1-15-23 Sermon Isaiah 49:1-7 "Listen To Me" 19 Minutes

Isaiah 49:1-7

This morning I'll be reading Isaiah chapter 40 verses 1 through 7. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Isaiah 49:1-7 Isaiah was a prophet that gave a message from God during troubling times. In this particular passage he gives a message of hope and comfort in answer to the troubles that the Israelites had been experiencing. Isaiah 49:1–7 1 Coastlands, listen to me; distant peoples, pay attention. The LORD called me before I was born. He named me while I was in my mother’s womb. 2 He made my words like a sharp sword; He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me like a sharpened arrow; He hid me in His quiver. 3 He said to me, “You are My Servant, Israel; I will be glorified in him.” 4 But I myself said: I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and futility; yet my vindication is with the LORD, and my reward is with my God. 5 And now, says the LORD, who formed me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him so that Israel might be gathered to Him; for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God is my strength— 6 He says, “It is not enough for you to be My Servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.” 7 This is what the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, says to one who is despised, to one abhorred by people, to a servant of rulers: “Kings will see and stand up, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel —and He has chosen you.” The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last week we looked at Acts 10:34-43 and we seen that God’s love is “Available to All”.

And for those of us that are Christians,,, we are tasked with the job of continuing the message of the gospel that Peter was given that day,,, the message that he shared with them,,, and us today,,, through our Bible study and reading!

Peter gave them the message that,,, every person,,, every where,,, regardless of social status,,, economic status,,, denomination,,, people in our communities,,, work,,, people on drugs,,, alcohol addiction,,, homeless,,, etc.,,, you pick any type of person,,, it doesn’t matter,,, all need the saving grace of Jesus Christ!

And it’s up to us,,, to tell them about Jesus Christ and His saving grace!

There is no reason that anyone,,, anywhere,,, should be rejected from the church,,, because God’s love is available to all!

And we show them that love through our actions,,, more than our words!

And we know from these words in Acts,,, that the love we are commanded to share,,, are supposed to be available,,, to all!

So we must make an honest effort,,, to share God’s love,,, wherever we are,,, and with whoever,,, we see!

This morning we will look at these verses in Isaiah and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verse 1 says: 1 Coastlands, listen to me; distant peoples, pay attention. The LORD called me before I was born. He named me while I was in my mother’s womb.

The first part of this verse,,, means that,,, basically the whole world is to listen and pay attention to these words.

There was also a reference in Isaiah 41:1 where,,, God is telling the people of all the world to come together and realize the truth of His words,,, and the meaning is similar here in this verse.

We as Christians must always realize the truth of God's words,,, and,,, also be sure that we apply them to our life.

In the second part of this verse,,, It makes you think of the coming Messiah.

Jesus was called before He was born,,, and Mary was told what His name would be when the angel Gabriel gave her the message that she would be the mother of Jesus.

This message can be applied to Isaiah,,, and also to each one of us here today!

God knows each one of us personally,,, and,,, He knew us even before we were born.

Romans 8:29 says: 29 For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

As I've told you many times before,,, God wants only the best for us and no matter what we are going through,,, God is at work to make it better for us!

If we will just let Him do things the way that He wants and not hinder Him or make things harder for Him like we can do sometimes.

God loves us,,, so we must have faith and allow Him to do His job,,, even when we can't see what is going on!

___________________________________ Verse 2 says: 2 He made my words like a sharp sword; He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me like a sharpened arrow; He hid me in His quiver.

In a Biblical Commentary by Richard Neil Donavan,,, he says that in this verse,,, the focus is on the future Messiah,,, Jesus.

It is the servant’s mouth,,,—his words—his voice—,,, that God will use for his purposes.

The first chapter of Genesis revealed that God’s words have great power. “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light”.

“God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so”.

In other words,,, God "spoke",,, and these things happened!

God's voice was powerful!

Now God chooses to speak through the voice of a servant,,, and the power of God’s word is not diminished by this process.

God makes the prophet’s mouth “like a sharp sword” and makes the prophet “a sharpened arrow”,,, (some translations say “polished shaft”),,, — but these are weapons capable of deadly force.

“The contrast between the sword for close encounters and the arrow for distant attack,,, implies that the Servant is equipped for every contest”.

The last part of verse 2 says: “He hid me in His quiver",,, and this means that those who have weapons do not always have to use them.

And if you remember anything about a bow and arrow,,, you always have a “quiver” to carry your extra arrows,,, you will have one ready to shoot maybe,,, but the extra arrows will be available if needed.

God has called the servant and invested him with power,,, but keeps him “in his quiver”—ready for use as needed.

___________________________________ Verse 3 says: 3 He said to me, “You are My Servant, Israel; I will be glorified in him.”

Again like the previous verses,,, we can see Jesus spoken of here.

You might wonder how that can be,,, but Jesus came from the Israelite people,,, and it's true that through them all of the world will be saved,,, and that was accomplished through the life,,, death,,, and resurrection of Jesus.

And God was glorified through the plan that was fulfilled when Jesus accomplished everything that God intended for Him to do.

___________________________________ Verse 4 says: 4 But I myself said: I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and futility; yet my vindication is with the LORD, and my reward is with my God.

At first,,, this doesn't seem like the words that would come from a future Messiah.

But when you get to thinking about the way that His own people rejected Him and persecuted Him,,, then it makes sense.

You can almost feel the discouragement in Jesus' voice,,, and,,, maybe it reminds you of your own discouragement!

The feelings that you get when things just don't seem to be going right,,, or it's a terrible time in your life,,, whatever the time may be,,,

Just like Jesus,,, we must pay attention to the last words of that verse,,, where it says: yet my vindication is with the LORD, and my reward is with my God.

Jesus is saying that regardless of the things that happen to me,,, I'm putting everything in the Lords hands and My reward is with God!

That's all we can do as well,,, put everything in the Lords hands and let Him take care of it!

That's where our faith really begins to show,,, especially to those who don't know Jesus,,, during times of trouble and pain where we put our trust in God and let Him take care of it,,, what a powerful witness those times will be.

___________________________________ Verses 5 and 6 say: 5 And now, says the LORD, who formed me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him so that Israel might be gathered to Him; for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and my God is my strength— 6 He says, “It is not enough for you to be My Servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

In these verses,,, God is saying that the servant,,, which we understand as Jesus,,, is going to bring Jacob back to Him.

Jesus is going to bring the Israelites back into a relationship with Him through His life,,, death,,, and resurrection.

But then God says that’s not enough,,, its not enough just to restore the protected ones of Israel.

No,,, You will also be a light for all the nations.

Through You,,, all the world will be saved

Through the light sent by Jesus to each one of us that are Christians today,,, through the Holy Spirit,,, our light shines bright for all the world to see!

Through the life,,, death,,, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,,, we and all of the world today,,, have the opportunity to be saved and spend eternity in Heaven with God because of this!

___________________________________ Verse 7 says: 7 This is what the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, says to one who is despised, to one abhorred by people, to a servant of rulers: “Kings will see and stand up, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel —and He has chosen you.”

Jesus has completed what God sent Him here to do.

He didn't get the respect and love that He deserved.

The time is coming when He will come back again,,, and God has stated that this time,,, Jesus will receive the respect that is due Him.

Paul writes in Philippians 2:10-11 - 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow — of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth — 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

That means everyone!

All will know that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lord's on that day!

That’s what God is saying in this verse to everyone,,, then,,, and now!

___________________________________ These words from Isaiah were written for the people of Israel,,, but they apply to us today as well.

We just need to pay attention to the words and then obey them going forward.

It is especially important to remember the words in the first verse that said,,, listen to me; distant peoples, pay attention.

It’s important because we get so busy that we forget to listen!

We can’t hear the voice of God if we aren’t actively,,, and intentionally,,, listening!

We must put God first in our life,,, make Him a priority,,, then spend the time needed,,, reading our Bible,,, praying,,, and using this time to truly listen to His voice so that we know the plans that He has for us,,, and the ways that He intends to use us going forward.

While Jesus was here on earth,,, He spent a lot of time in prayer so that He was always aware of the direction that He was supposed to go,,, and I believe that He did that so that we would know to copy His actions and receive our own directions!

And that’s impossible to do unless we intentionally make time for Him just as Jesus showed us while He was here.

___________________________________ So as we begin another week,,, remember these words of Isaiah,,, especially the part of listening for God’s voice.

It is only when we intentionally work at hearing His voice that we can receive the help that we need,,, as we face the problems that are thrown at us,,, sometimes,,, each and every day it seems!

And we do that,,, by making time,,, our own quiet time,,, as we focus on His word,,, listening for His word,,, and the directions He has for us,,, each and every,,, day!

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------