Call to Worship – Psalm 29
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
11 May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
Hymn # 430 I Lay my Sins on Jesus
Words of Assurance: 1 John 1:9 (ESV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God's Will for our Lives – 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
Finally, then, brothers,] we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. 9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
Hymn # 136 Ye Servants of God, your Master Proclaim
Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-9
Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law. 5 Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8 I am the Lord; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”
Sermon: The Chosen Servant of the Lord
Sermon Notes:
Intro: it is the time of year when people are encouraged to save for their retirement. Focus on saving. Focus on saving money! But sometimes the focus is so great that it becomes more important than most anything else.
The question we need to ask is this....what do we focus on?
We need to ask....what is our idol?
In Isaiah's day they had actual physical idols that they bowed down to.
It is not surprising that the nations outside of Israel did this, they didn't know God and God has placed this knowledge of him in their hearts. But for Israel to do so..... this is not right and truly makes no good sense.
So God calls them to account. He does this in chapter 41.
So in chapter 42 God points them to his servant..... to his preeminent servant.
Who is this servant?
- one who beings forth justice
- Chosen one
What is this justice?
- Related to law
- Is not just for Israel but for all peoples and nations.
- He doesn't do this loudly or harshly
- V2 - he is not going to blow his own horn - he will come humbly and quietly
- V3 - shows his concern for people of all sorts, the quiet hurting ones, then ones we don't see well
- V4 - he won't give up, he keeps going, faithful to his task to the end
- This is a certain thing. It rests in the fact that it is the Lord God himself who sends him. V5
- God who keeps everything going,who gives life to people
- V6 - God does this as a covenant to his people.
- V7 - a covenant who can be a light, rescue prisoners,
- This of course points us to Jesus. Jesus the only one who can truly fulfill these words.
- This is why God can be so sure of the completion of this task. Idols can't do this. His given son, his chosen one will do this thing. He sends his very own servant to fulfill his word. To keep his covenant sure.
- V8 God gives his glory to no other. He cannot give praise to idols.
- V9 - behold God gives us a new way. God tells us clearly what he will do.
See who you are, see the people around you, realize that there is not a person beyond his power. God sees them all. Make a point of seeing them as well. Don't discount the small people...God doesn't. He uses the small ones too.
- Hymn Behold my Servant! See Him Rise (Tune 133)
- Hymn # 319 Lord Dismiss us with Thy Blessing
- Hymn # 86–3 All Praise and Thanks to God