[0:00] Good morning and greetings to all. It's good to be here this morning. Thank you for sharing with Tim at about a half hour notice.
[0:12] Appreciate that and what has been shared and the worship service and everything. I was blessed already very much to be here this morning.
[0:25] What is the purpose of His coming? The purpose of His coming? Why did Jesus come? We heard a little bit about that this morning already.
[0:41] Why did Jesus come? This Christmas season I've been overwhelmed with the goodness of God.
[0:53] His mercy. His love. How good He is. How faithful He is. He made a promise a long time before He was born.
[1:08] He promised to Adam and Eve in the garden that He'll send a Savior. Are you glad this morning that we're on this side of that promise?
[1:18] It's happened already. It's happened already. And we get to enjoy a relationship with Jesus. Many people try to celebrate Christ's birth.
[1:33] I always think we need to realize, and God's people do realize, we do think, we do celebrate why He came.
[1:46] Is that a little too loud? I'm getting an echo here. Why Jesus came. We celebrate that. And many people can, in the world today, they would say they celebrate His birth.
[2:06] And many people are okay with the birth of Christ as a baby. But how many people actually celebrate or rejoice or are thankful for His death and what that means?
[2:26] You see, that affects us, doesn't it? Baby Jesus in a manger for the unbeliever really doesn't do anything.
[2:37] It's a story. But when He died on a cross, it affects you and I if we begin to believe in that.
[2:48] It shows us our need, right? It shows us, it shows mankind that we have a need and that we need to die and that we need to take up our cross.
[3:02] But if we just celebrate Him as a baby, it doesn't do that. Maybe it's just a thought for us this morning to stretch our minds.
[3:13] Maybe that's why nowhere in the Word are we authorized or told to remember His birth. You ever think about that? In fact, we don't even know His birthday.
[3:29] Most Bible scholars will tell us very clearly that it wasn't in December. So think about that. I'm not trying to say, you know, don't, whatever, we'll leave Christmas.
[3:42] But what did Jesus tell us to remember Him by? Think about that. What was it? Anyone? Anyone? As often as you do this, remember my death.
[4:00] Remember my death. And because that is what changes our life. His death. His cross. The Bible says, if you want to turn to Isaiah 53, we'll be looking at that chapter this morning, He most certainly wants us to remember why He was born.
[4:28] Why God became man. The plan. What was the plan behind it all? He came to deliver us.
[4:41] He came to redeem us. To set the captives free. To set us free. Has He set you free? Before we read in Isaiah, I'm going to also turn to Psalm 34.
[4:58] I feel like just reading that this morning as well. If you want to turn to that, keep Isaiah in your place as well. But Psalm 34, verse 1, it says, I will bless the Lord at all times.
[5:12] His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear thereof and be glad.
[5:23] O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears. As He delivered you from all your fears.
[5:38] They looked unto Him and were lightened and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, the Lord heard him and saved him from all his troubles.
[5:50] This all is what catches my attention. All fears. All troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him and delivereth them.
[6:04] O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. When we say, I'm blessed, we're saying that I trust in Him.
[6:18] Right? O fear the Lord, yea, His saints, for there is no want to them that fear Him. In other words, there's no need, there's no lack to them that fear Him.
[6:29] The young lions do lack and they suffer hunger, but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Come ye children, hearken unto me, I will teach you to fear the Lord.
[6:46] What man is he that desireth life and loveth many days that he may be, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile.
[6:59] Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and His ears are open unto their cry.
[7:10] The face of the Lord is against them that do evil to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
[7:29] The righteous cry and the Lord heareth and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
[7:44] Somebody asked me last week or so what a contrite spirit is. And I looked up that word and it says crushed. A crushed spirit.
[7:56] A broken spirit. Have you ever had a crushed spirit or you have felt crushed? The Lord is near to them. Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
[8:14] He keepeth all his bones. Not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate or abandoned or condemned.
[8:30] That word can mean condemned. Desolate. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
[8:42] None of them shall be condemned. The question is does our soul trust in him? Does our soul trust in the one that came and became flesh and blood so that you and I can have life and to be redeemed?
[9:03] Isaiah 53 Lord I just pray this morning again that you would be with us all as we look into your word of the prophecy that came.
[9:19] The prophecy that you gave through Isaiah your prophet of the coming of the Lord Jesus. Lord as we look at your word may your Holy Spirit be with us be in us and fill us and reveal your truth to us Lord God.
[9:42] Father may you be glorified. May you have your way in our hearts in Jesus name. Isaiah 53 verse 1 Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
[10:00] For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground he hath no form or comeliness and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.
[10:17] You know as we go through this chapter I just want to make some comments as we go. Men make a big deal out of physical appearance.
[10:31] People make they waste a lot of time in looking just right. And you know I'll just leave that but it says here that God God just chose he could have been the most handsome person that you have ever seen physically but according to this prophecy according to what God said here there was no beauty that we should desire him.
[11:05] He was just a normal man. He lived in a normal human body. nothing special that people would have noticed like look how handsome that guy is.
[11:23] No he was just a normal person. He didn't stand out that way unless maybe you looked into his eyes and you saw the love of God coming from him.
[11:35] we serve a humble God. This morning as Enos mentioned the shepherds or one of one of the young men did the shepherds why didn't he come to the most wise people on earth.
[11:58] You would think that God would bring it to the most wise people maybe in the biggest city in the biggest place where he would reveal his son or make the announcement that his son was born.
[12:13] But he didn't do that. He came to the lowliest. They were known to be. I mean they're just shepherds just watching sheep. That's just a few angels or one angel actually.
[12:28] And there was multitudes more but one angel came and just announced that over in Bethlehem that small little city in a stable wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger for the cows or even out of.
[12:46] that was the announcement. A humble God. What an example of humility. Just a side note.
[13:01] He could have chosen any body to live in that he wanted to because he is the creator. But he was despised in verse three.
[13:13] He was despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not.
[13:28] You know out of every person that ever lived on this earth Jesus understands our feelings of rejection.
[13:40] He understands. He was rejected. He was despised. Even his closest friends deserted him in his greatest hour of need.
[13:50] If ever Jesus needed a close friend to stand with him, it was that night when he went to the cross. That night in the garden, his disciples, they kept falling asleep.
[14:04] And at one point he said, will you also leave me? That was at a different time. But we know that they left him that night. Betrayed by one of his own.
[14:20] Verse 4 says, Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.
[14:31] Jesus carried our burdens. He carried our sorrows, it says. He cared so deeply for us. He came and did all of that and yet God allowed him to go to the cross.
[14:48] But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. Remember, he had no sin. He never sinned. The grace of God was upon him, it says, when I can't remember, was it when the angel came to Mary, I'm not sure where we read it, but somewhere that God's grace will be upon him from birth.
[15:16] He had the power to not sin, unlike our nature. Hallelujah. We can have his nature now.
[15:28] Thanks for sharing your testimony, Tim. God's nature now. We don't have to sin either. God wounded for our transgressions.
[15:42] He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace, or the cost of our peace, was upon him. And with his stripes we are healed.
[15:56] With his stripes we are healed. we'll come back to that. All we like sheep have gone astray.
[16:07] We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. All our disobedience, all our iniquity, all our rebellion, all our rejecting God, in fact, all the iniquity of the whole world was laid on him.
[16:29] But God took it all away from us and put it on Jesus, so we can be free.
[16:44] We do not need to pay the price for our sin, our rebellion, our rejecting God. We don't have to pay that price unless we reject it.
[16:57] whoever rejects it will pay that price. In fact, I think in Hebrews it says, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
[17:12] The price of our sin. No wonder Paul says in Romans that we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice to God and that it's only reasonable.
[17:24] After all he did for us, taking all this on him, everything, Christ paid everything for us.
[17:35] It's only reasonable that we lay down our life. Verse 7, he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before the shears is dumb so he opened not his mouth.
[17:54] You know, this was a prophecy about 700 years before Jesus approximately. Seven decades. And it's so accurate.
[18:08] It happened exactly like this. when Jesus came. Remember he stood before Pilate, stood before Herod.
[18:19] Many times he wouldn't open his mouth. He wouldn't answer. He knew when to speak, he knew when to be silent. God showed all this to Isaiah and he wrote it.
[18:38] He was taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare his generation for he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people was he stricken and he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death because he had done no violence neither was any deceit in his mouth.
[19:05] Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
[19:24] Verse 11 he shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many for he shall bear their iniquities.
[19:38] Again, he bore our iniquities. When God the Father saw the travail of his soul it says he was satisfied. He was satisfied.
[19:51] his soul was in great agony and travail in the garden and also on the cross. Remember he had sweat drops like blood.
[20:04] He was in great agony and on the cross he said my God my God why have you forsaken me? His soul had great travail. His soul was vexed.
[20:17] It was burdened beyond probably anything we have ever experienced or could. And God from heaven saw it all.
[20:29] His heavenly father and it satisfied him that that will pay for your sin and my sin. You know it's not the level of sin.
[20:49] It's not how little you sinned before you were saved or how much. It's about the power of the sacrifice, the blood, what it covers.
[21:01] To the uttermost the Bible says. You believe that this morning and are you thankful that it covers all sin? And that's that's what determines not how good we are, nothing we have done.
[21:20] Some people think they never really sin much. That's probably sin too. verse 12.
[21:41] Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul into death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
[22:03] You know, wasn't he crucified with two transgressors? How did Isaiah know all this? He didn't. Right?
[22:15] He only knew to write what God told him to write. That's what prophets of God do, right? And they're very accurate. Think about it.
[22:28] Two thieves hung on the cross with him. He was numbered with transgressors. I don't know for sure, but I just visualize that that's what was in mind there.
[22:44] He was crucified with sinners. We know the one repented. Just a few words. Remember me, Jesus.
[22:56] Well, first he rebuked the other one that was casting the same in his teeth. He rebuked him, the thief on the cross. And then he said, he looked at Jesus and said, remember, when you come into your kingdom.
[23:10] He acknowledged who he was, he acknowledged his kingdom, and he acknowledged his need. All in just a line, like a very short prayer.
[23:21] What did Jesus say to him? Today, you will be with me. Wow. It's not even much of a prayer, if you think it, I mean, not a long prayer.
[23:36] Where's all the sin and all the, I mean, why was he being crucified? But Jesus saw right into his heart and said, you've repented enough.
[23:47] You've accepted me. enough to be with me. See, it just takes a turn of your heart, just turning towards him, looking unto Jesus.
[24:02] It's not how much we repent, it's who we're looking at. That mighty blood of Jesus that saves to the uttermost.
[24:14] I am so thankful this morning that Jesus came. there's a verse in Ephesians 1, verse 7, it just says, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace.
[24:36] According to the riches of his grace. Not according to how much wrong we've done, not according to how much we've repented, but according to his riches of his grace.
[24:48] we have redemption through that blood, the forgiveness of sins. Galatians 2, verse 20 says, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live.
[25:00] Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
[25:12] That's the Christian life. Let's turn to Colossians chapter 1. I just trust this morning that we are a group of believers that are so thankful.
[25:29] I forget who said this week, I think maybe James mentioned it about, was it Leonard Ravenhill that said he believes that only 5% of America, or 5% of churchgoers are true Christians.
[25:53] I don't know if that's 100%, we don't know, he didn't either, but that's what he believed. And you wonder, you wonder how many people are truly born again.
[26:11] That's like, if that were true, that's like 100 people going to church and 5 of them are going to go to heaven. Think about that. Going to church just doesn't make you right with God, does it?
[26:26] But being the church does. Being part of the church does, hallelujah, if you're part of the body of Christ. I trust it's not like that.
[26:40] I don't believe that's the way it is. But, you know, here, but there are many churches that barely preach the new birth. Colossians 1.
[26:53] who hath delivered us from the power, I'm sorry, it's verse 13, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.
[27:16] For by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him.
[27:31] And he is before all things and by him all things consist. Now we're talking about Jesus, the same Jesus that came as a baby is who we're talking about.
[27:46] And he is the head of the church or the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have preeminence.
[28:00] For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. Can anybody explain all fullness? It dwells in Jesus, the Son.
[28:17] And having made peace through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto himself. By him I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven.
[28:30] Did you catch that word reconcile? By him to reconcile all things unto himself. And you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled even the people that were enemies of God that did evil works, if they came to Christ, he has reconciled.
[28:59] It's the work of God to reconcile. It's a miracle of God to reconcile. In the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight.
[29:15] If ye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye have heard and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven, whereof I, Paul, am made a minister.
[29:30] All things reconciled to himself who has delivered us out of the power of darkness. These are miracles, brothers and sisters.
[29:45] Miracles that God works. This is why he came. You know, we want to talk more about by his stripes we are healed. That is such a powerful, powerful statement.
[30:03] By his stripes, by his blood. We heard of the five wounds in that one song and how they, I'll get to that song maybe later, but that really spoke to me.
[30:15] How those wounds are crying out to save people. I heard a preacher yesterday online, and he was talking also about the, it's a preacher I wouldn't recommend by the way, but it came up so I listened a little bit, and there was some truth in what he was saying, but you know, he preached about healing, physical healing and those stripes, and usually that's where that is used in physical healing, and I believe that's right.
[30:48] That can be right also, and maybe that's even what it was meant. I'm not sure. It just says we are healed. So we believe in physical healing.
[31:00] I do, for sure. I believe that I have been physically healed, and to his glory. But you know, I was thinking about this preacher, what he was saying, and how he was trying to be on television, and telling you that you are healed, you just claim it.
[31:19] You're just healed. Because of his stripes, you're just healed. And after, it was like a few hours later, the thought came to me, he never talked about the cross, he never talked about repentance, he never mentioned that you need to be born again, none of those things.
[31:38] It's a one-sided, lopsided gospel. And then I thought even further, it's like, all he wants to do in the end, of course, to ask for money, but all he wanted to do is for you to be healed physically in this life, which is wonderful if you're healed.
[31:55] That's God's power. But if he heals your soul, and he gives you victory over sin, and he changes and transforms your life and brings you out of darkness, he is healing you for all eternity.
[32:12] Are we grateful for that? To me, that is the biggest miracle ever. Yeah, if my back is healed, I give him praise, I give him glory.
[32:23] I praise God for that. I'm sure you have been healed. We need more of that, by the way. Anointings and so on. But I'm just so overwhelmed this morning that God came to heal us completely and make us whole.
[32:39] And he healed many that were sick. Everybody that came to him, I believe, he wanted to heal them. But then he would also tell them, go and sin no more.
[32:51] Or your sins are forgiven. He healed them for eternity. He laid down his life.
[33:09] John talks about, hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us. Oh, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
[33:26] See, he gave us something to think about. Something not just to think about, but to do. We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Titus says, or in Titus it says, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works.
[33:57] Zealous. We're not lazy about it. We're not apologizing for good works. We believe in it. We do it. Zealous. Because of why?
[34:10] Because we want to impress God? Because we want to impress other people? That's not good works. It says because of the love of God and because he laid down his life that he might redeem us from all iniquity.
[34:28] That's what makes us peculiar. Let's turn to 1 Peter chapter 1. I'm not sure how much we'll read here.
[34:50] Well, we'll just start reading in 1 Peter 1 verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not away reserved for you in heaven or reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time, wherein he greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptation, that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love, in whom, though now, you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
[36:07] Have you seen Jesus? Peter says, you haven't seen him, but you believe in him. We've seen him with our hearts, haven't we?
[36:20] We've seen what Jesus does in a person, but we believe. And not only do we believe, we have joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.
[36:37] Joy unspeakable and full of glory. Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you.
[36:49] We were just reading this morning of the prophet Isaiah. Now he's talking, Peter here is talking about the prophets. They looked into this. They prophesied of these things that will come to you.
[37:05] Are we rejoicing that we're on this side? Are we actually walking it out? Like the prophets would have if they'd have been over here?
[37:19] They prophesied of these things, searching what or what manner of time, the spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify.
[37:32] Praise the Lord. They had the spirit of Christ. When it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow, like Isaiah, he prophesied the sufferings of Christ, unto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire to look into.
[38:09] Even the angels desire to look into. Wherefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end of the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
[38:25] As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, in all manner of your lifestyle.
[38:43] Because it is written, be ye holy, for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of person, judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.
[38:56] For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation, received by the tradition of your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
[39:16] That perfect lamb of God, that perfect person that we worship as Jesus. That's how we were redeemed. Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.
[39:35] Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God, seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren.
[39:53] See that you love one another with a pure heart fervently. There it is again. To love each other fervently. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
[40:11] Praise the Lord for these verses. I think we'll stop there. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, not of our flesh, not the first birth, but the second birth, where Jesus, the Holy Spirit, comes into your life and dwells there.
[40:33] That birth, that's what born again means. It's incorruptible. It's the Spirit of God within you.
[40:44] God. Praise the Lord. The provisions that God made by sending Jesus is all fulfilling.
[40:57] It is all we ever need. It is all in Christ. There is nothing else. There is nothing else.
[41:07] Let's talk about his stripes. With his stripes, we are healed. You know, those stripes, let's not forget, they were not just little stripes. They were not just lightly.
[41:19] They were deep. They cut into his back. It says that he didn't even look like a human being or like a person. Those stripes cost in his blood, perhaps his life.
[41:36] Have we been healed? healed? It may be physical. But what about the misery of a soul that has not been redeemed?
[41:48] A soul that is lost? Has Christ made you whole? He will. He wants to.
[42:00] He wants to.
[42:30] our faith and our trust in Jesus. He will. He wants to. He wants to make Martin whole. He wants to bring him out of that dark place and make him whole. Acknowledge misery.
[42:43] We understand that. He wants to make him whole. Let's keep praying for him. Let's keep praying for him. What has the coming of Christ to this earth done for you?
[43:00] He made you whole. What has the redemption plan or how has the redemption plan changed your life?
[43:14] Has he redeemed everything in your life? Everything. Yes, even our everyday life. finances.
[43:26] He wants to redeem us. Set us free. Our worries. All those things.
[43:38] Our iniquities. Our bad habits. Our things that are disobedient maybe. He has borne our griefs. He has carried our sorrows.
[43:49] What are some of our griefs that we think are griefs? Do we have any sorrows? Have you allowed Jesus to redeem you and set you free?
[44:04] You know, he has carried them for us. The Bible says he did. I believe that. He carried our burdens. He carried our sorrows. Jesus wants to heal and redeem us.
[44:17] I believe from everything. From all areas. And you know, it's not a one-time deal. Right? It's a walk. But God is a redemptive God and he wants to keep on redeeming and redeeming.
[44:33] If we have struggles that come up in our future, you know, people say, well, where will I be five years from now? If we believe in a redeeming God, it doesn't matter because he's still going to be redeeming you.
[44:45] Still going to be cleansing you and washing and making us more into his image. The question is not so much where will I end up or be in five years.
[45:00] The question is where will my heart be turned to? It's that simple. If my heart is turned to Jesus, I'll be just fine. It doesn't matter what comes. He wants to redeem us of our sinful nature and the poison of sin.
[45:19] Our fallen old self. He is our redeemer. My notes say he is our redeemer on and on and on.
[45:34] Rejection. I know what rejection feels like a little bit. Not like Jesus was rejected. But I know rejection some and some of you do too.
[45:48] Some of you may feel rejected this morning. Let Jesus heal you from that. He was rejected more than you were. What about confusion?
[46:01] Jesus is not the author of confusion, but he is the answer to confusion. If there's confusion in our life, we don't know where to turn, we're not sure about some of these things, he's the answer.
[46:19] Our relationships, friendships, children, parents, relationships can be such a painful thing.
[46:31] They can be so beautiful and that's how God intended it. But they can be so painful. marriage. So many broken relationships.
[46:45] I trust that, you know, the world has broken relationships over and over, all the time. Marriage is falling apart. And they just go on with life.
[46:57] They just accept it as normal. It's just normal. That's how we live. And they move on. And they just, sons just stop talking to dad for 20 years.
[47:14] Those kinds of things. Marriages fall apart. But let us not settle for anything less than what God wants. He wants to restore and redeem and heal.
[47:30] Let's never just say, well, it's okay, be that way. He wants to deliver to the uttermost and set us free. That's why He came.
[47:41] He came to set the captives free and to fix those things and restore and heal. That's where He gets glory. And a lot of people turn to counselors.
[47:54] But you know, no one can heal and change a person other than Jesus. If all you're doing is looking to man, you can look to man for a thousand years and he'll still be broken.
[48:11] But if you turn your eyes and your heart to the Lord Jesus, He can heal you in five minutes. Doesn't take long. It's just a position of the heart.
[48:23] changing our position, our hard heart sometimes. Sometimes the heart of man becomes so hard.
[48:37] God just can't talk to you. But when we turn that heart and say, Jesus, I look to you, just give Him five minutes of that and He'll change you. I really believe that.
[48:50] Not against counselors as long as they counsel that. But if they come with all their big advice and all those things, good sounding things, not saying they can't give some help here and there, but the life changing nature that only Jesus can give only comes from Him.
[49:15] Feelings of worthlessness, defeat. When we feel defeated, we'll be defeated. Right? We just give in.
[49:27] But Jesus wants to turn it into a glorious victory. Being betrayed, let down by friends and loved ones. We hear that a lot. Well, my friend, let me down and now I'm just kind of tired.
[49:44] Your friend didn't let you down. Not Jesus. Let Him be your friend. Paul's friends left him.
[49:58] He went through a very hard time. But in the end of his life, he said, I have fought a good fight. I've run the race. He was confident in who he was serving. Let your confidence in Jesus grow.
[50:13] Our hope is in Jesus. He came to set the captives free. We worship and we adore Him. He did it all for us to bring us out of bondage.
[50:27] In Isaiah 50, just three chapters back from 53, it says in verse 6, I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off my hair.
[50:42] I hid not my face from the shame and spitting. So even before 53, Isaiah is already prophesying of Jesus.
[50:54] It's like God is speaking through him. But He gave His back to the smiters. In other words, they weren't doing it. They were doing it, but He allowed it to happen.
[51:07] It's because He gave His back. That's why He had the stripes. For the Lord God will help me. Therefore, shall I not be confounded.
[51:18] Therefore, have I set my face like a flint and I know that I shall not be ashamed. Jesus set His face like a flint.
[51:30] He stood firm. He knew He had to. to accomplish this. He struggled, yes, in the garden. But His face was set like flint.
[51:43] He is near that justifieth me. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is mine adversary? Let Him come near to me. That word spoke to me this morning.
[51:57] That last line. Let Him come near to me. Jesus is inviting you to come near to Him. Even if you're His enemy, it says, who is mine adversary as a question?
[52:18] Who is my enemy? Let Him come near to me. He's inviting us this morning. Will you hear His voice or will you harden your heart?
[52:31] Jesus will heal you. He will give you victory. He will bring restoration and hope to any troubled soul.
[52:41] five chapters before that last one in Isaiah. Look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else.
[52:56] There it is. There is none else that will save you. There is none else where you can find all of these things. Jesus is more than enough.
[53:08] He is more than enough for everything that we could possibly face. More than enough for all our troubles, all our sorrows.
[53:23] And then He goes back to heaven and He says, no, I'm not leaving you comfortless. I'll still keep on giving you more than enough. I'll send my spirit, the comforter, to live in you.
[53:38] until He comes again. I want to just look at that song 212 for a minute. Or wasn't it 212?
[53:51] What was that page you picked there? 112. Arise, my soul, arise. Will your soul arise this morning? Shake off the guilty fears.
[54:03] A bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears before the throne my surety stands. Before the throne my surety stands.
[54:14] My name is written on His hands. Did you get that when we sang that this morning? Your name, Laverne. Because you believe.
[54:25] Because He paid the price. He ever lives above for me to intercede. His all-redeeming love, His precious blood to plead.
[54:37] His blood atoned for all our race. His blood atoned for all our race. And sprinkled now the throne of grace. Five bleeding wounds He bears.
[54:50] Received on Calvary. They pour effectual prayers. They strongly speak for me. Forgive Him, oh forgive Him, they cry.
[55:02] Forgive Him, oh forgive Him, they cry. Nor let the ransomed sinner die. That's the very heart of God. He doesn't want to let the sinner die.
[55:12] He doesn't want to let you just keep on struggling, struggling, struggling. My God is reconciled. His pardoning voice I hear.
[55:25] He owns me for a child. I can no longer fear. with confidence I now draw nigh. With confidence I now draw nigh and Abba Father cry.
[55:40] Do we have that confidence in our heart? Are we rejoicing in that? In that blood that was shed for us? And then the Holy Spirit.
[55:52] That we would walk in the Spirit and that we would walk in victory. I believe that's God's heart for us this morning that we would just be maybe a little more grateful for why He came.
[56:12] For why Jesus came. To heal the sick. To heal our wounded hearts. Our broken lives. Do we need that?
[56:27] I need that. I need that. To live in that. Why don't we stand together? Let's pray.