Isaiah 52:13-55:13

Three chapters last week one verse studying contrasts here. But

let me just say, if you weren't here last Sunday

for the message from Proverbs for twenty three, I never

say this, please go back and listen to last week's message.

I believe that God wants for you to for Proverbs

for verse twenty three, to serve as the headwaters for

twenty twenty six and your whole life. I just that

seems clear to me from scripture, and that's the kind

of feedback I've already gotten from many of you. So

please go back if you were traveling last Sunday, but

this Sunday Isaiah fifty two thirteen through fifty five of

prophecy and promises. And the reason why I emphasize those

two words prophecy and promises is because there's no way

around it. The Christian faith is a matter of trust.

It's a matter of trust. It is a matter of

putting your life into God's hands in such a way

as you are basing your life on what He says.

You're basing your salvation on what He says about his

son's blood for you. It's a matter of trust. And

the question I want to explore today in these three chapters,

is is he trustworthy? Are the promises that he may?

And he calls us to rest in his promises? Can

they be trusted? What we're going to find in these

three chapters is essentially three sets of promises. In chapter

fifty three promises about his servant. Chapter fifty four promises

about his people. Chapter fifty five is an appeal that's

loaded up with promises. And what I want to do

is consider that appeal in fifty five in light of

God's track record in fifty three and fifty four. Okay,

now we're going to read it. I know, I know,

but I took a poll. I took a poll, and

overwhelmingly the answer was let's read the whole thing together.

So as a matter of focus and reverence, I'm going

to ask you to stand. If you can stand for

the reading of God's word, you can read along as

I read aloud. If you're wondering if this made me

go long last service, the answer is yes. So just

saying Isaiah fifty two, starting in verse thirteen, in the

following chapters, behold, my servant shall act wisely. He shall

be high and lift it up, and shall be exalted,

as many were astonished at you. His appearance was so

marred beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of

the children of mankind. Remember this is a whole set

of promises about his servant. So shall he sprinkle many nations.

Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that

which has not been told them. They see not which

they have not heard. They understand who has believed what

he has heard from us? And to whom has the

arm of the Lord been revealed. For he grew up

before him like a young plant, and like a root

out of dry ground. He had no form or majesty

that we should look at him, no beauty that we

should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and as

one from whom med men hide their faces. He was despised,

and we esteemed him not surely he has borne our

griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, unafflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities upon him. Was the

chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we

are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We

have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord

is laid on him the iniquity of us. All he

was oppressed, he was afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth,

like a lamb that has led to the slaughter, like

a sheep that is before its shearers is silent. So

he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment, he

was taken away. And as for his generation, who considered

that he was cut off out of the land of

the living, stricken for the transgression of my people, And

they made his grave with the wicked and with a

rich man in his death, although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth, Yet it

was the will of the Lord to crush him. He

was put to grief. When his soul makes an offering

for guilt, he shall see his offspring, He shall prolong

his days. The will of the Lord shall pray burn

his hand out of the anguish of his soul. He

shall see and be satisfied by his knowledge. Shall the

righteous one, my servant make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities Therefore, I will divide

him a portion with the many, and he shall divide

the spoil with the strong. Because he was poured out.

He poured out his soul to death, and was numbered

with the transgressors. Yet he bore the sin of many

and makes intercession for the transgressors. And now he gives

us this set of promises about his people. He says this,

sing o, baron one who did not bear, break forth

into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been

in labor, For the children of the desolate one will

be more than the children of her who is married,

says the Lord enlarge. The place of your tent, let

the curtains of your habitation be stretched out. Do not hold,

do not hold back. Lengthen your chords and strengthen your stakes.

For you will spread abroad to the right and to

the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and

will people the desolate cities. Fear not, for you will

not be ashamed, not be confounded. You will not be disgraced,

for you will forget the shame of your youth, and

the reproach of your widow hood will be remembered no more.

For your maker is your husband. The Lord of Hosts

is his name. And the Holy One of Israel is

your redeemer, the God of the whole earth. He is

called for. The Lord has called you like a wife

deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth

when she's cast off, says your God. For a brief movement,

I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather

you in overflowing anger. For a moment I hid my

face from you, But with everlasting love I will have

compassion on you, says the Lord, your redeemer. This is

like the days of Noah to me, as I swore

that the water of Noah should no more go over

the earth. So I have sworn that I will not

be angry with you and will not rebuke you. For

the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, But

my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my

covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord,

who has compassion on you, Oh, afflicted, storm, tossed one,

and not comforted. Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,

and you lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make

your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all

your wall of precious stones. All your children shall be

taught by the Lord. And great shall be the peace

of your children. In righteousness you shall be established. You

shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear,

and from terror. It shall not come to you. If

anyone stirs up strife, It's not from me. Whoever stirs

up strife with you shall fall because of you. Behold,

i have created the smith, who blows the fire of

coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I've also

created the ravager to destroy. No weapon that is fashioned

against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue

that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage

of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication from me,

declares the Lord. And now comes his appeal, his appeal

that is loaded down with promises that we're going to

consider in light of his trustworthiness. He appeals this way, come,

everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who

has no money, come buy and eat. Come by wine

and milk, without money and without price. Why do you

spend your money for that which is not bread? And

your labor for that which does not satisfy. Listen to

me and eat what is good, and light yourselves in

rich food. Incline your ear and come to me. Hear

that your soul may live, and I will make with

you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast sure love for David. Behold,

I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader

and commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call a

nation that you do not know, and a nation you

did not know, shall run to you, because of the Lord,

your God, and of the Holy One of Israel. For

he has glorified you. Seek the Lord while he may

be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let

the wicked forsake his way, and the righteous the unrighteous

man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, that

he may have compassion on him, and to our God,

for he will abundantly pardon for my thoughts, not your thoughts.

Neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For

as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are

my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than

your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come

down from heaven, do not return there but water the earth,

making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower,

bread to the eater. So shall my word be that

goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to

me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and shall succeed in the thing for which I scent it.

For you shall go out in joy and be led

forth in peace. The mountains and the hills before you

shall break forth into singing. All the trees of the

field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn, shall

come up the cypress, instead of the briar, shall come

up the myrtle, And it shall make a name for

the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

You maybe have a seat. Thank you for your focus

and reverence as we read God's word together. As I

said at the start, here's what I'd like to do.

I'd like to start in chapter fifty five. I'd like

to consider the nature of this appeal that God is making.

Let's understand his appeal, because then I want to go

back to fifty three and fifty four and consider how

trustworthy God is that we would trust his appeal. His

appeal is based on promises. He's saying, come to me,

I have promises for you. Will you trust me? And

I think we can go back to fifty three and

fifty four and sort of size it up in a

good way. I think, in a right and righteous way,

we can size up God's credit worthiness and consider whether

or not we're going to lean in and trust his promises.

So chapter fifty five, then right, we're going to understand

his appeal. Here it is in a nutshell. Ready, his

appeal in fifty five. You don't look ready, now you

look ready. Here it is in a nutshell. If you

come to me, If you come to me and you

stay with me in repentant trust, you will be satisfied.

If you come and stay with me in repentant trust,

you will be satisfied. Then let's break down that appeal.

If you come to me, this is about coming to him.

This is about staying with him. This is about it

says in verse three, come to me, I'm making covenant

with you. Later on there says return to the Lord,

come to our God. This is not just about stuff.

There's plenty of stuff, there's plenty of blessed. This is

about coming to him, being with him. And finding satisfaction.

And it's free. So he says, over and over again,

it's free you with no money. I'm sure this is

why Christ said, blessed are those who are poor in spirit.

When you're bankrupt, then the only place you can go

is where it's free. Do you know you're bankrupt? Verse one,

No money, without money without price. Come. This isn't about

earning satisfaction through the work that it takes. His offer,

his appeal is free. If you come to me in

repentant trust, in repentant trust. This is about trust. Make

no mistake. This is about trusting his offer and trusting

his promise. He says, come listen, incline your ear. My

word will succeed. Will you open your heart to it

and trust me? But trusting includes repentance. Trusting includes repentance.

He says. Let the wicked man forsake his way, the

unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to me. My

thoughts are higher, My ways are higher. That's what I'm

calling you to. I'm calling you to my thoughts. I'm

calling you to my ways. Your trust in me includes

repentance towards me. If you come to me and repentant trust,

then you will be satisfied. That's his appeal. This is

promises of blessing and satisfaction, water for the thirsty, and

not just water, milk and wine and rich food, compassion

and pardon and joy. You will go out in peace,

go out and joy, and break forth in peace, But

covenant with you would be everlasting. You will have joy

now and forever more. This is his appeal to you.

Will you come to him? Will you stay with him?

And the question is why would you? I mean, you

would only come to him and respond to that appeal

if you trusted these promises. Now, if you trusted that

these promises were true and this kind of satisfaction was

available to you, then you would do it. Yes, our

our senses get clouded with sin. Temptation blocks our ears,

our tastes fade because we get entangled or tempted. But

when we're seeing clearly, the question is can I trust

this appeal that's loaded up with promises? Why should you

trust them? Why would you consider God to be trustworthy

in what he promises? Because I say so, I mean,

that wouldn't be the worst answer. I'm up here telling

you that I sought out satisfaction in all manner of

other things, and instead finally came to Christ trusting the

Lord this exact appeal. Come to me in repentant trust,

and I will give you satisfaction. And I'm here to

testify and witness it's true. And in fact, I've just

I dedicated my life to just trying to persuade you

to trust him. Wouldn't be the worst thing in the

world if you just believe what I was telling you.

What would it take? What would it take for you

to trust his appeal and his promises with everything you've got. Well,

let's go back to chapter fifty three and chapter fifty four,

and I'd like to walk through it with kind of

a framework for assessing trustworthiness. Let's think of let's think

of ourselves as bankers. That's what bankers do all the time.

They're assessing your trustworthiness to pay back right, to keep

a promise. And what's the framework they use basically boils

down to this number one track record. I hate to

tell you this, but your credit score is based on

your track record, right, how have you done in terms

of keeping your promises? Your financial promises that y'all gets

amalgamated into a credit score based on your track record,

And so I think there's a righteous way to size

up God's credit score, his track record, how he's been

doing and keeping promises. And number two desire desire. That's

part of the framework. Does this person even is there?

Are they even motivated to keep their promise? Well, normally

the answer is yes, because they want to keep a house. Right,

This person is motivated to keep their monthly promise to

the bank because they want to keep the house. And

the bank considers that motivation enough. Okay, well, what about

what's the third part of my framework here? Oh? Invested?

Is this person invested in keeping this promise? Usually the

way that works is you put down a down payment

twenty percent or so, that's a chunk, and the bank says, well,

they're invested. They're invested in paying this back, so we

can consider their promise trustworthy. And then the fourth piece

of the framework would be this are they able? Do

they have the ability? That's what the bank is asking

when they size up your W two. Do they have

the kind of ability that they need in order to

keep this promise month in and month out? And so

what I'm suggesting is that we look at fifty three

and chapter fifty four of Isaiah. With that framework in mind,

and we consider the trustworthiness of God when he's extending

his promise to us in fifty five, saying, come and

I will satisfy you. Can you believe him? Well, let's

look at fifty three these promises about his servant. God

makes all these promises about his servant in chapter fifty three.

Turn back right like I did earlier, I want to

put this chapter kind of in a nutshell. The nutshell

would look like this. God says, I will send my servant.

He will suffer for sinners and be vindicated. I will

send my servant, he will suffer for sinners, but he

will be vindicated. Well, let's check it out. First of all,

is that what he says? Yeah, Well, that's what the

chapter is all about. I will send my servant, he

will come, he will do this work. Did he did

he send his servant? What's his track record on that? Well,

his servant arrived and he was announced by angels, and

then he was proclaimed by prophets like John the Baptist.

Behold the Son. Here's the lamb of God who takes

away the sins of the world. There's this one who

comes after me, who's before me? Anna and Simeon testify

to him in the temple. Here God has finally sent

the servant. I mean, the demons testified that this was

the one. Anybody wondered, like, did God keep his promises

and send the Son of God to redeem? And the

demons would go, yes, we hate it. Jesus himself testified

to his identity. God testified to his identity at Christ's

baptism and on the Mount of Transfiguration, this is him.

Listen to him, and then the New Testament writers over

and over and over again. He's come the servant he

said he would send. He's come. What's his track record?

I mean, for one, not only does it show track records,

it also shows desire. God is motivated. He said, I

will send my servant, and he did, and he send

it in such a way shows that when God is

making this promise to you, when he's making this appeal

to you, come to me in repentant trust, and I

will satisfy you. If you look at his track record

and you look at how motivated it is to keep

his promises, He's worthy to be trusted. I will send

my servant, who will suffer for sinners. Well, what about

that part? Did he keep his promise? There? He will

suffer for sinners? Things like verse fourteen, he'll be marred

beyond human semblance. He was despised, rejected by men. Yeah,

in fact that the Gospel of John tells us that Pilot,

after having beaten and flogged and so disfigured Christ, he

sent Christ out to be witnessed by the crowd, kind

of like in that, like, what else do you want

me to do to this guy? Didn't even look like

a person anymore? And this is what Pilot says. He

sends Christ down. He says, behold the man, just like

Isaiah said he would. But he didn't just suffer. He

suffered for sinners. Isaiah said, he was wounded for our transgressions.

He bore our iniquities upon him. Was the chastisement that

brought us peace. And as you read all that, the

New Testament writers have to say about what Christ did

over and over again, it's the same thing. Through him.

We have been justified. Through him, We have peace with

God through him, and under his blood we have been

forgiven and pardoned for our sake. He made him sin

who knew no sin, that we would become the righteousness

of God. Did he send his servant? Did he suffer

for sinners? What's his track record? How invested is he?

How invested is he in keeping this promise that when

he appeals to you, come to me in repentant trust,

and I will satisfy you. You can know he's invested.

I will send my servant. He will suffer for sinners,

but be vindicated. That's what Isaiah is saying in verses

ten through twelve. Right he shall see his offspring, he

will I will divide the spoil. He will divide the

spoil with a strong right. He will see the light

of life. Is what Isaiah is saying. And what's the

track record there? Every gospel writer tells us he rose again,

he is alive. And not only just those gospel writers

or just to twelve. He appeared to hundreds and hundreds

of people over the course of forty days, showing that

he was vindicated just like Isaiah said he would be.

And not only that, the rest of the New Testament

writers testify to the theological ramifications of all that that

Christ can be trusted. He was vindicated. We can place

our faith in him God's promises are real? Does God

have the ability to satisfy you? Well, he has the

ability to raise the dead. What's his track record? How

motivated is he? How invested is he? How able is he?

I think all of fifty five tells us. But maybe

you're skeptical of the way that the Bible conveys the

person of Jesus Christ. Because if you are, let me

just say like, I will grant you a few things.

For instance, all of the eyewitnesses to the pronouncement of

who Christ is and his crucifixion and his resurrection, all

that took place, witnessed by hundreds and hundreds of people

and recorded in history. I'll grant you all those eyewitnesses

are dead. You can't talk to them. I mean, they

have a lot to say, but you can't actually talk

to them. I'll grant you that. It's not usually how

we assess the historical accuracy of things. All the eyewitnesses

to George Washington are dead too. You still believe in him,

but I'll grant you. I'll also grant you this that

the testimony of the New Testament, that trusting in Christ

coming to God, and trust in repentant trust, and the

satisfaction that he promises there is rather subjective. Millions and

millions of people would testify to it. Millions of people

would say, I have been forgiven by God, I know

him and I live in him. I'm testifying to that

right now. But it is kind of subjective. You can't

see it, touch it, feel it. So let's look at

chapter fifty four because what we find in chapter fifty

four extends into the physical world. Currently, it is way

more objective for you to assess. Let's consider chapter fifty

four and all of God's promises about his people all right.

Chapter fifty three, God's promises about his servant. Chapter fifty four,

God's promises about his people. Let's size him up like

I did before. Let me put it in a nutshell.

What he says in fifty four is this. Here are

his promises that his multiplied people all over in an

everlasting covenant of peace will one day be set in

splendor and safety. That is, multiplied people all over in

an everlasting covenant of peace will one day be set

in splendor and safety. How's he doing well? Let's consider

his multiplied people all over, as he says in chapter

fifty four, sing o'baron one who did not bear. You're

going to have more children than mothers. In other words,

there's going to be a multiplication of his people. That's

non biological. His people are going to be multiplied in

a spiritual way. And the are gonna extend all over

the earth. They're gonna possess nations, he says, extend your tents,

lengthen your chords. You have no idea how big this

is gonna get my people. And that's exactly what happens.

Christ has risen from the dead. The Gospel goes out

to the Gentiles. It's like the first thing that happens,

like the every language is into every language, the mighty

works of God are translated and just spreads throughout the earth.

And in Romans, Ball tells us it is the It

is those who have the faith of Abraham, not those

who are the children of Abraham, that are actually the

children of Abraham. God is doing exactly what he said.

And now, if you told someone post exile, if you

told someone at the time that these writings were received,

I mean you told someone in twenty twenty six, almost

every tribe and almost every tongue and almost every nation

will be filled with people who worship the God of Abraham,

who worshiped the Living God, the Holy One of Israel.

They'd say, Isaiah fifty four, that's amazing. Yeah, you can't

talk to the eyewitnesses of the crucifixion and resurrection. But look,

the whole world has gone after him. Just like he said,

lengthen the chords of your tent. This is getting big,

my people. That's what he promised. What's his track record?

What's his ability? If he has the ability to raise

Jesus from the dead and transform the whole world towards him,

he has the ability to satisfy you if you will

come to him in repentant trust, he can do it.

He's multiplied people all over in an everlasting covenant of peace.

That's what he's saying in verses four, right, fear not,

you will not be disgraced, and verses five and seven

and eight. Right, he's saying, my covenant of peace shall

not be removed. I am going to establish a new covenant,

a covenant of peace that is unbreakable. How's he doing?

What's his track record? Well, Hebrews tells us Hebrews twelve,

Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant Hebrews thirteen.

Jesus' blood establishes the eternal, the eternal covenant of peace

Romans five. Therefore, since we've been justified with God, we

have justified by faith, we have peace with God. What's

his track record? He has, in fact established this new

covenant of peace that is everlasting. That's exactly what the

New Testament writersay tell us. Track record. Yeah, his investment.

He's pretty invested. He says, this is a new covenant

in my blood. Didn't get more trustworthy than that. He's

multiplied people all over and an ever nasting covenant of

peace one day to be set in splendor and safety.

He goes on at the end of this chapter in

fifty four, starting in verse eleven, Right, I'm gonna lay

your foundations with sapphires. Are you gonna be far Verse fourteen,

You're gonna be far from oppression? You shall not fear

Verse seventeen. No weapon fashioned against you will succeed. And

this promise is in fact what he continues to promise

in Revelation twenty one. In Revelation twenty one, he says,

I'm gonna establish your foundations with every press, there's just stone.

You are going to be set in splendor and safety.

And the fact is the fact is that promise that's

still coming, that's still coming. But here's what I think

when I read that, When I consider how consistent God

is in promising that he hasn't changed. The promises of

revelation aren't brand new. The promises that he's made to

his people of splendor and safety one day are consistent

for thousands of years. That's coming. That makes that's trustworthy.

I mean, five out of six he's already done. Number

six is still coming, and he's been promising the same

thing over and over again. That just makes me trust

him more. So, Okay, we're about to step into fifty five.

We've got time. We're about to step into fifty five.

And and as we step into fifty five, and we'll

be brief, but I just I want us to consider

his appeal, this appeal in fifty five, this loaded up

with promises. And as we consider this appeal that's loaded

up with promises, I want us to think about what

his track record is and his ability. His servant has

been vindicated, his people have been expanded, he's demonstrated his desire.

He's demonstrated that he's invested, his servant has suffered, his

covenant has been set in blood. And with all of that,

consider who is making these promises in fifty five? Who

is making this appeal to come to him that he

will satisfy you if you will just come to him

in repentant trust. I mean the God who has accomplished

all these things, the Christ who has suffered and been vindicated,

the spirit who has placed these things in scripture and

in my mouth today says this. Here's what I promise.

What I have for you is free. You that have

no money, You that are spiritually bankrupt, without money and

without price. Come. What I have for you is free.

What I have for you is satisfying. If you're thirsty,

I've got water. I've got milk, I've got wine. If

you're hungry, I've got rich food. The things that you're

feeding yourself on aren't even bread. What I've got for

you is satisfying. What I've got for you is lasting.

I will make with you an ever lasting covenant. What

I've got for you is compassion. Return to me that

I might have compassion on you. Come to me that

I might abundantly pardon. What I have for you is compassion.

What I have for you is new ways and new

thoughts for sake your old ways, for sake your old thoughts.

My ways are higher than your ways, and I am

inviting you into them. I'm asking you come learn my ways,

Come learn my thoughts. What I have for you is sure.

Like the rain and the snow that comes down from

heaven and finds soil and brings forth sprouts and bread,

my word will get this done. The question is will

you trust it. All you have to do is trust

me and move forward in faith. Because my word is

going to get this done. I can testify to that

his work has been done in my life, not by me,

but by his word. What I have for you is sure.

What I have for you is joy. What I have

for you is joy now and forever. You will go

out with joy. You will break forth with peace. The hills,

hills will sing, trees will clap. If that's not an

image of joy, I don't know what is. And you

will not be cut off. That's how you finishes. The

whole thing is this is an ever lasting joy that

I'm promising you. And the appeal is simple if you'll

come to me, if you'll stay with me in repentant trust,

you will be satisfied now and forever. And I know

your sense of taste gets dull because of sin. I

know your ears get blocked because of temptation. But can

my promise cut through all of that noise and cut

through all of that dulness and reach you in a

place of faith so that you would trust that promise

and come to me. You don't have to answer me.

You have to answer him. And what I'd like to

do right now is bow our heads and answer him.

I'm gonna lead us, and you don't have to follow.

I want to encourage you to. I'm gonna pray a

prayer of faith in resc response to this appeal. And

if what you want to do is step out in

faith in repentant trust, then follow along as I pray.

Heavenly Father, I am one who has never trusted in Christ,

who is never stepped across the line, and come to

faith in you as a Christian. But I want to today,

I know that I'm a sinner. There is no truth

from your word that's plainer than that I'm a sinner,

and I'm in need of a savior. I want your grace, yes,

and Lord, if this appeal is towards me, and I'm

trusting on the authority of these scriptures that it's for

me that if I can come to you in repentant trust,

that I'm coming. I'm coming right now. Lord. I'm trusting

in your salvation in Christ, this suffering servant who was

pierced for transgressions, who bore iniquities. Here's what I'm counting on.

I'm counting that those were my transgressions, and those were

my iniquities, and I'm putting my life in your hands. Lord,

thank you for saving me. Emsley. Father, I'm coming as

one who has trusted you for some time, who has

come to you in repentant trust, but who has wandered,

sometimes in big ways, sometimes in small ways. But each

time sin and temptation have clouded my sense of taste,

clouded my hearing, and I have forgotten your promises and

I've forgotten your goodness. And I'm coming back right now. Lord.

Would you welcome me with the kind of compassion and

pardon that you promise right here in Isaiah fifty five

that I would be satisfied in you. Lord, I want

to live with you from a place of satisfaction and

joy or did you have me in Jesus name, Amen,