We should hold also in our hands and people who have been rescued
from the greatest evil. There is they hope that
suffering and evil and sin and death will not have the last
word. all right, so There's a lot of suffering in our world
today so much pain and anguish our cause and our world today,
like this week, I don't know if you've been on social media or
you've seen the news, but we're reminded again of the suffering
that goes on in our world with the shooting that happened at
Covenant School in Nashville. Now, I'm not here that I don't
want to give any gun reform laws or any talking points or
anything like that's nice. That's not what I'm here to do.
Nor do I bring that up? Up to Simply trigger and to grab
your attention. I share this with you because
the Easter Sunday, the coming of Easter Sunday, and this season
of lent, it demands, we ask the question.
Why is there so much sin and suffering in the world?
Why the heartache year after year after year and more
importantly, what we have to consider during this season and
given the sufferings that we have and we've seen as is there
a God in heaven who sees the hell that we go through and
doesn't care? This season of Lent, is it
forces us to ask these questions and a macro level, right?
But it also forces us to ask these questions at a micro level
as well, like is there, like I know that there is sin and
suffering out there in the world but what about the sin and
suffering that I go through and here?
What about the sin and suffering?
I experienced at the hands of others God.
Do you care about the slander and the gossip that others throw
it at me? Do you care about my loneliness?
And my forgotten? This is there.
A guy who sees my abuse and my manipulation at the hands of
others. And as we asked those questions,
we must also. Ask is there a God who would
Deliver us from our sin in the wrong that we commit?
His there, any hope for my lust is there any hope for my pride?
Is there any hope for my Her or my jealousy.
As I seek to follow Christ in this broken world.
Do I have hope? A family.
If you came this morning with these questions, I got good news
for you. I got really good news for you.
If you are way down by the burden of sin and suffering, if
that heavy yoke of iniquity Hanks have to lie around your
neck. If the overwhelming poundage of
your enslavement is dragging you down, I believe that God through
his word today has something he wants to tell you.
I believe that there is good news for us this morning.
Amen. I will bow before then let stand
for the Reno guys were let's go Jay we're going to be in Isaiah
53. We're going to be in the whole
chapter. It's a lot in this text.
So the way that will navigate this is our tests kind of Bounce
Around, it'll make sense hopefully.
All right, Isaiah 53, I'm reading from the csb version is
pretty similar to the ESV. This is the word of the Lord,
who has believed, what we heard and to whom has the arm of the
Lord been revealed. Everybody, say arm of the Lord,
he grew up before him like a young plant, like a root out of
dry ground. He didn't have any impressive
for my Majesty that we should look at him.
No appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men.
A man of suffering who knew what sickness was.
Oh, that's good news. He was like someone people
turned away from, he was despised and we didn't value him
yet. Despite all that.
He himself bore our sickness, and he carried our pains, but we
in turn regarded him stricken struck down by God and
Afflicted, but he was pierced because of our Rebellion.
He was crushed because of our iniquities, the punishment
punishment. For our peace was on him.
And we are healed by his wounds. We all everyone of us went away.
Went astray like sheep. We all have turned to our own
way and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us.
All he was oppressed and Afflicted.
Yet, he did not open his mouth like a lamb led to the
slaughter, like a sheep silent before her Shearer's.
He did not open his mouth, he was taken away because of
Oppression and judgment and who considered his fate for.
He was cut off from the land of the living.
He was struck because of my peoples Rebellion, he was
assigned a grave If with the wicked, but he was a rich man at
his death because he had done no violence had not spoken to see
fully yet and this is good news, y'all yet.
The Lord was pleased to crush him severely.
When you make him a guilt offering, he will see his seed,
he will prolong his days. And by his hand, the Lord's
pleasure will be accomplished. After his anguish, he will see
light and be satisfied. By his knowledge.
My righteous servant will justify many and He will carry
their iniquities. Therefore, I will give him the
many as a portion and he will receive the mightiest spoil.
Because he willingly submitted to death.
And was counted among the rebels, yet.
He bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.
This is the Lord, the word of the Lord.
It is good. It is true.
You maybe see that One of the first things that we
learn about God in the opening pages of Genesis.
Is that he is a God, who is active and not Passive by the
very breath of his word. Everything that you see and
experience they came into being God is active.
That's just in the first chapter of Genesis in the very next
chapter. We see uttered for the first
time words, not good. When the God had looks at Adam
sees his loneliness. God says, it's not good for him
to be alone. I will make him a helper that is
suitable for him. God moves toward Adam and
Fashions, him, a wife, God is active.
And as we turn over to the next chapter in Genesis 3, what we
see is that guy's not the only one getting busy.
Mankind is active to yeah. How does mankind use their
activity. They use it to declare their
independence and self rule yet. What is God's response to their
sin and subsequent separation from God?
He moves toward them in Genesis 3 Guys says, where are you?
He goes out toward them. God is active.
You see what we learn from the very opening pages of This Book.
Is that God has always been active and not passive.
He is always actively moved toward the sin and suffering of
his people to deliver them from it.
God's answer to sin and suffering is to take
responsibility for that, not in a way that would suggest that
he's the cause of it. Now we know that God is good and
in him, there is no unrighteousness.
No God takes responsibility for it in the fact that he sees it
and does something about it. Let's look back at verse 1 and
Isaiah 53. Who has believed, what we have
heard and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed,
everybody, say arm of the Lord, If you have a pencil or pen,
this is you should Circle that just circle that in your Bible
because I believe that is the door that opens up their beauty
of this. Entire passage when Isaiah uses
the term arm of the Lord. They should clue Us in to the
fact that God is at work or he's about to get to work.
Isaiah is pulling language used in reference by Moses.
When Moses describes to Israel, their Exodus from Egyptian
slavery, this language, the arm of the Lord is littered all
throughout. Deuteronomy Deuteronomy 5 15
Moses says, remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the
Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an
outstretched arm. Deuteronomy 7 19 you saw with
your own eyes the great trials and signs and wonders the mighty
hand of the outstretched arm. Excuse me, the Mighty hand
outstretched arm with which the Lord your God brought you out.
Deuteronomy 9:26. He says, I prayed to the Lord
and said, Sovereign Lord, do not destroy your people, your own
inheritance that you have Redeemed by what your great
power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
And we also see in Psalm 136, the psalmist is caught up in
praise and he's praising. God for God's enduring love and
as he sings And he as he meditates on all the ways in
which God has shown his love and To his people.
The psalmist says this. This is amazing.
He says, give thanks to God to whom to him who struck down the
firstborn of Egypt. His love endures forever and
brought Israel out among them. His love endures forever with a
mighty hand and outstretched arm his love endures forever.
What I'm trying to say is this family when we begin to read our
text this morning and we see Isaiah used the phrase, the arm
of the lord, we know that God is about to get active things about
to get Poppin. We can assume that God is about
to move mightily on behalf of his people in the South Pacific
and rescuing way. And if that doesn't get you a,
hallelujah, amen than one or two things are wrong, right?
You either zoned out phase, I was reading all those passages
which makes sense or or, or you haven't suffered under the under
the tyrannical slavery of sin or experience the suffering that
comes with living in a sinful world.
And I'm just going to assume that the first option is your
reality because if you've experienced the suffering of sin
and death and destruction as I have, then when Isaiah says and
to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed, your hand should
go up in the air and your mouth should begin to praise God.
You should be prepared for things to get on and Poppin
because God is about to move, he's about to move.
So how so how is God going to move then?
Is he going to send plagues to terrorize?
Is he going to drown the enemies of God in the sea?
As we continue to read our text, we find something completely
different. We find that God's plan to end
sin. And suffering is humble.
It's unassuming and it's humiliating.
Let's reread verses 2 through 5. It says he grew up before him
like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground.
He didn't have an impressive form imagines.
Excuse me. Majesty, that we should look at
him. No appearance that we should
desire him. He was despised and rejected by
men. A man of suffering who knew what
sickness was. He was like someone people
turned away from. He was despised.
We didn't value him yet. He himself.
He bore our sicknesses and carried our pains, but in turn
we regard him stricken struck down by God Afflicted but he was
pierced because As of our Rebellion crushed, because of
our iniquities punished the punishment.
Scuse me for our peace was on him and we are healed by his
wounds. Many of you here today.
Have believed and wrestle with the fact that God seems to say
silent in the midst of great suffering. but what we learn as
we continue to read Isaiah is that God enters into our
suffering and he bleeds with us, he bleeds with us and no family.
This is good news that we have a God that bleeds and suffers with
us that we have in this picture of the suffering.
Servant, what we have is this picture of God, who is so moved
into action, for the sake of his people that he himself subjects
himself to suffering. He does this by becoming a man,
taking on flesh in the God, man. Jesus Christ.
Spoiler alert Jesus is the suffering servant.
Don't know if you knew that, but it's Jesus.
Jesus is the arm of the Lord stretch to give to get active on
behalf of his people. Isaiah tells us that he bore our
sicknesses. We see that.
He carried our pain. He was pierced because of our
Rebellion. He was crushed because of our
iniquities. And this is the part where I got
to look you in the eye this morning and tell you the really
hard thing. The hard truth that it is your
sin. It is my sin.
It is our sin that has caused his great suffering.
We all young and old are the cause and we know this because
in our text Isaiah tells us that we all went astray.
Like she we all have turned our own way.
We have all turned our own way. What we see play out in Genesis
3 when Adam and Eve fell to live life inside the will of God and
the statues to live life. Autonomously apart from God,
runs in our veins, as well. Their choice to turn their own
way. Has now been passed down to us.
We all turn our own way. And this is what the Bible means
when it talks about Sin. It's true that right Sands are
the things we do, like, lying cheating murder, adultery lust,
but they all stem from the same root.
We all have this with. The Bible says, the sinful
nature a nature that seeks every opportunity to, as Isaiah says,
turn our own way. And we know this is true.
I mean we got so many little kids in here.
We got so many litters in here running around and you don't,
you don't have to, you don't have to guess that.
Like naturally we just, we know, we don't have to be taught to do
wrong, right? Kids, just naturally do that
they naturally do their own thing and just straight up.
Ignore you. That's the notion that that
we're talking about with the sinful Nature's, it's not
taught. It's just inherited nature,
that's passed down from our First parents, Adam and Eve.
We all just want to do what we want to do.
We want to live life apart from God, we want to live life on our
own terms. And this root of sin, has
permeated every nook and crevice of our world.
And it goes out, it goes out, like streams of death and
destruction, and it suffocates everything, and it suffocates
everyone so much, so that small little white lies mature into
full-blown adultery. That ravishes and pulls families
apart. Sin has permeated every nook and
crevice of our world so much. So that what was, once the small
distrust of a neighbor turns into walls and borders of
distrust and hate that cuts off those in need from the resources
they deserve. Saint has permeated every nook
and crevice of our world so much.
So, So much. So that at times we are silent
when we should speak because our reputations and images are more
important than being faithful and standing up for what is
right? So, this is why this is just an
example. This is why I sometimes churches
are sometimes allowed its own theological talking points,
right? But quietest and say, we try to
say face when it comes to matters of Injustice, like, you
know, the protection of The Unborn or the eradication of
systemic racism, just to name a few You.
Sin has permeated every nook and crevice of our world so much.
So that almost like an alarm clock every year.
People walk into schools and gunned down children, sin has
destroyed everything. and while all those things are wrong and
terrible and worth weeping over and Being distressed about all
those things. All those things are hard and
while they're terrible in themselves, the real dilemma.
And the greatest horror that we are faced with that.
You were faced with in this world is the problem of your
sin. Arsenide only ravages and
destroys God's good creation, but it makes us enemies before
God. We are enemies before God,
because God is good, right? And completely good with no
caveat, which means that his pure goodness, demands Justice
for evil, our sin separates us, more and more from the presence
of God, where there is life. Goodness, truth and Grace.
This is the bad news family. This is the bad news that we all
participate in. But that's just one part of the
story and man. That's just one part of the
story. I said that there's more to the
story like God walking toward Adam and Eve in the cool of the
day. And just like the arm of the
Lord, rescuing his people from Egyptian slavery.
Our God looks Upon Our helpless situation and our enslavement to
sin and Crosses eternity to get active on your behalf.
Let's get back to our text Isaiah 5.
He says, but he was pierced because of our Rebellion.
He was crushed because of our iniquities.
Punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his
wounds. Here's our reality, this
morning, when we read in our scripture about the suffering
servant, who is ultimately and completely fulfilled.
In the person of Jesus, we are not just simply looking toward
the death of a man who's just nailed to a tree like that's
happening, but that's not the only thing that were looking at.
You are simply just looking at this public execution, we're not
just simply marveling and reading a story about this man.
Back in the day, he was sentenced to death.
All those things are true. What we are looking at as we
read the words of Isaiah and look through them to their true
fulfillment. In Jesus.
We are looking what we are looking at as we read and
witnessed, Jesus being nailed to a cross as we see him bloody and
beaten as we see him humiliated, and ridiculed, as we see him,
stripped naked and beaten as we witness all these things.
What we are really witnessing is the arm of the Lord stretching
through the Heavens to substitute himself for you.
That's what's happening. God is reaching through the
Heavens to save you. Jesus suffers not just the
physical pain but he suffers in reserves are punishment for sin.
Family, God is active. He's not passing from your sin
and suffering. He's not.
But this is always been his plan, he's always planned to
substitute himself. And we see this really clearly
that he's been pairing, he's been preparing this for his
people for a minute. I'm not going to read this to
you because I know that when you guys get to Leviticus and your
Bible reading plan, it kind of check out.
I do too. It's okay, but in Leviticus 16,
if you haven't read it, it's this.
It's this story of Aaron, Israel's priest, being given
these instructions by Moses on how God is going to deal with
the sin of his people. It's been God's plan to always
live among his people and complete relationship, but he
can't do that because the people are saying was saying, I just
talked about that, right? And because God is perfectly,
holy, he can't be around saying just talked about that as well.
So God in his kindness, what he does is he institute's has this
thing called the day of atonement.
This is day when the high priest would go before God in the holy
of holies, he would confess the sin and guilt of the people, he
will Slaughter an animal, he would pay for the punishment of
his people of these. Four cents and during their see
what offer up two goals, one of the goals he would die, they
said of the people dying and then one goat would be set off
into the Wilderness to symbolize.
I said, sin will no longer touch the people.
And their, their, their guilt has been taken away now, it's a
lot. Now, this was extremely tedious,
and painstaking process that happened year after year after
year, and the reason why we're so painstaking.
And the reason why it happened year after year after years,
because of two things. The first Is that sin is
serious, and its effects are strong and we just talked about
that and you guys live here on Earth in 2023, you know that
that's that our world is good, but it's also a lot going on
there. So I don't have to beat that
horse. but the second reason why it's so painstaking and it
happened year after year, after year, is that the weight of the
punishment of sin could never be satisfied by the blood of bulls
and goats This was a picture because our offense is eternal
in God's eyes. The only thing that could
possibly satisfy it as something of equal measure.
And the suffering servant, that Isaiah is talking about a lord.
Jesus Christ. He's our true and better
sacrifice. He's a true and better day of
atonement. You should say.
I sacrifice it only needed to be done once a sacrifice that is
sufficient for God's Eternal requirements because he's 100%
God and thus fulfills. The god size requirement that
sin demands but he's also the perfect sacrifice in the fact
that he's also a hundred percent man.
Did I say God or man? The first time anyway.
The this medicines. Give me kind of loopy up here.
So he's 100% God, he satisfied gods.
God size requirement for saint, but he's also a hundred percent
man. And so that that's qualifies him
to stand in our place to represent us before God, And as
our representative, he stands completely perfect without guilt
or staying. He is a sacrifice that God looks
at and is pleased with verse 10 says, says, this is look back at
our text yet, the Lord was pleased to crush him severely
When you make a, will you make him a guilt offering?
He will see his seed, and he will prolong his days.
And by his hand, the Lord's pleasure will be accomplished.
God isn't pleasing. It like this weird sick way that
was suggest that he loves to see his son like murdered.
That's not what's going on here? He's pleased in the sense that
that God has looked on. Jesus, sacrifice and he's
accepted it and he's seen it as sufficient to pay the price in
the penalty of sin for the world.
He takes our place, God takes our place, Jesus Takes our
place. And what is more is that Jesus
looks at you this morning in the II.
With a smile on his face. and he says that I willingly do this,
Where Jesus isn't dragging his feet to the cross for you, he's
running. He's sprinting, he's sprinting
to the cross for us. He willingly lays his life down
at verse 12 says, right verse 12 says because he willingly
submitted to death and was counted among the rebels.
The flood of God, the father's just wrath because of our sin,
which was reserved for us, comes crashing down, and on the cross,
Jesus willingly steps in front of it and absorbs it, his body
and soul for you now know about you.
But that part, that part right there has been such a grounding
and anchoring for me this week. Excuse me.
Hey, Jesus. Willingly suffers on my behalf
for my wrongs that I did. And still do it feels like It
feels like my couch after a really hard crossfit workout.
It feels like my couch after really hard crossfit workout.
I find myself both at rest. And in all, when I read the
truth, that Jesus willingly goes to the cross for me, I'm at rest
because what that means for me is that there's nothing I have
to do to earn God's favor and forgiveness.
I don't have to do backflips. I don't, I can't do a backflip.
I don't have to do cartwheels. I don't have to say, twelve
thousand prayers. Like Jesus has already willingly
decided to go to the Shirley. I don't have to convince God to
love me. I don't have to convince God to
save me. He has already chosen to do so.
It's already done because what Jesus did, I can simply enjoy
God's good gift of salvation. I'm at rest that make sense.
But I'm also in awe because what that means is that there is a
God, who rules over everything sustains everything, who sees
everything, who is in control of everything and is looked down
from his throne and saw my sufferings because of sin.
And even though it wasn't his fault, he takes the burden of
responsibility by dying on a cross for me.
Why God does that? Like I wasn't going to say this
but I guess I it's full of spirit saying Christianity is
not like every other religion. I don't know if you guys know
that every other religion Islam, Buddha Hinduism, they all give
you steps on how to get to God. Christianity is the only
religion that looks at the suffering of its people.
Is this the only religion that God looks at the suffering of
his people and instead of giving them rules on how to get to him.
He he they This is thrown and comes to us.
This is this is this is we should Marvel at the fact that
there is a God who sustains your very breath who loves you so
much to come down to you to save you.
You this is good news y'all. This is good news, and if that's
not love that, I don't know what love is.
To see Jesus suffering in my place.
I don't know what caring is if that's not caring. so as we
close, There's so much more I could have said this morning,
but I just pray that this is helpful as we close.
I just want to give kind of to handle bars, like things to hold
onto. As we as we, as we think, about
Sin and suffering, two points of encouragement.
You can say, when we think about Christ's suffering in our place,
how should that cause us to respond to sin and suffering
that we see in the world? At a macro level, right?
But also how does it make us respond to the sin and suffering
that we see at a micro level with that within our own cells
as have two suggestions? These are exhaustive but I think
that they'll be helpful. So at a macro level, I think
what this means for us. As we look at sin and suffering
in the world, it can encourage us to walk in step with our God
who sees tragedy and he weeps and laments.
And it's move and compassion toward it.
That makes sense. Now, I know that this is may be
new for a lot of us, but I just think that it's biblical and
right and instead with the Lord to weep and lament and to, and
to cry out and anger because of the sin and suffering that you
see in the world, like, this is, this is good for the people of
God to look at Injustice and evil and cry out.
Lord, come make this new make this right, that's good for us.
For example, I think it's okay if we are to see those shootings
that happened at Covenant School this last week and for us to
reap our guts out for those victims.
To plead our guts out before the Lord that it's not right.
That children are just gunned down that it seems like
politicians don't do anything but just its view that as a
talking point to gain favor and and status that, that they You
should be okay to weep and lament and ask God to make it
right. I even think that it's okay.
I'ma say it, I even think it's okay that if you take the social
media without raising demand for justice, that's a that's a
career. I just think that like caring
for evil caring, that evil is happening in your world.
That think it's good and godly, it's good and godly to ask God
to do something about it. So at a macro level, that's what
I think. We should be moved by sin and
evil. But as we do that, right?
As we care about evil, as we as we ask God to come as we as we
Take to the streets or whatever that looks like for you.
We should also hold in our other hand, the hope that we have that
we do. So as a people who don't have by
as we do, so as sorry, we do that as a people who have hope.
The suffering, certainly Christ dying on the cross.
For our sins is proof that God cares about your suffering and
sin and evil and that he will not let it go on forever. so, we
weep as people who have hope we lament as people who have hope,
It will end in a real way, and there will be no more tears.
No more heartache, no more to spare, no more disease.
We have a God in the person of Jesus Christ who has
demonstrated to us on the cross, and in his sufferings that he
hates such things and he will advocate for his people.
Macro level. That was macro level micro
level. What about the stuff?
What what the sufferings of Christ means for us?
And a personal level. Is that you are no longer
enslaved to sin. If you have trusted Christ as
your lord and savior, you see if he is the yes, the amen of your
soul, you are not enslaved to your sin.
Your chains are broken. You can't say no to your sin.
Now that you don't struggle. Not that you won't fall, but you
are not enslaved anymore. You should slay your sin, you
should put it to death. You could, you should confess it
to your brothers and sisters, you should do all that.
But please remember that they are nailed to the cross.
It is a response to what Jesus has already done, right?
You're not earning your way. Isaiah tells us write the
punishment for our sins was on Christ and now we have peace by
his stripes. We are healed.
So at a micro level, why not live into that?
Right? Why not love your neighbor as
yourself? Why not do good works, why not
stay sexually pure why not say no to sin and yes to Jesus.
Here's the reality. And here's the last thing.
I'll say maybe because thus if the sufferings of Christ,
because of the sufferings of Christ you are Justified before
God, Oh my God. Looks at you.
He doesn't see your sin. He doesn't see your past.
He doesn't see the things that you're doing going to do in the
future. He sees the Spotless perfect
image of his son Jesus. He sees the record of Jesus and
though you battle with sin and suffering and evil, and even
death here on Earth. Now know that you are more than
a conqueror because he has conquered for you.
And this is the good news of we're going to celebrate next
week. Amen.
That death has died. There's sin and sickness
ultimately will be no more. But I let Cole tell that story
next week. Let's pray.
Jesus. I thank you that you have.
Hmm, hello. Did you have died for us that
you have suffered for us that you are not silent in the midst
of Our sufferings and sin and I think right now, Lord, I just
feel you pressing me too. To call people to respond to
this message, Lord, to call people not to the message.
But to the message of the cross, that been there, if there's
anyone in the sound of my voice right now who have, who is not
known this to be a reality in their lives.
Who doesn't know that you have dealt with our sin.
That you have suffered for our sin and that you have made us
new as we respond to that. I pray that they would give
their life to you right now. Lord that's you this morning.
I would just love to talk with you.
I know that's that's weird and we don't really do that here at
Frontier, but I just feel like God pressing on my heart and
Lord, I Thank you for the cross. We pray for the the students,
the families of Covenant School. And now Asheville Lord, we ask
that your Justice and your mercy Would Rain Down.
Lord, we pray for our nation, and just the ways in which sin
our world really, not just our nation, the, what the ways in
which sin. And suffering has seemed to
almost just freaking devour it. And we ask Lord Jesus.
That you would, she would come soon that you would make all
things new? Well we we just we were at a
loss for words but we know as we look to the Cross we know that
you care for the world and so we trust you and we actually will
be done in Jesus name amen?