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Thank you for joining me on the program today. Good to be here. Welcome to KJV Cafe. I’m Pastor Clark Covington here with a message today, out of the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 51:5.” My righteousness is near my salvation has gone forth and my arms will shall judge the people. The aisles shall wait upon me and on mine arm, shall they trust.” What a powerful verse here. Isaiah 51:5. There’s a lot here, and we’re going to unpack it. There’s about five parts to it. We’re going to spend most of our time on the fifth part. But hey, the number five, that’s the number of Grace. In an Isaiah 51:5, we see God’s grace. Oh my goodness, you know what? There’s two fives in that verse, and there’s really doubly the grace in that verse. There’s so much Grace here. A righteousness is near, God is not far. God is a righteousness. When we study righteousness, when we talk of righteousness, we much look to Jesus Christ. He is our righteousness. The Bible says that Jesus is the end of the Law, the Fulfilment of the law. And so, our righteousness is near, Specifically God is not far. He’s very close people often think that God is a far off. Maybe that’s why they act ambivalent, or they act, like they don’t care or they act rebellious, or they act frustrated, if they knew how close God was. Oh, goodness or God is I should say they would act quite different God’s righteousness is near, you know, for the believer when we’re saved, we receive the Holy Ghost. We have God, living within us and God is “Omnipresent”, I mean He’s everywhere at all times and you say well, brother Clark, how could a person be here and there at the same time? Well, God is beyond a person, He’s a Spirit and He can be everywhere at all times, and He is, and His righteousness. We have never forget that. God is holy He’s a righteous God ,His righteousness is near and for a believer this should be a reminder to us that we should live as God wants us to live and we should live, as hard as it is. To be repentant and and to try our best to live holy, to try to follow all the commands that He gives us because His righteousness is near if you want to take that even to the physical realm, you could think of the Bible, the Bible is full of God’s word and His righteousness, and if you’re like me, your Bible is quite close to you. It could be on your desk could be on your table. If you have a smartphone, it could be on an app and therefore could be in your pocket or on your table or wherever nearby, but God’s word is near. And so, His righteousness is near secondly, His salvation is gone forth, you know, He sent Jesus to die for our sins so we could live. This is something that’s already been done, you know? As a believer. I’m always looking, uh, for the rapture that blessed. Hope I’m looking for the glory to come. Amen. I’m all pilgrim in this world. I’m looking to go home. Amen, I hope you are too. Uh so we’re looking forward but at the same time we also can look back and say you know salvation has gone forth. Jesus Christ did come, it’s verified fact He lived. Amen. And He uh walked this Earth and he was very much alive and a person even though He was born of a virgin. And Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross, so that we could live, and He was miraculously resurrected the third day, according to the scriptures. And now that we know that He’s resurrected, that’s our salvation. Jesus Christ died for our sins. He was the propitiation of the Bible says, that’s a big word to say, kind of the payment or the fulfilling payment for our sin death and it’s been done, it is completed. And so, as Christians, we often feel like oh it’ll be saved, we need to do all these good works or like I was talking about righteousness that we have to do that for salvation. We don’t, we are saved by what by faith. The Bible says it’s impossible to please God, without having faith, Abraham was justified through faith. We are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, Amen. And so, salvation has gone forth. It is a done deal and not only to the for those that, um, are, are have not been saved? Is that a great thing? Because they can be Amen. And I hope my prayer is that they will be. But also for the believer, it’s something that we can look back on and say, wow you know what this has been done for us and we’ve accepted Christ’s free gift of Salvation and now we’re saved for an eternity will be with him in glory. So God’s salvation is gone forth. Uh, and then, it says, um, in my arms shall judge the people, we have to remember that God is the judge. So he’s righteous and he’s near his salvation is going forth or Jesus Christ, and He is the judge how much time and effort do we go? Spend trying to rightly judge this or that or trying to press on an opinion or whatever. Trying to figure out this whole broken world. When He is the judge, He’s totally the judge. That brings me into Point number four of this five-part. Uh Aisles or the world. Shall wait upon me aisles. Shall wait upon me. The world shall wait upon God. What that means is God’s in full control. He’s fully sovereign, Amen. He is full control over this world. Jesus spoke about how the Rocks would cry out and praise God, if He had Amen. the God is in full control of this entire world. And so, we must understand Uh, that it looks out of control to us but He’s in full control. There’s no emergency meetings in heaven as Preacher Adrian Rogers used to say it is there’s only plans, and I believe that there’s only plans. God is a great plan and despite giving man-free will ,It choose Him or reject Him. He still is enacting His plan. He’s working in the hearts and minds of, I believe all people. Amen, He can do that. He’s Supernatural, He’s everywhere. And He’s all-powerful, and the world waits upon Him. So, he’s in full control. So, we should rest knowing that God’s near us and not far. I wish stress knowing that Jesus Christ is our salvation and He is already completed that work. And all we have to do is accept that free gift to Salvation and reflect on it. Amen. And we should rest and be excited that he is the judge that we are not tasked with figuring out, what’s right and wrong all day long in this world, but that God is the judge and not only does He judge, and will He judge. But we can read of course, in the Bible of his right righteous judgement to help inform our character and our walk in our lives. And we can rest knowing that He is in control of this world, as crazy as it looks. He’s in full control, and His plan will come to fruition. It will happen and no matter what anyone says All of that to say, here we are to the fifth part of this verse on mine arm, shall they trust on mine arm? Shall they trust? So we see his righteousness, we see salvation, we see as judgement, we’ve seen the fact that He has a whole world in His hands and now we see in His arm or His, His arms. Will they trust the believer? Will we trust? He is our protector. He’s our help. He’s our Refuge. I believe this is referring. Uh, maybe even deeper. To not just trust in God, in general, but trusting Him in times of need, you think of a little child? You know, he’s like, father, God, we’re a little children to Him. Those that have been saved. Amen, think of a little child, uh, They’re injured. They’re hurt. Uh, their weak. What do they do? They go run off to mummy or daddy. What his mummy or your daddy? Do pick him up. I’ve got a couple of young kids. There are four and five now the younger ones, but they were babies once. And uh they get hurt. And we just run over to Daddy and Daddy’s big arm would pick him up and hold them securely. Hold them safely. Oh, that’s a picture of our Lord today. Can you see it in his arm? We trust that He’ll hold us that He’ll protect us. That not one thing will happen to us unless He allows it. I you say, brother Clark, where do you get that from? Well, think of, when Jesus, was talking to Pontius Pilate and Pilate was saying, don’t you realiZe that the power to end your life or to give you life and Jesus said, you have no power. But what my father is given you to paraphrase. And so Jesus, recognise this sovereignty of God and the power of God, and that Jesus recognized as brutal as the crucifixion was, it was God’s will for His people. In fact that’s forecasted in Isaiah as well that it was God’s will for His people that Christ should suffer and owe that he suffer and oh is it so difficult to think on the suffering sometimes and it breaks your heart. But then you realise the need of all of us, sinners for Christ to die on the cross for us. And that need could only be fulfilled by Christ dying on the cross for us. And when it is fulfilled then we should take verses like this. So seriously in understand that righteousness is is unbelievably amazing. And it’s only from God and it’s only from Christ dying for our sins. That’s how we’re clothed with righteousness because we accept Jesus Christ. As Saviour, we are saved by the blood. Amen. We are made pure, we are made as white as snow because of what Christ did. But it’s God’s arm. that we trust. He’s our protector. You think about the world? You know, many people, they get into a problem, they have an issue. What do they do? They go turn to the world. That’s what they know. And so that’s what they turn to. They may turn to vain philosophies. They may turn to false gods. They may turn to idols. They may turn to their workplace, they may turn to materialism. They may turn to Adultery. They may turn. Uh Rebellion, you know, and abuse abusing things like pills or alcohol or whatever else drugs. The world doesn’t understand that there is a God that is right there near and is strong in all powerful and will protect and preserve His own Amen. Because some and I would say those that are believers and those that maybe this becomes the time where they’re broken and they get saved, they turn to God, think about your lowest times. Have you turned to God? Have you seen what He’s done? Amen, I would say there was a time but I was very low in my life, as a young man in my 20s and I turn to God and I prayed and I begged, God, and I did was undeserving of what I was praying for but I needed some big help and God showed up that day, not a week later, not a month later, not a year later that day. The strong arm was there that day and I’ll never forget that. Now I know God’s timing is not our timing and I know some people have been praying for years, I have things I’ve been praying for family members, lost family members and praying for Him for years. And God’s timing is His timing and He is, Sovereign, Amen. He do does as He pleases and there’s scripture on that, but when we think about how powerful He is, and how protective He is of his people, I’ve been studying the song of Solomon and the love story between This woman in Solomon. And the idea that this is the church in Jesus Christ, and this idea that the Lord views us in this light is so close and intimate relationship with Him that he cares about us. And then you tell me that He doesn’t know when we suffer. You tell me that He doesn’t know when we’re weak, it makes you think of 2 Corinthians 12: 8-10 “for this thing. I basalt the Lord Hhrice that it might depart from me and he said, unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee for my strength has made perfect in weakness most gladly therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ, may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure, and informities in reproaches in necessities in persecutions in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong”. Hey, that’s good stuff right there, that’s Paul dealing with the thorn in the Flesh, asking for it to be relieved. And it wasn’t but yet, he realized that in his weakness, God got the glory, because God preserved him, God protected him, God persevered him, and he became the Apostle to the Gentiles, and he did so much, uh, and that’s written in the Bible. That’s all by God’s preservation. So when we are weak, God has made strong. So if you are weak today, cry out to God, He is near. He will hold you in His strong arm. You need to be saved once saved. You will have this closeness with God and that you can draw upon, especially as you live righteously. In the Bible, says He hears the prayers of the righteous to call upon God to have that strong arm to have that thought of Salvation and Jesus Christ constantly running through your mind to have that idea that it won’t always be like this and won’t always be. So hard is worth it in the end, God is strong, and He is able so I can tell Today, I urge you today to turn to God, to get into His word, to pray, to Him and to seek Him with everything you got, because He is worthy. And let’s give Him the glory when He relieves us of our burdens. Amen. Thank you for joining me today.