Jesus, the Servant of the LORD, has a question for you: “Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant?” Before that self-righteous heart quickly answer that question with an “I do, Jesus,” Jesus urges you to eat a little humble pie. You see you need Christ. The best reason of all to trust in Christ is our own track record of sin. We are blind sinners being led by blind sinners and following blind sinners. We live in a world that is in the dark regarding the Word and will of God. We simply must realize and remember that. Jesus says, “Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”
“Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Isaiah 50:4-10
The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears,
and I have not been rebellious;
I have not drawn back.
I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.
He who vindicates me is near.
Who then will bring charges against me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.
Who is he that will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the moths will eat them up.
Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys the word of his servant?
Let him who walks in the dark,
who has no light,
trust in the name of the Lord
and rely on his God.
Dear Friends,
The rain keeps coming. When Florence leaves, there will be another threat to our safety. You can count on that. Whenever we face natural disasters, we realize how very helpless we are to confront the forces of nature. As “the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” as the Psalmist writes (Ps 46), God remains constant. He remains in control of all things. We never have to worry about anything. That doesn’t mean we should tempt God or defy the power of a hurricane. It does mean that faith in Christ keeps us calm and safe no matter what is going on in the world around us. In the book of Isaiah we hear …
2 Good Reasons to trust in Christ
Look at his track record
Look at yours
The speaker in this chapter of the Bible is Jesus Christ. How can that be you ask since he wasn’t even born yet. In fact, he wouldn’t be born for another 750 years! The prophet Isaiah is writing by inspiration of God and the spokesman in this expanded section of his book is identified as “the Servant of the Lord.” As you listen to these chapters in Isaiah, you soon realize that the “Servant of the LORD” is Christ himself. It is as though God puts Isaiah in a time machine and plopped that time machine down on the Via Dolorosa as Jesus made his way to the cross. If God knows so much about the future that he could write about the events of Jesus’ life so far in advance, is there any reason for us to think that he cannot keep us safe through a storm? So, sit back and relax and listen to the two good reasons to trust in Christ.
The first reason: Look at his track record. Remember the Servant of the Lord, whom we know to be Jesus is speaking. He says, “The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.” Jesus is the Master Teacher. He knows just what to say to those who are tired and weary.
It makes you think of his words in Matthew: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” But here, he himself seems to be the weary one! His heavenly Father has given him an instructed tongue that knows the Word of God. His heavenly Father has given him receptive ears that are in tune to his Father’s will. No matter how tired Jesus was from the work he had been doing, he awoke each day with a determination to do the will of his Father. You think of his desire to hear and talk about his Father’s will even when he was a boy in the temple. He said, “The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.” You’d think that would be reason enough to trust Christ. But there is more!
“I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.” We know the dirty details of the harsh treatment Jesus received at the hands of wicked men. We know how he “suffered under Pontius Pilate.” We know the torture delivered by the Roman soldiers. We heard the mocking of the Jewish leaders while Jesus hung on the cross. Just look at Jesus’ track record! You know that he suffered all of that because of your sins and mine. If he loved you that much to endure all of that in your place, isn’t that reason enough to trust in Christ?
Remember the problems and the troubles you face in your life are not God’s fault. They are yours! You are responsible for the guilt and shame you wake up with every day. You are responsible for sad consequences your sins have brought into your life. That wasn’t God’s doings it was yours. In the opening verses of this chapter, the Lord reminds us that he had not divorced us from his family! He had not sold us out to the devil because of our unfaithfulness. It was you! You left the Lord he didn’t leave you. You drove God away from your life because of you chose a life of sin. Jesus went down the path of suffering and sorrow for you because he still loved you when you didn’t love him!
Look at Jesus’ trace record. “Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.”
Think about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of his betrayal. He prayed, “Lord, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.” The Sovereign Lord sent angels to strengthen him to face his arrest and trial. Jesus “set his face like flint.” Jesus was determined to complete the task his Father had given him. He would not allow anything to turn his attention away from doing his Father’s will even unto death on the cross.
“He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!” It is as though Jesus were saying, “Bring it on. Take your best shot. Say whatever you would like about me.” He knew that the one “who vindicates me is near!” What an understatement. Jesus, the perfect Son of God, has already heard his heavenly Father speak approvingly of his work from the heavens when he said, “This is my Son, of whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him!” Jesus knew that he was doing the will of his Father and he was innocent of all charges leveled against him no matter who brought the charges or how many charges there were! Jesus had such confidence as he faced our hell and the fury of Satan and the hatred of the world. Look at his track record. He trusted his heavenly Father!
Jesus fully expected to outlast his accusers because his heavenly Father was on his side. He says, “It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment, the moths will eat them up.” Jesus was confident of victory. You know the story. You know the victory. Now you know, don’t you, that he has invited you to share in that victory because of his great love for sinners. St. Paul told the Roman Christians 8:34ff), “Who can bring any charges against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died, more than that, who was raised to life is at the right hand of God and is interceding for us.
So now you know one good reason to trust in Christ. His track record speaks for itself. He did everything perfectly to win salvation for mankind. The second good reason to trust in Christ is simple. You need him. Your track record says so.
Jesus, the Servant of the LORD, has a question for you: “Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant?” Before that self-righteous heart quickly answer that question with an “I do, Jesus,” Jesus urges you to eat a little humble pie. You see you need Christ. The best reason of all to trust in Christ is our own track record of sin. We are blind sinners being led by blind sinners and following blind sinners. We live in a world that is in the dark regarding the Word and will of God. We simply must realize and remember that. Jesus says, “Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”
Jesus has just described our lives in a few brief words. We walk in the dark and have no light. We don’t know what tomorrow brings. We don’t know the future. We have no idea where we are going. As we watched Florence inch its way onto our coastline and howl and scream its way inland, our brightest and best minds could do nothing but watch and report what they saw happening. They had no idea which way the wind would take the storm. We truly walk in the dark and have no light. We are frail and weak human beings. We have absolutely no control over the things that are coming our way. Whether we know it or not, we are completely dependent on the grace of God for our daily life.
Let us therefore, “trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.” There is nowhere else to turn for help. There is no one else who can help. The psalmist says, “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Know your track record – mistakes, failures, sins and sorrows are found in every chapter of your life. You control nothing. Know Christ’s track record. Flawless and perfect obedience to his Father and total and complete triumph over his enemies. God controls everything. So, it is really a no brainer! Trust in Christ. Worries disappear. Peace take its place. Amen.