9 July 2006 A Higher Purpose: The message of God to Man!

TOPIC: Atonement (substitutionary); love, sacrifice, worship

TITLE: A HIGHER PURPOSE – The Message of God to Man!

TEXT: Isaiah 53:1-8

Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.

By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And, as for His genera-tion, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What can we say of God's Suffering Servant?
CONCISE OUTLINE:

I. WE CAN SAY: WHILE HE FOCUSED ON US, HELL FOCUSED ON HIM!
II. WE CAN SAY: WHILE HE PAID OUR DEBT, SIN EXACTED FULL PAYMENT!
III. WE CAN SAY: WHILE HE LABORED FOR OUR WELL-BEING, HE SACRIFICED HIS OWN!

TRUTH/CONTEXT: We must remember Isaiah's Suffering Servant did this not just as an act of obedience to the Father and an act of love to mankind, but as an act of worship as well.

[NOT A MITE] The late Dr. Peter Marshall once selected for use in a church service the familiar hymn of consecration, "Take My Life and Let It Be." He requested the congregation to give particular thought to the words:

"Take my silver and my gold, Not a mite would I withhold."

Exacting the practical sense of the words "not a mite would I withhold," he asked that all who could not sing this line with literal sincerity, refrain from singing it at all.

The effect was a dramatic commentary on the thoughtless manner in which, all too often, we sing our hymns. Hundreds of voices, with organ accompaniment, sang strongly to the designated point; then, suddenly … only the sound of the organ music. Not a single voice ventured to so challenging a height!

I dare say we are once again crippled in spirit at the thought of our common guilt here; we too would have been silenced, I've been here not two months and I already know that some among you have possessions of several orders of magnitude you would not relinquish to the Lord even if threatened with death.

Oh, in the light of what the Lord has done, what shame and reproach we bring upon His name, His cause, and His kingdom … for the Scripture says:

Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but right-eousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:16-17

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What can we say of God's Suffering Servant?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:

I. WE CAN SAY: WHILE HE FOCUSED ON US, HELL FOCUSED ON HIM!

And yet He had no special powers or privileges …

A. Nothing special [v.2]

1. Not from rich soil - "parched ground"
2. No powerful breeding - "no stately form or majesty that we should notice Him"
3. Nor appearance - "that we should be attracted to Him"

B. In fact He was "despised and forsaken" [v.3]

1. with "sorrows" - meaning much to be depressed about [like "O Brother Where Art Thou," by Union Station]
2. and "acquainted grief" - meaning much to weep about
3. "did not esteem Him" - aka Rodney Dangerfield
4. He was treated Like a Leper - people hid (pulled cloaks over) their faces from Him [i.e., averted]

II. WE CAN SAY: WHILE HE PAID OUR DEBT, SIN EXACTED FULL PAYMENT!

A. While He … [v. 4]

1. Bore our griefs

a) Collected them and
b) Placed them on His shoulders

2. Carried our sorrows

a) Bent under
b) Burdened by

3. And then carried them away where they cannot be found

B. Our iniquities caused Him to be … [v. 5]

1. Disparaged and disrespected
2. Distained
3. Scorned

C. As well as …

1. Stricken - violently taken and thrown around
2. Smitten - severely beaten
3. Afflicted

III. WE CAN SAY: WHILE HE LABORED FOR OUR WELL-BEING, HE SACRIFICED HIS OWN!

A. For Our Transgressions - Pierced!
B. For Our Iniquities - Crushed!

1. Beaten
2. Bruised
3. Incapable of carrying himself; muscles wouldn’t respond

C. For Our Healing - Scourged!

1. The Passion of Christ
2. Black and blue all over
3. Cut and bleeding

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: He suffered and He died that we might live; while we were yet in our sins, He died for you and for me.

Man was and is prone to do what seems right in his own eyes, to go the way of least resistance.

[LIGHT] No one switches on a flashlight in broad daylight; we turn on the light to dispel darkness. It is the darkness that makes the light necessary. God from eternity knew we would choose the darkness rather than His Light, and therefore He sent His only begotten Son to shine in the darkness … and the darkness will flee.

And so He, the Light of God, shined in the darkness [John 1:4-5] and he "has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him."

He was tortured and stomped, mocked, and spat upon, "Yet He did not open His mouth."

His fate was as certain as a new born lamb on the day He was born … He would be "led to the slaughter," to be torn apart to cover and feed the flesh. He knew this but He did not bleat!

Man wanted to destroy the Lamb of God for his own purposes but God had a greater purpose for His Lamb.

[COVERING] Two Aussies invented an inflatable covering for cars to protect them during hailstorms. The blanket is stored in the trunk until needed; then inflated with a lighter attachment in about 45 sec-onds. By the time the covering is up its too late!

We need a covering to protect us from the strokes that are due us ... the covering provided by Christ does just that.

Mankind (under the influence of sin) took the Lamb away to be cut off from the land (Israel) in order that Satan might deliver "the stroke … due" God's people "for [their] transgression." Notice the singular form of the word transgression … it's a collective - meaning rebellion.

What was the greater purpose of God in all of this … other than that He would provide the ram as Abraham told his son God would do? It was this …

• Instead of His Lamb being used by man, He would be used for man.
• Instead of His Lamb doing away with the Law, He would be used by God to fulfill both the Law and the Royal Law.
• Instead of satisfying the flesh (man's will), He would satisfy the Spirit (God's will).
• Instead of a mortal, perishable, and natural purpose, He would be used for an immortal, imperishable, and supernatural purpose.

God gave His only begotten that He might be worshipped in the way He desires and deserves … a living sacrifice, whole and well-pleasing.

His Son gave Himself as a living propitiation to His Father, for our rebellion, that we might be cleansed and prepared for that Great Day of salvation and glory.

What, I pray, what have you given of yourself that you might be so presented on that day?

GENERAL TAGS: Homoletics, Preaching, Sermons

SPECIFIC TAGS: Atonement, love, sacrifice, Selflessness, worship