Sermons | Word of Grace Bible Church [wgbc.org]

The main motivation that moved God to save His people by sending the Messiah to earth was His mercy. God's mercy is an amazing quality of His character. God dwells on this in detail in the second part of Isaiah chapter 49. God's mercy is the foundation of our hope today. Its beauty and power continue to amaze our minds. Its faithfulness is the source of our hope. Its greatness is an inspiration for glory.

Covenants between God and people play a significant role in biblical history. God made covenants with Noah, Abraham, and all of Israel through Moses. In addition, there was David's covenant, as well as the New Covenant promised by God through the prophet Jeremiah. The prophet Isaiah also speaks of God's covenant, but in a very unusual way. Conveying God's words, Isaiah asserts that God will make a covenant with the Messiah himself, the Servant of the Lord. This promise is of great significance. It helps us understand the nature of salvation and its practical role.

Through the prophet Isaiah, the Holy Spirit reveals the mission of the Messiah: the salvation of Israel, the proclamation of salvation to all nations, and the manifestation of the glory of God the Father. These purposes remain relevant for every believer today.

One of the images in which the Messiah is presented in the Old Testament is that of the Servant or Slave of the LORD. He occupies a central place in the second half of the book of the prophet Isaiah. The first few verses of chapter 49 reveal to us the greatness and character of Jesus Christ associated with this image. This is one of the most vivid portraits of the Messiah presented in the Old Testament. In it, we see what God considered important to reveal to people more than 700 years before the birth of Christ.

In this sermon, we explore a powerful passage from Mark 6:45-52, where Jesus, the Sovereign Savior, orchestrates a divine lesson for His disciples on the Sea of Galilee. Following the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, Christ sends His disciples into a storm, revealing their weaknesses and His infinite power. Through impossible tasks—feeding a multitude, crossing a stormy lake, and walking on water—Jesus teaches them, and us, to recognize our limitations, rest in His strength, and respond with courage and worship. This message invites us to trust in God’s providence and power when facing life’s overwhelming challenges.

Human problems stem from broken harmony with God. Scripture shows that the restoration of this harmony is connected to the true peace or shalom — the state of wholeness, satisfaction, and security. How can we find this peace today, and why did the Israelites struggle to do so?

The Bible reveals to us an amazingly profound picture of God's plan of salvation, which encompasses the entire history of mankind and shows how God leads people step by step to His glory. Every page of Scripture, from the Old to the New Testament, is connected in this great plan. Through judgment and mercy, through promises and their fulfillment, through prophecies pointing to Christ—the main purpose of God's revelation.

That is why we pay attention not only to the Gospels and the epistles of the apostles, but also to the prophetic books, where salvation is presented in types and promises. Studying chapter 48 of the book of Isaiah, we see again how God, despite the stubbornness and unfaithfulness of His people, shows mercy for the sake of His name, for the sake of His glory, which He will not give to anyone else.

The salvation of the human soul is closely connected with its immersion in the Church. The Church of Jesus Christ is the ultimate goal of the creation of the Universe. Unfortunately, most Christians do not realize the true significance of the Church and therefore lose its blessings by neglecting their responsibility to it. The Apostle Paul speaks in detail about the Church in his epistle to the Ephesians, helping us to understand its place in our lives and our place in it.