In this sermon, the speaker reflects on the tragic deaths of three young men in their 20s. He emphasizes that life is not a game and urges the audience to listen and take heed. The speaker uses vivid imagery to describe the power of God's salvation, comparing it to a polished shaft that penetrates through Satan's armor. He also discusses the significance of fire, particularly in relation to the young man's experience of being freed from bondage. Throughout the sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of being spiritually prepared and ready for the challenges of life.

The boy stood staring into the fire. The crackling and the warmth were beginning to rise, and he stood in awe, looking at that fire. Young men are drawn to fires. Most of us enjoy gathering around a campfire. Just the warmth and the light and the aroma of a campfire. There's something magnetic, something drawing about a fire. But this was different, as this young man stared at that fire. I believe he looked at the fire, and then looked at his wrists, and looked at the fire, and then looked at his wrists. The marks were starting to fade from the bondage, from the binding that had been on his wrists. It had been a long hike, a pleasant walk, three days' journey with his father and some servants and a donkey. And then his father had told the servants, You stay here. My son and I are going to go up in the mountain and return. As they walked up the mountain, the young man turned to his father and said, Father, we have wood and we have fire, but where's the offering? Where's the sacrifice? Never had he anticipated in all of his perhaps 21, 22, up to 25 years. He had never anticipated this. He was the promised son. He was the loved one. But his father, with eyes of faith, mingled with sorrow, fear, and yet, overwhelmed with faith, said, Son, hold out your hands. And the hands had been bound and he was laid upon the wood that was arranged in order there upon the altar. And his father had taken the knife, ready to slay his son. That moment froze in time. Now, a little while later, there he stood. God had cried out, Abram, do your son no harm. There's a ram in the bush behind you. Offer him instead of your son. Now I can only picture the boy. The fire's crackling now. The ram has been killed and put on the fire. And he's staring at the marks that are beginning to fade from his wrists and realizing salvation, deliverance, as he stared into that fire. Tonight, by the grace of God requesting your prayers, I desire to bring a message with this simple title, Six Pictures and Three Fires. Six Pictures and Three Fires. We'd like to look at six pictures of the King and three fires around which you may have found yourself. Three times in the last 13 or 14 months, I have walked by the casket of a young man in his 20s. Three different times, all three of those young men have came through our doors and been in our home. All three of those young men sat in a chair and I visited with them. All three of them in their 20s. Just in the last 13 or 14 months. Not all of them were ready. Some were ready. Some were not ready. Some had embraced these pictures and this sacrifice and some had not. I knew all three of them. I liked all three of them. Young men in their 20s, one in a sudden head-on collision on his way to work in the morning, was not his fault. Another one driving and an angry man out to get revenge with someone shot through the window and hit the other one in the neck. And the other one in frustration and discouragement with life took more drugs than he should and did not survive. Three young men and life is not a game. We talked about that the first night, the second night, the third night, and tonight again. Life is not a game. It is real. But there is something that I want to call your mind to, to call your attention to. And it is six pictures that we find in the book of Isaiah. And then I want to talk about three fires that we find in the Bible. May we bow our heads for a word of prayer. O Lord, our gracious Heavenly Father, we come tonight in the name of our Lord Jesus. Desiring that you would be present among us this evening, Lord, that you would exalt yourself in our midst, that the Holy Spirit would be active in the audience and in your servant. And I pray, Father, that as Jesus said, that if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me. May the Lord Jesus be lifted up tonight. Open our hearts, Father, drive back any diversions or distractions or drowsiness or disillusionment or prejudice or any other hindrance, Lord, that the enemy might try to introduce into this sanctuary tonight. And I pray, Father, that the word of the Lord might have free course and be glorified in Jesus' name. Amen. Not far from the town in central Washington, where my wife and I live, just a few years ago, there was a man who was hiking. And he was hiking and doing some exploration. There are some old gold and silver mines in the area up in the mountains around the valley where we live. This man was hiking and he came to the doorway that looked down into a mine. And out of his own interest and intrigue, he decided he would go down and take a look inside that mine. And he lowered himself down through the mine shaft with his rope. And he got down in that mine and he let go of the rope. Now, there was tension on that rope. There was some elasticity in the rope. And the rope sprang up out of his reach. The man was alone, caught in a pit, and the rope out of reach. I can only imagine what those hours must have been like. I can only imagine the anguish, the strategies, the attempts, the clawing, the attempts, the desire, the pleading, the grasping, the jumping, the leaping, the trying to grab that rope. But they found him dead several days later. The rope out of reach. But tonight, beloved, I want to call your attention to six pictures of a king. A king who came down, a king within reach. Then we want to consider three fires before we close this evening. As we think about this king, I just want to give you one New Testament verse and then we're going to jump into the book of Isaiah. And I've been encouraging you this week, along with the other brothers, to have your Bibles in hand and be prepared to turn. We want to look at six pictures in the book of Isaiah of this king. But before we do that, I want to remind you of 1 Corinthians 2, verses 7 and 8, which says this. The apostle says, We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory. Now, notice he goes on to say which none of the princes of this world knew. For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Now, I think about those words. Had they known? Had they known? We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory. We're talking about God's wisdom planned before the foundation of the world for our glory. And none of the princes of this world knew about it. They didn't get it. They didn't understand it. The kings, the nobility, the leadership of the world, they didn't know it. Rome ruled the world. The ruling power, they didn't know it. Had they known? Those are haunting words, beloved tonight. I want to hold them before you because I don't want it to be someday said of us. Had I known? Had I known? Had they known about this king? They would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Do we know? Do you know about this king? Do you understand who he is? Do you know that he has came down into the pit? To redeem us. We heard a beautiful discourse this morning about the Lamb of God, characteristics of the Lamb. The kings, the princes of this world did not know. Had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Tonight, we have the opportunity to know. Turn with me. We want to look at six pictures in the book of Isaiah. Turn to the seventh chapter of Isaiah. The first picture we want to consider tonight is the picture of the seed. The seed. I tried to draw a seed up here, and behind that seed is a scepter. Consider with me Isaiah chapter seven, verse fourteen. Verse thirteen, And he said, Hear you now, O house of David? Is it a small thing for you to weary men? But will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. A seed, a virgin shall conceive. In order for a virgin to conceive, there must be a miraculous divine seed. That's the first picture we want to consider tonight, is this picture of a divine seed that would cause a virgin to conceive. This seed, I'm going to go quickly, this can only be a divine seed. Right in the beginning of the garden, when sin entered into this world, when man disobeyed God, you recall with me that when the Lord encountered his fallen creation, he had this consolation. He said, The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. The promise of a seed. A seed, beloved. Picture that rope out of reach, banished from the garden. Naked, we've sinned. Heads hung down, banished from the garden. The rope's out of reach, but there's a promise. There's coming a seed. A seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head. I think Eve was in distress when one son, her first seed, killed the other son, her second seed, and Abel was dead. But the Bible says later on that God gave her another son by the name of Seth. And when Seth was born, Eve said this, God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, who his brother slew. Another seed. I think Eve thought maybe this is the one. Maybe this is that promised seed that's going to redeem our difficult and banished situation. But God was working through that seed. But it wasn't time yet. And time went on, and there was a seed later. A glimpse of the seed many, many years later. There was a man over in a remote area of Mesopotamia, Ur of the Chaldees. And God appeared to this idolatrous man over in Ur of the Chaldees. And he said, Abram, you get up out of your country and from your kindred and from your father's house and come to a land that I'm going to show you. And I'm going to make of you a great nation. And your name shall be blessed. And of your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. All the families of the earth. That includes you and me tonight. Praise God. A seed, a promised seed. Later on, we see that seed renewed in Isaac. Shall thy seed be called Isaac? The line came down through Isaac. It was renewed with Jacob when Jacob went to Bethel. Jacob went to Bethel and God made a promise to Jacob of your seed. There will come blessing for all nations. It was renewed again. The end of Genesis. Genesis 49. As the old man Jacob was blessing his sons when he got to Judah. He said, Judah is a lion's whelp. And he went on and said, the scepter shall not depart out of Judah, nor a lawgiver from under his feet until Shiloh come. And to him shall the gathering of the people be. The scepter shall not depart until Shiloh come. And I don't want to take time, but it is so interesting for you. If you could turn to Ezekiel 21 verses 25 and 27. I'm just going to read it real quick. I have it marked here. You can turn if you'd like. But there's a context there of a wicked king of Israel, a wicked king. And it's very typical as God says, thou profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come when iniquity shall have an end. Thus saith the Lord God, remove the diadem, take off the crown. This shall not be the same. Exalt him that is low and abase him that is high. Notice, I will overturn, overturn, overturn it. And it shall be no more until he come who's right it is. And I will give it to him. That's the crown. That's the scepter. Until he come who's right it is. And I'll tell you who's right it is. It is the promised seed. The scepter and the crown are his right. So we see the seed coming from Adam and Eve and down through Seth. And then down through Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Judah. And then later of David and second Samuel. God told David, I'm going to make of you a sure house and of your seed. There will always be a ruler on the throne of Israel. A sure house. The seed of David. John 742 says, has not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David? The seed of David. Have you considered, beloved, the incredible potent power of one seed? You know, there was a man that was very famous. I think he started out in this part of the world back in the late 1700s, early 1800s. His name was Johnny Appleseed, John Chapman. But he became known as Johnny Appleseed. He traveled around the country and he used apple seeds to establish apple nurseries and and spread the blessing of fruitfulness across this nation. The incredible potent power of one seed. I work in vegetation control from time to time and in the western part of the United States. And there's a plant we have out there. It's starting to spread. I think I've seen a few of them here in Pennsylvania. There's a plant called kosher and it has become known as a prevalent, even a noxious weed because of how it grows and how fast it grows. And there's another plant called Dalmatian toadflax. And I think it's Dalmatian toadflax that I'm actually thinking of that one plant. And I find it challenging to believe I've I've dealt with many of those plants. It's a it's a beautiful little plant has a yellow blossom. But one plant in one year can produce over a quarter of a million seeds. 250,000 seeds. And you picture each of those seeds going out. That plant started from one seed. And it can produce 250 to 300,000 more in one growing cycle. The incredible potent power of one seed. Tonight, the first picture we want to consider of our Lord Jesus Christ is the seed. And Jesus said, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die. One seed, one grain of wheat. One seed, except it fall into the ground and die. It abides alone. But if it die, if it die, it brings forth much fruit. Much fruit. The incredible power of a seed. Galatians tells us this to Abraham and to his seed were the promises made. He saith not as to seeds as of many, but and to thy seed, which is Christ. One seed. This incredible, potent, powerful picture we have in the book of Isaiah of a seed. Behold, a virgin shall conceive that takes a miraculous seed of our Lord Jesus Christ. A seed from God for our salvation. A seed. Let's go on to a second picture that we have here in the book of Isaiah. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter nine. We've talked a little bit about a seed. Now let's consider the picture of a son. A son. Isaiah nine says this in verse six. For unto us, a child is born unto us. A son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace and of the increase of his government and peace. There shall be no end. Praise God. Praise God. An increasing government, a picture of a son. Now, I want you to think for a moment about the importance of a son. We're picturing the king, pictures of the king, the king of kings and the Lord of lords that are given to us in the book of Isaiah. There was a man one time who lived back in the 1500s in England, a very famous man. He was a famous king. His name was King Henry VIII and King Henry VIII had a problem. He had a lot of problems. He had a heart that was not committed to God. That was his biggest problem, even though he was a religious man. But King Henry VIII was married to a woman by the name of Catherine of Aragon and Catherine of Aragon had several miscarriages and she had a daughter, but she did not have a son. And for a ruler, for a king who's concerned about the coming kingdom and thinking about that in his own strength, in his own arm, that's a problem. And Henry VIII had a dilemma in his carnal and wicked mind. And so he came up with the idea of divorcing Catherine of Aragon and really in that whole operation founded the Anglican Church. Catherine of Aragon and then he married a woman by the name of Anne Boleyn and things didn't go well with Anne Boleyn. He ended up with six wives in all, but the third wife, Jane Seymour, gave birth to a son, Edward IV. Edward IV became the next king of England. And kings care about a son. They want a future progeny. They want one to take the throne. But beloved tonight, our king is a much more glorious king. He's a beautiful king. He's a king of character. He is the king of kings and the Lord of Lords. And he had a son, a son unto us. That's us tonight as well. Unto us, a child is born. Unto us, a son is given. God's son. The book of Hebrews tells us this as it begins. That beautiful exposition in the book of Hebrews says, God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things. This is the prince. This is the king. He's the heir. He has appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the world, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Praise God. A son unto us. A son is given. The king had a boy, a son. Matthew says this in Matthew 1 and 20, while he thought on these things, that's Joseph. He wondered what was going on with Mary. The angel of the Lord appeared unto him and said this, Joseph, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bring forth a son and now shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now, all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife and knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus. That means salvation. A seed. A son. John says this. That youngest disciple, that one whom Jesus loved as he began to write his gospel, the last gospel so different than the other three synoptic gospels, he says in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made in him was life and that life was the light of men and the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. He goes on and says this one was born and he was the only begotten of the father, the only begotten of the father. That's the only son, the only born one of the father. The king had a son. Picture that rope getting a little closer. The king had a son, the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. And then first, John, later, when John wrote his epistle, he says this. That which was from the beginning, which we have seen, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life for the life was manifested and we have seen it and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the father and was manifested unto us that which we have seen and heard. Declare we unto you that you also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the father and with his son, Jesus Christ, the son. There is a seed and there is a son. Let's go on to a third picture that we have now in Isaiah chapter 11. Turn with me to Isaiah 11. Next, we want to look at a shoot, a shoot. Isaiah chapter 11, verse one, and there shall come forth a rod. That's a shoot. That's a sprout. That's something that comes up from the old dead stump, from the seemingly dried up cut off stump comes up a sprout, a shoot, a rod. Let's read it. There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of its roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord and shall make him a quick understanding in the sight of the Lord. And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness shall he judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked and righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness, the girdle of his reins. Let's jump down to verse 10. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse. That's a shoot out of the root, a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people to it shall the Gentiles seek and his rest shall be glorious, glorious rest, a shoot, a sprout, a rod out of the stem of Jesse. Look at his tremendous power in his ministry. And I see the picture like I tried to draw up here of an old dry stump. How many of you ever have ever seen it, have ever witnessed it? A tree cut down, I can remember my grandfather's place in central California where I grew up. There was some big old trees, big old English walnut trees, and they had been grafted from black walnut into English walnut and they bore walnuts for many years. But I remember the day that some of those big giant trees were cut down and my wife and I lived on that place of my grandfather after those trees were cut down. And I can remember up from those old dead dry stumps in the spring came up a rod, a sprout, a shoot. It looked dead. It looked done. It looked like it was all over. But there was life. I don't know what it might be like in your life, young man and young woman. Sometimes I know life feels like it's just been all cut off. There's really nothing left. It's dry. It's dead. All my hope has been cut off. Maybe there's someone like that here tonight. Maybe in your personal life, in your home life, in your church life, in some realm of your life, it's felt like it's all cut off and there's nothing left. I want you to consider our God tonight. I want you to consider your King tonight. I want you to consider the one who is reaching down tonight because out of that old dry stone came forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, out of the line of Christ. Out of the line of King David, a king, Jesse's son, David. Out of that line comes a rod, a shoot springing up. Zechariah 3 verse 8 says this. Hear now, O Joshua, the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they are men wondered at. For behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch. A shoot springing up. There's hope. There's rope. There's promise. There is a promise for the future. I think of the words of Balaam. I just want to remind you of these words. I can't get all of the quote just right. You remember how Balak, the king of Moab, sent him to Balaam, the soothsayer, and tried to get him to curse Israel. And I talked about that a little bit the other night. But when Balaam finally went, even against God's will, although the Lord finally told him to go ahead and go when he kept persisting and wouldn't leave God's will alone, God finally told him to go. But it says the Lord was angry because he went. And he went up with the king of Moab, and they took him up to a mountain so they could look over the camps of Israel. So and the king of Moab said, there they are. Now curse them for me. And God kept putting blessing in Balaam's mouth. He couldn't curse. And he just kept saying, oh, they're blessed. And words of blessing would come out out of his mouth toward Israel. And it got the king of Moab, Balak, so frustrated, he kept saying, I told you to curse them. And you just keep on blessing them. But one of the things that Balaam said is the shout of a king is among them. I love that phrase. The shout of a king is among them. Several times in the Bible we read about the shout of a king. There he is, the king. God saved the king. Here comes the king. The Bible tells us about just a little boy, a young boy that had been hidden in the temple by the name of Joash. And there was a wicked queen by the name of Athaliah who had usurped the throne. But this little boy, it was down that narrow down. He was the only possible seed left. But we have a sovereign God. There came a day when that little boy was set on high in front of the people. And there was a tremendous shout of a king. And Athaliah came out and tore her clothes. And she realized that God had preserved the seed. The shout of a king, the shout of a king. They shoot coming up out of the stump. God's promise. Let's look at another picture. Turn with me now in Isaiah to the 42nd chapter. I want to talk about a servant. Servant. It's hard for you to see the basin and the foot and the servant washing a foot. But it's a picture that I tried to portray of a servant. Let's read together. Isaiah 42 verses 1 through 10. Remember, tonight we're considering six pictures of the king. Then we want to talk about three fires. Picture number four. The servant. Isaiah 42. God says, behold, my servant whom I uphold. Mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break. And the smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not failed or be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth. And the isles shall wait for his law. Thus saith the Lord God, God, the Lord. He that created the heavens and stretched them out. And he that spread forth the earth and that which cometh out of it. He that giveth breath unto the people upon it. And spirit to them that walk therein. I the Lord have called thee in righteousness and will hold thine hand. And will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people. For a light of the Gentiles to open the blind eyes. To bring out the prisoners from the prison. And them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord. That is my name. And my glory will I not give to another. Neither my praise to graven images. Behold the former things are come to pass. And new things do I declare. Before they spring forth, I tell you of them. Singing to the Lord a new song. And his praise from the end of the earth. You that go down to the sea. And all that is therein. The isles and the inhabitants thereof. A servant. Behold my servant. Whenever you read that word, behold. It means stop and look. Stop and take a look. And beloved, tonight, I hope you're not just passing this by as some kind of irrelevant Old Testament thoughts. These are pictures of your King. This is your rope. Behold, stop and look. God says at my servant. Take a look at my servant. Christ, the servant, the one I uphold. My elect. That means my chosen one. The one in whom my soul delights. He's not going to cry or lift up his voice to be heard in the street. He's not going to start a revolution by earthly means. In fact, verse 3 says, and it's quoted of Christ in the New Testament. A bruised reed shall he not break. And smoking flax shall he not quench. That's your Savior tonight. That's your rope of rescue. Maybe you feel like a bruised reed. There's hardly any life left. And Christ does not break a bruised reed. He doesn't crush it. He doesn't eliminate it. Instead, he nurtures it. He stands it back up. He helps it to grow. He rescues bruised reeds. There's a bruised reed here tonight. Just know that the servant. God says, behold, my servant. Look how he treats bruised reeds. What about smoking flax? Just a little bit of smoldering left. The fire's just about out. Maybe some of you have experienced that. Some of you have talked about that this week. The fire's just about out. There isn't just a lot left. I'm concerned. I'm cold. I don't know if God will even. But do you know what this servant does with smoking flax? Bible says he doesn't quench it. He doesn't quench it. He fans it. He blows it. He gets the fire going again. Behold, my servant. That is your rope of rescue, beloved, tonight. The servant. The servant. He is the servant. And indeed he was. Wasn't he? Philippians tells us that he took upon him the form of a servant. And was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death. Even the death of the cross. Behold, my servant. Behold him there that night as his disciples surrounded him. And he took a towel and girded himself. He poured water into basin. And he began to wash his disciples' feet. And then to tenderly wipe them with the towel. Wherewith he was girded. And I hear the words of the prophet as God spoke through Isaiah. Behold, my servant. Will you behold him tonight? It's a beautiful picture of your king. It's a picture of your rope. Let's go on and consider a fifth picture tonight. This fifth picture we're going to find in the 49th chapter of Isaiah. And it's a picture of the shaft. We've looked at the seed. At the sun. At the shoot. At the servant. Tonight, look with me at the shaft. I remember the first time this Scripture began to make sense to me. It just thrilled my heart. I couldn't hardly believe it. I was so excited as I began to read. I was reading through the book of Isaiah. And I began to realize what this is saying. Look with me at the shaft in Isaiah 49. This, I will tell you in advance, is Christ speaking. It's Christ himself speaking through the prophet. And I'll show you that. Isaiah 49 verse 1. The shaft. Listen, O Isles. Gentile nations. Far removed places. Distant habitable lands. Not just the Jews. Not just Israel. All over this globe. Listen, O Isles unto me. And hearken ye people from afar. The Lord hath called me from the womb. From the bowels of my mother. He hath made mention of my name. Thou shalt call his name Jesus. Still in the bowels of his mother. Call his name Emmanuel. God with us. Still in the bowels of his mother. Let's read it again. The Lord hath called me from the womb. From the bowels of my mother. Hath he made mention of my name. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me. And made me a polished shaft. In his quiver hath he hid me. And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel. It's speaking there of Christ, the Prince of God. The one of Israel in whom I will be glorified. You can see that clearly as you go on down in the chapter. Then I said, I have labored in vain. I've spent my strength for naught and in vain. Yet surely my judgment is with the Lord. And my work with my God. Follow along. Verse 5, Isaiah 49. And now saith the Lord, That formed me from the womb to be a servant. To bring Jacob again to him. Though Israel be not gathered. Yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord. And my God shall be my strength. And he said, this is God. He said, God speaking to Christ. Look what he said. He said, it is a light thing. That thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob. And to restore the preserved of Israel. Yes, that's wonderful. That's a blessing. That's incredible. That's expected. But there's something so much more that involves us here tonight. Look at it. That's a light thing. But he says, I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles. That thou mayest be my salvation unto the ends of the earth. Praise God. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel. And his Holy One. A couple more verses. Whom men despiseth. To him whom the nation abhorreth and a servant of rulers. Kings shall see and arise. Princes also shall worship. Because of the Lord that is faithful and the Holy One of Israel. And he shall choose thee. Notice these next verses. Thus saith the Lord. In an acceptable time have I heard thee. And in a day of salvation have I helped thee. And I will preserve thee. And give thee for a covenant of the people. To establish the earth. To cause to inherit the desolate heritages. That thou mayest say to the prisoners. Go forth. To them that are in darkness. Show yourselves. Picture that rope. They shall feed in the ways. And their pastors shall be in all high places. And so forth. I'd love to talk more about that. But I want to point out. A couple of things here. Notice this concept of desolate heritages there in verse 9. He says I'll cause you to inherit desolate heritages. I don't know how many of you have a plaque in your home. Or have seen one that says I have a goodly heritage. I've seen that plaque in many homes. It's a beautiful quotation of scripture. The lines are falling into me in pleasant places. Yeah, I have a goodly heritage. And I don't know all of your backgrounds tonight. Perhaps some of you have came from much darkness and difficulty. And you have came into a goodly heritage. Many of you I believe were raised in Christian homes. Raised in godly homes. Where this word of God was taught. And what a goodly heritage. I'm so thankful for that goodly heritage. I can say with all honesty and much gratefulness. I have a very goodly heritage that I'm so thankful for. A godly father and mother who loved the word of God. And who knew how to pray. And who loved their children. And who loved the Lord. A goodly heritage. But did you notice verse 8? It says that this shaft has a goal. Has a purpose for desolate heritages. I'm thankful for goodly heritages. But do you know the Lord cares about desolate heritages also? He's also interested in those. And there's lots of them on this globe. And I want you to jump back now to the first verse. First and second verse. I want you to consider this shaft. Christ says, listen to me. Hearken. Pay attention. God's called me. My father the Lord has called me from his womb. He's made mention of my name. I have a purpose. And he has made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand he's hid me. And made me a polished shaft. That's an arrow. That's what that is. A polished shaft. We polish shafts. I don't know how many of you have ever made an arrow. When I was a boy, I used to love to make bows and arrows. And my shafts weren't always very polished. And so they didn't always shoot real straight. And the Bible speaks about the blessing of arrows. And the hand of a mighty man. They're children of the youth and so forth. But do you know God has a quiver? And he has a shaft. One arrow in God's quiver. You see it there in verse two. In his quiver hath he hid me. The shaft, the arrow. And he had a target. He had a bullseye. And it's the globe. It's this world on which we live. Because as God looked down on this world. We talked about it the other night. In John 3.16, we realize that God so loved the world. He didn't just love it. He so loved it. And he had a plan for this world. Then he planned to redeem this world. And he had a shaft that he'd been preparing and been polishing. And I picture God with his polished shaft. Pointing it at this world for our salvation. And the Bible says in the book of Galatians. That there came a time when God released the arrow. God released the shaft. In Galatians it says when the fullness of time was come. God sent forth his servant. Made of a woman. Made under the law to redeem them that are under the law. That we might receive the adoption of sons. Wherefore thou art no more a servant but a son. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. In the fullness of time. At the perfect time. He waited for years. Waited for years. I think Eve thought Seth was going to be that seed. God waited for years. He polished the shaft. And at the right time. He released the arrow to the world. Listen, O Isles. You need to know about this. Listen, ye people from far. This is a rope of rescue for you. A picture of the shaft. Desolate heritages. This is an amazing passage. You know, I have read that back in the days of the Roman Empire. There was a chain armor at certain stages of that empire. There was a kind of armor that was woven chain links. That was kind of a chain armor. And it could deflect a sword. And it could deflect some spears. But I've read that it was no match for some kinds of powerful bows and arrows. And can you picture Satan with his chained armor? Chained around the world. He was trying to bind up the world. But God in the fullness of time. At the right time. Released his polished shaft. Penetrated right through that coat of mail. Right through that chain armor. Right into the heart of the earth for our salvation. Praise the Lord. Let's go to another picture. A Savior. We've considered the seed. We've looked at the sun. The royal air. We've considered the shoot that comes out of the old dry stump. We've talked about God's ordained servant who reached down to us. We've considered that shaft released into the earth. And now let's consider the Savior. The Savior. I love the thought out on the hillsides. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. Do you know the first ones to preach the gospel? You ever thought about it? It was angels. The angels gospel. I like to call it. Just some common shepherds out on the hillside. They said unto you is born this day in the city of David. A Savior which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And the Bible says this. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host. Praising God and saying peace on earth. Goodwill toward men. Beloved, never believe that the Bible is full of darkness and danger and bad news. Yes, it's truth. And it's very true. And it's but know this. The gospel is good news. The angels proclaimed that peace on earth. Goodwill toward men. Do you know that your God has goodwill toward you? God does not have ill will toward you. It's goodwill toward men. God is proactive. God is prevenient. God is initiatory. Goodwill toward men. That was the heart of God. And the angels announced it. A Savior turned to the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. Let's look quickly at chapter 52 verse 10. Here we read this. The Lord has made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations. And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. That's a Savior. That says to me that God rolled up his sleeves. The Bible tells us that God created man. And he even speaks of the stars being the work of his fingers and so forth. But when it came to our salvation, the Bible says the Lord made bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations. A Savior, which is Christ the Lord. That's the report. And verse 13 of 52 speaks more about that. But Isaiah 53 says this. We're thinking about the Savior. That's the report. But then it asks the question. Who hath believed our report? It's the report of a Savior. There's a rope down in the pit. And it's more than a rope. Our Lord himself has came down to the pit to rescue us. Who hath believed our report? And to whom is this arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground. He hath no form nor calmliness. And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our inequities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Praise the Lord tonight. The picture of the Saviour. The iniquity of us all. He was oppressed. He was afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before shears is dumb. So he openeth not his mouth. And it goes on. Look at verse 10. Yet, yet, it pleased the Lord to bruise him. I can't understand that. Somehow in the love of our Father, who had goodwill toward men, who looked at this globe and so loved the world, who looked and in the fullness of time let loose the shaft into the heart of the earth for salvation. It pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days. And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see, that's God, shall see of the travail of his, that's Christ's soul, and shall be satisfied. Say it with me. And shall be satisfied. Let's say it again. And shall be satisfied. Praise the Lord tonight. It's a picture that the Scripture gives us by his knowledge. Shall my righteous servant justify many? For he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great. And he shall divide the spoil with the strong. Because he hath poured out his soul unto death. And he was numbered with the transgressors. And he bare the sin of many. And made intercession for the transgressors. A Savior. A Savior. The woman that we talked about the other night, that went and called the men out of that city of Sychar in Samaria. When the men came out, they said, Now we can see for ourselves that this is the Christ. Indeed the Christ. The Savior of the world. And John says in 1 John 4, 14, And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Beloved, we've looked at six pictures tonight. Six pictures from the prophet Isaiah. A picture of a seed. A picture of the Son. A picture of the shoot. A picture of a servant. A picture of the shaft. A picture of the Savior. Had they known. Had they only known, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. Do you know? Had we known? Do we know tonight? A glorious King. A King for us. That's why we're here. Just to remember that tonight. And the Apostle said, God forbid. God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. God forbid, beloved. Let us glory in the King. There's a shout of the King among us. The King, King Jesus, came down. He came down as that seed. He came down as the Son. He came down as the servant. He came down as the shoot and the shaft and the Savior for each one of us. Now I want to consider three fires before we close. Let's go back to that fire we started with tonight. You picture that young man looking at his wrists. A few minutes ago, he was bound. He was there on the altar. He was the one that was going to die. He was the one that was going to be offered as a sacrifice. The knife was lifted. The fire was ready. But God said, No. I have a lamb. I have a ram. And that ram was offered for Isaac. I picture him there staring at that crackling fire. Like he'd never looked at a fire before. Take a look at that fire. Now I want you to fast forward thousands of years. To another fire. I'm putting you there, young man. Young lady, I'm putting you by this fire. And I'm putting me there. Because I've been there. I have an idea that sometime in your life, you've been there. And if you've been there, I want you to ponder that tonight. As the service draws to a close. And this is a fire on the night of Jesus' trial. And there was a bold servant. A bold Bible school disciple. Who had been following his Lord for several years. He didn't get it all. But he was following his Lord. And he had used his sword. And he'd used his tongue. And he'd used all kinds of things. But he had followed his Lord. And he told the Lord. Maybe some of you have told the Lord this week. Lord, I won't forsake you. Everyone else might leave, but I'm not going to. A few hours later. He had kind of slipped in and was standing around the fire. It's the second fire I want to think about tonight. Picture yourself by that fire. It was cold outside. And he was warming his hands. And he was a little bit uneasy. And he was kind of considering what was going on here. And he was warming his hands around this fire. And there came a young lady up to this man. And said, ah, you are one of them. He said, no, no, no, no. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not one of them. No. A little while later. A little while later, someone else came and said, ah. You also were with that one that's on trial over there. And he said, no, not me. No, I know you got somebody else. You're mixed up. It's not me. And he stayed there by the fire. Pretty soon, another maid came by. Said, you are. You also were one of them, weren't you? Because your speech betrays you. You talk like a Galilean. And he began to curse and to swear and get angry and said, I don't even know the man. I don't know that man. And about that time. The cock crew. For the second time. And I think a flood of horror. Began to surge through Peter. He had told the Lord, I won't leave you. And Jesus had said before the cock grows twice. You're going to deny me three times. The Bible says that Jesus. Suffering. Abused Jesus. Looked over on Peter. Have you been there? Have you ever been drawn up to the world's warm fire? And made every effort. To blend in. And not identify. With this man. The glorious king. Have you been there? When that rooster crowed. I think he lost. All joy in that warm fire. The Bible says he went out and wept. Bitterly. Wept. Bitterly. I did it. I denied him. Now he's dying. I don't understand. I'm confused. I'm ruined. I'm a mess. I don't know what all Peter thought. As he wept. Bitterly. I want to take you to one more fire. Some days later. Bible says in the 21st chapter of the Gospel of John. The disciples. Now knew that their Lord had risen. But they were still a bit confused about all of this. And this same young man. This same man who had been for three years a Bible school student. Walking with the rabbi. This same man finally said I'm going fishing. Some of the others said well we'll just go along. We'll go with you. So they went out and they fished. And they toiled all night. And they didn't catch any fish. They were fishing at night. Later. They saw something over there on the shore. There's a little flicker over there. And. And out came a voice. Out came a voice. Children. Young man. You have any meat? The Bible says. Peter said. Or one of the disciples said. It's the Lord. It's the Lord. And Peter. That young man. That man who had been frustrated. That man who had been confused. That man who had denied his Lord. The Bible says he grabbed his fisher's coat about him. Because he was naked. And he cast himself into the sea. Splash. I think Peter made a long dive. And started swimming for shore. Swimming. Splashing his way to shore. He got up on the shore. The others came rowing in. There was Jesus. There was Jesus. On the shore. The risen Savior. The Bible says there was a fire. There. And provision. Bread and fish. On that fire. There was Jesus. And Jesus said. Come. Dine. Come and dine. That was his invitation. I think Peter was still just a little bit uneasy. There around that fire. After a while. Jesus said to him. And I want to say to you tonight. Young brother. Sister. Each one of us that are here tonight. Jesus said. Simon. Son of Jodah. Do you love me? More than these. Picture yourself by that fire. I want to ask you that question tonight. Whatever these are in your life. Do you love me? More than these. Peter said. Yes Lord. You know I love you. Maybe you've said that this week. Jesus said. Feed my sheep. And he asked again. Simon. Son of Jonas. And there's more we could say about this. I just want to remind you of this last fire. Do you love me more than these? And he said. Yes Lord. I love you. He said. Feed my lambs. Finally asked him the third time. Simon. Son of Jonah. Do you love me? Peter said. He was a little grieved. He was always said. Yes Lord. Lord. You know I love you. And Jesus said. Feed my lambs. Three fires. Peter. I think he was getting the message. But like we so often do. And I want to remind you of this as we close here tonight. Peter said. Well Lord. Yes I love you. And Jesus said. Peter when you were young. You girded yourself and you went wherever you want. When you're old another's going to gird you and take you a place where you will. You don't want to go. And this he spoke signifying what death he should die. But Peter turned and he wanted to look at others. He said. Well Lord. What shall this man do? Maybe some of you have been tempted to look at each other. Look. What about her? What about him? Lord. I'm wondering about them. Is that okay? What what? And what Jesus say. He said. If I will that he tarry till I come. What is that to thee? You follow me. Young brother and sister. You follow him. Three fires. Picture. The sacrifice of the Savior. Could you go get. As you look at your sin. As you look at the wretchedness and the embarrassing things. That if they were flashed on this screen behind this. You would be so ashamed. You would hide your face like Peter did. As you picture those things. Would you go get a little leftover pumpkin. Or some zucchini. That's half rotten out of the garden. And would you put that in a basket or a few green beans. And come and offer that for your sin. No. We wouldn't do that. We see the picture. Of this lamb. This beautiful lamb that we heard about today. And we see the knife. Slitting the throat of the lamb. And the gasp. As and the trembling of that lamb. As the life goes out of the lamb. Which fire. Are you standing by tonight? You're free. Take a look at your wrists. We have one who has came down to us. He's came down. He was the promised seed. He is the royal son. He is that sprout. That shoot. When there was no hope. He came down as that. Divine servant. He is that powerful shaft. And he is your savior. He came down on that rope. To rescue you. Out of the pit. May God bless you tonight. I want to encourage you tonight. To consider. What fire you've been standing by. We're going to give you an opportunity this evening. As we prepare to sing a hymn. Brothers, you can be choosing a hymn. As we prepare to sing a hymn. If you feel like. You've spent some time at the wrong fire. I want to encourage you. Don't let tonight pass. Without making that right. And receiving. Reconciliation from the Lord Jesus. If you feel like you've spent too much time. With a wrong attitude saying. What shall this man do? What shall that woman do? I want to encourage you. Tonight's an opportunity to make it right. Before you leave. If you feel like you're still bound. And you're laying there on the altar. And you haven't yet fully grasped. That bleeding lamb. That is offered for you. And realized your freedom tonight. Don't leave without making that. Reality clear. If you feel like the Lord is just calling you. To feed my sheep in a new way. To feed his lambs in a whole new way. I want to encourage you. This is an opportunity to make that resolve clear. May God bless you. Shall we have a hymn? Thank you for listening to this message. We trust that it has been a blessing to you. 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