I am posting my notes on Pastor Mike’s teaching from Sunday, March19th. These are MY notes. Not a transcript. Not his notes. Any misquotes, mistakes, or mystifications are my fault (or something like that). I also “zoned out” a couple of times, so I know I missed things. All verses are from NASB 1995.

Things in brackets [] are my additions.

Isaiah 42:1-4
1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 “A bruised reed He will not break
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 “He will not be disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”

This is about Jesus the King. He was not “disheartened or crushed.” He died on a cross, but this did not “dishearten or crush” Him.

Isaiah 42:5-8
5 Thus says God the Lord,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it,
6 “I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you,
And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
7 To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
8 “I am the Lord, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images.

The wilderness was a forming place for the covenant people of God. God had established a covenant, a contract, with the His people. He put them in the most corrupt [Babylon] and barren [wilderness] places. And there He purified and prospered them.

People have asked Mike to prove the existence of God. His answer could be look at the beauty and complexity of the world. But people have been told that this is a result of evolution.

But he can point to one thing that defies explanation: the continued existence of the people of Israel. Why have they continued to exist? Because they are a “covenant people.” God has preserved them in face of centuries of persecution. [He made them to be a “light to the nations.”]

He was faithful to them, even when they were not faithful to Him, as in the wilderness. He did not give them the land of Israel because they were perfect or because they were faithful. He gave it to them because He chose them to have it. [He does the same with us.]

Either you are terrified of a God like this or you are glad that you know Him.

Isaiah 42:9-10
9 “Behold, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”
10 Sing to the Lord a new song,
Sing His praise from the end of the earth!
You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it.
You islands, and those who dwell on them.

So, what is our response to this kind of God? Sing a new song. Why? Because God is who He has said He is. Who He is does not depend on who I am or how faithful I have been , or who He was to me 10 years ago. His mercies are new this morning and every morning. If I hear His voice today, I am to respond to Him today.

Isaiah 42:11-13
11 Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices,
The settlements where Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
13 The Lord will go forth like a warrior,
He will arouse His zeal like a man of war.
He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry.
He will prevail against His enemies.

God is a warrior, but He does not war against men. He goes to war for people. His covenant people are to sing a new song.

Ps 51 “ Psalm of David, who Nathan, the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” See 2 Samuel 11,12.

David had sinned, and he was caught in the sin. He then cried out to God. He did not have to. But if David was gong to be a man after God’s own heart, he needed to walk in purity. He had not done so, and now he repented. And he repented publically.

He asked God to spare the live of the child that he, in his sin, had created. He lay on the ground, and refused to eat. When the child died, then he washed and went into the house of God and worshiped. He went into the house of the God who had not answered his prayer.

Ps 51 was written out of his experiences: sinning and repenting.

God did not spare the life of the child, but he was still compassionate to David.

Psalm 51:1,4
1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

4 Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.

David’s transgression was against God and against Him alone. David could not undo what happened to Uriah, Bathsheba, the baby, and his own reputation.

The only thing that he could do, the only hope he had was that God would bring restoration.

He had destroyed his reputation, and his ability to do things in his own strength. His new reputation was now staked on God. Not his own strength. He went into the house of God to worship. “I stake my claim on God and what does with it is His business.”

Psalm 51:13
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

I am not going to be their king, but their teacher:”Look at God.”

He could not be king except by letting God be king.

Repentant sinners testify best to the grace of God. The rest of us testify to the things we do or have happen to us.