Isaiah 53. Verse one says, Who
have believed? It's a good way to start. Who
has believed? That's the question of all questions. Who has believed? That is the
vital commandment. Of salvation, believe and be
saved. The Lord said all sin committed
against me can be forgiven. But sin against the Holy Ghost,
that's unbelief. Unbelief so who have believed. Believe what. Our report. Who have believed our report. Lots of people have lots of different
reports on what this word says. Who have believed our report. What is your report. Our report is word for word,
whatever this book says. Whatever it says, that's our
report. This book says there's a big
problem between God and man. There's a big problem. Their
report, false religions report is. Do good, be a good, upstanding
citizen. Give to charitable donations.
Don't have any vices and it will be OK between you and God. You'll
be just fine. But who have believed our report? Our report is all of mankind
are infected with a loathsome disease called sin. And unless the Lord reveals himself. To them as their substitute Their
savior and their Lord, they're going to die in that sand. Turn to Romans, Chapter 10. Romans, Chapter 10. Verse one says, Brethren, my
heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might
be saved. I bear them record, they have
a zeal of God. But not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's
righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness. That's do good and don't have
vices and They were ignorant of God's righteousness, that's
Christ. They have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God, for Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to everyone that believes. Go to verse nine,
it says, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus.
And there is a difference between confessing Jesus and the Lord
Jesus. If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thy heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Look at verse 16. It
says, But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah said,
Lord, Who have believed our report? Verse 20 says Isaiah is very
bold. And said I was found of them
that sought me not. I was made manifest under them
that asked not after me. But to Israel, he said all day
long, I have stretched forth my hand to a disobedient and
gainsaying people. So our report is. We're nothing
but sinners in the hands of an angry God. And who has believed our report? It. It shouldn't shock me, but. I'm always a little surprised
when someone believes this report. When someone confesses. In baptism,
I believe this, I believe what this says, I'm a little surprised.
I think, really, you do. You actually believe this. Nobody
does. Not many people do, but if you
do, if you believe this report. And you call on the name of the
Lord, Lord, please reveal yourself to me. He says, I will. And if you call, it means I already
have. So the next question back in
Isaiah 53 is who is the arm of the Lord revealed? Who has believed
our report? And if you believe it means he's
already revealed himself to you. So who has believed who to whom
is the arm of the Lord revealed? Because Isaiah is saying that's
exactly who I'm talking to. Verse two says he shall grow
up before him as a tender plant. And as a root out of dry ground,
he hath no form or comeliness. And when we shall see him, there's
no beauty that we should desire him. Our Lord, that's our Lord. And our Lord made this earth. With his own two hands. And he
rejoiced in the habitable parts of this earth long before he
came. He said, my delights were with
the sons of men. He walked with Adam in the garden.
He came here. He'd already been here. He'd been here many times. But
because of sin, because of my sin, our sin, he had to come
in this way. This very way. He'd already been
here before, but because of sin, he had to come this way. He had
to come as a man. He had to be born as a man. A
perfect man, he had to live as a man and he had to die as a
man. And he did all this according
to his own will. Scripture talks about the mystery
of his will, thought about this fact that verse two says he hath
no form or comeliness. This is God. Who came here as
a man. God, who made every human body. The very God who made every feature
of every human body. And if anyone has any comeliness,
any good looks about them, they owe all glory to God because
he made them what they are. Well, he made his own body on
this earth. In a world where everyone wants
to be beautiful. He made it with no formal comment. Great humility, great humility. Verse three says he is despised
and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
We hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and
we esteemed him not. The very God who holds the heart
of the king in his hand to turn and do with as he will. actually
allowed himself to be despised and rejected, hated by others. When the time came, he made sure
the Israelites had favor with Egypt. He said not a dog is going
to bark at you, but he made himself despised and rejected. He did
all this for us. He did it because of our sin.
Verse three says we hear. It says we hear, as it were,
our faces from him, if you have a center reference. Mine says
or. He hid, as it were, his face
from us. All the Lord has to do is hide
his face from us for just a minute. All he has to do is leave us
to ourselves for just a minute and sin will abound. That's all
he has to do. Verse three says he was despised
and we esteemed him not. We gave him no glory, no thanks,
no praise. Verse four says we did esteem
him stricken. Crucify him, right? That's what
we wanted. We did esteem him stricken. We
did esteem him smitten of God and afflicted. That's what the
first four says. Verse six is all we like sheep
have gone astray. We have turned. Everyone to his
own way. And it's the wrong way. It's
the wrong way. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only way. He's the only way. And we've
turned from Him. We've turned from it. Man by
nature says, I don't want that way. I don't like that way. I've got my own way. And the
fact is, the Lord was despised and rejected by His own people.
Verse 6 says, we like sheep. We have turned. And the end of verse eight says
that all this was done for the transgression of my people, the
transgression, the sin of my people, we are the problem we
did the Senate. Verse 10 says, Yet it pleased
the Lord to bruise him. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. All of this was done according
to the Lord's own purpose, the Lord did it. According to the mystery of his
own will, his will. Now. That's our report. On how we treated him. And let's hear the report on
how he treated us. In return. Here's the glorious
part of this whole thing. This is the good news, the wonderful
good news of the gospel and this whole matter, even after all
of the sin that we've committed. Even after all the rebelling
that we've done against our God, we have done and we still do.
Verse 10 says yet. It pleased the Lord. To bring
him. Not us. Even after all that we
had done, it pleased the Lord to bring him, not us. Why? The Lord beheld his people from
the foundation of the world. He saw all of his people, he
saw that sin was out in the open. Sin was on the table. Sin had
to be dealt with. And a covenant was brought forth. The covenant of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. That's the covenant between the
father, the son and the sinner. And the father said, I will remember
my covenant. And he saw his people, he saw
Patrick Holland. And the Lord Jesus Christ. And
he says, I purpose to save you, I'm going to. Therefore, it pleases
me to bruise him and not you. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
substitute. He took our place. We get what he should have gotten
and he got what we should have gotten. He is our redeemer. He paid our ransom. There's a
preacher who died years back. We knew him. His name was Brother
Ed Hale, and he wrote a lot of songs. He wrote, Oh, How Merciful.
But he wrote another song that I love so much. I love this song
so much. And the last verse of this song,
I believe it's the last verse, it says, as poor, wretched sinners. No God and no hope. It seemed
there was no one to help. But God, in his mercy, salvation
supplied, emptied heaven and came down himself and a ransom
was found. It pleased the Lord to please
him, not us. Verse four says he. have borne our grief. Not us. He had borne our grief, so we
don't have to. We don't have to. He had carried
our sorrows, so we don't have to. Verse five says he was wounded,
so we're not going to be. He was bruised. So we are not
going to be. He took the stripes and with
his stripes were healed. Verse six says, all we like sheep
have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of his all.
It's saying we're the ones that sin. The thanks be to our God. It pleased the Lord to lay all
the charges to him. All the charges, everything we've
done. Everything we've done. Verse 7. He was oppressed. He was afflicted, yet he opened
not his mouth. I used to wonder why. I used
to think about that. I used to hear the story told
and preached on him standing before Pilate. And I used to
wonder, why didn't he say anything? When they were lying on him,
they were lying on him. And then the Lord, in his mercy,
revealed to me, Gabe, they weren't lying on you. They were lying
on him, but they weren't lying on me. They weren't lying on any of
us. They weren't lying on Ron. I believe I believe this with
all my heart, I really do. The whole time that our Lord
was standing there. Listening to those vile. Railing
accusations. He was thinking about Ron Fenton.
I believe that he was thinking about all of his people. And
he opened not his mouth. Whatever they said, he opened
not his mouth. Verse 7 says. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter. And as a sheep before her shearers
is done, so he openeth not his mouth. Ron, that should have
been you at that slaughter. That should have been me at that
slaughter. Yet it pleased the Lord to blease
him. Verse 8 says he was taken from
prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? There's a reference there also
says he was taken away by distress and judgment. He was taken away
by distress and judgment. He was taken away. He was taken
away. Who shall declare his generation?
That means. No one even recognized what he
was doing. Didn't make it public. The apostles didn't understand
what he was doing. No one knew what he was doing. He bore our sin. He carried our
grief. Verse 8 goes on to say, He was
cut off out of the land of the living. He was cut off. The land of the living is heaven
itself. Wherever God is, Because he's
life. This is the land of the dead. He was cut off. Separated from
God. That's death and hell separation
from God. It says he was stricken. Verse nine says, and when it
says, and he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich. In his death. The Lord said,
my people shall never die. They'll never die. Meaning my
people shall never be separated from God. To be absent from this
body is to be present with the Lord. Right. He said, I did that for. I was
separated, I died. So they don't have to. We don't
have to. Now, this this. Bless me so much. I. Pray that the Lord will bless
his word. I pray that the Lord will bless
his word. You can have these notes and you can read your notes.
I just pray that the Lord will bless his word. Monday, this
blessed me. Oh, I was flying high on Monday. I pray that the Lord will send
his spirit right now and bless us right now. Verse three says,
He is a man of sorrows and he's acquainted with grief. In that
there's a reference if you have a center reference in your Bible.
Where it says a man of sorrows. Says to turn to Hebrews 4 15.
Turn over there Hebrews 4 15. We know this. I've heard this
all my life. But it says Hebrews 415 says,
for we have not in high priest. Which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities. But was in all points tempted
like as we are yet without sin. We have not an high priest that
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Now. When my mother died. It was that
exact time was a very hard time for me. I was very sad for a
little while. And I found true comfort in the
word. The word was was. being opened
up to me more so than it ever had been. And it was a blessed
time spiritually. But from other people, when other
people would come up, they came to the funeral. Although I loved all those people
and I appreciated them, I received the most comfort from those who
had lost a parent. Or a family member, just like
I had lost. You know what I mean? Those who would come up to me
that had not lost any immediate family members. Or even grandparents. And would
say, I know. I would respectfully think, no
you don't. You don't know. But someone who would come up
to me that I knew good and well had lost a parent. Right? or a very close loved one and
say, I know how you feel. I could find comfort there. I
could embrace that and think, I know how I feel. Well, we all have a past. We all have a past. We've all
done things that we regret. We all have things and sins that
haunt us. We do. And if we could just go
back into the past and undo and redo, wouldn't you love to do
that? Boy, I would. I can think of some things that
I'd just love to undo. And there are things that we
think to ourselves in my mind and in my heart I'll carry this as long as I
live. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ,
our high priest. Came to this earth to be our
substitute. And he took our very sins. The actual sense. Off of us and put him on himself. He touched our very infirmities,
the very one. And he took them to be his own. And he tells each one of his
people, I know exactly how you feel. Because that very same sin that
you carry, I carry. That very same debt that you
owe, I owe. The very one. And I've paid it. I did something about it. I put
it away. It's gone. I know that one you're
thinking of. It's gone. You don't need to carry it any
longer. We sing, Our Lord Jesus paid
it all, all the debt I owe. We have this high priest that
was touched with our infirmities. Well, back in our text, back
in Isaiah 53. You keep saying, He hath borne
our griefs. period, our sorrows. Why did
the Lord of glory do this for us? Why did he do this for us? Why did he take this upon himself? Look at verse nine. It says he
made his grave. With the wicked. And with the
rich in his death. Because. This is why. He had done no violence, neither
was any deceit in his mouth. He's the only one who could. In order. To produce this kind of salvation,
this greatest salvation, the sacrifice had to be absolutely
spotless, absolutely spotless, and he's the only one who could.
He's the only one that had done no violence. Neither was any
deceit in his mouth. In verses 10 through 12, go on
to declare that he did the work. He accomplished, prospered the
work, and he satisfied it. Let's read him. Verse 10 says.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He had put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering percent. He shall see his seed. He shall
prolong his days. And the pleasure of the Lord
shall prosper in his hand. 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. Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great. And he shall divide the spoil
with the strong. Because he had poured out his
soul unto death. And he was numbered with the transgressors. And he
bare the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors. So how do we respond to this? We see how we were what we've
done. And we see what he did. How do
we respond to this? Verse four says he bore. Our grief. Says he bore our grief. It says he carried our sorrow. Verse 11 says he travailed. He shall see the travail of his
own soul. It says he shall bear their iniquities,
right? He bore, he carried, he travailed,
he shall bear. The end of verse 12 says he bear
the sin of many. So how do we respond to this?
Well, after the word transgressors in verse 12. My Bible says chapter
54. And sometimes we look up the
meanings of certain words, and I didn't look up the meaning
of chapter 54. But I'm pretty sure it means
therefore. He bore, he bare, he travailed,
he shall bear. Therefore, verse 1 of 54 says,
Sing, O barren, thou that did not bear. Break forth into singing
and cry aloud, Thou that did not prevail. He did it. We couldn't. We don't have to. He did it. We sing a song that
says this very thing. It says, And when I think that
God, His Son not spared, sent Him to die, I scarce can take
it in. That on the cross, my burden
gladly bearing. He bled and died to take away
my sin. Then sings my soul. That's how we respond. Well. I'm finished, and if I've. Fumbled
this and. Now, I've made myself clear up
to this point. Let me close by saying, the Lord Jesus Christ
is our all. He's all our hope. I pray He's
all our desire. He's definitely all our need.
And if we have Him, we have it all. Verse 12 says, Therefore
will I divide Him a portion with the great. And he shall divide
the spoil with the strong. The Lord is the heir of all things.
Everything will be given to him. And he's very generous to share
with us. In Christ, we've been made joint
heirs. But he is our portion. Verse 12 says, therefore, will
I divide him. with the grace. A portion is
in thy talents. Therefore will I divide him.
He is my portion. Lamentations 3.24 says the Lord
is my portion. Saith my soul. Therefore will
I hope in him. He's all our need. I hope that our Lord has been
glorified. I hope that he'll send his spirit
to us even now and bless this world. Let's pray. Stand together. Thank you very much.