Ends of the Earth: Isaiah and Missions

The Mission is Worth It.

"If God gives me another life, may I give it to him as a missionary."– Samuel Kang, executive head of the Korean World Missions Association. “If I am a Christian, I am not set on saving my own skin, but on seeing that the salvation of God comes through me to others.” – Oswald Chambers. Charlie Peace, a criminal in England, on the day he was being taken to his execution, listened to a minister reading from the Word. And when he found out the was reading about heaven and hell, he looked at the preacher and said,"Sir, if I believed what you and the church of God say, and even if England were covered with broken glass from coast to coast, I would walk over it on hands and knees and think it worthwhile living just to save one soul from an eternal hell like that."(SOURCE: from a sermon by Jason Jones, "Sending Beautiful Feet"7/16/08)

David Livingstone, "I Never Made A Sacrifice" In the mid-seventeenth century, a somewhat well-known Englishman was captured by Algerian pirates and made a slave. While a slave, he founded a church. When his brother arranged his release, he refused freedom, having vowed to remain a slave until he died in order to continue serving the church he had founded.

Today a plaque in an Algerian church bears his name. David Livingstone, the renowned and noble missionary to Africa, wrote in his journal,

“People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of the great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward of healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter?… Away with such a word, such a view, and such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering or danger now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause and cause the spirit to waver and sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall hereafter be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not talk when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father’s throne on high to give Himself for us. (Livingstone’s Private Journal: 1851–53, ed.. I. Schapera [London: Chatto & Windus, 1960], pp. 108, 132)”

From a sermon by Matthew Kratz, Give Worship, 11/29/2009 [END OF INTRODUCTION].

What incredible testimonies. There are so many giants of faith, and many of them have served on the mission field. Today as I speak on missions, my prayer is that the Spirit of God would stir in the hearts of everyone here, that some of you would decide to go, whether on short term or long term missions. And my prayer is that for those who cannot go, that God would move us to support missionaries financially, and through prayer.

Introduction to Isaiah: Author and Date

Isaiah was called to his prophetic ministry “in the year that King Uzziah died” (6:1), around 740 b.c. He lived long enough to record the death of Sennacherib (37:38), in 681. However, most of the book can be dated only in very general terms because few specific dates are given.

The Gospel in Isaiah

Reading the book of Isaiah takes us into the precarious space between warning and wonder, faithlessness and fidelity, compromise and conviction: this is the world where a fallen people hear the holy God. Divine words come full of truth and grace; they expose sin while offering, beneath all failure, hope and redemption. In Isaiah, God’s word calls for a humble response of awe, humble trust, and reverent submission to the Lord and his kingdom.

While the immediate context of Isaiah relates to the dangers posed by Assyria and Babylon as well as the dramatic shifts between exile and return, this prophetic book was always understood to have ongoing relevance. One of the most referenced Old Testament books in the New Testament, later writers look back to Isaiah and unflinchingly identify Jesus as the foretold Messiah who fulfills all the promises in this prophetic book. Isaiah’s messianic profile informs Christian worship of Jesus as the suffering servant who brings a new creation through his life-giving resurrection.

God had entered into a covenant with Israel, and with that covenant came the promise of divine blessings for faithfulness and a warning about curses for lack of faithfulness (e.g., ). Sadly, Israel flirted with idols, and when difficulties arose they tended to trust in unrighteous foreign powers rather than their sovereign Lord. Through their hardness of heart they forsook wholehearted trust in the Lord, while showing apathy toward injustice and a lack of concern for the needy. Throughout Isaiah we read sober warnings not only against the idolatrous nations but also against God’s own covenant-breaking people. Israel has proven not to be the “light to the nations” they were called to be.

Where then can a foundation for hope and redemption be found? It is grounded on the promises brought home time and again throughout Isaiah—promises ultimately secured only in Jesus Christ (). Part of the reason God’s judgments so often appear in Isaiah is that his people have been rebellious, creating darkness rather than bringing light. Nevertheless, the Creator, who singularly serves as the Redeemer of Israel, also extends hope to the nations who must repent and look in faith to the only true God (e.g., ; , ).

Engrafted into the Messiah and the deliverance he brings, God’s people are liberated to love God and neighbor. As this occurs, God’s people become a light to the nations, holding out the hope not merely of forgiveness but also of new creation. The message of Isaiah is that God is very great—and yet, astonishingly, his mercy is just as great.

Christian Standard Bible (CSB) 42  “This is my servant; I strengthen him, this is my chosen one; I delight in him. I have put my Spirit on him; he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry out or shout or make his voice heard in the streets. 3 He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering wick; he will faithfully bring justice. 4 He will not grow weak or be discouraged until he has established justice on earth.

The coasts and islands will wait for his instruction.”

OBSERVATION

So God is speaking through Isaiah here about His Servant. God says he gives strength to this servant, his chosen one. God delights in this servant. God has given the servant his Spirit. He will bring justice to every nation. He will not cry out or make his voice heard anywhere. He will not break a bruised reed, and will not put out a candle that is only hanging on by embers. Again, the prophet repeats that this Servant will bring justice. He will not grow weak or be discouraged until he has established that justice on the earth, a third time this is repeated. And I love this…it says the coasts and islands will wait for his instruction.

INTERPRETATION

So there is this figure in Old Testament thought, specifically in prophetic thought, called the Suffering Servant. They are all in Isaiah, and all are towards the end of the book. This passage is commonly referred to as the first “Servant Song in Isaiah, and other such “songs” follow in 49:1–13; 50:4–11; and 52:13–53:12 (cf. 51:12–13; 61:1–11

). In these texts, one who represents and sacrificially serves others emerges. Here, the suffering servant is most directly associated with Israel, but in a representative way (the entire nation represented in her king), the image can also point to an individual who is meant to represent the whole country).

The king was expected to represent Israel, and Israel was intended to be a blessing to the nations. Though far too often this had not been the case, the expectation is of a time of renewal brought about by God’s “servant” (i.e., the nation), whose hope and identity would ultimately be personified in the Messiah. Now we as Christians interpret these Servant Songs to be referring to Jesus many years before he was born. The Jews are still waiting on their Messiah, but we know who we is, don’t we? His name is Yeshua, and it’s his gospel message, spread around the world by his followers, that the coastlands and islands are waiting to hear. The nations are waiting, church.

APPLICATION

[1] The nations are waiting for us to give them God’s instructions — So it’s important to put Isaiah in context. It was written 2700 years ago, so this book is basically 3K years old. But human nature hasn’t changed, and so it still has the same amount of relevance today, probably even more, as we are closer today to the Messiah’s return than ever. Isaiah is smack dab in the middle of the Bible. It has 66 chapters just like the Bible has 66 books. Just like the Old Testament has 39 books, and the New Testament has 27, Isaiah’s first 39 chapters speak of God’s wrath and judgement, and the last 27 chapters of Isaiah speak of God’s love and faithfulness, and promises and hope, although not so rigidly. Why am I telling you all this? I’m telling you this because we are on chapter 42, and much has happened prior to this chapter, and much happens in Isaiah after this chapter. And I’m also telling you this because if we are going to give the nations God’s instructions, we have to first know his instructions ourselves. That’s what

TRANSITION

Christian Standard Bible (CSB) 5 This is what God, the Lord, says—who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it—6 “I am the Lord. I have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will hold you by your hand. I will watch over you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations, 7 in order to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those sitting in darkness from the prison house. 8 I am the Lord. That is my name, and I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. 9 The past events have indeed happened. Now I declare new events; I announce them to you before they occur.”

OBSERVATION

The Creator and Sustainer God is well able to keep the promises of vv. 1–4.

The servant is a covenant for the people (cf. 49:8), i.e., he represents the people in God’s covenant. He will become a light for the nations (cf. 49:6), bringing the knowledge of God to them; this probably lies behind Jesus’ saying in . to open the eyes … to bring out. This is the purpose of God’s grace for his people, using liberation from Babylonian exile as an image for spiritual liberation.

Both the triumph of Cyrus (41:2–4, 25–29) and the greater triumph of the servant glorify the true Lord of history and discredit idolatrous claims of human mastery. The God who has promised the world-transforming display of his glory (40:5) directs all events as he pleases to that final end. my glory I give to no other. God must discredit all idols to receive his proper honor. He is not one of many; he is not superior among inferior gods; he is not even the best of all; he is the only God, and he will have his people know and rejoice in this truth. new things I now declare. God deliberately draws attention to the seemingly impossible predictions he is making, citing his previous prophecies as evidence of his credibility (cf. 41:22).

INTERPRETATION

Filled with the Spirit, able to heal, and deeply concerned about justice, Jesus is recognized as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s expectation for God’s “servant.” Matthew picks up on

, making a direct link with Jesus (

). Gentle yet powerful, this servant is unflinching in his mission, and Matthew reminds us that he “brings justice to victory,” not by destroying the nations but by becoming the very hope of the nations (

). The divine warrior has come, and he will bring light where there is darkness (,

). Jesus’ mission is the mission of the Creator God who cares for the whole earth (v. 4

). Reconstituting Israel in himself, the Messiah comes in righteousness as a blessing to the nations (;

) and a light to the world (cf.

). As that blessed light, his servant calling is opening the eyes of the blind and setting the prisoners free (

). We now go out in his name and, in that way, bring his salvation and light to the world (

).

APPLICATION

[2]

TRANSITION

Christian Standard Bible (CSB) 10 

Sing a new song to the Lord; sing his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea with all that fills it, you coasts and islands with your inhabitants.11 Let the desert and its cities shout, the settlements where Kedar dwells cry aloud. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy; let them cry out from the mountaintops.12 Let them give glory to the Lord and declare his praise in the coasts and islands.

[OBSERVATION]

[INTERPRETATION]

[APPLICATION]

[3]

[TRANSITION]

Christian Standard Bible (CSB) 13 The Lord advances like a warrior; he stirs up his zeal like a soldier. He shouts, he roars aloud, he prevails over his enemies.14 “I have kept silent from ages past; I have been quiet and restrained myself. But now, I will groan like a woman in labor, gasping breathlessly. 15 I will lay waste mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn rivers into islands and dry up marshes. 16 I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness to light in front of them and rough places into level ground. This is what I will do for them, and I will not abandon them. 17 They will be turned back and utterly ashamed—those who trust in an idol and say to a cast image, ‘You are our gods!’

OBSERVATION

God calls all the nations to rejoice in his triumphant self-vindication.

new song. See note on . This is unprecedented praise, such as has never been heard before, marking the greatness of the revelation of the servant in history (cf. ; ). The joy of his liberating approach stands in contrast with the dread felt among the nations at the rise of Cyrus (cf. ).

Kedar. Nomads of the Arabian desert. Sela. Probably a Moabite town (cf. 16:1). Former enemies of God join in the widening scope of celebration (cf. ; ).

declare his praise. The Septuagint translation of this phrase (“they will proclaim his excellencies”) may lie behind the phrase “proclaim the excellencies” in ; it is the task of the converted Gentiles to praise God to even more Gentiles in order to bring them into the ranks of the people of God.

like a mighty man. As a soldier going into battle stirs up his emotions, God is committed to his victory from the depths of his being.

For a long time. To the Jewish exiles in Babylon, it would have seemed that God was delaying, but his passion for them was intensifying. like a woman in labor. As a woman cries out after finally going into labor, God, at the time he knows is best, will exert himself to bring his purpose to fulfillment (cf. ).

Cf. 41:18–19. In God’s passion for his people and for his own glory (42:13–14), no obstacle in human society can stand in his way.

No human incapacity can defeat God’s purpose of grace. His ways are so counterintuitive to human understanding that those he delivers might as well be blind, in darkness and on rough terrain, but God leads them through (cf. ).

Every foolish object of trust leads to personal disgrace.

INTERPRETATION

Unfortunately, Israel too (and not just the nations) is “deaf” and “blind,” so how can this people be God’s representative servant, drawing others to Yahweh (vv. 18–20; cf. )? They are themselves “hidden in prisons” (), so how can they set the captives free? How can Israel reveal God’s glory and deliverance when God’s people themselves have ignored what has been given them (v. 20)?

Only the promised Messiah, ultimately revealed in Jesus, the true servant of God and King of Israel, is able to overcome the predicament (cf. 49:5–7). For God’s people need a representative who will draw the nations in, yet who has not himself become, as Israel has, “plunder with none to rescue” (42:22). Jesus stands in for God’s people, fully identified with them yet with one crucial difference: he is without any sin of his own ().

APPLICATION

The Lion of Judah arises, Yahweh the warrior rises, when we talk about plunging the sword of truth, the sword of light into the heart of darkness, and twisting it, until that darkness begins to bleed light. God says look, I can’t take it anymore! I will not stop, I will not rest, until the ends of the earth give me glory. I will not rest until the ends of the earth sing my song. I will not rest until they sing songs of deliverance and salvation. God is tired of restraining himself. He cries out in anguish, like a woman in labor, over the billions of souls out there, in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa who will spend forever in outer darkness and eternal fire, unless we reach them. Am I saying God is limited by our actions? No. But did not his son say, go out into all the world, and make disciples? We must respond and be obedient. God will do whatever it takes to get them to us, and get us to them. God turned the Middle East upside, and has sent millions of refugees to Europe and America. He completely shifted the cultural and political climate of Europe and the Middle East so we could give the refugees the gospel!

[4] God will rearrange heaven and earth to send his message to every inch of them.

ILLUSTRATION: Syrian refugees in Houston preach the gospel and start churches.

Hudson Taylor: Missionary To China

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Oct 22, 2007 (message contributor)

Hudson Taylor: Missionary to China. Saw many come to Christ during one period of time. Many had heard the gospel message and had been newly saved. One particular older Chinese man came up to Taylor and said with joy in his heart, ‘How long have you had this wonderful news in your land?’ WELL WE HAVE HAD IT THERE FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS ‘Hundreds of years? You have had it for hundreds of years and are just now coming and sharing? My father searched for the truth all his life and died without finding it. Why did you not come sooner?

TRANSITION: CALL TO CHRIST, INVITATION TO PRAYER

Missions Quotes...Contributed by Michael McCartney on Aug 8, 2012

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light" — John Keith Falconer

"If I had 1,000 lives, I'd give them all for China" — Hudson Taylor

"The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become." — Henry Martyn, missionary to India and Persia

"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" — Jim Elliot, missionary martyr who lost his life in the late 1950's trying to reach the Auca Indians of Ecuador

"The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity." — Mike Stachura