Peace Paid for by Him
Isaiah 53:1-6
Today we have lit the fourth candle,
which represents the peace of Christ.
So we now have Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace.
Isaiah 53:1-6
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Add a note
Koza Baptist Church is a Southern Baptist Church, and member of the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention. Why is that relevant to the passage of Scripture that we have just read.
We were established as a church plant by the Foreign Mission Board in 1963.
This was just 51 years after the end of the 40 year journey of another Foreign Mission Board planter in Asia, named Charlotte Diggs.
The title of today’s message is Peace Paid by Him.
When we study the life of Charlotte Diggs, we see a life turned over to Christ.
The life of Charlotte Diggs
Some of her own letters written to encourage support to missions give us insight to her plight. She specifically wrote a letter encouraging that the one week in December be set aside to collect an offering for missions. The very first Lottie Moon Christmas offering was collected in 1888, and it raised $3,315 dollars, which was sufficient to send three missionaries. That is right. Charlotte Diggs’ full name is Charlotte Diggs Moon, or Lottie Moon.
She endured plague, famine, revolution, war.
Unbeknownst to her fellow missionaries, Lottie would give her pay and even her food to support those to whom she was ministering. She endured pain to the very end, when she was finally taken at the age of 72 off the mission field. She weighed 50 pounds.
What could compel someone so well educated to give up an affluent life in Virginia, and spend her life, literally, expend her life on missions.
It was because of the great peace that incites passion for the King.
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Isaiah 53:1
Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Let’s attempt to answer these two questions before moving on.
Here the prophet Isaiah is speaking to.
This passage, which focuses on the suffering of God’s Servant, unmistakably describes and explains the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ.
It is one of the most vivid and important of all Old Testament prophetic passages.
The wisdom of the Servant (Jesus Christ) led Him to make choices that seem foolish to men.
He chose a path, obedience, that led to intense and terrible suffering. When finally men do understand, an awed and stunned humanity will at last begin to sense the depth of the love and holiness of our God.
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And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Isaiah 52:10
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
THERE IT IS!
The answer to our question in verse 1.
To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
It is revealed to the eyes of ALL the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
The great commission says in Matthew 28:19,
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
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Has the commission yet gone to all People Groups?
What is a people group?
The IMB Defines a people group as:
Ethno-linguistic groups who share a common language and cultural identity.
For strategic purposes, a people group is the largest group within which the gospel can spread without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance.
There are about 11,950 people groups in the world. Of those 11,950, there are 3,135 that are unengaged and unreached. That means that there is no church planting strategy underway for that entire people group.
That is 26 percent of the people groups that are unengaged and unreached.
Let me take this one step further…
85 percent of the least reached people groups reside within the 10/40 window.
What is the 10/40 window?
It is the rectangular box that encompasses the latitudinal lines of 10 degrees and 40 degrees.
We are perfectly postured in the middle of the 10/40 window.
There is great need all around us, to hear of the name of Christ and the peace that He brings.
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Verses 2 and 3 say:
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
He looked like a common man, a regular Jewish citizen. He was the son of a carpenter. He was a baby, then a toddler, then a tween, then a teen, then a man.
Have you ever had a puppy that was a large breed? He was gangly, but had enormous feet, and huge ears. But eventually he would grow into them.
Maybe you haven’t had a puppy like that, but you have probably seen them.
If you haven’t seen a puppy like that you have probably seen a teenage boy like that. His voice is cracking, his feet are as big a yours, and he has 3 hairs on his chin.
He has experienced what you are experiencing!
Hebrews 4:15 says:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
He has been tempted just as we have, but the difference is that He was not born into sin (He was born of a virgin), and He never fell to the temptation to sin.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Here we see a heinous digression in statements.
We move from failing to desire Him, to despising Him, to rejecting Him.
That is all of us.
Romans 3:23 says that Fall have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That all includes us.
Add a note
Now that Isaiah has our ears, if it hasn’t already, this is where this prophecy in Isaiah begins to get personally relevant to each of us.
Verse 6 says:
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
Who does this include?
Did it include the Israelites?
Did it include those in China to whom Lottie Moon Ministered?
Does it include all those in India who are under the bondage of millions of gods?
Does it include those in the Remember Nhu home in Cambodia?
Does it include the Children in Gentle Hands Orphanage Manila?
Does it include those in the nation of Japan?
Does it include anyone in this worship center?
The Gospel message is not “Christ died,” for that is only a fact in history, like “Napoleon died.” The Gospel message is that “Christ died for our sins” (1 Cor. 15:1–4, italics mine). You and I are as guilty of Christ’s death as Annas, Caiaphas, Herod Antipas, and Pilate.
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Verses 4 and 5 say:
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
What griefs are you bearing? What Sorrow are you carrying?
Jesus says In Matthew 11:28-30:
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
You can turn those griefs over to Him.
You can be released from your sorrow.
How can He say that?
Because he was smitten by God, and afflicted.
He bore the yoke that we should have born.
He bore the Cross.
Verse 5 says:
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
Add a note
Have you received the life giving peace of the Savior?
Is He your savior and Lord?
He can be.
God loves you, He demonstrates that in Christ. While we were yet sinners Christ Died for us.
Christ didn’t just die,
He died for our sins,
and He died for your sins.
Our memory verse for this week:
Verse Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
Have you trusted Him?
Add a note
Today, you can have the greatest gift ever received at Christmas, peace with God, but must trust Him. You could say a prayer like this.
Prayer
Father, I am a sinner. I recognize that my sins have separated me from you, and the penalty of sin is death. Father I repent of my sins and turn to you. I believe that your son Jesus Died on the cross for me and that is the payment that bought my peace. I ask you for forgiveness, and receive Christ as my savior and Lord. I commit to live for Him from this day forward. I will ask for help from my brothers and sisters in Christ, and grow in you daily. I Jesus name I pray.
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Memory Verse: Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
Add a note
Discussion Questions
- Is there anything causing a rift in your relationships?
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- What can you do to initiate actions that bring peace?
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- Have you received the peace that surpasses all understanding? What did you do to receive that? Have you shared that with anyone?
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