WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:01.360 Continue this prayer. 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:03.200 Let it rain. 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:04.639 Amen. 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:07.679 Good morning, Madison. 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:11.519 Yeah, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Jeff Fisher. 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:22.320 I'm the chair of All Site Elders for Madison, and our family uh attends and belongs to the Madison North site, and I have the privilege this morning of preaching the word. 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:31.760 And based on the songs we've sung and the experience we just had with the kids up here, I feel like I don't know if I necessarily need to preach this. 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:45.119 Like we've already pre-applied the sermon, which I just I love and feel that this is such an incredible uh place and opportunity where the spirit is at work. 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:47.280 But I'm gonna do it anyway. 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:54.640 Over the last several weeks, we've been a part of this series, the Holy Spirit series that leads us up to Pentecost. 00:00:55.200 --> 00:01:01.600 But because the Spirit doesn't stop working at Pentecost, we're not gonna stop preaching about the Spirit at Pentecost. 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:15.280 So this morning, we're also again going to look at uh a key passage about the promise of the outpoured Holy Spirit and especially the promise of the Spirit for a spirit-soaked community. 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:39.519 Because what God's people, way back when, we're gonna look at Isaiah, way back in the time of Isaiah, we're longing for and looking for before the outpouring of the Spirit tells us a lot about what we, as people who live after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, what we should be longing for and looking for and living for. 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:47.200 So we're gonna read Isaiah 44, just the first five verses, and I invite you to stand for the reading of God's word. 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:54.159 Isaiah 44, beginning in verse 1. 00:01:55.359 --> 00:02:01.280 But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:08.879 This is what the Lord says He who made you, who formed you in the womb, he will help you. 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:21.680 Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshuran, whom I have chosen, for I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground. 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:28.960 I will pour out my spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants. 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:36.000 They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:42.719 Some will say, I belong to the Lord, and others will call themselves by the name of Jacob. 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:49.439 Still others will even write on their hand the Lord's and will take the name Israel. 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:51.360 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:05.039 So just the last couple of days, uh we we took a trip to Iowa to celebrate my nephew's graduation. 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:15.439 And of course, when you're at something like this, you meet different people, relatives, friends, family connections, and one of the initial conversations is tell me about yourself. 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:16.960 What do you do? 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:18.560 What are your connections? 00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:20.400 How are you related to these people? 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:22.000 What's why are you here? 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:23.280 kind of thing. 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:34.240 Those kinds of questions, in my experience, are ones that are repeatedly asked, not just in situations like that, but even within our own hearts. 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:39.360 Questions of identity, purpose, and belonging. 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:41.280 Who am I? 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:43.280 Why am I here? 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:46.159 And who do I fit with? 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:48.080 Who do I belong to? 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:58.240 And kids, middle schoolers especially, I know that there's a lot of literature that's saying these are the core questions for teenagers and adolescents. 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:04.000 The not-so-secret truth is these are the core questions for us grown-ups, too. 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:07.599 That we ask these very questions: Who am I? 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:09.120 Why am I here? 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:10.879 What's my purpose? 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:12.479 And who do I belong to? 00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:13.840 Who do I fit with? 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:31.519 And so this passage, I'm gonna make the audacious claim that in these five verses, as we open up this passage, as we look at what Isaiah 44, 1 to 5 has to say, address these exact questions in pretty significant and profound ways. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:41.680 And all of it revolves around, even structurally in the Hebrew text, all of it revolves around the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:53.600 And so as we look at this passage, if you have a Bible open, or if maybe we can throw back the first couple of verses on there, uh, go to verse three, if you can go to verse three. 00:04:53.759 --> 00:05:06.240 So, right there in the center, even the way these are versed out, shows that these first couple of verses use this language of Israel and Jacob, and then those things return again in verses four and five. 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:09.920 And in the middle is this language here in verse three. 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:17.199 I will pour out water, I will pour out my spirit on your offspring. 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:31.199 Verses one and two and verses four and five all center around this reality that it is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that shapes and answers these core fundamental questions of identity, purpose, and belonging. 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:35.519 And so I want to look at these three main core fundamental questions. 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:50.560 In verse one, it starts off with, but now listen, because there's a but there, because what is we've just led up to in verse 43 is some dire predictions and warnings that are coming for God's people. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:55.920 And then God inserts this don't forget this. 00:05:56.800 --> 00:05:59.920 Don't forget this core fundamental truth. 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:10.319 Now listen, Jacob my servant, Israel, whom I've chosen, and then he's going to tell you what to listen to, but I'll come back to it in a moment. 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:18.240 He says, Jacob, my servant, Jeshuran, or Yesheron, whom I've chosen. 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:40.399 And I want us to notice just this key component that the prophet Isaiah is doing, and using Jacob, which, if you remember the story back in Genesis, Jacob is the actual guy's name who then wrestles with God and gets renamed wrestles with God, Israel. 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:52.879 And then Israel becomes the name, not just of that guy, but of all of his descendants and the entire people group that are going to be referred to as God's chosen people, Israel. 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:57.920 And then, of course, that ends up being the name of the land, and it ends up being the name of the northern kingdom. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:03.279 And today it's the name of a nation that adds layers of confusion to what we mean when we use the word Israel. 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:15.759 Our point here, and what the prophet Isaiah is doing, is already indicating there is this name change from Jacob, the deceiver or the supplanter, to Israel, the one who wrestles or struggles with God. 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:19.839 And that struggle is going to be perpetual. 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:25.600 And Isaiah warned the people and prophesied to the people that there's going to be more struggle coming. 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:30.480 But don't forget this, there's another name that I have for you. 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:34.160 Interesting. 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:36.160 At least it's interesting to me. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:37.920 What is this? 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:43.519 Some of you, if you're looking in your Bibles, you might see that there's a footnote there that says the upright one. 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:48.480 And that's a possible way to understand what the Hebrew could be indicating here. 00:07:48.720 --> 00:08:01.279 It's actually a title, and in the second century BC, so before Jesus' time, as the Greek translators were working on the Hebrew text, they actually translated it beloved. 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:06.399 Zesheron means the beloved ones. 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:15.439 So this movement from Jacob, supplantor-deceiver, to Israel, struggles with God, to Zesheron, beloved ones. 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:20.480 Because Isaiah is saying, now listen, don't forget this. 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:24.800 And that word listen is Shemah. 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:28.240 Oh, I hear a few of them, mmm. 00:08:28.560 --> 00:08:30.720 Because some of you are familiar with the Shema. 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:33.039 Deuteronomy 6. 00:08:33.200 --> 00:08:34.399 Hear, O Israel. 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:37.200 That's the here is that same word listen, Shema. 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:39.279 Shema Israel. 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:42.480 Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:47.759 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:55.519 Isaiah is making a twist on this, a play on this with this word Jezharon and this movement here. 00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:11.600 Hear, O Israel, Shemmah Ishrael, Shema Jacob, Shema Ishrael, Shemat Zesharon, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, the creator of the heavens and the earth, the one who's made everything, the man, the one who has formed you. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:19.039 He loves you with all his heart and soul and mind and strength. 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:21.840 That is your identity. 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:30.720 That's what the prophet Isaiah is doing with this move here of saying, You are my beloved, my chosen, my servant. 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:37.039 He's paralleling all of these things and developing this identity of who we actually are. 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:45.279 And then he says, Do not be afraid. 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:46.879 Do not be afraid. 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:59.679 The most common command in all of Scripture, hundreds of times throughout Scripture, and especially here in this section of Isaiah 40 to 66, some of what we heard already from 43. 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:06.000 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, who formed you, O Israel. 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:09.360 Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you. 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:12.639 You are called by my name. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:14.639 You are mine. 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:19.679 God is saying, I have claimed you. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:21.120 I have redeemed you. 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:24.159 You, Israel, my servant Jacob, whom I've chosen. 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:25.919 I said, You are my servant. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:28.159 I have chosen you and not rejected. 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:31.600 So do not fear, for I am with you. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:34.960 Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:36.399 I will strengthen you. 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:37.679 I will help you. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:40.639 I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:50.720 This is in chapter 43, the now 44 is reminding of us of this same thing that time and time again the Lord says, Do not be afraid. 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:54.799 Now that's not because there's nothing to be afraid of. 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:59.279 In fact, all of 40 to 66, he's telling you exactly what to be afraid of. 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:02.320 Babylon is going to come and destroy you, people. 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:04.399 But don't be afraid. 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:06.320 What? 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:24.080 Because he's saying, even in the difficult times, even in the hard times, even in the fearful times, you do not need to be afraid because God loves you and is with you, and you are his. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:33.759 Yes, there is going to be consequences, and for the people in Isaiah's day, there is going to be punishment because of their unfaithfulness. 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:42.240 But Isaiah's word here is God will not walk away from his promises because of his faithfulness. 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:48.159 Our unfaithfulness does not override his faithfulness. 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:56.879 And so he's saying, You don't need to be afraid because you are mine, I love you. 00:11:59.440 --> 00:12:01.279 That is who you are. 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:03.200 That is your identity. 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:09.440 And both the reason and the evidence that this is true is the Holy Spirit. 00:12:09.919 --> 00:12:12.879 And that promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:25.360 So however we might answer these questions about identity and purpose, people take a personality assessment test, the Enneagram, and DNA testing to see who they're connected to. 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:31.440 There's all kinds of ways, internal narratives that we've embraced from other people imposing on us. 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:36.000 There's all kinds of things that are telling us the answers to these questions. 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:42.799 And God is saying, it is actually the work of the Holy Spirit in us that gives us these answers. 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:50.799 Your identity is a beloved child of God because the Spirit has been poured out in you. 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:53.840 And then he takes us to the purpose. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:13:02.879 Another great example here, if you can throw up uh verse three again of Hebrew poetry, you see this parallel here. 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:14.240 I will pour out water, I will pour out my spirit on thirsty land, on your offspring, streams, my blessing on the dry ground, on your descendants. 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:18.399 This is classic Hebrew poetry where they're helping interpret each other. 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:30.159 And what I want to see from this is that this promise that one day there will be a people who the spirit will be poured out on like water points us to what we celebrated last week with Pentecost. 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:40.720 That day when the Spirit will be was poured out like water on his people, on his descendants or offspring, as Isaiah used this language here. 00:13:40.960 --> 00:14:06.480 That Pentecost after Jesus' death and resurrection and ascension, the future offspring or the descendants near the temple after that roller coaster of the Passover, where they're huddled together, this time not out of fear, like they were between the cross and the resurrection, but out of anticipation of what God was going to do with his people. 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:27.440 And we hear on Acts 2, in Acts 2, when Peter starts connecting these dots, when the tongues of fire come down and people start speaking in tongues, speaking in ways that the listeners there could under each of them from their own place could hear them in their own language. 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:33.679 And Peter says something that quotes from Joel 2 that sounds very much like this passage in Isaiah. 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:44.639 Your sons and daughters, that's for a whole other time, will prophesy. 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:50.960 Your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams, even on my servants. 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:53.200 That's Isaiah language. 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:59.039 Both men and women, I will pour out my spirit on those days, and they will prophesy. 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:03.039 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:09.120 Peter is connecting these dots and saying, God raised Jesus from the dead. 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:24.720 And this promise is from Isaiah is getting fulfilled on that day. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:36.399 And here's the beautiful thing: it wasn't just for that generation, but every generation after that, we are people who have received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:40.799 And so we are the people who are called to fulfill this purpose there. 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:42.000 So what is this purpose? 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:45.120 I want to point to a couple groupings of words from Isaiah. 00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:53.120 So note there that it says, My blessing on your offspring or on your descendants. 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:56.960 The I and the my here is God. 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:03.360 And so God has a kind of blessing that he gives. 00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:05.679 Not hashtag blessed. 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:08.799 I'm glad a few people know what I'm talking about. 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:24.159 And when it says your offspring or your descendants, this takes us back to Abraham and the promise to Abraham that his descendants and his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:34.799 And in that promise, God gave his own kind of blessing, and he said to Abraham, You and your descendants will be blessed to be a blessing. 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:49.600 So when it says my blessing from God's own voice, it's saying there's a certain kind of blessing, a kind of blessing that is not just for you to huddle and keep to your own little selves. 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:59.759 God's blessing on his offspring is blessing that flows to others and flows out to others' people. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:08.079 And so I want us to see this especially, more specifically, in the next point, in the next uh verse here. 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:15.680 So if you can turn it to what's going to happen when the spirit gets poured out on these descendants, they spring up or sprout up. 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:20.880 It's the same language from Genesis 2 of what happens with the first plants and bushes that are ever created. 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:27.519 They sprout up, new life, supernatural new life that did not previously exist. 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:32.319 They sprout up like poplar trees. 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:34.000 Huh. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:37.680 I was gonna have the kids like shout back poplar to me. 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:40.000 Maybe they'll do it uh spontaneously. 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:43.359 But what are poplar trees and what do they have to do? 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:45.839 And some of your translations will have willows. 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:57.200 Poplar trees or willow trees, what are they in ancient Near East to the people in Isaiah's day, 600 to 800 BC? 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:04.400 This word, poplar trees, is only used four times in the entire Bible. 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:13.519 And two of them are directly connected to this kind of prophecy or proclamation about Babylon. 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:22.799 Because poplar trees or willow trees are trees that grow by by streams of water, trees by flowing streams. 00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:33.839 In Babylon, those streams were human-engineered, constructed streams that channeled water to make beautiful-looking trees grow. 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:50.079 But if you know anything about the story of Babylon and its relation to God's people, Babylon was a place of desolation, destruction, defeat, exile, discouragement. 00:18:50.960 --> 00:19:00.160 Places where God's people would question their identity and their purpose and where they fit, where they belong. 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:04.240 And the clearest example is this is Psalm 137. 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:08.079 So Psalm 137 is the other place where this word gets used. 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:15.519 By the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept when we remembered Zion, that name for Jerusalem. 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:20.640 There on the poplar trees we hung our harps. 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:26.319 For there our captors asked us for songs. 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:29.680 Our tormentors demanded songs of joy. 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:32.720 They said, Sing us one of those songs of Zion. 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:46.400 In mockery, in taunting, in oppression, in suppression, in power, in empire telling you, dance for us. 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:53.519 And so here in Isaiah, this is what's intriguing to me. 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:57.440 I didn't find anyone else that commented on this, so take it for what it's worth. 00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:20.000 Here in Isaiah, Isaiah, of all the trees that get used in the Old Testament, especially Old Testament poetry, cedar, oaks, tamarisk, fig trees, olive trees, all kinds of trees that you use, usually for symbolic purpose, Isaiah picks poplar trees by channels of water, or what the NIV translates, flowing streams. 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:32.240 And throughout the book of Isaiah, the key theme is a reversal of what you expect, especially related to power. 00:20:34.079 --> 00:21:03.039 The Israel, my servant, we see is the suffering servant, that there is an ultimate servant who the New Testament authors say, Whoa, this is a lot like Jesus, who instead of claiming power and taking on the powers of oppression and suppression and defeat and exile and imprisonment and all of that, says, I'm going to take that on myself and suffer for the people. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:04.640 Why? 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:14.240 Because you're my beloved, because you're the ones I love, and that's what I will do for you. 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:49.920 And so instead of, in place of the empire-enforced, human-constructed engineering of directing water to make externally appearing life that actually causes separation, dehumanization, and oppression, Isaiah is saying the spirit-soaked community cultivates poplars of justice, of life, of flourishing, that takes God's own, my blessing, and extends it to other people. 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:55.680 And here's the shock, even to those who are oppressing you. 00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:58.720 That's the promise of the gospel. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.480 Don't believe me, I'm gonna let Jesus speak for himself. 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:23.119 Because in Luke 4, when Jesus goes to Nazareth to the synagogue and he's invited to preach, he is handed the Isaiah scroll, and he unrolls it to what we now refer to as Isaiah 61, and he reads these words, and they'll sound a lot like we heard in Isaiah 44. 00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:31.759 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:46.319 He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:56.559 And he stopped there and he sat down and he said, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. 00:22:57.039 --> 00:23:02.079 Proclaiming that he himself is the Spirit anointed Messiah who has come to do these very things. 00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:29.440 Jesus directly connects that the outpoured Spirit on him as the true and ultimate servant, the anointed one, means that the hope-for future that Isaiah is prophesying about, that hope-for future water is now present in him as the fulfillment of that promise that he is then going to extend to those who follow him and who follow him in his way, that he has started the Jubilee. 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:33.920 Again, in an unexpected, surprising way. 00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:53.200 But when Jesus then pours out that same Holy Spirit on his people at Pentecost, these poplars sprouting up, and waters that are streaming forth, the waters of the spirits not only feed the poplars, but continue the channel, the stream to feed more poplars. 00:23:53.359 --> 00:24:01.759 And then we get, as we move into the last verse, verse five here, this sense of belonging and this sense of growth. 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:07.759 And it creates a community of belonging where we answer this question where do I fit? 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:09.440 Where do we belong? 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:18.319 And verses one and two, it's God Himself saying to the people, Jacob, Israel, Jeshren. 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:24.640 Now in verse five, it's the people embracing and receiving that label. 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:28.960 Verses one and two, God saying it to us. 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:31.839 Verse five, we're saying, we'll take that name. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:33.200 We'll take that on. 00:24:33.359 --> 00:24:50.000 And here in verse five, this is one of the most significant results of the spirit poured out that we embrace and express that identity, not just cognitively, but it even uses this imagery of like physically, tangibly, which we're going to do here in a few moments. 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:57.359 Physically and tangibly, saying, I belong and am marked by Jesus, the Spirit giver. 00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:02.640 And so this is again a poetic way for Isaiah to express one idea here. 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:05.279 It's not as if these are like four different options. 00:25:05.680 --> 00:25:09.359 He's expressing one idea using parallelism. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:16.160 I belong to the Lord, and because I belong to the Lord, I belong to the Lord's people. 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:25.920 And the Hebrew there is not just some and others, but it's this one will say that, and that one will say this, and this one will say that, and that one will say this. 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:39.359 Maybe this doesn't work, but kind of like when Oprah is like, and one for you, and one for you, and one for you, the spirit for you, the spirit for you, and people are saying, I'll take the Lord, I'll take the Lord, I'll take the Lord. 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:41.920 That's what Isaiah is doing here. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:56.720 And he's saying what we just witnessed with these kids and the passage that they quoted, the 1 Corinthians 12, you are all members of one body because you are all connected to Jesus. 00:25:56.960 --> 00:25:58.799 You're all connected to one Lord. 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:03.119 In fact, in Romans 8, Paul the Apostle Paul directly connects this. 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:09.119 The spirit you received does not make you slave so that you live in fear again. 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:11.119 Do not be afraid. 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:26.079 Rather, the spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship, identity, who you are, so that we cry out, Abba Father. 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:33.200 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirits that we are God's. 00:26:34.480 --> 00:26:38.000 Not little G-O-D-S, G-O-D apostrophe S. 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:39.440 We are the Lord's. 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:41.119 We belong to the Lord. 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:55.119 That we are the ones who take on this identity and say, words, something along this line, I am not my own, but belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:26:55.839 --> 00:27:01.200 And many of you know that I'm quoting from the Heidelberg Catechism, question and answer number one. 00:27:04.960 --> 00:27:06.480 All right, I'm discerning. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:09.920 I'm always invited to preach right around the time of Synod. 00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:12.480 Some of you know what I'm talking about. 00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:15.599 Some of you are like, I've never heard of this word synod. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:24.480 But this name, taking on the name, is a significant piece of where do we fit? 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:25.920 Who do we belong to? 00:27:26.079 --> 00:27:27.200 Where do we belong? 00:27:27.519 --> 00:27:36.319 And we heard time and time again, if not all of you, 90 plus percent of you, I belong to Madison. 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:38.960 Madison is where I fit. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:40.880 Madison is my people. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:43.440 Yes, and amen. 00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:47.519 And we are so happy that that's how people are responding. 00:27:47.839 --> 00:28:00.480 I want us to see from this passage, and I don't think anyone would disagree with me, first and foremost, twice in this verse five, we belong ultimately and first to the Lord. 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:03.359 We belong to the Lord. 00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:10.799 And then secondly, he uses this is really fascinating to me. 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:18.720 He uses the terms Jacob and Israel, which I mentioned earlier, Israel actually becomes the name of the northern kingdom. 00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:21.599 Isaiah is in the southern kingdom. 00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:26.400 Isaiah and his people refer to themselves as Judah. 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:32.640 They're actually some often contrasted with Israel. 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:48.640 But Israel is the more ancient and older term for God's people and the broader term, and in the prophets is often this promise that the two divided kingdoms get brought back together. 00:28:49.039 --> 00:29:00.799 And then if we take this back to Abraham and the blessed to be a blessing, it's not just a blessing within Israel, but it's a blessing for all nations. 00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:13.440 And so when we take on this ancient name, which we can perhaps make the analogy here, this is really talking about the big sea church. 00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:16.640 Primarily, we belong to the Lord. 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:20.000 Secondarily, we belong to the big sea church. 00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:28.400 Whoever belongs to Jesus, whatever their denominational label, whatever their background, whatever their tradition, we actually belong to all of them. 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:35.519 Even if and when we disagree on theological and ecclesiastical matters. 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:37.759 I'm glad I'm getting some amens. 00:29:40.000 --> 00:30:00.799 And I think this is a prime example of this, that the people and the prophet of Judah being willing to call himself by the name Israel Jacob is saying we belong to a much bigger and broader group than just our southern kingdom and maybe those around Zion. 00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:07.920 That is a work, a huge important work of the Holy Spirit. 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:11.519 This is not just about individuals, though it is. 00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:34.640 Blessed to be a blessing and to overturn and reverse the work of Assyria and Babylon and Persia and Rome that says that power is all what matters. 00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:58.160 And we have human-engineered conduits of water to make it appear like we have life rather than supernaturally embraced waters of the Holy Spirit that give us life that flows out from us into our community, into our communities to bless other people and ultimately to bless all nations. 00:30:58.319 --> 00:31:08.960 And this again, I can point to the words of Jesus Himself: go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:31:09.200 --> 00:31:20.000 So what got launched that Pentecost Sunday so long ago is the Spirit's answer to our fundamental questions of identity, purpose, and belonging. 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:23.279 You are beloved and chosen. 00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:30.160 The Spirit testifies to that truth in our hearts. 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:39.599 And as beloved and chosen, we extend God's very own blessing to others in the ways of Jesus, not the earthly powers. 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:56.640 And this is not an isolated, disconnected, individualistic reality, but together, as a place of community that shares this spirit-soaked identity and purpose, we gladly and willingly take on that name. 00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:28.720 This is called communion for two purposes. 00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:37.200 We commune with Jesus and we commune with our community in fellowship. 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:48.799 And so as we take communion, we invite, we will invite that all who are baptized and believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be invited to this table. 00:32:50.079 --> 00:33:02.559 This table is where Jesus spiritually nourishes us and feeds us by his Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost. 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:11.599 We are not just reminded that he died for our sins and rose again, but we are actually connected to Jesus Himself. 00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:16.000 The Spirit makes us one with Jesus and one with each other. 00:33:17.119 --> 00:33:36.720 And so we look back at what Jesus has done for us and we look ahead to what Jesus has promised to us when he will come in his fullness to restore all things at that great banquet, the wedding feast of the Lamb, when the body of Christ will all be one. 00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:45.839 And we look up to our ascended and spirit pouring out, Lord, who feeds us by the Holy Spirit. 00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:47.839 So let us pray. 00:33:57.519 --> 00:34:02.480 Lift our hearts to you, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, our Lord. 00:34:03.200 --> 00:34:13.599 Let us give thanks to you, Lord our God, as we've been offering praise and reflecting on the way you love us and have given yourself for us. 00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:18.559 With joy we praise you, for you created all things, heaven and earth. 00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:20.480 You made us in your image. 00:34:20.639 --> 00:34:24.239 You made promises to us and have kept your covenant with us. 00:34:24.480 --> 00:34:29.039 You have been faithful even when we have been unfaithful. 00:34:29.760 --> 00:34:40.400 And we give you thanks, Jesus our Lord, the exalted King of the universe, who has poured out our your spirits and equips us and leads us into all truth. 00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:49.280 And so we join our voices together with all the saints throughout all time as we worship you and proclaim the glory of your name. 00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:55.039 We pray this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:34:55.360 --> 00:34:56.000 Amen.