Called To Be A Light To The Gentiles

CALLED TO BE THE LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES

Text: Isaiah 49:1 – 7

This is the second of four servant songs about the Messiah. This servant song resembles a mission that has both pros and cons. Every mission has an objective with agents for accomplishing the goal of that mission. It is also true that every mission will have its obstacles. We do not mind obstacles too much if we know that we have a strong chance of winning. Who likes to lose?

When I was in seminary, I wrote a thesis paper about the theme “what happens to you brings out what’s in you”. It is easy to pick up a pencil that has fallen from the desk to the floor. It is altogether something else to try to help someone weather one of life’s storms when we are not certain what the outcome will be. When you read get to the fourth verse, you begin to see a hint of pessimism.

What is the mission of the Servant in this Second Servant Song? It is obvious that the mission is salvation of people that are lost. There will be times where it seems like the oppressors win over the oppressed. But, that is not always true. How many times have you heard people say “If God called you to it, then God will see you through it”? We have to be reminded that God is not a God of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33). How can an eagle grow and develop without challenges that will tests its character? Can struggles build character?

This mission seems to have three movements… Mission Hopeful, Mission Failure, Mission Magnify.

MISSION HOPEFUL

Who is the object of this mission? 1) The answer: The first verse gives us the answer. 2) Specific in the answer?: But, does it get specific in that answer? A) Captives: Is the Lord talking about the release of captives? B) Remnants: Is the Lord talking about reaching out to a remnant of his people in foreign lands (see Isaiah 11:11)? C) The chosen: Or his chosen people who have rejected Him? (Isaiah 41:1 according to Albert Barnes). D) All straying and lost sheep: Or does it mean that no one is beyond God’s grasp for salvation? E) All of the above?: Or is it all of the above? I happen to believe that it is all of the above. Remember the words of John 3:16!

Have you ever known anyone who seemed like they were groomed for a purpose? At one time there were two young men who might have thought that their love for literature was far more ambitious than fruitful. Although they did not run a family business, their work left its mark on history. They (Jakob and Wilhem) were both scholars and started to write down some tales that had been kept alive by oral tradition because they did not exist in print. Those who told those stories might have been considered by some as odd. Jakob and Wilhelm recorded many of these eighty-six stories in five years. They felt that they were unable to draw any historical significance from these stories and shelved them until a friend insisted that they be published. The first edition came out around Christmas of 1812. At one time, their collection was second in sales to the sale of the Bible. In their volume, they had stories like Hansel and Greta, Cinderella, Snow White and Tom Thumb, to name a few. They authors of that volume are known as the Brothers Grimm. (Paul Harvey, Jr. . Paul Harvey’s The Rest Of The Story. New York: Bantam Books, 1997, pp. 67 – 9). For Six seasons, they have made a TV show called Grimm that is inspired by their writings. It is more than evident Jakob and Wilhem Grimm must have been groomed for their work in literature.

Have you ever felt like you were groomed for a purpose? 1) The servant of this song: The servant of this song must have felt that he was groomed for a purpose in life. A) Called from the womb: This scripture mentions how the servant was called from his mother’s womb. B) Gift for eloquence in speech: Gifted for the way he would speak and hidden until it was his time to come forth to be used by God for God’s glory. C) The sword: God made his mouth like a sharp sword. This sword associated with speech imagery for God’s judgment shows up again in the New Testament in both Hebrews and Revelation. D) echoes: His story is a lot like Jeremiah’s story about being groomed in the womb for God’s purposes. 2) Your servitude: Psalm 139 hints about how it is possible that God called us in our mother’s womb as well: