Another post of sermon notes I took while in attendance at church. Today’s message is from Jonathan Schmidt, titled “His Joy and Delight”. This message was delivered in two parts at Grace Church over successive weeks (8/24-8/31/2003). This is part 2.

Our primary text is Isaiah 42.

The Lord’s Chosen Servant

His Joy and Delight

1. God delights in His Son (the very image of Himself)

2. God delights in His creation

3. God delights in all that He does.

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1. God delights in His Son

Matt. 3:16-17 “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matt 12:15-21 fulfills Isaiah 42:1, verse 18 reads:“Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.”

Matthew 17:1-8 is awesome, but we only need to see where God says it again, let’s look at verse 5:He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

So my question is: How are you, dear reader, in beholding the Son? Are your present circumstances acting like blinders of your vision? Are you sleep-walking with your blackout eye-covers still on? Where is our view?

What we believe about God is foundational, what God believes about us is Formational.

2. God Delights in His creation.

IN God’s creation sequence recorded in the first few chapters of Genesis, He repeats “it is good”. Every so often we catch glimpses or more than glimpses of how awesome our world is. I like pretty sunrises more than pretty sunsets, not that sunsets are bad in any way, of course. I suppose it’s because there is a new day of His mercies to be revealed after the sun rises. Lamentations 3 says they’re new every morning, “great is His faithfulness”, right? And even if that sounds too much like a “church answer”, after sunset you need lights, and not too far after that, depending on the season, it’s almost bed-time, right? I’ll admit happily I’m a morning person!

In Job 38 God responds to Job about how He’s created it all and where was Job while He developed everything (and it’s all good [ Iz All Good!] for that matter!)

Not because of anything we could or did do, but in how our wonderful creation He as creator is focused upon.

Romans 1:18-23 is the passage on God’s wrath on unrighteousness, but verse 20 cites: “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

Worship the Creator and find Him, not His creation

3. God delights in all that He does. Isaiah 42:6-9

In all He does the cause is to praise Him.

Psalm 135: 6:

“Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.”

God’s purposes cannot be thwarted, even if we cannot understand what is going on. We must learn not to lean on our own understanding!

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.

There’s a common saying in our culture, “follow your heart”, that’s wickedness!

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?

God’s purposes cannot be thwarted!

Acts 2:23 speaks of God’s definite plan and foreknowledge, His rescue plan for our lives!

Let’s close with Jesus’ words to us.

John 6:35-40

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”