Faithful in Our Failure
Download MP3I don't know if you know this, but in thirty six days, approximately 30,000 college students are going to descend upon, the city and a lot of them to this church. And I hope you see that as a blessing and not a burden. But even, specifically about 500 of them, will come here and they will consider this place home. And so I just wanted to invite you for the next thirty six days, would you consider praying alongside our college team and our staff that each of those college students would become lifelong disciples of Jesus through word, prayer, and worship. That we are praying that God would plant spiritual oaks that last a lifetime, and not just spiritual flowers that last for a season.
Cole Ragsdale:And so we count it a great privilege to get to walk alongside those students. So if you would pray for those 30,000 or pray for those 500, whichever you feel feel fit. So we're gonna continue our study this morning in the book of Isaiah. We're gonna begin in Isaiah chapter 42 starting in verse 18. If you have your copy of the scriptures or if you've got your worship guide, it'll be there.
Cole Ragsdale:Isaiah chapter 42 verse 18. And Redeemer this is God's word for you this morning. It says this, hear you deaf and look you blind that you may see. Who is blind but my servant or deaf as in my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one or blind as the servant of the Lord?
Cole Ragsdale:He sees many things but he does not observe them. His ears are open, but he does not hear. The Lord was pleased for his righteousness sake to magnify his law and make it glorious. But this is a people plundered and looted. They are all of them trapped in holes and hidden in prisons.
Cole Ragsdale:They have become plunder with none to rescue. Spoil with none to say restore. Who among you will give ear to this? Will attend and listen for the time to come. Who gave up Jacob to the looter and Israel to the plunderers?
Cole Ragsdale:Was it not the Lord against whom we have sinned and whose ways they would not walk and whose law they would not obey? So we poured out on him the heat of his anger and the might of battle it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand. It burned him up, but he did not take it to heart. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray together.
Cole Ragsdale:Our father who is in heaven, we thank you for sacred moments like this where your people are gathered around your word. And so we pray that the spirit of God would speak through the word of God to the people of God so that we would become like the son of God, all for the glory of God. And if you would, in your seat, in your pew, would you pray and ask that God would speak to you through his word? And if you'd be willing, would you pray for me that I would be clear and helpful to you? Father, we pray these things for your glory's sake, through your son and by the power of your Holy Spirit.
Cole Ragsdale:Amen. Well, was the sound of shattered glass. I like many elementary school boys loved to throw the baseball above against the brick wall at my house that was located just above the garage door windows. You can imagine where this is going. Just about every day after school practice or a game, I would run outside and begin to throw that ball up against that brick wall or maybe even hit the tennis ball up against that brick wall.
Cole Ragsdale:And there came that infamous day that my Roger Federer forehand was just a little too flat and it went soaring through the garage door window. And it wasn't like it just like cracked or it broke, like the window shattered. And I can still like hear that glass hitting the concrete pavement inside of my parents garage. I can still see the splinters and all of the pieces and in that moment I panicked. I mean I ran.
Cole Ragsdale:I ran and hid in my room because it was one of those things of like I don't have any money, I don't have any skill to fix this. And immediately this thought entered my mind. What's gonna happen when dad gets home? Like how is he going to respond to this? Like how is he going to react?
Cole Ragsdale:I mean like he's warned me about this. Like like hey like like we gotta be careful of the garage door windows. Like like what's he gonna do? What's he gonna say? Just a shattered window.
Cole Ragsdale:But why do I start there this morning? Is that we just write about 12 verses in Isaiah chapter 42 in which the nation of Israel, God's chosen people are experiencing a broken window moment. That they once again have blown it. They have failed. They are blind and deaf.
Cole Ragsdale:That it describes them as a plundered people, a looted people. That they are trapped. They are hidden. That they have once again disobeyed God in such a way in which God's wrath and anger is against them. And I can just imagine in that moment that the nation of Israel is beginning to ask, how is God, how is dad gonna respond?
Cole Ragsdale:Not just dad, but how is our heavenly Father, how is the Lord of all, the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything, how is he going to respond to us in our broken window moment? You know, because I mean even Isaiah 53 verse six, ten chapters later it's gonna say something like this that that we all like sheep have gone astray, each having turned his own way. That we have turned our back on God and are walking in the opposite direction. How is this God to respond to our rebellion? And so a question that I would pose to you this morning is what is your broken window moment?
Cole Ragsdale:When have you, when has your soul felt looted and trapped? When have you felt spiritually blind, spiritually deaf, or your soul has been plundered? Where you're in that cycle of sin that you promised you would never find yourself in again? Is it that numbing of ourselves through constant distraction with our phone addiction? Or is it that the image management and the addiction to approval with all the people around us?
Cole Ragsdale:Or it's that choice not to eat enough? Or the decision to to eat too much? Or or is it that that that thief of joy which is comparison as we scroll through people's highlight reels producing envy in us that we wish we had that life, that car, that house, or even if we were honest, that spouse, that husband, that wife? Or is it that that juicy gossip that makes us feel like we're on the inner circle or a little bit in control, but we said we wouldn't do it anymore. We said we wouldn't speak this way.
Cole Ragsdale:But we find ourselves in this cycle of sin. We find ourselves with this shattered window. I think we've also got to ask, how will God respond to us? What will he say? And I think we get his answer in Isaiah chapter 43.
Cole Ragsdale:It's where we're gonna spend the majority of our time this morning. And just to kind of go ahead and give you the sermon right up front, it's like a big bold underline italicized for your brain, is that God is faithful in our failure. That in these moments of brokenness God will be found faithful. And as we work through Isaiah 43 verses one through 12, I think you're gonna see in verses one through five that we have a God who is a Redeemer. That he redeems these broken moments of our lives.
Cole Ragsdale:And then in verses six through 10 we're gonna see that not only does he redeem, but our God is present. That he is with us. And then in verses ten and twelve we're gonna see that God hinges this whole thing on his name. That he alone is God and that there is no other. And my prayer for us as a church this morning as we see these things that God is a Redeemer, that God is present, and that there is none like him.
Cole Ragsdale:That you and I in our failure and in our shame, will get to take a deep, a deep breath knowing that our God is faithful in our failure. So let's look together. Isaiah chapter 43 verse one. I'll read the first four verses. But now, thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel, Fear not for I have redeemed you.
Cole Ragsdale:I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you. And through the rivers they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the holy one of Israel your savior.
Cole Ragsdale:I give Egypt as your ransom, Kush and Seba in exchange for you because you are precious in my eyes and honored and I love you. I give men in exchange for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Let's look at those first two words in verse one. It says, but now. Now this immediately connects us to chapter 42 in all of Israel's rebellion.
Cole Ragsdale:Now this is now signaling to us, this is this is going to be God's response to Israel and this but contraction is going to show it's gonna be in direct contrast with their living. He says, but now thus says the Lord and he reminds the people of God. He is reminding us today that he created us, that he formed us, that we don't have to be afraid because he has redeemed us, that he has called us by name and that we are his, that you are mine. The same way in Toy Story, Woody and Buzz have got Andy slapped on the bottom of that shoe. God is saying Israel, hey, in your broken moment, hey church, in your broken moment, you are the one that I have formed, you are the one I have created, you are the one I have named, you are mine.
Cole Ragsdale:And if you were a highlighter underline that fear not for I have redeemed you. That's one of the clues that Isaiah is giving us is kind of to highlight here. He's saying that you don't have to be afraid that you can take a breath because I have redeemed you. Now I could spend the next like three hours doing like a word study on Redeemer. I mean, I'm at Redeemer Community Church.
Cole Ragsdale:But for the sake of time, basically redeem means to buy back, to purchase, to reclaim what was once broken in order to make whole. That that God is saying to this people, he's saying to us, I want to redeem you. I want to to purchase what was once, what what is mine and to make it mine once again. And so you may wonder why does God want to redeem a broken people? Why would God want to redeem a sinful people?
Cole Ragsdale:I think he tells us in verse three and verse four. In verse three he tells us why. It's because it's who he is. Let's look at the text together. It says, for I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Cole Ragsdale:Now I'm sure you've heard this before, but I think it bears repeating. Anytime in your English Bibles that you see capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, Our translators are signaling to us that this is the personal name of God, Yahweh. For my seminary nerds in the house, this is the tetragrammaton, Yahweh or Yod Vav Vav. That this is the this is the name that God revealed himself to Moses in Exodus chapter 34 that I am the Lord the Lord, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. That I am the covenant making, covenant keeping God of your people.
Cole Ragsdale:And because I am this God, because I am the Lord, the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything, because I am the God who is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable, I am a redeemer. It's who he is. But not only is it the Lord your God, he's also the Holy One of Israel. That he is the he is the one that all of the people of Israel have gathered around. That he is the one who they lift up and look to.
Cole Ragsdale:And we as a church do not lift up and look to anyone other than the Lord our God. We lift up and look to no other name but the name of Jesus. He redeems because it's who he is. But then in verse four we see that he redeems because of who we are. Let's look at it together.
Cole Ragsdale:Why does he redeem? Verse four tells us, because you are precious in my eyes and honored and I love you. These are staggering words. Like hear this, don't don't just roll past this this morning. The God of the heavens and the earth, the creator and sustainer, the eternal infant unchangeable one looks at Israel, looks at you in your brokenness state.
Cole Ragsdale:And what does he say? You are precious in his eyes. That you are honored. And he says that I love you. That if God was eye to eye, knee to knee, toe to toe with you this morning, he would say precious, honored and loved.
Cole Ragsdale:That's unbelievable. And especially in light of chapter 42 in light of our brokenness but like friends this is the like the story of scripture. This is a theme woven throughout our entire book. This is Romans five:eight. That God demonstrated his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Cole Ragsdale:This is John three sixteen, for God so loved the world, that God so loved you that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have eternal life. This is first John chapter four verse 10 that in this we know love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us and gave his son Jesus as a propitiation or a payment or a satisfaction for our sin. That God loves us. But hear this, God is not a closet crammer. He's not a sweep beneath the rug.
Cole Ragsdale:That God's not just saying, hey Israel, I don't think your sin's a big deal. Hey Christian, I don't think your sin's a big deal. Let's just kind of put it in eternity's closet. Let's sweep it beneath heaven's rug. No one needs to know about it.
Cole Ragsdale:No, no, no. Our God is so just, holy, and righteous that he deals with our sin. Can we go back to that broken window for a moment? So my dad does come home. And he finds me in my room.
Cole Ragsdale:And he simply just asks, tell me what happened. So I walk him through the story and trembling a little bit. And he says, let's go for a ride. So we hop in my dad's old red f one fifty pickup truck bench seat across the front And we make our way to Kennesaw glass and mirror off of Barrett Parkway, Kennesaw, Georgia. And we walk in there, we stand at the little desk area and dad's talking about the dimensions of the window with the man.
Cole Ragsdale:And I'm just sitting there and I'm standing there looking at my dad. And in my head this window costs $3,000,000. Like like there is And I'm just like, all I can think about is like, I can't pay for this. I can't fix this. And I just like, I tap my dad and I'm just like, dad, I can't pay.
Cole Ragsdale:I can't afford this. Like I can't pay for this. And my dad looks at me. He says, son, this one's on me. It's paid for.
Cole Ragsdale:Brothers and sisters, it is the same with our heavenly father that we have shattered his good right world. And there is no way by which we can pay him back for it or that we can fix it on our own. But God sent his son Jesus to live perfectly, die sacrificially, and rise victoriously in order to pay the penalty for our sin. It's paid for. There is no more lingering what if.
Cole Ragsdale:It's fixed. God doesn't wanna sweep your sin underneath the rug or clam it in the closet. It's paid for. It's done. So so why does it like what does it actually matter that God is a redeemer and we are forgiven?
Cole Ragsdale:Like 07/20/2025, it's a Sunday. Why does this actually matter? Boots on the ground. I think three things. The first is this, is that you are not defined by your worst moment.
Cole Ragsdale:That if you are in Christ, your failure is never final. That we serve a God who redeems all things. Whether or not now or if in eternity, he will redeem all things. You are not defined by your worst moment. Your failure is not final.
Cole Ragsdale:The second is this, because God is a redeemer, you do not have to perform to get into his good graces. That you do not have to climb the ladder of religion. You don't have to climb the ladder of obedience in order for you to be with him. He has descended the ladder of eternity. He has descended the ladder of history in the person of Jesus to be with us.
Cole Ragsdale:That we are not slaves earning approval. We are daughters and sons enjoying our inheritance. We have been redeemed. And then the third, and Sarah said this so well, is that you can live with hope in the dark. That you can live with hope in the dark.
Cole Ragsdale:That even in those worst of moments not knowing what to do or where to go, that we serve a God who is a Redeemer. Now I hope that you hear this is like fantastic news. It's far better than any cultural story that we've been in. Because we live in like like the the culture of cancel culture. It's like if you do something like it's over for you.
Cole Ragsdale:That you are canceled, abandoned, enslaved, rejected. Culture says one thing and the Bible says something far better. That we are not condemned because if anyone is in Christ he is not under condemnation. That we are not abandoned, we're not forgotten, instead we're embraced. That we're not enslaved having to earn our ways back, earn our way back.
Cole Ragsdale:That we have been received. That we are not rejected and disowned. We are brought in. I mean this is a far better story than cultures. I'm not even gonna talk about like cold plate kiss cams and like but but since I did, there is no sin to grave or to public that is outside of God's redemption.
Cole Ragsdale:Including that one. With repentance and faith, there is redemption for anyone. And if that maybe brussels up against you, it's the scandalous grace of God. There is no sin too dire, no secret too far kept that is outside of God's sovereign hand to save, including that situation. So Christian, follower of Jesus, God is faithful in your failure because he is a redeemer.
Cole Ragsdale:And if you're here this morning and you are not a follower of Jesus, you've never placed your trust in Christ, may I just say this is the news on offer. That you may have failed time and time again, but there's a holy God who loves you, sees you, and wants to know you personally now and forever. And if you would repent of your sin and trust in Christ, you can be redeemed now and forever. Your failure is not final. He redeems.
Cole Ragsdale:But not only does our God redeem, he is also present. Let's look together at verse five. Says fear not for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the East. From the West I will gather you and I will say to the North give up and to the South do not withhold.
Cole Ragsdale:Bring your sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth. Everyone who is called by my name, who I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. God responds to Israel and his brokenness by saying, fear not for I am with you. What does this mean? This means that you are never alone.
Cole Ragsdale:This means that you are never forgotten. And this means that you are never outside the reach of God's caring hand. Touch this, in Israel's brokenness, in our brokenness God does not retreat but takes a step forward. That he comes and meets them in their brokenness. That God is with them.
Cole Ragsdale:He says, in fact, I know that you've been dispersed across the North, the East, the West, the South. I'm gonna gather them all together. All of these people who have been created for my glory. These four verses have a central theme that I think is woven throughout the entire tapestry of scripture. And in fact, if I was to to summarize the entire Bible, all 66 books in six words, it would be this.
Cole Ragsdale:God with us for his glory. What does verse five say that, for fear not for I am with you, God with us. But why did he create us? Verse seven, whom I created for my glory. Let's just think for just a moment here.
Cole Ragsdale:Genesis chapters one and two, Adam and Eve are living in right relationship with God, right relationship with each other, with nature, even within themselves. Why? God with us for his glory. The book of Exodus, the nation of Israel is being led out of through the wilderness by a cloud by day and a fire by night. Why?
Cole Ragsdale:God with us for his glory. And then they're instructed to build a tabernacle which is like a tent structure in which the presence of God will dwell and the people will gather. Why? God with us for his glory. And then they're told to build a more permanent structure in which God's presence will be, God's people will gather, the temple.
Cole Ragsdale:Why? God with us for his glory. And then Jesus appears on the scene. John chapter one verse 14 tells us, for the word became flesh and made its dwelling or made its tabernacle among us. And we have seen his glory And we will call him Emmanuel.
Cole Ragsdale:Which means God with us. Why? Father glorify your name. God with us for his glory. And this Jesus lived perfectly, died sacrificially, rose victoriously, and says, hey, I'm gonna send you one that'll be better.
Cole Ragsdale:The helper, the paraclete, the holy spirit. Why? God with us for his glory. And now we wait as the church for our king to return to make all things new. To redeem all of this broken, to vanquish and to destroy death forever, and to reign on the new heavens and the new earth.
Cole Ragsdale:Why? God with us for his glory. It's the story of scripture. It's the story of Isaiah chapter 43 verses five through 10. And so why does this matter on June, 07/20/2025?
Cole Ragsdale:It matters because it means that you never go alone. That when you walk out of these doors today into some blazing heat, you do not go alone. When you step foot in the office tomorrow, you do not go alone. When you drop your kids off at daycare tomorrow, you do not go alone. If next week you find yourself in the hospital, you do not go alone.
Cole Ragsdale:When you show up at the engagement party, you do not go alone. When you show up at that empty apartment which you hate, you do not go alone. When you show up at the wedding, you don't go alone. When you show up at McDonald's, you don't go alone. That he is with us.
Cole Ragsdale:God is not a distant parent neglecting his kids on his iPhone while they play on the ground. God is down on his hands and knees with us. We can exhale even in our failure because he is present. God is a redeemer. God is present.
Cole Ragsdale:And then in verses 10 through 12 he hangs all of this on himself. That he is God and there is no other. Let's read verses ten and twelve together. It says, you are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen. That you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.
Cole Ragsdale:Before me there no God was formed nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord. And besides me, there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed when there was no strange God among you. And you are my witnesses, declares the Lord.
Cole Ragsdale:And I am God. Three times in these three verses, God just puts it out plainly like, hey, I am God. Very end of verse 10 says, I am He. Hopefully you're hearing even some repetition of all throughout the Old Testament. I am that I am.
Cole Ragsdale:Or Jesus in the New Testament saying, I am. That the Greek translation of this Old Testament passage is literally, I am. And then verse 11 says that, I I am the Lord and besides me there is no Savior. Friends this is this is John chapter 14 verse six. Jesus's words says, am the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through me.
Cole Ragsdale:That besides me there is no savior. Or this is first John chapter five verses eleven and twelve. This has been blowing me up this week. It says this, hear these words. Our testimony is this, that God gave us eternal life and this life is in his son.
Cole Ragsdale:And whoever has the son has life. And whoever does not have the Son does not have life. That that what Isaiah 43 is saying, what first John five eleven and twelve is saying is that there is no plan b for salvation. There is no quarterback to. There is no backup player.
Cole Ragsdale:There is no alternative. It's either him or nothing. If I could speak just like very clearly and very directly. Is that if he is not your savior, you don't have one. There is only one who redeems.
Cole Ragsdale:There is only one who is present and he is God and there is no other. And so if I could just maybe act as a fork in the road for you this morning, not in a manipulative or hopefully not in a mean way, but just as a fork in the road. To answer this question between you and God, do you have the son? Do you? Because if you have the son, you have everything.
Cole Ragsdale:You have life. You have life eternal. But if you don't have the son, you do not have life. Because ultimately it matters not the size of our faith or how quickly we can climb the ladder of religion. What matters only is the object of our faith.
Cole Ragsdale:Do we have the son? Do we have the Lord? The one that says I am he. I am the I am the Lord and beside me there is no there is no savior. I am God.
Cole Ragsdale:So even in our failure, we can take an exhale. Because he is God and there is no other. And so this week, I pray that whether or not you find yourself plundered, looted, trapped, hidden in your sin. Follower of Jesus, know that God is faithful in your failure. Or maybe you are here and you've never heard this gospel or never trusted it for yourself.
Cole Ragsdale:Hear me non believer, hear me person. That the offer here is that you may be blind and deaf to your sin, but there is a God who wants to redeem. So wherever we are, may we just, because God is faithful in our failure. Let's pray together. Father we thank you that while we have failed and will continue to fail, that this whole thing doesn't hinge on us.
Cole Ragsdale:It hinges on you and your son. So would you just increase our faith and trust in Jesus this morning? And I pray that we would get to take a gospel exhale as we leave. And father, we pray that you would protect us from James chapter one verse 22, that we would be, hearers of the word and not doers of it. So may we respond in obedience.
Cole Ragsdale:We pray all this, father, through the son and by the spirit. Amen.
