Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210010S
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00:01 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn and we welcome you once again
00:04 to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:06 We are on lesson 10, "Doing the Unthinkable." 00:11 You know, it's interesting that 00:13 the Bible says we are all sinners. 00:17 And the penalty for sin is death. 00:20 But God did the unthinkable. 00:23 It was prophesied 00:24 hundreds of years earlier in Isaiah, 00:27 and He has given us the gift of eternal life. 00:31 Please join us today. 00:33 If you don't already have a quarterly, 00:37 you'll want to get one even if this late in the game, 00:41 because it's such a beautiful study, 00:43 beautifully written. 00:45 You can go to ABSG.Adventist.org 00:51 and download it or go to your nearest 00:54 Seventh-day Adventist Church, 00:55 they will be happy to share one with you, 00:58 and even perhaps invite you to study with them. 01:02 Thank you for joining us. 01:33 We are having a difficult time believing that 01:35 we're already in lesson 10. 01:38 But this has been 01:39 such a wonderful study in Isaiah. 01:42 And the reason we do this is for you. 01:45 We benefit as we study, 01:47 but we do it 01:48 so that we can share the Word of God with you. 01:51 Let me introduce our family here at the table today. 01:55 Next to me, we have Pastor John Dinzey. 01:58 John, thank you so much for being here. 02:00 It's a joy to be here. 02:01 And I agree, we also learned. 02:03 It's marvelous the way God helps us 02:05 as we study. 02:06 Absolutely. 02:07 And we pray that you will be blessed 02:09 as you listen in. 02:10 Thank you. 02:11 And then my Pastor John Lomacang. 02:13 Yeah. 02:14 I'm anxious to find out 02:16 what the unthinkable is all about. 02:17 Amen. Amen. 02:19 And then evangelist, singer, Ryan Day. 02:23 I'm ready. 02:24 All right. All right. 02:26 And last but not least, 02:28 our dear sister, my dear sister, 02:30 Jill Morikone, who is our President and C... 02:34 Vice President and COO. 02:36 Privileged to be here. And I love Isaiah 53. 02:40 It's just an incredible chapter. 02:41 Amen and amen. 02:43 Well, let's just go ahead and begin with a prayer. 02:46 And, Ryan, would you have a prayer for us? 02:49 Absolutely. 02:50 Father in heaven, Lord, again, we're just so blessed, 02:54 and privileged to be here, to be able to commune with You, 02:56 Lord, to open Your Word and to spend time with You. 02:59 And so, Lord, again, we need a blessing. 03:01 We need the guidance of Your Holy Spirit 03:03 to speak through us, Lord, so that Your Word, Lord, 03:06 is amplified and projected into the hearts 03:09 and minds of every person 03:10 for the purpose of drawing all of us to you. 03:13 So, Lord, give us a blessing, 03:14 right now we ask in Jesus' holy name. 03:16 Amen. Amen. 03:18 I love the story that 03:20 the Sabbath School quarterly begins with on lesson 10. 03:22 And that is about 03:24 a Chinese nationals named Lou Fook. 03:27 And he felt great compassion for his fellow countrymen 03:32 who were toiling away as slaves in African mines. 03:37 He desperately wanted to get 03:39 the gospel to them desperately. 03:42 And he couldn't figure out any other way to do it, 03:45 other than to sell himself into slavery for five years. 03:50 And he went to the African mines 03:53 as a slave, 03:54 he actually died toiling in the mines, 03:57 but not until he had introduced 04:02 200 people to Jesus Christ. 04:06 Two hundred people who accepted Christ 04:09 as their Savior and Lord, and gave them that hope. 04:12 To me, that's unthinkable. 04:14 But he was following 04:15 the pattern of what God did for us. 04:18 When God as Philippians 2:5 says, 04:22 came down, became a man, 04:25 took on the form of a slave, a bond slave, 04:29 became a man so that 04:33 He could then through obedience die on the cross for us 04:38 as a substitute for our sins. 04:41 That's so marvelous. 04:42 So, this week, 04:43 we will be studying this incredible event 04:46 that was prophesied centuries before it happened. 04:50 Sunday's lesson is "Isaiah's Testing Truth." 04:54 We're going to consider Isaiah 50:4-10. 04:59 This is the third of the servant songs. 05:04 We've already, Jill, I believe you did Isaiah 42, 05:07 I did Isaiah 49. 05:09 And now Isaiah 50. 05:11 And we're coming to the fourth one, 05:13 I believe this time as well. 05:15 I have to read this paragraph, 05:18 I thought it was so well worded from the quarterly. 05:22 It says, "Isaiah is an artist 05:26 whose canvas is the soul 05:29 of his listener to teach, persuade, 05:32 and give his audience an encounter 05:35 with the servant of the Lord." 05:37 Isaiah develops a rich fabric 05:42 of recurring themes in symphonic fashion. 05:46 And, you know, 05:48 Isaiah is pretty much a poet, isn't he? 05:50 It's amazing. 05:51 His words are amazing. 05:53 He unfolds God's message in steps 05:57 so that each aspect can be grasped in relation 06:02 to the rest of the picture. 06:04 What we find in Isaiah 50 06:08 is the servant's soliloquy. 06:12 Do you know a soliloquy 06:14 is when someone is speaking aloud 06:18 their own thoughts 06:19 whether someone's listening or not. 06:22 So this is the Messiah's soliloquy, 06:25 and He is talking about 06:28 being perfected 06:30 through obedience and suffering. 06:32 And it reminds me of what the New Testament 06:35 says about Jesus in Hebrews 5:8-9. 06:38 It says, "Though He was a Son, the covenant Son of God, 06:43 yet He learned obedience 06:45 by the things which He suffered." 06:48 And then listen to this. 06:52 Hebrews 5:9, "And having been perfected, 06:56 He became the author 06:59 of eternal salvation to all who," what? 07:03 "Obey Him." 07:06 See, this covenant, God makes all of the promises, 07:10 but we to be in covenant with God, 07:14 have to have be motivated by love 07:17 and have covenant loyalty, 07:19 which is our obedience. 07:20 So let's look at Isaiah 15:4. 07:23 Isaiah 15:4, 07:26 one of my favorite scriptures. 07:29 The Lord has given me, 07:32 this is the Messiah servant speaking. 07:34 "The Lord has given me the tongue of the learned." 07:39 Oh, we know that 07:40 Jesus had an incredible teaching ministry. 07:44 And He says that, 07:46 "I should know how to speak a word 07:48 in season to him who is weary." 07:52 The tongue of an instructed disciple 07:56 who could share God's Word to sustain the weary. 08:01 He, and now He's going to tell us 08:03 how He received, 08:07 He reveals the source of this. 08:09 He awakens me morning by morning, 08:13 He awakens my ear to hear as the learned. 08:18 So the Father awoke him 08:21 morning by morning, and we know, 08:23 let me just give you three scriptures 08:25 from the New Testament that mentioned this, 08:27 there's others. 08:28 But Mark 1:35 says, "Now in the morning, 08:33 having risen a long while before daylight, 08:36 He went out and departed to a solitary place, 08:39 and there He prayed. 08:41 John 7:16 says, "Jesus answered them and said, 08:45 'My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me." 08:50 And John 12:49 says, Jesus speaking, 08:54 "I have not spoken on My own authority. 08:57 But the Father who sent me gave me a command, 09:00 what I should say and what I should speak." 09:04 Let me hit the pause button here for just a second. 09:07 Do you realize God 09:09 will awaken you morning by morning, 09:12 if you just ask Him to? 09:14 If you want to develop 09:17 the tongue of an instructed disciple, 09:20 one who can share God's Word 09:23 to sustain the weary, 09:25 you need to go to God in the morning, 09:27 get, pray to Him, 09:29 let Him speak to you through His Word, 09:33 and follow the example of Jesus. 09:36 Okay. 09:37 Isaiah 50:5, "The Lord has opened my ear, 09:42 and I was not rebellious, 09:46 nor did I turn away." 09:47 When you think about it, 09:50 the nation of Israel as the servant of God, 09:54 did they listen? 09:55 Did they listen to God? 09:57 No, they refused to listen 09:59 and they sinfully turned away from God. 10:02 But the servant Messiah is entirely different. 10:06 He listens and he obeyed with perfect obedience. 10:11 Praise the Lord because that perfect obedience 10:15 is now imputed or credited to us 10:19 when we accept Him as Savior. 10:21 He never rebelled against 10:24 what the Father asked Him to do, 10:26 no matter what the cost was to Him personally. 10:30 He even humbled Himself to the point of obedience 10:36 where He died on a cross for us. 10:39 Okay, Isaiah 50:6, 10:42 "I gave My back to those who struck me, 10:45 and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. 10:49 I did not hide My face from shame and spitting." 10:53 He gave Himself willingly, humbly to those who abused Him 10:59 and He knew that God would vindicate Him. 11:02 So He suffered, 11:05 His back was given to His tormentors, 11:08 they lashed Him, 11:10 He did not retaliate 11:11 when they plucked it out His beard or spat on Him. 11:15 Jesus fulfilled this prophecy perfectly. 11:18 We find the story in all of the gospels, 11:21 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 11:23 And He was the gentle Lamb that was led to the slaughter. 11:28 So Isaiah 50:7, "For the Lord God will help Me, 11:34 therefore I will not be disgraced." 11:37 He was never ashamed to die 11:39 in submission to God's plan of salvation by grace. 11:44 "Therefore I have set My face like a flint, 11:50 and I know that I will not be ashamed." 11:55 Christ was unswayed by any hardship, any threats, 12:00 anything that He knew that was awaiting Him in Jerusalem. 12:05 He resolutely determined to go to Jerusalem. 12:09 As a matter of fact, Luke 9:51 says, 12:12 "It came to pass, 12:14 when the time had come for Him 12:17 to be received up," 12:19 it says, for His crucifixion, 12:22 "that He steadfastly set His face 12:26 to go to Jerusalem." 12:28 He was determined to go. 12:30 He knew that He would be vindicated 12:33 because generations to come 12:36 would be saved 12:37 through His glorious submission. 12:40 So now verse 8, Isaiah 50:8, "He is near who justifies Me, 12:46 who will contend with Me? 12:48 Let us stand together. 12:50 Who is My adversary? 12:52 Let him come near Me." 12:55 Paraphrased, you know 12:56 how I would say that Jesus is saying, 12:58 "Bring it on." Okay. 13:00 I like that. 13:02 "Surely the Lord God will help Me, 13:06 who is he who will condemn Me? 13:09 Indeed they will all grow old like a garment, 13:12 and the moth will eat them up." 13:15 He had full confidence in God's support, 13:18 no matter how He was mistreated. 13:21 And, you know, 13:22 the Apostle Paul paraphrases this scripture, 13:27 and he gives us this beautiful promise 13:29 in Romans 8:31-34. 13:33 He says, "What then shall we say to these things? 13:36 If God is for us, who can be against us? 13:40 He who did not spare His own Son, 13:44 but delivered Him up for us all, 13:48 how shall He not with Him 13:52 also freely give to us all things? 13:56 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? 13:59 It is God who justifies. 14:02 Who is he who condemns? 14:04 It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, 14:10 who is even at the right hand of God, 14:13 who also makes intercession for us." 14:18 Our life, our future, 14:23 our hope, 14:24 our encouragement is in the death 14:27 and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 14:31 He is our vindication from Satan's accusation 14:34 and condemnation. 14:36 He purchased us by His own blood. 14:42 And hallelujah, 14:43 this was predicted in Isaiah 50. 14:45 So let's look at verses 10 and 11, 14:50 which says, 14:51 "Who among you fears the Lord? 14:53 Who obeys the voice of His Servant? 14:55 Who walks in darkness and has no light? 14:57 Let him trust in the name of the Lord 14:59 and rely upon his God." 15:02 This is a call to the unconverted 15:05 who are walking in the darkness of sin 15:08 and it's God's call to you today. 15:10 Believe and be saved. 15:13 Amen. Amen. 15:14 Praise the Lord. 15:15 Tremendous, I could stay here listening some more. 15:18 But we must move on in the lesson 15:20 because we have limited time. 15:22 And so when we get to Monday's lesson, 15:25 we are now in "The Suffering Servant Poem," 15:31 suffering servant poem. 15:32 And this takes us into 15:34 a overall look at Isaiah 52:13, 15:40 until Isaiah 53:12, 15:44 which is known as the suffering servant poem. 15:47 You well know that 15:48 the chapter divisions were added later. 15:50 And we see that you can see 15:52 the essence of the message 15:55 includes Isaiah 52:13 and onward. 16:00 This, as the lesson says, is not milk of Isaiah's word. 16:05 He has prepared the audience at different times 16:09 through the Book of Isaiah. 16:10 You see elements pointing to Jesus Christ. 16:14 And we're going to take a look at some of these, 16:16 because it prepares you for what happens 16:21 when we get to Isaiah 52:13 and onward. 16:26 Let's go to Isaiah 7: 14, 16:32 this will reveal 16:34 the course of the Messiah's life on earth, 16:36 and His conception and birth. 16:39 Notice, "Therefore the Lord Himself 16:42 will give you a sign: 16:44 Behold, the virgin shall conceive 16:47 and bear a Son, 16:49 and shall call His name Immanuel." 16:53 Praise God. 16:54 What can we say about this, 16:56 that Isaiah is letting you know that 16:58 the birth of the Messiah would be a miracle from God, 17:03 because a virgin is going to have a child, 17:07 and never seen before would happen 17:10 with the suffering servant. 17:13 Now notice that it says, 17:15 and shall call His name Immanuel. 17:17 Already, He has the... 17:19 The name has already been given, 17:21 even before hundreds of years before it actually takes place. 17:24 And we know from 17:26 even if you don't dig into the Hebrew, 17:29 you can go to Matthew 1:23. 17:32 And it says, which translated is what? 17:35 God with us. 17:37 This is a message for us today as well. 17:41 This Jesus, this suffering servant, 17:43 is God with us. 17:45 And He did not cease to be God with us 17:48 when He ascended up to the earth 17:50 after His resurrection. 17:52 Now, when we get to this portion, 17:54 we have here that Jesus is identified 17:57 as a divine Davidic King. 18:01 Let's go to Isaiah 9:6-7. 18:04 Isaiah 9:6-7. 18:07 Notice, "For unto us a Child is born, 18:11 unto us a Son is given, 18:13 and the government will be upon His shoulder. 18:16 And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, 18:21 the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, 18:24 Prince of Peace. 18:25 Of the increase of His government and peace 18:27 there will be no end, 18:29 upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, 18:32 to order it and establish it with judgment 18:36 and justice from that time forward, 18:38 even for evermore. 18:40 The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." 18:43 So we see here, 18:45 that this Child would be for us, 18:49 yes, for the people of Israel, 18:50 but for us as well. 18:52 And marvelous as it is, it says that of His government, 18:56 there will be no end. 18:58 And I praise the Lord for that. 19:00 Now, when you get to Isaiah Chapter 9, 19:03 you will notice that it begins to talk about Jesus 19:05 in a prophetic sense already from Isaiah 9:1. 19:09 Let's look at Isaiah 9:1-2. 19:13 Notice, "Nevertheless the gloom 19:15 will not be upon her who is distressed, 19:18 as when at first 19:19 He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun 19:22 and the land of Naphtali, 19:24 and afterward more heavily oppressed her, 19:27 by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, 19:31 in Galilee of the Gentiles. 19:32 The people who walked in darkness 19:35 have seen a great light, 19:38 those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, 19:41 upon them a light has shined." 19:44 Amen. Praise the Lord. 19:45 Now, let's go to Matthew 3:12-16, 19:49 because Matthew says these same words. 19:53 Let's go to Matthew Chapter 3, 19:54 as you can see that 19:56 Jesus fulfilled all of these things. 19:59 Matthew 3:12, "Now when Jesus heard that 20:02 John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee." 20:06 Verse 13, "And leaving Nazareth, 20:08 He came and dwelt in Capernaum, 20:10 which is by the sea," notice, 20:12 "in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 20:15 that it might be fulfilled 20:17 which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:' 20:21 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, 20:24 by the way of the sea, 20:25 the sea beyond the Jordan, 20:28 Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness 20:31 have seen a great light, 20:33 and upon those who sat in the region and shadow 20:35 of death light has dawned.'" 20:38 This was prophesied and fulfilled by Jesus Christ. 20:43 In Isaiah, you also see that 20:46 it speaks of his restoration for Israel. 20:52 Let's go to Isaiah Chapter 11. 20:54 Let's read quickly verses 1 through 4. 20:57 Isaiah 11:1-4, 21:00 "There shall come forth a Rod 21:02 from the stem of Jesse, 21:03 and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 21:07 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, 21:10 the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, 21:12 the Spirit of counsel and might, 21:14 the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 21:18 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, 21:21 and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, 21:24 nor decide by the hearing of His ears. 21:27 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, 21:30 and decide with equity for the meek of the earth, 21:32 He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, 21:35 and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked." 21:38 Again, a prophecy concerning Jesus, 21:41 preparing you for the time 21:43 when you get to Isaiah Chapter 52, 21:46 when it speaks of the suffering servant. 21:50 Now, it's interesting to me, 21:51 when you look at all this that God was way, way back, 21:56 even from the time of Moses, 22:00 trying to help the people 22:01 understand of the suffering servant. 22:04 Whenever they would bring a sacrifice, 22:06 whenever they will bring a lamb, 22:08 the lamb would have to suffer and die for their sins. 22:13 So this message is carried on over and over again. 22:17 And they saw a vivid representation of this. 22:20 And, of course, let's go now to Isaiah 42. 22:24 I cannot read verses 1 through 7. 22:26 I'm only going to read verses 1 through 4 22:28 because of lack of time. 22:29 It speaks of His quiet ministry 22:32 and liberation from injustice and suffering. 22:35 Isaiah 42:1-4. 22:38 But you should continue reading 22:40 after that in your personal study. 22:42 "Behold! 22:43 My Servant whom I uphold, 22:45 my Elect One in whom My soul delights! 22:48 I have put My Spirit upon Him, 22:50 He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 22:54 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, 22:57 nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 23:00 A bruised reed He will not break, 23:02 and smoking flax He will not quench, 23:05 He will bring forth justice for truth. 23:08 He will not fail nor be discouraged, 23:10 till He has established justice in the earth, 23:14 and the coastlands shall wait for His law." 23:16 Amen. 23:18 Marvelous scripture that 23:19 we see presented here in Isaiah 42. 23:22 Again, preparing, 23:23 you're talking about this God's servant, 23:26 and when it says, 23:27 "My servant in whom My soul delights." 23:30 It really is talking about that 23:32 Jesus would be faithful till the very end. 23:37 My servant in whom My soul delight. 23:40 You may remember that when Jesus was baptized, 23:43 the Father could not 23:45 withhold proclaiming His pleasure over His Son. 23:49 Let's go to Matthew 3:16-17. 23:52 And I think my time will end with this. 23:54 "When He had been baptized, 23:57 Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, 24:01 the heavens were opened to Him, 24:03 and He saw the Spirit of God 24:05 descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 24:08 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 24:12 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'" 24:18 So we see here that 24:20 this servant of the Lord in whom He is well pleased. 24:23 Why is He well pleased? 24:25 Because His servant, Jesus Christ, 24:28 in whom His soul delights 24:30 was faithful 24:32 from the beginning until the end. 24:34 And so, I want to encourage you to consider 24:38 what's coming after me 24:39 because we are just laying the groundwork for the message 24:43 that is contained in this suffering servant, 24:47 and this is who Jesus is. 24:50 He suffered for each and every single one of us 24:53 and every suffering, 24:55 every moment that He endured this suffering 24:57 brought you and me closer to salvation. 25:02 And I praise the Lord that He endured till the end. 25:06 He was faithful until the end, 25:08 to leave us an example that you and I 25:11 should follow that we, 25:12 by God's grace should be faithful to the end, 25:16 allowing Jesus to be in our hearts, 25:18 we shall be faithful. 25:19 Amen and amen. Thank you, Johnny. 25:22 And we are going to take a short break 25:24 and we'll be right back. 25:30 Ever wish you could watch 25:31 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 25:33 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 25:36 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 25:42 A clean design makes it easy 25:44 to find the program you're looking for. 25:46 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 25:50 so you can follow along. 25:51 Sharing is easy. 25:53 Just click share 25:54 and choose your favorite social media. 25:56 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 26:00 Well, we are back and excited to turn this over 26:03 to Pastor John Lomacang to teach Tuesday's lesson, 26:07 "Who Has Believed?" Thank you. 26:10 It is entitled, "Who Has Believed?" 26:13 A belief is the conjunction between being lost 26:18 and being saved. 26:20 So that's a very powerful question, 26:21 who has believed. 26:23 In Isaiah 52:13 all the way to Isaiah 53:12 now. 26:29 By no means am I going to cover all of that. 26:31 But I am surely going to stay along the lines 26:33 of the question that is asked, 26:35 who has believed? 26:37 Now, when we look at the broad picture 26:38 of who has believed, 26:40 it not only takes into consideration 26:42 the message that a person is proclaiming, 26:45 but the appearance of the person 26:47 that is proclaiming the message. 26:49 One of the difficulties in presenting the message 26:51 in John the Baptist's day is people were looking 26:54 for somebody that didn't look like Him. 26:56 One of the challenges Jesus had was people 26:58 were looking for somebody that didn't look like Him. 27:01 And what we have to keep in mind, 27:02 we'll see the principles brought out here 27:04 in this lesson about who has believed. 27:06 Let's begin with Isaiah 52:13. 27:10 The writer points out something beautifully. 27:13 Bible says, "Behold, 27:15 My Servant shall deal prudently, 27:18 He shall be exalted and extolled 27:20 and be very, very high." 27:23 Now, this exaltation that has been talked 27:24 about here is one 27:26 that the servant doesn't impose upon Himself, 27:31 but that the one who is appointing the servant, 27:34 grants to the servant. 27:37 Why am I saying that, is because a lot of times, 27:39 we could try to qualify ourselves 27:41 by making ourselves look qualified. 27:44 But the qualification comes not in external appearances, 27:47 but in internal fitness. 27:49 So it's vitally important because Isaiah 52:13, 27:52 all of a sudden transitions into the picture 27:55 that really tells a broader story 27:57 about the servant that Isaiah is referring to. 28:00 And the servant he is talking to is Christ. 28:02 Notice what it says in verse 3. 28:05 Verse 3, Isaiah 52 and verse... 28:10 Actually, Isaiah 52:13. 28:12 That's what I'm going on next. 28:14 Verse 14, actually, 28:17 "Just as many were astonished at you, 28:20 so His visage was marred more than any man, 28:24 and His form more than the sons of men." 28:28 In other words, according to this text, 28:31 He was so disfigured that 28:33 He didn't really look to be qualified 28:36 to even fit in the category of the sons of men. 28:39 When the Pharisees 28:40 and the leaders of Christ's day saw Him, 28:42 they marveled at Him 28:44 because He didn't look as student 28:46 as astound as they did, with their glorious robes, 28:50 their ecclesiastical robes that is rubbing the ground 28:54 and skirting the ground. 28:56 Jesus came looking humbly. 28:58 He didn't come riding on a white steed 29:01 into Jerusalem, He came on a burro, donkey, 29:04 a humble instrument. 29:06 His coming into the world was not something 29:09 that was proclaimed from the highest mountain, 29:10 but over the braying of a donkey 29:13 and a cow and some sheep. 29:15 So we see the humility of Christ was, in fact, 29:18 the thing that caused Him to be more qualified 29:22 as a servant 29:23 than one that might just look the part. 29:25 The New Testament describes the factors 29:27 that marred Christ in His appearance, 29:29 including scourging of the crown of thorns, 29:33 the crucifixion, but above all, 29:35 bearing the sins of the human race. 29:37 And sin was never intended to be natural for humans, 29:42 but bearing it made the Son of Man 29:45 as it were to appear to be inhumane. 29:48 Now just follow that very carefully. 29:50 It was never intended by God for sin 29:52 to become a natural tendency to humanity. 29:54 But all of a sudden, 29:56 Jesus becomes the one who decides to bear our sins 29:59 and then He's looked upon as undesirable, 30:02 and in some cases, inhumane. 30:04 Look at Isaiah 53:5. 30:07 The Bible talks about 30:08 why He bore our sins 30:10 and exactly what happened as a result. 30:13 But He was wounded for our transgression. 30:17 And I want to add a little pin here, 30:18 not just for what the Jews did, 30:20 not just for what the Romans did, 30:22 because we can easily direct our anger toward them 30:25 and say, "Why would they do that?" 30:27 But He was wounded for our transgression. 30:29 He was bruised for our iniquity, 30:32 the chastisement of our peace, 30:34 meaning the cost of our peace was upon Him. 30:37 And by His stripes, we, 30:40 notice the concert, all of us, 30:42 our, our, our, we, but notice the qualifications. 30:46 Because once again, 30:48 I say exaltation is not based on 30:50 external qualifications, but internal fitness. 30:53 Let's go to 1 Samuel 16:7. 30:55 Let's see this point played out vividly. 30:58 1 Samuel 16:7, the Bible says, 31:03 "But the Lord said to Samuel, 31:05 'Do not look at his appearance 31:09 or at his physical stature, 31:12 because I have refused him. 31:15 For the Lord does not see as man sees, 31:18 for man looks at, " what? 31:21 "The outward appearance, 31:22 but the Lord looks at the heart.'" 31:26 That's vitally important to remember 31:27 because a lot of times 31:30 I've been in situations where people... 31:32 I'll tell you very, very quick story, 31:35 just came to my mind. 31:36 My wife would be thinking the same way. 31:38 When I was pastoring in Northern California, 31:40 in a church in Antioch, 31:41 I'll be specific about the church 31:43 because it's not a bad story. 31:45 We were having a cleanup Sunday. 31:47 And I had a tall stately head elder, 31:50 tall, Caucasian gentleman, 31:51 he was just symmetrically perfect. 31:53 And he was in the medical field. 31:55 And he always looked the medical part. 31:57 Well, we were cleaning the church on Sunday. 31:59 And, Ryan, I had on my baseball cap, 32:01 my Nix jacket, my jeans, 32:04 and I just looked like 32:05 I was up there to play basketball. 32:06 Well, someone came up 32:08 to the church parking lot to ask, 32:10 they were looking for, you know, 32:11 when people in the church's parking lot, 32:12 somebody always has the need. 32:14 So somebody pointed them in the general direction 32:17 as I was talking to my head elder. 32:19 They said, "Well, go ask him, the pastor's over there." 32:21 Well, they went over 32:22 and they started talking to him. 32:24 And I would have paid really good money 32:26 to get the video 32:28 after that lady was told I was the pastor. 32:30 He said, and he said, as he did it, he said, 32:33 "I'm not the pastor, he is." 32:35 And that she couldn't negotiate that respect way she went. 32:41 And it was like, I didn't look the part. 32:44 I didn't look the part. 32:45 But once again, God does not look out 32:47 the outward appearance, 32:49 but the Lord looks at the heart. 32:50 And he and I, we had so many conversations 32:52 about that instance. 32:53 And even to this very day, 32:55 I think he just turned 90 32:56 and he still looks like he's in maybe in his early 70s. 32:59 Sharp and a man of great stature, 33:02 such is the case 33:03 when it comes to serving the Lord. 33:05 The Lord has not picked people who looked the part. 33:08 He first begins at the heart. 33:10 Look at Deuteronomy 7:7. 33:12 Such was the case 33:13 when it came to choosing Israel. 33:14 Many of them boasted about their national origin. 33:16 But the Lord said, "Wait a minute, 33:18 that's not why I chose you." 33:19 Deuteronomy 7:7. 33:22 It says, "The Lord did not set His love 33:23 on you nor choose you 33:25 because you were more 33:26 in number than any other people, 33:28 for you were the least of all peoples." 33:33 So when God chooses, 33:35 He doesn't choose a man 33:37 who has the external qualifications. 33:39 He chooses people based on the mission. 33:42 And I say that's vitally important 33:43 because when the post office delivers the mail, 33:46 or when the FedEx person comes or UPS, 33:49 I always ask myself, 33:50 what's the difference between him and me? 33:52 Well, the only difference is his uniform and his mission. 33:55 And in the very same way, 33:56 we don't look different from other people in the world. 33:59 But we have to remember that 34:00 God has chosen us for a special purpose, 34:03 to proclaim the praises of Him 34:05 who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. 34:08 So rather than leaning on our qualifications 34:10 as the Seventh-day Adventist Christian, 34:11 we've got to live the part. 34:13 Amen? Amen. 34:14 We've got to not just lean on the name. 34:16 But we have to be in harmony with that qualification 34:18 based on how we live, 34:20 because the Bible talks about 34:21 Job in the very same way. 34:23 Job 1:1, let's look at that, because his friends once again 34:26 couldn't associate his externals 34:28 with his internal fitness. 34:30 "There was a man in the land of Uz, 34:31 whose name was Job, 34:33 and that man was blameless and upright, 34:35 and one who feared God and shunned evil." 34:37 And then the Bible says in verse 8, 34:39 "Then the Lord said to Satan, 34:40 'Have you considered My servant Job, 34:42 there is none like him on the earth, 34:43 a blameless and upright man, 34:45 one who fears God and shuns evil?'" 34:47 And when the Lord gave Satan permission, 34:51 Lord have mercy. 34:53 When the Lord gave Satan permission 34:54 to touch everything he had, as was the case with Peter, 34:58 he desired to sift him as wheat. 35:00 Then all of a sudden, 35:01 his friends could not even negotiate 35:04 that his external quality, that his external disfigurement 35:08 did not remove his internal qualifications. 35:11 Job 2:12, the Bible says, 35:13 "And when they raised their eyes from afar, 35:16 and did not recognize him, 35:18 they lifted their voices and wept, 35:21 and each one tore his robe 35:22 and sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven." 35:25 But now let's see what the Bible says. 35:27 What are the parameters of choosing the authors? 35:30 Matthew 19:30, 35:32 "But many who are first will be last 35:34 and the last will be first." 35:37 What about service? 35:38 Matthew 20:27, 35:40 "And whoever desires to be first among you, 35:42 let him be your slave." 35:45 Let him be a servant. 35:46 Proverbs 22:4, "By humility 35:50 and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life." 35:54 So remember, when God calls you to be a servant, 35:57 don't forget to live externally as you should be. 36:00 But don't forget, God first sees 36:02 the qualification of your heart. 36:04 Amen. Thank you. 36:05 Amen. Praise the Lord. 36:07 Thank you, Pastor. 36:08 Appreciate that set up very nicely. 36:11 We'll see if I can get through this lesson. 36:14 Just because it's covering one of the... 36:18 Probably in my opinion, 36:20 one of the most humbling texts in all of Scripture. 36:24 I don't think a person in their right mind 36:26 could read through Isaiah 53 36:31 and not be humbled, 36:33 and not be pricked at the heart. 36:35 And so lesson 10, Wednesday's lesson is entitled, 36:39 "The Unreachable Is Us!" 36:42 That is a statement of the century. 36:45 He did it to reach the unreachable. 36:47 And that unreachable is us. 36:49 I want to start with Isaiah Chapter 53. 36:51 The lesson, Wednesday's lesson 36:53 is just focusing on Isaiah 53:3-9. 36:58 And so I'm going to start in verse 3 here. 37:00 The Bible says, speaking, of course of Christ, 37:02 this is all the experience of Jesus Christ. 37:05 "He is despised and rejected by men, 37:10 a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. 37:14 And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him, 37:20 He was despised, and we did not esteem Him." 37:26 And here in a moment, we're going to read 37:28 where it says that He did not open His mouth. 37:32 But yet, that doesn't mean He didn't think any thoughts. 37:35 And we know on the cross, 37:37 He did literally open His mouth and say a few things. 37:39 But nonetheless, 37:40 it's speaking of in just a moment, 37:41 as we talk about Him 37:43 not opening His mouth in reference to Isaiah 53. 37:45 It's talking about that He didn't speak against anyone. 37:47 He didn't, you know, raise any concern or say, 37:50 I don't want to go through this, 37:52 or I don't want to do that. 37:53 He simply went through 37:54 it as a lamb led to the slaughter 37:56 as we're about to read. 37:57 But it's interesting if you really want to know 37:58 what's going through the mind of Christ, 38:00 in reference to how He was despised by men 38:02 and rejected by men. 38:03 Let's go to Psalm 22. 38:04 This is probably 38:06 one of the most powerful passages 38:09 because this text helps us 38:11 to get into the mind of Christ 38:13 as He's going through this cross experience. 38:17 Psalm 22, and I want to 38:18 just start reading there in verses 6 38:20 and we'll read to verse 8 there. 38:22 Psalm 22, beginning with verse 6, 38:23 it says, "But I am a worm, and no man." 38:26 What? 38:28 What Jesus, what did You just say? 38:30 I'm a worm, and no man. 38:31 Now get this, this is the same Jesus that just a few hours 38:34 before in the Garden of Gethsemane 38:36 is praying to the Father and glorifying the Father, 38:39 because He recognizes that He is the called Son of God, 38:42 the Son of the Most High, but now hanging on a cross, 38:45 being despised by men, having been beat, 38:47 having shed the blood and about to give up His life. 38:49 He says, "I am a worm, and no man, a reproach of men, 38:53 and despised by the people. 38:55 All those who see Me ridicule Me, 38:57 they shoot out the lip, 38:59 they shake the head, saying, 'He trusted in the Lord, 39:02 let Him rescue Him, let Him deliver Him, 39:05 since He delights in Him!'" 39:07 A mockery of the Son of God, but yet He did it, 39:11 to reach the unreachable. 39:12 And the unreachable is us. 39:15 Let's go back to Isaiah 53:4 and onward. 39:19 It says, "Surely He has borne our griefs 39:21 and carried our sorrows, 39:24 yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, 39:27 and afflicted. 39:29 But He was wounded for our transgressions, 39:32 He was bruised for our iniquities, 39:34 the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, 39:38 and by His stripes we are healed." 39:42 Back to Psalm 22. 39:44 Again, going through the mind of Christ, 39:46 as He's experiencing this agony 39:48 and this treacherous experience that He's going through for us, 39:52 because we despised Him, 39:54 because we mocked Him, 39:55 because we see Him afflicted by God. 39:58 Notice Isaiah, this is Psalm 22:11-18. 40:02 Jesus says here, of course, "Be not far from Me, 40:06 for trouble is near, for there is no, none to help. 40:10 Many bulls have surrounded Me, 40:11 strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. 40:14 They gape at Me with their mouths, 40:15 like a raging and roaring lion. 40:17 I am poured out like water, 40:18 and all My bones are out of joint, 40:21 My heart is like wax, it has melted within Me. 40:26 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, 40:28 and My tongue clings to My jaws, 40:31 You have brought Me to the dust of death. 40:34 For dogs have surrounded Me, 40:36 the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. 40:38 They pierced My hands and My feet, 40:41 I can count all My bones. 40:43 They look and stare at Me. 40:45 They divide My garments among them, 40:47 and for My clothing they cast lots." 40:50 Again, he was bruised for our iniquities, 40:54 the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, 40:57 by His stripes we are healed. 40:59 We're not even worthy. 41:00 We don't deserve this love. 41:02 And it's amazing to read these words, 41:04 because you can't help but just be humbled of the fact 41:07 to know that 41:08 that should have been us, that should have been me. 41:10 In fact, another passage that comes to my mind 41:12 as I'm reading this, that, 41:14 that it's my sins that nailed Jesus to a cross. 41:17 I think of Zechariah 12:10-11. 41:20 It's kind of a prophecy, actually. 41:22 And it actually says here, 41:23 "And I will pour out upon the house of David 41:25 and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem 41:26 the Spirit of grace and supplication, 41:29 then they will look upon Me whom they have pierced. 41:31 Yes, they will mourn for Him as one who mourns his only son, 41:35 and grieve for Him as one who grieves for a firstborn. 41:39 In that day there shall be a great mourning." 41:42 Why are we mourning? 41:44 Why do those who appear 41:45 and look upon the cross 41:47 at the hanging savior of the universe dead, 41:49 martyred for the sins of the world 41:51 because it was our sins that nailed Him there. 41:53 And why did He do it? 41:55 He did it to reach the unreachable. 41:57 And the unreachable is us. 42:00 Isaiah 53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray, 42:05 we have turned, every one, to his own way, 42:09 and the Lord again has laid on Him 42:12 the iniquity of us all." 42:14 We like sheep have gone astray. 42:16 You know, a sheep without a shepherd 42:18 is going to go astray. 42:19 Take your eyes off the shepherd, 42:21 you're going to go your own way in a direction 42:23 that's not meant for you to go. 42:24 I think of that scripture in Proverbs 14:12, 42:27 "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, 42:29 but the end thereof are the ways of death." 42:32 We walk our own way, and Jesus paid the death 42:34 for us walking our own way. 42:36 That's powerful. 42:37 That Jesus' love is poured out 42:39 upon the cross for the unreachable. 42:43 And the unreachable is us. 42:45 2 Corinthians 5:21. What does it say there? 42:48 And we just read it in Isaiah 53:6, 42:50 "All we like sheep have gone astray, 42:52 we've turned everyone our own way, 42:53 and the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all." 42:56 I think of 2 Corinthians 5:21, 42:58 "For He made Him 42:59 who knew no sin to be sin for us, 43:01 that we might become 43:02 the righteousness of God in Him." 43:04 How's that fair? 43:07 How is that fair, 43:08 that someone should die for my sins 43:10 or someone should die for your sins? 43:12 It simply isn't. 43:14 But the love of God goes far and beyond 43:17 whether something's fair or not, 43:19 He did it because He loved us. 43:20 He did it because He wanted to reach 43:22 the unreachable, and the unreachable is us. 43:25 Isaiah 53:7, "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, 43:29 yet He opened not His mouth, 43:31 and He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, 43:33 and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, 43:36 so He opened not His mouth." 43:38 There it is, He opened not His mouth to say, Hey, 43:41 I can't handle this. 43:42 No, don't do this. Hey, you're mistreating me? 43:44 No, He went to the cross silent. 43:47 Because He wanted to be that sacrifice for us. 43:49 Behold the Lamb of God, 43:51 who takes away the sin of the world. 43:53 I think of Revelation 5, 43:55 that little baby pet lamb that John saw in vision 43:58 appeared before the Lord, the Father, 44:03 as a lamb, as a baby lamb slain. 44:06 The answer to the universe, a baby pet lamb slain. 44:11 Isaiah 53:8, it says, 44:14 "He was taken from the prison and from judgment, 44:17 who will declare His generation? 44:19 For He was cut off from the land of the living, 44:22 for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 44:25 And they made His grave with the wicked but yet," 44:28 notice this, "with the rich at His death, 44:33 because He had done no violence, 44:35 nor was any deceit in His mouth." 44:38 I love this right here the lesson brings out, it says, 44:39 because of God's love, 44:42 His Messiah would choose to suffer, 44:44 but why? 44:46 He would choose to suffer 44:47 in order to reach the unreachable. 44:50 And the unreachable is us. 44:52 1 Corinthians 1:18, one of my favorite texts. 44:56 "For the message of the cross is foolishness 44:58 to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, 45:02 it is the power of God." 45:05 And yet I hear people today saying, Oh, 45:06 we've heard the cross for so many years, you know, 45:09 that's the milk, we need the meat of the world. 45:11 Let's get past the sacrifice of Christ. 45:13 Let's jump past the altar of sacrifice. 45:16 Let's get past the laver. 45:17 Let's just get right into the Holy 45:19 or the Most Holy Place. 45:20 But, my friends, you can't have 45:22 a Most Holy Place experience. 45:23 You can't have a Holy Place experience 45:25 until you've spent time at the foot of the cross. 45:27 Amen. That's right. That's right. 45:29 I love this closing comment from Ellen White 45:31 in God's Amazing Grace, page 172. 45:34 She goes, she says this right, 45:35 she says, "What a price has been paid for us! 45:38 Behold the cross, 45:40 and the Victim uplifted upon it. 45:41 Look at those hands, pierced with the cruel nails. 45:45 Look at His feet, 45:47 fastened with spikes to the tree. 45:49 Christ bore our sins in His own body. 45:52 That suffering, that agony, 45:55 is the price of your redemption." 45:58 He did it for the unreachable. 46:01 And the unreachable is us. Wow. 46:03 Amen. Amen. 46:06 Thank you so much, Ryan. 46:08 That's powerful. 46:10 Isaiah 53 is an amazing passage. 46:13 The Lord really used you, that was powerful, Ryan. 46:16 As I look at, I have Thursday's lesson. 46:21 I just want to spend some time in prayer now. 46:22 You know, I'm supposed to be 46:24 talking about Thursday's lesson. 46:25 But that just really hit me that just... 46:27 Yeah, the unreachable is us. 46:29 The unreachable is us. The unreachable is me. 46:31 Thank you, Jesus, for that gift. 46:33 It's just amazing. Amen. 46:35 Thursday's lesson is 46:37 "A Transforming Reparation Offering," 46:40 which seems like a mouthful, but we'll get to that. 46:44 This section that we've been discussing Isaiah 53, 46:47 and the last three verses of Isaiah 52 is the final, 46:51 it's the longest 46:53 and it's the most crucial of the servant songs. 46:58 It's really divided. 46:59 I love looking at organization and structure 47:01 because that's how my brain works. 47:03 It's divided up into five sections 47:06 of three verses each. 47:08 The first section is the end of Chapter 52. 47:11 And it talks about the glory and exaltation of the servant. 47:15 The second section 47:17 is the first three verses of Chapter 53. 47:20 That's the descent to sorrow and rejection. 47:24 The third section is the portion 47:26 that Ryan talked about just now verses 4 through 6, 47:29 that substitutionary death. 47:31 Christ taking our punishment, and He bore it to heal us, 47:36 and to save us. 47:38 The next section, verses 7 through 9 47:41 is the innocent servant's descent to the grave. 47:44 And then we come to my section I have the last section, 47:47 verses 10 through 12. 47:49 We're in Isaiah 53:10-12. 47:52 This is the servant ascending to the exalted reward, 47:57 with his sacrifice being to save others. 48:00 This is the glory and exaltation of the servant. 48:02 So this whole section begins 48:04 with the glory and exaltation of the servant. 48:07 And it's going to end with the glory 48:09 and exaltation of the servant. 48:12 I see four points here. 48:13 First, we're going to look at verse 10 here. 48:15 But the first point 48:16 is the suffering was God's will. 48:20 Let's read Isaiah 53:10. 48:23 Many times we say, "Why did He have to suffer?" 48:26 It clearly was not His fault, because He was perfect. 48:30 He had not sinned. 48:32 And then at the cross, what did He say? 48:34 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? 48:38 So verse 10 begins with a theological explanation 48:44 for the suffering that He went through. 48:46 It says yet it, what's that word? 48:49 Pleased the Lord to bruise Him. 48:53 He has put Him to grief. 48:54 The word pleased in Hebrew means to delight in. 48:58 You mean God, the Father delighted in bruising His Son. 49:04 Now, we could give many reasons for why Jesus had to die. 49:08 We could talk about 49:09 the righteousness of the law being holy, 49:12 just and true. 49:13 The demands of the law needing to be kept. 49:16 We could talk about that all have sinned, 49:18 and all have fallen short of the glory of God, 49:21 we could, and all of that would be true. 49:23 But why did He suffer? 49:26 Because God the Father loved us, 49:30 and He wanted to save us. 49:32 Many times we think, Jesus came, Jesus loved me. 49:36 Jesus wanted to die for me 49:38 and God the Father in the Old Testament, 49:40 we see is harsh and unreachable. 49:44 But yet, God loved us. 49:46 It delighted God the Father to give His Son, why? 49:50 Because as it says in John 16, "The Father Himself, 49:55 He loves you." 49:56 John 3:16, "For God so loved the world 49:59 that He gave His only begotten Son." 50:02 Now, Jesus, of course, we know that the Father, Son, 50:04 and Holy Spirit agreed in this, 50:06 prior even to the entrance of sin in this world. 50:09 They had this plan of redemption set in place, 50:12 but God so loved the world 50:14 that He gave His only begotten Son. 50:17 Point number two, 50:19 the suffering became our reparation 50:22 or a trespass offering. 50:24 This is where we get the title of today's lesson. 50:28 We're still in Isaiah 53:10, 50:29 just the second half of that verse. 50:31 We had already said, 50:33 "It pleased the Lord to bruise him." 50:34 Then it says, "When you make his soul 50:37 an offering for sin, 50:39 he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, 50:42 and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." 50:45 Now that word for offering in Hebrew 50:48 is a reparation offering or a trespass offering. 50:53 Why was he offered 50:54 as a guilt offering or as a trespass offering? 50:57 He's not offered as a sin offering 50:58 or peace offering. 51:00 The word in Hebrew 51:01 is a guilt offering or a trespass offering. 51:05 We don't have time to get into all of this, 51:06 but if you look at Leviticus 5:7, 51:09 it discusses the guilt offering or the trespass offering. 51:14 And what that means? 51:15 The guilt offering unlike other offerings, 51:17 it included reparation, it included a restitution. 51:23 There was confession of sin. 51:25 Then there was an assessment of what the damage was. 51:29 And then there was restitution made. 51:31 Now they had to pay the value of whatever it was 51:34 plus one-fifth. 51:36 So it was not just an equal substitution, 51:39 there was extra that was added. 51:41 That's why it was called the reparation offering. 51:44 You see no other offering could be paid or substituted. 51:48 Payment is a means if you pay something 51:51 of substituting something 51:53 for something else with the same value. 51:55 Jesus the Messiah was our substitute payment. 52:00 He died more than just the death. 52:02 He died the death of the cross. 52:05 It was the death that included the shame and the scoffing 52:08 and the separation from the Father. 52:11 You could almost say, 52:12 He added the fifth on our behalf. 52:14 This reparation offering not just the offering, 52:18 but He humbled Himself as Philippians 2, Shelley, 52:21 you started with that, not just becoming a man, 52:23 not just dying, but the death on the cross. 52:28 Point number three, 52:29 the suffering was for our justification. 52:32 The next verse, Isaiah 53:11, 52:35 "He shall see the labor of His soul, 52:37 and be satisfied. 52:39 By His knowledge My righteous Servant 52:41 shall justify many, 52:44 for He shall bear their iniquities." 52:47 Now, we see the concept of justification many times 52:50 in the New Testament, 52:51 but it is also all throughout the Old Testament, 52:55 one of, to me one of the clearest 52:57 Old Testament statements 52:59 of imputed righteousness 53:02 where God does not reckon the iniquity 53:04 to the repentant sinner's account 53:06 would be in Psalm 32. 53:07 So let's look at that. 53:09 Of course, we have Genesis with Abraham believing God 53:11 and it's reckoned or accountant to him 53:13 for righteousness. 53:14 But let's look at Psalm 32:1-2, "Blessed is he 53:17 whose transgression is forgiven, 53:20 whose sin is covered. 53:21 Blessed is the man 53:23 to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity." 53:25 That word impute, reckon. 53:28 "And in whose spirit there is no deceit." 53:32 And, of course, there's Romans 5:89, 53:34 "God demonstrated His own love for us 53:37 and that while we were yet still even now sinners, 53:41 Christ died for us, 53:43 much more than having been justified by His blood, 53:47 we shall be saved from wrath through Him." 53:50 And finally, point number four, 53:52 the suffering will lead him to his, 53:55 will lead to his exaltation and glorification. 53:59 Now this is coming full circle again. 54:02 We started with the exaltation 54:03 and glorification of the servant. 54:05 We end again with the servant's exaltation 54:09 and glorification. 54:10 Let's look at verse 12. 54:12 With this passage, with this scripture, 54:14 it comes full circle. 54:16 "Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, 54:19 and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, 54:21 because He poured out His soul unto death, 54:24 and He was numbered with the transgressors, 54:26 and He bore the sin of many, 54:29 and made intercession for the transgressors." 54:33 The servant here, the language used, 54:35 he has been rewarded by God as a king would be rewarded 54:39 after a mighty victory 54:40 when he's returning from battle. 54:42 It reminds me of Acts Chapter 2. 54:45 Remember that whole sermon 54:46 that Peter preached the Pentecostal sermon, 54:49 and he's talking, telling the Jews, okay, 54:51 you crucified Jesus, 54:53 and this is what you did to Him. 54:54 And then in verse 32, he says, "This Jesus, 54:57 the Jesus, you crucified, 54:59 God has raised up 55:01 of which we are all His witnesses, 55:02 therefore being exalted 55:05 to the right hand of God." 55:07 We see the exaltation of the servant, his suffering, 55:10 and then exaltation back to his rightful place 55:13 at the right hand of God. 55:15 Reminds me of Revelation 5, you referenced this, Ryan, 55:18 the scene in the throne room, and they're saying, 55:20 who is worthy to open the scroll 55:23 and loose the seals? 55:26 Verse 5, "Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, 55:30 the Root of David has prevailed to open the scroll 55:34 and to lose those seven seals because of his suffering, 55:38 because of what Jesus took our sin, 55:42 because of that, He is" what is it say? 55:46 "Worthy to open the scroll." 55:49 And then we will throughout eternity, 55:52 say as it says in verse nine, 55:54 "You are worthy to take the scroll 55:56 and open the seals, 55:57 you were slain and have redeemed us 56:00 to God by Your blood out of every tribe 56:02 and tongue and people and nations, 56:04 and have made us kings and priests to God 56:06 and we shall reign on the earth." 56:08 Praise the Lord for the suffering servant. 56:12 Amen and amen. What a beautiful study. 56:15 Thank you, Johnny, John, Ryan, and Jill, beautiful lessons. 56:19 I want to just have give everyone 56:22 just a moment to 56:23 have a closing thought about your day. 56:26 Well, I would like to just focus in 56:28 on Isaiah 53:5 56:30 because this speaks to me personally. 56:33 Because it says but he was wounded for our, 56:36 is says our, but you, we need to make this personal. 56:38 He was wounded for my transgressions, 56:40 He was bruised for my iniquities. 56:43 Take a look at Isaiah 53, 56:45 there's a message for you there. 56:46 Amen. Mine was who has believed? 56:49 Well, here's the benefit of believing that 56:51 whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, 56:55 but have everlasting life." 56:57 John 3:16. Amen. 56:59 There was chorus of the song from the 90s called 57:02 This Blood by Carman made popular, 57:04 and it goes like this, 57:05 this blood can save a soul, heal the sick, mend the heart, 57:08 this blood can give you access to the very throne of God, 57:11 and it still can go the distance, 57:13 through the pain to where you are, 57:14 this blood is for you, the blood of the lamb. 57:18 Amen. 57:20 Under through mine again who our God is. 57:24 And why I want to serve Him with my whole heart in life 57:27 and just encourage you do that as well. 57:28 Amen. 57:30 And I just thank you all so much 57:31 for being with us today. 57:33 When we think of God, He did the unthinkable. 57:37 To me the greatest sacrifice what that He became a man. 57:41 He took on our flesh and then He died for us. 57:45 He came to reach the unreachable 57:48 and that was us, 57:50 but praise God for His plan of grace. 57:54 Join us next week for lesson 11, 57:57 "Waging Love." 57:59 We look forward to seeing you. |
Revised 2021-03-04