First Baptist Church Hoptown
This is the preaching and teaching podcast for First Baptist Church in Hopkinsville KY.
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Pastor / Teacher: Todd Goulet
First Baptist Church Hoptown
12/08/2024: Isaiah 49:1-13 “Hope, A Light is Shining”
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This episode illuminates the transformative message of Isaiah 49, focusing on the identity and mission of Jesus as the Servant who brings hope to all nations. We discuss the importance of listening to God, understanding our purpose in His grand plan, and living as a light in the world.
• Exploring the theme of despair and God’s presence
• Understanding the identity of Jesus as the Servant
• Importance of actively listening to God
• Jesus’ emotions and humanity amidst rejection
• God’s heart for all nations and His redemptive mission
• Our call to embody the light and hope of Christ
That mourns in lonely exile here.
Speaker 2Until the Son of.
Speaker 1God appear. Rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel. Emmanuel Shall come to thee, o Israel, o come. Desire of nations. Bind All people in one heart and one mind. Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease. Fill all the world with heaven's peace. Rejoice, rejoice in heaven's peace. Rejoice, rejoice, emmanuel shall come to thee, o Israel. So rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel. Oh, he shall come to thee, o Israel.
Speaker 2So maybe today I don't know where you're at, but maybe that's you. Maybe you're sitting there in that pew going where's God, where's he been? What's he doing? Why is he letting me be carried away and taken off by my circumstances, by these things that have happened? I feel so far from God. I'm telling you here today he is our hope and God has sent him into the world to be a light shining, to bring us home to him.
Speaker 2And wherever you're at today, we're going to see here in this text this is just an amazing text. No matter where you are, the furthest reaches. You may think I'm so far beyond what God can do, where God can reach. I'm telling you, god's about to get your attention. He's about to say look, can reach. I'm telling you, god's about to get your attention. He's about to say look, listen, pay attention. I'm here and I want to bring you home. So maybe that's you today. I don't know. I don't know if that's where the Israelite people were. They had gone through a rough go, but let's read this passage Isaiah, chapter 49. I may have to go to the other one or just hold a mic. How about that? How about I do that? That'll work, no pressure.
Speaker 1I'll just go to this. Is that good? Here we go. So here in.
Speaker 2Isaiah, chapter 49,. It says this Listen to me O coastlands and give attention, you peoples from afar. Now I want you to imagine, as we read the rest of this passage, that Jesus is saying that on every verse he's saying listen, pay attention, okay.
Speaker 2It's not like he's going to go. Okay, guys, I want you to listen to me. We should pay attention. No, this is him commanding. This is the Lord Jesus saying listen to me, pay attention to what I've got to say.
Speaker 2He says this the Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother. He named my name, he made my mouth like a sharp sword In the shadow of his hand. He hid me. He made me a polished arrow In his quiver. He hid me away Verse 3, and he said to me you are my servant, israel, israel, in whom I will be glorified.
Speaker 2But I said I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing, in vanity. Yet surely my right is with the Lord and my recompense is with my God. And now the Lord says he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has become my strength. He says and we'll discuss this in a minute, but this is almost we're kind of getting tuned in on a conversation that the Messiah is having with Father God here, and he keeps referring to him. As he said he's told me this. He's told me this. Now the Lord says it is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Israel and to bring back the preserved of Israel, the tribes of Jacob, and bring back the preserved of Israel. I will make you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers. But kings shall see and arise, and princes, they shall prostrate themselves because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you. Thus says the Lord in a time of favor. I have answered you. In a day of salvation, I have helped you. I will keep you. In a time of favor, I have answered you in a day of salvation, I have helped you. I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people to establish the land to a portion of the desolate heritages.
Speaker 2Saying to the prisoners come out. To those who are in darkness, appear. They shall feed along the ways and, on bare heights, shall be their pasture and they shall not hunger or thirst. Neither scorching wind nor rain shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them and by springs of water will guide them, and I will make all my mountains a road, and my highway shall be raised up. Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold these from the north and from the west and these from the land of Syene. Sing for joy, oh O heavens, and exalt O earth. Bring forth O mountains into singing, for the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. I don't know about you, but that should kind of give you a little extra pep in your step today. Yeah, okay, it does me. I don't know about you Knowing that God is our provider, our shield, our protector.
Jesus, the Light of the World
Speaker 2So here, beginning in Isaiah 48, we saw how Isaiah, or Israel, had stubbornly resisted the true God. If you look back at the chapter before this I just want to give you a little context If you look at chapter 48, we see how Israel had stubbornly resisted the true God, preferring to worship idols of their own creation instead. And this blasphemy forced God to defend his name by sending Israel into a furnace of affliction. Yet all this was leading up to yet another incredible revelation of God's grace, because God's going to give them new hope. He begins to express his longing for Israel and dramatically announces the good news of coming redemption and all that you can find in the previous chapter. And so it brings us to chapter 49, which, if you do any study on this you look it up, you'll see it's what is also known as a song of the servants. This is a song of the servant, the servant's song, and because it's a servant that is referred to as speaking in this chapter, and who the servant is over time has been greatly debated, but I think if you followed through while I was reading that and if you follow through as we go through this text, you will clearly, clearly see from the very beginning of this text that it's none other than Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the light of the world. He is the one who is speaking, he is the servant, and so Isaiah begins a new section here with the servant of the Lord. He is exalted. The rest of Isaiah is all about Jesus In case you didn't know the 66 books and he will bring a greater deliverance than the deliverance from Egypt and from Babylon. He will actually bring a deliverance from sin and, amazingly, nothing more is said of Babylon or Cyrus, or of the conflict with pagan gods and cult practices.
Speaker 2The servant Messiah is the one who gains the attention of the rest of this book here, of the chapters in Isaiah, and what he is about to tell us is of extreme importance to the Gentiles. Now, how many of y'all are Gentile in here? Unless you are, like, really, from a Jewish heritage and you are Jewish, everyone else is Gentile. Just so you know. It doesn't matter if you're from Portugal, from Indonesia, it doesn't matter, you are Gentile. There's a Jew and there's Gentile. So probably we're all Gentile in here, more or less.
Speaker 2And he begins to tell us here that the servant of the Lord is destined to be the light of the nations, that the servant of the Lord is destined to be the light of the nations. And the servant of the Lord himself speaks here as we begin in verse 1, claiming his God-given destiny as the only hope of the world. So the first thing I want you to see this morning, here as we begin in verse 1, and we're going to kind of just go through each verse by verse kind of somewhat rapidly, because I want to get to the end of this and share some stuff with you. But verse one is we see the voice of the light. Y'all can go ahead and put that up there. So he says listen to me, o coastlands, give attention, you peoples from far.
Speaker 2Here Jesus is confronting, he's commanding all the nations, the islands, the coastline, which is a term you'll see quite often in Isaiah, but it's just merely referring to the remotest places of the earth. And he's saying pay attention, listen to all that I have to say. A light has come, salvation is here. That's what he's about to tell them. What Jesus shares is for all the people. You see the difference here. It's not just for Israel anymore. The tone here has changed. The crowd that he's talking to has changed. He is addressing all the earth, all people, all Gentiles, not just the people of Israel. And the announcement that the Messiah, the light, will come as a servant.
Speaker 2Verses 1 and 2 declare beyond all doubt that the servant Messiah is Jesus Christ. And as you look at verse, move into verse 2, we also see the incarnation of the light. See, jesus is the Messiah. And at the end of verse 1, he says the Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother. He named my name. Now it's easy to read that and go yeah, yeah, because we're looking way up here in history and we're looking back.
Speaker 2But Jesus is sharing some crucial theological stuff right there. What's he sharing? He is sharing the incarnation of the light. He is sharing this crucial doctrine of our faith, the doctrine of his incarnation, where he came to earth, born of a Virgin Mary, born as a human being, born, became a man, grew up, became a man, born of a woman. He was fully God, yet he was fully man. His birth was supernatural, not of human means. It was of divine origins. He was named by God before he was born. He was named by God before he was born. He was named in eternity past, just like God knew your name before the foundations of the world.
Speaker 2And I don't get all that right. We don't understand all that, but Scripture tells us and it's the truth. One thing I like about Scripture is that Scripture always proves Scripture. So we're going to hit a lot of Scripture today because I want you to see the truth in all this. When you're reading prophetic books like this, it is good to go and look in other Scripture and other parts of the Bible where it just reaffirms what is being said. It kind of also brings clarity.
Speaker 2But can you imagine how many of y'all know the verse John 3.16? Yeah, probably most of you forgot. So love the world. That was written on the heart of God before you and I were even thoughts in our mom right. John 3.16, written in eternity past because God loved you so much. Matthew 1.20 says this. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying Joseph, son of David, do not fear, take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. And all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, to fulfill what was just spoken there in Isaiah right. He was born, came from his mother's womb.
Jesus, the Messiah
Speaker 2This truth is so important, it's at the center of our Christian faith, and there are some religions, such as Islam and actually Judaism, that does not believe this. Of course, islam rejects the Christian belief that Jesus was the Son of God, or God incarnate, and that he was crucified, resurrected or atoned for the sins of humanity. The Koran states that Jesus would deny being considered a God by God. Well, how many of y'all know the Koran's wrong? Come on somebody. There we go, okay, but Judaism? This may surprise you.
Speaker 2You know the rabbis. There are certain scriptures, and this is one of them, that the rabbis will not teach in the synagogue. Do you know why? Because they do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah or the Son of God. They believe that Christ was not God and was not resurrected Sorry, tough word there. He was not resurrected, and so any scripture that refers to him as Christ incarnate or as the Messiah, the Son of God, being put on a cross and coming back to life, they will not read those. They will not let their people, believers, followers, read those. You will not find those spoken in the synagogues.
Speaker 2Because Jesus, according to them, the reason is Jesus didn't defeat Rome. That's why they can't believe in him. They were expecting what? A political conqueror, correct, a military king. But he came. He came as a servant and since he didn't overthrow Rome, he cannot be the Messiah. And then the other reason is they ask this question what have Christians, what has the church done or achieved on earth for Christ to lead us to believe in him as the Messiah. What have they done, what has the church done over the last 2,000 years that would lead us to believe that he's the Messiah and that kind of hurts. But I can look at the state of the church today in our world and in our culture, especially in America, and I would dare ask that same question what are we doing that represents Christ in a very real, authentic way to the lost world? They were still expecting a political leader. They were still, and still are, expecting a warrior, a conquering Messiah. See, they don't believe he ever came in the first place, for they're still waiting for him to show up. They don't believe that the Messiah has already come, so they won't teach this.
Speaker 2And if you have any Jewish friends, I ask you to talk to them. If you know anything a lot about the Old Testament, if you have any Jewish friends, I ask you talk to them. You, if you know anything, a lot about the Old Testament, you have something to share with Jewish people, with the Jewish friends, because they're gonna be like what we've never heard that, and they may reject it or they may accept it, but you have something to share, and isn't it amazing? This is what, so I guess, blows my mind, because I'm part of this Amazing that God in his grace is still calling and inviting all people to listen and respond to his call To receive salvation. It's just amazing. God, after all, that is still the light, still sending his light, and we're going to read a little more about that here in a second.
Speaker 2So in verse 2, he begins what I call the preparation or the equipping of the light. And in verse 2 it says he made my mouth like a sharp sword and in the shadow of his hand he hid me. He made me a polished arrow and his quiver, he hid me away. So some great word pictures there. Let me just read something to you John 1, verse 1 says in the beginning was what the word and the word was with, and the word was he was in the beginning with. He made my mouth like a sharp sword. God is the word, christ is the word, the Messiah is the living word. Hebrews 4 says this. Verse 11 says let us therefore and this is great let us therefore strive to enter that rest so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience, for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword. You see, unlike the violent conquerors of human history, the servant of the Lord, he prevails by what? His word. How was creation, how did creation come about? Spoken word of God. So he made his mouth like a sharp sword.
Speaker 2Revelation, I like this, says then I saw heaven open and behold a white horse, and one sitting on it is called faithful and true and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire and on his head are many diadems and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood and the name by which he is called is the word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. So you can go all the way to the book of Revelation and you see that prophecy being backed up, being already spoken about by this prophecy here, by the messiah in the book of isaiah, in chapter 49. So by his word, jesus is going to judge the nations. The light of the world is the living word. He is jesus the messiah.
Speaker 2Remember I said it was debatable or it had been debated on who the servant was in this passage? Are y'all, are y'all kind of seeing who the servant is as we read through this? It's none other than who, jesus the Messiah. Right the word? Ephesians 6, the word is the sword. He says he has hidden me, hidden me. He has always been hidden. He's not yet revealed. It implies that he has always been, but God the Father has not chosen yet to reveal him. That is why he is hidden.
Speaker 2Galatians 4 says this, verses 4 and 5, but when the fullness of time had come. That is literally the translation here when it says hidden is the fullness of time had come. You see, the fullness of time had not yet come. So God the Father had not revealed his Messiah yet. But when the fullness of time had come, in Galatians there, god sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoptions as sons. So here again we see proof in other passages of Scripture and other truth written in later years that comes back and we can look at Isaiah and go, wow, jesus prophesied this. And here they're talking about it. Scripture always proves Scripture.
Speaker 2But you see, the Messiah was being prepared for the great reveal. He was equipped to fulfill the task appointed to him by God. His mouth was a sword. His character was a finely polished shaft or a finely polished arrow, and that refers to something that's pure metallic. Here there's no impurities in it. It always strikes true. It's perfect in integrity and purpose, waiting to leave the quiver to fulfill God's promises.
Speaker 2Now, how many of y'all go hunting with a bow? Anybody go hunting with a bow? Y'all probably cheat and use a crossbow. Yeah, yeah. So growing up we used to have a bow right, it was an actual bow with a string here, and you put an arrow in it and pull it back. Well, yeah, you pulled it back. Do you know how accurate we were with that thing? There was no animal that was in danger of us getting it. I'm just telling you, because either the arrows weren't true they were usually a little crooked or maybe didn't have the right amount of feathers on the end of it. But whatever, it did not work. It would not fly.
Speaker 2True, jesus was God's true arrow. Jesus was perfect. He would always he always hits the mark, has always, will always accomplish the purposes of God the Father. And here it says in the fullness of time, he will be revealed because, at the appointed time determined by God the Father, the servant Messiah, the light, is dispatched and revealed to man. But even after he was revealed, the Jewish nation still did not listen, they didn't see it and they still didn't believe.
Speaker 2Continuing verse 3, he says we begin to see this conversation that the servant Messiah has with God the father, where the servant Messiah is referred to as Israel by God the Father. And he said to me verse 3, you are my servant, israel, in whom I will be glorified. Now, this reference where it says he said to me again, is one you are my servant, israel, in whom I will be glorified. Now, this reference where it says he said to me again, is one of those things that's been debated. Is this actually referring to the nation of Israel? Some would say, well, yeah, of course it is. It makes sense. No, it doesn't make sense.
Speaker 2You read the context of this chapter and then you read the context of this, the book and everything preceding this chapter, and you see that it can't be Israel. Why? Because Israel did not fulfill the promises that God wanted it to fulfill. It did not fulfill its mission that God sent it here on earth to do. God sent Israel, he chose Israel to be a light to the nations of all the world, and they failed at it miserably. So Jesus comes and he is Israel. He is the head of the nation. He is the only one who can perfectly embody the high ideals of what God's old covenant people, israel, failed to live up to. Because God will use the servant Messiah, to gather the nations and be a light to the world, something the Israelite nation was supposed to do but failed at it drastically.
Speaker 2But then, as we move into verse 4, we see the humanity and what I call the humanity and trust of the light. And this is important because it says but I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing, in vanity, yet surely my right is with the Lord and my recompense with God. So here Jesus is lamenting to God, the Father all that he has done for Israel, yet still they reject him. He delivered them, he sent prophets to them. He says I've established their nation, yet they still reject me. We see the humanity of Christ.
Speaker 2We see emotion, the human emotion from Christ. And this is an unusual thing with us looking back through history and looking into our Scripture. We see Christ on the cross lamenting going my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That was real. He was in pain, he was hurting. Yet he knew what he was doing, he knew why he was there and he knew it was for God's purposes to be fulfilled. So he, faithfully, he went through and he took our sin, took our shame, took our pain. In the garden. We find him. Father, if it be your will, let this cup pass from me. I don't want to have to go through all this Again. Real human emotion. He can identify with your pain. He can identify with where you're at. He can identify with your frustration and your aggravation. He knows your emotion.
Speaker 2Sometimes we think of God as either cosmic cop and he sits up in the sky, or he's waiting to go, or we call him you know we could. I've seen people wear these shirts and I guess it's okay. You call him my homeboy and you know there's something about that. It just seems less than reverent to me. I don't, I don't really jive with that. He's my God, he's my savior, he's my friend, but he's Lord of all. He's king of kings, but yet he knows your pain because he was rejected. People didn't like him.
The Mission of the Light
Speaker 2John 1.10 says he was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own and his own people did not receive him. That would be like going to be with your family on Thanksgiving Day and you show up to the door and they're like oh, I'm sorry you're not having Thanksgiving Day with us, have a nice day, see you later. They're like what? I'm smelling turkey in there. I'm coming in. Sorry, we've decided you're not part of the family. We don't like you Cut your hair the wrong way.
Speaker 2Obviously, this was so much more drastic than that. Jesus came in. His own people, the people that he had chosen to be his people, rejected him. Own people, the people that he had chosen to be his people, rejected him. His heart is broken because his own people are unable to listen or to believe or to receive his love. However, however, he trusts his father. He knows that the purposes of the father will be accomplished because his human emotions aren't going to change or alter his trust in his father. Emotions aren't going to change or alter his trust in his father.
Speaker 2I like that Todd's mentioned this multiple times. Don't let your emotions shake your faith in the one true living God. Don't let your emotions decide whether you believe or don't believe. Today, god's word is what we believe, not our emotions. I don't know about you, but my emotions go like this because I live with a wife who's just like no, I'm just kidding change around here today anyway, but our emotions, we're human. Our emotions go up and down. I don't care if you're a person who I'm just going to even kill people. No, you're emotional and you can't trust those. When it comes to following Christ, you have to trust his word and his promises and what he says to you and his leading of you. Don't let your emotions Jesus did not let his emotions change his trust. You know I like at the end of that verse it talks about the reward, his reward. Do you know what his reward is for going through all that? You, me, everybody who says I believe in Jesus Christ and I'm gonna follow him as my Lord and Savior. That's Jesus' reward.
Speaker 2Isaiah 40 says it like this. It says yes, the sovereign Lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. We are his reward. When we believe in him, when we trust in him as Gentiles who should never have gotten the promises or should never have been privy to being brought into the kingdom of God, we are his reward.
Speaker 2Ephesians 2 says it like this so God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. Other translation says the trophies of his grace. I like that visual. I like trophies. Y'all like trophies. You like self-esteem, participation trophies. How many of y'all got those? Don't raise your hands, okay, todd, keep your head up. We like trophies. And as believers who have said yes to Christ, we are his trophies.
Speaker 2Continuing verse 5,. And now the Lord says he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has become my strength. The Messiah here, the servant Messiah, is reaffirming his trust by declaring his divine origin, his mission, his standing with God the Father, and in verse 6, we see the commissioning of the light. He says it's too light a thing. The Lord God, the Father God, says it's too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserve of Israel. I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
Speaker 2God's purpose for the Messiah was much greater than just restoring Israel, the deliverance even more miraculous and worthy of much greater honor. So I said it's too light a thing for him to do that. I got bigger things because I want to put more and more glory and more honor on him and bring more and more glory to myself. It's too light a thing just to preserve the nation of Israel. I want him to go after all people, the Jews, they rejected him. They failed in their purpose. However, god's plan will be made manifest through the Messiah is being made manifest through the Father.
Speaker 2Exaltation of the light. So not only do we see the commissioning here of the light, god sending the light, saying this is how I want to use the light. I want you to be a light, we also see that he's going to be rejected. In verse 7, it says the Lord, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations Kings will stand at attention when you pass by. Princes will also bow low because of the Lord, the faithful one, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you. Those kingdoms, those nations who at one time had disparaged our Lord and Savior, who had rejected him, who had tossed him aside, who had beat him up, crushed him, are the same ones that someday are going to stand, are going to bow before him as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus would suffer rejection, he would suffer disgrace, scourging execution, for our sake and for the sake of the nations, because one day those nations are going to bow down and we're all going to worship him.
Speaker 2Philippians 2.8 says as being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, god has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that, at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, our Father. Amen. That's the mission, that's what the light has come to do In our seven. Here, we see, we move into verse eight. It's the mission of the light. We see the commissioning, the calling. Here's the mission, and this is described in such detail.
Speaker 2Thus says the Lord in a time of favor, I have answered you in a day of salvation, I have helped you. I will keep you and give you as a covenant, as a promise to the people to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages. Saying to the prisoners come out, to those who are in darkness, up here, they shall feed along the ways On, all bare heights shall be their pasture. They shall not hunger or thirst. Neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them and by springs of water will guide them. And I will make all my mountains a road and my highways shall be raised up. Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold these from the north and from the west and these from the land of Syene. Sing for joy, o heavens, and exalt O earth. Break forth O mountains into singing, for the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. You see, in these final verses that we are looking at today 8 through 13, these final verses describe God's heart for humanity, his heart for his people, his heart for all nations, his heart for you, his heart for me, his heart for us. I like to look at this.
Speaker 2When I read this and began to really grasp what was going on here, it reminded me of something I had learned many years ago going to some training classes in leadership, and it was this word. It's actually just some letters, but you pronounce it B-H-A-G. Anybody ever heard of that? B-h-a-g. Okay, don't use it at home in an inappropriate way. B-h-a-g. Okay, don't use it at home in an inappropriate way.
Speaker 2Bhag this was Jesus, this was God, the Father's. Bhag. Right here, those verses. What does that mean? Bhag is simply an acronym for Big, hairy, audacious Goal, you like that. It was introduced by a guy named Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in a book that they built on leadership called Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.
Speaker 2Well, I got brought into some teaching somewhere along the way I was doing church-wise. But it's good. It's good that we should have a BHAG, a Big, hairy, audacious Goal. God's Big, hairy, audacious Goal is this audacious goal. God's big, hairy, audacious goal is this it's a kingdom vision that all people will bow down to.
Speaker 2The king of kings. That Jesus, the light, he's our hope, he's our promise, he's our covenant. That in Jesus, in him, we can live in the light and be free. That he is our provision, he's our refuge, he's our strength, our sustenance. He will guide us and lead us, and his goal, his vision, his heart, is that all people would come and partake in this From all over. Circumstances and fear won't hold power over us or alter our path, because he is our refuge and he is our strength, no matter how distant or far, he will be faithful to lead us home.
Speaker 2And, folks, I'm telling you, when you grasp it and you should almost be standing up right now excited because God is doing this, he has done this for some of y'all. He has brought you home, he has brought you through circumstances that you could not get through on your own, and he said come on with me, follow me, I will take care of you, and our response has to be verse 13,. Is worship Only a response? Our only response can be worship Declaring his name, glorifying his greatness, sharing his compassionate heart with all, with all that we come in contact with Now. What a great way to end that passage.
Speaker 2Now let me just show you a couple things here, because I always like to give you something you really grasp onto and take home. When I study scripture like this, I always ask God what is it you're trying to show me and what is it I can try to share with others, specifically from a passage like this, from this amazing passage? And there's three things. First is listen to the light. Folks, we've got to start listening to the light. Listen, pay attention. Isn't that what he said? It's almost like the practical application of this chapter was there in the very first verse. Listen, pay attention. You know there's a difference between hearing and listening. Did you know that? Yeah, if you're married, you know that. I'll just give you a little example.
Speaker 2It happened this morning. I get up, and I get up a little before Jackie does. I got to be here earlier. I'm getting dressed, I get dressed which is a good thing for y'all and I'm about to leave. That was supposed to be kind of funny. You should have laughed at that. Saying thank you Jesus, somebody, come on somebody. So Saying thank you Jesus, somebody, come on somebody. So I go over, as usual custom, and I lean over, and I lean over to kiss her goodbye, because she's still in bed and she got her legs up. She got one eye kind of open up looking at me. And as I'm leaning over to give her a kiss, goodbye. Sweet husband that I am, because I love my wife, what does she say? What does she say? What does she say Shouldn't you be wearing red and green? It's Christmas.
Speaker 1Hello.
Speaker 2And you know what I said. That's nice Goodbye. So I heard her, but guess what? I didn't, exactly I didn't listen. Why? What was the difference? If I had listened, what would have happened? I'd have gone back to the closet and picked out something red and green. And now let me tell you, the thought occurred because I'm a well-trained husband and it's always better when she dresses me, but anyway, but I didn't. I heard what she said, but I didn't listen. Now, that's in contrast to the last.
Speaker 2Let's see when was this? Oh yeah, it was a few weeks ago, where I just on own, because I'm a man and I can make choices, right, I'm a free person, that's right. God gave us that free will. As a man, we can do what we want. I shaved my beard. I didn't ask, I didn't tell, I just did it. Yeah, that's me, man of my house.
Speaker 2Until she saw that it was gone, we all fainted because the oxygen left the room, just like that. You did what you didn't ask me. Well, you did what you didn't ask me. Well, from that moment on, for the next five minutes was a bunch of threats and things that y'all don't want to know about. And guess what? It's almost back. So I heard her then and guess what? I listened because it's growing again Now.
Speaker 2Those are silly examples, I get it. But let me tell you something. This is just my opinion. You may agree or disagree, but if there was ever a sin of pandemic proportions in the church today, it would be this we hear but we do not listen. We hear but we do not take action on what is said. We hear God's word but we don't obey. We don't obey it or allow it to change us. We would rather listen to the culture instead of God's voice.
Speaker 2I liken it to putting on headphones. You ever try to talk to somebody that's got headphones on or earbuds in? You can talk to them and they acknowledge you right, because you know they can kind of hear you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, uh-huh, yeah, okay. But you know they ain't listening because they ain't getting up out of their chair going to action, which you just told them to do. If you've got teenagers, you totally know what that's all about. Amen, glory to God. Yes, preach it, brother. But we put on the headphones of the culture and we tune in the world and we tune God out.
Speaker 2It makes us feel good to hear God's word or to hear God's word read, but we are too comfortable and too carnal to act on it. We like hearing it preached, but it doesn't transform us because we are hearers. Only James says it like this and I like James because he was very direct. The book of James, chapter one but be doers, verse 22,. Be doers of the word, not hearers only deceiving yourselves. For intently at his natural. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror, for he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the word of God, the law of liberty, and perseveres being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. We have to listen to the light, because God is great and God is good. My ticket's punched, so here I sit. That doesn't work. I just made that up, but that's our attitude. God's good man, he's great. I'm going to heaven. Okay, I'm good.
Speaker 2For many of us, we're more concerned about being heard rather than listening. So we've got to take the headphones off, people, maybe, instead of telling jesus what we want or how we want him to change our circumstances or change people we don't get along with. Maybe we should just shut up and listen. Maybe just shut it. God, what are you trying to say to me? Because I'm telling you, jesus is always speaking to us. If you pick up his word and say, god, speak to me, I promise you he's going to speak to you through his word. If you just get alone for a few minutes and say, god, I want to hear what you've got to say, what's going on, speak to me and you just shut up, I promise you God will speak, because he's looking for vessels for us believers who will say God, what do you want? Tell me, he will speak to us directly.
Speaker 2We've got to listen to the light and live in the light.
Speaker 2I think it's self-explanatory. John 1, 5 says this is a message we've heard from Jesus. Now declare to you God is light. There is no darkness in him at all. So if we are lying, if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness, we are not practicing the truth because we're not living in the light. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we'd have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus' Son cleanses us from all sin.
Speaker 2You know, when the body of Christ gets together and really enjoys fellowship and unity together, it's when we're all walking in the light, when we're all living in the light, letting Christ live in and through us. You see, authentic relationship begins to happen between believers and God himself. When we walk and live in the light and then last, be the light. Be the light. You are the light of the world, says Jesus. Like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand where it gives light to everyone in the house In the same way. Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise who, your heavenly Father. We are to be a light to the world, shining, so that people can find their way to Christ.
Speaker 2So I ask you the question are we, as individuals who make up the church, being the light? Are we on mission with God's heart, with his plan? You see, the church, by its very definition, is on mission. A church that is not on mission is not a church, it's a country club. It's just out there going doo-doo-doo-doo, going through, a bunch full of selfish people doing selfish things, not caring about the world, not caring about anybody else but themselves. That is not a church on mission. We can look back and we can see God's plan. We look forward to seeing his promises. Yet if we're not moved to action, what does it matter to meet and gather like this? You see God's heart, his vision, his mission for the church is being described to us from Adam has been described to us. From Adam to Abraham, to Moses, to David, to the prophets, to the gospels, to the apostles, all the way to the throne room in Revelation. God's heartbeat has always been and always will be people. God wants all to come home to him, god wants all to be saved in a relationship with him, and we are to be the light here showing the way.
Speaker 2I'm going to end with this quote by famous philosopher, theologian, very impactful on evangelism, francis Schaeffer. You may know him as somebody who wrote the book how Shall we Then Live, also a book called True Spirituality. Some really, really amazing books on Christian living and engaging a lost world. He made the statement he said the greatest apologetic y'all know what apologetics is. That's to be able to defend your faith, explain your faith.
Speaker 2The greatest apologetic is not to win arguments but to win people. The world has a right to look upon us and make a judgment. We are told by Jesus that, as we love one another, the world will judge not only whether we are his disciples but whether the Father sent the Son. So unless true Christians sow an observable love to each other, christ says the world cannot be expected to listen, even when we give the right answers, because we're not living it. They're not going to hear it, even if we say it. Christ says the world cannot be expected to listen. The world looks, shrugs its shoulders and turns away and it has not seen even the beginning of a living church in the midst of a dying culture. The world has not seen the beginning of what Jesus indicates as the final apologetic Observable oneness among true Christians who are truly brothers in Christ. I love that.
Prayer for Walking in the Light
Speaker 2The greatest apologetic is not to win arguments but to win people. Don't go online trying to win arguments in the faith, about the faith. That is not your job. Your job is to show love, to be a light, to have fellowship with one another, to walk in the light. Be in Christ, him in you, and point the way home. Listen to the light, live in the light, be the light. Jesus is telling us that if my heart, if his heart as the Lord of the church, is for people, then it also needs to be the heart of the church. Listen to the light, live the light. Folks, we've got to be the light. We've got to be the light. Hope has come. Let the light of hope shine from you to everyone around you. Let's bow your head and close your eyes this morning. I'm just going to close with a song.
Speaker 2Father, we thank you so much for who you are. And, god, I just pray that if there's anyone here this morning, father, that is not walking in the light, that is not walking with you, that does not know you, that even thinks that there's no way that you would accept them or bring them home, father, they would turn to you this morning. Holy Spirit, have your way. Have your way in our hearts. God, it is you who draws you, who pulls us. God, have your way this morning with us.
Speaker 2God, have your way this morning with us, father, let our church not merely say the words we're on mission but, god, let us be a church that the world sees is on mission, because, god, anything else is not going to be blessed by you. It's not real, father. We thank you so much. I thank you for each person here. It's not real, father, we thank you so much. I thank you for each person here. God, I just pray that this morning you would work in our hearts, change us from the inside out, god. Let the word of God just move us with its power, change us, father. May we listen, may we not just be hearers, but let us listen as well. Let us be moved to action by listening to you. May we pay attention to what you're doing and where you're working and how you want to use us. So, god, we thank you so much. In your name, we pray and everybody said Amen.