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Take Care How You Listen
Luke 8:16-18
October 15, 2023

By this time you’ve now heard the parable of the soils.
The banners behind me remind you of each of those various soils.

And now you know what they all mean.
Luke 8:11 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.”

The seed in Jesus’ story is God’s word.
And that makes each of the 4 soils a different type of person (or heart)

Some are hard-hearted like THE PATH.
• They never hear, they never listen and Satan takes it away.

Some are faint-hearted like THE ROCKY SOIL.
• They hear but see the cost of Christ us too high and they fall away.

Some are half-hearted like THE WEEDY SOIL.
• They want Christ but they won’t give up their idols and the seed is choked.

But some are whole-hearted like THE GOOD SOIL.
• They give their whole heart to Christ and He makes them fruitful.

You have heard that parable now in detail and
Hopefully it’s truth is beginning to sink in to your hearts.

Well the parable from Jesus is over, but the sermon is not.
There are 3 more verses in Luke 8
That are a part of this sermon which Jesus preached on the soils.

It is how Jesus ended that message that we want to look at this morning.

VERY SIMPLY PUT, if you listened to that parable and then you asked yourself, “How would I know which soil I am?”

• How do I know if I have fruit?
• How do I know if I’m shallow?
• How do I know if I’m idolatrous?
• How do I know if I’m good soil?

If you asked that question
Then you are going to be grateful for these next 3 verses
For Jesus is going to bring clarity.

• He’s going to show you what you should be looking for in your life.
• He’s going to show you what you should be examining in your life.
• He’s going to show you how to tell if you’re producing fruit or not.

And then He’s got one final warning and piece of advice.

So first let’s listen to Jesus tell us how to know
If we’re that type of soil that produces fruit
Or if we are one of the other 3.

There are two realities here.

#1 IS YOUR FRUIT EVIDENT?
Luke 8:16

Now you notice that Jesus has SWAPPED ANALOGIES here.
• He has moved from talking about soil and fruit to talking about light.

There’s a reason for the shift in terminology but understand that
We are still talking about THE SAME SUBJECT.

He is still referring to THE OUTPUT of the Christian life.
• Whether you want to see it as the Christian producing fruit…
• Or you want to see it as the Christian shining light…

We are talking about the SAME THING.

The reason Jesus shifts to light as an analogy
Is because this was a direct confrontation of a Jewish mindset.

Jesus is going right at His crowd here.

Jews believed themselves to be a light to the world.

Listen to Paul in Romans 2
Romans 2:17-20 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth,”

You see there Paul mention the Jewish belief that
They were “a light to those who are in darkness”.

In Scripture light represents one of three things.
It can refer to RIGHTEOUSNESS.
• The bible speaks of “deeds of light” or “deeds of darkness”

It can refer to INFORMATION or KNOWLEDGE
• We might say someone was “kept in the dark” or “the light came on”

It can refer to HOPE
• We might talk about “the light at the end of the tunnel”

The Jews considered themselves to be all 3 of those things to the world.
• They viewed themselves as the righteous example in a wicked world.
• They considered themselves to have the knowledge of the truth.
• They considered themselves to be the world’s hope of salvation.

It is interesting then when you get to John’s gospel
And hear John say about Jesus:
John 1:9 “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.”

John was very quick to begin his gospel by revealing that Jesus was “the true light” which was a definite dig at Israel who thought they were light, but weren’t.

Perhaps you are familiar with the Sermon on the Mount.
Most people are familiar with Matthew 5:16 and it is often quoted in reference to the church.

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.”

• And while it is true that the church is to shine as lights in the world,
• Matthew 5:16 is not about the church,
• It is a sarcastic statement about the hypocrisy of Israel.

What Jesus is saying in the Sermon on the Mount
Is a STATEMENT OF CONDEMNATION.

You claim to be the light of the world, but you don’t shine.
How does that work?

In fact Jesus actually gave a different analogy first that meant the same thing.
Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”

There He said, you claim to be salt, but you have no flavor.
How can that be?

So you understand why Jesus turns to the analogy of light now.

He is addressing something
That Jews believed to be true about themselves,
But which Jesus does not.

They thought they were the light of the world, Jesus does not agree.

If we were to stay on the previous analogy
It would be the equivalent of Jesus saying, “So you’re a field but you produce no fruit, where’s the benefit in that?”

So you understand what He’s doing here.
• Jesus is confronting people who claim to have light but don’t shine it.
• He’s confronting people who claim to be salt, but don’t taste.
• He’s confronting people who claim to be good soil, but have no fruit.

DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?
Now, a common excuse of such people is simple.
They like to say things like:
• “My faith is private”
• “My relationship with Jesus is just between me and Jesus”
• “I have fruit, I just don’t display it”
• “I have the light, I just don’t shine it”
• “Just because I don’t talk about Jesus or the gospel doesn’t mean I’m not a Christian.”

Perhaps you’ve heard some variation of one of those statements before.
Perhaps you’ve even made one of those statements before.

Well here JESUS DESTROYS that faulty belief.

(16) “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.”

So you say that “I have the light I just don’t shine it.”
Jesus cries foul and says, “No one does that”.

No one turns on the light
And then immediately covers it with black plastic.

What does He mean?
Simply this:

If you are not shining the light of Jesus
It is not because you’ve just chosen not to.
It is because you do not have it.

If you are not displaying the fruit of the gospel
It is not because you just keep it private.
It is because you don’t have any.

Everyone who truly has fruit displays it.
Everyone who truly has light shines it.
EVERYONE…

“no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container”

SO, IF YOU ARE ASKING YOURSELF whether or not you have fruit, then the obvious first question is this:

IS IT EVIDENT?
(Do other people see it?)

And we remember what light represents.

Light can be RIGHTEOUS LIVING (“deeds of light” or “deeds of darkness”)

So do you live righteously or do you live immorally?
• Do you obey the commands of God or do you disobey the commands of God?
• Is righteous living evident to other people in your life?

Galatians 5:19-24 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Which of those two categories is evident in your life?

1 John 3:10 “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.”

IT’S REALLY NOT THAT COMPLICATED.

But light also represents TRUTH (“kept in the dark” or “light came one”)

And we would ask “Do you share the gospel of Jesus Christ?”
• You claim to have the knowledge of the greatest truth ever given to humanity;
• The knowledge of the gospel and how sinful men can be declared righteous before a holy God.

You’ve got the greatest single piece of information the world has ever received, DO YOU SHARE IT?

Acts 4:19-20 “But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

Do you ever tell anyone about what you’ve seen and heard?

A field full of fruit is only valuable if it shares its fruit with the world.
If you are not, there is reason to question.

We also said that light represents HOPE (“light at the end of the tunnel”)

Do you share hope with those in darkness?
• The hope of forgiveness?
• The hope of eternal life?
• The hope of the gospel?

Here Jesus is simply saying that if you don’t share the gospel with other people it is because you have never received it yourself.

PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE LIGHT SHINE IT.
PEOPLE WHO HAVE FRUIT DISPLAY IT.

SO, IS YOUR FRUIT EVIDENT?
• Fruit is not meant to be hidden.
• That fruitful soil produced a crop 100 times as great.

So is it evident?
Is evident to others?
Do you share it with others?

That’s your first evaluating criteria.

#2 IS YOUR FRUIT GENUINE?
Luke 8:17

This statement of Jesus can be a little cryptic until we study some of the other places where Jesus used the exact same statement.

Luke 12:1-3 “Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. “Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.”

Here Jesus gives a distinct warning to His disciples
Regarding the lifestyle of the Pharisees.

Specifically Jesus warns about their hypocrisy.

You may or may not be aware of this but the Greek word for hypocrite is HUPOCRITES.

It was literally their word for a stage-actor.
When Jesus called someone a hypocrite He literally called them an actor.

They were someone who dressed up in a part and pretended to be someone they were not for the purpose of entertaining someone else.

The slang term today might be “a poser”.
It is at the very heart a phony and a fraud.

Jesus said this is what the Pharisees were and then He said, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.”

And FROM THAT TEXT WE KNOW what Jesus meant by this statement.
Everything that was phony about the Pharisees
Would come to light and be known.

In other words, their acting days would not last forever.
They would not fool people forever.

TURN TO: MATTHEW 23

(READ 1-7) You see the real problem of the Pharisees.
• It’s all for show.
• They just love the glory and the benefit but they aren’t real.

(READ 23-28) You see it again.
• They are all external.
• They are all for appearances.

And now you understand what Jesus is saying here to us about our fruit.

He is referring to the outward things we do
Which may appear as fruit to some people.

In other words:
We asked in that first question whether or not our fruit is evident?
• Does your light shine?
• Do you share the gospel?
• Is the fruit of the Spirit evident in your life?

And perhaps you were able to say, “Yes” to those questions.
And that’s good.

But Jesus follows that up with another question.

You say your fruit is evident,
Would you say that is true in your private life?

JESUS IS ASKING IF YOU ARE REAL?

Does your fruit only show up when you are church?
• Does your fruit show up in your private life?
• Does your fruit show up when you’re on the internet?
• Does your fruit show up when you’re in the locker room?

Is the fruit you display true or is it just plastic fruit
You put on display for others to see?

WE LIVE IN A DAY OF VIRTUAL FANTASY.

Social media has taught us that people can be one way in person and totally different on their social media account.

We live in a day of phony reality.
• Photoshopped photos
• Virtual friendships via Facebook
• Virtual followers
• Phony athletes with performance enhancing drugs

We even have athletes with slogans like, “Fake it ‘til you make it”

And now we’ve hit the AI era
Where you don’t know if anything you’re seeing is real.

Unfortunately that has been going on in the church since the beginning.

It is those who have a type of plastic fruit,
Like what was on your grandmother’s table.

It isn’t real, but they display it for show,
But when they get alone they know what they are.

Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”

But here is something everyone should know.
You may fool everyone around you.
You may even fool yourself.

BUT YOU ARE NOT; AND YOU WILL NOT FOOL GOD.

Psalms 7:9 “O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.”

Psalms 90:8 “You have placed our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your presence.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

1 Corinthians 4:5 “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.”

Hebrews 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

There is nothing hidden from God.

And Jesus promises that one day it will all come out.
“For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”

In other words, don’t bank on fake fruit.
God knows the difference.

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

Those people who had done a great job of fooling everyone else,
But they couldn’t fool Jesus.

On the day of judgment their secret was uncovered.
• They were phonies.
• They were imposters.
• Their fruit was a plastic imitation of the real thing.
• And they are excluded from the kingdom of heaven.

So that’s the next question you need to evaluate.

1) IS YOUR FRUIT EVIDENT?
2) IS YOUR FRUIT GENUINE?
• Are you real?
• Are you genuine?
• Or are you playing a game?

SO THAT IS THE WAY YOU EVALUATE WHICH SOIL YOU ARE.

Then Jesus closes His sermon with some ADVICE and a WARNING.

His warning is THE THEME of our entire weekend.
(18) “So take care how you listen…”

• Jesus DIDN’T tell you to try harder.
• Jesus DIDN’T tell you to do better.

If you don’t have fruit it’s NOT because you haven’t worked hard enough.

If you don’t have fruit it’s because
Your heart has not properly dealt with the seed.

WHAT IS THE SEED?
“the word of God”

And the only way you can be fruitful as God demands
Is if you let that seed do its work in your heart.

So the command of Jesus ISN’T work harder.
The command of Jesus is listen better.

You need to receive God’s word!

If you don’t have fruit it’s because
• You’ve been too hard-hearted to let God’s word touch your heart.
• You’ve been too shallow to count the cost and embrace God’s word.
• You’ve got too many idols and they are choking God’s word.

YOU HAVEN’T LISTENED CORRECTLY.

In your quiet time Saturday morning
James told you how to listen to God’s word.

James 1:21 “Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.”

• If you don’t listen correctly.
• If you don’t “in humility receive the word”
• You will never produce the fruit that God demands.

“So take care how you listen”

And then Jesus gives His reason.
“for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and who does not have, even what he thinks he had shall be taken away from him.”

The simple point here is this:
GOD TAKES IT PERSONAL

It is not ok with God for you to ignore His word.

In fact, if you fail to listen correctly long enough
God may even quit bothering you with His word altogether.

THAT IS WHAT JESUS SAYS HERE.
• If you hear God’s word and you listen correctly to God’s word, then He’ll give you more.
• If you refuse to hear it, don’t be surprised if He takes away your ability all together.

And do you know what happens when you lose the ability to hear from God?
YOU ARE JUDGED FOR ALL ETERNITY.

Because there is only one way that a lost soul gets saved.
Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

You have to hear the gospel and you have to respond to it.
But if you lose the ability to hear the gospel there will be no salvation.

THERE IS NOT A SCARIER REALITY TO CONTEMPLATE
Than the thought that someone could have so offended God
That He stopped calling them to repentance and faith in Christ.

And did you catch this parable at the beginning?
Remember how Jesus started with just a farming illustration?
He then said, (8:8) “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And then Jesus dismissed the crowd.

The disciples wanted to know why Jesus spoke so cryptically.
They wanted to know why He didn’t just tell them straight.

In fact in Matthew’s gospel we read:
Matthew 13:10 “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

Why don’t You just clearly give them the gospel?

Do you remember Jesus answer?
Luke 8:10 “And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.”

Or more clearly again in Matthew’s gospel:
Matthew 13:11-13 “Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

They wouldn’t listen so now I have made it where they can’t listen.
I have taken away even what they thought they had.

That is a terrifying reality, but it is a true one.
Hebrews 6:7-8 “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.”

• How long do you keep watering a garden that won’t grow vegetables?
• How long do you keep watering a field that won’t produce a crop?

And so you understand the warning of Jesus.

“So take care how you listen…”

And this morning allow me to lay it out for you one more time.

• In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the Bible says God made everything good. So good in fact that on the 7th day, HE RESTED (because there was nothing else that could be done) (Genesis 1-2)

• God created a perfect garden and a perfect man and a perfect woman to live in that garden. Everything in that garden was available to them except for 1 tree in the middle of that garden. It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and they were commanded not to eat of that tree or touch it or they would surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17)

• There came a day when Satan entered the garden in the form of a serpent and he tempted Eve to eat of that fruit, and she did, and she gave some to Adam, and he ate it too. (Genesis 3:1-7)

• On that day, sin entered God’s perfect creation and all of creation suffered what is known as “The Fall” or the sin curse. (Sickness, Disease, Disaster, Hatred, Death) (Genesis 3:14-19)

• And because Adam and Eve fell into sin, they also raised children with their same sinful nature. (Romans 5:12-14)

• In fact the Bible says that now, as Adam’s offspring, we are all born with a nature that loves sin. (It may show up differently in every life, but every life has it one form or another) (Romans 3:9-18)

• In fact, David said,
Psalms 51:5 “in sin my mother conceived me, and I was brought forth in iniquity”

• This sinful nature, is in all men, and because all men love sin, all men commit sin and by reason of that sin are estranged from God and under His divine wrath. (Psalms 7:11-12)

• In fact, because of sin man is called the enemy of God and is in fact under God’s divine wrath and awaiting eternal punishment in hell. (Revelation 20:11-15)

• And if God had not seen fit to intervene in the life of man, all men would indeed spend eternity in hell as punishment for the sins which they have committed. (Ephesians 2:1-10)

Romans 5:8-10 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

• God sent His very own beloved Son into the world that He had created and that which had rebelled against Him in the garden and every day since. (1 Timothy 1:15)

• This Jesus lived a perfectly righteous life in every way. He never sinned, not even once, and was the only human who ever fully satisfied the righteous requirements of God for living. (Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 3:17)

• After 3 years of ministry in which Jesus proved Himself to be the divine Son of God through miracles and works of power, this holy man was crucified at the hands of His own people. (John 5:36)

• And while hanging on the cross Jesus endured more than just the hostility of the Jews, Jesus in fact bore the full wrath of God which was due upon God’s children. (Isaiah 53)

• Jesus then died, was buried, but on the 3rd day God raised Him from the dead proving that Jesus’ death was not for His own sin. His resurrection proves that He really was holy and that His death really was for the sin of others. (Acts 2:24)

• And because of His perfectly righteous life and sacrificial death, salvation became possible to all of God’s children. (Romans 8:1-4)

THIS IS HOW SALVATION WORKS

2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

• When on the cross, even though Jesus was perfectly righteous, God treated Him as if He had lived my sinful life. So that now God can treat me as though I lived His perfect life.

• Jesus was treated as a sinner so that I can be treated as a righteous man.

• This is the very essence of salvation. That through the life and death of Jesus sinners can be reconciled back to God.

• And this is available for all who trust in the work of Jesus for salvation.

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.”

• This is the message of the gospel. Namely that sinful human beings can be reconciled to God because of what Jesus did through His righteous life and sacrificial death. (Colossians 2:13-14)

• And our requirement is that we repent (turn from our sin), and trust in Christ. (Acts 17:30-31)

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”

“So take care how you listen…”

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Drunkards, Scoffers & Tough Nuts – part 4
Isaiah 28:1-29 (17-29)
October 8, 2023

Tonight we want to jump back in to the message we started this morning.
• I had not originally intended to spend an entire sermon on verse 16,
• But what an important verse it is
• And certainly a joy of ours to gaze upon the perfection and value of Christ.

None of us who trust in Him have ever found Him to be a disappointment,
NOR WILL WE EVER.

But let’s jump back now into the flow of Isaiah’s sermon.
• You know we are discussing the stubbornness of Israel.
• You know Isaiah is asking Israel just how much they are going to force God to put them through?

And Isaiah gives 3 analogies regarding their stubbornness.
#1 DRUNKARDS
Isaiah 28:1-8

• The priests and prophets of Jerusalem were compared to drunks who totter in their judgments and their messages were comparable to vomit on the table.

• Their stubbornness was seen in their refusal to rightly value God’s word.

• Just as a drunk values the wrong things (sin over God)
• These priests and prophets valued their own opinions more than God’s.

It is stubbornness.

#2 SCOFFERS
Isaiah 28:9-22

• We saw their mocking of Isaiah as though he was talking baby-talk.
• We saw God announce that He would now speak to them through stammering lips.
• God would hide His word.

We saw how the rulers didn’t care because they already had a plan.
They had made an alliance with Egypt.

Their stubbornness emerged again
Because they didn’t see the need to listen to God
Since they had a plan for facing the judgment on their own.

They had a plan.
They had an ally.
They had a deliverer.

Isaiah called it a “covenant with death”
And he said it wouldn’t work.

And o God has now set out to set the record straight.

We said this morning that in verses 16-22
God lays out 4 things every scoffer ought to know.

If you scoff at God’s word
And have your own plan for facing the judgment,
Then here are 4 truths you need to be reacquainted with.

1) THERE IS ONLY ONE AVAILABLE SAVIOR (16)

We looked at this this morning.

God has provided only one means of salvation.
“I am laying in Zion a stone”

This is that foundation that will survive the judgment and it’s the only thing that will.
• “a tested stone” – chosen and proven, certainly up to the challenge.
• “a costly cornerstone” – costly but worth it! Precious and valuable.
• “for the foundation firmly placed” – the stone that everything will depend on.

Jesus Christ is the Only Savior.
HE IS THE ONLY SALVATION WHICH GOD HAS PROVIDED.

And this is what every scoffer needs to know.
• They think they have found a different avenue of salvation.
• They have made a “covenant with death”
• They have made a “pact” “with sheol”

That is a foolish notion because THERE IS ONLY ONE SAVIOR.
• There is only one salvation.
• Only one rock is capable of surviving the coming judgment
• And it isn’t Egypt or any other would-be savior.
• Only Jesus can save.

We saw all that this morning, TONIGHT WE MOVE ON.
3 more things a scoffer ought to know.

There is Only One Available Savior
2) THERE IS ONLY ONE APPROVED STANDARD (17)

(17) “I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And the waters will overflow the secret place.”

I remember years ago watching a video of a Catholic priest on Larry King who was debating John MacArthur who assured all listeners that when God judges men it will be on a curve.

• That God will only require 60% or 70% in order to get into heaven.

IT IS A POPULAR VIEW.

Men instinctively know that they are sinful.
We hear statements like, “We all fall short” or “Nobody’s perfect”

And while those are true statements
They SHOULD NOT be comforting ones.

Mankind use them today as a means of comforting their anxiety.
They see their sinfulness and their imperfection
And then seek to eliminate their fears by saying, “Well, nobody’s perfect”

And the basis behind the statement is to basically say:
“God can’t judge men for being sinful or else God would have to judge everyone.”

If God wants people in heaven
Then He’s just going to have lower the bar.

And if you remember it,
You know that this was a mindset which Jesus directly confronted in the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5:17-19 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus says, “Do not think…”
• Because that is precisely what they thought.
• They thought that when the Messiah came
• He would clarify which parts of God’s Law really mattered and which parts didn’t.

We remember for instance the Rich Young Ruler
• After Jesus told him to enter into life he must “keep the commandments”
• And that man responded by saying, “Which ones?”
• As if to say: Surely you can’t mean all of them.

We remember Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well,
• After talking to her about immorality and worship she said:

John 4:25 “The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”

Jesus said, “Do not think
That I came to abolish the Law and the prophets”
He didn’t come to do away with one letter or stroke.

BUT MEN THINK THAT OUT OF NECESSITY.
They know that the only way they will ever enter heaven
Based upon their own merit is if God lowers the standard.

The only way Egypt can save you from God’s judgment
Is if God’s judgment isn’t too strict or severe.
Surely He only requires 60% or 70%

If you are a person who scoffs at God’s Law
Then you must embrace such a view.
• If you are going to willfully neglect to honor, read, listen to, and obey God’s Law
• Then your only hope is that God isn’t that strict in His application of it.

BUT HERE GOD HAS A WARNING FOR SCOFFERS.
God reveals to them the standard of His judgment.

“I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level;”

Apparently God wasn’t joking when He said, “
You shall be holy as I am holy”

• When God judges men He will NOT judge them on the curve.
• When God judges men He will NOT judge them based on percentages.

All men will stand next to God’s righteous plum line.
All men will stand under God’s righteous level.

And just to make sure we are still clear on this.
THIS IS ALSO JESUS.

Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Paul said that God would “judge the world in righteousness”
And that He would do so “through a Man”.

In other words God’s standard of judgment will be a man.
WHAT MAN?
• The man who God declared righteous by raising Him from the dead.

Listen to Jesus speak about it:
John 5:22 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,”

And then later Jesus says:
John 5:26-29 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

We talked about this last year at Disciple Now with our teenagers
And I hope you already understand it, but if not it is so important.

I typically at this point like to ask the question:
“Do good people go to heaven?”
• And most of the time our churchy background overtakes our Bible reading and we say, “No.”
• Now we say that because we know that “no one is good, not even one”.

But look again at what Jesus said.
“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

What did He say?
• If you do the good deeds you go to a resurrection of life
• But if you do evil deeds you go to a resurrection of judgment.

Listen again to what Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler.
Matthew 19:16-17 “And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

When this man asked how to go to heaven Jesus did not say, “believe”,
He said, “keep the commandments”.

It is the same implied point.
You are going to have to do the good deeds
If you are going to enter into life.

Listen to the apostle Paul:
Romans 2:5-10 “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

And there it is again.
• Those who do good get life, those who do evil get judgment.

So let me ask you again,
“Do good people go to heaven?”
And the answer is: YES
• If they are holy as He is holy…
• If they are perfect as He is perfect…
• If they are good like He is good…
• Then when they die they will go to heaven.

WHY?
Because “justice is the measuring line and righteousness the level.”

But what happens if a man is half a bubble off?
• What happens if a man is a little out of plum?
• What happens if a man isn’t quite perfect?

WELL I SHOULD THINK IT IS CLEAR.
THAT MAN IS JUDGED
Because he has failed to meet the standards required by God.

Does that make sense?
God will judge all men according to their deeds.

With God it is righteousness or bust.
There is only one approved standard.

That is why it is SO FOOLISH TO SCOFF at the word of God,
For it is there that God reveals His righteous standard.

It is through God’s Law that He shows men what righteousness looks like.

And you say,
“Well the Law doesn’t help me, it only condemns me.”

Quite right, but that is NOT ALL God’s word tells you.

God’s word ALSO TELLS YOU what to do
If you have been found guilty of sin
And have fallen short of God’s righteousness.

We are told to look to Jesus who perfectly fulfilled God’s standard and will make a way for us fulfill it in Him.

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

• At D-Now last year we told the kids to imagine that in order to go to heaven God requires a man to run an 8 second 100m dash.
• (That’s difficult since the current world record is 9.58 set by Ussain Bolt)
• And so the world says, “Well, if God wants anyone in heaven He’s going to have to lower the bar. He might need to limit it to a 14 second 100m or none of us are going to make it.”
• But that is where Jesus shows up and says, “No, God is not yielding. It’s 8 seconds or no entrance, but if you like, I’ll run the race for you and you can count My time on your card.” And Jesus then runs an 8 second 100m.

He didn’t come to abolish, but to fulfill.

So many people assume Jesus came to lower the bar
And widen the gate so that sinful people could go to heaven.

WRONG!
Jesus ENDORSED the Father’s plan of righteousness or bust
And then He FULFILLED it for us.

But the standard doesn’t change.

DON’T SCOFF AT GOD’S WORD.
It will condemn you but it will also drive you to Christ.

There is only one available savior
There is only one approved standard
3) THERE IS ONLY ONE ANTICIPATED SCENARIO (18-20)

(18-20) “Your covenant with death will be canceled, And your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the overwhelming scourge passes through, Then you become its trampling place. “As often as it passes through, it will seize you; For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night, And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.” The bed is too short on which to stretch out, And the blanket is too small to wrap oneself in.”

For all those who ignore God’s standard.
For all those who ignore God’s savior.
They have only one scenario to look forward to and that is judgment.

The writer of Hebrews said:
Hebrews 10:26-31 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

If you reject the only Savior available
Then all you can look forward to is “a terrifying expectation of judgment”

And that is exactly what Isaiah says here as well.

NO ESCAPE
“Your covenant with death will be canceled, and your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the overwhelming scourge passes through, then you become its trampling place.”

You’re not going to make it.
• So you trusted in Egypt…
• So you trusted in Muhammad…
• So you trusted in your own good works…
• It won’t work.

Your house is built on sand, and the storm is going to level it.
YOU WON’T SURVIVE.

What about these guys?
“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’”

Or how about the man who tried to enter the wedding banquet without wedding clothes?
“Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

Whatever plan you had for escaping judgment, it won’t work.

NO PEACE
(19) “As often as it passes through, it will seize you; For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night, And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”

You’re NOT going to get peace and hope and safety and confidence.
• You’re going to be like a man caught in a tidal wave of judgment.
• It’s just going to bowl you over and over and over and over.

There will never be any peace for you.
And the more you understand this, the more terrified you’re going to be.

NO REST
(20) “The bed is too short on which to stretch out, And the blanket is too small to wrap oneself in.”

Ever try to sleep on an airplane?
Ever try to sleep in the cold without enough cover?

You won’t get much rest in such circumstances.
And that is the reality of judgment.

And you see the point of Isaiah.
It is A REMINDER TO EVERY SCOFFER who rejects God’s word.

You have chosen a false savior
And placed your hope there instead of listening to God’s word.

WELL YOU NEED TO KNOW
• There is only ONE available savior.
• There is only ONE approved standard
• There is only ONE anticipated scenario
• All you have to look forward to is a sure and certain judgment.

There is nothing else.
It is either heaven or hell.

• Those who are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus go to heaven.
• Those who are not go to hell.

And on that day they will find that
Their plan for facing death did not work.

WHAT IS YOUR PLAN?
• How were you planning to explain your sin to God?
• How were you planning in working around His holy expectation?

If that plan is anything other than Jesus then you are sunk.
All you have coming is sheer terror.

Every scoffer needs to know that.
• Only God’s word reveals the savior.
• Only God’s word reveals the standard.
• Only God’s word reveals the scenario.

DON’T SCOFF AT IT.

One more thing ever scoffer needs to know.
4) THERE IS ONLY ONE ACCEPTABLE SOLUTION (21-22)

(21-22) “For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be stirred up as in the valley of Gibeon, To do His task, His unusual task, And to work His work, His extraordinary work. And now do not carry on as scoffers, Or your fetters will be made stronger; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts Of decisive destruction on all the earth.”

God is coming in judgment.
• “Perazim” is where God broke through the Philistine army to deliver David.
• “Gibeon” is where God used Joshua to sley the Ammorites.
• Both of those places were places of God’s outpouring judgment.

And I like that Isaiah calls it
“His unusual task” and “His extraordinary work”
• God is a Savior.
• God delights in salvation.
• God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

BUT HE WILL DO IT.
• He will judge, but He takes no delight.
• It is “His unusual task”

And because God will do it,
There is a piece of advice given here.

(22) “And now do not carry on as scoffers, Or your fetters will be made stronger; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts of decisive destruction on all the earth.”

What is the acceptable solution?
REPENT
• Start honoring God’s word.
• Start listening to what God has to say.
• Repent of your sin and trust in His Savior.

When Peter revealed that Israel had killed God’s Son they were terrified and asked what to do.

Acts 2:38-40 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”

He preached again in Jerusalem.
Acts 3:19 “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;”

You must repent of your scoffing!
You must repent of your neglect of God’s word!
You must seek it and listen to it and obey it.
For God has it within His power to squeeze you until you will.

And thus God has now corrected the scoffers.
It is not wise to scoff at God’s word.

So now Isaiah has confronted the stubbornness of Jerusalem with 2 analogies, “Drunkards and Scoffers”

Let’s now take a look at the 3rd.
#3 TOUGH NUTS
Isaiah 28:23-29

It’s a simple farming analogy.
It is not hard to understand, and it is quite fitting.

(23-24) “Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my words. Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?”

So we start with a couple of questions.
Their just farming questions.

When a farmer goes and hooks up his plow so that he might break up the ground, does he “plow continually”?

“Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?”

And what is the answer? NO

• Surely he plows until the ground is soft.
• Surely he plows until the ground will take the seed.
• But he doesn’t just keep ripping up the ground.

His plowing is for a purpose
And when that purpose is reached he stops.

(25-26) “Does he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter cummin And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its area? For his God instructs and teaches him properly.”

So he only plows it for so long.
There is not need to cut up the land any more than that.

AND THEN WHAT DOES HE DO?
He sows grain.

Now why do you suppose a farmer only plows so much
And then plants the grain?

“For his God instructs and teaches him properly.”

In other words, This knowledge is not man’s knowledge, it comes from God.

That isn’t a man invented principle, that is a God invented principle.
THAT IS HOW GOD OPERATES.

God doesn’t plow just to plow.
God plows for a purpose.

And if that ground will yield to the plow
Then God will stop plowing and will plant a seed.

That makes sense.

(27-28) “For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is the cartwheel driven over cummin; But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a club. Grain for bread is crushed, Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever. Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it, He does not thresh it longer.”

Here we move from planting season to harvest.

And when you plant “dill” and it produces a crop
You don’t have to run it under “a threshing sledge”.

WHY?
Because all you have to do is hit the plant with a rod and it will yield up its seed.
The same with “cummin”.
• You don’t have to grind it, just whack it with a club and it will give you the seed.

Now the same CAN’T BE SAID for “Grain”
“Grain for bread is crushed”

If you want to turn wheat into flower you’ve got to run it under “a threshing sledge”
• You’ve got to crush it.
• You’ve got to really hit it hard.

Dill and cummin not so much, but wheat is hard.
You’ve got to hit it harder to make it productive.

BUT EVEN THEN:
“he does not continue to thresh it forever”

WHY?
“Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it.”

Even wheat, which requires a stiffer beating, isn’t beaten forever.
It’s only beaten until it yields.

And then Isaiah says:
(29) “This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.”

It is the equivalent
Of when Jesus gave the parable of the soils and then said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS ISAIAH TALKING ABOUT?

In this world
• There is some ground that is soft and only requires a little plowing.
• There is some ground that is hard and requires more plowing.

But it is never plowed just to plow it.
And when it finally yields the plowing stops.

In this world
• There are some seeds that are soft and require a little pounding.
• There are some seeds that are hard and require a severe pounding.

But it is never just beaten to beat it.
When it finally yields the beating stops.

DO YOU NEED THE APPLICATION?

In this world
• There are some people who are soft and repent after a little pressure.
• There are some who are hard and require more pressure to repent.

But God never afflicts just for the fun of it.
When a person finally yields the pressure stops.

And so the obvious question is:
HOW TOUGH A NUT ARE YOU?

When Jesus approached Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road:
Acts 26:12-14 “While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’”

“to kick against the goads” was a farming analogy.
• It refers to spikes that a farmer would put behind the oxen to keep them from kicking back or resisting the plow.
• They could kick all the wanted but all it would do is hurt and injure the ox.

You can kick all you want but you’re only hurting yourself.
How stubborn do you intend to be?

When Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream he said:
Daniel 4:27 “Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.”

• Of course if you insist upon eating grass like a cow for 7 years we can do that
• But it would be much easier if you would just repent now.

Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’”

It is not God’s desire to plow forever.
It is not God’s desire to thresh forever.

But if the ground won’t yield and the nut won’t crack,
Rest assured that He will hit it again.

Do you see again the danger of stubbornness?

TURN TO: PSALMS 32
It is the testimony of David as he recounts the absolute blessing of repentance and the forgiveness that follows.

Good advice isn’t it?

FRIEND, DON’T BE STUBBORN.
Don’t be like a drunkard who values the wrong thing.
• Value God’s word over your own wisdom or logic.

Don’t be a scoffer who turns a deaf ear to God’s word.
• Listen to Him and do what He says, He has the only plan of salvation.

Don’t be a tough nut who forces God to beat him relentlessly to get him to yield.
• Read what God says and repent and obey without requiring a beating.