Isaiah 49:1-12, A Job Description

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Isaiah 49:1-12 What’s He Do?

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Isaiah chapter 49 verses 1 to 12 hear the word of the Lord Listen to me
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Oh coastlines and give attention you peoples from afar The Lord called me from the womb from the body of my mother.
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He named my name He made my mouth like a sharp sword in the shadow of his hand.
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He hid me He made me a polished arrow in his quiver He hid me away and he said to me you are my servant
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Israel and whom I will be glorified But I said I have labored in vain
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I've spit my strength for nothing and vanity Yet surely my right is with the
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Lord and my recompense with my God and now the Lord says He who formed me from the womb to be his servant to bring
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Jacob back to him and that Israel might be gathered to him For I am honored in the eyes of the
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Lord and my God has become my strength. He says It is to light a thing
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That you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel I will make you as a light for the nation's that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth
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Thus says the Lord the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One To one deeply despised abhorred by the nation the servant of rulers
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Kings shall see and arise Princes and they shall be prostrate prostrate prostrate
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Excuse me themselves They shall prostrate themselves because of the Lord who is faithful the
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Holy One of Israel who has chosen you Thus says the Lord in a time of favor.
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I have answered you in a day of salvation. I have helped you I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people to establish the land to a portion the desolate heritage to a portion the desolate heritages
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Saying to the prisoners come out to those who are in darkness appear They shall feed along the ways and on bare heights shall be their pasture
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They shall not hunger or thirst neither scorching wind or Sun shall strike them for he who has pity on them will lead them and by springs of water will guide them and I will make all my mountains a road and my highways shall be raised up behold
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These shall come from afar and behold these from the north and from the west and these from the land of Sion May the
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Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word Well, do you have a job description?
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Some of you have a job description. Maybe something that's describes exactly what you do Those of you are employed.
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Have you had someone tell you exactly what's expected of you what you're supposed to be doing What are your responsibilities?
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Is it written out? Some it's a manual somewhere maybe For Wayne a bit
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Some federal manual whatever Postal Service manual several you hear though I of course have self -employed and you work at your family's business
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But I bet you know exactly what you're supposed to be doing, right? Even if no one has ever written it out for you.
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Where's Joyce go there. She is She knows exactly what she's supposed to be doing Doesn't she you're supposed to take orders run the cash register maybe clean the dining area as needed that kind of thing
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Job descriptions are useful so we know what to do and what we don't necessarily have to do
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When I ran track my job description was simple You know run the 5 ,000 meters or the 1 ,500 sometimes others of the steeplechase even but I don't have to worry about The sprints or the shot put you wouldn't want to try me doing the shot put it's not my responsibility
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I don't want to pick up that big ball and try to throw it or the javelin or the pole vault I wouldn't get very far with the pole vault
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But but sometimes you've just got a sometimes you just got to Do what needs to be done and Mary's magazine a subscriber came into the office to pay for this her subscription
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But the business manager, that's her job, right? I was out The layout layout artist was there, you know, she's the one that designs the look of the magazine
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She doesn't want to do it. Not her job description Of course never mind that the subscribers are the ones who pay the bills and make her salary possible still it's good
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It's good to have a job description Maybe yours is deliver the mail
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So if you come across a house, we're missing David Scruggs today But if you come across a house that with the floors need sanding, you know,
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Wayne doesn't think well I got to do this job No, he knows that's a job for someone else. If your job description is to take it to work the cash in the orders
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You can't spend all your time behind cooking, right? Now you mean someone has to take the orders and the money or the chef behind doesn't have any
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Doesn't have any pay in churches. There's a lot of confusion about job descriptions There's a little a whole lot some people in church don't don't have any sense that there is a job description
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You just kind of come and they listen and that's you know That's all there is some come and go from ministries as they feel like Doing the parts they feel like Leaving the rest for the responsible ones
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Who realized that someone has to you know, someone has to wash those cups that the kids drink out of you know Someone's got to do that.
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That's why they're clean and someone's got to close up the building Deacons are supposed to be people with a specific job descriptions
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They're not like in many Baptist churches in the but you know many Baptist churches. They're like Deacons at large they don't know what they're supposed to be doing
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And so then they end up meddling and things that are none of their business But they ended up and they have in the Bible actually a specific job descriptions
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And I was supposed to be responsible and faithful enough to fulfill them If you remember when we're just a few weeks ago when we're at chapter 6
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The calling of the seven the first seven deacons they had a specific job description distribute food particularly to the widows
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That's why I think That's why in this church our deacons serve a
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Specific task to do a specific job for the terms that they're they're given For the pastor a lot of people are very fuzzy when it comes to a job description
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He's probably the only one they think has a job description, but they're kind of fuzzy about what it says They know he's supposed to preach but what else?
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Is he supposed to visit everyone? Yeah, maybe depending And do everything
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No Now reform churches should know better If they have multiple elders is sharing the pastoral responsibilities
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Though people who though with no sense of the body That is you know, they kind of view the church as an inspiration station
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I don't like a gas station go to get your inspiration And they have no sense that they're members of a body.
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They don't often don't understand that That there are the different members in the body have different job descriptions to keep the body going that not everyone
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Has to do you know, maybe not everyone has to be an evangelist or everyone has to be a preacher or whatever
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Many people's view today is if you're really committed to the Lord you become the preacher, right?
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That's just kind of what you do. That's the highest level. No, that's not at all true You could be completely committed to the
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Lord and still serve You still run your restaurant or deliver mail or sand floors or whatever it is be a doctor
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Whatever as you do you serve the Lord in your vocation and for the church You have a particular way that you serve a particular job description.
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You don't have to do everything You don't have to feel guilty that there's some things that you're not doing because they're just not your calling.
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That's okay the spirit gives different job descriptions to different members of the body and I shouldn't get a caught away on that because that's really has nothing to do
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With Isaiah chapter 49. I'm just getting Caught and carried away. Some people think that their job description is to be the pastor's critic
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No, but funny that doesn't what that one doesn't appear in Scripture very popular calling. It just doesn't appear in Scripture What's your job description?
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What about for Christ? Does he have a job description? Does he have something that describes
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What he is called to do Well, we saw last week in the first servant song in Isaiah 42
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We said the Lord there said it kind of ended that servant song by saying behold. Look at this. I'm Telling you about this beforehand and now job descriptions are written beforehand
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I would imagine all the time, you know hire someone then see what they do and then write the job description
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According to what they do. I wouldn't think you would normally do that. You have a job that needs to be done You define it and you then find someone to do that job.
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The Lord has a job that needs to be done He's calling the servant the one he calls the servant here.
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We saw that chapter 42 now again chapter 49 and in this Second servant song he provides the servant a job description
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He describes three main jobs for the servant the servant speaks The servant shines and the servant shepherds
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But first the servant speaks He says he says that himself Speaking for himself in those first four verses.
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He says listen to me that by the way is our job He his job is to speak our job is to listen
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The first servant song began with us being told you remember I began remember behold other would look at The servant
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The second one begins here in chapter 49 We're telling us to listen
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To him we behold him. We look at him and we listen to him. He's speaking
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We see that we see that this is the servant himself Speaking in verse two verse three where he says he said to me to talk about God said to me you are my
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Servant, so this is the servant speaking in these first four verses. The sermon says first listen to me
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Who's he speaking to listen to me you coastlands
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That's odd, isn't it? Remember he's in Israel the furthest most parts of the earth coastlands places that you normally have to take a ship to to get to maybe today you could take a plane to go get to Them crossing oceans the ends of the earth remember what
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Jesus said in Acts you go to the ends of the earth They had just begun to do that When they got the gospel to the
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Ethiopian eunuch who didn't be going to Ethiopia that the ends of the earth the coastlands, that's
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That's places like China Like America the servant is speaking directly to us and telling us to listen
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We're the ones from afar from the coastlands. That's us He's talking to us here being told to listen in verse 1
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So if you think this is just you think this is just for the Jews, maybe there's the Old Testament stuff maybe some people you think the whole
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Bible is just for the Jews think it's just for that ethnic group that that religion is part of their culture and ours is different or maybe you think
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Depending who you are think well, that's this stuff is the white man's religion Never mind that the the gospel actually got to Africa first before it got to Europe as we saw
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But some people think it's not ours this this stuff. It's not for our culture. It's fine.
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We're not insulting it It's great. You know, I like your Bible has nice poetry here and there but it's just not for us.
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It's not our stuff ours is Maybe what Confucius? ancestral tablets jawsticks tell money
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Taoist funerals and Buddhist art the filial child remembering his or her ancestors
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Or maybe for the past couple generations, maybe the atheistic materialism of the Communist Party That's my culture some people think and and all that all this
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Bible stuff this Jesus well, it's fine I'm not complaining. I'm putting it down. It's just not for us and Jesus speaks to that in verse 1
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Jesus here speaking directly to that to the people so far off and says no
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Listen to me Ethiopians Listen to me
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Chinese African Americans all Americans All people pay attention
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No matter how far off on this planet you are I'm the
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Lord's servant listen the servant speaks And he addresses your culture
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Every nation and he says about himself in the second half of verse 1 the Lord called me from the womb
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An Angel appeared to Mary and told her that she will conceive and bear a son Says in Luke he will be great and be called the
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Son of the Most High and the Lord God will give him the throne of His father David and all and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his
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And of his kingdom there will be no end Jesus the servant was called from his mother's womb and he was called to be the
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Christ The king who fulfills the promise to David and Then that last line from verse 1 from my mother's from the body of my mother.
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He named my name He shall be named
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Jesus the angel said to Mary What's his job description?
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Well, he's a king from the womb to rule. How will he rule? What's the instrument of his rule?
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Well with the sword of his mouth Revelation pictures actually pictures him a vision of Him with a sword coming out of his mouth
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That's it. That's a picture of the power of his word The Word of God is in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12 sharper.
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It says than any two -edged sword Piercing to the division of soul and spirit cutting to the intentions deep in your heart
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Exposing them So you see Wow, there's a lot of sin down there Well here his words are sharp.
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It says a sharp sword All right a polished arrow. They can penetrate the armor of all the arguments that we make for our sin
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It can pierce the hardest hearts That's why we're to equip ourselves with the sword of the
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Spirit the Word of God. We need to learn it We need to memorize it. That's why we're doing what we're doing right now That sword would be
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Wielded use it to counter whatever the lies of the world our own sinful nature Well, we're telling ourselves remind ourselves with it that whatever we need to remind ourselves at certain times
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We need to be faithful to our spouses to keep our commitments to seek first the kingdom of God not money or stuff Remind ourselves with it that what our relationship is with with God with the
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Lord that whom have I in heaven But you and there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you we say to God That's why we seek to have a scripture saturated service.
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We read a psalm. We sing the psalm. We pray the psalm We read the scripture. We exposit the scripture. We preach through scripture
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It's not my opinions not my politics or whatever pop psychology. You want to hear maybe relationship tips
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You know seven steps to a great marriage that kind of stuff No, it's the Word of God that needs to be wielded even if it cuts us sometimes
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Exposing those sinful thoughts and intentions that ego that hates Correction the servant wields the sword of the word.
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That's his job description Indeed, we'll see in the New Testament That he is the word
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Called from the womb with the Word of God coming out of his mouth Wouldn't you think that he would be busy right from the start?
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Well, I mean when you want to you know, right from the moment he can talk that he's but he giving he's gonna start speaking in that word and bringing his reign and as soon as he could maybe at least at least maybe from like When he was 12, don't you think?
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He went to the temple And instead of asking questions of the teachers there, what should he be teaching them?
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But in verse 2 his job description was for a while to be hidden Says in the shadow of his hand he hid me
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In other words God's hand was over him obscuring him. The Lord kept him in obscurity for about 30 years
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You know for the Lord's purpose Apparently he was working as a carpenter in a small town in Galilee Actually, the
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Bible doesn't even say that clearly what he was doing just says he's a son of a carpenter people assume He's a carpenter too. We don't even know that we don't know we still don't know it was it was cured
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He was in gas small town in Galilee It's on the you know,
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Galilee Israel was already on the outskirts of the Empire and Galilee is on the outskirts of the outskirts.
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I mean, it's It's obscure place. He grew physically and in wisdom and in favor with God and people just being polished
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Like an arrow to be taken out of the quiver at the right time but for a while he was hidden and Until he the right time came for 30 years.
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He was hidden away. What's his job description? He's the servant of the Lord called in verse 3.
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He called Israel Now some like figuring some
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Jewish people would say that within he then he is this is talking about Israel It's not talking about Jesus to talk about Israel corporately as a nation
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Look at that. He's called Israel here. I can say but just point it right at it There it is says don't you believe it but in but in just a few verses in verse 5 so the servant gathers
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Israel Then in verse 6 he brings back the preserved of Israel, so, you know, how is the servant
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Israel and The one who gathers Israel You know, obviously he's gathering people other than himself the drawing the true
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Israel back together. How can both be true? Well, it's true Like the verse from Hosea, you know and Hosea said out of Israel out of a few band of Egypt.
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I called my son Originally about Israel coming out of Egypt at the Exodus, but the nation being called out out of Egypt I called my son, but it would but That was fulfilled by Jesus being brought out of Egypt Matthew Matthew quotes that and says it's fulfilled by Jesus who's the true
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Israel called out of Egypt here in Isaiah 49 the second servant song the servant embodies
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All that Israel was called to be He is the true
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Israel the servant Israel restores the nation
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Israel the gathering of his people in Him the Lord says according to the servant who tells us to listen to him
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Listen to what he's saying. Here's his job description what he's to do The Lord will be glorified
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The Lord will be made much of people will exalt him revere him He'll be the most important thing in the lives of many people because of what the servant does because of what the servant says servants to speak
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More people will believe in him People in those coastlands. That's what he's talking to in faraway places people in China and America people like us
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Who wouldn't have otherwise a believes but now we tremble at his word Because of the servant
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Jesus is wielding that sword of his word the job description of the servant is to glorify the
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Lord and he's He's been busy doing that up until today but in verse 4
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Not without trouble Not without disappointment Not without people who who claim to believe him to be doing his will
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Who are actually doing their own will who are actually just trying to get out of it what they can get out of it glorifying
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Themselves and bringing dishonor to the Lord In my studies in church history.
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I read a book by a famous 19th century Presbyterian Scholar named Robert Lewis Dabney who was from originally from Virginia and who taught first in Virginia and then went to found to found a seminary
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Presbyterian seminary in Texas The book was entitled a defense of Virginia and through her of the
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South It was by the way, it was published in 1867 so two years after the
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Civil War a defense of Virginia and through her of the South in the recent and pending Contests against the sectional party
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Okay, it looks like he's he looks like he's expecting another civil war here South shall rise again kind of thing but whatever but in that book
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Dabney defended slavery and He used the Bible to try to create sympathy for the
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Confederate cause Now did that kind of thing bring glory or dishonor to the Lord? Just this past week.
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I saw someone online arguing that Christians you evangelical Christians is so racist You defended slavery and racism and all and and they use
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Dabney as an example. Here. He is. Look at this guy How about the church selling indulgences
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Whenever the coin in the coffer rings another soul from purgatory Springs, which is really just in a
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Brilliant, but cynical corrupt fundraising gimmick to build elaborate buildings in Rome How about teaching this salvation really does depend on man's will and effort
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Contrary to Roman chapter 916 other words church saying you have to do these things
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Uh, which is what we tell you to do obey us go through our rituals in order to get salvation You have to get salvation through us and that convenient put you would a lot of money comes from that.
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How about all that? How do you think Christ himself? Looking at what has been done to his gospel for me for centuries maybe till today, you know, these prosperity gospel preachers making millions of dollars off of a
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Perversion of God's Word. Do you think Christ himself looks at that? And feels about it and thinks about it, you know people
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For centuries and still going on today all the twisted presentations of the gospel the Self -serving uses of it by people who are more interested in in money than that They could make off of it then glorifying
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God all the dishonor It's been brought on God by people who mock him for what's been done wrong in his name
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How do you think Christ himself? Sees that and feels about it
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Or what about what he experienced in his own life when he was on earth, you know crowds were flocking to him
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So many at one point they wanted to make him king and then he told them Whoever of you wants to follow me must eat my flesh and drink my blood
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Now now obviously he wasn't being literal the people at the time didn't think he was little but he actually told them in that very same
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Passage in John chapter 6 the flesh. No, it's literal body and blood is no help at all
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The words I've spoken to you are spirit in life The people though said
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I think the people understood what he said. He said this is a hard saying Meaning not not it was hard to understand but that it was hard to accept
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He meant that if you if you're to follow him you have to accept that is you have to take in you have to feed
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On to drink down the same sufferings that he's going to suffer That's what we remember in the
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Lord's Supper that this is his body not not literally it actually be easier
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If if the elements of the the bread and the juice were some kind of magic food that we
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Get grace from God by eating. I mean that would be pretty easy stuff That'd be a great easy way to get salvation, right?
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He's a bread and juice a couple of times, you know every once a month and you're saved. That's it That's that's not what he that's one.
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That's not what he meant at all That would be easier than what he was actually saying what he was saying is that You Have to take in first or first what he's saying is that your salvation will come through my broken body and my spilled blood and you have to accept that and Then he's saying it's been granted to you like I'm Philippians to also suffer for my sake.
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You're gonna have to take in some of my suffering too But Remember the point for Christ the crowds were flocking to him.
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They want to make him king. He loves it. He's great He's he done all things well, but he told them that they would have to accept suffering and so they they went away
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Today they'd post unfollowing on his Facebook or his Twitter page Followers kept leaving until there was only one disciple left at the cross.
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Imagine that there was only one left a Disciple to whom he could give his mother
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On the cross. He not only felt forsaken by the father, but he was forsaken by almost all of his followers
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We think he was thinking looking out from the cross it
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Here's my here's my followers. This is it. There's one disciple. There's my mother and a few leather ladies.
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That's it They're all gone What's his job description?
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Well, here's the first hint in the second servant song that the servant suffers
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He suffers a feeling of vanity and the temptation that his work has been for nothing
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Sure, a lot of people were entertained for a while Hearing my parables and watching me do miracles, but when it came to the painful work of changing
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Seeking first the kingdom of God. Well that drove person after person away until it looked like At least from the point of view of the cross
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It looked like it was all for nothing Well here we see that the servant is told beforehand that he will suffer a feeling of futility
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That he will be tempted to say I've labored in vain. I've spit my strength for nothing for vanity for emptiness
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That doesn't sound like the triumphant warrior king and in verse 2 does it
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But both are true He wields a sharp sword and yet often it looks like his word
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It's getting nowhere But in the second half of verse 4 he encourages himself
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Notice he encouraged himself not with success but with the promise that surely
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My right is with the Lord and my recompense that is my getting paid back for my work.
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My reward is with my God And we're told in 1st
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Corinthians 15 that our labor for the Lord is not in vain We're given that promise because sometimes it will indeed appear it will appear
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That it has been in vain Then no one is was changed the money we gave to the evangelism
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It didn't do anything even the people who we've pledged emotionally that they would be committed You know, they sang with tears streaming down their cheek though none go with me still
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I will follow no turning back No turning back and yet they turned back when it got a little difficult We will share what he felt sometimes the sense of futility
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It's not working What's this all this about what have I given for what have I gone to church services and what have
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I been part of ministries For you know, maybe Jim jr. Is it working? Maybe Jim is a waste of time
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Maybe that the church isn't succeeding. Let's stay home sleep late on Sunday morning instead We should encourage ourself that reward
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May not be immediate tangible success We encourage ourself though with our
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God What's his job description he speaks and by speaking he glorifies the
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Lord and he suffers Then he shines in verses 5 to 7 now after suffering discouragement
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Despondency now the Lord says according to the servant speaking to us. The servant is telling us this and he interrupts himself
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The servant is saying thus says the Lord and he erupts himself to describe who this Lord is
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Whom he will be quoting Who will be his reward? even when it appears that all his work has been for nothing even when
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Christian theologians write books defending slavery and so forth get Get our faith now scoffed at because of it when so when churches become just like the world when it looks like all our work
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Has been at all our work for the Lord has been has it made any difference? Listen to him.
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This is what the servant does so we hear He who for me from the womb
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Again, Jesus was called from the womb here by the way his life and all human life begins in the womb
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He was formed to be here's a job description to be his servant
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What's the servant do he says to bring Jacob back to him and that Israel may be gathered to him
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So he sent to gather his people. He's the gatherer He gathers them from the people of Israel sure
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He did that through the Old Testament times and the church began with a lot You know the lost sheep of the house of Israel So he is honored by the
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Lord and the Lord gave him the strength to continue Despite the discouragement the abandonment seeing men who pledged to follow him then drift off to find something else, you know like Demas Timothy Paul is near the end of his life at the end of her second
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Timothy and he writes, you know My friend Demas in love with this present world has abandoned me and left
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God became his strength not success Now the
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Lord says in verse 6 This is an interesting Job description, whatever it's the statement in verse 6 it is to light a thing
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That you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and bring back the preservative Israel You'll do that first You will be the one who brings back
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Jacob to himself and Israel might be gathered to him, but it's to light a thing That that's all you do just for this one nation
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Here we see that the Lord specifically say here's his job description give given 700 years before he came
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That just being the king of Israel You know just restoring that nation if that's what you think this is all about what the crowds in John chapter 6 wanted him to Be the king who put
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Israel back on top again Making them the dominant power in the Middle East again What the Jews were expecting
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Jesus to do on that first palm that Palm Sunday when they welcomed him in Jerusalem Waving the palms and shouting
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Hosanna That's what we want. We want you to put us on top again What some
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Christians today think was the main purpose Jesus came but here the Lord says that's to light a thing for you for the servant
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He deserves a better job than that he would be underemployed if Just being the
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Messiah of Israel was all he did that's below him Just that it may involve that but it's it's greater than that instead from the beginning.
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He was he was called a light for the nations from the beginning
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Right to be as he said it himself in John chapter 8 verse 12 the light of the world He is the light that shines that's his job description to shine
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Not just for the Israel but for all people that here's his job description at the end of the last line of verse 6 for the purpose of God says my salvation may reach the end of the earth
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Where have you heard that phrase before the end of the earth? same end of the earth same
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China America You know, Australia Brazil, Indonesia, wherever Jesus said the church to to bring his gospel to enacts.
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He shines to all kinds of people It's too little to think that he's just the light for Israel or just for the white people or Just for African people or restricted to any kind of people to say that he's not for my people
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Is to make to light of him He shines Don't make light of him.
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He is the light he shines for all kinds of people all over the world Now in verse 7 the Lord is speaking before in verses 5 to 6.
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The servant was telling us what the Lord said to him It's too light a thing that you just be the light to the
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Jews to be just be a national God for one nation You're called to shine to the whole world now in verse 7
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The Lord tells us what he said to the servants the father speaking To the servant first again, he tells us something about himself
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Now the Lord is telling us about himself The Lord is he says is the remnant of it the
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Redeemer. Excuse me the Redeemer of Israel That is the kinsman Redeemer like Boaz was to Ruth in the book of Ruth You know
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He's the one who bought her back the one who will show steadfast love a covenant love a covenant commitment to buy back
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His people from sin and death that they were in bondage to and the Lord is the Holy One of his people
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The one who makes them holy. He's the Holy One. The rest of us aren't so holy. We're the unholy ones
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He's though he's the Holy One and he makes us holy by being among us This is what the Lord says in verse 7 1 2 1
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Deeply despised abhorred by the nation Who's deeply despised
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Who's abhorred? Well the servant is He will be the suffering servant
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He'll suffer first of all rejection hatred abhorrence
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Unpopularity he'll be looked on as as repugnant and So will we be
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If we eat his suffering He is here now that he's called the servant of rulers serving them by shining the truth to them revealing himself to them and Kings will see the servant and Stand up out of respect probably just out of awe
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Just to stand when they see him, you know Kings Almost always they stay seated on their throne and everyone else
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Stands out of respect for them but here when the servant comes the
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Kings rise to attention Princes will prostrate themselves on the ground before him every knee will bow no matter how
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Lofty and powerful how many billions of dollars they had how many armies they commanded on earth? They'll do this before the servant because at the end of verse 7 the
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Lord is faithful He's faithful to the servant to honor him. The Holy One has chosen him again.
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Like last week. He is the elect We become elect If we're in him, he shines on us and gathers us
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All right, what's his job description? He shines finally. What's his job description? Well, he he shepherds in verses 8 to 12 that last section the
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Lord speaks to the servant We get to over here here in this passage the father
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Speaking to the son before the incarnation Giving him his job description telling him this is what you're gonna do
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The father promises that he has already answered and helped him. He can be assured of that no matter what he suffers
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So so can we? Then he says I will keep you You know
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He will uphold him as in the first servant song a lot of themes here share for the first one
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He will uphold him and and give you as a covenant to the people. That's an odd phrase
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It's also repeated from the first servant song Give you as a covenant to the people it's a strange phrase though, you know, you will be a covenant
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We'd expect you know, we'd expect him to say something like I'm gonna give you or you'll make a covenant but it's
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I'll I'm giving you as a Covenant well to who but to the people who is who he is giving this servant
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Who is he giving the servant to well to the people God is making a covenant with that is the people from afar From from the world the ones he's gathering us
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Jesus the servant is not only the one but why is he you know, he's given as a covenant.
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This is odd And I think it's because Jesus is the one only The one we make a covenant with to be in relationship with he is also the one
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How do you say this who the who the covenant is made with That is in their day.
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They would they made a covenant They would sacrifice animals to make the covenant just to show that they have made it with with each other
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Here Jesus is the one we're getting in a relationship with and he is the sacrifice that the covenant is made
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With it's his blood that is spilled to be the blood of the covenant. He's the one who makes it and Who it is made with He is the covenant
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Now why what's he what's he doing with the covenant? Well the last lines of verse 8 to establish the land that's the nation to establish it to into a portion is to give out the desolate
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Heritages that is to make a nation to give people who have no nation Who are desolate who are empty?
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You don't have any heritage. Yeah, I have no inheritance. Hey, they they don't have anything for their future.
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They lack Everything they're bereft nothing in their hands they bring and to give them an inheritance to Form from them according to Peter in first Peter chapter 2 verse 9 a chosen race a
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Royal priesthood a holy nation a people for his own possession
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To like last week in the First Servant song Free the prisoners Here tell them come out come out of prison to shine his light on those who are in darkness so they can see
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You turn on the light and there they are They've appeared they can be seen then freed able to see in the light
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They'll feed and they'll be shepherded along the way the image here is like sheep being led
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Along the way to their destination as the servant shepherd guides them over hills and mountains
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Valleys, that's our pilgrimage now after being released from sin and the judgment of God.
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We're on a journey Being gathered to the Lord and along the way as we travel on this journey
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From starts with justification being declared, right? Through sanctification that's being renewed and being reformed being changed made in his image toward eventually
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Glorification that's resurrected when all things are made new Along the way the servant shepherd
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Jesus Will feed us You know who provide everything that we need
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Shelter us along the way give us the food and the water we need just like Israel was provided manna and for 40 years in The desert so we won't we won't fail to make it to the promised land
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For lack of food or drink. Yeah, I can't make it anymore. No, we'll be given what we need We're given everything we need for life and godliness is in the
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New Testament if the shepherd Servant of the servant shepherd is shepherding us.
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So that means if he hasn't given it to us yet If he haven't hasn't given it to us yet, whatever it is that healing
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Maybe that companion Maybe that money that success
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Whatever it is. We think we might need If he think about it if he's going to give us everything we need to make it and we don't have it
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That means we don't really need it He's giving us Everything we need so we'll make it he's giving us grace
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That that is sufficient Lack of sustenance or outward forces, whatever it is scorching wind fierce heat being called a hater and a bigot because we won't go along with the fashionable sins won't stop us because He'll guide us in verse 10.
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He won't let mountains Our sins our dysfunctional families our weaknesses in our mind or our body
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He won't let any of that get in the way. He'll make a road through them If he has to he'll raise up the highways
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So we don't have to go so low that it's too much effort to get back up. No In verse 11, he says that and the sheep being shepherded through mountains and deserts watered and fed along the way will come from Look who they come from in verse 11 same as in verse 1 back to the beginning of this passage from those people from afar
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Back in those coastlands the ends of the earth the
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China or America Indonesia Ethiopia the
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Philippines Wherever they'll come from the north and the west and that last place the end that's in the far south
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They come to the south doesn't mention the east. I think that's because He'll go so far west.
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He'll eventually end up in the far east He'll end up there. It's it's it's too light a thing too light for the servant and Too light for the
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Lord that he's just a Tribal deity just a local God a
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National motto of one nation, but not another a cultural religion of one culture, but not the
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God of all cultures and nations No, that's too light. That's making too light of him. He's gathering his people them from afar from Macau from Singapore from Virginia From everywhere and in John chapter 10 verse 16, the
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Lord Jesus said I have other sheep He spoken to the Jews to his disciples. I have other sheep.
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Not of this fold. Not of this Jewish fold Not of this nation not from Israel. I must Bring them also think of that phrase.
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I must bring them those other sheep out there. Also, they're from afar
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It's too light for him to just be the Jewish or the American Shepherd There are other sheep out there out in the coastlands on the
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American coast or on the Chinese coast They're out there and he says Jesus says I must
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Bring them also, it's not a diversion. Not something he's doing while he's waiting for the
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Jews to come around He's not come just for our kind of people. It's in his job description to go out to the coastlands
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It is necessary. He says literally to bring other sheep all kinds of sheep from afar from every nation
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He must do it and he's doing that now Through us the body of Christ So a church a gathering a sheep fold that thinks it can confine itself to just one kind of sheep
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You know the ones we like is Not one that's following the
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Good Shepherd's job description He must It's absolutely necessary For him to gather the sheep from all kinds of people
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From the coastlands into one flock under one shepherd That's his job description
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He gathers his people from all kinds of other people he sustains them along the way so they don't they don't start out following Jesus and they quit because because they weren't fed or watered or given the
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Companionship or whatever else they needed he shines is the light of the world even if he is at the same time despised
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Hated for exposing people's sin with his light He suffers for it including the feeling of abandonment of despondency that all his work
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Sometimes it looks like has been for nothing that sacrifice has been for for nothing But the Lord is his reward and so he speaks his word and he calls
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Together his church from the beginning to the end of this passage that church those people the
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Israel of God Comes from afar from the coastlands from the other sheepfolds from all over the world
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Calling us to be a holy nation to be his people That's his job description now
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What's yours first Have you been listening to him?
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He's called you to listen to him All those people he's speaking in every language
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Listen to me Now you might think Well, he's that's that's fine for you.
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But he's just not Not my culture isn't he's not one of my people. No He he's making it's making too light of him to say he's just for just for other people not for us