Okay, this evening now we want
to take a look at Isaiah 49. Isaiah 49. I'm taking the title
from what is found in verse 6. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ,
God the Father says, I'll also give thee, I'll give thee, boy
what a gift. God so loved that He gave. He
gave his only begotten son. Think of that. God so loved his
own, he gave everything he had. He gave his son for our sacrifice,
for our sin. I will give thee for a life.
A light, a revelation of salvation, a revelation of mercy. I'll give
that light to the Gentiles. God has an elect among the Jews,
no doubt about that. But He also has an elect among
the Gentiles that thou mayest be my salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is God's
salvation. He's God's Savior. God's Redeemer. Unto the end of the earth. There is only one Savior. There's only one salvation. Unto
the end of the earth, there'll never be another. And when God
comes back, the Lord Jesus comes back the second time without
sin and the salvation and puts an end to this time world The
Lord Jesus Christ from all eternity will still be our salvation.
In the end of this earth, to the end of this earth, He'll
be our salvation, and then to all eternity. What will He be?
He's still going to be our Savior, isn't He? Our Savior. Christ is given for our salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
light that we so desperately need. Who needs light? Those
who are groping in darkness. The Lord Jesus Christ is a light
we so desperately need, seeing that we're born in darkness. We're born in ignorance. We're
born blind. He must give us eyes that we
might see. By nature, we're born in darkness.
We're born in ignorance. We're born dead in sin. The Lord
says that light is coming to this world, and men love darkness
rather than the light. because their deeds are evil.
Light came into this world and we didn't see Him. There's no
beauty in Him that we should desire Him. You remember Isaiah
53. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. We're born in darkness, ignorance,
death, and the Lord Jesus Christ, He comes to give us light, and
life and salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is called
in John 8, 12. He said, I am the light of the
world. He that follows me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. He's the light of our life. In
John chapter 10, Don't turn, let me read it to you. John chapter
10, the Lord said, I'm come that they might have life and have
it more abundantly. I'm come that they might have
life and have it more abundantly. I'm the good shepherd who giveth
his life for the sheep. And then he says, I am the door.
By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. and shall go
in and out and find pasture. He leads us as a good shepherd
unto the green pastures of his word. The thief cometh not, but
for to steal, to kill, and to destroy. That's the beast, the
false prophet. I am come that they might have
life and have it more abundantly. He has come to give us salvation.
He's God's Savior come to give us salvation. Aren't you glad
he came? We'd never have salvation without
the Lord Jesus Christ coming and working out all the terms
of the covenant as our surety and Savior. The Lord God of heaven
and earth has provided us a perfect, complete, and the only remedy
for our terrible problem we have. We have a terminal disease. Are
we terminal? Sin is terminal. The only remedy
for our problem of darkness, ignorance, and sin, and the only
remedy for our spiritual darkness is Christ our light. Christ our
healing. Christ our pardon. Christ the
Lord Jesus. Christ is our only atonement
for sin. There is no other. He appeared
once in the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. Christ is our only righteousness
before God. Christ is the salvation light
that drives out the darkness of sin and gives us the light
of salvation. I like what David said in Psalm
27, remember the Lord is my light. And my salvation, whom shall
I fear? The Lord is the strength of my
life. Of whom shall I be afraid? The Lord is my light. The Lord
is my salvation. He translates us out of the kingdom
of darkness into the kingdom of God, dear son. That we should
show forth the praises of him who called us. Where did he find
us? In darkness. He called us out
of darkness into his marvelous light. You remember in 2 Corinthians
4 where he says that he commands the light to shine, just as he
did in the creation when there was darkness over the face of
the earth. He commanded, he said, let there be light, and there
was light. And that's the same thing He
does in our dark and dead heart. He commands the light of the
glory of God to shine in our heart that we might see the glory
of God in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. When He commands
the light to shine, we see. We see by the revelation of God
that the Lord Jesus Christ is everything in salvation. In this chapter we have the prophecy
of the promise of the coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. We see the full extent of His
commission as the mediator and surety of the covenant and the
great success of the gospel among the Gentiles that He will make
known unto us. That verse 26 in Isaiah 49 All flesh shall know that I am
the Lord, I am thy Savior, thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. All his people shall know. How
shall they know? By revelation. Remember, I've
told you over the years that it takes God to reveal God. It takes God to reveal God. And
that's what he does when he saves us. He shows us the Lord Jesus
Christ as God, our Savior. He is the mighty Redeemer who
actually redeemed all His people from their sin. He is the mighty
Savior. He is mighty to save. There is salvation in no other. He is the only Savior of sinners. Call His name Jesus. He shall
save His people from their sin. must command the light to shine.
He hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed
them unto babe. You see, salvation comes to us
not by reason, but by revelation. By revelation. Now, let's take
a look at verse one for just a moment, and then we'll work
our way down through verse six. Listen. Now, considering this
is God's word and God's truth and God's gospel, thus saith
the Lord, he is saying to us right now, listen, listen. Oh, to have ears to hear him
speak. Listen, O Isles, that is all the earth, listen to me. Boy, he has a message, doesn't
he? The message that needs to be
heard. Listen and then hearken, hearken, pay attention. Listen
intently. Listen for the message, ye people
from far. The Lord hath called me from
the womb. from the bowels of my mother,
after he made mention of my name." Now, this is a conversation here
that we have a little bit of an insight. God gives it to us
between the Father and the Son, talking about the salvation that
he would accomplish, the Lord Jesus Christ, for us. The Lord
calls upon us to pay attention to what he's about to declare
to us and to listen. Remember James said, let us be
swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. The Lord Jesus
Christ is a great prophet of his church. He alone is to be
listened to in all things. Really, he demands our attention,
doesn't he? You remember in Psalm 49, in
Psalm 49 it says, hear this all ye people, all the inhabitants
of the earth, hear this message, hear this message. Remember on
the Mount of Transfiguration when the Lord Jesus Christ was
magnified before Peter, James, and John and the countenance
was like the sun and the brilliant shining He seemed to pull back
his humanity and his deity just shines forth in such a brilliant,
brilliant way. And the Father speaks from heaven.
Remember what He said? This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. And then remember what He said?
Hear Him. I want to hear Him. I want to hear Him speak. Oh,
what a blessing to hear the Lord. There's a promise given to us
in Deuteronomy 18. You remember it said, God will
raise up a prophet. He's speaking of Moses. God will
raise up a prophet from among the brethren. Like unto thee,
I put my word in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all
that I shall command him. And then he says, those who will
not hear him, I'll require that your hand. Oh, to hear the Lord
Jesus Christ. Blessed is that person that's
been given ears to hear Him speak, and faith to receive His word.
Remember our Lord said to His disciples when He had given that
parable of the sower, and they asked the Lord, what does that
really mean? He said, well, blessed are your
eyes if you see, and your ears if you hear. The Apostle Paul,
when writing to those in Thessalonica, he says, we thank God because
when you heard the word of God, you didn't hear it as a word
of men. But as it is in truth, the Word of God that effectually
worketh in you." That ought to really get our attention when
we read the Word, when we study the Word, when we hear the Word
preached. This is not Isaiah speaking. This is God Almighty
speaking to the hearts of His people. And He said, listen to
me, will you? Listen to me. God's got to give
us ear to hear. I understand that. but oh for
desire to hear the word of the Lord." Isn't that why you're
here this evening? To hear a word from the Lord. Listen to what
the Lord said. He declares unto us in verse
1 here, His divine authority by which He comes, He said, the
Lord hath called me. The father had called the son.
In the fullness of time, God sent forth his son, made of a
woman, made under the law. The Lord had called me. You see
that? He called me from the womb, from the womb of eternity. From
the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name, O
my name. God has given him a name which
is above every name. The Lord Jesus Christ is no unsent,
unqualified, unskilled, rookie, amateur Savior. God called him,
and God sent him. He did not assume the office
as prophet, priest, and king, but was called and sent of God
in due time, him being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God. Aren't you glad God, in His purpose
and eternal covenant, sent the Lord Jesus Christ to accomplish
our salvation? We'd have no hope of salvation
without Christ, Christ in him crucified. Now notice this, the
Lord called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother,
as he made mention of my name. Not only from the womb of his
earthly mother Mary, the body of the humanity of the Lord Jesus
Christ, for as soon as he was conceived and born of her, but
from the womb of eternity, from the womb of the eternal purpose
and decrees of God, for he was sent forth to be our mediator,
foreordained in the eternal purpose of God, to be the propitiation
for our sins, you remember he was set forth, and was predestined
to be our redeemer before the foundation of the world, even
before he had a being as a man in this world, he stood as a
surety of the everlasting covenant of grace. You remember we studied
in the revelation that he's the lamb slain before the foundation
or from the foundation of the world, and God has given him
a special name, a special name. Remember his name, turn back
to Isaiah 7. Isaiah 7. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
didn't have His beginning at Bethlehem. Now that was the beginning
of His humanity, but as the Son of God, He is the Eternal Son. Look what it says here in Isaiah
7 verse 14. You remember we had this a few weeks back. Therefore,
the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall
conceive and bear a son. Now how did that virgin conceive?
The virgin who never knew a man, Mary, the Holy Spirit came upon
her and the Son of God was conceived in her by the power of God, the
Holy Spirit. He's called the seed of woman.
A virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and thou shalt call his
name Immanuel. What does that mean? What does
Immanuel mean? God with us. He's God, our Savior. What's his name? It's termed
Isaiah 9. He made mention of my name, Immanuel,
God with us. Look at Isaiah 9, verse 6. For an undusted child is born,
Unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful." Notice
that capital. That's his name is Wonderful.
I hesitate calling anything in this life Wonderful but the Lord
Jesus Christ. I don't like to even use that
word Wonderful without having a reference to the Gospel. His
wonderful love, His wonderful grace. His name is Wonderful. His name is Counselor. He's the
advocate, mediator, and intercessor. He's the mighty God. He's the
everlasting Father. He is the Prince of Peace. Oh,
He made mention of my name. God has given Him a name which
is above every name. At that name every knee will
bow. Every tongue will confess that he's Lord to the glory of
God the Father. Remember what John and Peter
said to those Pharisees who criticized them for healing that blind man?
Or the crippled man, rather? He said, neither is there salvation
in any other. There's no other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must be saved. Oh, he made mention
of my name. Do you have ears to hear his
name? His name, wonderful counselor of the mighty God, the everlasting
Father. Now look at verse 2. He's qualified here as the Savior
that's called from all eternity to be our mediator. He hath made my mouth like a
sharp sword. His mouth like a sharp sword.
In the shadow of His hand hath He hid me. a hidden sword, and
made me as a polished shaft in the quiver, in his quiver hath
he hid me." You see, he's hid until he's revealed. He's hid
these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto
babe. He declares unto us how he is
qualified and equipped by God the Father to accomplish his
mission of mercy for us. Remember they said of Him, no
man ever spake like that man? His words were with authority
and power. His Word has all authority, has
the weight of God behind it, because He is God, our Savior. His Word is like a sharp sword. Now we've read that how many
times in the Revelation? Out of His mouth goes a sharp,
two-edged sword. You remember in our study from
the book of Hebrews, where it talks about the Word of God,
the Sword of Spirit, which is the Word of God. The Word of
God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. It cuts both ways. Now, if you're
going to schedule an operation, and you have a surgeon who's
going to operate on you, He's not going to take a butter knife
and work on you. He's going to take a sharp instrument
and he's going to, with skilled hands, take that sharp instrument
and make a precise incision that he might operate on you. That's
what God does with his word. He takes the word, the sword,
the sharp edge of the sword, and he operates upon our heart. A heart surgeon, he is the heart
surgeon. That's what we need, a sharp
sword. His words were with power. No man ever spoke like that man.
His words calmed the wind. And they said, what manner of
man is this that even the wind and the seas obey him? His word
healed the sick. He spoke a word that raised the
dead. He spoke a word and the blind
they saw, the deaf we're able to hear, His Word saved the lost. His Word is yet today powerful
as it ever was. Powerful as it ever was. I looked
up this scripture today, I couldn't remember where it was, but it's
found in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 8, verse 4. It says,
where the Word of the King is, there's power. His word is the
powerful, mighty word of the Lord. And then it describes it
not only as a sharp sword, but as a polished shaft. You see
that? What is a polished shaft? Well,
it's an arrow. An arrow. A choice, sharp arrow,
piercing the heart of God's intended target, the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ convicts us of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
And He never shoots His arrow amiss. He shoots His arrow right
at the target, and He never misses. You remember Psalm 45, the arrows
of the King are sharp. in the hand of the enemy, in
the heart of the enemy, whereby the people fall under thee."
Have you ever been shot with the arrow of the gospel? It changes
your life forever. It makes you a new creature in
the Lord Jesus Christ. These instruments, His sharp
sword, His arrows and polished shaft are hidden in the arsenal
of His hand, hidden in the types and pictures of the Old Testament,
hidden in the mysteries of the Gospel that must be revealed
unto us. Peter, whom do men say that I
am? Some say you're this man, this
man, this man, but Peter, whom do you say I am? Oh, thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God. Blessed art you, Peter. Flesh and blood did not reveal
that in you, but my Father, which is in heaven. Salvation comes
by revelation of God to the heart, to the heart, our heart. Look
at verse three now. And said unto me, God the Father,
still speaking to the Son, He hath made my mouth like a sharp
sword, He hath made me as a polished shaft. And He said unto me, Thou art
my servant. Well, that's a pretty high title
to be called a servant of the Lord. You know why? Turn over
here to Isaiah 42 verse 1. The Lord Jesus Christ calls Himself
the servant of the Lord. Isaiah 42 verse 1, Behold my
servant whom I uphold, mine elect and whom my soul delighteth,
I put my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment, salvation
to the Gentiles. There it is again, he's the light
of salvation to the Gentiles. Behold my servant. Boy, he's
a servant of God Almighty to accomplish our salvation. God
said, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Thou art my servant. Thou art
my servant. Three things we see here. First
of all, a servant of His choosing, His appointing, His calling,
His sending. He's called His righteous servant.
Look over here at Isaiah 53 verse 10. He's called His righteous
servant. My servant, my elect. Isaiah
42, 1. Isaiah 53, 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He got it at 5310. He hath put
him to grief, thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.
He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasures
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. Oh, he's the righteous servant
of God. who, think about it, the law
of God had to be magnified and honored. Who's gonna do that?
We can't do that. We can't honor the law of God,
magnify the law of God. But the Lord Jesus Christ said,
I didn't come to destroy the law or the prophet, but I came
to fulfill all things for us. He is God's servant, my servant. Now watch this, oh Israel. in
whom I will be glorified." Now here is a father calling the
son, the Lord Jesus Christ, Israel. Now remember what Israel means?
Remember, Jacob wrestled, and the Lord wrestled with Jacob,
and God said, your name's gonna be no longer Jacob, but your
name's gonna be Israel, remember? A prince of God. The Lord Jesus
Christ, is God's prince. He is the prince of peace. He
is the king of peace. We read that a moment ago in
Isaiah 9, 6. He made peace, reconciled us to God, put us in a right
relationship with God, who made peace for us with his own blood. Christ is the head and representative
of the whole Israel of God. He is the prince of peace. He
is the prince and we are prince. Remember what we read in Isaiah,
rather Revelation 1, 5 and 6, unto him who loved us and washed
us from our sin in his own blood and has made us kings and priests
unto our God. We are the Prince of Israel in
the Lord Jesus Christ our Covenant Head. Christ and the Church by
virtue of being one and united together have the same name. Our name is Israel. His name
is Israel, a prince. He's made us kings and priests
unto our God. You remember Jeremiah 23, 5,
he said, talking about the righteous branch that the Lord will raise
up, and you shall call His name, the Lord our righteousness. Then
over in Jeremiah 33, he starts to talk about describing the
Lord and His church. And he says, she shall be called
the Lord our righteousness. Now you remember we studied in
Isaiah 54, he's called our husband, our head. We take his name. He is our husband. He is the
prince of Israel and we are kings and priests in our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now watch this statement he says
here in the last part of verse three, in whom, in whom, I will
be glorified. It always gets back to in whom
I will be glorified. I will be glorified. It's always
to the praise of the glory of His grace. Remember in Ephesians
chapter one, it's always we accept it in the beloved to the praise
of the glory of His grace. This is Jehovah's great end and
all He does in our salvation and all that he had in view in
Christ working out our salvation, all the divine perfections of
God are glorified in the salvation of sinners by the Lord Jesus
Christ. He magnified all the attributes
of God. His holiness? Magnified. His love? His justice? His mercy? His grace? All the attributes
of God honored in the Lord Jesus Christ being obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. God is well pleased for His righteousness
sake. Let's see if we can find that.
Where is that at? Over here in Isaiah 42, I believe. Isaiah
42. Verse 21. Isaiah 42, 21. The Lord is well pleased for
His righteousness sake. He will magnify the law and He
will make it honorable. The Lord is well pleased for
His righteousness sake. And the Lord is well pleased
with us. When He said, this is My beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased, being one with Him and in Him,
being accepted in the Beloved, what God says of the Lord Jesus
Christ, that's what He says of us, as sons of God, united together
with Him. But here's the bottom line in
all that God does, His glory. Jonathan Edwards wrote a book
years ago, back in 1750, something like that. called the History of Redemption.
And he said the grand design of God's redemption is the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything God does is wrapped
up in his glory. Moses asked him, remember, Lord
show me your glory. Remember what the Lord said,
I'll cause all my goodness to pass before thee? That's Christ.
I will be merciful to whom I will be merciful. That's his glory.
God's greatest glory is my greatest need. I need mercy. I need mercy. I will be glorified. That's how
we know who is preaching the gospel and who is not. The false
gospel tends to Elevate and magnify the sinner to the exclusion of
God giving all the honor and glory. The salvation of the grace
of God, when it's preached, gives God all the honor and glory. He's jealous of His glory, and
rightly so, in whom I will be glorified. I was looking at this
verse earlier today in Ephesians 3. where Paul closes that third
chapter. Unto him be glory in the church
by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Unto him be the glory. Remember we studied in Galatians
6.14. God forbid! God forbid, Father, that I should
glory. What? Save in the cross of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. Now, listen
to what the Lord Jesus Christ says in return. So here's what
the Father says to the Son. Now, here's what the Son says
back. Now, He says this as the man
mediator, as the God-man. Then I say, I've labored in vain. Now, that's a mysterious statement.
It's not one easily understood. Then I said, I've labored in
vain. I've spent my strength for naught, and in vain. Yet surely my judgment is with
the Lord, my justice is with the Lord, and my work with my
God. Now He came to accomplish our
salvation. So what is being said here? When
He said, I've labored in vain. I've spent my strength for naught.
Not that any of his redeeming work, not that any of his work
in accomplishing our salvation was in vain. That was not in
vain. He did not die in vain. His death
was successful, victorious. We've seen that. It's always
successful. But the Lord Jesus Christ, looking
to his earthly ministry, sees the rejection of the Jews, sees
the hatred of the Pharisee, the rejecting of the Messiah who
said, we have no king but Caesar, the sliding of his doctrines,
they said of him, you're a devil. You have the doctrine of devils.
You're a winebibber, a gluttonous man. Refusing to be gathered
unto him, he came unto his own, his own received him not. being a faithless and perverse
generation, and the Lord says, as a man looking at his ministry
through the eyes of perfection, seeing that men naturally would
reject him, and says, well, I've spent my strength for nothing. In the same way, many of God's
faithful ministers have said, my ministry's been in vain. I
remember reading some years back in Jeremiah chapter 20, when
Jeremiah was so hated and persecuted and put in prison, and Jeremiah
said, I'm just going to quit. I'm going to leave the ministry.
I'm going to quit. My ministry's been in vain. And
then he said, I could not stay. His word was like a fire burning
in my bones, and I could not quit. But oftentimes, we're tempted
to think that our ministry has been in vain. That we've labored
for years to no avail. When we see no result, no fruit
to our labor. But listen, my friend, the preaching
of the Gospel and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ is never
in vain, is it? Never in vain. It's never in
vain. Take your Bible and let's find
1 Corinthians 15. You can find that easily. 1 Corinthians
15. I quote this verse all the time.
1 Corinthians 15, verse 57. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 57. But thanks be to God who has
given us a victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians
15, verse 57. Now I quote that all the time,
but look at the next verse. My beloved, be you steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as
much as you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. As a matter of fact, turn over
a couple of pages to 2 Corinthians chapter 2. Remember this verse
when we went through this book? 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse
14. Now, thanks be to God, which
always causes us to triumph in Christ, and make manifest the
savor of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto
God a sweet savor of Christ in them that are saved, and in them
that perish. To one we're a savor of death
unto death, the other a savor of life unto life. Who is sufficient
for these things? Well, the gospel is sufficient.
The gospel is sufficient. Now let's look back to Isaiah
49 again. Surely my work, my reward, my
judgment is before the Lord. The last part of verse 4. My
judgment is with the Lord, and my work, my work is with my God. or before the Lord. What's being
said here is that the work of the Lord, the work of redemption,
His cause and His accomplishment of salvation is manifested and
accepted as unto the Lord. Now, I have a reference here.
Let's turn and read it. Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40. Yet surely my judgment is just. is with the Lord and my work
with my God. Now look at Isaiah 40, verse
9. O Zion, that bringeth good tidings,
get thee up into a high mountain. O Jerusalem, that bringeth good
tidings, lift up thy voice with strength. Lift it up and be not
afraid. Say unto the cities, Behold your God. Behold, the
Lord God will come with a strong hand, his arm shall rule for
him. Behold, his reward is with him,
and his work is before him. He shall feed his flock like
a shepherd. He shall gather the lamb with
his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead
those that are with young. Oh, he says, my judgment is with
the Lord, and my work is unto my God. The church of the Lord
Jesus Christ is reward of His work, and Christ Himself is reward
of our salvation. Now look at verse 5. Now listen
again to the word of the Father unto the Son, verse 5. Now thus
saith the Lord, that form me from the womb, he repeats what
he says in verse 1, to bring and for me from the womb to be
his servant, to bring again to him Jacob unto him, that Israel
may be gathered to him," there's a better reading there, "...yet
shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall
be my strength." Now let's look at a couple of things there and
I'll let you go. God's purpose in salvation shall be accomplished. Jacob and Israel, the whole elect
of God among Jew and Gentile, shall be gathered unto him. They
shall be called out irresistibly with the gospel message and brought
to the Lord Jesus Christ in saving faith. Not one of the Lord's
sheep shall perish." Notice what he says there. I will bring Jacob again to the
Lord." The sons of Jacob. He's talking about covenant people.
Remember the Lord said, I am the captain of your salvation.
It's bringing many sons into glory. Again, it's written in
1 Peter 3, Christ suffered once for our sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might, what? Bring us unto God. To bring Jacob,
sons of Jacob, I am the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons
of Jacob are not consumed. Jacob I have loved, Esau I have
hated. He brings us to the Father. That Israel may be gathered,
yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God
shall be my strength. Turn over here to Isaiah 43.
Isaiah 43. Look at verse 3, Isaiah 43. I am the Lord thy God, the Holy
One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Saba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my
sight, thou hast been honorable. I have loved thee. Therefore
will I give men for thee and people for thy lot. Fear not,
for I am with thee. I'll bring thy seed. from the
east, and gather thee from the west. I'll say to the north,
give up, and to the south, keep not back. Bring my son from far,
and my daughters from the ends of the earth. Every one that
is called by my name, for I have created him for my glory. I have
formed him. Yea, I have made him." He gets
right back to his glory, doesn't he? I'm going to bring all the
elect back home, not one sheep of Christ. Remember, the Lamb
stood on Mount Zion. Revelation 14, verse 1, "...with
all the 144,000 stood in Him, and with Him, and by Him, gathering
His elect unto the Father, to the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
shall be glorious in His eyes." Verse 6, "...and He said, It
is a light thing that thou shouldest be My servant, to raise up the
tribe to Jacob, to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also
give thee for a light to the Gentile, that thou mayest be
salvation to the ends of the earth. It is not enough to honor the
Lord Jesus Christ with the raising up and redeeming and restoring
of God's elect among the Jews, but also God's elect among the
Gentile nations as well. Remember we read in Revelation
chapter 5, those who sung the new song, redeemed by the blood
of Christ out of every kindred, tribe, nation, tongue under heaven. To call out a number of God's
elect among the Gentiles, that's what Paul said, that he would
be a light of them, To the elect of God, we read it, Acts chapter
13, as many as were ordained to eternal life believe the gospel. He is the author and finisher
of our salvation. He is the accomplisher of all
our salvation. I will give, also give thee for
a light to the Gentiles. that thou mayest be my salvation."
Isn't that what Simeon said when the Lord said, promised, you
won't die until you see the Lord's cry? He said, Lord, when he picked
up the babe, the Lord Jesus Christ there in the temple, Lord, I'm
ready to die. I've seen thy salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is a salvation
that God has given in Christ unto the end of the earth. There's
no other, no other Savior, but the Lord Jesus Christ himself.