THE HEART OF ISAIAH

How can a people sick with sin (Is 1:4-6) be restored to the God who is “holy, holy, holy” (6:3)? This is the question we’ve been waiting to be answered throughout all of Isaiah. In 49:1-7, we learned that the Servant of the Lord is God’s champion given to achieve victory over his enemies, establish God’s reign, and bring his people home. But Is 52:13-53:12 comes to us to say that just getting back to the Promised Land wouldn’t be enough. Having an easier go in a time when it’s harder than ever to be an ordinary Christian wouldn’t be enough. Having our circumstances changed just wouldn’t be enough. Even the establishment of this Kingdom wouldn’t be enough, because left to ourselves we don’t belong there anyway! This is because our deepest problem is not the enemies, the culture, or any causes of collapse “out there,” but the enmity toward God, tendency to compromise, and sinfulness that plagues us “in here.” Into this predicament, God sends the Servant who had done everything we were meant to do (49:1-7) to suffer the consequence for everything we’d failed to do and pay the price for our sins (53:4-6). In the death of the Servant, God’s uncompromising holiness and unwavering commitment to his people would perfectly converge. Justice and mercy would embrace. And the answer to the question, “How can we be saved?” would be answered once and for all in the cross of Jesus Christ.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

THE SERVANT OF THE LORD

To a people tempted to believe God had been beaten, a champion is revealed: The Servant of the Lord. One who would come out of Israel in order to fulfill everything that Israel was meant to be. The people as a whole had been called to be God's servant (Is 40:8-10, 42:18-19, 44:1-4, 21, 45:4). Chosen to live in the goodness of his presence, keep his law without compromise, and shine forth his beauty to all the world. But they'd failed in their task and the nations had come to Zion not out of devotion to their God but for the destruction and discipline of his compromised people. Into this failure, there is one from Israel given "to bring Jacob back..and that Israel might be gathered to him" (49:5). Though he is not esteemed in the eyes of men (49:4, 7), he is honored in the sight of God because he trusts unreservedly in him (49:5). This one will be raised up, exalted, and shine forth "as a light to the nations" extending God's saving reign "to the end of the earth" (49:6). 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

GOD ALONE IS WORTHY OF OUR TRUST

Judah is captive in Babylon; life is out of control. It seems like the gods of the nations have won. Like YHWH, the God of Israel, the True and Living God, is not only far off and hidden, but perhaps even defeated and irrelevant. The idols which represent the gods of Babylon can appear to be more present, tangible, and real to a people longing for comfort and deliverance but growing weary of waiting. In our day, we may not be tempted to trust in man-made statues, images, or carvings to bring us comfort and help. But make no mistake, our hearts are just as prone to cling to and confide in that which is not God. Turning a good thing into an ultimate thing. Making messiahs out of mere men. Trusting in self-care routines or looking to numbing distractions to bring us peace. Drawn to find our most fundamental identity in perceived ethnic or cultural superiority, instead of in the Son of God. Relying on our work, our stuff, our money, or our abilities to deliver us from the difficulties that we face. In these moments where idols of every kind seem more present to us than God, Isaiah grabs us by the shoulders and shouts at the top of his lungs: "God alone is worthy of your trust! Only he can be counted on to meet you in the moments of collapse and bring you out of captivity. Because, he alone is: the Creator of heaven and earth, the Redeemer of all mankind, and Author of all history.” 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

CHECK OUT A DETAILED OUTLINE OF ISAIAH 41-48 HERE

GOD REMAINS FAITHFUL

Just as predicted in Isaiah 39:5-7, the total collapse came. Everything fell apart because of Judah’s unfaithfulness and they find themselves in exile. Despairing, hopeless, and far from home and wondering if God is done with them. Into all this, God speaks a word of comfort. He’s never abandoned his people, and he never will. Judgment won’t have the last word. He stands ready and willing to comfort his people and bring them home again. Isaiah 40 comes to us as the good news of God's unfailing comfort in the midst of our catastrophic experiences of collapse - whatever they may look like. The times when we give up and stop running along the King's path. When we believe we're beyond restoration. When we've lost hope. When we've been crying out on the side of the road but it seems God has hidden his face and forgotten us. In all these moments and more, we take heart that even as we may collapse, the King’s path never does. Even as we grow weary, God never does. Even as we compromise and collapse, God will never compromise on his commitment to his people.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

DON’T STOP RUNNING

After the presentation of the Beautiful and Righteous King who brings his people home (Isaiah 32:1, 33:17, 35), we're caught up in the story of another king in Isaiah 36-39. We're introduced to Hezekiah, who is a relatively good and faithful king of Judah that still suffers from some critical compromises. In his case, first God heals him from sickness (38-39), then God saves Jerusalem from the siege (36-37), and the king STILL responds complacently. He pays a tribute price to broker peace with Assyria (36:1; 2 Kgs 18:13-16), he courts an alliance with Babylon (39:1-4), and he contents himself with his present comfort when he learns of his people's future peril (39:5-8). He’s okay that, “There will be peace and security in my days,” (39:8) even though the total collapse into exile and captivity awaits his people. How disastrous would it be if we thought like this as a church? God’s people should never live complacent lives. We shouldn’t take a breather from faithfulness for any reason. Whether we’re tired from the journey and just want to lie down on the side of the road or we’re so sure we’re going to make it to heaven we just phone things in here on earth. If we want to remain in our city for generations to come, we can’t think like Hezekiah. God’s people should never live complacent lives. Neither the present trouble (36:1) nor the future hope (Is 35) ever justifies our apathy toward living faithfully in God’s world in every way that we can.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

SILAS & ALIA SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES

From July 12th through July 15th, 7 students and 1 parent chaperone joined 9 churches in the Sovereign Grace Church West Region for the West Region Youth Retreat. They gathered together for a time of worship, teaching, games, and lip-sync battles, all to the glory of God!

THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!

Our youth came back with stories of God’s goodness. This past Sunday, we heard from Silas Houlton & Alia Erkelens, regarding their experience at the retreat. Read Silas’ testimony and come away encouraged by how the Lord met him and other youth on this retreat.

The Youth Camp was a weekend full of games, and God. I liked how they made it really fun while setting the full focus on God. It had the camp experience. The theme of the camp was "Jesus is better." During the camp we had five sessions, all the sessions had announcements, worship, a sermon, and then we split up into small groups. The sermons were preached by three different pastors from three different churches. I think this camp had a big impact on me, because when I got home I found myself worshipping him more and reading the Bible more often. I’m really grateful I got to go to this camp and I’m looking foreword to next year. So if you’re looking for a great way to have the time of your life while drawing closer to God (and win a lip sync battle) consider coming to this camp!

Would this cause you to praise the Lord for how he’s raising up the next generation for his glory!

TAKE HEART ALONG THE WAY

Isaiah 25-27 was a glimpse of heaven. Chapter 35 is the journey to get there. A pilgrimage that begins in the desert and ends in a garden. But on the way to anywhere worth going, we wonder if it’s worth getting there - especially when we're walking through the wilderness! Traveling through the inhospitable desert of our current cultural moment where it's harder than ever to be an ordinary Christian. It would be far easier to abandon Christ and go back to Egypt. To give up on the Promised Land we’re headed toward and live like this life and this world is all there is. To become overcome with doubt whether we'll make it to the destination after all. To become distracted by the troubles that we face and lose sight of where we’re going. Isaiah 35 assures the "anxious heart," stuck in the thick of the wilderness and scurrying about with all these thoughts, that we have a King who will surely bring us home, we won’t be disappointed when we get there, and can enjoy the journey all along the way.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

TURNING TO GOD IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT DECISION

Isaiah 30-31 proclaims, “Don’t go down to Egypt!” Here’s the running logic of the book: In chapters 13-23, the nations are under judgement for their compromise. In Isaiah 14, we learn that the nations are empowered by the Original Compromiser - Satan himself. Therefore, in chapters 30-31, we emphatically conclude - SO DON’T TRUST IN THE NATIONS! Yet, the people of Judah compound their compromise, “add sin to sin,” and look to Egypt to find safety from the incoming Assyrian army. In so doing, they are foolishly and tragically “undoing” the exodus and recreating the captivity of old! This should be unthinkable, but if we’re honest, we do the same kind of thing when we’re under pressure and beginning to experience the consequences of our compromise. We find ourselves in situations where we indulge in sin and give into the backslide, seek counselors who will only tell us what we what to hear, and look in vain to idols of all kinds instead of the God who is our only hope. But even as we persist in pursuing our own personal “Egypt,” God patiently waits to be gracious to those who’ve doubled-down in their sin.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

JESUS CHRIST WILL DELIVER HIS PEOPLE

The pressure to compromise that comes from without is not only fueled by nations, peoples, and cultures that oppose God, but spiritual rebellion. The pressure out there is a pressure that comes from earth and heaven. Satan, the Original Compromiser – the very first creature who was not willing to receive God’s ideal for him – tempts the world to compromise just as he did and does. But on that day, he will be defeated. Predicted in Genesis 3, awaited by Isaiah’s generation, and received by us in the Messiah, the Branch, the Suffering Servant himself, Jesus Christ will cast him down and deliver His people from the original compromiser forever. As a result, we can be happy warriors! Satan is real and he’s really at work in a time when it’s harder than ever to be an ordinary Christian. But Christ is greater.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN FROM ISAIAH

In last Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Kyle preached from Isaiah 24-27 - a passage known as Isaiah’s Apocalypse, where Isaiah has end things; ultimate things; last things in view. In chapter 24, he foretells of the day of the Lord, when not only the nations will come under judgment, but all compromise everywhere will finally and ultimately be judged by God Himself. But in the next three chapters, the tone changes, dramatically to what follows the final judgment - namely, heaven. And not a disembodied spiritual heaven, but a physical new heavens and new earth. It’s a glorious future Christians look forward to. But the best part? We don’t just have to look forward to it. We can experience a taste of it today. Listen to the sermon to learn more.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE