The Circle of Life (Ecclesiastes 1:1-11) D-Now
The Circle of Life
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
October 25, 2024 (D-Now)
You’ve probably noticed by now that we’re basing our Disciple Now weekend this year around the book of Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes is not a book you hear quoted from very often
So it’s possible that you’ve never heard of it or read it.
But I want you to know that the message of the book
Is one of the most important messages you’ll ever hear in your life.
“Ecclesiastes” is a Latin word that means “Preacher”
Now the preacher referred to here did not write the book of Ecclesiastes.
• Someone else listened to countless sermons from the preacher
• And wrote this book which sort of summarized the message of the preacher.
• We’ll talk about that more tomorrow afternoon.
But if you’ve ever heard a sermon or maybe a podcast
Or some other informational message
And you were so moved by it or maybe entertained by it
That you couldn’t wait to pass it on to someone else
Then you understand what’s going on here.
The book of Ecclesiastes is a book that was written by an old man to a young man to get him to listen to this profound message by the preacher.
AND WE MIGHT WONDER:
What did the preacher say that was so amazing that the old man wanted to make sure the young man heard it?
All you have to do is look at the first two verses of the book.
“The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
That is the message.
EVERYTHING IS VANITY!
EVERYTHING IS FUTILE!
EVERYTHING IS POINTLESS!
That is what the old man wants the young man to know.
• Everything that this world says is so important…
• Everything that this world tells you to pursue…
• Everything that social media tells you to obtain to be important…
• Everything that advertising says will make you happy…
IS VANITY OF VANITIES
He says it’s like “Chasing After The Wind”
Why would the old man pass that message along to the young man?
Why would he give him such a pessimistic message?
TO KEEP HIM FROM WASTING HIS LIFE
CHASING WHAT WILL NOT SATISFY
AND WHAT WILL ONLY BRING HIM JUDGMENT.
AND I CAN’T STRESS ENOUGH
How relevant such a message is for our culture today.
We live in a nation that wastes everything.
• We waste food…
• We waste time…
• We waste money…
• We often waste relationships…
Sometimes this is done out of laziness or apathy,
But most of the time it is done out of misdirection.
We run after and pursue the wrong things.
• Kids waste their supper because they want the treat…
• We waste time when we engage in non-profitable engagements…
• We waste money buying what we don’t need…
• We waste relationships when we throw away one because another looks
better…
But our world is filled with people
Who don’t just waste and afternoon, or a paycheck,
But who literally waste their entire lives.
The Bible says that after this life every human
Will spend eternity either in heaven enjoying fellowship with God
Or in hell suffering the wrath of God.
And what we do with this life determines where we spend our eternity.
And what could be worse than to totally waste our opportunity?
In 100 million years to look back at the 70 or 80 years we had here
And wish we had not wasted our life.
THAT IS THE CONCERN OF THE OLD MAN
WHO WROTE DOWN THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER.
I can’t think of a more important message for a teenager to hear.
So this weekend, listen to an old man, tell you about a preacher
Who gave some of the best wisdom I have ever heard.
If you will, not only will it change the direction of your life,
But it will also change the destination of your eternity.
(2) “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
It is no doubt the redundant cry of the book.
• Over 20 times the book contains the word “vanity” or “vanities”
• 11 times we read the word “futility”
• 9 times we read the phrase “striving after wind”
The Hebrew word translated “vanity” here is HEBEL (hev-el)
It means “vapor” or “breath”
And the preacher uses it 30 times in the book
As his best descriptive word about life on this planet.
The preacher says that “All is vanity.”
• Everything here is a vapor.
• Everything here is a mirage, an illusion.
If you spend your life
Chasing the things this world says are important
Then at the end you will be left with a handful of smoke.
It’s like spending your life “chasing after wind”.
DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE.
In 1965 that great theologian Mick Jagger wrote his masterpiece to sum up this life; and he sang, “I just can’t get no satisfaction.”
And that is the message of the preacher too.
This life does not offer what truly satisfies.
• How much money will finally satisfy?
• How many cars will finally make you happy?
• How many super bowls do you need to win?
• How much land do you need to own?
• What is that one purchase that will finally satisfy the craving of you heart?
• What earthly relationship has finally given you everlasting contentment?
• What award finally left you feeling like all the work was worth it?
You know the answer: NOTHING
Do you know why?
BECAUSE GOD HAS FIXED IT TO MAKE SURE
THAT YOU NEVER FIND SATISFACTION WITH THIS LIFE.
To best understand the book of Ecclesiastes
ONE MUST FIRST TURN TO THE BEGINNING OF THE BIBLE.
TURN TO: GENESIS 3:17-19
• If you’ll remember, God created man in a paradise of a garden.
• He gave man everything he could ever ask for or desire.
• But when that man sinned against God we found that God, from that day forward, would refuse to allow this world to ever satisfy man again.
WE CALL IT THE CURSE
If man was going to get any benefit from this earth,
It would be only by sheer force, labor, and determination.
• This world would not easily yield up satisfaction and fulfillment.
• This world would fight him.
AND THAT HAS BEEN SO TRUE.
But not only did God curse this world, He also CONDEMNED it.
• In Genesis 6 God flooded it.
• Next time God will burn it.
2 Peter 3:7 “But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”
That is the Bible also says:
TURN TO: 1 John 2:15-17
How foolish would it be to waste your life
Obtaining that which cannot satisfy and that will not last?
WE’LL LET THE PREACHER ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
These first 11 verses which we look at this morning
We have basically THE SUMMARY of the author.
If he were to summarize for you the message of the Preacher,
It would be found in these first 11 verses.
And it all centers around this question:
(3) “What advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun?”
The word “advantage” there is YITH-RONE in the Hebrew.
It is a word only used in the book of Ecclesiastes
And it is used in this book 10 times.
Sometimes translated “advantage”
Sometimes translated “profit”
Sometimes translated “excel”
It is the foundational question of life.
• What are you really gaining for all your labor?
• What are you really gaining from all your effort?
• You get up in the morning…
• You go to school and someday work…
• You come home from work, you clean the house…
• You cook a meal…
• You mow the grass…
What are you gaining in all of that?
WHAT ADVANTAGE is there to all the work you do in this life?
Well the eye-opening answer to the question is actually stated in verse 2.
“Vanity of vanities,” Says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
• It’s breath!
• It’s vapor!
• It’s smoke!
The Preacher says there is NO ADVANTAGE; there is NO PROFIT.
WHY DOES HE SAY THAT?
Because he sees that we are all stuck in this giant hamster wheel that no one really ever gets out of. (The Circle of Life)
Look at verses 4-11.
(4) “A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever.”
I’ve been reading a book called “The Empire Of The Summer Moon”
• It’s all about the Comanche Nation.
• It’s really interesting because their battles happened all over right here where
we live.
Do you understand that?
• There was a time when the Comanche was virtually unchallenged.
• This was his land and he did whatever he wanted here.
If you go to the theme park in Arlington
• You’ll see the “Six Flags over Texas”
• And remember that there was a time when the land where you sit today
• Was Spain, or France, or Mexico, or just Texas, or the Confederacy, or the
United States.
There was a person who lived on your land before you lived there.
There will be a person who lives on your land after you are gone.
All that work you put into it, someday it will be for someone else.
Psalms 49:10-12 “For he sees that even wise men die; The stupid and the senseless alike perish And leave their wealth to others. Their inner thought is that their houses are forever And their dwelling places to all generations; They have called their lands after their own names. But man in his pomp will not endure; He is like the beasts that perish.”
Do you see the foolishness in making that the purpose of your life?
(5-7) “Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again. Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again.”
Do you see the futile circle of creation?
It just keeps going on and nothing ever changes.
• The sun never gets to quit rising…
• The rivers never get to quit flowing…
• The wind never gets to quit blowing…
• Their job is never finished.
They are the old “Dunkin Donuts” guy
Saying, “Time to make the donuts”
IT NEVER ENDS AND NEVER RESTS.
(8a) “All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it.”
That is to say that LIFE IS EXHAUSTING.
Man can’t even express how exhausting.
There is a CERTAIN DISCONTENTMENT that goes along with it.
(8b)“The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing.”
• You may reach a time where circumstances force you to be content without
seeing or hearing,
• But no one ever reaches a point where they just say, “Well, I am satisfied. I
don’t need to see anything else.”
The simple point is that there is a “Never Enough” mentality
That permeates our thinking and our world.
Humanity is always searching for more.
And the problem is that in their search,
They never find what they are looking for.
THEY JUST CAN’T GET NO SATISFACTION.
(9-11) “That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us. There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later still.”
What a passage!
It pictures a man who is ON A QUEST
To find that new thing that will finally satisfy his life.
And we think about the industrial revolution that occurred here,
And all the inventions that were supposed to make life so much better.
And the question is, “Did they?”
Think about all the innovation and technology and advances…
Now I know, there have been some good inventions.
• I like indoor plumbing…
• I like air conditioning…
• Automatic windshield wipers are great…
But think about it, has any of it brought fulfillment to life?
Has any of those things caused you to say,
“Well now I don’t need or want anything else.”
NO, NOT AT ALL.
And many of the advancements one could argue have only made things worse.
Many of these new technologies are only destroying society, not satisfying it.
AND THAT IS THE PREACHER’S POINT.
You have man on this massive quest to find satisfaction in this life, BUT HE CAN’T. There is no satisfaction.
It’s all just one big circle.
You are on a hamster wheel.
• And there are people who are just running and running and running;
• Turning that wheel nonstop, until one day they die,
• They fall out of the wheel,
• And without missing a beat another hamster jumps right in and takes over.
And someone might approach that hamster and say,
“Hey, come over here to the edge of the cage for a second.”
But that hamster yells, “Can’t, gotta keep this wheel moving!”
Can you see, that is life?
• What is your hamster wheel?
• What is it that you are seeking and pursuing?
• What is it that will finally bring you satisfaction?
YOU’LL NEVER FIND IT IN THIS WORLD.
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
You were not created to find satisfaction here.
• This world is cursed.
• This world is fallen.
• This world is passing away.
And what a tragedy to spend this whole life
Seeking what you will never find.
So that at the end you can show God your shell collection…
Do you see it?
Do you understand?
How FRUSTRATED and ANGRY people become
Because they work their whole lives for that which doesn’t satisfy.
I’ve seen it and you’ve seen it.
• That retirement party for the man or woman who gave 50 years to the
company. (a store bought cake and a cheap watch)
• That graduated senior who wants to come back to the glory.
If your life is wrapped up in that,
What a lonely and frustrating thing you have to look forward to.
And that goes for everything.
What award is ever enough?
What recognition will ever make all the hours truly worth it?
One of the saddest things I’ve seen recently is:
Tom Brady in the broadcasting booth
(He’s terrible, but he’s a forgotten has been without it)
THIS WORLD IS NEVER SATISFIED
• Cook the meal, they’ll be hungry in a few hours.
• Clean the floor, they’ll mess it right up again.
• Wash the clothes, the hamper will be full in 2 days.
• Mow the grass, it will be uneven in the morning.
• Prepare the baseball field and the t-ballers will absolutely tear it to pieces!
I’m not saying you shouldn’t serve or work or volunteer.
But the point is that in all your labor this life
Will never produce for you the satisfaction you long for.
AND if you are bent on running this race for some piece of earthly satisfaction then you are going to end up gravely disappointed.
And that is the message of the preacher.
That is the message this old man wants you young men to know.
• It’s all futile! It’s all vanity! It doesn’t last!
• This world will forget you and move on without you.
• Don’t waste your life seeking that which cannot satisfy and doesn’t last.
WELL WHAT SHOULD I PURSUE?
THERE IS ONE who called you to forsake this life.
• One who told fishermen to start fishing for men.
• One who told an adulteress to be a true worshiper.
• One who told a tax collector to leave his wealth and find true life.
• One who tells you to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him.
There is life available.
True, fulfilling, satisfying, abundant, eternal life…
John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.”
When Jesus stepped into this world “life” came with Him.
And the promises of Jesus are extremely clear.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
John 7:37-38 “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'”
John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
It was the continual cry.
Life; true life; fulfilling life; satisfying life; eternal life;
Is NOT found in this world,
IT IS ONLY FOUND IN CHRIST.
That is what I want to show you this weekend.
This world is lying to you!
It is offering up all kinds of shiny prizes that promise to satisfy.
But it won’t.
• It’s all a mirage.
• It’s all a vapor.
• It won’t last.
BUT JESUS WILL
He will satisfy and He will save.
Chase Him, don’t chase the wind.
Isaiah’s Passion – Part 1 (Isaiah 61:1-62:12 (61:1))
Isaiah’s Passion – part 1
Isaiah 61:1-62:12 (61:1)
October 20, 2024
Tonight we come to a wonderful section of Scripture
In this wonderful book of Isaiah.
We get a couple of chapters where we move inward
To the heart of the prophet who is preaching it.
Chapters 61 and 62 give us a look at the heart and passion of Isaiah.
This is the man who has seen all that God has revealed.
• He has seen God’s salvation.
• He has received God’s salvation.
• He has been commissioned to preach God’s salvation.
And here we get a look at his heart in all of this.
And one of the things that makes this extremely interesting to us,
Is because not only do we see here the heart of Isaiah,
BUT WE ACTUALLY SEE HERE THE HEART OF CHRIST.
Jesus quoted the beginning of this passage
When He went to His hometown of Nazareth.
Luke 4:16-21 “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
What we are looking at in Isaiah is not just the passion of Isaiah,
It is the passion of Christ.
And why wouldn’t it be,
For they were both anointed with THE SAME SPIRIT who is from God.
This is why we have also repeatedly said
That in this final segment of Isaiah; Chapters 50-66,
It is not just Isaiah preaching to Israel, it is Christ preaching to Israel.
So we get a wonderful look and a wonderful reminder
Of the missionary heart of God.
And we get a reminder of the effect of God’s Spirit upon His people
And what sort of passions He produces in their lives.
I suppose the best way to get started would be to say it like this.
Christ will save His people Israel.
• The means through which He will save them is His own sacrifice.
• The method through which He will save them is the preaching of the gospel.
• The motivation for preaching the gospel comes from His Spirit.
With that, let’s begin looking at this wonderful section of Scripture
Which quite frankly should make missionaries out of us all.
We cover two chapters here.
Chapter 61 shows us: THE PROPHET’S COMMISSION
Chapter 62 shows us: THE PROPHET’S COMMITMENT
Both are important.
#1 THE PROPHET’S COMMISSION
Isaiah 61:1-11
There are a couple of general observations that must be noticed
Before we get into the specifics of the message here.
ONE is that clearly the commission of the prophet is A PREACHING COMMISSION.
• We see in verse 1 he is commissioned “To bring good news to the afflicted”
• We also see in verse 1 that he is commissioned “To proclaim liberty to captives”
• We see in verse 2 he is commissioned “To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD”
The commissioning here is a preaching commission.
And hopefully everyone understands that aspect
Of the calling of Christ upon our lives.
Romans 10:13-15 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”
Paul himself was gripped by that understanding.
Romans 1:13-15 “I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”
And again:
Romans 15:20-21 “And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; but as it is written, “THEY WHO HAD NO NEWS OF HIM SHALL SEE, AND THEY WHO HAVE NOT HEARD SHALL UNDERSTAND.”
We could really spend a great deal of time here
Just reading and commenting on all the verses in the New Testament
Where Paul either spoke of his own preaching
Or where he encouraged someone else to do it too.
We just make sure we all understand that
The universal expectation for all believers
Is that we proclaim the gospel to the world.
We are NOT here talking about the specific role of pastor or even the set-apart role of missionary as those who are vocational ministry.
What we are talking about here is the expectation that
ALL BELIEVERS ARE TO BE PROCLAIMERS OF THE GOSPEL.
THIS IS THE METHOD that God has ordained as that which will bring salvation to the lost.
God is sovereign.
• We certainly believe in His sovereign election.
• We see that even with Israel; He has chosen them and He will one day save them.
BUT THE METHOD God will use to draw His elect to Himself
Is the preaching of the gospel.
God’s election is NOT A LOOPHOLE.
FOR EXAMPLE:
God has chosen to save Israel,
• But He will not save them apart from their faith in Christ.
Being elect does not mean that you don’t have to believe in Christ,
It simply means that God will one day bring that person to faith in Christ
Because He has chosen them.
God has chosen to save Israel,
• But He will not save them apart from them hearing the gospel proclaimed to
them.
Being elect does not mean that you don’t need to hear the gospel,
It simply means that God will make sure that they one day hear the gospel
And believe it so that they may be saved.
And this is the role of believers in the mighty plan of God’s salvation.
We aren’t sovereign – we don’t do the electing.
We aren’t sufficient – we don’t do the saving.
But we are sent – we do the proclaiming.
You see that clearly here
In Isaiah’s understanding of his commission from the LORD.
And certainly that makes sense, for we have all read Isaiah 6.
Isaiah 6:8-10 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”
So hopefully that part is clear to you.
• We are not just commissioned to be nice people; though kindness is important.
• We are not just commissioned for good works; though good works adorn our
gospel.
• We are not just commissioned to smile and be happy; though certainly
believers ought to be.
We are commissioned to take the good news of the gospel
And proclaim it to a lost and dying world,
For it is through the gospel that God will draw out His elect to Himself.
ISAIAH KNEW THAT.
• He knew that Israel was lost.
• He knew they were deaf, dumb, and blind.
• He knew they had rebelled against God.
• He knew that only a remnant was going to be saved.
But he also knew that the only way that was going to happen
Was if he went and proclaimed the gospel to them.
That is clear here in our understanding.
The SECOND thing that is clear here is that the catalyst that caused Isaiah to be a preacher of the gospel was God’s Spirit.
He said in verse 2, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me…”
And what an important understanding we get from this as well.
IF I WERE TO PUT IT BLUNTLY
We would just say that what makes someone a proclaimer of the gospel
Is very simply that they are filled with God’s Spirit.
When the Spirit of God moves in, the gospel starts being proclaimed.
And again we could spend a long time here.
Think about the apostles:
Luke 24:44-49 “Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. “You are witnesses of these things. “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Up until this point
• We know them only as cowardly men who fled during times of difficulty.
• Even at the giving of this command they are hiding in the upper room out of fear of the Jews.
• Jesus knew that they had no power in and of themselves to take the message of the gospel to the Jews.
They needed the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
• It is the Holy Spirit who provides the power to proclaim the gospel.
• It is the Holy Spirit who provides even the desire to proclaim the gospel.
For one, this is who He is.
John 15:26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,”
Make no mistake, the Holy Spirit is a missionary.
Or we could read in John 16
Of what we have commonly called “The Fingerprints of the Holy Spirit”
• And we find that His main role and purpose it to convict of sin, to guide into
the truth, and to glorify Christ.
He is the catalyst who gives us the desire to proclaim the gospel
And He is the source of the power for us to do it.
Consider Paul here again.
Remember when Jesus blinded him on the Damascus road?
God then sent Ananias to him:
Acts 9:17-22 “So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ.”
Where did Paul all of a sudden get this zeal to proclaim the gospel to everyone?
• He was “filled with the Holy Spirit”.
And though Paul doesn’t always mention it that way,
You see the effect of the Holy Spirit all throughout His ministry.
Romans 1:11-13 “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.”
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Where did that passion come from?
It was the effect of the Holy Spirit in his life.
I’m just telling you that when the Holy Spirit moves into your life
The first thing He will do is make you a missionary.
You see that throughout the Scriptures.
• He gives the desire.
• He gives the boldness.
That is why Spurgeon said:
“Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.”
Now, I would NOT be so brass so as to say
That if you are not currently preaching the gospel
Then that means you do not have the Holy Spirit.
But I will say this.
If you are saved and you are not preaching the gospel
It is because you have fallen into a state of carnality and fleshliness
And you need to repent and ask God to use you once again.
We can look to Timothy as an example here.
Life was hard, Timothy was afraid, and he wanted to quit.
Paul wrote to him:
2 Timothy 1:6-11 “For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.”
Timothy had backslidden.
And let’s be honest, that happens to us sometimes.
Paul told him he needed “to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you”.
For it is the Spirit who would give Timothy
The boldness and eagerness to preach the gospel once more.
So it is possible for a true believer, who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit,
• To backslide and become fleshly
• And sort of start to put their light under a bucket,
• But that would be in opposition to the work of the Spirit in their lives.
The Holy Spirit is a missionary.
So those are just two observations we make pretty quickly
Here in Isaiah 61 that I think are important.
When the Spirit of God indwells a person
He makes them a proclaimer of the gospel.
Certainly that is what happened with Isaiah.
But with that being said, let’s take a little closer look
At this commissioning of Isaiah.
We understand that it was a commission to proclaim truth.
We’ll ask:
What was it that he was commissioned to proclaim?
Well there were two things:
1) THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION (1)
(1) “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;”
Here Isaiah reveals WHAT He was called to preach.
We remember in His commissioning in chapter 6
He was commissioned to, “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim”
That is to say that, he was told at the outset that his ministry would not be successful in the way we like to measure success.
• When he went out to preach he was not going to see the masses flock to him in salvation.
• He was not going to see scales fall off of eyes and people repenting of sin.
Isaiah’s ministry would be an exposing ministry.
He was going to preach and prove the hardness of their hearts,
The blindness of their eyes, and the deafness of their ears.
I don’t know a single preacher or witness today who does not experience that same ministry on some level today.
Everyone who proclaims the gospel in our culture knows what it is to explain the gospel and get no response from those you preach it to.
That was primarily Isaiah’s ministry.
That would be the effect of his ministry.
But it doesn’t tell us specifically what he would preach.
“So what did Isaiah preach?”
• Did he just go out and talk about people’s blindness?
• Did he just go out and talk about people’s deafness?
NO.
What did he do?
He preached the gospel.
LOOK AT IT HERE.
He said that God’s Spirit had “anointed” him.
“To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;”
That is to say, God sent him to the blind and deaf and stubborn
And told him to go and tell them how to be free.
Certainly when we approach those in sin
Part of preaching the gospel is showing them their sin.
• That is what the Law is for.
• If you don’t show them their sin they are never going to be prone to repent of it.
But calling out sin is not the end game of our preaching.
We call out sin because we have the answer for it.
We expose iniquity because we know how it is forgiven.
We expose sinfulness because we know where freedom is found.
Isaiah didn’t relish that these people were blind.
He went to blind men and offered them sight.
It was in their refusal to listen to his offer
That they revealed how debilitating their blindness had become.
But Isaiah didn’t enjoy them staying there.
• He was an optometrist for the spiritually blind.
• He was an ear doctor for the spiritually deaf.
• He was a cardiologist for the spiritually hard-hearted.
The grief he faced was that so few patients would listen to him.
When he went into his vile world he went “To bring good news to the afflicted;”
“afflicted” is AW-NAWV
It means “poor, humble, needy”
It is people who have been run over by the truck of life.
Certainly they were in that condition as a consequence of their sin,
But Isaiah had “good news” for them.
That good news was that there is mercy and forgiveness in the Lord.
Do you remember Isaiah’s first sermon?
He spoke to afflicted people.
Isaiah 1:5-9 “Where will you be stricken again, As you continue in your rebellion? The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil. Your land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers. The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city. Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah.”
That is what you call afflicted people.
• They had been beaten from the top of their head to the sole of their feet.
• They had been run over by their enemies.
In that same sermon Isaiah told them why they were in that condition.
Isaiah 1:4 “Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him.”
• You are run over and afflicted
• The reason is that you have sinned against God and abandoned Him.
• Your iniquity has put you under a place of discipline.
He even revealed that their religion had done nothing to fix the problem.
Isaiah 1:11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.”
And:
Isaiah 1:14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.”
But is that how Isaiah ended the sermon?
He just showed up and said, “Boy you sure have angered God and now God is thumping you. Good luck!”
NO.
He offered “good news to the afflicted”
What was the “good news”?
Isaiah 1:18-20 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.” Truly, the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
That is what he preached.
• There is forgiveness.
• There is restoration.
• There is cleansing.
I have good news for sinners!
God is merciful and He will save.
That is what Isaiah preached.
We read that:
(1) “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted”
Isaiah spoke here of a “broken” or “crippled” or “wrecked” person.
The word speaks literally of broken bones.
That is what he said in chapter 1.
Isaiah 1:6 “From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing sound in it, Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil.”
That word “bandaged” there is the same word
Translated “bind up” here in chapter 61.
Isaiah looked at a people who had been beaten and broken and no one was caring for them.
• Sure it was their own fault.
• Sure it was God who had beaten them.
But it was also God who commissioned Isaiah
To go and offer them a sling.
And that was his message.
• I have come to offer you healing in your affliction.
• I have come to offer you peace in your suffering.
The God whom you have offended, who has afflicted you
Is offering you mercy and restoration.
He came “To proclaim liberty captives And freedom to prisoners;”
What kind of “liberty”?
What kind of “freedom”?
Something kind of interesting here.
We know that Jesus quoted this verse as He was the fulfillment of it.
Luke 4:18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,”
So when Jesus quoted it, He said:
“to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed”
Well I see two of those here in Isaiah’s statement,
But I don’t see Isaiah mentioning about “recovery of sight to the blind”.
Did Jesus just add that?
No, He gave the amplified version.
The phrase “freedom to prisoners” is one word in the Hebrew.
It is PI-KAKH-KO-AKH.
It is also translated as “opening eyes wide”
What Jesus did when He quoted Isaiah
Was give both understandings of the passage.
On one hand it meant to “set free those who are oppressed”
And it also meant “to proclaim…recovery of sight to the blind.”
The reference is to a person blinded in their sin.
• Their prison is not a literal one with iron bars.
• Their prison is sin; it is their blindness to the truth.
Isaiah was commissioned to a blind people
His calling was to go and proclaim to them the truth to open their eyes.
Isaiah went like an eye-doctor to the blind.
He went trying to cure blindness.
The unfortunate result was that these people were so stubborn
That they would not see even though Isaiah sought to help them.
But his ministry was one of light in darkness.
Listen to him preach:
Isaiah 2:5-11 “Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD. For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with influences from the east, And they are soothsayers like the Philistines, And they strike bargains with the children of foreigners. Their land has also been filled with silver and gold And there is no end to their treasures; Their land has also been filled with horses And there is no end to their chariots. Their land has also been filled with idols; They worship the work of their hands, That which their fingers have made. So the common man has been humbled And the man of importance has been abased, But do not forgive them. Enter the rock and hide in the dust From the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty. The proud look of man will be abased And the loftiness of man will be humbled, And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.”
• Do you see him recounting all the trouble that their blindness has caused?
• Do you see him grieving over their rejection of the Lord and the affliction that came with it?
They are in prison!
And what is his message?
“Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.”
He is not rejoicing in their blindness, he is calling them to sight.
We heard him preach:
Isaiah 50:10 “Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the voice of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”
This is the call!
This is the gospel message!
Isaiah was filled with God’s Spirit
And it prompted him to go and take the gospel to his people.
He was commissioned to proclaim the gospel of salvation.
But there is more to grasp here.
TURN TO: LUKE 4:16-21
Obviously Jesus made the remarkable claim in verse 21,
“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
What did that mean?
It means, He is the salvation Isaiah was talking about.
• Isaiah could see God’s offer of forgiveness.
• Isaiah could see God’s offer of healing.
• Isaiah could see God’s offer of freedom.
• Isaiah could see God’s offer of restoration.
Jesus showed up and said – IT’S ME HE WAS TALKING ABOUT!
Jesus came to offer grace to the poor.
(18) “He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.”
• He is talking about people who have been run over by life and their sin.
• He is talking about the afflicted who should now be poor in spirit.
Jesus even uses the word PTOCHOS for “the poor”,
It is the most extreme kind of poor.
The Greek word literally means “to cringe”
It speaks of a beggar so hideous
He was forced to hide in the shadows out of fear.
It is the word used for the poor beggar Lazarus in Luke 16.
And Jesus came offering salvation to them.
Jesus came to offer forgiveness to captives.
“He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives”
• He was talking about people who had become slaves to sin.
• He was talking about people who had been held captive by the enemy to do his will.
Jesus came to offer them forgiveness.
The word “release” there is (OFFEE-CEASE)
It is usually translated “forgiveness”
These are people who are in prison because they sinned.
Jesus came to offer forgiveness and parole.
Jesus came to offer sight to the blind.
“and recovery of sight to the blind.”
This is to those who suffered the blindness Isaiah confronted.
• It was a spiritual blindness.
• They couldn’t see the truth.
Jesus came to open those eyes and proclaim His truth.
Jesus came to offer rest.
“to set free those who are oppressed.”
“oppressed” is a word that means
“to crush or to bruise or even to run through”
Matthew 9:36 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.”
These were people who had been chewed up by the world
And even by their empty religion and Jesus came to offer them rest.
He came to offer salvation.
He came with the same Spirit Isaiah had
He came preaching the same message Isaiah preached.
The difference was that
Jesus was more than just a proclaimer of the gospel,
He was the reason for it; He is the fulfillment of it.
But it makes things certainly clearer for us now.
We understand where Isaiah is coming from.
We understand why he preached.
• He had the Holy Spirit upon him.
• He had the Spirit of Christ within him.
• He couldn’t help but proclaim the gospel of Christ because that is what the
Spirit does.
And while there is a lot more to talk about in these next two chapters…
Perhaps a good place to start tonight
Is to ask if you are allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work in you?
If you have been saved and the Holy Spirit has moved into your heart,
I can assure you His passion is to proclaim the gospel, that is who He is.
Is He doing that through you?
IF NOT,
• It is either because He does not actually dwell in you,
• Or it is because you have backslidden and sought to quench Him.
In which case you need to
kindle afresh the gift that was given you at salvation.
Allow Him to use you.
Allow Him to speak through you.
Go out into this world and offer the good news of the gospel
To those who need to hear it.
Some may listen, some may not, but that is not the point.
The point is that no one is going to be saved if they don’t hear it.
The gospel is the method through which God calls sinners to salvation.
And you see why Isaiah preached it.
Where Is This Salvation You Speak Of? – Part 6 (Isaiah 59:1 – 60:22 (60:10-22))
Where Is This Salvation You Speak Of? – part 6
Isaiah 59:1 – 60:22 (60:10-22)
October 20, 2024
We’ve been in this segment now for quite some time
And you are familiar with the premise.
God has been offering salvation.
• It is a salvation that will come through the repentance and return of Israel to Jesus Christ.
But Israel has repeatedly balked at the notion of repentance.
• They have instead doubled down on their empty religious ceremony.
So the reality is obvious.
Israel won’t repent and so God hasn’t saved.
But it has sparked a frustration in Israel
Who wants to know where this promised salvation is?
We heard them in chapter 58:3 ask, “Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?”
They want to know: “Where is this salvation You speak of?”
Well God has been answering that question.
1. It is not due to a lack of ability on His part.
Isaiah 59:1 “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.”
2. Nor is it because of a lack of faithfulness.
Isaiah 59:21 “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from now and forever.”
The issue is that Israel has yet to repent.
Her sins have caused a separation between her and God
The delay in salvation is her fault, not God’s.
All she will have is more of the empty groaning and darkness
That Isaiah lamented in chapter 59.
But as we learned the last couple of weeks,
GOD IS GOING TO SAVE THEM.
• He is a God who is faithful to His covenant.
• He is a God who is compassionate to their suffering.
• He is a God who is aware of their inability and depravity.
And so what Israel can not and will not do for themselves,
God has promised to do for them.
We read in Zechariah 12
• How God will pour out His Spirit upon Israel
• And they will all look on Him whom they have pierced,
• And they will mourn for Him.
• And God will open the fountain of salvation.
Let me give you another reference to that same event.
In Zechariah 3 we get that famous story of Satan accusing Joshua the High Priest.
• Satan is accusing Joshua of being wicked and sinful
• And sure enough we find out that Joshua is wearing filthy garments.
• But it is at that moment that the LORD intervenes to save this wicked man
from judgment.
Zechariah 3:4-5 “He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by.”
And that is a nice story to be sure.
Certainly it reminds us of the type of High Priest we have who daily intercedes on our behalf before the Father even amidst the accusations of Satan against us.
But that story is about more than just Joshua.
That story is a precursor to God’s coming salvation for the nation.
Joshua represents the people of Israel.
Zechariah 3:8-10 ‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. ‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”
• You see there that Joshua is “a symbol”.
• God says that He is going to bring in “My servant the Branch” (that’s Christ)
• And God says, “I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day”
That is another reference to the day of Israel’s coming salvation.
It will be a revival like you’ve never seen.
When God pours forth His Spirit they’re all coming.
• Certainly they will walk through the attacks of the enemy.
• Certainly they will suffer persecution, in fact Zechariah later alludes that 2/3
of them will be cut off during that time.
• But Christ is coming for them and when He does He will destroy their
enemies, He will reign among them, and He will restore them to glory.
That is the promise, and that is what we are looking at here.
Israel wanted to know, “Where is this salvation You speak of?”
God is responding by showing them it is coming.
Currently we are in the segment
That describes for us the glory of that day.
Isaiah 60 is a glimpse of the restored glory of Israel
After Christ returns to save and deliver them from their enemies.
In the scheme of the entire segment this is the FIFTH POINT.
1. The LORD’S Reproach (59:1-8)
2. The Prophet’s Response (59:9-15a)
3. The Messiah’s Redemption (59:15b-20)
4. The LORD’S Reasoning (59:21)
#5 THE NATIONS RESTORATION
Isaiah 60:1-22
You are certainly aware that this is not the first time
That Isaiah has referenced the coming Millennial kingdom.
He spoke of it in chapter 11 as he reference the COMING PEACE
Isaiah 11:6 “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them.”
He spoke of it in chapter 35 as a DAY OF RESTORATION
Isaiah 35:5-6 “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah.”
And here Isaiah speaks of it as a DAY OF GLORY
(1-2) “Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. “For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you.”
We read in Ezekiel how God’s glory departed from Israel.
When Israel repents the glory will return!
Peter said it:
Acts 3:19-20 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,”
And in the remainder of the chapter
We are see the consequences of
Having the glory of the Lord in their midst.
• (1) “the glory of the LORD has risen upon you”
• (2) “His glory will appear upon you.”
• (7) “I shall glorify My glorious house.”
• (9) “because He has glorified you.”
• (13) “I shall make the place of My feet glorious.”
• (19) “You will have the LORD for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory.”
• (21) “That I may be glorified.”
The return of glory to the house of Israel is clearly the theme.
What a difference it makes for a people when God is among them.
What a difference it makes in a nation when God is among them.
We see those differences spelled out here. There’s 4 of them.
We saw the first one last Sunday night.
1) NATIONS WILL HONOR YOU (3-9)
We won’t go all back through this one again, but you see in these 7 verses the repeated reference to nations flocking to Israel.
1. They are coming to return their sons to them.
2. They are coming to bring gifts and offerings.
3. They are coming to offer sacrifices of tribute to Christ.
And the point is that this once despised nation
Will be the center attraction of all the earth.
But it certainly won’t be because of tourism.
People won’t be going to marvel at historical references or natural views.
They will be flocking to that place to see Christ!
He is the attraction!
And I’ll just remind you again that this should be the churches mindset.
We have nothing to offer this world apart from Christ.
• He is our sole attraction.
• He is our sole benefit that we offer to the world.
Do you remember the failure of the church at Ephesus?
• They had solid doctrine.
• They participated in church discipline.
• They were very discerning regarding truth and error.
But…
Revelation 2:1-6 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. ‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
They left their first love.
And that offense was of such magnitude
That Christ threatened to close the doors to that place.
Christ is what we have.
Christ is what we offer.
“Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!”
And Christ is enough!
The nations are flocking to Israel because He is there.
The next two points we see I split into two points because there is a distinction, but I want to look at them together.
2) FOREIGNERS WILL SERVE YOU (10-13)
3) ENEMIES WILL BOW TO YOU (17-22)
What we see described here is
A total reversal in how Israel will be treated in the world.
The Psalmist lamented antisemitism even in his day.
Psalms 44:22 “But for Your sake we are killed all day long; We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
HISTORY BEARS OUT
All the hatred that Israel has received and endured from the world.
It really goes all the way back to the days of Abraham
When we saw Abimelech tried to marry Sarah
And ruin the promised blessing of God.
AND IT HAS NEVER ENDED.
• We saw them oppressed in Egypt.
• We are confronted with Philistines and Moabites and Ammonites and
Edomites and all other types of enemies.
• We know about Assyria conquering the northern 10 tribes.
• We know about Babylon conquering Judah.
• We know about the Persians seeking a holocaust under Haman.
• We know about Antiochus Epiphanes the Greek seeking to annihilate the
Jews.
• We know Rome burned the temple and their city.
• We know Hitler killed somewhere around 6 million Jews.
• And the fighting hasn’t stopped.
They have historically been the most hated people on the planet.
But what a difference you see when they finally embrace their Savior.
(10-13) “Foreigners will build up your walls, And their kings will minister to you; For in My wrath I struck you, And in My favor I have had compassion on you. “Your gates will be open continually; They will not be closed day or night, So that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, With their kings led in procession. “For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, And the nations will be utterly ruined. “The glory of Lebanon will come to you, The juniper, the box tree and the cypress together, To beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I shall make the place of My feet glorious.”
Everything here is opposite of what we have seen throughout history.
FIRST you need to see why.
(10b) “For in My wrath I struck you, And in My favor I have had compassion on you.”
It is important to understand this.
Israel’s punishments and judgments throughout her history have been nothing but a direct result of her disobedience to God.
• She entered into a covenant with Him at Sinai and promised Him that she
would obey His every command.
• She did not, and she brought upon herself the curses that are so clearly
outlined throughout the book of Deuteronomy.
• She sinned and God has repeatedly struck her in His wrath.
But on the day she repents and returns
That wrath will be replaced with compassion.
And the nations that God has used to afflict Israel
Will now be used to minister to her.
Instead of foreign armies coming to destroy Israel’s walls:
“Foreigners will build up your walls”
Instead of foreign kings oppressing Israel:
“their kings will minister to you;”
Instead of gates closed for security:
“Your gates will be open continually; They will not be closed day or night”
Instead of nations plundering Israel:
“men may bring to you the wealth of the nations”
Places like Lebanon will lumber and the other nations will bring wealth.
All for one purpose.
“To beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I shall make the place of My feet glorious.”
The goal and desire of the world will no longer be
To attack, destroy, or plunder Israel,
But rather to build her up and beautify her.
BECAUSE THE LORD IS THERE!
And it’s not just foreigners, it is also ENEMIES.
(14-15) “The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you, And all those who despised you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet; And they will call you the city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated With no one passing through, I will make you an everlasting pride, A joy from generation to generation.”
You see the same reversal there don’t you.
• “those who afflicted you will come bowing to you”
• “those who despised you will bow”
• “you have been hated…[you will be] an everlasting pride, A joy”
It is just a complete 180 from where they have been.
Israel will no longer be the bottom of the barrel.
(16) “You will suck the milk of nations And suck the breast of kings;”
Instead of them milking you, you’re going to milk them.
Deuteronomy 28:7-14 “The LORD shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. “The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you. “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. “So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will be afraid of you. “The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. “The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. “The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”
We are simply reading about a people
Who have jumped out from under the curses of God
And find themselves under the blessings of God.
They have been SAVED, they have been REDEEMED,
They have been DELIVERED.
The blessings the church currently enjoys in a spiritual sense,
For we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ,
Israel will enjoy in a physical sense
For His physical presence will be among them.
And I love the culmination of verse 16.
(16b) “Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
That is a great summarizing statement!
Think for a moment about Isaiah’s pleading throughout the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 41:14 “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.”
Isaiah 43:3 “For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.”
Isaiah 43:11 “I, even I, am the LORD, And there is no savior besides Me.”
Isaiah 44:6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.”
Isaiah 44:8 “Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’”
Isaiah 45:21 “Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.”
Isaiah has been preaching it over and over.
We might say, “Until he was blue in the face”
And Israel just hasn’t gotten it.
• They have had ears but they didn’t hear.
• They have had eyes but they didn’t see.
• They have had hearts, but they didn’t understand.
But on this day they will get it.
When Edomites are bowing to them instead of bombing them
It will finally sink in to Israel that Jesus Christ is their Savior.
Nations will honor you
Foreigners will serve you
Enemies bow to you
4) PROSPERITY WILL FIND YOU (17-22)
And what a list we have here.
(17) “Instead of bronze I will bring gold, And instead of iron I will bring silver, And instead of wood, bronze, And instead of stones, iron. And I will make peace your administrators And righteousness your overseers.”
That is what you call trading up.
Someone will say, “I need a piece of bronze, I’m making a door hinge.”
And the neighbor will respond, “Could you just use gold instead?”
Someone will say, “I need of piece of iron, I’m making a door stop.”
And the neighbor will respond, “Here, just take this silver.”
YOU GET THE IDEA.
There will be no lack of any good thing.
God will more than amply supply for all His people.
(18) “Violence will not be heard again in your land, Nor devastation or destruction within your borders; But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.”
In light of the Middle East today that verse seems downright impossible.
• No violence at all?
• No devastation?
• No destruction?
We are talking about a place with absolutely no danger at all.
I like the statement:
“you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.”
What does that mean?
It’s not just a plague that hangs on the wall.
WHAT HE IS SAYING IS THAT
Your security is that you’ve been saved by the Lord.
And you enter that salvation through the exaltation of the Lord.
Christ is the Good Shepherd protecting His sheep.
Christ is the door through which you enter.
No wall and no gate could ever produce the peace and safety that the redemption of Christ can accomplish.
No one is coming in this city who doesn’t love and exalt Christ.
• It is a saved city.
• It is a city full of the redeemed.
There will be no violence in this place at all.
He goes on:
(19-20) “No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory. “Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be over.”
We’re certainly familiar with this analogy from reading Revelation.
Revelation 22:5 “And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.”
It is the same thing we see here.
The presence of glory outshines them all.
It will never be dark, there will be no more night.
And that is not just a natural reality it is also a metaphor.
There will be NO MORE MOURNING.
Crying and pain and violence and adversity
And grief and despair will all be gone.
The curse is reversed.
• Enmity and toil and pain are gone.
• There is no cause for mourning in that city.
And still there is more.
(21) “Then all your people will be righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.”
There is a great statement!
“Then all your people will be righteous”
WHY?
• Because by faith they have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
• They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.
And because they are righteous
There is no more punishment or discipline.
“They will posses the land forever”
They are referred to here as the branch which God planted.
They are referred to here as the work of God’s hands.
And the END RESULT in all of this is the GLORY OF THE LORD.
• He will save them.
• He will sanctify them.
• He will glorify them.
He will do it so that He is glorified.
When God takes a people like that
And turns them into a righteous people
There will be nothing left but to glorify the LORD.
1 Corinthians 1:27-31 “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”
THIS IS ALL FOR HIS GLORY.
(22) “The smallest one will become a clan, And the least one a mighty nation. I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time.”
And God will most certainly do it.
• It doesn’t matter how small they become.
• It doesn’t matter how far you scatter them.
• It doesn’t matter how insignificant they appear.
God will do it because He said He would do it.
It also doesn’t matter if you think it’s been too long.
God says, “I, the LORD, will hasten it in its time.”
When it’s time God will do it.
But He will most certainly do it.
Now that is A QUICK TRIP
Through the realities of the coming Millennial kingdom of Christ.
And I don’t mean to pass over them quickly,
But rather to show them to you in bulk
So that you can see the glory of that day.
• A day with no deficit.
• A day with no danger.
• A day with no darkness.
• A day with no departure.
• A day with no doubt.
Where is this salvation You speak of?
Well, this is it.
And we see THE PURPOSE OF ISAIAH more clearly now.
What is the point of him sharing all this?
It is to call Israel to run to Christ in repentance.
Can you not see what He will do for you?
Can you not see that He is the better option?
Can you not see that He is what you’ve been waiting for?
It reminds us of the preaching of Jesus.
John 4:10 “Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
John 6:35-40 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
John 7:37-38 “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 8:12 “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
John 10:7-10 “So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Do you see all those same realities promised by Him there?
Jesus made many offers in exactly the same way.
• Turn to Me and be saved!
• Turn to Me and enjoy abundance!
That is what Isaiah is preaching.
It is nothing but foolishness
• That has caused you to reject your Savior.
• That has caused you to embrace ceremonial religion.
Repent and return and run to Christ
For all the good things He has in store for you.
What a message to Israel!
What a promise God has made if they will but turn to the Lord.
And certainly if any Jews were in this audience today
We’d be pleading with them to run to Christ.
THERE ARE ONLY GENTILES.
Most in here are believers, some still are not.
What does all of this have to do with Gentiles?
What are we supposed to do with all these Millennial promises to Israel?
Were are we going to be during all of this?
The answer: right there with them.
We’ve read some of it already in previous weeks,
But what did Paul say about us as Gentiles and salvation?
TURN TO: ROMANS 11
Look at verses 11-12.
Do you understand what Paul is saying?
It was all a part of God’s sovereign plan that Israel would reject the gospel.
• Their rejection of the gospel is what opened the door for the Gentiles to hear the gospel.
• That is what Paul means when he says, “their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles”
• Their rejection is what opened the door for us to hear it.
• And our acceptance is “to make them jealous”.
That’s one of the reasons Paul pushes his Gentile ministry so hard.
Read verses 13-16
Paul says
• I magnify my ministry because I want to make them jealous.
• Because when they run to Christ it will be “life from the dead” (i.e. the millennium)
And then Paul makes the famous statement
About how we though “being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became with them a partaker of the rich root of the olive tree.”
What is Paul’s point?
They aren’t joining our tree, we are joining theirs.
There has only ever been one faith, it is that which Abraham had.
• They have thus far rejected it.
• We have been grafted into it.
• Someday they will come back to it.
So what does that mean about the millennial reign of Christ for us?
WE ARE DWELLING WITH HIM!
We don’t become foreigners in the kingdom, we are sons of the kingdom.
1 Peter 2:6-10 “For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,” and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.”
While we discuss all that is coming for the future of Israel,
Know we are talking about our future as the church as well.
AND THAT MEANS
• When Isaiah is speaking to unbelieving Jews about all the glories of the kingdom of Christ in hope that they will repent and run to Christ,
• We are also speaking of that glorious kingdom to any lost Gentiles in hopes that they will do the same.
What we have here is the future of the church.
• One day, our enemies will be crushed, just as their enemies are crushed.
• One day, we will reign with Christ, just as they will reign with Christ.
• One day, the church will be glorious, and Israel will be glorious as part of the church.
And if you want to be a part of that day,
THEN YOU MUST REPENT AND RUN TO CHRIST.
But it will be so worth it!
What a day that will be!
Where Is This Salvation You Speak Of? – part 5 (Isaiah 59:1-60:22 (60:1-9))
Where Is This Salvation You Speak Of? – part 5
Isaiah 59:1-60:22 (60:1-9)
October 13, 2024
I want to jump back in to the reality of God’s faithfulness that we looked at this morning.
I want to solidify in your mind that the promises God made to Israel, He will keep.
And this includes even the promise of them receiving the land.
We remember as God was preparing Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Exodus 6:1-8 “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.” God spoke further to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them. “I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. “Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ‘Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ‘I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the LORD.’”
And even as Israel was faithless in the wilderness and many did not get to enter the land, God still reiterated that rebellion Israel’s part may cause them some discipline, but it will not forfeit His promise.
Deuteronomy 4:25-31 “When you become the father of children and children’s children and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD your God so as to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. “The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD drives you. “There you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. “When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. “For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.”
Deuteronomy 30:1-9 “So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. “If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. “The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. “The LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. “And you shall again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments which I command you today. “Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers;”
The land is theirs, and even a period of unfaithfulness cannot change that.
God promised Abraham.
Even in the times of the Judges when Israel walked in wild unfaithfulness God reiterated His promise.
Judges 2:1 “Now the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,”
And in the times of the Kings David had Asaph sing this song:
1 Chronicles 16:15-18 “Remember His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations, The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac. He also confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, As the portion of your inheritance.”
And even in Israel’s darkest day, as God was bringing Babylon into the city and God was about to exile His people, even on that day He said:
Jeremiah 29:10-14 “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’”
He just says it over and over and over and over.
Later when He gave the New Covenant through Jeremiah and promised forgiveness and restoration to Israel He finished that promise with this proof.
Jeremiah 31:35-37 “Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: “If this fixed order departs From before Me,” declares the LORD, “Then the offspring of Israel also will cease From being a nation before Me forever.” Thus says the LORD, “If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel For all that they have done,” declares the LORD.”
We get it don’t we?
God made a promise, and He’s going to keep that promise.
He will save His people and He will settle them in the land.
I realize we have now gone through a lengthy period of rebellion from Israel.
It’s been 2,000 years of suffering for Israel in which they refuse to recognize their Messiah.
But God has promised one day they will, and He will save them and return to avenge them.
Tonight, I want you to see what that day will look like.
We come to our 5th point of the segment.
#5 THE NATIONS RESTORATION
Isaiah 60:1-22
It is obvious when we read this chapter that we are talking about what Peter called “times of refreshing” or the “period of restoration”.
You and I know it as the millennium; the 1,000 year reign of Christ.
It is certainly not the first time Isaiah has spoken about this period on the earth.
Back in chapter 11 we saw it as a time of unbelievable peace on the earth when the wolf will dwell with the lamb and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, etc.
In chapter 35 we saw it as a tremendous time of restoration where the desert will become a garden, the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
And there are several other references to this time period throughout the book of Isaiah.
It is shown to Israel as the final fulfillment of the promises which God made to Abraham.
Israel, safely in her land, enjoying the blessings of the presence of God.
And that is no different here.
It is Isaiah, yet again, reminding Israel of the blessing of repentance and salvation.
When God says He has good plans for us, He means it.
When God says that His future for us is one of hope, He means it.
When God says that coming to Him is a wise decision, He means it.
It brings to my mind that interesting moment in the life of the disciples as they watched the Rich Young Ruler choose his riches over Christ and thus walk away sad.
Peter has a bit of a crisis at that moment and asked the Lord if they had made the right decision in leaving their lives behind to follow Christ.
This was Jesus’ answer:
Matthew 19:28-29 “And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.”
Jesus answer was that they absolutely made the right decision.
Following Jesus is worth it now, and it will certainly be worth it on that day as well.
Jesus never ruined the life of any of His followers and He never will.
So certainly just as a generic observation we see again that this millennial reign of Christ is a glorious time that is so worth if for His people.
It is a time of peace
It is a time of restoration
It is a time of refreshing
And if we could sort of sum up Isaiah’s focus in this chapter we would add that it is also a time of remarkable glory.
Glory is the theme of chapter 60.
(1) “Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.”
(2) “For behold darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples’ But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear on you.”
(7b) “They will go up with acceptance on My altar, And I shall glorify My glorious house.”
(9b) “For the name of the LORD your God, And for the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you.”
(13) “The glory of Lebanon will come to you, The juniper, the box tree and the cypress together, To beautify the place of My sanctuary; And I shall make the place of My feet glorious.”
(19) “No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory.”
(21) “Then all your people will be righteous; They will possess the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.”
The theme is clearly glory.
And it is glory in two different ways.
In verses 1 and 2 the Hebrew word is KA-BODE which speaks of God’s glorious splendor.
You see that again in verse 13.
But the rest of the times you see the word “glorious” or “glorified’ it is a different word PAW-AIR or a word that comes from that root, and it means “beautiful or to beautify”
And the understanding of the chapter then is that when Israel returns to God He will return to them and His glory will beautify them.
In fact, His presence will be their beauty, and His glory will be their chief attraction to the world.
And just for a simple application of spiritual truth for us today. The church has nothing to offer as attractive or glorious to the world as the presence of God.
I think about this often, even with events like Disciple Now where we are going to do a lot of fun stuff with the kids that come.
But if all we have to offer is fun and games we lose. What every one of these kids needs to see and be aware of is the reality of the presence of God in our lives.
I like what Paul said to the Corinthians who were caught up in mystical behavior like speaking in tongues and such. Paul called them to speak the words of God because that is something the world does not have.
1 Corinthians 14:24-25 “But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.”
That is the effect of having the presence of God.
Far more powerful than any worldly attraction.
Well that is what the millennium will be for Israel.
And this is huge.
If you remember, this is what they lost during the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
We read not too long ago from Ezekiel 10 and 11 about God’s glory departing from Israel.
Ezekiel 11:22-24 “Then the cherubim lifted up their wings with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them. The glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city and stood over the mountain which is east of the city. And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God to the exiles in Chaldea. So the vision that I had seen left me.”
Do you understand that God’s glory never entered the temple again until Jesus was 8 days old and was carried there to be circumcised?
But they crucified Him and have thus been without the presence of God since that day.
But on this day the LORD returns.
His glory fills their land.
Ezekiel 43:1-5 “Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing toward the east; and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision which I saw when He came to destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the east. And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.”
God returned exactly as He had left.
And when Ezekiel gave that long description of the millennium at the end of his book, one verse really stands out above the rest in importance.
Ezekiel 48:35 “The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘The LORD is there.’”
After all the descriptions and all the measurements and all the prescribed activities that are laid out in the final 9 chapters of Ezekiel it really all funnels down to only 1 attraction.
“The LORD is there.”
When you think about planning a vacation and you start talking about various destinations, you begin to weigh them out based on what each location has to offer.
Giant trees outside of Fresno.
Cool temperatures in New Mexico.
A big canyon in Arizona.
An ark in Kentucky.
Well what you’ll see here is that as the world contemplates where to travel there is one destination that clearly rises above them all and it is Jerusalem because “The LORD is there.”
Notice all the references to “come to you” that you’ll see as we read through.
The glory of the LORD returns to Israel and the world will flock to them as a result.
That is what is described here.
(1-2) “Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. “For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you.”
What a great way to start this chapter with the call for Israel to “Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.”
We heard Jesus in the New Testament speak sort of sarcastically to the Jews during His sermon on the mount.
Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Israel was supposed to be the light of the world.
Indeed they thought they were the light of the world.
Romans 2:19 “[You] are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,”
They were supposed to shine the light of God’s presence to the world, but the problem was they didn’t actually have any light.
Their light was a false light.
Their light was a hidden light.
Well on this day that all changes.
They receive the light of God’s presence and they are called to shine it.
Just as today we are called to shine the light of God’s presence into a dark and hopeless world.
Philippians 2:14-15 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,”
So you understand the calling here.
God reminds Israel that Christ has returned to them and they are to broadcast it!
They are to shine their light.
(2) “For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you.”
What is this darkness?
It is the great tribulation.
It is the wrath of the day of the LORD which is described as a day of darkness and gloom and deep darkness.
And it is during that horrific time of tribulation that Israel will be saved.
It is there that Zechariah 12 (which we read this morning) will be fulfilled.
It is during the tribulation that God will pour out His Spirit on Israel and cause them to weep for Christ and look on Him whom they pierced, and Christ will save them.
And during that dark time, they are to shine the light of Christ to a world in deep darkness.
And we read that “the LORD will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you.”
That is His coming.
Even when anticipating His first coming, Zacharias prophesied that John would go before Christ:
Luke 1:77-79 “To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
This is what He will do.
Israel will turn to Him, and He will return for them.
He will avenge them of their enemies.
He will dwell among them in Jerusalem.
He will illumine them with His glory.
And they will become the attraction of the world!
All because Christ is with them.
Now, I do want us to go through the remainder of this chapter.
I really think it is one of those scenes that needs to be seen in its entirety, not just a verse at a time.
So we’re going to move through this chapter rather quickly, but what I want you to grasp as we do is the glory of the presence of Christ and the effect His presence has upon His people.
And while we are certainly talking about an actual millennial reign here, I want you to also begin to appreciate what a difference it makes when the presence of Christ becomes the chief focus of our gathering.
Christ is the light, we’re just the lamp.
If you raise up a lamp without any light in it, you’re not going to draw anyone.
Christ is the living water, we’re just the hose.
If you stretch out a hose without any water, you’re not going to refresh anyone.
Christ is the magnet, we’re just the conduit through which He draws.
All of the benefits that you see taking place here for Israel are only because Christ is among them.
They are physical benefits that Israel will physically enjoy in the millennium, but that is a spiritual benefit that the church should enjoy today.
So let’s walk through these 4 realities that occur when Christ arrives and makes His people beautiful.
1) NATIONS WILL HONOR YOU (3-9)
Hopefully as we read, you picked up on what a massive attraction Israel becomes.
You see the phrases repeatedly:
“come to you” – “come from afar” – “turned to you” – “come to you” – “come” – “gathered together to you” – “come first”
It’s quite clear that when Christ shines His glory through His people the nations start showing up.
(3) “Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.”
That is clear.
The world is on its way.
It’s not the first time Isaiah has mentioned this.
Isaiah 2:1-4 “The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.”
Isaiah 45:14 “Thus says the LORD, “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush And the Sabeans, men of stature, Will come over to you and will be yours; They will walk behind you, they will come over in chains And will bow down to you; They will make supplication to you: ‘Surely, God is with you, and there is none else, No other God.’”
It’s going to happen.
Zechariah 8:20-23 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go.” ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”
Well that is what we see happening here.
Their attraction level is off the charts.
They have Jesus in their midst!
And we even see some realities of why they are coming.
TO RETURN THEIR CHILDREN
(4) “Lift up your eyes round about and see; They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried in the arms.”
(9) “Surely the coastlands will wait for Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, For the name of the LORD your God, And for the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you.”
This is spoken of a lot throughout Isaiah.
Isaiah 43:5-6 “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth,”
Isaiah 49:22-23 “Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations And set up My standard to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in their bosom, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. “Kings will be your guardians, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you will know that I am the LORD; Those who hopefully wait for Me will not be put to shame.”
That is the idea here.
If you’ve held captive some of Christ’s children, there is no way you’re going to stand before Him without bringing them back!
And any Jew stranded across the world will be given free passage to go back to Israel.
Their people are going home.
It is their land, it was promised to Abraham, and God will bring them to it.
This is one of the reasons the nations are coming.
TO GIVE OFFERINGS
(5-6) “Then you will see and be radiant, And your heart will thrill and rejoice; Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you, The wealth of the nations will come to you. “A multitude of camels will cover you, The young camels of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense, And will bear good news of the praises of the LORD.”
You’ve got the ships of the sea and the caravans of camels and they’re all bringing gifts for the Lord and for His people.
Even as we read down in verse 9, when they bring the sons they bring, “their silver and gold with them.”
They are bringing the wealth of the nations into Jerusalem.
Isaiah 23:17-18 “It will come about at the end of seventy years that the LORD will visit Tyre. Then she will go back to her harlot’s wages and will play the harlot with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. Her gain and her harlot’s wages will be set apart to the LORD; it will not be stored up or hoarded, but her gain will become sufficient food and choice attire for those who dwell in the presence of the LORD.”
There you have the nation of Tyre who has always been a picture of commerce and worldliness.
And here God reveals that all of her wealth which she gathered and hoarded was not actually being hoarded for her, but for His people.
In just the same way as the people plundered Egypt on their way out so now the nations freely give up their wealth again.
Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.”
So it is here.
TO MAKE SACRIFICES
(7) “All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you, The rams of Nebaioth will minister to you; They will go up with acceptance on My altar, And I shall glorify My glorious house.”
This is the one that gets a little tricky for most, so let me take a second and explain this one to you.
When you read the last 9 chapters of Ezekiel people typically track along pretty good.
In chapters 40-43 Ezekiel measures the city and talks about the people.
In chapters 43-44 Ezekiel measures the altar and talks about the priests.
In chapter 45 Ezekiel measures the land and talks about the princes.
And everything seems clear there until you start seeing the people offering sin offerings and participating again in the Passover.
Ezekiel 45:21-23 “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. “On that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering. “During the seven days of the feast he shall provide as a burnt offering to the LORD seven bulls and seven rams without blemish on every day of the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering.”
And there are several more references, but we don’t have to read them all.
What you see then is people get really confused about this Millennial kingdom.
Why in the world are they bringing the sacrifices back?
It’s not hard to understand, they are brought back as a memorial.
Not a single sacrifice in the Old Testament ever atoned for sin…correct?
Hebrews 10:4 “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
Those things were effective, they were merely a picture of the coming atonement.
Hebrews 10:1 “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.”
They were “only a shadow of the good things to come”
Those sacrifices looked forward to Christ.
These sacrifices are still not efficacious, but they are a memorial looking back at Christ, similar to when we take the Lord’s Supper.
No man here genuinely believes that eating that store-bought cracker or drinking that concentrated grape juice is actually atoning for your sin.
But we are commanded to do it and you do it.
You eat the cracker and you drink the juice and you worship the sacrifice of Christ.
That is what will happen in the millennium, they will take the Passover and they will give the sin offering, but it will be a memorial to what Christ did.
Even in the book of Acts the apostles, after the ascension of the Lord, still participated in temple worship and there is even a record of Paul participating in the Jewish sacrifices.
Acts 21:26 “Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.”
That is when Paul returned to Jerusalem and James told him that the Jews thought he preached against the Law.
So James told him we’ve got some guys here who have taken a vow and you need to go and purify yourself with them and pay their expenses and show the Jews that you walk orderly.
So Paul went and did it.
He didn’t balk, he didn’t should “Blasphemy!”
He just understood that everything done according to the Law was merely a picture of Christ.
Certainly Paul wasn’t trusting in that.
For him it was a memorial and a way to keep peace with the Jews.
But that will occur in this day.
The whole world will come to Jerusalem to return their children, bring gifts, and sacrifice to honor the sacrifice of Christ.
There will be a massive coming of the nations.
To bring the Jews
To bring their gifts
And to worship the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
And incidentally, this won’t be optional.
We looked this morning at that salvation passage in Zechariah about when Israel mourns over Christ and trusts in Him.
Look at Zechariah’s description of that day.
TURN TO: ZECHARIAH 14:10-21
See not going is not an option.
Everyone goes.
This is the benefit of having the glory of the Lord in your midst.
And this is the consequence of Israel trusting in the Lord.
What a day that will be.
Well, I wanted to cover this whole chapter in one sitting, but we’re going to have to come back next time and get it.
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