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On Aug 27, 2008: Isaiah 49 · Teachings On This Day On FerventWord

• You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2008. 49, let's read verses 1 and 2. It says, Listen, O coastlands, to me, and take heed, you peoples from afar. The Lord has called me from the womb, from the matrix of my mother he has made mention of my name. Here in Isaiah chapter 49, we are dealing with this prophet Isaiah who is writing to the nation of Judah. And we've been dealing with the nation of Judah in the sense that God has been letting Judah know that they are going to be judged as a result of their rebellion against God. But even though there was this judgment, God had promised a restoration, even though Babylon was going to come several, well, about a hundred years later, that God was also going to judge Babylon, even though they were going to be taken into captivity, God was going to bring them out of captivity when Cyrus came and conquered Babylon. And so God has been telling them the things that are to come, the things that are to come in the The next hundred years for them and the way that he's going to be dealing with them and judgment, but also restoration, the way that he's going to bless them. But now as we head into chapter 49 and the following chapters, we're heading into a really cool portion of the book of Isaiah where Isaiah really deals with the coming Messiah. the coming one who is going to be the Savior and Redeemer of the people of Israel. And so he's extending the scope of, instead of just the next couple hundred of years from when he's writing this, he's really looking at the rest of time as he's dealing with the Messiah, the one who is the promised one, the one that had been promised by God to his people, Since the beginning of time, even the first prophecy there in Genesis 3, verse 15, the promise that there would be the one who would deal with the serpent, with the devil, and break his hold that he had upon humanity because of our bondage into sin. And so God has been promising throughout history this one who would redeem, this one Savior, this one who would be the Redeemer for all humanity, for all the world. And he was going to come from the nation of Israel. He was going to come from the line of Abraham and the line of David and farther on down the line through Judah. Well, actually Judah was earlier than David. But he was going to come through the people of Israel. He was going to be a Jewish man who would be the Savior, the Messiah that they had been waiting for and that God had been promising. And so... Isaiah now in chapter 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, as we go forth, we get to see much of the promises about this Messiah, this promised one who is to come. Now, there is two comings of the Messiah that we need to be aware of. The first one already took place. The first one was when Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. You can read about it in Luke chapter 1 and 2. You can read about it in Matthew chapter 1. When Jesus Christ was born to Mary, who was a virgin, he came. He, being God, became a man and lived this life for 33 years, In order to, at the end of his life, die upon the cross for your sin and my sin. Becoming the Savior of the world. The one who, as we saw on Sunday in Hebrews chapter 1, purged our sins, took care of the sin issue. He became the Savior of the world because of his sacrificial offering of his own life. That's the first coming of the Messiah. the first coming of Jesus Christ. The second coming of Jesus Christ, the second coming of the Messiah, is what we'll see mainly prophesied about here in the book of Isaiah, and that is when Jesus Christ will return. This has not happened yet. This is when Jesus Christ will come again and set his foot upon the earth and establish his kingdom for a thousand years on the earth and then into eternity he will rule and reign forever and ever. Of course, in between this first and second coming, the thing that you and I as Christians His church, as his body of believers, the thing that we're waiting for is the rapture of the church, where we get caught up to meet him in the clouds. And so we will go to meet with Jesus, but he won't actually come back to the earth at that point, at the rapture of the church. We're going to be caught up together. We're going to meet him in the clouds and we're going to be with him for seven years or so during the tribulation period, the period of judgment that will be poured out upon the earth. And then after that seven years is when Jesus Christ will come for the second time, the second coming of the Messiah where he establishes his kingdom. So there's this first coming and the second coming. Now it's pretty clear for us because the first coming is past tense. and the second coming is future tense. But some people confuse right now the rapture of the church and the second coming. And they get confused which passages are talking about which one. And that's very common because, well, it's still yet future. And so it's easy for us to get confused about what a passage is talking about. In the same way, as Isaiah is writing these things, both the first coming and the second coming were yet future to them. And so many of the Jewish people would be confused or were confused about the timing and the fact that there was two separate comings of the Messiah. Two separate times when the Messiah would come to earth with two completely different missions. The first one to redeem man from sin, the second one to establish his kingdom. So So when Jesus came, that's why his disciples kept asking him, right now, is it right now that you're going to establish your kingdom? They were expecting the second coming, the promised kingdom that was to come, to be happening right there when Jesus walked the earth 2,000 years ago. Because they were a little bit confused. And we can see as we look at Isaiah chapter 49, We can see some of the confusion because some of the portions will be talking about the first coming of Jesus and the rest of the portion will be talking about the second coming of Jesus. And so we'll get to see that here in chapter 49. But let's dig in. First of all, again, verse 1 of chapter 49, he says, Listen, O coastlands, to me. Now this is the Messiah speaking. This is Jesus speaking. He's calling the coastlands, the people from afar, to listen. He says, The Lord has called me from the womb, from the matrix, or the inward parts of my mother. He has made mention of my name. The Messiah is saying, and he's announcing here in chapter 49 verse 1, that God has proclaimed him even before he is born. In Luke chapter 1, we see this take place. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and announces to her that she will give birth to a boy. And she says, well, how can this be since I have not known a man? I'm a virgin. And he tells her that the Holy Spirit will come upon her. And that She will give birth to a son and they will call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. Before he is even born, God through the angel Gabriel is making mention of his name. In verse 2 he says, He has made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hands he has hidden me and has made me a polished shaft. In his quiver he has hidden me. He is going to be a powerful weapon for the Lord, the Messiah is. He's going to work effectively in destroying sin and wiping sin and purging sin. He is going to be effective. Now it says, he's made my mouth like a sharp sword. He's not going to need an instrument or a weapon to be victorious, to have power. But his mouth, his words will be like a sharp sword. Reminds me of Revelation chapter 19 verse 15. which is about the second coming, when Jesus Christ returns. And as he returns, you know the picture, he's going to come, he's going to be riding a white horse, and King of Kings and Lord of Lords is going to be written on his thigh, and there's going to be a host with him as he comes down. And it says that out of his mouth goes a sharp double-edged sword. A sharp double-edged sword. All he needs to do is speak a word and he is victorious. The Messiah has been set aside, made mention of before he was even born. He's going to come forth and he's going to be victorious. Now as we look at these things, as we look at these characteristics of the Messiah and this conversation that takes place between God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, We also can apply some of these things to our own selves. As children of God, as part of the body of Christ, these things are also true of us. In the same way that God had called Jesus by name from the womb, God has called you by name from before you were born. He knows you. He's not... He's surprised at who you are and who you turned out to be. He's not surprised at the temperament that you have and the color of your eyes. And he's not surprised at who you are and the job that you have and the talents that you possess and the things that you're capable of, both good and bad. He knows you. He's called you from the womb. In John chapter 6 verse 44, Jesus makes a bold statement. He says, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at that last day. Jesus says, No one can come to me. No one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws that person to him. You know what that means? That means if you have come to Jesus, that God has drawn you to him. to him he's called you he's known you by name you're not the the one kind of on the outside like everybody else god wanted to save and somehow you snuck in he called you he drew you he's the one who who found you before you were even born your whole life really god has been leading you to the point that you would be found in the sun That you would be found in a right relationship with Jesus Christ. That you would have a right relationship with God. God's excited about you and has orchestrated your life so that you would come to the point that you would know Him and that you would have right relationship with Him. God has called you from the womb. I mean, that should be pretty exciting. That should bring comfort to your heart. God loves you dearly. He has drawn you to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. Even though he knew from the beginning how you would be, who you would be, and the way that you would turn out. God has called you from the womb. Look at verse 3 and 4. And he said to me... Now, by the way, I had to do quite a bit of highlighting in my Bible in this passage because it goes back and forth with the pronouns and he and me and I and you and who is talking here. So in verse 3 and 4... We have Jesus the Messiah speaking. So all the me's and I's and my's, those are the Messiah speaking. The He is God the Father. So verse 3, And he, God the Father, said to me, Jesus Christ, you are my servant, okay, your God's servant, O Israel, in whom I, that is God the Father, will be glorified. Then I said, now we're going back to Jesus. Jesus said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain, yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, and my, this is still Jesus, my work with my God. So God says to me, Jesus says, you are my servant, O Israel. God gives Jesus, applies the name of Israel to Jesus, to the Messiah, because the name Israel means governed by God. And although the nation of Israel was called Israel, well, they very rarely were governed by God. In fact, hardly ever were they governed by God. But Jesus Christ is the model Christian. He is the one who truly governs. is governed by God. He lived his life in perfect righteousness. And so God says, you are my servant in whom I will be glorified. God promises to be glorified in the Son, Jesus Christ. And in verse 4, Jesus says, then I said, I've labored in vain. I've spent my strength for nothing and in vain. Yet surely my just reward is with the Lord. Here, as we go on now, God has said, I'm going to be glorified in you. And it's like Jesus says, it doesn't seem that way. He says, I've labored in vain. I've spent my strength for nothing. And it's been useless, is the idea here of what is being replied there in verse 4. It's almost as if Jesus says, It's not happening. You said you'd be glorified, but everything is in vain. But he ends up with faith. He says, yet surely my just reward is with the Lord and my work with my God. Jesus had a ministry that must have been very difficult. Later on, as we get into Isaiah 53, we'll learn that he was despised and rejected. Although Jesus Christ was the long-awaited Messiah, he wasn't welcomed with open arms by the Jewish people. or by the world at all. There was a few who received him, but for the majority, for the most part, he wasn't welcomed with open arms. He was despised and rejected. John chapter 1 verse 11 tells us that he came to his own, but his own did not receive him. Although they were created by him, they rejected him. And so he says, I've spent my strength for nothing and in vain. He came to the Jewish people and the Jewish people rejected him and crucified him. Now, consider for a moment successful ministry. Just pretend that God has placed upon your heart a particular ministry. That you're called to go to such and such a neighborhood and do some ministry there and perhaps start a Bible study there and minister to meet some practical needs there. And so you go. And nobody opens the door when you knock. Instead, they open up the window above you and they start throwing things at you. They get all the neighborhood kids to run you off the street and make sure you never come back. What do you think? Successful ministry? We wouldn't think so. That's similar to what happened. Jesus Christ comes. He's there to reach out. We'll see in just a moment. He's there to bring Israel back to right relationship with God. And they run him out of town. In fact, they put him to death. They crucify him for his attempts. It seems like a failed ministry. And yet his trust is in the Lord. My work is with my God. I did what God called me to do. My reward, what is right for what I've done, for the service that I've done, is with the Lord. He will repay accordingly. He trusts God for the right reward for the service that he gave. And it's trust well placed. God does a great work. We see it in verse 5. He says, And now... And now the Lord says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him so that Israel is gathered to him. For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord and my God shall be my strength. Verse 6. Indeed, he says, it is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel. I will also give you as a light to the Gentiles that you should be my salvation to the ends of the earth. Verse 7, Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to the servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, and he has chosen you. The rejection that took place there as Jesus was despised and rejected was not forever. But there was going to be a restoration. There was going to be a future glorification of Jesus Christ to the nation of Israel. There's going to be future honor and reverence to Jesus Christ by the nation of Israel. Israel... When Jesus came the first time, rejected Jesus Christ. And verse 5 starts with, And now, the Lord says, So follow the picture here. Jacob, Israel, the people of God, have rejected the Messiah. And now, the Messiah has become a light to the Gentiles. This is what we see here in the New Testament. That Jesus Christ, although rejected by Israel, rejected. Becomes a light to the rest of the world. Paul deals with this extensively in Romans chapters 9, 10, and 11. How Israel has been set aside for a moment as God is dealing with the church and reaching the world through the church. But there will come a time when the church will be caught up together with him and then God will again resume his work through the nation of Israel. And at that time, Jesus Christ will be recognized. They'll realize that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. And they'll honor Him and worship Him as such. But in the meantime, for right now, verse 5, And now the Lord says, indeed, verse 6, He says, It's too small a thing that you should be My servant, just for the tribes of Jacob, just for Israel. God says of Jesus Christ, I have bigger plans for you than just the land of Judah, just the land of Israel. God says of Jesus Christ, I will give you as a light to the Gentiles. Not only will you be the Savior for the people of Israel, but you'll be the Savior for the entire world. There in verse 7, he says, to the one that they despised, that is the Messiah, they will see and arise, they will worship. Because the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, has chosen you, he says of Jesus Christ. God has called you from the womb. He's drawn you to himself through Jesus Christ from your very beginning, even before your beginning. He orchestrated your life. He's been calling you for some years. And he has big plans for you. He has bigger plans for you than you probably realize. And you may feel despised and rejected. And that the ministry that you're doing and the work that you're doing for the Lord is not even being noticed. You can trust God for your reward and know that the seeds that you are sowing will later on bring a harvest because God has big plans for you. God desires to use you for His glory. He has chosen you and He desires to use you. Far beyond what you can imagine. Let's look at verse 8. Thus says the Lord, In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you. I will preserve you and give you as a covenant to the people to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritage it. Verse 9, that you may say to the prisoners, go forth. To those who are in darkness, show yourselves. They shall feed along the roads and their pastures shall be on all desolate heights. They shall neither hunger nor thirst, neither heat nor sun shall strike them. For he who has mercy on them will lead them. Even by the springs of water he will guide them. I will make each of my mountains a road, and my highways shall be elevated. Surely these shall come from afar. Look, those from the north and the west, and these from the land of Sinan. Sing, O heavens, be joyful, O earth, and break out in singing, O mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people and will have mercy on his afflicted. Here God now describes some of these big plans that he has for the Messiah, for Jesus Christ. This is the Messiah's ministry, really. At first it seems that the Messiah's ministry is a failure. But God says, in due time it will bring forth its fruit. And that due time, here as we look at verses 8 through 13, we're talking about the second coming of Jesus Christ. We're talking about when He establishes His kingdom. Now, spiritually, we can apply these things today. Spiritually, this has already taken place and God has set the captives free through Jesus Christ and He's brought people out of darkness into His glorious light and He leads them and guides them. These things all take place spiritually when anybody comes to Jesus Christ. But they also will be fulfilled literally and physically when Jesus Christ comes back to the earth to establish His kingdom today. For a thousand years, rules and reigns here upon the earth. God's promises will be fulfilled. In due time, those seeds will bear fruit. Spiritually, they happen right now. Spiritually, we can be set free right now. Spiritually, he brings pastures where there once was just desolation. Where there once was just dryness. He talks about there in verse 9. They shall feed along the roads. Their pastures shall be on all the desolate heights. All the places that were once, well, they couldn't be inhabited. That's where pastures will be. That's where they'll be able to feed the flock. In the same way, where there was once just dry and barrenness and emptiness in us, spiritually, because of Jesus Christ, what He does in us. When we allow Him to be our Lord and Savior, when we establish His throne right now in our lives and in our hearts, He brings new life where there once was desolation. And these promises are fulfilled in us spiritually. Verse 14, But Zion has said, The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me. Verses 1-13, we've been dealing with back and forth between God the Father and the Messiah, or Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We've been going back and forth, and back and forth they've been talking amongst themselves. But now in verse 14, it shifts focus a little bit. From here through the end of the chapter, it's going to be, well, he starts out, but Zion said, Zion is a reference point to the people of Israel, to God's people. So now through the rest of the chapter, verses 14 through 26, it's going to be God and his people talking back and forth. God saying things about his people and his people saying things in response to God. And so verse 14, but Zion, or we'll insert here, God's people said, the Lord has forsaken me and my Lord has forgotten me. Here's God's response. Verse 15. Can a woman forget her nursing child and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. Verse 2. Here's some pretty incredible things that God says in verses 14 through 18. So, stepping back for a moment. God is speaking about the Messiah, making these promises about His kingdom and what will happen, the way that He's going to bless them abundantly. And their response there in verse 14, the response of God's people is, the Lord has forsaken us. God has forgotten about us. Now remember, as Isaiah is writing these things, the nation of Judah is in a scary position. The nation of Assyria has come against God. has come against them very severely. Destroyed much of their land. They're all holed up in one city, in the city of Jerusalem. That's all that's left of the fortified cities. Now Assyria will not conquer them. Later on Babylon will. God has promised that. But you can see the nation of Judah, they're in a difficult spot. They're in... Being surrounded on all sides as a result of their rebellion against God. And their conclusion as Isaiah is writing these things, the people of God are saying, no, the Lord has forsaken me. Look at what I'm going through. Look at what I'm experiencing. They're looking at their circumstances. They're looking at promises that have not yet been fulfilled. And they're saying, God must have forsaken us. He must have forgotten about us. How could we be here in this position? How could we be here in this situation if God was with us? Many people ask the same question today in various forms. How could a God of love allow this to happen in the world or in my life? How could God allow this to take place in my family? How could I lose my job? How could this person lose their life? How could this happen? How could God allow this? God's people here are looking around and saying, no, the Lord has forsaken me. And God responds to them and says, can a woman forget her nursing child? Can she fail to have compassion on a son of her womb? He says, surely they may forget. This is contrary to our nature, isn't it? It's backwards for us that a mother could forget her child. Mothers have a natural love and compassion for their children. And yet, it happens, from time to time, they may forget. I started looking up, I don't recommend that you do it, because there was quite a lot of returns to the search. I started looking up mothers who have left their little babies in cars. And just in the last year, I mean, there's been many instances where And as tragic as it is, as backwards as it is for us, it does happen. Even though it doesn't make sense, it does happen. God says, will a mother forget her nursing child? And he says, surely they may forget. There will be those cases. But there he ends, verse 15, yet I will not forget you. Even though you look around and you see your circumstances and you come to the conclusion, God must have forgotten about me. He must have forsaken me. God's not with me. He doesn't care for me. He doesn't love me. Look at what I'm going through. We cannot do that. We can't look at our circumstances and come to the conclusion that God has forgotten me because God has promised, I will not forget you, He says to His people. In verse 16, he says, See, I've inscribed you on the palms of my hands. And what does that make you think about as we are talking about Jesus Christ? Your name is written upon, it's inscribed on the palms of his hands. God cannot forget you because he sent his only begotten son to die upon the cross for your sin and my sin. God will not forget you because he surrendered what was most valuable and precious to him. To die in your place, in my place. In Romans chapter 8, Paul asks the question, if God did not spare his own son, if God allowed Jesus Christ to be crucified, how will he not then give to us everything that we need for this life? If God gave to us what was most valuable and precious to him, how could we then think that he won't provide us for us and give to us everything else that we need that doesn't even compare in value or importance with his own son. We cannot look at our circumstances and come to the conclusion that God has forsaken us or forgotten us. He says, I will never forget you. Your name is inscribed in my palms. Your name is written in his palms. He knows you. He's called you from the very beginning, from before you were born. He's been drawing you to himself. He will not forget you. Don't let your circumstances confuse you. Don't let the enemy deceive you. God will never forget you. Look at verse 17 again. It says, Your son shall make haste. Your destroyers and those who laid you waste shall go away from you. Lift up your eyes, look around and see. All these gather together and come to you. All what gather together and come to you? Those destroyers, those who laid you waste, those who are, let's just say, those difficulties that you're facing, those trials that you're experiencing, those things that are coming so heavily against you. He says, they gather together and come to you. There in the middle of verse 18, he continues on. He says, as I live, says the Lord, you shall surely clothe yourselves with them as an ornament. and bind them on you as a bride does. Here's what God is saying. Those who used to be part of your destruction, and those who laid waste in your life, those who just royally messed up your life, later on they're going to be an ornament and a decoration to you. You're going to put them on as a bride does. Any soon-to-be brides here? You plan on wearing anything, Jamie, that's going to bring you shame? That you're going to despise? You plan on wearing anything that, man, what am I going to wear this? No. What does the bride wear? Well, the things that she can flaunt down the aisle. The things that she can rejoice in. The things that she can say, look at me, I'm beautiful. Those things in your life that you think are causing such destruction. God's saying, look, later on you're going to wear them as decoration. You say, what in the world? This guy's gone crazy. Romans chapter 8 verse 28. We know. We don't speculate. It's not a guess. We know. All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. There is not one thing in your life, even though you may consider it destructive and you may consider that it's laying waste in your life now. There's not one thing in your life that you'll look back on and say, And think, man, I wish that wasn't a part of my life. Even those things which you hate the most right now, even those things which bother you the most, which are so troublesome to you now, even those things that destroy your life, you think right now, you'll wear later on as decoration, just as a bride puts on her gown and her veil and everything that she wears down that aisle. There in heaven, as you look back, you'll be kind of strutting around. Look at, look at, look what God did. Look at this thing that was a destruction. And now it's, it's decoration. There's nothing in your life. God has not forgotten you. There's nothing in your life that, that later on you will not rejoice in. And we're openly for all to see. God will not forget you. Remember that. Those destroyers will become decoration. Let's move on to verse 19. He says, For your waste and desolate places and the land of your destruction will even now be too small for the inhabitants. And those who swallowed you up will be far away. The children you will have after you have lost the others will say again in your ears, This place is too small for me. Give me a place where I may dwell. Then you will say in your heart, who has begotten these for me since I have lost my children and am desolate, a captive and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was left alone, but these, where were they? What's going on here? Here, the people of God are still speaking. Well, God is speaking about them really. And he says, you're wasting desolate places. The land of your destruction will be too small for the inhabitants. Here's the bottom line, the simplification of what God's saying here. The land is not going to have enough. It's not going to be large enough to contain you. God's saying, my blessings are going to be poured out so abundantly. What you used to have, the area you used to possess... The things that, well, you couldn't even possess it. There was these desolate areas because, well, you couldn't really reach them. You couldn't get to them. You didn't have enough to take care of those areas, those forgotten lands, those extra acres that you had. They're not even going to be enough any longer, God says, in the future. I'm going to pour out my blessings upon you so abundantly, they're not going to be enough to contain you. He goes on to talk about the children that you will have after you've lost the others. Again, the idea here is there's this destruction. There's this desolation that takes place. But then there's going to be a restoration. There's going to be rebirth again. There's going to be new children. And you're going to say there in verse 21, who's begotten these children? I was all alone. I was desolate. I was all by myself. And everything was gone. Everything was destroyed. And yet, where is all this coming from? Again, the point here is God says, look, you can't even imagine. You don't even know. I'm going to pour out my blessings upon you more abundantly than you can even dare to think. Verse 22, thus says the Lord God, behold, I will lift my hand. Now let me just remind us here as we are talking about these things and we quickly apply them to us and I believe that is appropriately so. But primarily this passage is talking about the people of God, the Jewish people. And God is saying, well, just consider for a moment the Jewish people and what they have gone through. In the many times that Jerusalem has been conquered. In the many times that their nation has been conquered. In even just our day. The attacks that take place and the things that happened several years ago during the Holocaust. And throughout the years they've been persecuted and spread out around all the world. And these things fit so well with what has happened to God's people. But God has a promise. He's promised to bring them back into the land. Something that took place just really a generation ago, 1948. For some of you, that's your generation, but it's not mine. It was a generation ago. As Israel was brought back and re-established in the land, it was a miraculous event. After being 2,000 years without a homeland, spread out throughout the world, God brought them back into the land. God is promising that here. He says, "...they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders." They're going to come and honor you. Now, what we've seen right now with Israel being established in the land is just a partial fulfillment. There's even a greater regathering of the people of God that's going to take place. And all of God's people are going to be returned to the land of Israel. But the point here in verse 22 and 23 is that the world is going to honor them. Right now, the world despises Israel. There's very few nations and peoples around the world that honor Israel. The world despises. There's many who would wipe them off the face of the earth. There's many who will come against them and press against them. But there will be the time that the world will bow down to them, their faces to the earth. There will be a time where the world will honor them. And God says at that time, then you will know that I am the Lord. Why? He says, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for me. That's a lesson for us. It's quoted in 1 Peter 2.6 and Romans 10.11. They will not be ashamed to wait for the Lord. Listen, whatever desolation and discouraging and difficult circumstances you face, wait for the Lord. Look to the Lord, trust in the Lord and rely upon the Lord. They will not be ashamed who wait for the Lord. Verse 24, shall the prey be taken from the mighty or the captives of the righteous be delivered? But thus says the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away and the prey of the terrible be delivered. For I will contend with him who contends with you and I will save your children. Verse 26, I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. All flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. God ends by saying, listen, my people, I will defend you. Can you take prey from the mighty? Can you go into the den of the bear and steal their prey? I don't recommend you try it. But God says they will be taken away. And he says, you know why? God says, because I'm going to contend with them that contend with you. Those who fight against you, Israel, those who fight against you, my people, I'm going to fight against them. If you want to read a little bit about that, read Ezekiel chapter 38 and 39. There's a gathering of armies against God's people. It's something to take place yet future. The language is quite clear. It appears to be nuclear war. There's going to be an event yet future where they try to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and God defends His people. He contends with those who contend against His people. He turns their weapons upon themselves and they destroy themselves because God will fight for His people. He will defend His people. And God says, "...all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." The world will know. There will be coming soon a day where the world will know that He alone is God. That He is the God of Israel. We're coming quickly to these times when all these things are going to be fulfilled. The world is going to know that He is God. Here in Isaiah 49 we see beautiful passage. Beautiful chapter. God promising the Messiah, the ministry that will be before Him, the fruit that will result from God promising His people that although they feel like they're desolate and being destroyed, that He will never forget them, that He will defend them, He will fight for them, He will meet their needs, and the world will know that He is God. In the same way, we can look at these things, applying them to our own selves. Although ultimately being fulfilled in Israel, literally they're going to be fulfilled, we believe, very soon. Yet we can also learn and grow in these things. We can also remind ourselves that God has called us from the womb. Remember that. God has called you. He singled you out. He picked you. He chose you. He drew you. He's drawing you to Himself. And although your life may seem like a failure, and although the ministry that you do may not seem to be successful, and although you may feel like you don't accomplish very much for the kingdom of God, you can trust Him for your reward. God has big plans for you. The ministry that he has given to you, the way that he desires to use you, far reaches beyond, well, what you can understand at this point. And his promises will be fulfilled. Your life will bear fruit as you serve him and walk with him. You may not see it right away. It might be after you're gone that that fruit really becomes apparent. But God will not forget you. He called you, remember? From the womb. He knew before you were born what would happen in your life and what you would go through. God will not forget you. You've been inscribed on the palm of His hand. He's with you. He knows you. He loves you. He's drawing you to Himself. He's got great things and great plans and great ministry in store for you. And He has plans to bless you abundantly so much so that you won't be able to contain it. Trust in Him. You will not be ashamed because God will defend you. He says, I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer. I am the Mighty One. This evening as we look at Isaiah 49, it's a great challenge and reminder to us to stay close with God, to draw near to Him, to take hope and great faith in Him, to not waver in our belief, to not waver in our service of Him. Because He's called us from the very beginning. He'll never forget us. He's right here with us. Even though a mother may forget her child, God will not forget you. And those things that you think bring destruction in your life, those things that you think are the horrible things, those things in your past that you look and you go, man, those things are the worst things that could ever, ever happen to anybody. Later on, you'll wear them as a glorious veil, as a crown, as decoration, saying, look what God has done. The worship teams and I come up now, and I want to encourage you as they do to meditate on these things. I want to encourage you to really seek the Lord on these things and ask the Lord, Lord, have I forgotten that you have called me? Maybe you need to take comfort and you need to take hope and courage in what God has done and His promise to be with you and to never leave you nor forsake you. Maybe you need to be reminded to trust God for your reward, to trust God as you serve Him. As everything seems to be falling apart, as everything seems to be a failure, as it seems like your life is accomplishing nothing, trust in God. Those who wait on Him will not be ashamed. And so let's take this time to just wait upon the Lord and hand those things over to Him and cast our cares upon Him and trust Him with our lives, even in the darkest hour, because He promises that those things will become decoration for us later. God will defend us. He'll fight for us. He'll take care of us. His promises will be fulfilled. and the blessings that he has in store for us, well, no eye has seen, nor has ear heard, nor has entered into your heart what God has in store for those who love him. Consider and ponder these things. Let's allow God to speak to us and cause us to trust in him because he's so good to us. Let's worship the Lord together. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.