Sermon Tone Analysis

Title: Prolonging the Days of Christ

Theme: The Lord’s Messengers to the Next Generation

Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 give us the most vivid account of the crucifixion of Christ that can be found in the Word of God.

Isaiah, seven hundred years before Christ was born, lets us see something of Jesus’ suffering, the sacrifice He made upon the Cross of Calvary.

He also reveals to us a very special promise made from God to His Son.

If we allow the Holy Spirit to do a work in our hearts and remind us how it was our sin that put the perfect Son of God through such shame and misery, we would easily lay down those sins at the foot of the Cross, sins that so easily entangle us and hinder the work of Christ in our community.

The New Testament holds at least two truths that must be grasped if we want to enjoy the presence of Christ in our lives and Holy Spirit empowerment in all we put our hands to. 1 John 1:8-10 says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives."

Hebrews 12:1-3 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

(Hebrews 12:1-3)

Let the Holy Spirit remind you of what was laid upon our Savior and Lord as I read Isaiah 53: 1-12, “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.

Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth, He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

By oppression and judgment He was taken away.

And who can speak of His descendants?

For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was stricken.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it was the LORD's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the LORD makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.

For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

(Isaiah 53:1-12) Pray!

I would like to propose to you that the church that gets used of God to carry the message of Christ on to the next generation has Christians who grasp the powerful truths found in this message.

Just what are those truths?

Many understand that an undefiled mouth does not misuse the name of God or use filthy language.

Many agree that undefiled ears do not find joy in gossip or unclean talk.

Many agree that undefiled eyes do not feed upon pornography or the pleasures of this world.

However, the Holy Spirit illuminated grasp the Biblical truths to what is really means to have a “Undefiled Mouth, Undefiled Ears and Undefiled Eyes.

Prolong His days

There are many truths to grasp in Isaiah 53.

A truth worth grasping today is found in Isaiah 53:10.

I love the way the New American Standard Bible translates it, “But Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief.

If He would render Himself as a guilt offering.

He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.”

(Isaiah 53:10)

Our Lord Jesus Christ submitted to the curse of God for the sins of mankind.

Christ did not sin, but the results of our sins were laid upon Him.

This was all decided among the eternal Counsel made up of God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit and Jesus accommodated Himself to this dispensation.

A dispensation is a way determined by God for which someone may prove their love to Him.

Christ was obedient unto death (Philippians 2:8) because He loved God His Father.

The death and burial of Christ was not the end but the beginning of the honor and joy that was to be given Him for His obedience.

The promise was that He would see God raise up a people who would come to Jesus Christ and love Him as their Savior and Lord.

They would not only trust in Him to save them from eternal death and hell, but to save them from their sins.

Jesus would see a seed, children that have the faith of Abraham.

(Romans 4:16)

These Christians experience the same kind of life that the Apostle Paul lived.

Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

(Galatians 2:20) Christians who grasp the truth of what Isaiah wrote about in Jesus having a seed that brings glory to His name have full “[confidence] that [Christ] who began a good work in [them] will carry it on to completion…” (Philippians 1:6)

King David foresaw of a time when “..future generations will be told about the Lord.”

(Psalm 22:30) A time when a people of God would “…proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn…” (Psalm 22:31) The Apostle Peter wrote about the work of Jesus’ offspring in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

(1 Peter 2:9-10)

Because the children of God have received mercy, they want to make the sacrifice that is pleasing to the Lord and live a life of worship to Jesus Christ.

Romans 12:1-2 gives clear instructions on how to be a living sacrifice unto the Lord.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

(Romans 12:1-2)

There are three truths found in the heart of the child of God that will be used to take the Gospel message on to the next generation.

A positive response to these truths opens the door for us to be able to find God’s perfect will for us as individuals and as a church Body.

Undefiled mouth

The first heart desire is to have an undefiled mouth.

Listen to what Isaiah wrote about Jesus Christ, “…He had done no violence nor was any deceit in His mouth.”

(Isaiah 53;9) Jesus never spoke a word that could be referred to as a falsehood.

Therefore what He taught on the matters of what comes from the mouth should be taken note of.

I am fully convinced that Jesus taught that speech as a whole is a reflection of who a man really is, Jesus taught, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.

You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good?

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

(Matthew 12:33-37)

At the time of this powerful teaching, Jesus’ healing ministry and miracles were spoken of by the Pharisees as being done by and through the power of Beelzebub.

Our Lord was affirming that what they said was a reflection from what they truly believed in their hearts.

If our speech is predominately true, proper, chaste, instructive, and righteous, then it proves that the heart is aright before God.

If it is often false, envious, malignant and unrighteous, then it proves that the heart is wrong.

The words that we speak as a whole show forth the fruit that is inside our heart, just as we can know the tree by the fruit it bears.

A sinful heart produces sinful speech.

Those in the medical field will tell you that certain sicknesses produce terrible breath odors.

So it is with sin being expelled out through speech.

Joseph Stowell spouted off to his teacher at school and told her to shut up and then he stood up and walked out of the class room.

As he walked down the block to his house he noticed that his mother was working in the yard.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

He thought “What am I going to tell her?”

He consider his options.

He could tell his mom the truth or just lie.

From past experiences he knew she would most likely find out the truth eventually.

He could spend the rest of the day out in the world, though where he lived that would not necessarily be the safest thing to do, or he could go back to school and face the teacher.

He chose the lesser of the three and went back to school.

Upon his arrival the teacher took him by the arm and they walked into the bathroom and he got his mouth washed out with soap.