Celebration, Part 2

Isaiah 53: 12

In today’s broadcast, Pastor Colin assures us that certainty in our final destination stems from Jesus himself—his will, his death, and his ongoing life. The certitude of heaven isn’t drawn from the fluctuating circumstances of our lives, but from Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifices vividly portrayed in the rich verses of Isaiah 53, confirming that Jesus suffered for our sins, stood in the place of sinners, and brought us peace with every stripe he bore.

This comforting message reminds us that it’s not our love for God, but His immense love for us made manifest through Christ’s death and his current role as the intercessor. Jesus presently making intercession for us is the bridge over the chasm of sin, continuously reconciling us to God, ensuring we have everything necessary to persevere until we reach our eternal home.

How can you be sure that you will share in the triumph of Jesus? How can you be sure that you will be in the great company of the redeemed? How do you know that you will make it to heaven? How do you know that heaven will be yours? Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. And so Colin, as we come to the end of many days studying Isaiah chapter 53 in our series, The Gospel According to Isaiah, and our final message, Celebration, you’re saying that we can be sure of heaven and that is a reason to celebrate. Yeah, it really is. And I have loved going through this marvelous chapter of Scripture, Isaiah 53. I mean, there’s good reason why it’s one of the best known and best loved of all the chapters in the Bible. It is so rich and it has been wonderful just to ponder deeply every verse of this marvelous chapter. And as you say, it ends on this marvelous note of confidence, assurance and celebration that Jesus Christ will triumph and that all of his people will share in the joy of his triumph forever and forever. And, you know, we asked the question at the beginning of the program, how can I know that I’ll be part of that? We want the one word answer. It’s Jesus. You want a phrase answer. It’s because of what Jesus has accomplished. You want a little more detail. It’s because of the will of Jesus. It’s because of the death of Jesus. And it’s because of the life of Jesus. And all of that is in Isaiah and chapter 53. And we’re going to rejoice in these wonderful truths in the program again today. So we’ll take a final look at Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 12 in our message celebration. Here’s Colin. Look at what Isaiah says here. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he was numbered with the transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many. Now again, Isaiah is reminding us of the central truth in the whole chapter of what Jesus accomplished in his death. He begins by telling us that Jesus was numbered with the transgressors. That’s what those who despised him and rejected him thought of him. You know, just another transgressor. That’s what they thought. Just another of these wretched people for whom there is no place, no room in the world as we think it ought to be. That’s what they thought. But Isaiah says, yet he bore the sin of many. Now this has been the central theme of the whole of Isaiah in chapter 53. And we’ve seen it again and again. We saw it in verse 5. 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. And then we saw it again in verse 6. All of us like sheep have gone astray. We’ve all turned and gone to our own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Last week we saw it again in verse 11. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous and he shall bear their iniquities. And now here we have it again in verse 12. He bore the sin of many. So here’s the central message of this marvelous chapter of the Bible. That Jesus stood in the place of sinners. That Jesus suffered and died for our sins. How do you know that God loves you? See, some people get all confused because they try to read the love of God for them from the circumstances of their own lives. And so when things are going well, they feel that God loves them. And then when things go badly, well, they think that God must be against them. How do you know that God loves you? Well, you see, the Bible answers that question clearly. Here’s how you know. God shows his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Greater love, Jesus says, has no one than this, but that one lays down his life for his friends. That’s the love of God. That’s the love of Christ. He laid down his life for you. This is love. Not that we have loved God, but that God has loved us and sent his son to be a propitiation for our sins. Here’s how you know that God really loves you. God the Father gave his one and only son for you. And God the Son gave himself for you. Let me read to you some words from Jerry Bridges that I think describe the experience of many people. He says this, there was a period in my early Christian life when my concept of God’s love was little more than a logical deduction. God loves the world. I’m part of the world. Therefore, God loves me. He says it was as if God’s love were a big umbrella to protect us all from his judgment against sin. And I was under the umbrella along with thousands of other people. There was nothing particularly personal about it. Then one day, he says, I realized God loves me. Christ died for me. That’s how you know that God loves you. He gave his son and Christ gave himself for you. Jesus bore your sins. He really did. And in Christ, you are counted righteous before God. Because of his sin-bearing death, it is just as if you had never sinned. And because of his righteous life, when you’re in him, it’s just as if you had always obeyed. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. Today, looking at how you can be sure that you will share in the triumph of Jesus. And if you want to go back and listen to any of the previous messages in this series, you can always do that by going online. Go to openthebible.org.uk. There you can download any of our messages in this series, The Gospel According to Isaiah. You can also find our messages as podcasts. Go to your favorite podcast site, search for Open the Bible UK, and subscribe to the podcast to receive regular updates. And in the same way, you can find Open the Bible Daily, both on our website and as a podcast. Open the Bible Daily is a series of short two to three minute reflections written by Pastor Colin Smith and read in the UK by Sue McLeish. There’s a new one on the website every day. And if you subscribe to the podcast, you’ll receive regular updates. Open the Bible is supported entirely by our listeners, both on this station and on the Internet. If that’s something you feel you’d like to do, we’d welcome a regular donation. And this month, if you’re able to set up a new regular donation of five pounds per month or more, we’d love to thank you by sending you two copies of a book, one for you and one to give away. It’s called More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell. I’ll be talking to Pastor Colin Smith about the book later in this broadcast. Back to the message now. Here’s Colin. So how can you be sure of heaven? That’s really the question that’s before us as we think of the ultimate outcome of all things, the great triumph of Jesus. How do we know that we’re going to have a share in it? Well, heaven will be yours because of the will of Jesus. It’s very clear. He gave himself willingly. He wants to save you. And heaven will be yours because of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He really did bear your sins, and he did it in love for you to redeem you. And then Isaiah gives us this third answer that heaven will be yours because of the life of Jesus. Look at what he says at the end here. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because, well then Isaiah says, he makes intercession for the transgressors. He makes intercession for the transgressors. That’s why the many will be his, and they’ll all be brought safely home. Now this word intercede or intercession, it simply means make to meet, to make to meet. And you might picture it this way, that there is a vast chasm between God and us sinners, and the Lord Jesus Christ stands in the gap. Here we are, transgressors. That’s the word that Isaiah uses. And how can transgressors, sinners, ever come anywhere near to a holy God, let alone enjoy his presence in heaven forever? And the answer to that question is Jesus stands in the gap. Jesus intercedes. Jesus makes to meet. That’s what the word means. Think about it. Sin once stood between us and God as a barrier. Now Jesus stands between us and God, not as a barrier, but as a bridge. Peter puts it this way, Jesus suffered the righteous for the unrighteous to bring us to God. That’s what he does. That’s what comes out of all that he suffered. And notice that Isaiah uses the present tense here. He makes intercession for the transgressors. He used the past tense when he was prophesying what Jesus would accomplish on the cross. He poured out, past tense, he did this, his soul to death. He bore the sin of many. That was Jesus’ work, dying on the cross. And it’s done. It’s completed. It’s finished. But you see, when Isaiah comes to speak about the intercession of Christ, his bringing us to God and bringing God to us, well, he uses the present tense. Because this is the constant and continuing work of Jesus, and it will be until every one of his children are brought safely home. This is what Jesus is doing in heaven right now. And the scripture speaks about it very clearly. He’s our intercessor. He stands in the gap. He’s the one that causes us to meet with God, brings us to him. Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 25. He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. Isn’t that the greatest encouragement? To draw near to God through the Lord Jesus? You draw near to God through the Lord Jesus, and here’s what you’ll prove and discover. That he is able to save even the worst. He’s able to save to the uttermost, because he’s always living to make intercession, to cause to meet, bringing us to God. He makes intercession for us. Romans chapter 8 and verses 33 and 34. Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised. Who is at the right hand of God, and indeed is interceding for us. Interceding. You know, when you’re hard-pressed, you’ll know what it is to say, as I do, I need some friends to pray for me. And when someone says to you, you know, I’ve been praying for you, you actually feel strengthened. Here’s someone who knows God, who is coming before him on your behalf and asking that you will receive the help that you need. You’re strengthened just to know that, that a friend prays for you. But now I want you to try and take this in. That the Son of God himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, is at the right hand of the Father, and he is interceding for you. He speaks to the Father on your behalf, and he brings all your needs before the Father in heaven. You know, Thomas Manton said, It is a great privilege for us to pray to God, but it is a much greater privilege to have God praying for us. Can you take that in? Can you take that in? That the Son of God intercedes for you? Now, of course, this does not mean that Jesus is on his knees in heaven, agonizing as he once did in the Garden of Gethsemane. No, we know he’s on the throne in heaven. He’s the ascended Lord. He is at the right hand of the Father, and all authority and power has been given to him. What he commands in heaven happens on earth. But you see, this is the wonderful good news. That when you find yourself in trouble, when you don’t know what you’re going to do next, the Lord Jesus Christ speaks with authority in the presence of the Father, and his word releases all the resources of heaven that you need. It’s the intercession of Jesus Christ that makes the Christian life possible. Think about it. Suppose that after he died and rose from the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and then simply retired. Suppose he simply sat back and kind of watched to see how we’d get on, making our best attempt to live the Christian life. Well, you know, under these circumstances, there wouldn’t be a single one of us would make it to heaven. We’d all be completely overwhelmed by the world, the flesh, and the devil. So thank God the Lord Jesus Christ is not in retirement. He is actively engaged every moment of every day, bringing the needs of all of his children before the Father so that all the resources of heaven are released according to your need. You will have all that you need to get through all that you face until you arrive in the glorious presence of your Lord Jesus in heaven itself. You know, there’s a wonderful phrase in the diary of Robert Murray McShane that has really helped me. Just in his notes about his own Christian life, he says this, I ought to study Christ as an intercessor. I think, okay, why is that so important? Why did McShane feel that it was really important for him to take in this truth that Jesus intercedes for us? Well, here’s his answer. He says, And you know, that’s true. If you could hear the Lord Jesus Christ praying for you by name, praying that you will be given the strength that you need, if you could actually hear the Son of God interceding for you, you wouldn’t fear a million enemies. The Son of God does intercede for you. No, you can’t hear him, but he is interceding. And what Jesus asks for gets done. And so everything that you need for all that you face will be yours. Then the very last thing in this remarkable chapter is that Isaiah tells us that he, Jesus, makes intercession for the transgressors. Now, Christian brother and sister, this is the most marvelous truth that our many sins and our many failures in the Christian life will not keep us out of heaven. Thank God for this. C.S. Lewis wrote a letter to a former student of his. Evidently, she had written to Lewis, and it seems from Lewis’s reply to her letter that she had been through some kind of a fall or failure in her Christian life, and she’d become desperately discouraged, defeated, down. She describes herself as being in a trough. And Lewis wrote to her to encourage her to get up and to press on and to keep going as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what he said. No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall, he says, of course, be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels are put out, and the clean clothes are in the airing cupboard. The only fatal thing is to lose one’s temper and to give up. If you’re discouraged today, here’s why you should not give up. You keep pressing forward because God the Father has given people to his Son who will be his portion and his joy forever. And we who believe are the Father’s gift to his Son. And Jesus will bring all who he has been given safely home to glory. We know this because he gave himself willingly for us, because he really did in love bear our sins, all of them, on the cross, and because right now and always he lives to make intercession for us. Therefore, you will have all that you need for all that you face until the day when faith is turned to sight and you then enter into the presence of your glorious Lord with great joy forever. What an encouraging way to finish this series. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and our message Celebration, the twelfth and final part of our series, The Gospel According to Isaiah, which has been a deep dive into Isaiah chapter 53. You can find the entire series on our website, that’s openthebible.org.uk. You can also find our messages as podcasts. Go to your favourite podcast site, look for Open the Bible UK and subscribe for regular updates. Also on our website you’ll find Open the Bible Daily, a series of short two to three minute reflections, a new one every day, written by Pastor Colin Smith and read in the UK by Sue McLeish. Open the Bible is supported by our listeners, that’s people just like you. If you feel that’s something you’d like to get involved in, you can do that by going to our website, that’s openthebible.org.uk. There you can set up a donation in any amount. If you’re able to set up a donation in the amount of £5 per month or more, we’d love to thank you by sending you a free gift. It’s two copies of a book called More Than a Carpenter, written by Josh McDowell. Colin, why is this book so important? Well, I’m always drawn to books that are tried and tested and God has used this book, More Than a Carpenter, for more than 40 years and it has been a means of God’s work in many, many people’s lives. But I think it’s perhaps a book that many today are not aware of and so I’m just delighted that we’re making it available. More Than a Carpenter deals with real questions that a sceptic might have in regards to the Christian faith. So Josh McDowell deals with questions like, what about science and what about the new atheism and how do we know that the Bible is reliable? So this is a really helpful book for believers to help us be clearer and more confident in our witness to Jesus and it’s also a marvellous book to give to anyone who’s asking honest questions about the Christian faith. And that’s why we’d like to send you two copies, one for you and one to give away, in return for setting up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible for £5 per month or more. Details on our website, openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick and I hope you’ll be able to join us again soon. How should you pray when you’re worn out, discouraged and weary of the battle? Find out next time on Open the Bible.

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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