Glimpses of Glory God's surprising servant
St. Paul's Anglican Church Chatswood - SermonsJune 24, 202334:2152.07 MB

Glimpses of Glory God's surprising servant

Glimpses of Glory God's surprising servant

Series: Isaiah

Speaker: Steve Jeffrey

Date: 25th June 2023

Passage: Isaiah 52:13-53:12


00:00:00 --> 00:00:04 Good morning, everyone. Great to be in church with you this morning. My name's Steve, and
00:00:04 --> 00:00:11 it is a brisk morning. I'm a little bit cold, and I'm hoping to warm up as I preach. So just
00:00:11 --> 00:00:17 bear with me on that. It's just really that my core temperature must be dropped or something
00:00:17 --> 00:00:21 this morning. But it's great to be in church with you. We've been on a journey through
00:00:21 --> 00:00:27 the book of Isaiah, and we're coming towards some really crucial bits and towards the end
00:00:27 --> 00:00:31 of it. So I'm really glad you're here, and I'm glad that you checked it in online with
00:00:31 --> 00:00:36 us this morning. I'd be grateful if you get Isaiah 53 open in front of you. Also, there's
00:00:36 --> 00:00:42 St. Paul's app. There's a message, an outline for today's message, God's surprising servant.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:49 It will help you immensely as we go through. Well, Eric Liddell was a Scottish sprinter, rugby
00:00:49 --> 00:00:59 player and Christian missionary. He was known for his refusal to run in the heats for his
00:00:59 --> 00:01:11 favoured event, the 100 metre sprint at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. He received significant
00:01:11 --> 00:01:18 pressure from the then Prince of Wales and the World Olympic Committee to run on a Sunday,
00:01:18 --> 00:01:25 and it was against his Christian conviction to do so. And he only found out the heats were
00:01:25 --> 00:01:35 on on the Sunday as he was travelling to Paris on the boat. He ended up, by the goodness of
00:01:35 --> 00:01:42 one of his colleagues, swapped events with him, and he ended up winning the gold medal for
00:01:42 --> 00:01:52 the 100 metre race instead at the 24 Olympics. His life, at least at that point of his life,
00:01:53 --> 00:02:04 is captured in the 1981 movie, Chariots of Fire. But his legacy is much greater than winning a gold medal.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:12 Immediately after winning the gold medal, he did what he wanted to do for the rest of his life,
00:02:12 --> 00:02:19 and he set out as a missionary to China. He returned to China. He was born in China to missionary parents.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:29 And he remained in China until his death in a Japanese civilian internment camp in 1945.
00:02:29 --> 00:02:38 Liddell's Olympic training and racing, his Christian convictions, everything that influenced him,
00:02:39 --> 00:02:45 are there in that movie, Chariots of Fire, and I encourage you to watch it. But his enduring legacy
00:02:45 --> 00:02:56 is not mentioned in the movie. What he's really, really famous for is not mentioned in the movie at all,
00:02:56 --> 00:03:07 because it's not an Olympic gold medal. His enduring legacy is the time that he spent as a missionary
00:03:07 --> 00:03:16 and in the internment camp. Liddell became a leader and an organiser of the camp under harsh conditions.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:23 He busied himself by helping the elderly, teaching Bible classes, arranging games, teaching science to
00:03:23 --> 00:03:34 students. He was referred to as Uncle Eric. One of his fellow internees later wrote a book about his
00:03:34 --> 00:03:42 experience in that camp, and the book's called The Courtyard of the Happy Way. And he described Liddell
00:03:42 --> 00:03:47 as the finest Christian gentleman it has ever been my pleasure to meet.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:58 Another said of Liddell in his writing,
00:03:59 --> 00:04:08 it is rare indeed that a person has the good fortune to meet a saint, but he came as close to it as
00:04:08 --> 00:04:16 anyone I have ever known. Another non-Christian said that.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:26 Liddell, from the moment of his, beyond the internment camp and the end of World War II,
00:04:26 --> 00:04:34 many things have been written about him. His influence has been substantial and nothing to do
00:04:34 --> 00:04:35 with winning a gold medal.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:46 He was known by all in the internment camp as someone who gave up his life for others. Despite him
00:04:46 --> 00:04:55 having a wife and three children who had escaped to Canada, when he was given an opportunity to be
00:04:55 --> 00:05:02 released from the internment camp and to return and to go to Canada, he surrendered that opportunity
00:05:02 --> 00:05:09 to a pregnant woman. He let her go.
00:05:11 --> 00:05:12 And he stayed.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:22 His last words were,
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 it's complete surrender.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 It's complete surrender.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:36 A reference to how he had completely given his life to Jesus Christ,
00:05:36 --> 00:05:40 who had completely given his life for him.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:42 It's complete surrender.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 The passage, which was just read out to us by Sybil this morning,
00:05:48 --> 00:05:52 is one of the most important passages in the entire Bible.
00:05:52 --> 00:06:03 And yet, in the storyline of Isaiah, these verses are a complete shock.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:04 They're unexpected.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:15 Because they subvert every human category of thought about greatness and glory and salvation.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:19 There are three surprising things.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 So if you've got the St. Paul's app, you'll notice them there in the titles.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:26 Surprisingly Ordinary, Surprising Suffering and Surprising Glory.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 That's the journey today.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:32 Open up Isaiah 53 and the St. Paul's app.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:36 Now the big shock of these verses is that by the time you get to Isaiah 53,
00:06:36 --> 00:06:49 we're expecting someone of power and greatness and majesty to come in and rescue God's people enslaved in Babylon.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 God's person coming to rescue his people from exile.
00:06:55 --> 00:07:02 The great divine king who we saw earlier in Isaiah is going to raise up every valley,
00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 fill in every valley and bring every mountain down low.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 the one who's going to have big paths straight.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:14 This great king, the one who's going to bring renewal to the whole world.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:19 We're expecting someone majestic and big and powerful.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 Instead, you read in verse 2,
00:07:22 --> 00:07:26 he had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:30 Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:34 He was despised and rejected by mankind.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:35 A man of suffering.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 And familiar with pain.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 Like one from whom people hide their faces.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 He was despised.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:46 And we held him in low esteem.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:55 The shock of these verses is that this majestic king,
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 this God's servant here,
00:07:57 --> 00:08:02 has none of the markers of what the world would call successful.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:04 Looks,
00:08:05 --> 00:08:06 money,
00:08:06 --> 00:08:06 connections,
00:08:06 --> 00:08:07 credentials,
00:08:08 --> 00:08:08 none of it.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:12 And yet despite that,
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 we read in verse 1,
00:08:16 --> 00:08:17 who has believed our message,
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 and to whom
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 has the arm
00:08:20 --> 00:08:21 of the Lord
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 been revealed?
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 The arm of the Lord,
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 in Bible talk,
00:08:29 --> 00:08:30 simply means,
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 it's a metaphor for the power of God.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 This is saying that this servant,
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 despised,
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 held in low esteem,
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 is God's power.
00:08:42 --> 00:08:43 God's power.
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 And it's how God's power works
00:08:46 --> 00:08:47 in the world,
00:08:47 --> 00:08:48 and it subverts
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 every category that we have.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:51 Every category.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:55 It's exactly what we see
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 in the New Testament.
00:08:58 --> 00:08:58 Mark's biography
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 of Jesus
00:09:00 --> 00:09:01 records Jesus
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 turning up to his hometown,
00:09:03 --> 00:09:03 Nazareth.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 It's in Mark chapter 6.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:07 And in verse 3,
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 it says that the people of his hometown
00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 took offense at him.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:15 Now,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 what's surprising about that
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 is that Nazareth
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 could also be called Nowhereville.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:24 You know,
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 it's a humble little village
00:09:26 --> 00:09:30 that is hardly mentioned in history at all,
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 and its only famous resident
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 is Jesus.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:37 Only one.
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 In other words,
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 these are grassroots people
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 who knew Jesus as a kid,
00:09:44 --> 00:09:45 and Jesus turns up,
00:09:45 --> 00:09:48 and they're offended by him.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:51 And the word translated offense
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 in Mark chapter 6, verse 3,
00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 means that they were scandalized by him.
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 To be scandalized
00:10:00 --> 00:10:04 is not to disagree with him.
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 It means to totally reject him.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:12 It means to feel hostility towards him.
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 William Craig,
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 sorry, not Willie Craig,
00:10:17 --> 00:10:17 William Lane,
00:10:18 --> 00:10:19 in his commentary
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 on Mark chapter 6,
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 states the issue really well.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:23 Well,
00:10:26 --> 00:10:27 their discernment
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 could not penetrate
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 the veil
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 of ordinariness
00:10:33 --> 00:10:35 that surrounded him.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 How could
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 the long-awaited
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 Messiah,
00:10:44 --> 00:10:45 King,
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 Rescuer
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 of God's people
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 be so
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 ordinary?
00:10:50 --> 00:10:50 Ordinary.
00:10:50 --> 00:10:55 The ordinariness
00:10:55 --> 00:10:55 of Jesus
00:10:55 --> 00:10:57 did not fit
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 with the village
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 of Nazareth's
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 worldview
00:11:02 --> 00:11:04 of a triumphant
00:11:04 --> 00:11:04 Messiah.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 This is not
00:11:07 --> 00:11:07 who we're expecting.
00:11:11 --> 00:11:12 And in the same way,
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 friends,
00:11:13 --> 00:11:13 the ordinariness
00:11:13 --> 00:11:14 of Jesus
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 offends
00:11:15 --> 00:11:15 the normal
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 moral understanding
00:11:16 --> 00:11:17 of how salvation,
00:11:17 --> 00:11:19 sorry,
00:11:19 --> 00:11:19 the normal
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 human understanding
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 of how salvation
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 works in our world.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 All religions,
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 all philosophical
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 systems
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 offer a form
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 of salvation
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 and liberation
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 that is from
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 the ordinariness
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 of human life.
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 It's escaping
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 the ordinariness
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 of human life.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 And it is
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 always triumphant
00:11:42 --> 00:11:42 and it is
00:11:42 --> 00:11:44 always strong.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 the Christian
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 view of salvation
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 is unique.
00:11:51 --> 00:11:51 God
00:11:51 --> 00:11:52 comes
00:11:52 --> 00:11:52 down
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 into
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 our
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 ordinariness.
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 He doesn't
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 lift us
00:11:57 --> 00:11:57 just from it.
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 He immerses
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 himself
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 in the pain,
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 the vulnerability,
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 the suffering
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 of the ordinary
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 human life.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:08 We cannot
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 know
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 what the good
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 news of
00:12:11 --> 00:12:11 Christianity
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 is
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 if we've
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 never felt
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 the offence
00:12:15 --> 00:12:15 of Jesus
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 Christ.
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 But we
00:12:19 --> 00:12:19 must not
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 take offence.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 Matthew 11
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 verse 6
00:12:24 --> 00:12:24 says,
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 blessed is
00:12:25 --> 00:12:25 anyone who
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 does not
00:12:27 --> 00:12:27 stumble
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 on account
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 of me.
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 If we
00:12:30 --> 00:12:30 take
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 offence
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 at the
00:12:33 --> 00:12:33 ordinariness
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 of Jesus,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 we can
00:12:36 --> 00:12:36 never know
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 his blessing.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:41 now I
00:12:41 --> 00:12:41 know I'm
00:12:41 --> 00:12:41 taking a
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 lot for
00:12:42 --> 00:12:42 granted
00:12:42 --> 00:12:42 when I
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 say that
00:12:43 --> 00:12:43 and so
00:12:43 --> 00:12:43 there's
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 an extra
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 incentive
00:12:45 --> 00:12:45 to sign
00:12:45 --> 00:12:45 up to
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 Alpha
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 to discover
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 a bit
00:12:48 --> 00:12:48 more about
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 the Christian
00:12:49 --> 00:12:49 faith and
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 the good
00:12:50 --> 00:12:50 news that
00:12:50 --> 00:12:51 it actually
00:12:51 --> 00:12:51 is for
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 all of
00:12:52 --> 00:12:52 humanity.
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 The reality
00:12:56 --> 00:12:56 is,
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 this is how
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 God works
00:12:59 --> 00:12:59 in all of
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 life from
00:13:00 --> 00:13:00 beginning to
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 end.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 the
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 extraordinary
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 power of
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 God
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 operates in
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 our life
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 in just
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 ordinary
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 ways.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:12 For
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 instance,
00:13:13 --> 00:13:13 the grace
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 and the
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 life of
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 God grows
00:13:17 --> 00:13:17 in our
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 ordinary
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 life in
00:13:19 --> 00:13:19 ordinary
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 ways is
00:13:20 --> 00:13:20 what I'm
00:13:20 --> 00:13:20 saying.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 Things like
00:13:22 --> 00:13:22 daily Bible
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 reading,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 daily prayer,
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 self-examination,
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 worship,
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 hanging out
00:13:29 --> 00:13:29 with people
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 who are bold
00:13:30 --> 00:13:30 enough to
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 point you
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 to Jesus,
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 to encourage
00:13:33 --> 00:13:33 you to
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 keep on
00:13:35 --> 00:13:35 keeping on,
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 to keep you
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 accountable for
00:13:37 --> 00:13:37 walking with
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 Jesus week
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 in and week
00:13:40 --> 00:13:40 out and
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 week in and
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 week out for
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 years.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:46 Ordinary
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 things that
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 you do over
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 and over
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 and over
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 again have
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 a powerful
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 impact on
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 your life.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 So imagine
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 for instance,
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 I got the
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 seed right
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 now for
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 a Morton
00:14:03 --> 00:14:03 Bay fig
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 tree.
00:14:05 --> 00:14:05 If you
00:14:05 --> 00:14:05 don't know
00:14:05 --> 00:14:05 what that
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 is, go
00:14:06 --> 00:14:06 to the
00:14:06 --> 00:14:06 Botanic
00:14:06 --> 00:14:07 Gardens
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 or just
00:14:08 --> 00:14:08 Google it
00:14:08 --> 00:14:08 actually,
00:14:09 --> 00:14:09 there we
00:14:09 --> 00:14:09 go.
00:14:11 --> 00:14:11 Much
00:14:11 --> 00:14:11 easier to do,
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 not now,
00:14:12 --> 00:14:12 later.
00:14:14 --> 00:14:14 Got the
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 seed for
00:14:15 --> 00:14:15 Morton
00:14:15 --> 00:14:15 Bay fig
00:14:15 --> 00:14:15 tree.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:16 It easily
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 fits in the
00:14:17 --> 00:14:17 palm of my
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 hand.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:18 Now imagine
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 if I decided
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 right now I'm
00:14:20 --> 00:14:20 going to go to
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 the corner of
00:14:21 --> 00:14:21 this building
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 just outside and
00:14:22 --> 00:14:22 I'm going to
00:14:22 --> 00:14:22 get this
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 Morton Bay fig
00:14:23 --> 00:14:23 seed and I'm
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 going to smash
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 this building
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 with the seed
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 and try and
00:14:27 --> 00:14:27 bring the
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 building down.
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 The seed has
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 no power.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:32 I don't have
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 any power.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:34 It has no
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 power in
00:14:35 --> 00:14:35 itself.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 It's nothing.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:36 It's just
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 small.
00:14:37 --> 00:14:37 It's little.
00:14:39 --> 00:14:39 However, I
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 plant it in the
00:14:40 --> 00:14:40 corner of the
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 building and I
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 water it, give it
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 some sunshine,
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 give it time,
00:14:47 --> 00:14:47 water it, you
00:14:47 --> 00:14:49 know, fertilize the
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 nutrients, sunshine
00:14:50 --> 00:14:50 every day.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 It will grow
00:14:52 --> 00:14:52 and it will
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 grow and it
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 will grow big
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 enough to crumble
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 the building.
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 It will tear it
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 down over the
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 course of time.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 That's the
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 extraordinary power
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 of God's work
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 in our lives
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 through ordinary
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 means again
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 and again
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 and again
00:15:12 --> 00:15:12 and again.
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 Slow and
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 ordinary growth
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 comes through
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 the means of
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 grace and it's
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 so powerful to
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 bring about
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 incredible
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 transformation in
00:15:22 --> 00:15:22 life.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:23 So I want to
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 ask you, is
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 the arm of the
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 Lord evidence
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 in your life,
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 in your habits?
00:15:32 --> 00:15:32 That's the
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 first thing
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 that's surprising.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:34 God's servant
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 was so ordinary.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 The second
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 thing surprising
00:15:37 --> 00:15:37 here is that
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 God's servant
00:15:38 --> 00:15:38 suffers.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 How can a
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 great triumph
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 come through
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 such weakness?
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 That's not
00:15:51 --> 00:15:51 how we work
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 in this world.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 Notice the
00:15:54 --> 00:15:54 words in
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 verses 4 and
00:15:55 --> 00:15:55 5.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:56 Pain,
00:15:57 --> 00:15:57 suffering,
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 stricken,
00:15:58 --> 00:15:58 afflicted,
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 pierced,
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 crushed.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:01 The word
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 pierced there
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 means the
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 most painful
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 possible death.
00:16:07 --> 00:16:07 Then down in
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 verse 8,
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 taken away,
00:16:09 --> 00:16:09 cut off.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:10 The word
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 cut off means
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 a violent
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 death.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:15 God's
00:16:15 --> 00:16:15 servant,
00:16:16 --> 00:16:16 Jesus Christ,
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 suffered terribly.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 many people
00:16:21 --> 00:16:21 think,
00:16:22 --> 00:16:22 and just a
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 little bit
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 of a side
00:16:24 --> 00:16:24 point here,
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 many people
00:16:26 --> 00:16:28 think that
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 because they're
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 suffering,
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 God doesn't
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 love them.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:35 And the
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 only response
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 I have to
00:16:37 --> 00:16:37 that,
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 look at
00:16:40 --> 00:16:40 Jesus.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 Just look to
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 Jesus in your
00:16:43 --> 00:16:43 suffering.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 God's
00:16:46 --> 00:16:46 salvation in
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 our lives
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 is in
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 fact compatible
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 with a
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 very hard
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 experience.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:53 His love
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 for us is
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 compatible with
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 a very hard
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 experience in
00:16:57 --> 00:16:57 life.
00:16:58 --> 00:16:58 God can be
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 with you,
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 love you,
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 in you,
00:17:01 --> 00:17:01 working through
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 you,
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 growing you,
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 even while you
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 suffer terribly.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:08 But the
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 surprising thing
00:17:10 --> 00:17:10 about the
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 suffering of
00:17:11 --> 00:17:11 God's servant
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 here is
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 why he
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 suffered.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 there is
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 at least
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 ten times
00:17:18 --> 00:17:18 in these
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 verses
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 that he
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 is described
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 as taking
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 on things
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 that are
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 not his.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 He took
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 up our
00:17:30 --> 00:17:30 pain,
00:17:31 --> 00:17:31 verse 4.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:32 He bore
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 our suffering,
00:17:34 --> 00:17:34 verse 4.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 He was
00:17:36 --> 00:17:36 pierced for
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 our
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 transgressions.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 And again,
00:17:40 --> 00:17:40 the punishment
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 that brought
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 us peace
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 was on
00:17:44 --> 00:17:44 him.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 Over and
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 over again,
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 he's taking
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 on,
00:17:49 --> 00:17:49 taking on,
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 taking on
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 things that
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 don't belong
00:17:52 --> 00:17:52 to him,
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 that are not
00:17:55 --> 00:17:55 his.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 transgressions.
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 What does
00:17:59 --> 00:17:59 all that
00:17:59 --> 00:17:59 mean?
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01 Cast your
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 eye down
00:18:02 --> 00:18:02 to verse
00:18:02 --> 00:18:02 12.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 It says,
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 God's servant
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 king was
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 numbered with
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 the transgressors.
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 What's surprising
00:18:11 --> 00:18:13 about that is
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 that when you
00:18:14 --> 00:18:14 read through
00:18:14 --> 00:18:17 Isaiah 53,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 you'd notice
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 that he is
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 declared to
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 be innocent
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 at every
00:18:22 --> 00:18:22 point.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 And yet
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 here he's
00:18:25 --> 00:18:25 numbered with
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 the transgressors.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 In Luke
00:18:30 --> 00:18:30 chapter 22
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 verse 37,
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 Jesus
00:18:33 --> 00:18:33 quotes
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 this verse
00:18:35 --> 00:18:38 at the end
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 of his last
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 supper with
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 his disciples
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 just moments
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 before he's
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 arrested and
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 is executed.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 And he
00:18:45 --> 00:18:45 says,
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 Isaiah 53
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 verse 12
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 is about
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 me.
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 I'm the
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 one who
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 is numbered
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 amongst the
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 transgressors.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 He says
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54 this,
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 he was
00:18:55 --> 00:18:55 numbered with
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 the transgressors
00:18:56 --> 00:18:56 and I
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 tell you
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 that this
00:18:57 --> 00:18:57 must be
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 fulfilled
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 in me.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 He says
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 this just
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 hours before
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 his death.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 Isaiah 53
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 verses 12
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 verse 12
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 is what
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 is on
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 his mind.
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 What does
00:19:13 --> 00:19:13 it mean
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 that he took
00:19:14 --> 00:19:14 our pain,
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 our suffering
00:19:15 --> 00:19:15 and our
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 punishment?
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 to be
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 numbered with
00:19:19 --> 00:19:19 the
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 transgressors
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 doesn't
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22 mean that
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 he became
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 a transgressor.
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 It means
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 that he
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 was counted,
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 treated as
00:19:29 --> 00:19:29 if he was
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 a transgressor.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 And just
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 hours later
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 he was hung
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36 on a cross
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 between two
00:19:37 --> 00:19:39 other transgressors
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 as if
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 he himself
00:19:41 --> 00:19:41 was one.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 This is the
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 surprising thing
00:19:46 --> 00:19:46 about his
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 suffering.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 He takes
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 on what
00:19:49 --> 00:19:49 should be
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 our
00:19:50 --> 00:19:50 suffering
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 for our
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 transgressing.
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 He is
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 treated as
00:19:54 --> 00:19:54 if he
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 has done
00:19:55 --> 00:19:55 every
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 single
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 thing
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 that we
00:19:57 --> 00:19:57 have
00:19:57 --> 00:19:57 done.
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 What's
00:20:03 --> 00:20:03 even more
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 surprising
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 is that it
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 says in
00:20:06 --> 00:20:06 verse 11
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 that my
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 righteous
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 servant
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 will justify
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 many.
00:20:10 --> 00:20:10 So put
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 verses 10
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 and 11
00:20:12 --> 00:20:12 together
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 and it's
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 an amazing
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 section.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 Verse 10
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 said it
00:20:16 --> 00:20:16 was God's
00:20:16 --> 00:20:16 will to
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 crush him
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 to cause
00:20:18 --> 00:20:18 him to
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 suffer
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 and through
00:20:20 --> 00:20:20 the Lord
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 make his
00:20:21 --> 00:20:21 life an
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 offering for
00:20:22 --> 00:20:22 sin
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 he will
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 see his
00:20:24 --> 00:20:24 offspring
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 which simply
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 means he
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 through his
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 suffering
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 through his
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 death
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 will see
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 the results
00:20:31 --> 00:20:31 of his
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 suffering.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 And then
00:20:35 --> 00:20:35 in verse
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 11 we
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 read after
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 he had
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 suffered
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 he will
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 see the
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 light of
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 life
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 and be
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 satisfied
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 by his
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 knowledge
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 my righteous
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 servant
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 will justify
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 many.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 To justify
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 someone is
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 to make
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 them
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 righteous
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 it's a
00:20:55 --> 00:20:55 legal term
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 to declare
00:20:56 --> 00:20:56 them to
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 be right.
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 It is
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 the idea
00:21:00 --> 00:21:02 once again
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 I was up
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 here I
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 talked about
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 the idea
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 of double
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 blessing.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 He had
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 the peace
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 but got
00:21:11 --> 00:21:11 the punishment
00:21:11 --> 00:21:13 so that we
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 who deserve
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 the punishment
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 get the
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 peace.
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 Sin is
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 forgiven
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 but peace.
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 Jesus
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 Christ is
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 treated by
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 God as
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 he has
00:21:25 --> 00:21:25 done
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 everything
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 all of
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 humanity
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 has done
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 throughout
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 the history
00:21:29 --> 00:21:29 of humanity
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 so that
00:21:30 --> 00:21:32 when we
00:21:32 --> 00:21:32 put our
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 trust in
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 him we
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 are treated
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 as if we
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 have done
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 everything
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 that he
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 has done.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 Righteousness
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 of life
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 constant
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 obedience
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 to the
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 father.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 That is
00:21:43 --> 00:21:43 the surprise
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 that is
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 the center
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 that is
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 the power
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 that is
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 the wonder
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 of the
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 Christian
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 faith.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:50 And there
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 is nothing
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 like it
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 in all
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 of humanity.
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 It is
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 radically
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 different from
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 every other
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 religion.
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 Every other
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 religion in
00:22:02 --> 00:22:02 this world
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 is from
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 the strong
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 to the
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04 strong.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 And the
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 basic message
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 is if you
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 want to
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 be great
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11 then you
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 summon your
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 strength and
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 you focus
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 your will and
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 you live in a
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 particular way
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 and eventually
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 you'll be
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 great.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 Jesus
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 Christ died
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 rejected and
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 in utter
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 weakness.
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 He was
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 despised.
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 He comes
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 in weakness
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 and so his
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 salvation is
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 only ever
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 for the
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 weak.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 Salvation
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 is a
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 gift
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41 from the
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 weak
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 to the
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 weak.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:47 God's
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 servant
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 in Isaiah
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 is surprising.
00:22:51 --> 00:22:51 He is
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 both a
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 servant
00:22:52 --> 00:22:54 and a
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 king
00:22:54 --> 00:22:57 just as
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 God is
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 both
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 righteous
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 and loving.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 God
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 substitutes
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 himself for
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 us on the
00:23:03 --> 00:23:03 cross.
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 God puts
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 himself where
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 we deserve
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 to be
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 so that
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 now we
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 can stand
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 in the
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 place of
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 honour
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 only he
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 deserves to
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 plead.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:15 And it's a
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 place of
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 honour,
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 it's a
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 place of
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 love,
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 it's a
00:23:19 --> 00:23:19 place of
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 acceptance,
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 it's a
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21 place of
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 approval,
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 it's a
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 place
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 that's
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 guilt-free,
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 shame-free.
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 glory.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 And that's
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 the surprising
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 glory of
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 this passage.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 God's
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 servant is
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 surprisingly
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 ordinary,
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 surprisingly
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 suffers in
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 weakness to
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 make us
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 right and
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 strong,
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 and this
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 all points
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 to a
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 surprising
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 glory because
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 it's not
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 how we
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 would do
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 it.
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 Have a
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 look again
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 at verse
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 10.
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 It was
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 the Lord's
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 will to
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 crush him
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 and to
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 cause him
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 to suffer
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 and through
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 the Lord
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 make his
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 life
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 and offering
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 for sin.
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 He will
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 see his
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 offspring
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 and prolong
00:24:04 --> 00:24:06 his days
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 and the
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 will of
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 the Lord
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 will prosper
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 in his
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 hand.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 And then
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 in verse
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 11 it
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 says,
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 he will
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14 see the
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 light of
00:24:15 --> 00:24:17 life and
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 be satisfied.
00:24:19 --> 00:24:19 What's
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 happening in
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 verse 11 is
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 that it's
00:24:22 --> 00:24:22 completing the
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 full circle
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 of this
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 poem,
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 which began
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 in 52,
00:24:27 --> 00:24:29 verse 13,
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 where it
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 says about
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 God's
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 servant that
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 he will be
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 raised,
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 he will be
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 lifted up
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 and highly
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 exalted.
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 That is,
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 it's a
00:24:45 --> 00:24:45 reference to
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 the cross
00:24:46 --> 00:24:48 and the
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 resurrection
00:24:48 --> 00:24:50 and the
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 ascension of
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 Jesus.
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 He will be
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 raised up on a
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 cross,
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 dying for the
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 sin of
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 humanity
00:24:55 --> 00:24:57 and he
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 will be
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 highly
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 praised,
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 exalted,
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 honoured.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 Now we've
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 seen this
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 language before
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 in Isaiah,
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 the idea of
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 being high
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 and exalted.
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 We've seen it
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 before.
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 You all
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 remember the
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 very first
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 message in
00:25:12 --> 00:25:12 Isaiah chapter
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 6, several
00:25:13 --> 00:25:13 months ago,
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 I'm sure.
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 But it's
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 there in
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 Isaiah 6,
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 when Isaiah
00:25:19 --> 00:25:19 is commissioned,
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 he gets a
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 glimpse of the
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 throne room of
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 God and he
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 says, I
00:25:24 --> 00:25:24 saw the
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 Lord high
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 and exalted
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 seated on
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 a throne.
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 He sees the
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 God of the
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 universe on a
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 throne and
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 it's saying
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 here that this
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 suffering servant
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 is the God
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 of the
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 universe,
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 seated on
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 a throne.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 What's even
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 more remarkable
00:25:45 --> 00:25:48 is if you
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 read through
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 John chapter
00:25:49 --> 00:25:49 12,
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 John says,
00:25:52 --> 00:25:54 Isaiah was
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 gazing on
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 Jesus Christ.
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 Isaiah saw
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 Jesus on the
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 throne.
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 At the
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 cross,
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 humanity
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 passed its
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 verdict on
00:26:05 --> 00:26:07 Jesus and
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 its verdict was
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 rejection and
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 condemnation,
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 but the cross
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 is not the
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 end of it.
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 That's what
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 this verse is
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 saying in
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 52 verse
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 13.
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 The cross
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 is not the
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 end.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 Jesus
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 Christ,
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 the Son of
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 God,
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 became human,
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 lived a
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 perfect life,
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 a perfect
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 life,
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 but to us
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 humanity,
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 he was
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 ordinary,
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 he was
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 despised,
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 rejected,
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 he was
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 disfigured,
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 beyond
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 recognition,
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 he was
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 placed in
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 a grave.
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 That was
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 our verdict
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 on him
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 and then
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 God's
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 verdict came.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 And he
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 brings him
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 powerfully
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 from death.
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 Resurrection
00:26:48 --> 00:26:50 is God's
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 vindication.
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 This is
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 my
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 suffering
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 servant
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 for
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 humanity
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 and he
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 is high
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 and he
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 is exalted
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 and he
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 is honoured
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 and he
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 is lifted
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 up
00:27:03 --> 00:27:05 at the
00:27:05 --> 00:27:05 right hand
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 of the
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 Father in
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 heaven.
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 And the
00:27:10 --> 00:27:10 world
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 falls
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 silent
00:27:12 --> 00:27:14 as Jesus
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 is vindicated
00:27:15 --> 00:27:17 in Isaiah
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 52 verse
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 15.
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 The cross
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 of Christ
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 looks like
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 a failed
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 plan or
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 a pointless
00:27:26 --> 00:27:26 gesture,
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 but is the
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 power and
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 the wisdom
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 of God.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 As the
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 Apostle Paul
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 writes in
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 1 Corinthians
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 1,
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 Jews demand
00:27:34 --> 00:27:36 signs for
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 the wisdom,
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 but we
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 preach Christ
00:27:38 --> 00:27:40 crucify the
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 power and
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 the wisdom
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 of God.
00:27:43 --> 00:27:47 substitutionary
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 sacrifice
00:27:48 --> 00:27:50 is the
00:27:50 --> 00:27:50 surprising
00:27:50 --> 00:27:53 glory
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 of his
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 work.
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 And it
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 is the
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 surprising
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 glory of
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 the Christian
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 life.
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 In other
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 words,
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 you want
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 to be
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 great
00:28:06 --> 00:28:08 in life?
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 Why
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 shoot for
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 an Olympic
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 gold?
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 Give up
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 your life
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 for others
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 and you
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 will be
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 great.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 That's the
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 surprising
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 glory of
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 the Christian
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 life.
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 A life
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 of substitutionary
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 sacrifice is
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 the Christian
00:28:29 --> 00:28:29 life.
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 And it
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 happens in
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 all of
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 life.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 It's there
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 right through
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 all of
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 life.
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 Let's
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 take the
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 example of
00:28:36 --> 00:28:36 parenting.
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 I'm glad
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 that James
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 and Sybil
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 rose this
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 one.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 I mean,
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 unbeknownst
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 to them.
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 Let's
00:28:41 --> 00:28:41 take the
00:28:41 --> 00:28:41 example of
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 parenting.
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 A child
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 comes into
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 your life
00:28:44 --> 00:28:46 and all
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 of a
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 sudden
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 you
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 experience
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 how much
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 they hamper
00:28:49 --> 00:28:51 your
00:28:51 --> 00:28:51 personal
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 freedom.
00:28:53 --> 00:28:53 How much
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 they get
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 in the
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 way of
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 your
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 life.
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 There
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 are all
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 sorts of
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 things you
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 used to be
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 able to
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 do but
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 you can't
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 do to
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 the same
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 degree.
00:29:02 --> 00:29:02 Travel,
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 career
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 advancement,
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 social life.
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 life.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 This is
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 particularly
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 a conflict
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 for the
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08 Westerner
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08 who deeply
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 values
00:29:09 --> 00:29:09 personal
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 and individual
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 freedom,
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 which is
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 why so
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 many
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 Westerners
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 are getting
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 a dog
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 rather than
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 a child.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:19 if you
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 make a
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 choice
00:29:20 --> 00:29:22 to hold
00:29:22 --> 00:29:22 onto your
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 freedom
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 and go
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 down the
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 road of
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 selfishness,
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 then that
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 child will
00:29:29 --> 00:29:29 grow up
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 with all
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 kinds of
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 insecurities.
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 insecurities.
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 All kinds
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 of
00:29:34 --> 00:29:34 insecurities.
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 There is a
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 sense where
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 they will
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 themselves
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 grow up
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 and be
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 enslaved to
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 their own
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 complex
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 brokenness
00:29:44 --> 00:29:49 if the
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 parents
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 are under
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 their
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 freedom.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 On the
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 other hand,
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 if you give
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 up your
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 freedom as
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 the way a
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 parent should,
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 then the
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 child will
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 grow up
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 stable,
00:30:00 --> 00:30:00 responsible,
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 free.
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 And when
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 they do,
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 the parent
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 will discover
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 a new
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 kind of
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 freedom.
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 A freedom
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 that comes
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 from a
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 relationship
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 with a
00:30:10 --> 00:30:10 child who's
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 grown up
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 to become
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 a stable
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 contributing
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 adult to
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 society.
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 The freedom
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 that comes
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 from the
00:30:17 --> 00:30:17 richness of
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 family life,
00:30:20 --> 00:30:20 transparency
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 in relationship.
00:30:22 --> 00:30:22 See the
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 point?
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 The point
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 is, it's
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 either you
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 or them.
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 Substitutionary
00:30:30 --> 00:30:30 sacrifice.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 It's either
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 you or
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 them.
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 All real
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 love, all
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 real love
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 is weakening
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 yourself to
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 strengthen the
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 other, but
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 it results in
00:30:42 --> 00:30:42 the giver
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 getting a
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 new strength
00:30:44 --> 00:30:46 that they
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 could not
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 have otherwise.
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 There is a
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 freedom in
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 that.
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 Take another
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 example.
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 You've got
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 wealth.
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 What I mean
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 is that you've
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 got money and
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 you've got assets
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 that mean
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 that you've
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 got some
00:31:01 --> 00:31:01 power to
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 make choices
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 in your
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 life.
00:31:03 --> 00:31:03 That's what
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 I mean by
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 wealth.
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 I don't
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 mean whether
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 you're on
00:31:06 --> 00:31:08 the BRW
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 rich 200
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 list.
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 You've got
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 power to
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 make choices
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 in your
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 life.
00:31:13 --> 00:31:13 That's the
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 definition of
00:31:14 --> 00:31:14 wealth.
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 And you
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 might not
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 feel that
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 you're
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 wealthy,
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 but you've
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 got power
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 to make
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 choices.
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 You have
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 choices.
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 And you
00:31:19 --> 00:31:19 can hold
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 on to all
00:31:20 --> 00:31:20 of your
00:31:20 --> 00:31:20 money,
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 all of your
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 time,
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 and all
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 of your
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 power for
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 yourself in
00:31:24 --> 00:31:24 such a way
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 that you
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 become enslaved
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 to it.
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 And you
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 will perish
00:31:29 --> 00:31:31 with it in
00:31:31 --> 00:31:31 poverty.
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 You will
00:31:34 --> 00:31:34 perish with
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 it in
00:31:35 --> 00:31:35 poverty.
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 Or, on the
00:31:38 --> 00:31:38 other hand,
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 you can give
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 up your
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 riches in
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 various ways.
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 You can
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 start to
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 share your
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 wealth and
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 your power
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 and your
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 choices and
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 invest your
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 time and
00:31:46 --> 00:31:46 your money
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 charitably
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 towards others
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 and you
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 can use
00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 your wealth
00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 either to
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 hold on to
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 your power,
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 you will
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 always be
00:31:52 --> 00:31:52 weak,
00:31:53 --> 00:31:53 or to
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 give up
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 your wealth
00:31:55 --> 00:31:55 to empower
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 others and
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 you'll start
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 to discover
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 a new and
00:31:58 --> 00:32:00 real wealth,
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 something that
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 liberates and
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 frees.
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 When Jesus
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 gave himself
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 away to
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 win us,
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 he then
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 got the
00:32:11 --> 00:32:11 name that
00:32:11 --> 00:32:11 is above
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 every other
00:32:12 --> 00:32:12 name.
00:32:13 --> 00:32:13 Not
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 before.
00:32:15 --> 00:32:15 Not
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 before.
00:32:17 --> 00:32:17 He deserves
00:32:17 --> 00:32:19 far more
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 honor for
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 having lost
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 his honor.
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 In
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 closing,
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 at the
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 end of
00:32:26 --> 00:32:26 his book,
00:32:28 --> 00:32:28 Mere
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 Christianity,
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 C.S.
00:32:30 --> 00:32:30 Lewis,
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 sums up the
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 Christian life
00:32:33 --> 00:32:33 just beautifully.
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 It's the
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 very last
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 page.
00:32:36 --> 00:32:36 Let me
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 quote him.
00:32:38 --> 00:32:38 The principle
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 runs through
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 all of life
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 from top
00:32:41 --> 00:32:41 to bottom.
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 Give up
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 yourself and
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 you will find
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 your true
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 self.
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 Lose your
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 life and
00:32:50 --> 00:32:50 you will
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 save it.
00:32:52 --> 00:32:52 Submit to
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 death,
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 death of
00:32:54 --> 00:32:54 your ambitions
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 and favorite
00:32:55 --> 00:32:57 wishes every
00:32:57 --> 00:32:59 day and
00:32:59 --> 00:32:59 death of
00:32:59 --> 00:32:59 your whole
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 body in
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 the end.
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 Submit with
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 every fiber
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 of your
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 being and
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 you will
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 find eternal
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 life.
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 Keep back
00:33:10 --> 00:33:10 nothing.
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 Nothing that
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 you have not
00:33:13 --> 00:33:13 given away will
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 ever really be
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 truly yours.
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 Nothing that
00:33:17 --> 00:33:17 has not died
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 will ever be
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 raised from
00:33:19 --> 00:33:19 the dead.
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 Look for
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 yourself and
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 you will find
00:33:22 --> 00:33:22 in the long
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 run only
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 hatred,
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 loneliness,
00:33:26 --> 00:33:26 despair,
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 rage,
00:33:28 --> 00:33:29 ruin and
00:33:29 --> 00:33:30 decay.
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 But look
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 for Jesus
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 Christ and
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 you will find
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 him and
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 with him
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 every other
00:33:38 --> 00:33:38 thing thrown
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 in as well.
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 What a way
00:33:43 --> 00:33:43 to finish a
00:33:43 --> 00:33:43 book.
00:33:44 --> 00:33:44 Mere
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 Christianity
00:33:45 --> 00:33:45 by C.S.
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 Lewis.
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 And so
00:33:51 --> 00:33:51 I wonder
00:33:51 --> 00:33:51 friends,
00:33:52 --> 00:33:54 can you
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 say
00:33:55 --> 00:33:58 with Eric
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 Liddell
00:33:59 --> 00:33:59 at the
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 point of
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 death,
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 it's
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 complete
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 surrender.
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 It's
00:34:08 --> 00:34:08 complete
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 surrender.
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 what might
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 be your
00:34:11 --> 00:34:11 next step
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 to
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 weaken
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 yourself
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 that
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 others
00:34:15 --> 00:34:15 might
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 be
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 strong.
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 Thank you.
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 Thank you.
00:34:17 --> 00:34:20 I can't
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 that
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 quartet
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 matter
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 season
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 so
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 I he's
00:34:28 --> 00:34:28 estoy
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 loving
00:34:29 --> 00:34:29 away
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 and
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 giving me
00:34:31 --> 00:34:31 have many
00:34:31 --> 00:34:31 them to
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 work
00:34:32 --> 00:34:32 there's
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 maybe
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 to
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 l
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 has
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 been
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 there's