If you wanna follow along, please
turn to Isaiah chapter 42. I'm just gonna read like the first eight
verses and then spend all my time hopefully
in and around verse six. But this is a glorious chapter
and a glorious statement. Behold my servant whom I uphold,
mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He shall not cry nor lift up
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed
shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged
till he hath set judgment in the earth, and the isles shall
wait for his law. Thus saith God the Lord, he that
created the heavens and stretched them out he that spread forth
the earth, and that which cometh out of it, he that giveth breath
unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein. I the Lord have called thee in
righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee,
and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of
the Gentiles. to open the blind eyes, to bring
out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness
out of the prison house. I am the Lord, that is my name,
and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise
to graven images. Man, that's a mouthful. That
is, that is. Let's be clear at the beginning.
Isaiah is writing of Jesus Christ, okay? There's no question about
that. If you got a question about that,
you got all kind of problems that I can't help you with. You ain't got no answer, I can
tell you that right now, because the answer to this question is
Christ, Jesus. He is the answer. I mean, this
scripture, Isaiah 42, is speaking of and declaring the Lord Jesus
Christ in the Old Testament. Isaiah wrote of the Son. The only the Son, Jesus Christ,
is well-pleasing to the Father. It's only the Son in whom God's
soul delights. I like that. He delights in Jesus
Christ. You know what that means? That
word delights? It means he's pleased and he's
satisfied. He's satisfied. You understand
if God's satisfied in Christ, why aren't we? Well, we're sinners. God delights in him, my servant. And Walter, you preached on mine
elect. Jesus Christ is the original
elect. Not only are we all chosen in
him, if we're in him, he was the one chose by the Father to
come to this world. He's our forerunner in more ways
than one. He is the blessed servant because
the Son was, is, and ever shall be obedient to the Father. He showed us this in his life,
his ministry, his death, his burial, his resurrection, and
his ascension to glory because Jesus Christ is the chosen one.
He's the Messiah. He's the anointed one. He is
mine elect, God calls him. I love that, I do. This is the word of the Lord
concerning his Christ. Now, like I said, my text is
verse six. This is something a little odd
for me, but verse six. I, the Lord, have
called thee in righteousness and will hold thine hand and
will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people
for a light of the Gentiles. You know the reason I picked
this verse? One is because it's talking about Gentiles. That's
us, folks. That's us. We are not Jews outwardly. I'll throw that in there. I'll
hesitate a little bit, make you think. We are not Jews outwardly,
but that's not the important part. It's explained in the New
Testament. I heard somebody read it while
I was driving up here. He is a Jew who is one inwardly,
and what circumcision is of the heart. It's of the heart. That's
what matters, and that's what we're talking about here. You
understand, he is the elect of God. Jesus Christ is the elect
of God. Mine elect. That elect came to
do something. That elect came in the fullness
of time. What? Made of a woman, made under
the law. Why? To redeem them that are
under the law. Understand, Jesus Christ came
with purpose. Whose purpose? The Father's purpose. And his own purpose, which are
exactly the same thing. But it says, the Lord, I the
Lord have called thee in righteousness. Now, this is not called out. You can look at it in the Hebrew. This is, I've called thee. I have, what? The Lord has proclaimed
thee. Proclaimed thee, what? In righteousness. In righteousness. There's no
other way to proclaim the son. There's no other way to proclaim
the anointed one. There's no another way, there
is no other way to proclaim the holy one of Israel than to say
he's holy. I mean, it's just kind of, You
know, right there. He's the Holy One of Israel,
the Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name. He's my servant,
my elect, in whom my soul delights. I've proclaimed him, I've called
him out to you in righteousness. Who is he? He's the firstborn. and he's the forerunner, and
he's the first fruit. He's the first elect. The first
born, the forerunner, and the first fruit. If the first fruit
is holy, guess what about the rest of the fruit? It's in righteousness. It's in righteousness. How? Why? How can all the other fruit
be holy? How can the other fruit be righteous?
because of the forerunner, because of the firstborn, because of
the first fruit. You understand, we're not holy
in any way, shape, or form in ourselves. We are not righteous
in any way, shape, or form in ourselves, but in him we have
all righteousness. In who? In his father's sight. In the Lord's sight. He has been called righteousness
and all those that are called in him, mine elect, are called
righteous. We're called the sons of God.
Why? And we're called the sons of
God in righteousness. We're called the sons of God
because God said we are the sons of God. in Jesus Christ. You have to add that. People
get uppity. I've heard them. People get puffed
up. Everything we have that is of
any spiritual value is in what? My servant. Mine elect in whom
my soul delights and who I have put my spirit upon him. It's Christ in you that's the
hope of glory. It's not you. It's Christ in
you that's the hope of glory. Now that's a good hope for you.
That's a good hope for me. But never, never, never leave
it out that it's Christ in you that's the hope of glory. But I love this. The Lord, I
the Lord have called thee in righteousness, what? And will
hold thine hand. Now he's talking still to the
son. He's not talking to us, although he is talking to us.
You understand, because he's holding Christ's hand, and you're
in Christ, he's holding your hand. That's what makes us glorious. Everything he's promised here
for this son, he's doing for us. He's doing it for us. He's called thee in righteousness.
And guess what? He's called you in righteousness because he's
called you in Jesus Christ. And what? He will hold thine
hand. He's talking about the Son. Because
here's the thing, the Father and the Son, the Lord God, the
God the Lord, and his servant are one. You understand? This is a play on words, I know,
but it's cute. It'll work. They are hand in hand. They are
hand in hand. You wanna say hand in glove.
However you wanna say it, guess what? Two can't walk together
except they be agreed. And the Lord and his blessed
servant, well he called another place, the righteous branch. The Holy One of Israel, they
are hand in hand with each other. There is no ever dissension,
none, between the Lord and his servant. Not this servant. Not this servant. Because they
walk together hand in hand, and what do you, perfect agreement.
They agree. And two can't walk together except
they agree. And their agreement is perfect because the son came
to perform the will of the father. And I forgot the second song. I'm sorry, I'm nervous. The blessed servant came to complete
the instructions of his Lord. He became obedient, obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. How? In perfect agreement, hand in
hand with the Father. And he says, and will keep thee. I will keep thee, I, God the
Lord, will keep thee. What did I say before? You cannot
separate God and the Son. You can't separate the Father
and the Son. Jesus Christ said it. I and my Father are one. You understand? I love saying
that. I don't know, maybe people don't
understand it, maybe they do. I don't understand it all that
great, but I love saying it. Jesus Christ and his Father are
one. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit are one. Our Lord is one Lord. You understand,
that's just true in the Old Testament, it isn't in the New. It's just
true in the New Testament, it isn't in the Old. It's one God. Father, Son, and Spirit. Jesus Christ said this, if you've
seen me, you've seen the Father. I wonder what he meant by that. I think he meant, if you've seen
me, you've seen the Father. Because I and my Father are one.
But you understand, people wanna make separations, they wanna
make divisions, there are people who are Jesus only. There are
people who are Jehovah only. Guess what, you're missing the
whole point. The blessed servant, mine elect,
whom my soul delighted, whom I put my spirit on, he's gonna
bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. What? He shall not cry, nor lift
up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. You understand,
Jesus Christ preached, and he preached the gospel. But you
understand, Jesus Christ did not go around announcing, I am
the Son of God, everyone obey me. He told some people. Ooh, I wonder
how he works today. I think he tells some people. What? I will keep thee. You understand? If the father's
keeping the son, the father is keeping you. If the father's keeping the son,
guess what? The son's gonna keep you because
the father gave you to him. And everything my father gave
me, I have lost, what'd he say? Nothing. And that also means
I have lost no one. Saved and lost, saved and lost.
I know, I hear it. People are idgits. I'm sorry. Jesus Christ has lost nothing.
And if you're in his hand, hand in hand, he's gonna keep you,
he is going to keep you, and he's gonna keep you, and then
he's gonna keep you some more. The only way to know the Father
is through the Son. By the way, the truth and the
life, Jesus Christ. You've seen me, you've seen the
Father. And guess what, that means you've
seen the one that keeps me and keeps you. Ah, but here's the
point I wanted to get to, because this is what struck me. And give thee for a covenant
of the people for a light of the Gentiles. Now before I get
started on this, I wanna say one thing. Well, probably three
things, but it's okay, one thing now. When God gives something,
something has been given. And whoever God gives something
to, has something. And you can take that any way
you want. Because you understand, God gives something to you, you
have it. And that's just the bottom line.
Now here, the Lord is saying, He is giving his blessed servant,
he's giving mine elect, wait a minute, for a covenant. And I got to looking at this,
and this is just one of the things that hit me, just the way, and
I looked at it in the Hebrew as best I can with the computer
and all that stuff. God gave Christ, the covenant. That's the title, Paul. Jesus
Christ, the covenant. So, are you saying that the covenant
is a thing, or is the covenant the person? I'm saying yes. I love those questions. I can't
help it. Yes, the covenant is a thing,
but here, Isaiah is very plain. The covenant is a person. It's a person. He is the covenant. It just hit me all of a sudden
when I was reading this and it's like, you understand, the Lord
said so. That makes it so. I will give
thee for a covenant. He's the covenant. Said it for
years. Never heard Henry say it. Our
salvation is a person. You understand? Our covenant
is a person. Our covenant is a person. Our salvation is a person, our
covenant is a person, and guess what, bless God, they're the
same person. Jesus Christ, the righteous. You understand, this is what
I mean when I say covenant salvation. I know it gets used by a lot
of different people in other different ways, that's why I
don't use it a whole lot. But you understand, he's my covenant. He's my salvation. And the Lord
gives him for a covenant, what? Of the people and for a light
of the Gentiles. Guess what? You can't tell me
you won't see Gentiles being saved in the Old Testament. No,
but you don't see a whole lot of it. They did join with the
people of Israel in the Old Testament. But here is Isaiah prophesying
that both Jew and Gentile are all that are going to be saved. are saved by my servant, mine
elect, in whom my soul delights, saith the Lord. He is the covenant. Don't look to anything or anyone
else. Because without Christ, there
is no covenant. He's the covenant. In Gentiles, Jesus Christ is
the way. The truth and the light. I said it a little while back.
There's an olive tree that we've been grafted into. Just that
one olive tree. That's all there is. Branches
were broke off and we have been grafted in. And it says, until
the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. That's what it says. People can fight about it all
they want, doesn't matter to me. That's what it says, that's
what it means. But you understand, that's the only tree there is.
You understand? This is the only my servant there
is. This is the blessed servant.
Now God has many servants, but behold my servant. Behold, look
to him. And he says, what? Mine elect,
mine chosen, in whom my soul delights. Guess whose tree it
is. It's his tree. And he'll put
in and take out any way he wants to. However the husbandman sees
fit. The blessed servant is the covenant
salvation of his chosen people. Jew and Gentile. And here's this other thing.
You know, it talks about an eternal covenant. You know why? Because
he's eternal. You know? It does talk about
the death of the testator, and here it is, he died but he rose
again. And he ever liveth to make intercession,
and he's the covenant. He's the covenant. Ah, I do like that. But are you
sure about that salvation stuff? It just has a light to the Gentiles.
Turn over if you would, just for a second, read Isaiah 49
and verse six. Isaiah 49 and verse six. And
he said, it is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob, And here, I like this, to restore
who? The preserved of Israel. Wait a minute. You saying there's
some preserved of Israel, but it's not all Jewish people? No,
I'm not saying it is. There's a preserved, you know.
What? There's a remnant. according
to the election of grace, which is gonna be run by mine elect.
Oh my. To preserve the preserved of
Israel, excuse me, restore the preserved of Israel, I will also
give thee for a light to the Gentiles. What's that mean? Ah, that thou mayest be my salvation,
where? Until the end of the earth. Not just to Israel. You understand? That was the shocking thing to
Nicodemus. For God so loved, what? The world. Not for God so loved the Jews,
that would have been okay. That was what they were used
to. No, no, no, no. This is mine elect unto the ends
of the earth. What? Bringing salvation. What? Thou mayest be who? My salvation. God's salvation unto the end
of the earth. The covenant between God and
Christ is Christ. And he is God's salvation unto
the ends of the earth. What? For both Jew and Gentiles. Now how do I know that's true?
Well, Acts chapter 13. Paul quotes this. He does. This is when Paul and Barnabas
were raising Cain and Antioch. That's what they called it anyway.
The Jews thought they were troublemakers, you understand. And in their
sight, they probably were. But they were preaching. And
the Jews rejected them, and the Gentiles said, we want to hear
more about this. Then verse 46 of Acts 13, it
says, then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said, it was necessary
that the word of God should first have been spoken to you, speaking
to the Jews and about the Jews. But seeing ye put it from you
and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn
to the Gentiles. Now by what authority do you
do that, Paul? Well, here it is. For so hath
the Lord commanded us. He didn't just say it. God commanded
us. How did he do that? I have set
thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation
unto the ends of the earth. You understand? Jesus Christ
is the covenant for the Jew and the Gentile. Jesus Christ is
salvation for the Jew and the Gentile. Now understand, Jew
and Gentile, that's everybody. Because that's Jew and not a
Jew. That's what it means to be a
Gentile. It doesn't matter whether you're Buddhist or Baptist. If
you're not a Jew, you're a Gentile. And that's where the division
was made. These guys, the Jews were there. Now I know they were
in Antioch of Pisidia, but they were at the synagogue. But guess
what? These Jews didn't want to hear
it. Not all of them. Some of them did. But the Gentiles
wanted it. Wow. How is that possible? Verse
48, and when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified
the word of the Lord. And here we go. As many as were
ordained to eternal life believed. What about those Jews? Well,
I'll tell you this about those Jews. As many as were ordained
to eternal life believed. Because guess what? There's no
difference in Christ. He's the covenant. of the Jew
and the Gentile. He's the salvation of the Jew
and the Gentile. Up until then, Paul explains
it in Romans, there was much advantage to being a Jew. You
had the old testament, you had Isaiah. That Ethiopian eunuch,
when he was riding in the chariot down there that God sent Philip
to, what was he reading? He was reading the book of Isaiah. Well,
he was reading the scroll, I guess, of Isaiah. What, Isaiah 53. Oh my. There was an advantage
to being a Jew, but here's the thing. An advantage is not salvation. That's just the truth of it.
That's just the truth of it. Because we have a plethora of
examples, a multitude of examples of how people saw miracles in
the Old Testament, saw glorious things in the Old Testament,
were delivered physically in the Old Testament, and turned
right around and rebelled against God. And you know what happened? God killed them for it. Dead. Was graveyard dead. Dead and
in hell. This is what you get. But here,
Isaiah was talking about the salvation of the Gentiles and
the Jews. And you know how he was talking
about the salvation of the Jews and the Gentiles? Is in my servant,
mine elect, in whom my soul delights. The covenant of God, Jesus Christ. Mm, I like that. Jesus Christ is exactly what
and who his chosen one needs. He is our covenant and he is
our salvation. And guess what? The Lord God,
God the Lord provided both in one. In one. Wow. Well, he says it in verse nine. of Isaiah 42. I'll hold thy hand and I'll keep
thee, I'll give thee for a covenant of the people for a light of
the Gentiles to open blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from
the prison and them that sit in darkness out of the prison
house. Now you understand, if your eyes
are blind, all you can do is sit in darkness. That's just
all there is. If our gospel be hid, it is hid
to who? Them that are lost, what's wrong
with them? Whom the God of this world has
blinded their minds. What do we need? That's everybody,
naturally. What do we need? We need the
covenant and salvation of Israel to open blind eyes. We need Jesus
Christ the righteous. And the Lord provides all for
his chosen people, both Jew and Gentile. To give salvation. How are men
saved? God gives it, or you ain't got
it. That's just the way it is. And
guess what, what did I say before? If he gives something, you got
it. You may not even know it yet.
You understand, I have a hope that God's dealing with somebody
right now. And I hope that he's opened his eyes. He's asked for
some tapes, well not tapes, but CDs. Oh man, I'm sorry, you know.
It doesn't matter. Philip asked that Ethiopian eunuch,
he said, do you understand what you're reading? He was reading
Isaiah 53. He says, how can I tell unless somebody tell me? I have
no man to tell me what this means. God is ordained preaching the
gospel. That's it. And that don't change the covenant.
That don't change the salvation. That just gives us something
to do. You understand, because it's not my voice that's gonna
help you. Unless you hear the voice of
the son of God, you're gonna stay dead. In trespasses and
in sin. But he says if you hear my voice,
you hear the voice of him that speaks. You're gonna hear, and
those that hear are gonna live. You're gonna live. How do we
believe Christ? Well, this is the work of God,
that you believe on him whom the Father has sent. Ah. Now, take a look at some things
of the covenant. I've just got a few things I wanna read. Because
when I start thinking, Jesus Christ is the covenant. So what
comes to mind? The last words of David. Although
my house be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure. For this is all my
salvation. Although we make it not to grow, What did Isaiah 55 say about
this? Incline your ear and come unto me here and your soul shall
live and I will make an everlasting covenant with you. What? Even the sure mercies of David. Now the God of peace that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd
of the sheep. What? Through the blood. of the
everlasting covenant. This covenant has blood. Our
covenant, his blood was shed. Simeon knew this. Luke chapter
two and verse 25, 32, I got it somewhere. Simeon had been told he would
not see death until he saw the Christ. And Mary and Joseph came
with the babe. Let's see. And behold, there was a man in
Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This is Luke two and verse 25.
And the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation
of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him. and it was revealed
unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before
he had seen the Lord's Christ. They brought the child and Simeon
saw him. Simeon took him in his arms.
What did Simeon say? Lord, now let us thy servant
depart in peace according to thy word. Verse 30, for mine
eyes have seen thy salvation. Wait a minute, which thou hast
prepared before the face of all people. Not all Jews, all people. Verse 32, a light, and not only
just a light, I love this, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the
glory of thy people Israel. He's a covenant. He's the covenant. And he's the salvation of all
people. One more thing. Psalm 89. Verse, well, wait a minute. Well, verse
28. My mercy will I keep for him
evermore. This is speaking of David. What
is it? And my covenant shall stand fast
with him. I like that. Verse 33. Nevertheless, because
he talks about his children maybe not doing whatever they're supposed
to do. Nevertheless. Doesn't matter. My loving kindness
will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fail. Here's what I want to get to.
My covenant will I not break. You understand? This is God speaking.
Now he says speaking to David, but guess what? David's just
like us. What does it say? My covenant
will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my
lips, once I have sworn by my holiness that I will not lie
unto David. I'm gonna tell you something,
God will not lie to you either, because God don't lie. What's
that mean? It means his covenant shall stand. It's eternal, just like His Son. And God, here's something I want
you to rejoice in. God will not break His covenant
because of you. He's not gonna do it. He's not
gonna break with His Son over you. He's gonna bring you in
He's gonna keep you, and he's gonna keep you, and he's gonna
keep you, and he's gonna raise you up on the last day. Because
God's not gonna break his covenant. Not with his son, because his
son is the covenant. What does he say? Ordered and
sure in all things, and this is all my salvation. What's all my salvation? Jesus
Christ, the righteous. Heavenly father. Thank you again
for this time in this place. Help us Lord to understand what you've done for
us, what you've done to us and what you're going to do. We know
you're doing it all. in your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
in whose name we pray, amen.