•Isaiah 50:4-51:8
•Obedience in a Dark World
4 The Lord GOD has given me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word
him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
5 The Lord GOD has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
6 I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.
7 But the Lord GOD helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.
Who is my adversary?
Let him come near to me.
9 Behold, the Lord GOD helps me;
who will declare me guilty?
Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;
the moth will eat them up.
(Isaiah 50:4-9, ESV)
10 Who among you fears the LORD
and obeys the voice of his servant?
Let him who walks in darkness
and has no light
trust in the name of the LORD
and rely on his God.
11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire,
who equip yourselves with burning torches!
Walk by the light of your fire,
and by the torches that you have kindled!
This you have from my hand:
you shall lie down in torment.
(Isaiah 50:10-11, ESV)
1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,
you who seek the LORD:
look to the rock from which you were hewn,
and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father
and to Sarah who bore you;
for he was but one when I called him,
that I might bless him and multiply him.
3 For the LORD comforts Zion;
he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the LORD;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
4 “Give attention to me, my people,
and give ear to me, my nation;
for a law will go out from me,
and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.
5 My righteousness draws near,
my salvation has gone out,
and my arms will judge the peoples;
the coastlands hope for me,
and for my arm they wait.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;
but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
7 “Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is my law;
fear not the reproach of man,
nor be dismayed at their revilings.
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
and the worm will eat them like wool,
but my righteousness will be forever,
and my salvation to all generations.”
(Isaiah 51:1-8, ESV)
•Main Point
• These verses show us even more about the Servant (See also chapter 49)
• This individual, will be rejected, beaten, and scorned
• Those who desire God will listen to the servant, then act as the Servant acts, seeking obedience despite being in a dark world
Application Points
• Obedience in a Dark World
• In today’s text we find further evidence of the coming Servant
• Despite the Servant clearly being from God, those around Him reject Him, and in the process, reject God
• What causes the Servant to remain obedient to God?
• If we find any opposition to the faith, there are many who quickly turn aside
• Maybe this is where we must reflect on what it means to suffer for the sake of obedience
• If this world is a sinful world, then we can expect obedience to a righteous God to be met with hostility
• How does the Servant remain?
Application Points
• Obedience in a Dark World (2)
• The answer is because the Servant trusts God
• What keeps the Servant is God Himself, because God has promised, God has taught, God has disciplined, God will do all He said He would do
• If only we would take what we know to be true, that God exists, He has spoken, and that He will do all He has claimed!
• Then maybe we would be far more willing to stand firm on the faith…and in obedience
• As it is, we are often afraid
• We fear the repercussions of proclaiming the message of salvation
• This fear causes us to be faithless and disobedient
• Yet what does the Servant say?
“18 If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’”
(John 15:18-25, ESV)
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And
“If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.”
(I Peter 4:12-19, ESV)
Application Points
• Obedience in a Dark World (3)
• What does it mean to follow the Servant?
• It means we are going to be rejected and despised
• These are all realities for believing what we believe
• Why? Because we live in a world full of unrighteousness
• Anyone who claims to know the truth will be rejected
• We could seek to light our own way utilizing what we have
• We could try to find what is good, just, righteous, and moral, but the more we look in and around us the father we are from it
• Yet there is hope, because we can find these things not by looking in the heavens or the earth, but looking to God who is good
•“26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:26-27, ESV)
Application Points
• Obedience in a Dark World (4)
• Obedience in the darkness will lead to the light
• If we are obedient in the dark to God we will find this uncreated Light which outshines all the sin and darkness of the world
• It is not our Light, but His
• This is Light of Light
• Though we may be in the darkness…the only way to survive is to look to God Himself
• What does the Lord desire? Obedience in the darkness
• The Servant is vindicated
• We will find obedience to leads to vindication
• We will never experience the perfect life in this world
• Should we remain faithful and obedient we will find joy everlasting
• We are in the dark, but obedience in the dark always leads to the Light
Application Points
• The Gospel of Christ
• Origins
• Fall
• Redemption
• Glorification
