The Abundant Life is the Dependent Life

Introduction

The lie that has endured all generations, all the way back to the actions of the first created people, is that the abundant life is the independent life. One of the most fundamental beliefs that we as humanity hold most fervently and that impacts virtually every facet of our lives, is the belief that the successful and fulfilling life, is the one that is dependent on and achieved by self. To reach the point where we need help from no one, declaring to ourselves and those around us, that we have made it is to live a life that depends on self alone. We desire to acquire wisdom, power, resources, and accomplishments for ourselves and feel less accomplished if we need help along the way.

One of the clearest ways I have seen this in my life over the years is with the multitude of house projects we have done. I have found that the demolition part of most projects comes easy, it is the putting things back together that proves challenging. What is even more challenging though, is having the humility to ask for help when I so clearly needed it!

There were many projects that we needed to do that I had no experience or knowledge in how to accomplish. There were many times I needed help but didn’t want to ask for it. I often felt insecure…and didn’t want to ask for help – I wanted to do it myself…with a little help from YouTube.

I was operating under the belief that abundant life was achieved through independence…but the reality is pursuit of figuring it out on my own cost me more time and trips to the hardware store.

“Self-sufficiency is the greatest of all wealth.” (Epicurus)

“Self-reliance is the key to a vigorous life. A man must look inward to find his own answers.” (Robin Williams)

“Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.” (Abraham Lincoln)

Having the desire to grow in new skills and to accomplish projects is a good desire! However, this becomes dangerous when our pride keeps us from acknowledging our need for help. This experience and many others have taught me that abundant life is not found in living without the help of others but found in humble dependence on others.

In the beginning, God created all things including the human race. We are created beings, meaning we are dependent on someone outside of us for our existence. And yet, from the beginning, we see a desire in our ancestors to live independent of the One who made them.

God created Adam and Eve and He placed them in the garden He had created for them to care for. He instructed them to care for the garden and to help cultivate fruitfulness. He gave the resources needed for abundant life and also the parameters. They were instructed to enjoy the fruit of every tree in the garden, except for one – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Dependent beings were given clear instructions from the One who made them on how to live. The conditions of the created world and everything in it was according to the design of God – perfect.

And yet, we know that Satan in the form of a snake began to bring into question the goodness of God. Not only is the character of God brought into question but new desires are introduced – “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” If we live independent of the Creator, we will become like Him! But this lie, that our ancestors believed and that we still believe to this day, could not be further from the truth! This is what Isaiah 50 calls out and addresses.

The Fruit of Self-reliance

Isaiah 50:1-3
This is what the Lord says:

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you?Because of your sins you were sold; because of your transgressions your mother was sent away. When I came, why was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Was my arm too short to deliver you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert; their fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst. I clothe the heavens with darkness and make sackcloth its covering.”

Have you ever pursued the gift of self-reliance and realized how frustrating it is and how empty it leaves you feeling?

Back in Sterling Heights, we had a leak in our bathroom that required repairs. I got to watch a friend identify the problem and replace the piping, fixing the problem. When we bought our current home, we had many fixtures and areas of piping that were either broken or in need of replacement.

Because I had watched our friend and various YouTube videos, I believed I could tackle the various plumbing projects we had. The first one I attempted was to replace the two sinks in our upstairs bathroom. I had gotten a little too excited with the demo and removed a large section of drain piping that turns out was needed.

I then spent 8 hours attempting to fix the mess I had made – refusing to ask for help. After losing an entire day, I came back the following day with the advise of many wise counselors and was able to fix the problem I created. But my desire to rely on myself created a mess and refused to humbly ask for help. The fruit? A lot of trips to the hardware store, frustration, and the loss of a whole day!

Self-reliance promises fulfillment but instead it leaves us feeling abandoned, empty, and lonely. Back in the garden, self-reliance caused Adam and Eve to reject the One who made them and supplied there every need. Their choice to reject God and choose their sinful self-reliance left them broken and introduced the sinful nature to humankind. This self-reliance has been the source of our rebellion through every generation.

The Israelites, all the way back to their initial rescue from Egypt have been a people who struggled to rely on God instead of themselves. They saw God’s powerful and undeniable deliverance of them from their enslavement to Pharaoh and yet quickly began to deny their need for God and rely on themselves. The Lord gathered the nation Israel to Himself and entered into covenant with them. To Abraham’s descendants, He promised descendants, land, and blessings for all peoples through them. These promises would belong to them without contest, if they would simply acknowledge their need for God and rely on Him.

But in verse 1, through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? Because of your sins you were sold; because of your transgressions your mother was sent away. Isaiah foretells the coming exile of Israel into the hands of the Babylonians and eventually the Persians through two illustrations.

First, a letter of divorcement. A letter of divorcement would indicate the marriage covenant was broken and no longer in effect – effectively sending the wife away and also prohibiting her from returning. At this point, we are hearing directly from the perspective of the Lord and He is asking, Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce? Later, in the New Testament, Jesus confronts the flippancy the Israelites were approaching marriage with and specifically divorce. The idea is that a marriage covenant could come to and when initiated by the husband if the wife’s conduct were undesirable.

God is speaking to his people Israel and clarifying that He didn’t give them a letter of divorcement. Though there are legitimate reasons for a marriage covenant to come to and end – as unpacked in the new Testament – God is making clear that He didn’t bring an end to His covenant with Israel. Rather, they walked away from God by their willful disobedience and have received the fruit of their sin.

The second word picture is of a person being sold to a creditor in order to pay back the debts they owe. He poses yet another question – to which creditor did I sell you too?

The Lord is questioning them in this way to confront the belief or thought that it was the Lord who sent Israel away or that He was the One who had abandoned them. That His love for them had begun to fade or that He had taken interest in someone else. Or that in some way, He was unable to provide for them or fulfill His promises to them. The Lord says, “Because of your sins you were sold; because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.” It was not the Lord that initiated a divorce and He is not the One who sold Israel to a creditor. Rather, they were sold and they were sent away because of their sins and transgressions! They broke the marriage covenant and by their willful choice to rely on their desires and sinful passions, they walked away from their covenant with the Lord. He never abandoned them, He simply allowed them the freedom to choose, and they chose to rely on self.

Isaiah 50:2-3
When I came, why was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Was my arm too short to deliver you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert; their fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.

The Lord did not abandon His people – He pursued them. When He came near to them and called out to them, they did not respond. He has the power to deliver and rescue them – He is the One who speaks and the sea is split in two; He is the One who dries about the rivers and seas. He has power over the created world and He does not lack the power to rescue them. But they rejected Him! Israel abandoned the Lord, they chased after sources that were empty, and this resulted in their loneliness in a distant land.

What Israel will learn is that the gift of self-reliance will result in being abandoned, empty, and lonely. Not because the Lord has abandoned them but because they abandoned Him.

Like our ancestors: Adam and Eve, and like the Israelites, we are faced with the same choice: will we rely on ourselves or rely on the Lord? The gift of self-reliance appears that it will be satisfying, fulfilling, and worthwhile but it lands us in bondage and turns out to be no gift at all.

In what ways do we struggled to rely on God and not ourselves?

We think we have the power to manage our temptations and sins alone – apart from God and community. We over-estimate our discipline, power, and ability to overcome temptations to sin.

We struggle to truly understand our own wickedness and the severity of our sin. It is so easy for us to downplay and excuse our sin – but a right view of our sin in light of God’s holiness will cause us to grieve over our sin!

So, the gift of self-reliance is not gift at all. We as humanity are often duped into chasing this gift but there is a better way. In the coming verses, we are introduced to a Servant who sets the perfect example of dependence on God and the joy this brings.

The Fruit of Dependence

Isaiah 50:4
The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.

Those of us who are parents or who have worked with kids have experienced the perplexing reality of someone being completely dependent but acting like they are independent.

One thing we have been working on with Brayden is clarifying who is in control. Although he is completely dependent on us for his food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and general well-being, when we ask him to do something…anything, he will often do the opposite of what we want and follow it up with, you are not in charge daddy!

We chuckle because we have experienced the audacity of a small child telling the very people who brought them into the world and who are largely responsible for remaining here, that they (the child) are actually in charge.

But this isn’t too different from how we interact with the One who created us and is completely responsible for our life being sustained, even in this moment. We are so quick to depend on ourselves instead of the One who gives us life. We have a real problem and on our own, it can’t be solved.

In this section of Isaiah 50, we are introduced to the Servant who perfectly displays a life of dependence on God. There are four key was the Servant demonstrates they rely on God instead of themselves and these are each introduced by the phrase “the Sovereign Lord.” This phrase in Hebrew is Jehovah Adonai – meaning, “God is the owner of all human life and therefore deserves their total obedience.”

Here are the four key ways that you and I fall short and are inadequate but that the Servant, Jesus perfectly lives out – both for us and for the glory of the Father!

The Servant’s mind is surrendered to God (the servant is an apprentice of God).

The Servant of God has received and developed a well-instructed tongue from the Lord and this enables the Servant to share teaching that sustains those who are weary.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

This Servant is one who is humble and who has willingly submitted themselves under the instruction, wisdom, and instruction of God. This servant does not have their own agenda and they are not seeking to build a following. Their desire is simply to deliver the Word of God, as it is, to the people of God.

So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me..” (John 8:28)

A well-instructed tongue and the ability to deliver content that is helpful to listeners is a gift from God and the Servant learned it from Him.

Jesus was personally taught as a disciple or an apprentice is taught by their master. The Servant is attributing their teaching as something received from the Lord!

And He does this with an incredible measure of both truth and grace because He is able to speak a word that sustains those who are weary.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Servant was an apprentice of God with their mind and will. He was completely surrendered to the will of the Father, which enables Him to be our example in another way seen in verse 5.

The Servant perfectly obeys God.

Isaiah 50:5
The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away.

When the Servant hears from the Lord, the servant obeys what they hear! The Sovereign Lord – the One who created all humans and is worthy of their obedience – opened his ears.

IT is the Lord who opens death ears, hard hearts, and blind eyes. This is not according to our will nor to do we initiate it – because by nature we are death to the Word of the Lord. It is the Lord who reveals Himself – it is He who by the power of the Spirit who enables us to hear Him and enables us to not turn away from what we hear in rebellion.

Isaiah 50:6
I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.

When the Servant hears from the Lord, the servant obeys what they hear! This obedience demonstrates the extent of the Servant’s surrender of mind and will because it continues under intense push-back, mistreatment, and physical suffering. The Servant hears the Lord and obeys Him and willingly faces opposition as a result of his obedience.

The Servant, Jesus our rescuer sets THE example of obedience to the Father. Something that you and I are incapable of in our own efforts and something that apart from the finished work of Jesus – we have little desire to do.

The Servant trusts God will prove His innocence.

Isaiah 50:7-8
Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced.Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other!Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!

Unlike Israel (and you and I), the Servant suffers, is condemned, and ultimately killed not because of His wrongdoing. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced.

The servant is able to face and take on themselves accusations against him that are untrue and that hold no actual weight without crippling under them or their associated suffering BECAUSE the Sovereign Lord helps him! The servant is not abandoned or left alone – the Creator and sustainer of all things is his help!

Set my face like a flint – “a flint is a massive hard rock that produces a spark when struck by iron.” The idea being conveyed is one of unwavering discipline to a conviction one has. The Servant is completely convinced and unmovable from their conviction that they will not be disgraced and they will not be put to shame. Why?

The One who vindicates (or proves innocence) of the Servant is near to Him! Because the Sovereign Lord – the One who created all human life and therefore deserves their complete obedience – is near to the Servant and defends his innocence – who can bring charge or accusation against the servant? The Servant is so confident – they want to face their accuser and for them to directly confront him! Because the Servant has the help and presence of the Sovereign Lord, they are confident their innocence will be upheld.

The Servant trusts God will overthrow His accusers.

Isaiah 50:9
It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me?They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up.

The Servant is confident that his accusers will fade away because He is helped by the Lord! Those who accuse this Servant of the Lord of wrongdoing will not last – they will fade away.

In all four instances, we see the servant doing what we fail to do. The servant’s desires and thinking are surrendered to the Lord, which results in them being obedient to the will of the Lord. Their innocence, though falsely accused will be proved innocent by God and those who make accusation will fade away.

You and I struggle in each of these categories and yet we see the Servant perfectly accomplish them. Jesus was perfectly dependent on the Father. He has provided what we could never accomplish – the sinless life and He has set an example for us to follow in life.

We can rejoice this morning because Jesus’ mind was surrendered to the Father, He perfectly obeyed the law and the will of the Father, His obedience would be effectual even through false accusations and unjust suffering. He did all of this to glorify the Father and to provide for us.

The Choice.

Isaiah 50:10-11
Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant?Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze.This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.

Isaiah confronts Israel with the same two choices that you and I are faced with today. Who will we choose to rely on? In whom or what will we locate our hope and consequently build our life upon? Will we filled with pride rely on ourselves? or will we acknowledge our lack and humbly rely completely on God?

One way I have experienced the reality of the choice before us – will we rely on ourselves or on God was commuting from the East side to Novi. I began serving at Oak Pointe Novi back in November of this past year and was commuting from our home in Sterling Heights. For the first two months of commuting, the path google maps asked me to drive was pretty much the same and the time it took was pretty consistent. It was about a 40 minute drive and traffic was not too bad. I had plenty of time to mentally prepare for the work day and to spend time connecting with God through music, podcasts, and sermons…it really wasn’t that bad!

Then construction on 696 began…and all the sudden, the commute was different every single day. The path the gps would have me take would be slightly different – new detours and paths were recommended for travel and the time it took to travel fluctuated a lot!

I even made the mistake one morning of ignoring the recommended route change – thinking I knew better than Google Maps, and I paid dearly with my commute being extended by 30 minutes. Though the journey had it’s ups and downs and even its frustrations, the GPS followed through with its promise.

Are we going to depend on our own knowledge, perspective, and ability to take action – or are we going to rely on the One who knows the end from the beginning and who has set the example for us in how to joyfully embrace dependence on the Father instead of self?

Verse 10, invites those who are walking in the dark and know they have no light to rely on their God. Those who fear the Lord and His faithful servant are those who acknowledge their lack and their response is to rely on God’s provision.

But in verse 11, Isaiah warns the people of the consequence of relying on themselves instead of the Lord. Those who rely on the fires they can light and the torches they have created will ultimately lie down in torment. This is what they will receive from the hand of the Lord. Self-reliance and trusting in self is seen at the beginning in the garden and resulted in the curse of sin and ultimately death.

Self-reliance may yield temporary fruit now but will end in eternal torment.

Relying on God may yield temporary suffering now but will end in eternal comfort.

The choice is yours – who do you rely on and in whom do you put your hope? Our false hopes will often provide temporary satisfaction but relying on the fires we create will only yield emptiness, pain, and ultimately torment.

Repent from your self-reliance and turn in complete dependence on the Father. See and follow the example of Jesus – the Faithful servant of God, who relied on God even through the suffering he experienced. More importantly, rely on Him and put your confidence in Him.

Even though we can’t remove our fallen nature, we do have a choice like Adam and Eve everyday. Who will we trust? Will we depend on ourselves and reap the gifts of self-reliance? Or will we depend on God and reap the gifts if dependence?

Living in the dark is the purest form of self-reliance. When we don’t admit our failures and need for God we are completely unable to depend on God.

Fight the natural lean toward isolation and self-reliance through humbly pressing into God and community.

Admitting our weaknesses is the purest form of dependence. Have you admitted your need for the Sovereign Lord? The One who created us and who redeems us.

The people of God enjoy abundant life when they daily confess their weaknesses so that they can live dependent on God.