Trusting the Lord, Who is our Salvation – Isaiah 49:8-13

Trusting the Lord, who is Our Salvation

Isaiah 49:8-13

Passage Introduction:

• 1) The Servant’s Preparation for His Service
  • He was Called, Named & Prepar’d: sharp./polish. 2 serve
• 2) The Servant’s Practice of Ministry
  • He Proclaimed the Truth of God to God’s People
• 3) The Servant’s Purpose for Ministry:
  • Is To Glorify God, thru words-deeds, suffering, death
• 3) The Servant’s Identity is Israel
  • Christ is the True Israel of God
  • All Promises of God are yes & amen, in Christ, 1:20
• 4) The Servant Trusts the Lord, despite “Futile” Service
  • He Trusts the Lord for: Reward of His Service, and
  • He Trusts the Lord for the Strength to Serve
• 6) The Servant’s Mission: to Raise-Restore Israel… 2 small
  • He was given -Mission: to be a Light to: Gentiles,
  • In order to bring Salvation to the Ends of the Earth.
  • So there’d be 1 Flock & 1 Shepherd, as Jesus said in 10, & Paul said in Eph.2, 1 New Man, & 1 New Body
  • (we considered same truths fr. Is.42, some months go)
• 7) We can see: the Servant’s Effective Ministry:

• 8-13, (today’s text) The Lord’s Work 2 Help His Servant
• 8-9a) The Lord Helps His Servant 2 Save His People
• 9b-12) The Lord Saves His People & Prisoners

Vs.13) The Lord Praised by His Creation

Question: Why is the Lord telling us all these things about His Work?

• Thru Proph. Isaiah, Lord is re-assuring: Exiles of His Promise…
• & His Power to Deliver them fr. Exile, thru His Suff-Servant.
• The Msg./Quest. of Bk of Isaiah is: Will we Trust the Lord?
• Rememb, 2 kings: Ahaz failed to trust & Hezekiah who trusted.
• So, Thru Isaiah’s pen, God is Encouraging us to Trust in Him,
• We all need Encouragement to Trust, becoz Trust is not Easy!
• Real Trust: not Free: Doubt, But Faith wrestles w/ Doubt
• And, our God knows the struggles we have, so He gives us many Encouragements in Scripture to Trust in Him….
• Encouragements come in the Form of Great Truths to Hear

On Father’s Day, Come, See the Lord-Father Helping Son-Servant

• See & Be Encouraged to Trust the Lord, Who is Our Salvation.

So Many Reasons fr. Vss.8-13, to Trust the Lord, – under 2 Headings

• 1) The Lord Helped His Servant
• 2) The Lord Saves His People (see part of this today)

1st) Vs.8, The Lord Helps His Servant… to Accomplish Our Salvation

• The Father Helped His Son: Suffering-Servant, to Save us.
• Note ‘acceptable-favourable time’ ref’s to Grt Day of Jubilee –
  • 25, Inheritances Restored & Captives set free…
  • 6:2, Paul quotes vs.8 to make Pt. that this Present time, is the time of the Lord’s Salvation, available to all
  • What Servant Accomplished is now available to all…
• Clearly: text refers to Father Helping Servant to Save Us…
• But, Of all humankind, we would say: Christ needed: least help
  • He is Truly Man, the Perfection of Humanity
  • He is Truly God, w/ same Divine Essence as Godhead
• Yet: Lord states His Help to the Servant… But How?

1) vs.8, The Lord Heard the Servant – prayers/pleas for help

• The Father Helped His Son: Servant, by Hearing His Prayers
• Hebrews 5:7 Christ, “in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up Prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him, who was able to save Him from death, and (He) was heard because of His godly fear. His Prayers were heard
• 3, Christ prayed aft. Baptism, B4 Tempt’n – He was heard
• 9, Christ prayed before choosing Disciples – He was heard
• The Gospels all describe Christ praying: alone and often
• 17, Christ prayed His H.Priestly Prayer – He was heard
• 22, Christ prayed in Garden B4 His Suff’ring & was heard
• 23, twice from Cross, Christ prayed – He was heard…
• The Lord faithfully helped His Servant, by hearing His many prayers, especially those prayers offered around Suff.-Death
• We’ve been called to continue Christ’s Work to Proclaim Truth

App: Just as Christ’s Prayers were Heard, So He’ll hear our Prayers

2) vs.8, The Lord Helped the Servant in the day of Salvation

• God, H.Spirit was near to Christ in those Dark’st Moments
• Isaiah 50:6–9, ‘I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. ⁷ “For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. ⁸ He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me. ⁹ Surely the Lord God will help Me;…’
• The Father Helped the Son, In His Suffering to Save Us
• Note: “He is near who justifies me”
• The assurance of Christ’s Own Justification –Being Raised fr. death to prove His Deity & Sinlessness was also Lord’s Help.
• Even tho Christ endured all that the Cross meant, He was helped; He trusted in the Lord, who helped Him & raised
• Acts 2:24 …God raised (Him) up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
• The Lord helped the Servant in the day of Salvation,
  • That was re-assurance to: Exiles of their deliverance,
  • That is re-assurance to us, of our deliverance
• No matter what, service for the Lord, may mean, separation,
  • rejection, mocking, scorn, laughter, etc, God will Help us.

App: Just as Christ: Helped to Save us, So He will Help us: Evangelism

3) vs.8, The Lord Preserved the Servant thru: work of Salvation

• He was preserved fr harm in infancy, by God’s Sovereign Care
• He was preserved fr harm in His ministry, tried to kill Him -not
• He was preserved thru death – Body did not suffer Decay-Cor.
• His body was not permitted to exper. decay, corruption…
• Peter in 2:25-28, quotes Psa.16:11: Christ was preserved
• He was preserved thru the work of Salvation, Death & Res.

App: And Just as Christ: Preserved thru Serv., So He’ll Preserve us

• The Lord, Preserving His Servant, is His Assurance, to us, of our preservation, through-out our Lives of Service to God.
• Bro’s & Sisters, Trust the Lord, He’ll preserve us right to end

4) vs.8, The Lord Gave the Servant as (New) Covenant to the People

• The Lord Helped Christ to accomplish our Salvation, by giving Him as a Covenant to the People – all people.
• 31:32, God says Israel broke God’s Coven’t by Disobedience
• But God, in Faithful to Cov’t, Determined to est.: New Coven’t
• In: New. Coven’t: scope of Recipients: expanded to Jew & Gent.
  • Vs.6: Israel Restored & Gentiles Rec’v Light,
  • so that: Servant would B God’s Salvat’n to Ends of earth
  • In NT, the New.Cov. is Proclaimed to both Jew & Gentile
  • Entrance into New.Cov. Same 4 Jew/Gent: Faith in God

Christ-Servant is the embodiment of: God’s Cov’t to the people

• All the Blessings of that New Covenant are found: In Christ!
• The Blessing of Regeneration, is found in Christ
• The Blessing of Forgiveness of Sin is found in Christ
• The Blessing of Reconciliation with God, is found in Christ
• The Blessing of Justification by Faith is found in Christ
• The Blessing of Sanctific’n: is found in Christ
• The Blessing of an Inheritance (God) is found in Christ
• The Blessing of Eternal Life is found only in Christ
• The Blessing of Inclusion with God’s People is found in Christ
  • 2:12, we were Aliens & Strang’s fr. Com-Wea Israel
  • 2:19, we’re no longer Aliens & Strangers, Now we’re fellow-citizens w/ saints & Household of God – Included
  • 2:9 chosen gen., royal-priest., holy nat’n, God’s Peopl
  • The exact same language God used of OT People: Israel
• All these rich, glorious blessings: found in New Cov., In Christ!

Pt: God’s Faithfulness to His Word is the grounds 4 Our Trust in Him

God Gave: Servant as a Cov’t to: People (Jew/Gent), w/ 3 Purposes

• The Best way to understand Purposes, in context of 6-13,
  • Metaphors of God’s Deliverance of all People, fr. prison of Spiritual Darkness & Ignorance, thru work of: Serv’t
• 1) To Restore the whole Earth, (not merely Promised Land)
  • 8:19-22, All Creation groans, longing for restoration & an end to the futility it was subjected to becoz of sin
• 2) To Cause them to Inherit Desolate Places… It was partially…
  • fulfilled when exiles returned: Land, But: Ultimate Fulfilm’t. is Inherit: New Heav. & New Earth,
    • Notice that in 12, it’s ‘nations’
  • 3) To Set Free People, (Prisoners, those in Dark) 12-nations

God Helped His Servant to effect God’s Great Salvation to all Nations

• God Helped Him by Hearing His Prayer
• God Helped Him by Empowering Him thru work of Salvat’n
• God Helped Him by Preserving Him thru Suff’ring, Death & Res.
• God Helped Him and so gave Him as the New Cov’t to Nations
• Servant Prayed in Faith & Godly Fear & He was heard & Helped
• Servant Trusted God in His Suff’ring & Death & He was helped
• Servant Trusted God in His Burial & Res. & was helped

[Application]

• Two Apps fr all this, first to the church, the gen. believers

Christ has called us to continue His work of taking the Good News of Salvation to the Nations, in the power of: H. Spirit…

• He’s promised to be with us, to never leave nor forsake us
• This Life of Discipleship, we’re called to, must B lived: by Faith
• This Work, which He Commissioned us to, must B done: by Faith
• The question… the message of the whole book of Isaiah is:
• Will God’s People Trust in Him?
• God, in our passage has giving us great evidence to Trust in Him

• God, who Heard His Servant’s Prayers,
  • will hear our prayers, as we pray, In the Servant’s Name
  • as we pray in faith about Life-family-friends…
  • as: pray in faith re: church, ministry, evangelism, f-ship
  • as: pray in faith re: missions, & the spread of the gospel
  • as: pray in faith re: everything, God hears our prayers
  • Pray, Christian, in the certainty of God hearing prayers

• God, who Helped His Servant in His Service, To Save us
  • will help us, in our life & service for Him
  • His empowering H. Spirit will also empower-enable us to continue & to finish the ministry, the race we began…
  • He’ll help us thru: suffering, sorrow, struggle – serving
  • He’ll never leave us not forsake us,
  • He is not merely walking w/us thru it, He’s carrying us…

• God, who Preserved the Servant thru Suff’ring, Death & Res.,
  • will preserve us thru our suff’rings thru this life til Christ returns, visibly in power and great glory
  • He will preserve us, tho: Enemy take/destroy everything
  • He will preserve us, tho friends-family abandon us
  • He will preserve us, tho our nation, gov’t. turn against us

• God, who Gave His Servant as the New Covenant to His People
  • God will surely keep all of His Covenant Promises to Us….

But the Question is, brother and sister, Will We Trust Him?

• The evidence of our trust is not merely words: “I trust in God”,
• It’s a whole life lived, in absolute Surrender to God,
• Casting ourselves on God, just as Christ did, thru His Life, His Service, His Suffering and His death.
• Trusting Him is Displayed as we Pray for the Impossible
• Trusting Him, is Determining to obey God, despite obstacles

2nd) Vs.9a, Trust The Lord, who Comforts His People

• [Read Isaiah 49:8-12]
• 2nd App = 2nd Main Point: to the Unbeliever of God’s Salvation

1) Vs.13, The Lord Comforts His People   

• Here, certainly, the answer to the Prophet’s call in 40:1
• 1) Immediate fulfilment is the Exiles return to land,
• 2) Great fulfilment is Christ, dying for His People’s sin
• 3) Final fulfil’t is God’s People being saved: Christ’s Ret’n
• Application of Christ-Cross-Wk. = Comfort-Hope, of salvation
• The Lord’s Comfort Comes as We Trust Him

2) Vs.13, The Lord Has Mercy on His Afflicted

• Immediate partial fulfilment: Exiles delivered back to Land
• Far greater: God’s Mercy extended to us thru Christ
• Mercy is God’s Goodness to the Undeserving
• We are all Sinners, Deserving God’s wrath for our sin,
• Christ-Servant’s death satisfied God’s Justice
• Christ’s death paid Sinner’s debt
• Christ’s death enables God’s mercy
• Thru God’s Salvation we have: comfort of knowing: judgement is exhausted, forgiveness can ours – If We Trust Him

3) Vs.9, The Lord Calls His People to Salvation

• He commands Prisoners to Depart from prison
• Partial fulfil. Is Exiles leaving Babylon… altho!
  • no evidence anywhere: Jewish-Exiles: Imprisoned
• Prisoners means: Imprison’d in Spiritual Darkness,
  • 6, Slaves to sin – Col.1:13 – Und. Domain of Darkness
• Christ Calls, thru His Word, by His servants, to all who’re in Slavery to sin, Imprisoned in Darkn’ss, 2 Come into Light-Truth
• You-I R sinners, But Christ’s Death paid our Ransom to God
• You-I R sinners, but
  • by Trusting God, by Stepping away from sin,
  • by turning towards God,
  • we can be included in Christ’s New Covenant of Salvation
• You can know, deep in your soul, the Blessings:
  • of Forgiveness & Reconciliation to God
  • of God’s Declaration that:
    • you’re Righteous in His sight
    • you’re included in God’s Special People
  • You & I can know: freedom from sin, freedom from darkness

The key is the same as earlier: Will You Trust in Him??

• Will You stop trusting in wishful thinking and trust in God?
• Will you stop trusting in good, religious works, & Trust in God
• Will you stop trusting in yourself and trust fully in God
• He Heard His Servant’s Prayer – He will hear yours
• He Helped His Servant thru Life-Ministry – He will help you
• He Preserved His Serv’t thru Mnstr-Death – He’ll preserve U 2.
• But, Will You Trust Him?
• May God Help us all to Trust Him, Now & Always!

We May-May not look next week at these last four points here:

4) vs.9a, The Lord Feeds His People along the way

5) Vs.10a, The Lord Protects His People from harm along: way

6) Vs.10, The Lord Leads His People along narrow Rd. to springs

7) Vs.12, The Lord Gathers His People

Prayer:

Benediction: 2Thess.2:16-17

¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace,

¹⁷ comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.