Now our message today is taken
from Isaiah 49. Isaiah 49. I'm entitling the
message today from the words found in verse 6. The last part
of verse 6. The Lord says, I will also give
thee. You think of the Lord Jesus Christ
as God's gift unto the church. God so loved that he gave. He
gave the Lord Jesus Christ for the light, for a light. to sinners,
to Gentiles, that thou mayest be God's salvation, how far reaching? To the end, to the end of the
earth. What a great gospel we have to
declare. So I'm entitling the message
today, Christ Given for the Light The light of my salvation. Christ
the light of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
light, capital L-I-G-H-T. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
light that we so desperately need. By nature we're in the
dark. By nature we're ignorant. We
need Christ who is the light. Seeing that we're born in darkness,
knowing that left to ourselves we love darkness rather than
the light, knowing that we're born in ignorance, dead in trespasses
and in sin, that's as dark as it can be, is it not? Dark, dead,
ignorant, shut out, without God, without hope and without Christ.
Our only hope is The Lord Jesus Christ who is our light. Our
Lord said this in John chapter 8, I'm the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
the light of life. He's the light of life. Our Lord said this in John 10,
I am come that they might have life. Aren't you interested in
life? I mean, more than just living. Aren't you interested in eternal
life, spiritual life, before God? Our Lord said, I am come
that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly. Abundant light. The Lord God
of heaven and earth has provided for us a perfect, complete, and
only remedy for our problem. There's just one remedy for our
problem. Our problem is sin. Our problem is darkness. Our
problem is ignorance. The only remedy for darkness
is light. When you go into a dark room,
you don't go in there and fumble around. What's the first thing
you do if you're looking for something in a darkened room?
You find the light switch, don't you? You turn on the light. What
is the remedy for that dark room? It's the Light! What is the remedy
for our darkened life? Christ who is the Light. The only remedy for darkness
is Christ. The only remedy for sin is Christ
our Righteousness. The only remedy that God has
provided is salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, when
He comes in to our heart, our lives, and that's what happens
in salvation. He invades us And you know what
happens when He invades our heart, our mind, our soul, our affection,
our whole you? When light comes in, what happens? Darkness is dispelled. And that's
exactly what happens when God saves a sinner. He turns on the
light. He commands the light to shine.
Now, let me show you this in Scripture. Hold your place right
here. I want you to find, first of all, 2nd Corinthians chapter
4, 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, God must turn on the light. Christ
is that light. And when He turns on the light
of salvation in our heart, it dispels darkness and ignorance. Now, who does that? Who commands
that to happen? Look what it says here, 2nd Corinthians
4 verse 6, For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness.
Now here, it goes back to creation. When darkness was upon the face
of the deep, God said, let there be light. He commanded the light
to shine in creation. Well, it's the same thing that
happens when God creates us anew in Christ Jesus. He commands
the light to shine. Has shined in our heart to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ, in the person of Jesus Christ. Now, find 1
Peter 2. When God saves us, He turns on
the light. He makes that light to shine.
And we see the sinfulness of sin, and we see the exceeding
righteousness that's found in Christ Jesus. He gives us eyes
to see Him, the remedy for our sin. Now 1 Peter chapter 2, look
at verse 9. 1st Peter 2 9 he said you're
a chosen generation you're a royal priesthood you're a holy nation
of peculiar and that word there is a purchase people that you
should show forth the praises of him who called you out of
darkness in his marvelous light so we We show forth the praises
of Him, the glory of Him who called us out of what? Out of
darkness, ignorance, death, dullness, into that marvelous light. He
commands the light to shine. So, God said, I'll give thee
for a light to the Gentiles. And truly He is. He is our light. He is our life. He commands the light to shine.
Now, in this chapter we have the privilege this morning of
listening to what the Father says to the Son and what the
Son says to the Father concerning our salvation. The prophecy we
have and the promise of the coming of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus,
we see the full extent of his commission as mediator, as a
surety of the covenant, and the great success of the gospel that
will take place among the Gentiles. He will make us to know Who He
is? Who He is? Look at verse 7 in
Isaiah 49. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer
of Israel, His Holy One. Look at this same chapter, verse
26, the last part of verse 26. He'll make us to know who He
is when He turns on the light. All flesh shall know that I am
the Lord thy Savior, Thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." He's
the God of Jacob. When He turns on the light, He
makes us to know who He is. You see, my friend, it takes
God to reveal God. And that's what happens in the
Gospel, when God commands the light to shine. He's hid these
things from the wise and prudent and has revealed them unto us.
his children, his babes, to reveal things of God. When he, the Spirit
of God has come, the Holy Spirit, he'll take the things of Christ
and show them unto us. Now, look at verse one in our
text. First thing our Lord says here is listen. Oh, he that hath
ears to hear, do you have ears to hear what God says? Listen,
pay attention, sit up. Clean out your ears. Listen,
O Isles, unto me. God demands an audience. Hearken,
behold you people that are far off. The Lord hath called me
from the womb, from the bowels of my mother. He hath made mention
of my name. God has given him a name above
every name. At that name every knee will
bow, every tongue will confess that he is Lord. God calls us
to pay attention to what he's about to declare unto us. Listen
and behold, as he says in Isaiah 42.1, behold my servant. Listen,
hearken, pay attention. Be swift to hear. Christ is the
great prophet of the church. demands us to listen unto Him. Listen unto Him. He demands our
attention. We studied from Psalm 49. Turn over there to Psalm 49.
This is interesting. Isaiah 49 and Psalm 49 kind of
start out the same way. Isaiah Says listen, and in Psalm
49 verse 1, hear this, you see it? Psalm 49, hear this all you
people, give ear all you inhabitants of the world, both low and high,
rich and poor. My mouth shall speak of wisdom
and a meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. I
will incline my ear to a parable and I'll open my sayings upon
the heart. Listen, pay attention. Now look
back at the text. From John 8, 47. Our Lord said,
he that is of God, heareth God's word. He said to those Jews,
you hear him not because you're not of God. Now hear this. Now hear this. When the Lord
was transfigured upon the mountain, And His glory did shine forth
as the noonday sun. Remember what the Lord, the Father,
said about the Son? This is My beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. Now what did He say next? Hear
Him. Hear Him. I tell you what, if
you're going to hear from God Almighty, you must hear through
the God-Man Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. Hear him, hear
him. It says in Deuteronomy 18, 18,
God will raise up a prophet who will speak my word, my truth.
And he will, and he did. And God said, those who will
not hear that prophet, I'll require it at your hand. You're going
to answer to me why you didn't hear my prophet. God sent his
prophet. Demands that all men everywhere
hear his beloved son Blessed is that person that sinner who's
been given ears to hear him speak faith to receive his word Not
as a word of men But as is in truth as it is in truth the Word
of God that worketh in us now Let me show you scripture. I
want you to mark find Proverbs Proverbs chapter 8 Proverbs chapter
8 Do you find yourself with an eagerness when you come to worship
to hear His Word? A readiness, a willingness, an
eagerness to hear, chomping at the bit hole to hear a Word from
God. Proverbs chapter 8, verse 32. Proverbs 8, 32. Now, therefore
hearken unto me, O you children, Blessed are they that keep my
way. Hear instruction, refuse it not. Be wise, refuse it not.
Verse 34, Proverbs 8. Blessed is a man that heareth
me, watching daily at my gate, waiting at the post of the door.
Just waiting for the door to open up so I can go in and hear
the word of God. For whoso finds me findeth life, and shall obtain
the favor of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me
wrongeth his own soul. All that, all they that hate
me, our Lord said, they love death. Ooh, that's a powerful
statement, isn't it? Oh, and eagerness and willingness
and readiness to hear him speak. Now look back at the text. Listen,
hearken, pay attention. God's about to speak his truth.
I wanna hear. Oh, God, give us ears to hear.
Listen to what the Savior and the Redeemer is going to declare
unto us. Oh, for a heart, ears, eyes to see Him, to hear Him. Look at verse 1. He declares
unto us His divine authority by which He comes, the Lord,
Jehovah. You see that capital L-O-R-D is Jehovah. The eternal, self-existent, eternal
God hath called me, the Son, from the womb, from the bowels
of my mother hath He made mention." God makes mention of my name.
You know the Father loves the Son. It says that in John 3.35,
the Father loved the Son and given all things into His hand.
You know, a father-son relationship is very special. You know, that
father-son relationship is a very special relationship. What a
blessed thing it is that the Lord has given you a father that
believes the gospel, and what a blessing as a father to have
a son and daughter who believe the gospel. Not all of us are
privileged to have that relationship, but here the father says to the
son, and the son says to the father, you've made mention of
my name. How many times has a father kind
of lifted up with pride, and I kind of get this way with my
two sons. This is my son. This is my son. He's special. God blessed me with two sons.
How often times we're lifted up with pride just a little bit
and say, this is my son. How much more? That pales in
comparison to what the father thinks of the son. The father
loveth the son and giveth all things into his hand. This is
my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. Hear him. Hear him, the Lord, he says here,
calls me from the womb. He makes mention of my name.
Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is no unsent savior. He did not
assume and take this office to himself as prophet, priest, and
king, but he was called of God and sent of God. We've studied
in Hebrews 5, verse 4, where it talks about the priesthood
that Aaron had. No man takes this honor unto
himself, but he that is called of God. How much more the great
high priest, after the order of Melchizedek, speaking of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He's no unsent Savior. He is no rookie or amateur Redeemer. He's the one Son of God. God
speaks much. He makes mention of His name,
not only from the womb of His mother Mary, of which before
He was born, the body that God had prepared for Him, He declared,
call His name Jesus, He shall save His people from their sin,
not only from the womb of His mother Mary, or as soon as He
was conceived and born of her, but from the womb of eternity.
God was daily his delight, it says in Proverbs chapter 8. From
the womb of eternity, of his eternal purpose, his eternal
decrees, the Lord Jesus Christ was set forth to be the mediator,
foreordained, in the eternal purpose of God. To be the propitiation,
the mercy seat for our sins, and was predestinated to be our
Redeemer. before the foundation of the
world. He mentions His name. Even before He had a being in
this world as a man, before He had a body prepared by God Almighty,
the Lord mentions His name. Let's see if we can see that.
Turn back here to, remember Isaiah 7? Turn back over there, Isaiah
7. The Old Testament is a book about Christ, isn't it? Who He
is. who he is and what he's done.
Isaiah 7, we started to remember. Verse 14, therefore the Lord
himself shall give you a sign, behold a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. What does Emmanuel mean? God
with us. God with us. You remember? Isaiah
9, turn there. Isaiah 9, who is the Lord Jesus
Christ? God manifested in the flesh.
God the Son. For unto us a child is born.
Isaiah 9, 6. You got it? For unto us a son
is given. The government shall be upon
his shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful. His name
is Wonderful. We ought not to call anything
else Wonderful. His name is Wonderful. Counselor. He's the mighty God. He's the everlasting Father.
He's the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David, upon
his kingdom to order it, to establish it with judgment and justice
from henceforth even forever. Zeal of the Lord of hosts. Zeal
of the Lord of hosts. He will get it done. He will
perform this. God who has begun a good work
in you, He will perform this. He will do it. He will get it
done. What a marvel we have in Christ
Jesus. Look at Isaiah 49 verse 5, And
now saith the Lord, That form me from the womb to be his servant. Oh, the Father loveth the Son. And think about this love the
Father gave the Son of His love for sinners, for His elect, for
His church. He loved the church and gave
Himself for it. For it. Called from the womb. Now look at verse 2. He hath
made my mouth. Our Lord declares, the Father
hath called me, the Father owns me, makes mention of my name,
and then He said He's qualified me, and He's given me specific
equipment to accomplish my mission. He hath made my mouth like a
sharp sword, and in the shadow of His hand hath He hid me, and
made me a polished shaft. In His quiver He hath hid me. Now He declares unto us, His
qualifications and how He comes as God the Son to accomplish
the Father's mission of mercy, to accomplish our salvation.
His Word is with power. His Word has all power. You remember
Pharisees sent out some to arrest Him? And they came back, those
officers, those soldiers of the Pharisees, and they came back
and the Pharisee said, well, where is he? Why didn't you bring
him back? You remember what they said?
No man speak like that man. We were, we couldn't do anything.
His word was with authority and power. And truly his word is
like a sharp sword. Like a sharp sword, isn't it?
We read in Hebrews 4 verse 12, For the Word of God is quick
and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. His Word operates
upon your heart in conviction and in comfort. When you need
convicting, He operates on us with His Word. When we need comforting,
He operates upon us with His Word. His Word. Now you think
about His Word, His Word, oh how sweet, oh how powerful, how
enduring. He said heaven and earth is going
to pass away, but My Word Never pass away. His Word calmed the
sea. His Word stopped the wind. His
Word healed the sick. His Word raised the dead. His Word saved the lost. His Word today is yet the power
of God unto salvation. And this is His written Word.
This is the incarnate Word. And this is the preached Word.
which is the power of God unto salvation. So His word like a
sharp sword. We've seen that in the Revelation,
haven't we? In His hand was a sharp sword
in chapter 1. In Revelation 19, it talks about
out of His mouth goeth a sharp two-edged sword. It's quick,
lithe, and powerful. And then He talks about His word
like a polished shaft. And here He's talking about an
arrow. An arrow. Now what's the quality of an
arrow that's different from a sword? An arrow has a quality of piercing
the victim, doesn't it? You deer hunters, don't you hope
the arrow you shoot will do what? Pierce the deer. And his word
is like an arrow. It pierces the heart of the sinner. And you know what? We often shoot
arrows and they go amiss, don't they? The arrow that he shoots
when he pulls one out of his quiver and puts it in the bow
of his strength and lets that arrow fly. it never misses the
target. And you know what it does? It
pierces the heart of the sinner. Whereby we read in Psalm 45,
the arrows of the king are sharp in the heart of the enemy, whereby
they do fall down under thee. I tell you what, when God shoots
you with the gospel, and when he slays you with the sword of
the gospel, and when he shoots you with an arrow of the gospel,
you know what it does? takes all the fight out. Someone
shot you in the chest with an arrow, you would not fight long. You would bow and fall to the
ground. That is what happens when God
shoots us. When God slays us and operates upon us with the
sword of His Word, with the gospel that convicts and pierces the
heart. Notice these instruments are
in His hand. His hand hidden in the shadow
of His hand. and in the quiver. These instruments, his sharp
sword and his arrows, polished shaft are hidden in the arsenal
of his hand, hidden in types and pictures in the Old Testament,
hidden in the mysteries of the gospel that must be revealed.
Turn over here to Ephesians chapter 3. Ephesians chapter 3. Ephesians
chapter 3, look at verse 7. Wherefore, he said, I was made
a minister according to the gift of the grace of God, given unto
me by the effectual working of his power, unto me who am less
than the least of all the saints is this grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ,
to make all men see what is a fellowship of the mystery, which from the
beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things
by Christ, to the intent now, under the principalities and
powers and heavenly places, might be known by the church and manifold
wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed
in Christ Jesus, our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access
with confidence by faith in him." Hidden has to be revealed, and
it's revealed and made known in the Gospel. Now look at verse
3, Isaiah 49 verse 3. Our Lord said, He made my mouth
like a sharp sword, sword of his hand, gospel like a polished
arrow in his quiver. Verse 3, he said to me, this
is the father now speaking to the son. He said to me, Thou
art my servant. We've seen that before, haven't
we? Servant of God. O Israel, he's the prince of
peace in whom I will be glorified. And he's glorified in the salvation
of sinners through Christ Jesus. Here we have the privilege of
listening to what the Father says unto the Son concerning
our salvation. Makes me want to sit up and pay
attention. What's he about to say? Three things I think we
see in that verse. The first one is this, thou art
my servant. My servant. The Lord Jesus Christ
is a servant to the Lord Jehovah like no other servant. He called
over here, find Isaiah 53, Isaiah 53 11, Isaiah 53 11, He's called
my righteous servant. You see that? Isaiah 53 11. Back in Isaiah 42, 1, he's called,
Behold my servant, my elect, in whom my soul delighteth. Verse
11 of Isaiah 53, He shall see the travail of his soul and shall
be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
He's God's righteous servant. The servant of his choosing.
the servant of His appointing, the servant of His calling, the
servant of His sending. You know, He's called the Apostle. Did you know the Lord Jesus Christ,
one of His names is the Apostle? Consider, it says in Hebrews
3.1, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our faith. Who
is that? Jesus Christ. What does the word Apostle mean?
One sent of God. And certainly that's true of
the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't it? He's a servant of His choosing. He's a servant of His appointing.
The servant of His calling, sending, bringing forth, and supporting.
He supported Him. He had helped Him. Look over
here at Isaiah 50 verse 7. For the Lord God will help me,
therefore I shall not be confounded. Therefore I have set my face
like a flint, I know that I shall not be ashamed. He sent of God,
the servant of God. You're familiar with the scripture
over in Philippians chapter 2, where it talks about the servant
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He took upon him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross." Aren't you glad the Lord
Jesus Christ is that special servant to accomplish our salvation,
to minister unto us salvation? Now look what it says. Secondly,
it says, first of all, thou art my servant, the faithful servant,
the righteous servant, who accomplish all God's purpose in salvation.
He said, you are my servant, O Israel. Now what does that
word mean? Now normally we think of the
church being called the Israel of God, and it is, but the Lord
Jesus Christ is specifically called Israel, which means Prince
of God. We read just a moment ago in
Isaiah 9, 6, he's called what? The Prince of Peace. Thou art
my servant, O Israel, Israel. He is the Prince of Peace, who
made peace for us with His own blood. Christ is the head of
the church. He's a representative of the
whole Israel of God. You remember from Colossians
1, in Him dwells all the fullness of a Godhead bodily, and in Christ
we are complete. He's God's is the chosen of God.
You see, we're chosen and blessed only in Him. He is the Prince
of Peace. Christ and His Church, by virtue
of being made one with Him and united together in Him, have
the same name. You know, when a man marries
a woman, she takes his name. And that's exactly what happened
when the Lord Jesus Christ married us. He's the Israel of God, the
Prince of God. That's His name and that's our
name. He is the Lord our righteousness. And then it says in Jeremiah,
she shall be called, what? The Lord our righteousness. Thou
art my servant, O Israel. Thirdly is this, in whom I'm
glorified. In whom I'm glorified. Now here's
the bottom line of everything that God does. Everything that
God says. What? His glory. His glory. Jehovah's end, Jehovah's purpose
and all that He does in nature or in grace. And it's what Christ
had in view in working out our salvation. All the divine perfections
of God are glorified by salvation in Christ. Now think of it. All
the attributes of God are glorified in Christ and Him crucified. We see the wisdom of God glorified,
don't we? How He can be just and the justifier
of those found in Christ. We see the love of God magnified
and glorified. God so loved that He gave His
only begotten Son. We see the wrath of God, the
justice of God glorified in Christ in Him crucified as He bears
the weight of our sin and takes the wrath of God unto Himself. We see the faithfulness of God,
the holiness of God, the grace of God, and the mercy of God
all magnified in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, He will be honored. He will be glorified. How do
I know? How do I know that the gospel
that is preached here is the true gospel? The gospel of God
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. How do I know that? I tell you
one sure test is this. Who gets the glory? Who gets
the glory? Now, those who preach another
Jesus and another gospel and another spirit, who gets the
glory in that scheme? Well, the creature does. God
done all he can do, now it's up to you. You really make this
thing work. Well, in that scheme, the creature gets all the glory.
But in God's salvation, God has so fixed it and designed it that
the Lord Jesus Christ must have all the honor and glory. You
see that? God said, in whom I will be glorified. No wonder Paul
comes along later and said, God forbid that we should glory save
in Christ and Him crucified. I will be glorified. Our Lord
prayed that in John 17, didn't He? Father, I finished the work
you gave me to do. I glorified thee on the earth. I finished that work that you
gave me to do. Now, look back at Isaiah 49,
look at verse 4. The Lord said, then I said, that
is the Lord Jesus Christ, I've labored in vain. I've spent my
strength for naught and in vain, yet Surely my judgment is with
the Lord, and my work, or my reward is the word there, is
with my God." I looked at this statement a long time. How could
it be said, and how could the Lord say that I've labored in
vain? Not that any of his work in accomplishing our salvation
was in vain, but always successful. But the Lord Jesus Christ, looking
to his earthly ministry, seeing the rejection of the Jews, the
hatred of the Pharisees, he was despised of me and a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief. It says that in verse 7, to whom
man despises. but looking to his earthly ministry
as a man, seeing the rejection of the Jews, he came unto his
own and his own received him not, seeing the hatred of the
Pharisees and the rejecting of him of the Messiah, remember
they said, away with him, give us Barabbas, we have no king,
we have no king, but Caesar, the sliding of his doctrines
and miracle, the refusing to be gathered unto him, Being a
faithless and perverse generation, he says, just looking at things
from the viewpoint of a man, I've spent my strength for nothing.
It appears to be by human standards that his ministry was a failure,
but we know that's not so. Yet he says, surely my judgment
is with the Lord. You know what's interesting?
The complaint of many a faithful minister of the gospel has been,
Well, I've labored in vain. I've preached for years and years
and years and nobody heard me believe my message. You know,
there was a preacher in God's Word. His name was Jeremiah.
His message was sharp. His message was sin of God. His
message that he preached unto his generation cost him great
grief, heartache, pain, and imprisonment. You know what he said? Too much.
I'm going to quit. I'm going to quit the ministry.
I'm going to walk away. I've labored in vain, he's saying.
And then you know what he said? Read it. Jeremiah chapter 20
verse 8 and 9. He said that his word was like
a fire in my bones. I could not stay. I could not
stop preaching Christ. Oftentimes, poor sinners that
we are, we're tempted to think that our ministry has been a
failure, that we've labored for years to no avail, when we see
no immediate results, no fruit to our labor. But my friend,
we can be assured of this, preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is never vain. Never, never. I can make good
on that, find 1 Corinthians chapter 15. But oftentimes, even as the
Lord Himself said there in the text, 1 Corinthians 15, look
at verse 57, 58, 1 Corinthians 15. Thanks be to God who has
given us a victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in
the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor
is not in vain in the Lord." It's not in vain. We do not meet
here in vain. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is never preached in vain. It's either a saver of life unto
life, or a saver of death unto death, but it's never preached
in vain. He said, my word will not return unto me void. Now back to the text. Yet my
judgment is with the Lord. My work is with my God. What is being said here is that
the work of redemption, His cause and accomplishment of His salvation
is manifested and accepted of the Lord. The church is His reward. The church is the reward of His
work. His portion. And Christ is the
reward of our salvation. The church is the reward of His
salvation. And Christ is our reward. He's
our exceeding great reward. Always singular. Reward. Not plural. Not rewards. He's
our reward. Now look at verse 5. I've got
to wind this up. And now, verse 5, saith the Lord,
that form me from the womb to be his servant, to do this. He
came to seek and to save the lost. He came to bring Jacob
back to the Lord. Jacob was lost. And the sons
of Jacob, God's elect, whom he loved, were lost. He came to
bring the sons of Jacob back to Him. And it says in that text,
verse 5, Israel may be gathered to Him. So He came to gather
us again unto Him, yet, He says, shall I be glorious in the eyes
of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. My God shall
be my strength. God's purpose in salvation shall
be accomplished. Jacob and Israel, the whole elect
of God among the Jews and Gentiles, shall be gathered unto him. They
shall be called out with the gospel message and irresistibly
brought unto the Lord Jesus Christ in saving faith. Not one sheep
for whom Christ died can perish. He suffered once the just for
the unjust, that he might do what? Bring us unto God. He's the captain of our salvation
who's bringing us unto glory. To bring again to Him the children
of God, the elect of God. The gathering of the elect unto
the Father through the blood of everlasting covenant shall
be glorious, shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord. And
my God is my strength. Now, let's for a moment just
take a look at verse 6. And he said, It's a light thing
that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and to restore the desolation, the preserved desolations of
Israel. I will also give thee for light
to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end
of the earth. Now it's not enough that the
Lord Jesus Christ, with the raising up and redeeming and restoring
of God's elect among the Jewish nation, God's purpose and design
in Christ Jesus is much larger, broader, and it's an expanding
purpose. Not only among His elect among
the nation of Israel, but God will have a people to call out
among the Gentiles a multitude of sinners of which no man can
number. a light to lighten the Gentiles, out of every tribe,
kindred, nation, and tongue, and people under heaven, that
sing unto him, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive
all honor, glory, blessing, and power, both now and forever. I will, he says, also give thee
for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation
to the ends of the earth. Remember, this was Paul's message
to the Jews and to the Gentiles. When they rejected the message,
he said, as many as were ordained to eternal life. The Gentiles
were glad when they heard the gospel, and as many as were ordained
to eternal life believed that gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ,
make no mistake, given as a light of salvation to his elect among
the Jew and the Gentile, that thou mayest be my salvation,
God says. The Lord Jesus Christ is God's
salvation. He's the author and finisher
of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
accomplisher of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only savior of sinners. Remember back in Isaiah 43? Turn
back over there. Isaiah 43, 11. I, even I, am
the Lord. And beside me, there's how many
saviors? There is no savior but me. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only savior of sinners. For he came to seek and to save
that which is lost. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all exceptation. that the Lord Jesus Christ came
to save sinners, came to save sinners, of whom I am chief. I will give thee for light to
the Gentiles. Thou mayest be my salvation unto
the end, unto the end of the earth.