Sermon
Title: A Word for Egypt –A Word for Us
Worship
Music Includes: O Worship the King, Let
Your Kingdom Come, All People That On
Earth Do Dwell, In Christ Alone, All I Have is Christ
“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation” (Is. 12:2). Isaiah tells us that this is the song of
those who trust in God. This is the song
God desires to hear from peoples of all nations, even those that oppose Him and
His people. Throughout the book of
Isaiah God calls people men and women to trust only in Him. He continually shows us the foolishness of
trusting in anyone or anything else, and reveals the consequences of refusing
to rely on Him alone.
In Isaiah’s day the people of God
struggled and continually failed in trusting God. Since we fail in the same
way, this section of Isaiah is relevant for us today. We are in a section of Isaiah that includes a
series of prophetic judgments against the nations of the world. God wants all people to know that all nations
are equally under the sovereign control of “the Holy One of Israel”. It is, therefore, useless to look to these
nations for security and safety, for ultimately they will all fall. It is also unnecessary to fear them, no
matter how powerful they appear, because they are under the control of God and
He will govern them and use them for the outworking of His plans and for the
well being of those who put their faith in Him.
This
week’s text presents us with two primary themes that can seem contradictory:
judgment and salvation. Yet we will see
that God’s judgment is meant to bring healing and salvation for those who will
turn to Him, even those who were the historical enemies of God and His
people.
You may
come to church this Sunday with a heavy heart, hurting and weighed down under
some trial or circumstance. While we
cannot always know why these things are going on in our lives, we can know
this:
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and He delivered them from their distress.
He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction. (Ps
107:19-20)
As you prepare for worship read Isaiah 19 and 20,
asking God to show you how His Word applies to your life. This text is a message for ancient Egypt and
it is a timeless message for us.
You will be confronted with this critical question:
Where are you placing your trust? Last
Sunday Jonathan TenEyck led us in a study on peace from Ephesians 2:14-18. He helped us see that ultimately our peace is
not found in anything or anyone other than Jesus. This week’s text addresses the same
issue. Trust and peace; without one you cannot have the
other.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on
you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD
is an
everlasting rock. (Isaiah 26:3-4)
The vision of Isaiah 19 is summarized beautifully
in an old hymn we will sing this Sunday.
The lyrics of All People
That On Earth Do Dwell might be unfamiliar, but you will probably
recognize the tune as we sing it.
All people that
on earth do dwell
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with
mirth, His praise forth tell.
Come ye before Him and rejoice.
Know that the
Lord is God indeed;
without our aid He did us make;
We are his
folk; He doth us feed,
and for His sheep He doth us take.
O enter then His
gates with praise;
approach with joy His courts unto;
Praise, laud,
and bless His name always,
for it is seemly so to do.
For why? The
Lord our God is good;
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at
all times firmly stood,
and shall from age to age endure.
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