God's Prevailing Will: Hope in Christ's Resurrection

Now today we come to verse 10 that points very wonderfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and it is a marvelous statement of all that Jesus has accomplished look with me at verse 10 if you would yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him he has put him to grief when his soul makes an offering for guilt he shall see his offspring he shall prolong his days the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. [00:02:29]

The story of the crucifixion of Jesus can be told in terms of human Injustice, human cruelty, human wickedness. Peter could say in acts in Chapter 2 this Jesus you crucified and killed by the hands of Lawless men, and the gospels tell us what wicked men did, Judas betrayed Jesus, and he did it for money, Caiaphas condemned Jesus, and he did it out of envy, pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, and he did it because he wanted peace at any price. [00:04:05]

So does that mean that the death of Jesus was a Triumph of evil over good, does that mean then since this was the act of wicked people, that somehow Darkness triumphed over light was it the case that God's Will and purpose was actually thwarted at the cross by these actions of wicked and evil men who intended only pain suffering and destruction towards the Lord Jesus Christ, or the answer to these questions is no, no no a thousand times no God's will prevailed in the darkness in the evil and even in the violence that was perpetrated at the cross. [00:05:01]

Now you see because the hands of Lawless men were involved you would expect him to say this Jesus was delivered up by Judas Iscariot or by Caiaphas or by Pontius Pilate but that's not what he says he says this Jesus was delivered up by the definite plan and the foreknowledge of God and you get this theme right throughout the New Testament, God being proactive, accomplishing our Redemption at the cross God did not spare his own son but freely gave him up for us all and that's what Isaiah is speaking about here in chapter 53 and verse 10 he says it was the will of the Lord to crush him he has put him to grief. [00:06:15]

There is no grief, there is no suffering, there is no pain there is no Darkness, there is no activity even of Satan himself that can ultimately derail the purpose of God for you in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible speaks about the purpose of God, who works all things together according to the Council of his will that's Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 11. he works all things together according to the purpose of his will or Romans chapter 8 and verse 28 we have the same truth in all things all things God works for the good of those who love him all things and you know what that means it means all things the evil as well as the good. [00:09:19]

Now think about what that means, if you have offspring, it means that your life is reproduced in another person, something of you is in them, your offspring, now Jesus was never married, Jesus never had physical children, and very clearly Isaiah is referring here to the work of Christ in his resurrection and what he's telling us is that he will have offspring, in other words he will bring many to New Birth, he will give to many his own life, John tells us to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God. [00:12:45]

You see this marvelous promise that When You Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you become one of God's children, you become one of his offspring, his life actually comes into you you are born again you are born of God, Paul says I have been crucified and I no longer live but Christ lives in me, now that is the heart of the Christian Life, the great purpose of God is that you and I will be conformed to the image of God's son that he might be the firstborn among many brothers that's Romans chapter 8 and verse 29. [00:14:29]

In Christ you are more than a disciple, in Christ you are more than a servant, in Christ you are more than a person doing his or her best to follow the example of Jesus in Christ you are his offspring, and his life is in you, the Holy Spirit dwells within you, and what that means is that something of the love and the patience and the peace and the wisdom and the strength and the perseverance and the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ are actually in You by virtue of the fact that his presence is in you he is in you nourish this life that is in you and it will grow. [00:17:02]

Now this marvelous promise for the future that we shall rise to an everlasting life, This Promise for the future is given to help us now all the promises of the Bible help us today in the realities that we face so how does this truth that you will live forever, how does this truth actually help you now, well let me give you two examples of the way in which the ways in which the Bible applies this truth to the harsh realities that we face in our life in this world first the Bible applies this truth to times When We Fear the rising tide of evil. [00:23:08]

Jesus rose to an eternal life, he shall prolong his days and you are his offspring, you have life Everlasting, the wicked will soon be gone but you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever, so the Bible applies this to when we see the rising tide of evil but that's just one application, the Bible also applies this wonderful truth that you will live forever to times when we feel the shortness of life, you see this for example in Psalm 102, David knew all about this and there'll be times when we feel this very deeply ourselves. [00:26:49]

The Risen Lord Jesus Christ ascended at the right hand of the father he is not kind of remotely and passively just watching what is going on in the world, he is actively engaged every moment in getting God's will done, what's he doing he's bringing people to New Birth, he's giving us the strength that we need for the trials that we face, he's hearing and he's answering the prayers of his own people and when it is God's will he will bring each and every one of us into his own nearer presence in glory. [00:32:25]

The will of God is your salvation, and Jesus will get it done, the will of God is your sanctification, and Jesus will get it done, the will of God is your preservation, and Jesus will get it done, the will of God is your glorification, and Jesus will get it done, the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand, and if your life is in the hand of Jesus you have nothing to fear. [00:36:22]