WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:05.040 Well, this morning our sermon scripture reading is from Isaiah 42. 00:00:05.519 --> 00:00:24.480 And uh we spend we plan to spend the next four weeks and in Isaiah and the words uh that were uttered from the prophet Isaiah as he was a mouthpiece of the Lord during that time, focusing on the the songs of of the servant. 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:33.039 And uh so this morning we begin with the the first of those, uh Isaiah 42, 1 through 9. 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:36.399 Here now the reading of God's holy word. 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:43.439 Behold my servant whom I uphold, my chosen in whom my soul delights. 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:49.520 I have put my spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations. 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:54.399 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street. 00:00:54.640 --> 00:01:00.640 A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench. 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.840 He will faithfully bring forth justice. 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:12.959 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth, and the coastlands wait for his law. 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:27.439 Thus says God the Lord who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to all the people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it. 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:31.439 I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness. 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:47.519 I will take you by the hand and keep you, I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison to those who sit in darkness. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:55.840 I am the Lord, that is my name, my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. 00:01:56.079 --> 00:02:05.920 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare, before they spring forth, I tell you of them. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:07.840 Let us pray. 00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:17.439 Lord, we thank you for these words to us this morning. 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:29.439 And Lord, we I do ask and pray that by the power of your spirit this morning, Lord, you would take these words and Lord that you would enable us to behold you in it. 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:34.240 The one who is the delight of your soul. 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:40.080 And Lord, that you would minister to our hearts as we as we set our gaze upon Christ. 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:43.360 Lord, I pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:44.080 Amen. 00:02:47.199 --> 00:03:02.879 So I want you to consider with me words that you have hung your hat on, uh words that you have taken to the bank, uh, when they've been communicated to you, and and and and and yet they haven't yet taken place. 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:12.240 Uh, for example, you're told by your boss, I want you to go and and carry out this assignment and such and such a place. 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:24.240 And so you take their words and you begin arranging your schedule and you purchase that plane ticket, and you get going. 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:29.520 You you you take them to the bank and you make preparations because of what's been said. 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:37.520 Or your parents call and they say to you, uh, we're coming into town and would like to look after the kids. 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:39.520 That's a good one. 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:47.280 Uh and so you begin preparing for their arrival in anticipation, planning for where you might go. 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:50.479 You take these words to the bank. 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:53.919 Or perhaps more recent, we're coming into town for Thanksgiving. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:04:02.960 And so you begin to think and act in order to accommodate the guests who are kind of come and arrive on your doorstep. 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:07.599 And you hang your hat on these words. 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:14.560 You've been led to anticipate their fulfillment before they take place. 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:25.759 And so we encounter similar words uh in this reading this morning, albeit divine and inspired words, and this the first servant song of Isaiah. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:39.439 Isaiah had foreseen that since the people of God had uh breached his covenant, that they were headed for judgment, which would mean that they would be exiled, deported from their own country. 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:43.519 But now he also sees a glimmer of hope on the horizon. 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:48.160 He sees deliverance and restoration on the horizon. 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:57.199 And what's baffling about this is it wouldn't come through the kind of person that people might have thought, at least initially. 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:01.519 It was it was through Cyrus, the pagan king of Persia. 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:12.879 And we read, go on to read, that those words did come to fulfillment and that they were exiled, and that, and and and all these things did unfold. 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:24.800 And yet these words find great, even greater fulfillment beyond Cyrus because political deliverance wasn't an adequate solution for the real problem, which was spiritual. 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:34.079 What lay at the heart of the problem was Israel's sin, their idolatry of going after other gods. 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:39.600 And what was needed was deliverance from their deeper bondage that exiled them from God. 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:48.399 And so this prophecy finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the one who would come and usher in a new day. 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:55.360 His coming and his appearance would be taken to the bank, as it were. 00:05:55.600 --> 00:06:01.360 A new day would arise and all glory would be and go to him. 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:08.720 His life would shine brightly in the midst of deep darkness and be a light for all. 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:17.279 And so Isaiah is prophesying that Jesus would come as the sent servant who would bring salvation and hope to all nations. 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:29.920 And yet we mustn't forget that in order for salvation to be applied to us, that it first required that it be accomplished for us. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:32.319 And that's what Jesus has set about to do. 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:38.079 He had come to be the sent servant, accomplishing that very salvation. 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:43.680 Salvation, though, and in the meantime, has come. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:45.199 We know that. 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:48.399 And yet the darkness still lingers. 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:57.839 The season that we're about to enter is increasingly content to crowd out Christ and the light that he possesses. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:00.879 But his glory will go to no other. 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:10.959 And so I want us to take seriously this morning the command to behold, to behold him, to behold this servant Jesus. 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:17.600 And as we do so, I don't mean just seeing the words that we read, but to focus on the one to whom these words point. 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:24.399 And so in beholding him, I want us to admire his person. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:28.959 I want us to love his disposition. 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:34.800 And then thirdly, to rejoice in the fulfillment of his saving activity. 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:37.120 First, to admire his person. 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:49.199 We look closely and we see all of these possessive pronouns, my, uh, speaking of possession and relationship. 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:53.600 He is said to be my servant, my chosen. 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:59.360 He is the delight of my soul, and I have put my spirit upon him. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:05.439 And what that tells us is that there is this deep relationship between the sender and the sent. 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:11.439 There is this deep and personal relationship between the father and the son. 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:20.000 This term upheld is a strong word, which means to grip fast, to hold on to very tightly. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:32.559 And what we see here is that Jesus, the sent servant, is firmly in the grip of the Father who loves him and cares for him and has chosen him. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:43.519 Now we can imagine that someone might choose someone because they're good at getting the job done. 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:51.759 They are chosen because they're just good at what they do, and yet there not be any real connection. 00:08:52.080 --> 00:08:56.320 But Jesus is not only chosen, he's also someone who is delighted in. 00:08:57.440 --> 00:09:01.840 The favor and joy of the Father rests on this servant. 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:13.039 And not only that, but the Spirit of the Father is upon him, so that he conducts himself in the same way with the same love and purpose as the one who sent him. 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:27.840 And so we read of this in the Gospels, of this intensely personal connection, where Jesus says, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:34.159 For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise, like Father, like Son. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:38.320 We also read, I don't speak on my own authority. 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:42.240 The Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment. 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:49.840 What to say and what to speak, even his speech comes from the likeness of the Father. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:56.320 And then again, I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:09.519 Now, if you take those words in, I wonder if you've ever stopped to just consider how intimate and close this connection is between the Father and the Son. 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:13.919 This deep oneness between the sender and the one sent. 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:16.720 This is the one who was sent into the world. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:20.480 This is the one who was sent to accomplish redemption. 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:31.759 This was the one who came to accomplish our salvation, conducting himself in the same way with the same love and purpose as the one who sent him. 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:46.799 And if we marvel at that, then we must marvel at the truth that because of our union with Jesus Christ and the mission that he carried out, this same love is directed towards you and me. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:10:52.240 All that is his by virtue of this union is also yours. 00:10:52.320 --> 00:11:05.200 And so Jesus working by his spirit within you, Jesus working for you on your side, came to accomplish that which he also himself enjoyed. 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:17.279 In him having been given the Spirit, we have every reason to believe that the Father also delights in us and upholds us with a deep possession. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:23.600 We read Jesus say to his disciples something of this of this love and possession. 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:29.759 He says, In that day, and he's talking about the coming day of the Spirit, in that day you will ask in my name. 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:33.600 And I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:39.840 For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me and believed that I came from God. 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:48.399 What he's saying is here is when the Spirit comes, he will come to bring you all that I enjoy. 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:55.200 Because you are in Christ, the Father speaks therefore of you as my servant. 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:58.159 He speaks of you as my chosen. 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:08.000 Not everyone can say that. 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:13.279 Not everyone can say that's a reality for them. 00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:19.200 But to all who indwells by his spirit, you must know that this is absolutely true of you. 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:22.159 This is what he came to accomplish. 00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:28.320 And knowing it to be true of you, you can take it to the bank and you can anchor your entire life upon it. 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:32.799 This deep possession, that's all of grace. 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:34.639 Who else? 00:12:34.799 --> 00:12:40.080 Who else could could do and would do what we could never do for ourselves? 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:42.399 Only the sent servant. 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:45.360 And so we admire his person. 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:49.600 But let's also love his disposition. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:54.159 Jesus came to serve by bringing forth justice. 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:57.360 We read that over and over again in this passage. 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:01.679 Verse 1, he will bring forth justice to the nations. 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:08.159 Alright, so that speaks of the implementation that his justice will be to all nations. 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:10.799 That is the breadth of his justice. 00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:14.960 Verse 3, he will faithfully bring forth justice. 00:13:15.200 --> 00:13:22.720 That is, he will continue and continue and continue to bring forth this justice. 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:25.600 That speaks of the manner of his implementation. 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:29.360 He will carry it out in faithfulness to the one who sent him. 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:37.759 And then verse 4, he will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth. 00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:43.360 And that speaks to his perseverance until it's finally implemented. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:48.639 Not fainting, not faltering, until all is complete. 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:54.879 And that term justice for here, I hear is a general term and it has a few shades of meaning. 00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:58.080 The first is that there is only one God. 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:05.679 The second, when it's speaking of justice here, it's speaking of his revealed truth that is a blueprint for all of life. 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:09.600 God is creator, and therefore he knows the blueprint for all of life. 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:12.320 He knows what flourishing looks like. 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:18.320 And then the third thing is the righting of wrongs, making things that are wrong right. 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:25.200 Which means Jesus in coming did not come back, he did not back down from establishing this justice. 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:27.679 He came to reveal the true God. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:38.240 He came and spoke the truth to establish a just order, and he acted on what he saw was wrong, making it right. 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:45.919 And yet this raises the question: how will he bring this justice to bear? 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:54.559 Many have sought to implement justice and done it in a way that has been, as has furthered the harm done to society and to people. 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:57.120 So how would Jesus go about this? 00:14:57.600 --> 00:14:58.960 Will he do it with a heavy hand? 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:01.919 Will he do it with swift judgment? 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:05.279 How will he bring forth this justice? 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:07.200 And we read these beautiful words. 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:13.519 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street. 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:30.480 And what it tells us is that he will implement this justice in a way that's not showy or loud, not done with ego, not done out of insecurity to create a stir, or act in ways that aren't necessary. 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:35.360 He will do it in a humble way. 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:39.200 He will do it in a caring and loving manner. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:46.159 You know, oftentimes for us, our attention can be drawn to things that are flashy, you know? 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:50.240 Popular things, things that create a stir. 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:52.879 Those are the things that draw our attention. 00:15:53.679 --> 00:16:01.600 But Jesus knows that the nature of the battle lies beyond all of the fuss, as it were. 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:07.679 And it actually lies in the quiet brokenness of the human heart. 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:18.320 And so when we come to Matthew's gospel, we see that he sets this fulfillment in the context of Jesus healing. 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:22.320 It's it's in this healing. 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:38.000 And while healing, we see that that Jesus heals many, many people at this time, but then he also orders them to be quiet about it, to not create a stir, to not make a show of it. 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:42.159 And and he carries out his service without aggression and showy displays. 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:46.960 And so Jesus' ministry, we could say, was one of quiet healing. 00:16:48.480 --> 00:17:01.360 Seeking to go after the thing that was at heart, and that is the human heart and all of the brokenness that is found in it. 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:10.160 But then we look and we see the way in which he exercises his healing power. 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:14.240 We read this a bruised reed he will not break. 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:17.680 A faintly burning wick he will not quench. 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:23.279 We have these two images of uh that of a bruised reed and and a burning wick. 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:27.759 Both symbolize his gentleness and and his lowliness of heart. 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:30.400 Uh we think of of a of a reeds. 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:47.119 Uh uh the reeds in a uh in a marsh or a pond are susceptible to being bruised when when the winds pick up and begin to blow, and or when the or the or when a lot of rain starts to fall and the and the waters start to rise and flood over the banks. 00:17:47.839 --> 00:17:52.480 Or when the duck and the feeding animals are prone to find their nesting spot. 00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:57.519 Those are the things that cause bruising. 00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:14.799 Or the small flame of a wick, you you carry a birthday cake and and and you have the candles on it, and and even the slightest movement can cause them to dim, or the faint flicker to come about, or even be put out. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:27.279 You see bruised reeds and and faint wicks or people, weak people, frail people, people for whom life is is broken and damaged. 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:35.920 And if we were to judge, we might judge such people to be beyond help or healing. 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:40.880 And yet Jesus doesn't look at it that way. 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:52.480 The truth is we all have wounds that we carry, and and if you've ever experienced insults or hardships or the pain of challenging relationships, you know that they bruise. 00:18:53.599 --> 00:19:04.799 You may have bruises that you don't give much attention to until you you bump up against them, and then you you wonder why you react the way you do. 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:09.759 Your pain signals to you that you're in need of healing. 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:19.440 Or perhaps your heart's flame has drawn low and fears have arise from unbelief, robbing your heart of strength. 00:19:19.680 --> 00:19:22.799 Doubts corrupt the joy of a firm trust in Jesus. 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:26.559 Uncast tears quench the flame of devotion. 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:30.000 You know what it feels like to feel like you've blown it. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:34.240 That you're just maybe not up to the task. 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:42.880 That when people look at you, they they look at you and say he's damaged goods. 00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:45.200 He's not up to the task. 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:55.440 And discouragement sits in, and all of that can cause our flame to draw low and even do a flicker. 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:05.039 I'd ask you this morning, is something robbing your heart from burning with full flame? 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:11.359 Is there something this morning that has drawn you down to a flicker? 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:15.119 Perhaps your your faith is down to a flicker. 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:27.680 But the hope and the joy of the gospel is that we hold on not to our own faith, but unto Christ, and we put our strength in him. 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:34.880 We anchor ourselves to Jesus Christ, who is strong, and we draw strength from his strength. 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:41.920 And what we know here is that he won't allow you to be broken beyond repair. 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:46.319 He won't respond to you in a way that will quench your flickering flame. 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:49.759 He understands all that you go through. 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:58.000 And so in his gracious, kind, and tenderhearted patience, he heals our bruises and rekindles our flame. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:04.400 He doesn't break bruised reeds or snuff out dimly burning wicks. 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:09.839 He he mends them and he fans them into a flame. 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:17.119 If we would but give our hearts to him, he is able to do that healing work. 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:28.720 And the truth is, he works through all of our bruises and our faintness to bring us to an even deeper healing than we might otherwise think that we need. 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:36.720 Let's not mistake the work of healing for a change in circumstances. 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:37.519 Right? 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:40.160 Healing is much more intimate than that. 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:44.720 Healing can sometimes be painful. 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:47.359 It's not always linear like we like to think. 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:54.319 But we know and we trust and believe that He works through our bruises to bring us from spiritual death to life. 00:21:54.559 --> 00:21:57.519 God has often pleased to work in that way. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.759 I was reminded of that. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:11.599 Uh not too long ago while in Japan, where I heard this wonderful testimony of a young man who was caught up in God's sovereign activity and a mother's prayer. 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:26.559 This this dear lady, this mom, had been sharing how she had been praying for the salvation of the lost, as well as she'd been praying for her daughter, that uh if she wanted to desire to marry, that she would be able to marry in the Lord. 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:38.160 And that's no small thing uh in a large population, but very small percentage of Christians, 0.4% of the population being Christians. 00:22:38.559 --> 00:23:01.680 And so she was praying, and and this man, a young man unknown to all of this, who was sitting to my right, uh, was telling this story of his testimony where he had come to Australia and he had come to this small town just about three hours outside of Melbourne, and and he had found himself wanting to learn English. 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:13.279 And so he had looked up Google and he had found that it was uh a small Presbyterian church that was offering uh ESL classes. 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:24.480 And so, although he had never stepped foot in a church, although he had never known a Christian in his life, he took it upon himself to go to this ESL to learn English. 00:23:24.640 --> 00:23:38.720 And and what was amazing uh in that is that that same church was actually the church to which my parents belong, which is out of the beaten track, is certainly not in a place that uh many would go to. 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:44.559 But here he is, he was taking ESL classes, and which also included a Bible lesson. 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:53.519 And meanwhile, as time went on, he began to experience some bruising in a relationship with his girlfriend at the time. 00:23:54.240 --> 00:24:02.079 And although this bruising was taking place, he said, you know, it was during that time that my heart began to soften. 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:06.880 And as I studied the Bible, it began to take on a new life. 00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:18.799 And it was not long after that that he came to saving faith in Christ, and he was later baptized and began uh attending a church a few hours away. 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:28.160 And it wasn't long after that, though, that another prayer was answered from this mom. 00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:38.160 He left because of COVID, he went back to Japan, he uh began attending a church that this mother's daughter was attending. 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:45.279 And they got to know each other and they got to uh take an interest in each other and were later married. 00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:50.400 And so here this mother was talking about two prayers that she prayed that were answered. 00:24:50.880 --> 00:25:04.960 One for the conversion of the lost, the second for her daughter to have married in the Lord, and she looked at her son-in-law with joy over the table as she saw all that God had done and answered. 00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:26.799 And I still marvel at that story because it just reminds me of the sovereign power of God, intimately connected with the intimate purse and personal working of his favor and his grace, even working through bruises to convert hearts to himself. 00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:36.240 God is gracious in using even our bruises to bring others from spiritual death to life. 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:45.759 And not only does he bring from death to life, but he also uses bruises to bring us from glory, from grace to glory. 00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:50.799 It's been said, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:55.440 Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. 00:25:58.160 --> 00:26:07.680 We might pray, Lord, change my circumstance or give me quick relief from uh these things that I face. 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:08.960 Give me a fish. 00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:15.680 And yet God says in effect, no, because you're mine, I tend and tend on something far better. 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:18.319 There are times when God may change our circumstances. 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:21.920 There may be times when God does give us quick relief. 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:28.160 But why change a circumstance when you can learn from me and be changed in your entire nature? 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:31.519 That's the work that he sets out to do. 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:35.759 Full, complete, and utter healing. 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:39.599 That's the true work that he's set about to do. 00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:52.480 And so his giving of himself to us is so that we learn from his heart, we learn from his mind, so that we begin to love with the same love as he loved us. 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:56.960 And that our hearts begin to beat to the same beat as his own. 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:03.200 Only that is a work that God can do. 00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:16.960 You think of Peter, who said to Jesus in his pride, just before Jesus went to his death, he said, Lord, even though everyone else will deny you, I will never deny you. 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:21.920 Yet soon after he was bruised by denying Jesus. 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:31.039 And yet his tears were met with a tender mercy of Jesus, and it produced in him a more humble and reliant spirit, just like his Lord. 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:43.599 Or we think of Peter, who was very competent and strong in his abilities, and he'd been led to see great visions like no other. 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:53.839 But he was bruised with a thorn, and he describes it as a messenger from Satan, something that really bothered him, and so he prayed three times that the Lord would take it away. 00:27:53.920 --> 00:27:58.400 And the Lord said, No, I have a greater power, purpose in this. 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:09.440 And it led him to boast in his weakness so that Christ's power would rest upon him and was glorified through him. 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:21.599 God can use and does use our bruises and our faintness of heart to bring us from grace to glory. 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:30.640 Be assured that the wind of discouragement won't always blow against you, the waters of trouble won't always overwhelm you. 00:28:32.559 --> 00:28:43.680 But even then and even when they do, Jesus is working ever so gently to bring you from grace to glory so that you'll be more like him. 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:46.480 You'll be more whole. 00:28:47.839 --> 00:28:50.640 And so let us love his disposition toward us. 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:57.599 And then finally, as we behold his loving disposition, know that he's not done serving. 00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:02.240 Let us rejoice in the fulfilling of his saving activity. 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:05.680 Look here how Jesus serves us. 00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:15.039 Creating, stretching, spreading, and giving this fourfold uh activity in all of creation. 00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:26.880 What these words allude to is that he is active, that his purposes, however large, however great, and however intimate, are as youthful as ever. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:39.680 When I look at our kids and other kids, I'm reminded as I see their energy just how, well, energetic uh youth can be. 00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:45.039 And I find myself feeling just a little bit older as I try to keep up with four boys. 00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:51.279 And yet the lacking, the lack of strength is something that we all face. 00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:55.920 But Jesus, unlike us, keeps his strength. 00:29:56.160 --> 00:30:03.759 Jesus, unlike us, is faithful to his task and has a youthful energy. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:04.640 Uh G.K. 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:08.559 Chesterton, musing on God's youthful activity, said it like this. 00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:20.880 He said, Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things unrepeated, they want things repeated and unchanged. 00:30:21.119 --> 00:30:23.440 They always say, do it again. 00:30:23.759 --> 00:30:27.680 And the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. 00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:33.920 For grown-up people are not strong enough to exalt in monotony. 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:38.880 But perhaps God is strong enough to exalt in monotony. 00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:44.559 It is possible that God says every morning, do it again to the sun. 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:48.720 And every evening, do it again to the moon. 00:30:49.279 --> 00:30:54.960 It may not all may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike. 00:30:55.200 --> 00:31:00.559 It may be that God makes every daisy separately but never has got tired of making them. 00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:05.519 It may be that he has the eternal appetite of infancy. 00:31:06.160 --> 00:31:10.960 For we have sinned and grown old, and our father is younger than we. 00:31:13.759 --> 00:31:20.799 That stirs my heart, and I I wonder if that opens up a childlike wonder in your heart as it does mine. 00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:29.200 God's strength allows him to say, even though monotonous, do it again. 00:31:30.559 --> 00:31:35.039 To the sun, to the moon, to every daisy that's made, do it again. 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:37.920 Oh how youthful and strong. 00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:47.519 And if that's true of his activity and work in creation, it's certainly true of you, who are his chosen position. 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:58.960 Which means he will not grow tired, and he will not cease to say, Do it again until you are made whole. 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:17.759 Giving you his spirit to renew you, to make you whole, to heal you, to bind you up, to give you his presence, to shine his face upon you, and to delight in you, and remind you that you are the one who has delighted in, even as his own son. 00:32:20.319 --> 00:32:22.319 Do it again, he says. 00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:23.759 Do it again. 00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:29.359 And he will not keep he will not let you to fall. 00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:35.279 He will keep you from falling with the strength of youthful intention until you're brought all the way home. 00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:40.799 Oh how how wonderful to admire his person. 00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:44.319 Oh how we love his disposition. 00:32:44.880 --> 00:32:50.079 And how thankfully we rejoice in the fulfillment of his saving activity. 00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:52.480 Let us pray. 00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:08.400 Oh Lord, we thank you that you have given us to behold you afresh this morning. 00:33:10.480 --> 00:33:14.640 We thank you for your kind and gracious presence to us. 00:33:15.519 --> 00:33:30.319 That is faithfully, ever so faithfully, even in the midst of our weakness and bruises, binding us up, strengthening us, shaping us, molding us, loving us. 00:33:32.799 --> 00:33:42.079 Father, we just want to acknowledge and adore the fact that you are such a God to us. 00:33:42.799 --> 00:33:51.359 Oh Lord, we pray that in the midst of the hustle of life, give us to rejoice. 00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:56.960 Give us the space to see you as you truly are. 00:33:57.599 --> 00:34:01.839 And Lord, give us the hope in the midst of the waiting. 00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:13.039 So that we would come and be reminded, Lord, that when you come, it will lead to the fullness of joy. 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:17.519 We pray and give you thanks, Lord, for all these things in Jesus' name. 00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:18.400 Amen.