New Focus Church

Our Saviour, Jesus Christ, comforted the Lord’s elect people, His children, in the Old Testament as well as He comforts us today. Then He gave signs, made promises and sometimes showed Himself to His people to encourage them through their trials. In today’s service we consider Immanuel’s land, Christ our Sanctuary, and a wonderful revelation of Christ and His gathered people to a waiting, watching prophet.

When God sent Isaiah and his son with good news to wicked king Ahaz, the king mocked the message and the messenger. Ahaz denied God's goodness and determined to save himself by his own means. There is a judgment coming for all who reject God's gospel. Yet all through the difficult years ahead the Lord's elect were comforted by the fact that sooner or later a remnant will return, Immanuel would be born of a virgin and God's way of salvation fulfilled.

Isaiah saw the Lord Jesus Christ ‘high and lifted up’. This is our glorious, victorious Saviour. Isaiah saw Him as He truly is: the sovereign God, the King in His Kingdom, ruling and reigning according to His good pleasure. Here are seven views Isaiah received in seeing his Saviour in this way. May we thus see Him, too.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever, and everywhere in scripture where the Lord Jesus Christ is found is as relevant yesterday, today and forever. Isaiah preached many years ago but his message is relevant to us today, warning of judgment to come for the wicked and God’s faithfulness in Jesus Christ to the elect remnant.

The Lord Jesus Christ was foreseen by Isaiah. He looked forward to a time when the beauty and glory of the Messiah would be seen through all the earth. With this prophecy he encouraged and comforted the elect of his own day as he anticipated the fruitfulness of Christ in bringing many sons to glory.

The Lord Jesus Christ is always pleased to comfort, defend and represent His people whom He loves with an everlasting love. He calls us ‘righteous’ because we are pure, clean and holy in Him. He calls us, ‘my people’ because He owns us as our Creator, Redeemer and Bridegroom. He calls us ‘the poor’ because we are the blessed poor whom He has fitted to receive all the riches of His grace and glory.

The Lord Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection established His kingdom, sent forth His ministers and is not victoriously gathering God’s elect from all the nations of the world. Isaiah saw this great work of the last days seven centuries before Christ came. He encouraged the Lord’s people of his age with this prophecy. We should be encouraged in its fulfilment.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the subject of all the scripture and the message of redemption and salvation is clearly seen in Isaiah’s prophecy by those to whom the gospel is revealed. Isaiah tells us the Lord God has a remnant people chosen by grace whose sins shall be purely purged and who will be washed and made clean in the blood of Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord our Shepherd. David knew this and writes beautifully and preciously of his personal relationship with the Lord Jesus his Shepherd. What better way to begin our New Year than being reminded, ‘The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want’ and shall be, ‘all the days of my life’.

The Lord Jesus Christ was announced by the angel with these words, ‘Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.’. The gospel takes away our fear. It brings good tidings of great joy because our Saviour, Christ the Lord is born.