try to give Him directions or steer my life. I also cannot be in the back seat because I will end up as a back seat driver. No, I must be in the trunk or maybe a trailer behind the car of my life. I must let Jesus run my life. I must surrender to Him.
  4. I surrender to Him in worship and I surrender to Him in my daily living.
  5. I must bow my knees, both of them. Jesus is exalted, He is Lord.
  6. He must be Lord of my finances.
  7. He must be Lord of my eating.
  8. He must be Lord of my pride, transforming that to humility.
  9. He must be Lord of my church involvement.
  10. He must be Lord of my thought life.
  11. He must be Lord of my television viewing.
  12. He must be Lord of my reading.
  13. He must be Lord of my listening habits.
  14. He must be Lord of my relationships.
  15. He must be Lord of my occupation.
  16. He must be Lord of my hobbies.
  17. He must be Lord of my rest.
  18. He must be Lord of my driving.
  19. He must be Lord of my learning.
  20. He must be Lord of my talking.
  21. He must be Lord of my, you finish it.

Close:

What More Can God Do to Show He Loves Us?

Author and speaker Brennan Manning has an amazing story about how he got the name “Brennan.” While growing up, his best friend was Ray. The two of them did everything together: bought a car together as teenagers, double-dated together, went to school together and so forth. They even enlisted in the Army together, went to boot camp together and fought on the frontlines together. One night while sitting in a foxhole, Brennan was reminiscing about the old days in Brooklyn while Ray listened and ate a chocolate bar. Suddenly a live grenade came into the foxhole. Ray looked at Brennan, smiled, dropped his chocolate bar and threw himself on the live grenade. It exploded, killing Ray, but Brennan’s life was spared.

When Brennan became a priest he was instructed to take on the name of a saint. He thought of his friend, Ray Brennan. So he took on the name “Brennan.” Years later he went to visit Ray’s mother in Brooklyn. They sat up late one night having tea when Brennan asked her, “Do you think Ray loved me?” Mrs. Brennan got up off the couch, shook her finger in front of Brennan’s face and shouted, “What more could he have done for you?” Brennan said that at that moment he experienced an epiphany. He imagined himself standing before the cross of Jesus wondering, Does God really love me? And Jesus’ mother Mary pointing to her son, saying, “What more could he have done for you?”

The cross of Jesus is God’s way of doing all he could do for us. And yet we often wonder, Does God really love me? Am I important to God? Does God care about me?[4]

Jesus loves us. Jesus died for us, Jesus rose again, Jesus is exalted. Be encouraged by those Truths. Accept those Truths. Let’s bow our knees to Him.

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] Rev. Dr. Russell Moore shared this at Cedarville University’s Chapel on February 26, 2015

[2] John Koessler, “Death: Our Enemy and Teacher,” on his blogA Stranger in the House of God (6-30-10)

^[3] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Php 2:6–11.

[4] Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois; source: adapted from James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful God (IVP, 2009), p. 142

Peace Child

God had given his “peace child” into the hands of a hostile world in order to bring the hostility between us to an end. The angels said at his birth: “Peace on earth, good will toward men.”
(From a sermon by William D. Brown, “CHRISTMAS” 7/31/2008)

That is humble, isn’t it? But that is the Gospel.

As we continue in Isaiah 53 we come to verse 9. We see a passage where our Savior was willing to be identified with criminals. More than that, our Savior was not a criminal. Our Savior was and is pure and spotless. He was and is sinless. In the story I just read, it is one thing to hand your child over to the enemy. It is another thing to do so when your child is sinless. Your child is perfect. Your child has done no wrong at all.

Turn with me to three passages, the first is a prophesy fulfilled in Jesus:

Isaiah 53:9:

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Mark 15:27:

They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. 

John 19:38:

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.

Let’s talk about these.

My Theme:

Jesus was humiliated in death by being crucified as a common criminal. This was in the crucifixion and in the expected normal burial of someone crucified.

Applications:

Ask yourself, how far will you go in humility for Jesus? (Phil. 2:3-4 and Jesus’ example in verses 6-11)

We’ll unpack that.

1. Jesus was crucified with criminals and assigned a grave with the wicked.
   1. This is because as crucified He would not be entitled to a grave. He would be left on the cross to rot and then thrown in the valley of Hinnom. Listen to what MacArthur says[1]:

Jesus was crucified between two criminals, Luke 23:33; Matthew 27:38.  And here would be the normal disposition.  They would die on the cross of asphyxiation, and they would leave Him there.  Leave Him there dead and rotting, leave Him there for the birds to pluck out their faces.  And they would leave them there like road kill for animals that could climb up the cross to chew their flesh.  They would leave them there for the purpose of warning everybody who was watching of what happens to people who violate the Roman power and the Roman law.  That’s what was planned for Him.  Eventually they would have taken the rotted corpses down and thrown them in a dump. 

The Jerusalem city dump was in the Valley of Hinnom; you can go there today.  It’s not the dump anymore but the Valley of Hinnom on the southeast side of Jerusalem was the city dump, and it was a fire that never went out, a constant fire there.  It is a very interesting place, historically.  It was the place where apostate Jews and followers of Baal and other Canaanite gods burned their children to the god Molech.  You find that back in 2 Chronicles 28:33.  Jeremiah talks about it, Jeremiah 7.  But this was the place where they offered babies to Molech. 

It was there that King Ahaz sacrificed his sons, 2 Chronicles 28.  It is the place that Isaiah identifies at the end of his prophecy as the place where the worm never dies.  And Jesus said it’s a depiction of hell, in Mark, where the worm never dies…Mark 9.  And he says that three times.  Horrible place where they threw what was left of the corpses.  The rabbis describe it as a perpetual fire to consume the filth and the cadavers that are thrown there.  So He was executed with criminals.  He would end up like criminals.

But God wasn’t going to let that happen.  Psalm 16 says that He would not allow His Holy One to see corruption.  God would never let that happen.  So verse 9 says there’s an amazing turn.  “His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death.”  How did that happen?  He was with a rich man in His death because all along there was a man by the name of Joseph from a place called Arimathea. 

This man Joseph had become a disciple of Jesus Christ quietly, and he was very rich.  Matthew 27:57, “In the evening there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.  This man went to Pilate, asked for the body of Jesus.  Pilate ordered it to be given to him.  Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out in the rock and he rolled a large stone against the entrance to the tomb and went away.”  He should have been road kill; He should have been in the dump and He ends up in a brand new tomb owned by a rich man.  Just exactly what the Holy Spirit reveals to Isaiah was going to happen.

Why?  Why?  Why was that important?  It tells us at the end of verse 9; this is most interesting.  “Because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.”  That’s just a way of saying He was holy on the inside and the outside.  Because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.  There was nothing in His mouth of a sinful thing, sinful nature.  There was no behavior of a sinful nature.  And because of His holiness, because as Hebrews says He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, because He was the sinless, spotless Lamb without blemish, the Father never allowed Him to end up in the dump.

So why that?  It is a small testimony to His…listen…sinless perfection by His Father and the first small step of His exaltation, the first small step.  Even before His resurrection the Father is saying, “I will not allow any further humiliation.”  There can be no more humiliation.  It’s as low as He can go, to give Himself to death, even the death of the cross, and that’s where the humiliation ends.  And this is the first small step up.  God honors Jesus in His burial because there was no sin inside, no sin outside.  And in a few hours on the third day, He comes out of the grave, and, eventually, in His ascension all the way up.  A sweet testimony of the fact that the humiliation was over.

1. So, we can see what was normal about crucifixion and burial. That was what would have been expected of Jesus’ death.
2. Imagine being a disciple and expecting that of Jesus, your discipler’s burial.
3. But let’s go to the next part of the passage.

1. But, Jesus did no wrong so He was given a rich man’s grave.
   1. Just know, we already talked about the grave, so I do not want to park there. I want to say that that is the providence of God.
   2. God knew what His Son would go through and He knew that His Son, Jesus our Lord was innocent. That is my next focus.
   3. Could Jesus have been our sacrifice if He was not innocent? No, He could not. Turn to Exodus 12:5 and see what was expected of the Passover Lamb. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect,and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.
   4. Two things which I did not write:
   5. The worth of salvation depends on the worth of the Saviour. If He were sinful like every other man, then His death could pay for no more than His own sins. Just as the Passover lamb had to be proved to be without blemish before it was slain (Ex 12:5–6), so the life of our Lord proved Him to be the perfect and sinless sacrifice for our sins.^[2]
   6. In the Old Testament they always had these bulls and goats as sacrifices. They had to be pure without default but they were not good enough. So, God sent His Son.
   7. One writes: “it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins” (Heb. 10:4), a better sacrifice is required (Heb. 9:23). Only the blood of Christ, that is, his death, would be able really to take away sins (Heb. 9:25–26). There was no other way for God to save us than for Christ to die in our place.^[3]

• How far will you go in humility for Jesus? (Phil. 2:3-4 and Jesus’ example in 6-11) Let’s unpack this, but first let’s read the text.

 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,  not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

in your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:   Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;  rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

1. Am I willing to serve in lower class areas?
2. Think of all those Saints who have been humbled for Christ. Think of all those Saints who worked in the lowest of the areas, even though they are capable to be in mansions. I must be willing to live that Phil. 2:3-4 attitude.
3. I must be willing to look out for other’s needs beyond my own even if that means humility on my part.
4. I must be willing to serve in jails.
5. I must be willing to serve in food pantries and homeless shelters even if that means dropping my social status and being identified with those I serve.
6. I must be willing to get dirty for Jesus.
7. William Borden: “No reserves, no retreats, no regrets.”

His body is no longer buried. Let’s remember as we focus on the cross, Jesus is Risen!

Close:

Video:

I think this video applies:

William Borden: “No reserves, no retreats, no regrets.”

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] MacArthur: http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/90-442/the-silent-servant-part-2

^[2] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, A Survey of Bible Doctrine (Chicago: Moody Press, 1972).

^[3] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 569–570.

Opening:
When Silence Speaks
Being challenged by his articulate priest, a bright, sensitive young man decided he wanted to become a monk. He discussed it many times during high school days with the pastor of his parish. Seeing he could not discourage the aspirant but warning him of the rugged discipline required, the pastor finally recommended the lad to the proper authorities.
The superior in charge of the desired order told the candidate he would be allowed to speak but two words for the first ten years. At the end of that exhausting period, he was asked, “Do you have any comment?”
“Food cold.”
Another decade of dedication was endured. The monk’s confessor asked, “Do you have anything to say?”
“Bed hard.”
At last the third decade of silence passed. Again the candidate for the chosen order was asked to comment.
“I quit.”
“Good,” replied the superior, “you’ve done nothing but complain for the last thirty years.”
I was on a mission trip in the Dominican Republic in 2007. In the Dominican Republic people travel on mopeds quite frequently. So, it is easy to be annoyed by the noise of the street. I remember laying on my bed in my hotel room thinking how nice it will be to leave that country, no longer hearing the constant horns. But it is not just the horns. I do not know any Spanish. We landed in Santa Domingo and entered the air port and everyone was talking. I heard lots of noise and saw a big crowd, but I did not know what they were saying.
So, let’s talk about words for a minute.
One does not have to watch the news long to hear about Cyber bullying. This happens on the internet. This can happen over text messaging, Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat. So, in Jesus’ day if one were to harm people with their words it might be in a letter, rarely, more often than not the words pierced in a one-on-one conversation. Today, we find new ways to hurt people.
With respect to the cyber world it is not just teens that are arguing. I have seen people arguing about supposed Christian issues. I have seen people tearing each other apart. I have had close friends or families ask me my thoughts on those arguments and I will tell them to call the person up or “let it go.” I read articles from Churchleaders.com most every day and the articles give an opportunity for a response. People will comment and add to the subject by discussing the article. However, you would not believe the responses which become attacks and arguments.
I wonder: Why cannot we, or rather, why cannot I let God have the last word? Or, why cannot we, or rather, why cannot I give it a break. I have had things bother me until I respond in a meeting or email. But, many times, after a day I realize it was not a big deal. It can wait. I can “Back off.”
Let’s read two passages: Isaiah 53:7 and Mark 15:4-5:
Isaiah 53:7:
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
Mark 15:4-5:
So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
Jesus’ silence is also referenced in: Matthew 27:12-14; Mark 14:61; Luke 23:9 and John 19:9.
So, right now I am going to focus on our silence or lack thereof in accusations, trials or witnessing. It would be easy to focus on silence in general, but Jesus was accused and persecuted and He did not open His mouth. So, this sermon is not about meditation, though that is important. This sermon is about communicating a grievance or responding under attack.
I have three application:
1. Let it go for a day.
2. After a day if we cannot let it go write out notes and wait a day.
3. Pray and talk to a Christian brother or sister before responding.
So, let’s look at these.
I. Let it go for a day.
a. Or, let it go for good. Maybe after a day we will realize that we don’t need to respond to the attack or accusation at all.
b. Play song/video
c. Just think of the movie “Frozen” with the song: “Let it Go.” Actually, we are going to play the song. For some of you this will be the first time you have heard this song or seen the video. Congratulations! I hear it every day in the Childcare Center AND AT HOME.
d. By playing the song I hope to etch this point in memory for all of us.
e. As I looked at this passage I thought about myself. I thought about how we all either fight or flight. This means in an argument we will all either respond and fight or respond and flight. The fighters respond and argue. The flighters shut down or run away. The D.i.S.C. Personality profile will tell us what our natural tendency is. In fact, there is a couple’s D.i.S.C. that will tell how couples will naturally fight. What happens is the fighters want to fight (not literally, but they want to argue). At the same time their spouse is flighting or shutting down and that makes the fight worse. So, I thought about myself and my tendency is to fight. I do not want to wait. I want to argue right now. Let’s settle this.
f. But as I thought about this passage I remember the troubles that I have had because of this. Now, my troubles have not been on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snap Chat or texting. I will get an email and respond too quickly. Or, it may simply be stress. I will be stressed out all night replaying a conversation in my head.
g. Jesus’ example was silence. Jesus was beaten, yet silent. Jesus could have responded. But in this case He did not.
h. It would be wrong to make a whole sermon on why we need to be silent to accusations based on how Jesus responded in the trial. Jesus was not always silent. Check out Matthew 23. So what about when we need to respond.
i. Jesus was not always silent. Matthew 23. Jesus did not always remain silent before His accusers, for He did answer Pilate’s questions (Mk 14:62; Lk 23:2; Jn 18:33–37). But Jesus was silent when the chief priest made accusations against Him (Mt 27:12–14; Mk 15:1–4) and His few words to Pilate did not refute His accusers. The silence was concerning those who would accuse Him (see 1 Pt 2:23).
ii. Proverbs 15:1: “A Gentle answer turns away wrath.”
II. After a day, if we cannot let it go write out notes and wait a day.
a. I once heard about Rev. Dr. Charles Swindoll walking through a tour of a cult center and he was with one of his professors. Many times the tour guide would say something and Swindoll would say to his professor something like: “Now is the time let’s nail them with the truth.” The professor would comment, “Not yet.” They went back and forth several times until at the end of the tour, the professor, Swindoll and the guide had a fruitful Gospel conversation. Swindoll was ready to fight, to have an argument. The professor waited patiently for the right time and right attitude.
b. Remember Philippians 2:3-4:
i. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.
c. Remember 1 Cor. 13:4-7:
i. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
d. When we write out notes we can process what was said and what bothered us. We can pray about that and think about it. Writing out is processing.
III. Pray and talk with a Christian friend in confidence.
a. We need sounding boards for God to speak through. These are our Christian brothers and sisters.
b. Meet with someone, pray about it, share your notes, talk about it.
c. Then, if you need to, deal with the accusation using the Biblical model of approach.
d. Or, let it go.
Close:
Rev. Dr. Swindoll writes:
Kids are nutty.
Some friends of ours in Texas have two little girls. The younger child is constantly on the move, rarely winding down by bedtime. So the nightly affair has become something of a familiar routine. A story from her favorite book. A drink of water. A prayer. A song. Her doll. Another drink of water. A kiss. A hug. A third sip of water. A trip to the bathroom. A warning. Another kiss. You know, the whole bit.
One night her dad decided he’d be Mr. Nice Guy, the epitome of patience and tolerance. He did it all. Not once did he lose his cool. When Miss Busybody finally ran out of requests, her daddy slipped out of the room, heaved a sigh of relief, and slumped into his favorite chair by the fireplace. Before he could stretch out and relax, however, there was a piercing scream from the jitterbug’s room. Startled, he dashed down the hall and rushed to her bedside. Great tears were rolling down the little girl’s face. “What’s wrong? What happened?” “I burnt my tongue.” Baffled, he tried again, “You what?” “I burnt my tongue!” she yelled. “How in the world did you do that?” he asked. “I licked my night-light.”
That really happened. She couldn’t control her curiosity. She simply had to discover how it would feel to lick that little thing that glowed so warmly and serenely by her bed. Rude was her awakening to the fact that lights are strictly for lighting . . . not licking. And tongues are made for tasting . . . not testing. You and I realize that the best thing our little friend could have done was to stay in bed, keep her tongue to herself, and allow the light to fulfill its appointed function. But she didn’t—and she got burned.
In Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Solomon, the wise, passes along to us a list of various types of “appointed times” on earth. Among them he mentions a time to heal . . . a time to shun embracing . . . a time to give up as lost . . .a time to be silent
I see in these words of counsel one strong undercurrent of advice: BACKOFF! It is often wise to relax our intensity, refuse to force an issue, allow nature to take its course, “let sleeping dogs lie.” Backing off, says Solomon, provides opportunity for healing to occur, opportunity for perspective to break through the storm clouds of emotion and illuminate a difficult situation with a fresh understanding. When the time is right, things flow very naturally, very freely. To rush or force creates friction-scars that take years to erase. Take it from one who has learned this difficult lesson the hard way—keep a tight bridle on your tongue, relax, and settle for a good night’s sleep. Otherwise, you’re going to get pushy, you’re going to get caught with your tongue in the wrong place . and you’re going to get burned.
Excerpted from Come Before Winter and Share My Hope, Copyright © 1985, 1988,
1994 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.
I think that wraps it up. Let it go.
Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)
Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)
Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)
Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)
Pray

Intro:
There is a scientific study that shows rejection hurts like physical pain. Scientists have examined the brains through MRI scans when someone is rejected and they can see that the brain reacts to the rejection like it would a physical assault.
I wonder if the NBA star Shaq felt that way:
Some doors, like the front gate of the White House, are tough to walk through. The White House has one phalanx of security after another, and you simply don’t get in unless you are wanted, unless you have clearance, unless you have an appointment.
Some people do get into the White House based on who they are. Some get in based on who they know.
On Sunday July 26, 2009, one of the biggest and most famous men in the world—NBA star Shaquille O’Neil—tried to get into the White House without an appointment. At 7-1 and 325 pounds, with a winning smile, and NBA championship rings on his fingers from years of playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaq has what it takes to walk into most places he wants to go. Doors open for Shaq.
And so, Shaq decided to put his celebrity, and President Obama’s love of basketball, to the test. He was on a D.C. sports radio show on Friday July 24th, and he put this question to the listeners: “Check this out, I got on a nice suit, I’m in D.C. paying a visit, I jump out of a cab in front of the White House, I don’t use none of my political or law enforcement connections. If I go to the gate and say, ‘Hey, I’m in town, I would like to see the President,’ do I get in, or do I not get in?”
Two days later, Shaq gave it a try, and just as Shaq has rejected those who would drive past him to the hoop, so the security guards at the White House gate rejected him.
Later that day, Shaq tweeted, “The White House wouldn’t let me in, whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.”
The funny thing about that is that in the last year there have been multiple occurrences of people getting into the White House uninvited and without clearance. But clearly, some places we will be rejected.
Think about a time you faced rejection, how did it feel?
Watch this video clip from the movie, The Village
This woman was in love and she was rejected and it hurt.
Did you hear the choir anthem? The anthem was about the blood of Jesus for our forgiveness, but you know what else? Jesus suffered physical pain, but also emotional and spiritual pain.
Listen to the anthem:
Mar. 1 Anthem: O The Blood
O the blood, crimson love, price of life’s demand.
Shameful sin placed on Him, the hope of every man.
O the blood of Jesus washes me.
O the blood of Jesus shed for me.
What a sacrifice that saved my life.
Yes, the blood, it is my victory.
Savior, Son, Holy One slain so I can live.
See the Lamb, the great I AM, who takes away my sin.
O the blood of the Lamb, the precious blood of the Lamb.
What a sacrifice that saved my life.
O what love, no greater love. Grace how can it be?
That in my sin, yes, even then, He shed His blood for me.
Yes, the blood, it is my victory.
Let’s look at what Jesus went through in His rejection and notice:
Jesus was rejected for our salvation.
The application: Be willing to be rejected for Him and for others.
Let’s read:
Isaiah 53:3:
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Now: John 1:11:
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Luke 23:18:
But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”
I. As I look at this I notice Jesus was rejected for us.
a. The passage says that He was despised and rejected. We can look at this to mean that it was as if He was no longer a man.
b. He was rejected. Think about rejection. Think once again about being rejected. Jesus was rejected by the people He created.
c. Jesus created us. Jesus created the nails that pierced His hands. Jesus created the wood for the cross He was crucified on. Jesus created all people and all things, yet His creation rejected Him. Furthermore, He came to save us, yet we rejected Him. He was on the cross alone, rejected by the people He came to save.
d. I have thought about this a lot lately. Throughout the Old Testament we have examples of the holiness of God and the holiness of God is not to be trifled with. People who messed with the holiness of God were killed. (The people offering strange fire before the Lord, Lev. 10:1-2; the people made a Golden Calf, Exodus 32) In the Old Testament accounts the people trifled with the Holiness of God and they died. There was intense punishment. Here is the application: We have all messed with the holiness of God. We have all missed God’s standard and so Jesus on the cross took the punishment for our idols and every other way we miss God’s standards. Jesus was rejected in our place. Jesus was despised in my place.
e. Then the passage gives a metaphor. He was like one from whom people would hide their faces.
f. There are quotes of people covering up their children’s faces when people were being crucified. Rome rarely crucified women but when they did they would crucify them backwards so that the executioners did not have to look at them that way.
g. It must be very lonely when people hide their faces from you.
h. Even God the Father turned His back on the Son as Jesus said, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34)
Author Henri Nouwen tells the story of a family he knew in Paraguay. The father, a doctor, spoke out against the military regime there and its human rights abuses. Local police took their revenge on him by arresting his teenage son and torturing him to death. Enraged townsfolk wanted to turn the boy’s funeral into a huge protest march, but the doctor chose another means of protest. At the funeral, the father displayed his son’s body as he had found it in the jail—naked, scarred from electric shocks and cigarette burns, and beatings. All the villagers filed past the corpse, which lay not in a coffin but on the blood-soaked mattress from the prison. It was the strongest protest imaginable, for it put injustice on grotesque display.
Isn’t that what God did at Calvary? … The cross that held Jesus’ body, naked and marked with scars, exposed all the violence and injustice of this world. At once, the cross revealed what kind of world we have and what kind of God we have: a world of gross unfairness, a God of sacrificial love.
i. An application right now is that I will understand that rejection hurts and so I must worship Jesus all the more knowing what He went through.
II. Since Jesus went through rejection for me, I must be willing to go through rejection for Him.
a. I think about this and think even Jesus was rejected. So, when I am rejected for doing something good or innocent, big deal. Even the King of Kings and Lord of Lords was rejected and is still rejected.
b. Jesus said:
John 15:20-21
Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
(from New International Version)
c. Jesus was rejected so that Barabbas could live, Jesus was rejected so that we all can live. Let’s break this down with some more applications: (I made them personal to me)
i. Since Jesus went through rejection for me, I must be willing to go through rejection for Him.
ii. I must be willing to strive for a pure life for Him, even if that means rejection.
iii. I must be willing to accept and love those who are not accepted even if that means that I will face rejection.
iv. I must be willing to step out of my comfort zone, facing social rejection for Jesus.
v. I must be willing to serve in low places, knowing that may mean rejection for Jesus.
vi. I must be willing to live with a Philippians 2:3-4 attitude for Jesus. This is to love others.
d. Jesus was not esteemed, He was not accepted. I will love knowing that I will lose respect because of Jesus.
e. People hid their faces from Jesus, I must be willing to go through that much rejection.

Close:
One fine day in 1941, Violet Bailey and her fiancé Samuel Booth were strolling through the English countryside, deeply in love and engaged to be married. A diamond engagement ring sparkled on Violet’s finger—her most treasured possession.
Their romantic bliss suddenly ended. One of them said something that hurt the other. An argument ensued, then escalated. At its worst point, Violet became so angry she pulled the diamond engagement ring from her finger, drew back her arm, and hurled the treasured possession with all her might into the field.
The ring sailed through the air, fell to the ground, and nestled under the grass in such a way that it was impossible to see. Violet and Samuel kissed and made up. Then they walked and walked through that field hunting for the lost ring. They never found it.
They were married two months later. They had a child and eventually a grandson. Part of their family lore was the story of the lost engagement ring.
Violet and Samuel grew old together, and in 1993 Samuel died. Fifteen years passed, but the ring was not forgotten. One day Violet’s grandson got an idea. Perhaps he could find his grandmother’s ring with a metal detector. He bought one and went to the field where Violet had hurled her treasured possession 67 years earlier. He turned on his metal detector and began to crisscross the field, waving the detector over the grass. After two hours of searching, he found what he was looking for. Later, filled with joy and pride, he placed the diamond ring into the hand of his astonished grandmother Violet. The treasured possession had come home.
There was a rejection in that account, yet things worked out. You know what? There was a rejection with Jesus, yet there was also, and is also, acceptance. There is a free gift today. There is a free prize today. Jesus’ gift is still there. We can still be united with Jesus.
Jesus was rejected for our salvation, Amazing Grace.
Are we willing to face rejection for Him and for others?

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)
Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)
Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)
Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)
Pray

Opening:
The founder of the Salvation Army said to his fellow “soldiers”: “Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again—until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other.”
In the New Testament we have this idea of grace versus works. So, we have James 2:14-17:
what use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Then we have Ephesians 2:8-9:
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
But then we have Ephesians 2:10:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?
Please read with me Galatians 2:19-20:
For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
I. All believers have been crucified with Christ.
a. To be a Christian means that I believe that Jesus died and rose again for me. I trust in Him for salvation, I confess my sins to Him and I commit to Him.
b. If you are a Christian you have been crucified, wow! That is a strong picture. I believe that Paul used this word picture for dramatic effect. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is entirely true, but there is a reason that Paul used a dramatic picture here. In a metaphorical way we have been crucified with Christ. We no longer live, but Jesus lives within us.
c. Let’s talk about Galatians. Paul writes to the churches of Galatia to counter these false apostles who have bewitched them (Gal. 3:1). The churches in Galatia have come to an error of works salvation. They have started believing that they had to live by the law. Paul is extremely assertive in this short New Testament letter. Look at Galatians 1:6-9: [Listen as I read]
I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
d. So, Paul is writing about law versus grace and, you know what? I think we need the same message. We have similar issues. No, we don’t have issues with the Jewish Law. But as Christians we go two different ways.
1. We believe we have to earn our salvation.
a. We know this is not true. I read earlier, Eph. 2:8-9, we are saved by grace. Grace is unmerited favor. If you look at Gal. 2:21 Paul writes that if righteousness could come by the law, then Jesus died in vain. He died needlessly.
b. But, when we add legalistic standards for Christians we become a cult, and we make Jesus’ death on the cross in vain.
c. We do this if we practice Christianity religiously. Most in our churches are not guilty of this at all.
2. Or, we throw away any moral law. In this case the Christian’s life does not match his faith. This is a problem.
a. We do this when we do not preach what Jesus preached and what this verse is saying. Jesus said in Luke 9:23: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
b. If Jesus taught that why don’t we preach this?
c. How can we preach this message without teaching/or showing that we work out our salvation? We were created for good works.
d. As a Christian, the Holy Spirit changes us. Think about the following:
I recently read a book which someone at my church recommended. The book tells the life of Louis Zamperini. Zamperini was in the 1936 Olympics held in Germany. He was famous for setting records for how fast he could run the mile.

Later he was planning to enter the next Olympic competition but it was canceled because of WWII. Zamperini entered the war and served on a B 24. He was shot down and spent 47 days at sea and then around three years as a Japanese prisoner of war. He was badly mistreated in the POW camps.

Following the war he dealt with post traumatic stress disorder. This caused him to plunge into alcoholism which brought on a host of other problem. He was married and had one child, but his marriage was being threatened with divorce. Every time he closed his eyes at night he was plagued with memories of his time as a POW. He was filled with hate and wanted to kill one particular guard (Mutsuhiro Watanabe (nicknamed “The Bird”), who was later included in General Douglas MacArthur’s list of the 40 most wanted war criminals in Japan. Finally in 1949 as the 31 year old Billy Graham was preaching an evangelical crusade in Los Angeles, Louis’ wife gave her life to Christ at the crusade. She eventually convinced Louis to also attend. Louis attended once and was convicted but left in anger during Graham’s invitation. Louis’ wife Cynthia convinced him to attend again. He did and started to leave again during the invitation. But he was convicted and went forward giving his life to Christ.
Following the conversion his life changed dramatically. He went home that night, and at the time when he would usually drink alcohol to excess, he dumped his alcohol down the drain. His hate was changed to forgiveness. His marriage lasted until his wife’s death. He never had nightmares of his time as a POW again. He later went back to Japan and spoke to the guards who were accused and convicted of war crimes. He forgave them. But the one guard who was the worst to Louis, Mutsuhiro Watanabe (nicknamed “The Bird”), was thought dead and Louis never was able to talk to him. Later they found out he was alive and Louis was scheduled to meet with him and wrote the letter below. But he was not able to meet with him as Watanabe declined the invitation. Someone was supposed to take the letter to him, but no one knows if Watanabe received it.
e. I believe, when we really know Jesus, we really know Him. When we are saved we commit to Him, and in time, our life will show it.
e. Paul says in this verse that he has died to the law. How? He died with Christ to the law.
f. He has been crucified with Christ. I have to believe that people would have cringed when they heard him use the verb “crucified.” They would have known what crucifixion meant. Historians cannot tell us apart from the Bible much about crucifixion. People were afraid to write about it. Many times we can find extra Biblical evidence for many things, but not crucifixion. Scholars get much of what we know about crucifixion from the Bible. We are told a few things though. The Romans would crucify people publicly and they would crucify people at set times of the year in order to make a statement. They wanted their enemies to see crucifixion and think, “Don’t mess with us.” The Romans did not invent crucifixion. They copied it from the Greeks and maybe even another country.
g. People would have this image of crucifixion in their mind when Paul used that term.
h. But the point is that we died with Christ when we became a Christian. We died to our old self. We died to sin.
Galatians 3:27:
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
Romans 6:4 (see also Colossians 2:12)
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
What does it mean to be crucified with Christ? It means that when we became a Christian we died to our old self. We died to our sin nature. So, how do we live?
II. All believers are to live by the faith of the indwelling Christ (2:20b–21).
a. Paul says that he no longer lives, but Christ lives within him.
b. Does Christ live in you?
c. If you are a Christian the answer is yes. Yes, Yes, Amen.
d. The Holy Spirit indwells us.
e. How did Jesus do His miracles on earth? He laid aside His glory to become man. He had the Holy Spirit with Him. He was fully human and He is fully human, but the Holy Spirit was with Him. You know the Holy Spirit is with you as well. The Holy Spirit is in you. In 1 Corinthians 3:16 Paul wrote that we are the Temple of God. He used the same word which would describe the part of the Temple where God resides. God resides in us. We have the Holy of Holies in Us. Amen!!!
f. So, as believers we do good works because Jesus dwells in us and He does those good works.
g. How did Louis Zamperini change his life? He didn’t. Jesus changed him. When he became a Christian Jesus said, “I am not having any of that.” Jesus said, “I am taking over this house and I have some cleaning up to do.”
What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?
I think the evidence is overwhelming that when Paul talked about being crucified with Christ he was talking figuratively that he identified with Christ’s crucifixion in order to show that he had died to the law. Paul identified with Christ’s crucifixion in order to say that he lives by faith or in faith and not in the worldly ways. I believe that Romans 6 helped make the strong case that we die to our old self and then live “in Christ.” That is what Paul meant.
Now, I believe that as Christians we can sometimes push Jesus aside. He lives within us, but… We don’t want Him here. We do not make Him welcome. We just let our old self reign in us. So my challenge for you today is that you let Jesus live within you. Make Him feel at home. Let your worldly self die and by faith let Jesus live. Jesus lives within you. The Holy of Holies is in you!

The Choir Anthem:
From heaven’s bright throne and courts filled with praise
King Jesus came humbly, a servant of grace.
Trading His glory for shadows and fears,
He washes the feet of the world with His tears.
And who is this King that lays aside His crown?
Who is the King that gently kneels down?
Who is this King that comes to the meek,
strengthens the weak?
Who is this King?
Think about what it means to NOT be believed. One declares a message of TRUTH but no one cares, no one believes you. Oftentimes we do not believe children, do we? Do you know how many times Mercedes has told me there is a bear in her room? How many times has there been a bear in her room? That’s right, there has never been a bear in her room. We have told it to go away. But sometimes Mercedes has shocked me. She’ll say something is in there and I am thinking, “no, no, not true.” Then I go in and look and sure enough, there is a bug or something in her room. We tend to doubt.
What does that feel like? What is it like when you know you are right and no one believes you?
When Meagan and I were in our second year of marriage I was at work at McDonalds as a manager. Meagan was at home. There was a stray cat that had been coming around our house and so we had been feeding it. A few days prior to this date the cat disappeared. While I was at work the cat came out. The cat had a broken leg and was a mess. The cat was drooling and acting funny. Meagan thought it had rabbis and so she called my dad to see if he could help take care of it. My dad came out to our house and you know what? The cat rolled away and tried to play and just act normal. Of course, Meagan was like, “There is something wrong with this cat.” Did not matter, so my dad left and the cat stayed. Later on I come home from work and the cat is acting terrible. I grab a box and we take it to a weekend veterinarian. She thought it had distemper and started treating it. Within a few days the cat died. The cat TRULY was sick.
Let’s read Isa. 53:1 and John 12:37-38:
Isaiah 53:1:
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
John 12:37-38:
Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:
“Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
I have a few applications:
1. Sometimes we will share the Gospel and people doubt, but they did not even believe Jesus.
2. We must worship Jesus, knowing what it is like to not be believed and knowing that He went through that humiliation.
3. We must be encouraged by God’s Word, prophesying this and then it comes about.

So, let’s talk about these:
I. Sometimes we will share the Gospel and people doubt, but they did not even believe Jesus.
a. So, it is easy for us to think, “Why should I share Jesus with people, they are not going to believe me.
b. But we must keep sharing Jesus even when not believed. Jesus came with Truth. Jesus knew people would not believe but He came with Truth. The other thought with that comment is that no one will believe. Some did believe Jesus and some will believe us.
c. By the way, we are commanded to share Jesus whether someone will believe or not and if we think it is Truth we will not be able to stop sharing Jesus.
d. There is important context to this passage:
i. In John 12:37-38, or rather 36-40, John writes about people not believing the message even though Jesus did many signs and miracles.
ii. Starting in John 12:27: Jesus is praying and asks the Lord to glorify His (the Father’s) name.
iii. There was then a voice out of Heaven saying “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.
1. Okay, if I am with someone, or rather a crowd and I hear a voice out of heaven, I may believe something that person is saying.
iv. Verse 29: the crowd around them heard it as well and some said that it had thundered and others said that an angel had spoken.
v. Verse 30-31: Jesus said that the voice was for their sake, not Him. Judgment was coming, the ruler of the world has been cast out. That would be the devil and the cross conquered the devil.
vi. Verse 32: Jesus says that He will be lifted up and if He is lifted up He will draw all men to Himself.
vii. Verse 33 John makes a note that Jesus was stating this to mean the type of death He was to die.
viii. Verse 34: The people ask who the Son of Man is stating that they have heard out of the law that the Christ is to remain forever. They are confused.
ix. Verses 35-36: Jesus talks about the Light being among them for a little while and Jesus asks them to walk in the Light.
x. Verse 37 tells us that He performed many signs among them, yet they were not believing in Him.
xi. Verses 38ff are quotes from Isaiah 53:1 and 6:10:
xii. God has blinded their eyes.
xiii. God has hardened their hearts.
xiv. So that…
xv. They would not see with their eyes and perceive with their hearts, and be converted and God would heal them.
1. This is comparing the Israelites to idols who have ears but cannot hear, eyes but cannot see.
2. Now, this seems extreme. God kept them from believing.
3. Only God cam empower one to believe.
4. But also understand that this passage was a quote from the Old Testament and in Isaiah 6:10, the context is that the people would make idols and the idols have ears to hear and eyes to see but they really cannot hear or see. God was comparing the Hebrew people to idols. The people rejected God, so He turned them over to their ways. God made them like idols. I think the same is true in John’s Gospel, God turns them over to their ways. They hardened their hearts, so He hardened their hearts.
xvi. Verse 41: Isaiah said this because He saw the Lord’s glory and spoke of it.
xvii. Verse 42-43: Some believed but would not share it because the people loved the approval of men, not the approval of God.
e. But understand that some believed Jesus. Interesting that in Isaiah 6:9 Isaiah is told that he will preach but they will not believe. However, in Isaiah 6:13 God says that a tenth will remain and believe.
f. Again, I will understand that only God can empower one to believe.
g. So, what do we do, be encouraged, the people did not believe Jesus, the people did not believe Isaiah. The people heard a voice from Heaven and did not believe Jesus. In the previous chapter Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and they did not believe Jesus. I believe it is safe to say most will not believe us.
h. HOWEVER, some will and we do not know who the some are. So, keep sharing Jesus with people.
II. We must worship Jesus, knowing what it is like to not be believed and knowing that He went through that humiliation.
a. As we read these passages about the suffering servant does that call us to worship Jesus more?
b. Does this draw us closer to Him?
c. How do we respond?
d. We all know what it is like to not be believed. Right?
e. We know what it is like when people doubt us, isn’t that what it is like to have teenagers in the home? They never believe you and you don’t know anything?
f. Jesus, the creator, Jesus, the one true God, Jesus, our Lord, He became one of us, in order to save us, and He was rejected.
g. He was here for us anyways, but most did not believe Him.
John Stott on How the Cross Speaks to Injustice and Suffering
How does the cross of Jesus speak to a world of pain, poverty, and injustice? After explaining the full range of biblical ideas of the atonement, Stott concludes his book with a chapter entitled “Suffering and glory.” He describes the miserable conditions of millions of people who live in shanty towns of Africa and Asia, thebarriadas of Latin American and the favelas of Brazil.
Then he tells a story about an imaginary poor man from the slums of Brazil who climbs 2,310 feet up the mountain to the colossal statue of Christ that towers above Rio de Janeiro—”The Christ of Corcovado.” (For an image of the statue click here.) After the difficult climb, the poor man finally reaches Jesus and says,
I have climbed up to meet you, Christ, from the filthy, confined quarters down there … to put before you, most respectfully, these considerations: there are 900,000 of us down there in the slums of that splendid city … And you … do you remain here at Corcovado surrounded by divine glory? Go down there to the favelas … Don’t stay away from us; live among us and give us new faith in you and in the Father. Amen.
Stott asks, “What would Christ say in response to such an entreaty? Would he not say ‘[in the suffering of the cross] I did come down to live among you, and I live among you still'”?
Then Stott adds,
We have to learn to climb the hill called Calvary, and from that vantage-ground survey all life’s tragedies. The cross does not solve the problem of suffering, but it supplies the essential perspective from which to look at it … . Sometimes we picture [God] lounging, perhaps dozing, in some celestial deck-chair, while the hungry millions starve to death … . It is this terrible caricature of God which the cross smashes to smithereens.
John Stott, The Cross of Christ (InterVarsity Press, 2006), pp. 320, 333

h. So, worship our Savior.
i. So, love our Savior.
III. We must be encouraged by God’s Word, prophesying this and then it comes about.
a. The last application is the connection in the Scriptures. This is once again a case where the Scriptures match up. This is 700 years prior to Jesus and it came to pass.
b. Be encouraged, we can trust the Bible.
Closing:
Master Violinist Goes Unrecognized
Joshua Bell emerged from the Metro and positioned himself against a wall beside a trash basket. By most measures, he was nondescript—a youngish white man in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a Washington Nationals baseball cap. From a small case, he removed a violin. Placing the open case at his feet, he shrewdly threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money and began to play.
For the next 45 minutes, in the D.C. Metro on January 12, 2007, Bell played Mozart and Schubert as over 1,000 people streamed by, most hardly taking notice. If they had paid attention, they might have recognized the young man for the world-renowned violinist he is. They also might have noted the violin he played—a rare Stradivarius worth over $3 million. It was all part of a project arranged by The Washington Post—”an experiment in context, perception, and priorities—as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste. In a banal setting, at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?”
Just three days earlier, Joshua Bell sold out Boston Symphony Hall, with ordinary seats going for $100. In the subway, Bell garnered about $32 from the 27 people who stopped long enough to give a donation.

1. Sometimes we will share the Gospel and people doubt, but they did not even believe Jesus.
2. We must worship Jesus, knowing what it is like to not be believed and knowing that He went through that humiliation.
3. We must be encouraged by God’s Word, prophesying this and then it comes about.

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)
Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)
Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)
Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)
Pray

Introduction
Let’s read the Bible passage first:
I want to read Isaiah 52:13-53:12: listen to the connection to the crucifixion of our Savior:
See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
15 so he will sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.
53 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
When I was in seminary I was given an image of Scripture as a rose. Actually, this image is for Scripture and all of God’s revelation to us. Now, the revelation is developed. In the Scriptures the revelation was developing. You see, today we view the Scriptures looking backwards. We view the Scriptures complete. In addition to that we have close to two thousand years of Theology built on the Scriptures. As the rose grows and forms people are realizing more about who God is and His plan of salvation.
So, if we imagine a rose:
• The roots of the rose would be the only Scripture or Revelation from God that Adam and Eve might have understood.
• The stem of the rose would be Abraham- Moses.
• We would see the early leaves developing and those are the prophets.
• We would see another few leaves being the intertestamental period. There was a lot that happened then.
• We would see another leaf being Jesus’ death and resurrection.
o As this is happening the people are realizing more about who God is and God’s plan of salvation.
• Then there are some more leaves and those are the Apostles.
• Finally we have the Rose start to bud and would the New Testament canon, the Trinity, the church Fathers.
o As all of this happened the people really began to understand more about the character of God and His plan of salvation.
• Now we finally have the flow.
We can look back and we view the Scriptures with this understanding. We view the Scriptures with the understanding of what God has done for our salvation. We view the Scriptures with the doctrine of the Trinity complete. They did not understand that in the Old Testament. But when we read the Old Testament we do so with an understanding of the cross.
So, that brings us to such an important passage as Isaiah 53. We view the passage looking backwards. I read the passage, now listen to Romans 5:6-8 showing how Jesus fulfilled this passage.
Romans 5:6-8:
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This passage is such an awesome passage and so begins a series on our awesome salvation. This passage was prophesied 700 years before Christ. We will focus on Isaiah 53:5 today.
As talk about the passage and its fulfillment there are three responses:
1. Be encouraged
2. Accept the message
3. Respond to the message in commitment
Sheldon Vanauken was a student of the English professor and Christian apologist C. S. Lewis in the early 1950s. He recounts in his book A Severe Mercy the story of his last meeting with his mentor when Vanauken was leaving Oxford for the United States. Over one final lunch together at a pub, they had spent time wondering aloud about the nature of life after death. When they had finished eating, they stood outside of the pub, talked for a few more minutes, and just before parting ways, Lewis said to Vanauken, “I shan’t say goodbye. We’ll meet again.” The great apologist then plunged into the traffic to cross the street while Vanuaken watched his friend walk away. When Lewis got to the other side of the street, he turned around, anticipating that his friend would still be standing there. With a grin on his face, Lewis shouted over the great roar of cars, “Besides—Christians never say goodbye.” [Eternity]
Let’s look at verse 5 of Isaiah 53.
I. As I look at this verse, I will be encouraged by Isaiah 53:5 and Romans 5:6-8.
a. This passage is encouraging becomes it shows our great salvation. But alongside that, this passage is encouraging in my faith.
b. I am sure that many of you are like me and have doubts in your faith occasionally. Anytime I have doubts I am reminded of passages like this. Can you believe the passage was written over 700 years prior to Jesus while the Northern Kingdom of Israel was following apart. Yet, this is striking about the Messiah.
c. The passage is even written in the past tense. Starting in chapter 52:14 Isaiah switched from the future tense to the past tense.
d. This, to me, comes off as God knowing what was to happen. This comes off as God knowing that His plan of salvation was in place.
e. Listen we sinned, we messed up, we missed God’s perfect standard, but as devastating as God’s plan was on Jesus, it was planned to fulfill God’s purpose. It was taken care of. There was no emergency in Heaven. This did not catch God by surprise. Amen? This is awesome.
f. We worship God as He is Worthy, He was slain for us, Amen?
g. Here long before the event, God speaks to Isaiah and Isaiah writes this as if it were already done, complete.
h. So, be encouraged because God had a perfect plan and it was laid out 700 years prior to the plan.
i. Then be encouraged by God’s grace. I did nothing for my salvation and I could not do anything for my salvation. That is what this is showing.
j. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that we are saved by grace and not by works so that no one can boast. This passage says nothing at all about what we must do for salvation, there is nothing that we can do.
k. Verse 5 says: He was pierced for our transgression.
i. Transgression is one word for sin. It means to cross a moral or Divine law.
ii. Pierced, this is the idea that Jesus was pierced in multiple ways on the cross.
l. Verse 5 continues: He was crushed for our iniquities.
i. An iniquity is a gross behavior.
ii. Jesus was crushed for our iniquities.
iii. I can think of multiple ways. One is the suffering on the cross and another is the suffering from God the Father as Jesus took the wrath of God upon Himself.
m. Verse 5: We needed punished for peace [between us and God] but that punishment went on Jesus.
n. Verse 5: We are healed by His wounds. Amen!
o. Be encouraged because the salvation is taken care of by Him.
I read the following: [set up, I once heard]
In May 2009, my family was in Azusa, California, because one of our kids was graduating from Azusa Pacific University. My wife, Nancy, was going to speak at the commencement ceremonies, so she and I were invited to a special gathering of about 50 people—people from the graduating class of 50 years ago and a few faculty members. During the gathering, John Wallace, the president of APU, brought out three students who were graduating that year and told us that for the next two years, they were going to serve the poorest of the poor in India.
These three students thought they were there just to be commissioned and sent out with a blessing—which they were. But then something happened that they did not know was coming. John turned to them and said, “I have a piece of news for you. There’s somebody you do not know—an anonymous donor—who is so moved by what you’re doing that he has given a gift to this university in your name, on your behalf.”
John turned to the first student and said, “You are forgiven your debt of $105,000.” The kid immediately starts to cry. John turns to the next student: “You’re forgiven your debt of $70,000.” He then turns to the third student: “You are forgiven your debt of $130,000.” All three students had no idea this was coming. They were just ambushed by grace—blown away that somebody they don’t even know would pay their debt. The whole room was in tears.
II. As I read this I realize that I must accept the message.
a. This message is different.
b. I cannot earn salvation but I must believe the message. I must trust.
c. John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but will have everlasting live.
d. Best way to illustrate this is with an example that I heard about.
When I was five-years-old, I first fully understood the message of these words:
He sees you when you’re sleeping,
He knows if you’re awake,
He knows if you’ve been bad or good,
So be good for goodness’ sake!
Until that moment, I had lived in this childhood bliss, in which Christmas was the best day of the year. I had always believed that the gifts at Christmastime were there because Christmas always came with gifts. You could count on them. But now I painfully understood that if I wanted any gifts at Christmas, I had to be good. It was all riding on me. There was this all-seeing, all-knowing Santa, and if there was going to be any gifts, I had better shape up.
But then I thought, How good is “good”? Can a person be “pretty good”? Does Santa understand that I have a twin brother, so I have more reasons to be provoked than other kids? It was all so worrisome to me.
I grew up a little more and went on to elementary school. In the fourth grade, when I was 9, I continued to learn that all the good stuff in life depends on my effort. We had a reading program called SRA. Here’s how it worked: There was a giant box of color-coded cards on the side of the classroom. You went and got one of the cards in the front of the box, read what was on it, and then answered questions about what you’d read. If you got most of the answers right, you moved up to the next highest color—red, yellow, blue, and if you were good enough and worked hard enough, you reached exotic colors, like magenta.
Moving up in SRA was all we cared about, because if you were still on one of the lower-level colors—red or yellow—you were a loser. Everybody’s goal was to move up—to work really hard and reach the ultimate pinnacle of fourth-grade glory: aquamarine. But if you wanted the glory, you had to hustle. We would literally run from our desks to the box. No pain, no gain! You had to be good enough, to work hard enough.
I grew up a little more. I was 14-years-old, and a friend invited me to a meeting after school called Campus Life. There was a guy there who had a beard, which automatically made him cool. He also had a guitar, which made him even cooler. He started saying stuff I’d never heard before. He said that if you wanted the good stuff from God—stuff like peace and forgiveness and the Holy Spirit—it didn’t work like Santa, where you had to be good or you got nothing but coal in your Christmas stocking. He pointed out that it didn’t work like SRA, where it all depended on your being smart enough and good enough and hustling enough. He said there was a thing called grace. God had decided to take all my sin, all my screw-ups, and forgive me. Grace had something to do with Jesus dying on the cross for me, and all I had to do was believe.
This man read from the Bible, which I hadn’t really ever read. He read that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him, will not perish, but have everlasting life.” This message was different from anything I’d heard before. It was not what I expected. It wasn’t all on me. It was all on him—on Jesus. That message was so freeing, that as I took it in, I almost started to cry. But I was a 14-year-old guy, and we didn’t do stuff like that. The next week, I thought, I better not go to that meeting again, because I almost started to cry last week, and I cannot be humiliated by breaking down in front of my friends. But I did go. And I did hear the message. And I did believe. And I experienced “amazing grace.”
III. Lastly, as I read this passage, I will commit to Christ, responding with Romans 12:1-2
a. Think about it. When we are faced with the amazing suffering of Christ, because of the amazing grace of Christ, is there any other response than commitment. We respond with Romans 12:1-2:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
I read the following:
In his best-selling book The Reason for God, Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan, shares the story of a woman in his congregation who was learning how the grace extended to us through Christ’s work on the cross can actually be more challenging than religion. He writes:
Some years ago I met with a woman who began coming to church at Redeemer and had never before heard a distinction drawn between the gospel and religion [i.e. the distinction between grace and what is often a works-based righteousness]. She had always heard that God accepts us only if we are good enough. She said that the new message was scary. I asked why it was scary and she replied: If I was saved by my good works then there would be a limit to what God could ask of me or put me through. I would be like a taxpayer with “rights”—I would have done my duty and now I would deserve a certain quality of life. But if I am a sinner saved by grace—then there’s nothing he cannot ask of me.”
She understood the dynamic of grace and gratitude. If when you have lost all fear of punishment you also lose all incentive to live a good, unselfish life, then the only incentive you ever had to live a decent life was fear. This woman could see immediately that the wonderful-beyond-belief teaching of salvation by sheer grace had an edge to it. She knew that if she was a sinner saved by grace, she was (if anything) more subject to the sovereign Lordship of God. She knew that if Jesus really had done all this for her, she would not be her own. She would joyfully, gratefully belong to Jesus, who provided all this for her at infinite cost to himself.
In his book The Jesus Creed , Scot McKnight shares the moving story of Margaret Ault. When Margaret was just about to complete her Ph.D. at Duke, something unexpected—but quite welcomed—happened: she fell in love. She went on a date with a man named Hyung Goo Kim, and the proverbial sparks flew. But almost as quickly as the sparks became a fire, they were doused with water. Hyung Goo informed Margaret that he was HIV positive. Needless to say, Margaret was devastated. In her own words, “I’d just met someone I liked, and we were definitely not going to live happily ever after. I felt like I had been kicked in the gut by the biggest boot in the world.”
Still, she and Hyung Goo were married. In his book McKnight asks the question many of us would ask: “Why would anyone invite into the core of their being so much pain?” He then goes on to share that the answer unfolds in the rest of Margaret and Hyung Goo’s story. He writes:
When Margaret was in graduate school at Duke, she and Hyung Goo loved to walk in the Duke gardens, and so knowledgeable did they become of its plants that they “supervised construction” of a new project. They walked through each part of the garden routinely and had names for some of the ducks. In their last spring together, the garden seemed especially beautiful [to them].
Hyung Goo died in the fall and Margaret returned to the gardens in the spring where a memorial garden of roses was being constructed in his honor.
McKnight then points the reader to a series of quotations from Margaret’s book Sing Me to Heaven, where she reflects on the days she returned to the gardens. She writes:
Where peonies were promised, there were only the dead stumps of last year’s stalks; where day lilies were promised, there were unprepossessing tufts of foliage; where hostas were promised, there was nothing at all. And yet I know what lushness lay below the surface; those beds that were so brown and empty and, to the unknowing eye, so umpromising, would be full to bursting in a matter of months.
Is the whole world like this? Is this what it might be like to live in expectation, real expectation, of the resurrection?
Was not Hyung Goo’s and my life together like this? Empty and sere, and yet a seedbed of fullness and life for both of us. He died, and I was widowed; yet in his dying, we both were made alive.
After quoting Margaret’s words, McKnight concludes:
Where does she find strength to grip such faith and such hope? It is found in [her question]: Is the whole world like this?
The answer, “Yes, the whole world is like this: the whole world offers us tokens of new life beyond death and disasters.” It offers the promise of new life beyond the grave, a life of renewed love in the presence of God. Why? Because Jesus was raised from the dead.
1. Be encouraged
2. Accept the message
3. Respond to the message in commitment

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)
Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)
Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)
Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)
Pray

Intro:

We have talked about why we worship and the answer is Jesus was slain for us. We have also talked about worship because God is worthy. Is He worthy of our worship? We have looked at worship in prayer and we have looked at worship in the Scriptures, specifically the Psalms. Today, we go back to the book of Revelation to look at worship in the throne room of God, once again. Today, we will look specifically at martyrs worshipping the Lord in Heaven.

Persecuted Nigerian Pastor Praises God
The Nigerian city of Jos sits on Africa’s great fault line between the Muslim north and Christian, and thus has faced terrible things in recent years. A Nigerian Baptist church was attacked by Muslim extremists who burnt the church building and the house of the church’s leader, Pastor Sunday Gomna. On the second Sunday after the violent outbreak, when the people of that Baptist church returned for worship, they gathered in a little mud wall community center about one kilometer from the burnt church.
Pastor Gomna stood up and offered some beautiful words of gratitude. He said, ‘First, I am grateful that no one in my church killed anyone.” Apparently, during the chaos of the attacks, Pastor Sunday had gone around the community and some of the Muslim people said, “Pastor, thank you for the way you taught your people. ‘Your people helped to protect us.'” So Pastor Sunday was proud that his people did not kill any Muslims.
“Second,” he said, “I am grateful that they did not burn my church.” Everyone looked at Pastor Sunday with disbelief. After all, everyone was meeting in a small, uncomfortable Mud hut had been burnt to the ground. But Pastor Sunday continued: “Inasmuch as no church member died during this crisis, they did not burn our church. They only burned the building. We can rebuild the building but we could not bring back to life any of our members. So I am grateful that they did not burn my church.”
He continued, “Third, I am grateful that they burned my house as well. If they had burned your house and not my house, how would I have known how to serve you as pastor? However, because they burned my house and all my possessions, I know what you are experiencing and I will be able to be a better pastor to you. So I am grateful that they burned my house as well.”

Wow! That is all I can say to that story. But you know what? I have read other stories that were similar.

Today, I want us to turn to Revelation 7:9-17 and let’s look at a passage giving us a picture of worship in Heaven. I have one theme and that is Worship in Heaven. I have two applications:
1) Worship God in humility and unity as we see in this picture of Heaven, we may be there.
2) Be encouraged, God does not forget what we do for Him (also Hebrews 6:10), we see in this passage martyrs rewarded by being being given the opportunity to serve in God’s throne room for eternity.
Turn with me to Rev. 7:9-17:

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen! Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
I answered,“Sir, you know.”
And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore,
“they are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.
‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

I. Worship God in humility and unity as we see in this picture of Heaven, we may be there. I notice this from verses 9-12.
a. First let’s notice unity.
b. Here we see a picture of worship in Heaven. This is sometime during the end times. This is likely before the New Jerusalem comes down out of Heaven.
c. Verse 9 begins to describe a great crown. No one was able to count this crowd.
d. Someone joked that John could not count this large crowd but if a Baptist evangelist was there he would find a way.
e. The text says it is a large crowd.
f. Every nation, tribe, people and tongue are in this crowd. This is John’s way of saying that every people group from the world is in this crowd.
g. Unity: what is uniting them? Worshipping our Savior is uniting them, we’ll get to that.
h. So, one day Martin Luther King Jr. shared the following words:
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed – we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
i. I believe we have come a long way, but I speak only from one point of view, the point of view of a suburban white male. But we have not gone far enough.
j. We see in this passage that Jesus can bring us together.

John Ortberg Considers the Ongoing Battle with Racism
Psychologists have found an intriguing way to study what it is that we really like and dislike. It’s called “affective priming.” They print a word over a bouncing dot on a computer screen. If people’s response is positive, they push any key with their left hand; if negative—any key with their right.
Too discover our deeper responses, researchers will use subliminal stimulation. They’ll print a negative word (like “fear” or “storm”) subliminally, below your level of awareness. Your intuitive system is so fast it reads those words and responds to them before you are aware. So if they show a negative word subliminally, then a positive word slowly, it takes you longer to move toward a positive response.
Sometimes they will flash a subliminal picture instead of a word. When it is a picture of an African American, “Americans of all ages, classes, and political affiliations react with a flash of negativity.” Including people who report they have no prejudice at all.
Mark Noll has written a fascinating little book called The Civil War as a Theological Crisis. He notes that all the wrangling between North and South over the Bible and slavery overlooked one huge difference between slavery in ancient Mesopotamia and slavery in 19th-century America—the latter was race-based, race-soaked, racist. The deepest evil over slavery was not just the economics of it, it was the racism of it. Even northern Christians, who were opposed to slavery as an institution, were much slower to oppose racism.
Noll also notes that, over the long haul, Christian theology always tends to have a radicalizing effect on society because of one belief: that all human beings come from the same ancestor, that all human beings bear the image of God.
I thought about these stories, and many others, when I watched the nation respond to the presidential election results. I wondered what my grandfather would have thought about a man, who could not have spent the night in his town, now governing his country. I imagined the response of the retired Louisiana colonel. Quite apart from party preference or position on any number of political issues, I cannot imagine living through that moment without hoping that there might be healing for wounds that go deep and raw.
I thought about how Paul said there was a time when the dividing wall of hostility that separated the “us” group from the “them” group came down. I thought about the Azusa Street Revival and how, for a few years, black people and white people defied all polite society and worshiped together, and then when the fervor cooled and things got respectable, they stopped and mirrored the rest of society.
I thought of how when God sits in front of his computer—whatever face gets flashed on a screen—the only button he pushes is marked love. Love. Love.
I wonder about the church…
Condensed from our sister publication Leadership Journal, © 2008 Christianity Today International. For more articles like this, visit Leadershipjournal.net.
k. So, God loves all and tribe, tongues and nationalities, all of them will be in Heaven. It is not the color of our skin, but our great Savior. All these groups are worshipping the Savior together.
l. Now, notice humility: they cry out with a loud voice saying salvation belongs to the Lord sitting on the throne and to the Lamb.
m. Then we see in verse 12: the angels, all of them, the elders, the four living creatures bow down, faces down before the throne.
n. There is great humility in worship.
o. They said:
i. Praise
ii. Glory
iii. Wisdom
iv. Thanks
v. Honor
vi. Power
vii. And strength belong to the eternal God.
p. They give God the glory due His name.
Let’s now break for Revelation Song
II. But I also talked about these martyrs.
a. As we look at the next few verses we see that John is asked who those in the white robes are.
b. The elder explains to John that they are martyrs. They died in the great tribulation because of the testimony of Jesus Christ.
c. There robes are washed in the blood of the Lamb, in Jesus’ blood.
d. Notice verses 15-17:
Therefore,“they are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.
‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

e. God does not forget what we go through for Him. In this case these people were martyred in the great tribulation and God rewarded them.
f. What was the reward?
g. The reward was worship.
h. They went through death, martyrdom for God and He rewards them with worship. Now, some of us may not think that is so awesome. Think about this.
i. They are given the privilege to worship God day and night. That is something I must get excited about.
j. But, more than that: they are given the privilege to serve in God’s Temple.
k. That is what this passage says: they are able to witness the awesome presence of God and the Lamb, Jesus, next to the throne. They are able to worship alongside the angels, the elders, the four beasts. They are able to be in the throne room of God.
l. Historically, it has always been a privilege to serve in the presence of a king, so what about the King of Kings.
m. There was a movie made a year ago about a Butler. It was a good movie, called “The Butler.” The movie was about an African American man who served presidents in the Whitehouse. I want to say that he served from Johnson to George W. Bush. What a privilege that would be.
n. These martyrs are remembered by God and God places them in His throne room to worship.
o. I think this has to be too exciting to imagine.

Close:
Worship, is your desire to worship God? As I look at these passages I must apply them and ask God to fix my attitude and make me desire Him more.

So, what is your focus on life? Remember the story I told at the beginning of this message? I told the story of a Nigerian Pastor who had his church and house burned down, yet praised God in church. That is a different focus on life than say the following:

You Can’t Just Sit There
Several years ago, I heard the story of Larry Walters, a 33-year-old man who decided he wanted to see his neighborhood from a new perspective.
He went down to the local army surplus store one morning and bought 42 used weather balloons. That afternoon he strapped himself into a lawn chair, to which several of his friends tied the now helium-filled balloons. He took along a six-pack of beer, a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, and a BB gun, figuring he could shoot the balloons one at a time when he was ready to land.
Walters, who assumed the balloons would lift him about 100 feet in the air, was caught off guard when the chair soared more than 16,000 feet into the sky–smack into the middle of the air traffic pattern at Los Angeles International Airport. He had just begun shooting the balloons when he lost his grip on his pellet gun, and it dropped from his hands. He stayed airborne for more than two hours.
Soon after he was safely grounded and cited by the police, reporters asked him three questions:
“Were you scared?”
“Yes.”
“Would you do it again?”
“No.”
“Why did you do it?”
“Because,” he said, “you can’t just sit there.”
His answer caught my interest. I pondered that story and its implications for several months. Then, as I was preparing a sermon, “The Crisis Called Christmas,” my thoughts came together.
I used the Walters story in the introduction to set the stage for the idea that each of the birth narratives called for a response–or reaction–from its participants. When it comes to God’s intervention in our lives, we can’t just sit there.

So, again, where are you at? Are you bored spiritually? Look at this Bible passage of worship in eternity and tell me as a Christ follower how this whole idea cannot not pump you up and get you excited about worship.

1) Worship God in humility and unity as we see in this picture of Heaven, we may be there.
2) Be encouraged, God does not forget what we do for Him (also Hebrews 6:10), we see in this passage martyrs rewarded by being given the opportunity to serve in God’s throne room for eternity.

These people, too many to count, went to their graves for Jesus. Then on the other side of death, here they are worshipping the Lord.
Jesus is worthy, He was slain for us, the Bible models worship for now and eternity. Worship Him today and this week.

Choir Anthem:

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)
Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)
Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)
Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)
Pray