Well, today I'd like to talk to you about the arm of the Lord. Now, it's every macho man's dream to have big biceps. I won't tell you whose bicep that is, but if anybody can tell me after church, I'll give you a dollar. You get one guess, and you can't cheat. But many of us men vainly take pride in our arm strength. We go to the gym, we do curls, We curl weights to build up biceps, to build up our arms, and then we flex to show others how big our guns are. You know, throughout this modern era, many even paint pictures on their arm or tattoos to show their arms off and to draw attention to their arms. Do you know today I want to talk to you about the arm of someone else. I'd like to talk to you about the arm of the Lord. And this is interesting because we've been studying Jesus in the Old Testament and in Isaiah. We saw him last time as the branch. He is called the branch because he is the offshoot of the lineage of David, the Messiah. We also saw him as the angel of the Lord or the messenger of the Lord. That also appears in Isaiah 37 verse 36. In Isaiah 60, verses 1 and 2, he is described as the glory of the Lord. But today in Isaiah, we're going to see Jesus as the arm of the Lord. Now, to prove to you that this indeed is Jesus, we could read ahead in chapter 53, which we'll do a little bit later, but I want you to go back to John 12 for a moment. John chapter 12. And notice, please, verse 38. John 12 and verse 38. The Bible says that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Now, this is a fulfillment of the scripture we just read, and Jesus is applying it to himself. He had done many wonders and many signs in front of the people, but you know signs and wonders don't produce faith. That is evident by the rich man who died and went to hell and begged that Lazarus would go back from the dead and warn his five brothers that they wouldn't come to that place of torment. And the Lord said, they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, no, but if one rises from the dead, they will listen to him. And then the reply came, if they don't believe Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. And so here is Jesus doing miracle after miracle to prove that he is the Messiah. But as we have already seen in this chapter a couple of weeks ago, they were hardened, they were blind, they didn't want to see the truth. As a matter of fact, verse 37 says, but though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him. You see, signs and wonders do not by themselves produce faith. Man's hardness and blindness of heart requires a supernatural working of the Spirit of God. Look at verse 38. Now, all of this happened, the people not believing that the saying of Isaias the prophet might be fulfilled. You see, Isaiah said, Even though I preach in chapter 6 of Isaiah, God commissioned him to go and preach. God said, you're not going to have any converts, or not many. Most are going to reject you. Most will not listen to you. But you keep preaching anyway, he said. In verse 39, therefore they could not believe. Because that Isaiah said again, he hath blinded their eyes and hardened their heart that they should not see with their eyes or understand with their heart and be converted and I should heal them. And so not only would they, but eventually they could not believe. because God would sovereignly harden their heart. Why? Because they hardened their heart. And God in His sovereignty chose to keep it hard and they would not believe. So to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Well, to most of the world throughout history, only a small remnant have had the privilege of the Holy Spirit opening their eyes and allowing them to see who the arm of the Lord is. As a matter of fact, if you notice in verse 41, it says, These things said Esaias when he saw His glory and spake of Him. The Him there is the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as he goes on in verse 42 to say, nevertheless, among the chief rulers also, many believed on him. Who is the him? Again, the Lord Jesus. But because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. And so Jesus, my friend, is the arm of the Lord. What a description. Why is he called the arm of the Lord? Well, arms do things. Arms make things. Arms accomplish things. And you know what God showed me years ago? That everything God ever did, made, or accomplished, He always chose to do so through Jesus Christ. Throughout history, what God has done, He has done through His right arm, who is Jesus. He's done it all through the instrumentality of His Son. For example, the Bible is clear that He created all things through His Son. John 1.3, all things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. So how many things were made outside of Jesus doing it? Nothing. Listen to this, Colossians 1.16, for by Him were all things created. How many things? All things that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible, that would include the angelic realm, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him, Colossians 1.16. So Jesus made it all. See, God created all things by means of His right arm, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1.2, God hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds. And so God made everything by means of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, God says that he created all things by his arm. Listen to Jeremiah 27.5. I made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed unto me. Jeremiah 32, 17. Ah, Lord God, behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power, an outstretched arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. And so God's stretched out arm made it all. And so God created through his Son. Not only that, but he led Israel in the Old Testament by his son. He would bring them through the Red Sea on dry land, and he would bring them into the wilderness in Mount Sinai, and he would provide water for them out of a rock. And who was that rock that followed them? Well, the Bible says they did all drink of that same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 4. And so God created through His Son, He led Israel by His Son, He also revealed Himself by His Son. God has revealed himself. Now, God the Father, no man has seen God the Father, the Bible says, but Jesus is the self-revelation of God. Hebrews 1.3, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person. And so Jesus is the express image of God the Father. To see Jesus was to see God. That's why he said to Philip, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. John 14 and verse 9. Those who have seen me have seen the Father. Jesus said that. You see, God has revealed Himself by His Son. Not only that, God provided redemption by his son, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Romans 3.24. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 1 Corinthians 1.30. And my friends, we just saw recently in our study of Ephesians that God In God, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace, Ephesians 1.7. And so God provided redemption through his son. Not only that, he sustains creation by his son. Who holds all the planets in place? Who keeps the stars from becoming meteors and hitting planet Earth? Who keeps the earth in its rotation and its orbit around the sun? Who does all of these things? Jesus does. As a matter of fact, the Bible says in Colossians 117 that Jesus is before all things and by him all things consist. That means he holds it all together. He holds all the planets in place. He holds everything upon the earth in place. He sustains creation by His Son. One day, God will rule and reign by means of His Son. The Bible says, For unto us a child is born, and 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 so, behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, Isaiah 32, verse 1. So God rules by his son. And then one day he'll judge the world by his son. For the father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the son, John 5, 22. Everything God does, he does by means of his son, his right His arm, He does it all through the arm of the Lord. And so, people saw the light, they saw Jesus, they heard Him, but they stiff-armed Him, they rejected Him, and it fulfilled the scripture which says, to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Well, I trust the arm of the Lord has been revealed to you. I hope that the arm of the Lord has been revealed to everyone in this room. Because the question is, to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Go with me back to Isaiah 52, Isaiah chapter 52. And I'd like us to look at the context surrounding what we've studied here. And so Isaiah 52, notice verse 10. Isaiah 52 verse 10. The Lord hath 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. Here in chapter 52, you know what God's describing? He's describing the future messianic kingdom, which includes only those that have been made righteous by the Lord. As a matter of fact, in verse 1 of this chapter, he quotes that in Revelation 21, verse 27, and anyone who enters that kingdom will be righteous. And he's speaking of the future kingdom that is yet to come. And then he goes on to talk about how God had redeemed Israel out of Egypt. He says in verse four, for thus saith the Lord God, my people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what have I here, saith the Lord, that my people is taken away for naught? They that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord. And my name continually every day is blasphemed. The Lord here, and I believe it's Jesus Christ, he says that every day they're blaspheming my name. Is there ever a name that is used as a curse word more than Jesus? There is none. Men curse His name and blaspheme Him all the time. But verse 6 says, Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore they shall know in that day, speaking of that future kingdom, that I am He that doth speak. Behold, it is I. You know who is speaking here? It's the one whose name they don't know. They don't recognize Him. They don't even respect His name. They will speak of Him in a curse word. But there's coming a day when multitudes of Israelites will recognize Jesus is Lord. He is the Messiah. And they will honor Him at that point. And you know, many times as I've studied the Bible, there are statements like this where God just speaks, where Jesus just suddenly speaks in the sacred text, where he suddenly reveals himself, just like Isaiah 48, 16 says, come ye near unto me, hear ye this. I have not spoken in secret from the beginning, from the time that it was, there am I. And now the Lord God and His Spirit hath sent me. By the way, that's the Trinity in one verse. The triune Godhead, for those who deny the Trinity, the Bible says that the Lord God, that's the Father, and His Spirit, that's the Holy Spirit, hath sent me, that's Jesus Christ. So the Trinity is in the Old Testament. In one verse of scripture, you have God speaking and Jesus is the one speaking. And he says, I've been speaking from the beginning of time, but people don't hear him. They don't recognize his voice. And that's why he says in Isaiah 52, six, therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak, behold it is I. Verse seven, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth. You know this beautiful feet verse is quoted by Paul. in Romans chapter 10 and verse 15. And it's describing those who carry the message of the gospel regarding Jesus Christ to the world. And he says, you have beautiful feet if you take that message. You take the message to the streets. You take that message to your neighbor. Your feet carry you to lost sinners and you tell them about me. You've got beautiful feet. And Paul applies this scripture to Jesus because he knows that this context is talking about Jesus the Messiah. Well, notice verse eight. Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice. With the voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion. Again, that blessed hope when the Lord comes back to Jerusalem and will rule and reign. Verse nine, break forth into joy. Sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem. For the Lord hath comforted his people. He hath redeemed Israel. And again, speaking prophetically, this is the kingdom. After Jesus comes back for the rapture, after he pours out his wrath upon planet earth, he then will return and will rule and reign from a renovated Jerusalem, a new Jerusalem, a beautiful city. And it's gonna be filled with joy and blessing in that messianic kingdom. You know what God's going to do at that point? He's going to show Jesus for who He is. It says, "...the Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations." You know what it means to make bare? It means to remove the clothing so as to reveal. It's like pulling back the sleeve to show the arm. And that's exactly what God the Father is going to do about His Son. He's going to show Him and the world, all nations, are going to recognize Him. He is the Messiah. And praise God that He's opened many eyes, even today, to His holy arm. The eyes of the nations, not just a select few, not just the eyes of 12 disciples, but the eyes of all the nations and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. And certainly there are Gentiles who are saved all over the world, and God's gospel has gone all over planet Earth, even today. But you know ultimately this is referring to that future time when Jesus will rule and he will reign. And then I think you're going to have the fulfillment of Zechariah 12.10 where he says, and I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplications and they shall look on me whom they have pierced. and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one is in bitterness for his firstborn." In other words, they're going to repent, they're going to cry, because throughout history, the Jewish nation as a whole has rejected Jesus as Messiah, but there's coming a day when they will look on me, whom they have pierced, and they will finally cry and repent and turn to Him. Why? Because the arm of the Lord will be revealed. The arm will be made bare. He will show Himself in His blazing glory. And all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. By the way, there isn't salvation in any other. In the Bible, God says that he's the only savior, and neither is there salvation in any other, for there's no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Well, I want you to, so what a verse. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations. Now go back to chapter 53 and verse one. Who hath believed our report? God the Father is asking a question. He says, who has believed our message? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Now, beginning in this context is one of the most treasured and important passages of the Old Testament. Charles Ryrie notes in the Ryrie Study Bible, these verses present the servant suffering vicariously for men's sins. And this is the great chapter. We often quote it when we have the Lord's Supper. You've heard it many times, but I'll tell you, it's awesome. And why Jewish people as a whole don't study scriptures like this? Well, I know why. Because there is an adversary in the spirit realm that is keeping their eyes blinded and doesn't want them to read this chapter. As a matter of fact, he talks about the suffering Messiah throughout this chapter. Verse two, for he shall grow up before him as a tender plant. So whoever this arm of the Lord is, it's a person, right? He, the arm of the Lord, he shall grow up before him, before God the Father, as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. He hath no form nor comeliness. 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 iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Who is this arm of the Lord? It's Jesus, who suffered and died for us and fulfilled this messianic prophecy. So Ryrie goes on to state, traditional Jewish interpretation understood the passage to be speaking of Messiah, as of course did the early Christians who believed Jesus to be that Messiah. Not until the 12th century did the view emerge that the nation Israel is referred to, a view that has since become dominant in Judaism. Now, among the Jewish rabbis today and Jewish people who do any teaching on this passage, they try to deceive people into saying that the suffering servant in this chapter is a reference to Israel. Now, certainly Israel did suffer, but not with the particulars that you're reading about in this chapter. For one thing, he's talking about a man singular. Another thing, if you notice in verse eight, it says, he was taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation for he was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgression of my people was he stricken. Here's the question. If this passage is talking about the nation of Israel suffering and not the Messiah, then who is the my people of this verse? Right? You follow? Who is the my people? It says for the transgression of my people was he stricken. Well, you can't have it both ways. You can't say the my people is Israel and then say the suffering servant is Israel. No. It was Jesus who died for his own people. As a matter of fact, John 1.12 says he came unto his own and his own received him not. But he did come here for them, and he gave his life for his people. And so, clearly this is not referring to the nation of Israel, because the servant is distinguished from the people in verse 8. Not only that, as Ryrie notes, he's an innocent victim, something that could not be said of the nation of Israel. It says in verse 9, You know what he's describing here? He's describing the perfect Messiah. This could not be said of the nation of Israel. They are not innocent. As a matter of fact, throughout the Bible, you'll find that God calls them a stiff-necked people. He calls them a rebellious people. Simply read the book of Isaiah. And read Jeremiah. Read Ezekiel. Read the minor prophets, and you'll find that God indicts them over and over again for their wickedness. You want to know something? They aren't the only one who's wicked. You and I are wicked as well. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one of us to his own way. And the Lord laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. He bore the penalty for you and me. He is the arm of the Lord in this context. So to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Well, the context of Isaiah 53 shows that this arm is the suffering Messiah. But most of the world is blind to him, their minds were blinded. For until this day, the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done away in Christ, 2 Corinthians 3.14. And you wanna know, it was the God of this world that has blinded the minds of them that believe not. Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ Our Messiah, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 2 Corinthians 4, 4. I thank the Lord that He opened my eyes. That the arm of the Lord has been revealed to me. When I was 16, and somebody shared the good news with me, and I said, It makes sense. Jesus is Lord. He died for me. And I saw Him to be the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. And it's so exciting to see Him throughout the Bible. You know, that's what builds up my faith in the word of God. To see that Jesus wasn't just some New Testament, popped into the New Testament era by these Christians who made all this stuff up. No, he was throughout the Hebrew scriptures. And you know, I was talking to somebody this week, and they said that they were talking to a Jewish person, and they were just talking about the Bible, and that this individual was asking, well, who has the real message? Who's really got the message? And my reply would have been, well, you have half the story. I've got the completed story. You have half the story and you don't even understand the half you have. But we've got the whole story. We see the fulfillment that Jesus is the fulfillment of hundreds and hundreds of messianic prophecies. Well, Jesus is the arm of the Lord who has been revealed. Secondly, Jesus is the arm of the Lord to be trusted. Go back to Isaiah 51, Isaiah chapter 51, and notice verse five. The Bible says, my righteousness is near. My salvation has gone forth. Mine arm shall judge the people, the aisles that wait upon me. and on mine arm shall they trust. He says, they will trust on my arm. They will trust on me. They will rely on me. They'll wait upon me. Now we trust Jesus. We don't trust man. We don't trust self. We place no dependency on the flesh. We are leaning on the everlasting arms, right, as we sang. The arm of flesh will fail you. You dare not trust your own, but we trust him. On mine arm shall they trust. We trust Jesus for everything. We trust Him for our righteousness. That's why He says, My righteousness is near. My righteousness is available. Jesus wants to give you His righteousness today. But you must trust in Him and Him alone, not religion. Not a religious person. The Virgin Mary won't save you. No guru or pope will save you. But if you rely on the Lord Jesus, on His arm and on Him alone, He will save. He'll give you His righteousness. He will give you His salvation. He says, My salvation is gone forth. He will vindicate you. and mine arms shall judge the people. And so he will bring vindication and he will bring strength if you wait upon him. It's better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. Psalm 118.9. It says on our dollar bill, in God we trust. So we need to trust the Lord with all our heart and not lean on our own understanding. In all our ways we must acknowledge Him, for He shall direct our path. By the way, in the context here, Jesus is all throughout this. As a matter of fact, chapter 50, verse 6, I'm not gonna preach on it, but I want you to see it. I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that pluck off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting. That's Jesus when he was tried before that evil crowd who spit in his face and pulled out the beard fulfilling this scripture. You see, we trust in Him. We rely on His strength. Go back to Isaiah 40 for a minute. So much in the book of Isaiah. Chapter 40 is a great, great chapter. Matter of fact, look at verse 28. Isaiah 40, verse 28. hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, and that has to be Jesus, he made it all, fainteth not, neither is weary, there is no searching of his understanding, he hath given power to the faint, and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength, even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Where does this strength come from? It comes from the one you rely on. If you rely on the Lord, He will uphold you with His everlasting strength. You know, many times we are in dark times and difficult times and we want to run or we want to escape. Do you know what? Somebody wrote this. actually from Streams in the Desert, Stephen Merrill said, Beloved, do not try to get out from a dark place, except in God's time and in God's way. The time of trouble is meant to teach you lessons that you sorely need. Premature deliverance may frustrate God's work of grace in your life. Just commit the whole situation to Him. Be willing to abide in darkness so long as you have His presence. Remember, it is better to walk in the dark with God than to walk alone in the light. Cease meddling with God's plans and will. You touch anything of His and you mar the work. You may move the hands of a clock to suit you, but you do not change the time. So you may hurry the unfolding of God's will, but you harm and do not help the work. You can open a rosebud, but you spoil the flower. Leave all to him. Hands down, thy will, not mine. We need to trust him. The scripture teaches that we must rely on the arm of the Lord to carry you through. You're familiar with that famous poem, Footprints in the Sand? One night I had a dream. I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord, and across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonged to me, and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of my life flashed before us, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that many times along the path of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of my life. This really bothered me. And I questioned the Lord about it. Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times of my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why. In times when I needed you the most, you should leave me. The Lord replied, my precious, precious child, I love you. I would never, never leave you during your times of trial and suffering. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you. And Jesus carries us. Jesus is the arm that upholds his children and he leads his dear children along. My friend, trust him. You can trust the arm of the Lord. You can throw yourself into the hands of a faithful Creator. He will not let you drop because He's the arm of the Lord. I want you to see thirdly that not only is Jesus the arm of the Lord that's been revealed, not only is He one that we are to trust in, but secondly, Jesus is the arm of the Lord ruling with equity. He is the arm of the Lord that rules with fairness, with justice. Isaiah chapter 40, and let's go to the beginning of the chapter. Isaiah 40, verse one. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned. For she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. By the way, who fulfilled this in the New Testament? Right, John the Baptist, right? He is called the forerunner of Christ. He prepared the way by preaching repentance to the people, by baptizing them upon their repentance and preparing them to receive the Messiah, who he would say, behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Verse four, every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. And ultimately, this will be fulfilled at Christ's return. Yes, it was accomplished when he came the first time in John preparing his way, But ultimately this chapter will be fulfilled when Messiah comes back and all flesh shall see it together. For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. The voice said, cry, and he said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, and the flower fadeth, because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it. Surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, and the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand forever. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain. O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength. Lift it up. Be not afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, behold your God. Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. Who is this arm? The Lord God will come. Adonai Elohim will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him. This, my friend, is the same one John wrote about in Revelation 22, 12, where Jesus said, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. So Jesus is going to fulfill this scripture. He's going to return. And you know when he returns, he's going to give out the rewards. Now, salvation is not a reward. It's a gift. Don't confuse it. Salvation is free. It's by grace. It's a gift. It's not a reward. However, once you receive the gift and you start living for Jesus, everything you do for Him will merit a reward, even giving a cup of cold water in His name, right? And every work will be made manifest. And the Lord will reveal it by fire when He returns. When Jesus comes back, everything we have done in this life is going to be seen by Him. It's going to go through the all-seeing eyes of Jesus, and it will be refined. If anything comes out at the end, we'll receive a reward. But if any work is burned up, we'll suffer loss of reward. But praise God, we ourselves will be saved, yet so as by fire. But Jesus comes back, he will give out the rewards at the judgment seat of Christ, and he's coming soon. And he's gonna come back and give fairly what you deserve. Now my friend, we may not have much time left. God has given us time to work for him, to serve him, Jesus is coming back and he's gonna reward you according to your labor. He's gonna reward me. We better make sure that our motives are right, that our heart is right, that we're serving according to the rule book of the Bible, and that we are doing it for his glory. My friend, you're gonna be rewarded one day. You may not get a lot of rewards in this life, but your reward is coming. Jesus said, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me. And Isaiah prophesied, behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arms shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him. One feature that stands out in the Messiah is His fairness. His impartiality. His even-handedness. His perfect justice. Everything the Lord does, He does without favoritism. And I'm thankful. that he carries his children and cares for them. He says, take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your soul. He is fair. Look at verse 11. And he shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He is that good shepherd. He said in John 10, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, and he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. You know, my friend, that's what he does. He, like we just read in Footprints in the Sand, he carries his children in his arm like a good shepherd carries his little lamb that needs to be carried. What a Savior. What a just Savior He is and what a powerful arm He has to carry us through life. I want you to see, fourthly, that Jesus is the arm of the Lord victorious in salvation. Several times, God speaks about the arm of the Lord, and I'm not giving you all the examples today. Actually, I have an appendix of many other references of the arm of the Lord that I'm not gonna give in this message because it's just too many. But the arm of the Lord not only strengthens and guides and provides, but the arm of the Lord also judges. Listen to Isaiah 51 verse 9. Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord. Awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, or Egypt, and wounded the dragon, or Satan? He said, aren't you the same one? God, show your arm once again. Isaiah 59, 16, And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness, it sustained him. God's arm brought salvation. I want you to see with me a passage in Isaiah 63, an extended passage that talks about the extended arm of the Lord and his arm that will bring deliverance, his arm that brings judgment. Chapter 63, look at verse one. This is Jesus now being described. Who is this that cometh from Edom with dyed garments from Basra? You say, what's he referring to there? He's talking about the time when God destroyed the Edomites. It just wiped him out. But now he's speaking prophetically and using that imagery of God's destruction of Edom. And this one with garments from, dyed garments from Basra. This is that is glorious in his apparel. So whoever this is, he is glorious in his apparel. Traveling in the greatness of his strength. I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat? He said, why are your garments red? You've got beautiful garments, why are they red? Like somebody who's been treading among the grapes. Verse 3. I have trodden the winepress alone. That means, he said, I've done it by myself. And of the people there was none with me, for I will tread them in mine anger, and will trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. This is speaking about the Lord's return for judgment. This is speaking about the battle of Armageddon, when Jesus comes back. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help. And I wondered that there was none to uphold. Therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me, and my fury it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury." That's drunk with blood. And I will bring down their strength, their life's blood, as it were, to the earth. Who is this that is going to come back and judge the world like this? Who is this arm? This is Jesus. In Revelation 14.20 it says, And the winepress was trodden without the city, and the blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horses' bridles, by the space of a thousand six hundred furlongs, two hundred mile river of blood. At points it will be four and a half feet high, the river of blood. It's just going to be a major destruction in the day of the Lord. By the way, you need to read Revelation. chapters 14 and following, actually 14 to 18, describe this event. And then chapter 19, Jesus is described as the one who returns on the white horse to fight against the Antichrist, the armies of the earth that are gathered together against him in battle. And who is it who wins the battle of Armageddon? It's Jesus. And the Bible says, listen to this now, it's clearly a reference to Jesus, Revelation 19, 13 will fulfill this scripture. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. And his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth go a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. You remember Jesus said, "...the Father judgeth no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son." Jesus is coming again. And He's going to correct everything. First He removes His people. First the rapture, then the wrath. First He brings salvation and deliverance for His people. Then He treads the winepress in His fury. I'm so grateful that my arm, Jesus Christ, rescues us, will lift us off planet Earth, will gather us unto himself before he pours out his fury upon planet Earth in a time period called the day of the Lord. And I believe that the rapture will occur before the day of the Lord. And I'm thankful that we are not appointed unto wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Who is this one who comes with his garments dipped in blood, as it were? It's Jesus. He is the arm of the Lord. And so Jesus is not only Yahweh's arm. He's the right arm. seated at the right side of God the Father. He is the arm of power. Job asked, has thou an arm like God? The answer is nobody has an arm like God. Not even that arm in the picture I showed you. That's nothing. People get old. All flesh is as grass. Our arms turn back to skin and bones, and then they eventually turn back to dust after we die. but we're leaning on the everlasting arms. And Jesus is the right hand of the Father. It says in Psalm 44, 3, For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them, but thy right hand and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favor unto them. Psalm 89, 13. Thou hast a mighty arm, strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Psalm 98, 1. O sing unto the Lord a new song, for He hath done marvelous things. His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten Him the victory. Psalm 118, 15. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is the tabernacles of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. You know what Jesus said to his enemies? He said, hereafter shall the son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. And one day, they'll see him there. Why is he at the right hand of God? And why does God always talk about his right arm? It's because that's where Jesus is, and Jesus is the arm of the Lord. The bottom line is this. On whose arm will you trust? Who will you trust for salvation? Most of the world is trusting themselves. They think by their righteousness they're going to obtain heaven. They're relying on their own arm. They're relying on their own effort rather than falling into the hands of a faithful creator. Most of the world is there. They think, by my arm, I'm gonna get into heaven. No, my friend, you need to trust the arm of the Lord. He's the only one who can get you in. Who are you to trust for your basic needs? Who will we trust for our provision, our guidance, our strength? Single people, who will you trust to provide for you a spouse? Rely on the Lord. Mothers, who will you trust? Who will you lean on to care for your children and to protect your children? We need to rely on Jesus for that. Do you know everything in life? We need to throw ourselves upon the arm of the Lord. Stop relying on self. Only trust Him, as the hymn writer put it. I'll tell you, we all need Him. There are times where many of us undergo demonic attack, where Satan would like to sift us as wheat, like he said to Peter, remember? Satan has desired you, that he may sift you as wheat. And Satan would like to destroy us, but you want to know something? He is nothing compared to Jesus. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. There have been times in my life where I sensed an attack by the enemy of our souls. A demonic presence sought to smother the life right out of me. I don't know if you've experienced anything like this, but it's happened to me a couple times. And it seemed like, you know, Job talks about his hair standing up, as it were, on his neck. I mean, there have been times, I believe, whether I was fully conscious, you know, semi-conscious, but I sensed a demonic presence. What did I do? I mean, if you've not experienced anything like this, I hope you never do, but you know what I did? I said, Jesus, bring deliverance, give salvation, and boom, the presence was gone. Whatever it was, I think it was a demon. but it was gone because there is no power that can overcome Jesus. When you experience a demonic attack, when you experience a low time in your life, call out to the Lord and say, Jesus, I trust you. Bring deliverance. And he will because he's the arm of the Lord. An instant victory. Keep trusting the arm of the Lord.