download here

Ike Butterworth

download here

Ike Butterworth

download here

Ike Butterworth

download here

REVIVAL! – Part 3
Isaiah 63:7-64:12 (64:1-12)
December 8, 2024

Exodus 19:18-20 “Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.”

You are familiar with the scene.
• God had led the children of Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
• He had parted the Red Sea and delivered them from the Egyptian attack.
• And now God had led them to Mt. Sinai and there God descended.

It was a terrifying scene.

AND YET it was also a remarkably reassuring one for Israel.
GOD WAS WITH THEM.

He had personally led them out of Egypt
And He would personally lead them into the land of promise.

At any moment throughout their wilderness wanderings,
If God were to depart, it would be over for Israel.
• How does a nation survive 40 years in the desert with no food and no water?
• How does a nation of slaves travel through foreign lands with no threat of
annihilation?
• How does a nomadic people enter a foreign country, declare war on every
nation that lives there, and still take the land?

ONLY IF GOD IS WITH THEM.

To say that God’s presence was the difference is an understatement.
His presence was everything.

And simply by reading that story
We are also brought to the foundational understanding
That nothing is as important as the presence of God in our lives.

• Our talents don’t matter…
• Our wealth doesn’t matter…
• Our experience doesn’t matter…
• It doesn’t matter how charismatic we are…
• It doesn’t matter how advantageous our location is…

Without the presence of God we are nothing.
Nothing and no one is as valuable as Him.

Understanding that is where revival begins to occur.

And that is what we have been seeing here in Israel.

As you know, this is a prophetic picture.
What Isaiah describes he never saw with his own eyes.
• But with prophetic eyes, Isaiah was allowed to see down through the corridors of history the future and coming revival of Israel.
• God has promised even to this day that Israel will return to Him.
• Isaiah was shown that day, and we are now learning about it from him.

This morning we come to the third aspect of this revival Isaiah witnessed.
The last two services we have looked at the first two.

#1 A REVIVAL LESSON
Isaiah 63:7-11a

It was simply a historical reminder of the “lovingkindesses of the LORD.”

Isaiah wanted us to stop and recognize
How loyal God has been to His people.

THIS IS THE BASIS FOR REVIVAL.
If God is not loyal to His people
We would have no hope that revival could ever occur again.

Isaiah simply wanted us to remember God’s lovingkindnesses to us.
• How God redeemed Israel even when they weren’t redeemable.
• How they rebelled against God and brought discipline into their lives.
• How they remembered God and revival occurred.

That was a cycle that we have seen over and over in the history of Israel
And Isaiah simply called that cycle to mind.

He sought to encourage his congregation that
Because of God’s loyal covenantal love, revival is always possible.

That was a revival lesson.

#2 A REVIVAL NEED
Isaiah 63:11-19

Here we saw the day when the scales will fall off of the eyes of Israel.
• We see a people who, like the prodigal son, “came to their senses”
• And began to realize that something is missing in their lives.

(11) “Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses. Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them…?”

They realized that they were missing something…GOD!
• Where was all that power that their ancestors had seen?
• Where was all that provision that their ancestors had enjoyed?

They finally realized that God was not among them.

And they realized why.
There was a reason why God was absent form their lives.

They were missing something else…FAITH.

(16a) “For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us And Israel does not recognize us.”

It is children of faith who are children of Abraham, and finally Israel has realized how far they have fallen.
• They had plenty of religion
• They had plenty of ordinances
• They had plenty of tradition

But what they were missing was the thing
That made Abraham and Jacob unique…faith.

It is no wonder God was absent.
“Without faith it is impossible to please Him” and Israel had no faith.

And that awareness led to a third and much more painful realization.
They were missing something else…SALVATION.

(19) “We have become like those over whom You have never ruled, Like those who were not called by Your name.”

Finally they realize that they were not the redeemed children of God.
• They were like pagans.
• They were like unbelievers.

All of their religious tradition had not made them children of God,
It had only made them self-deceived.

• Just as John the Baptist had said, they were “a brood of vipers”
• Just as Jesus had said, “you are of your father the devil”

THEY ARE LOST.

But as we have said repeatedly,
Before you can get a person saved you first have to get them lost,
And that is what Isaiah saw occurring.

It is like what we studied on Wednesday night.
• Paul desperately tried conquer his sin by his own will and effort
• Only to realize that he was a slave to sin and had no power to defeat it.
• The Law that he thought would save him had been powerless to defeat the sin
that enslaved him.
• He realized that he was lost.

Romans 7:24 “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”

That is exactly the place where we find Israel now.

Isaiah has exposed them and condemned them
And shown them their lostness before God.

THEY NOW KNOW THEY NEED REVIVAL.

And that leads us now to the third point.
#3 A REVIVAL PLEA
Isaiah 64:1-12

What does it look like when a man realizes he is lost and wants to be saved?
• What will his attitude look like?
• What will his prayer be?
• What is the road he will travel back to the Lord?

Here we are shown what it looks like.

I think this is one of the greatest examples of a revival heart
You’ll find anywhere in the Bible.

IT IS THE PRAYER OF A PEOPLE
Who have realized that they do not have the presence of God in their lives
And they want Him worse than anything else.

This is what revival looks like.

3 things
1) THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR YOU, PLEASE COME! (1-4)

After coming to the conclusion of
• God’s absence,
• Their lack of faith,
• And their lost condition,

The initial plea is obvious…RETURN!

“Oh that You would rend the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Your presence”

That is a reference again to Sinai, that we read a moment ago.

It is an appeal for the obvious, powerful, earth shattering,
Difference making presence of God in their midst.

And I want you to remember; that presence actually terrified them
When it happened the first time.

Deuteronomy 5:23-27 “And when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. “You said, ‘Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives. ‘Now then why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer, then we will die. ‘For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? ‘Go near and hear all that the LORD our God says; then speak to us all that the LORD our God speaks to you, and we will hear and do it.’”

Those people at Sinai were absolutely terrified
When the presence of God was revealed in their midst.

Their request for God to only interact with them through Moses
Was the very first step in their pulling away from God.

But here, they want Him back,
• Even if His presence is at first terrifying…
• Even if His presence is convicting…
• Even if His presence demands changes in my life…

We want You to return!

There is a good place to ponder a moment.

How many times does the enemy, through fear, convince us that requesting God’s presence and intervention in my life will be a bad thing?

Walking by faith and surrendering all to Christ can be terrifying,
But faith reminds us that God is good
And that He has ordained all to work for good for us.

Revival demands that we overcome our fears
And seek the holy presence of God in our lives.

WHY?
(2) “As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil – To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence.”

Very simply put, we want You because You are the difference maker.
• You are the catalyst.
• You are the fire that burns the wood.
• You are the fire that makes the water boil.

Do you see how they are beginning to recognize that their need for God is their absolute greatest need?

(3-4) “When You did awesome things which we did not expect, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence. For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, Nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.”

I don’t know if you picked up on that,
But I read verse 4 and immediately wrote down the word: FINALLY.

Do you see what they say about God there?

No one has heard of…
No one has seen…
“A God beside You”

How many times has Isaiah tried to get that point across to a people who just wouldn’t hear it?

TURN TO: Isaiah 40:18-20

Remember, instead of worshipping the true God,
• They tried to recreate Him in the graven image.
• They dumbed God down into something they could understand and ultimately
control, and God was offended.

You see it again in verse 25

The message of Isaiah was
To break up those idolatrous thoughts and see that there is no image,
Nor any other so-called god, that is anything like our God.

TURN TO: Isaiah 43:10-13

TURN TO: Isaiah 44:6-8

TURN TO: Isaiah 45:4-7

TURN TO: Isaiah 45:18

TURN TO: Isaiah 45:20-25

TURN TO: Isaiah 46:3-10

How many times has Isaiah tried to tell them
That there is no other God like our God?

AND FINALLY, THEY GET IT!
Finally, they are confessing that God alone is God!

And with that comes the realization
That God is worthy to be trusted or waited on.

“Nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.”

And didn’t Isaiah say that too?
Isaiah 40:27-31 “Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.”

Isaiah has been preaching this for nearly 60 years
• And his people have only responded with things like, “Get out of the way, leave the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

BUT NOW, after realized with their lostness and need for God,
• Their eyes have been opened,
• Their ears unstopped,
• They are able to finally see that there is no substitute for God.

And what an important truth to initiate revival.

Think about all the things we enjoy in church
That we can actually do without.

We love things here like the piano, microphones, central heat and air, padded pews, lights, carpet, etc.

And any of you have traveled to Africa know that
You’ve not been in an African church that had any of those things.

Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for all of it.
Certainly there are benefits to any and all of those things.
But none of them are of the essential nature.

BUT GOD IS.
You can’t do it without Him.

John 15:1-5 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Revival begins when you realize that.
• When God’s presence becomes the most important thing.
• When God’s presence becomes an absolutely essential thing.

If we are content to go through the motions, with only the form of religion, and care not whether God is present or pleased,
We are in a pitiful condition.

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR GOD.

I think of Asaph, the Psalmist who for a time was caught up in the love of the world and the desire for worldly comforts until God showed him the end worldly riches.

Asaph repented and said:
Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”

He fell into the trap that we easily fall into.
• We think about the world.
• We begin to desire the world.
• We start to chase the world.
• We may even begin to acquire the world.

But when Asaph was shown a glimpse of life after death
He realized that in eternity there is no need for money.

When it comes to eternity there is only One that matters,
And that is God.

There is no substitute for the presence of God.
Israel here realizes that, and so they cry out for Him to return.

You want revival in your life? You want revival in our church?

It begins with the simple requirement,
That God would be the most important and valued treasure of your life.

These people wanted God even if His coming was scary.
That is to say, “We want You, no matter the cost.”

Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

We want You no matter the cost, because You are worth it.

Until that becomes the desire, revival will never occur in your life,
Or in our church, or in our land.

There’s no substitute for You, please come!

2) THERE IS NO MERIT IN US, PLEASE FORGIVE! (5-7)

Not only must a man deal with the reality of God’s absence,
But in order for revival to occur
We must also deal with the reason for His absence.

From the time in the garden there has only ever been
One thing that separated God from man…SIN.

Sin is the great separator.
That means if you want the nearness of God
Then righteousness must become the pursuit of your life.

And that is what Israel confesses here.
(5a) “You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways.”

And again we say: FINALLY!

Isaiah has been preaching that too!
Isaiah 1:11-17 “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. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.”

• God didn’t want their religious routines or traditions.
• God didn’t want their outward show of religion.
• God wanted righteousness!

Remember the parable of the vineyard?
Isaiah 5:7 “For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.”

It has been blatantly obvious what God has wanted this whole time,
But Israel has not been able to see it.

And yet here they finally do.

The realize that righteousness is what God desires,
And they realize that they have not given it to Him.

(5b) “Behold, You were angry, for we sinned, We continued in them a long time; And shall we be saved?”

You see the beatitudes here don’t you…
• Pure in heart – that God desires righteousness
• Poor in spirit – “shall we be saved?”
• Mourning over sin – “we sinned”

These are a people who have not only come to grips with God’s absence,
But they have also come to grips with the sin that caused it.

There can be no revival without repentance.
There can be no reconciliation without dealing with what caused it.

Listen to the humility and mourning over sin that they express to God.

(6) “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

What a power packed verse!

“For all of us have become like one who is unclean…”

What in the world could they be talking about?
• Well do you remember who their preacher was? Isaiah
• And do you remember what Isaiah learned about himself?

Isaiah 6:5 “Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

Isaiah had been sounding that alarm for nearly 60 years.
• Well here the people finally see it.
• We, like Isaiah, are unclean people.

“And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;”

The word “filthy” there is a word that speaks of
“an appointed time” and even more so the “woman’s appointed time”.

The analogy here is like that of the unclean woman in Mark’s gospel
Who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years.
• For 12 years she was unclean.
• For 12 years her garments were unclean.
• For 12 years her bed and blankets were unclean.
• No one would touch her.
• No one would touch the garments she had worn or laid on.

And that is the word being used here by these people
To describe just how “good” their good works are.

They go on to say:
“And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

Remember Psalms 1?
Psalms 1:4 “The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.”

Are you understanding their confession now?
We are sinful people, people totally devoid of righteousness, nothing we have done is good at all.

Their statement almost sounds like Paul’s compilation from Romans 3
That there is none good, not even one.

They go on:
(7) “There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses Himself to take hold of You;”

• What a condemnation of their prayer life and their seeking of God.
• What a condemnation of their personal lives.

You aren’t here.
We aren’t righteous.
And no one here is seeking You to fix it.

A lot of lip service is given to revival in our nation and our churches,
But I would have to wonder how much time you’ve spent asking for it?

• Do you pray for God’s presence in your life?
• Do you pray for revival?
• Do you arouse yourself to take hold of God?

These people confessed that they did not.

“For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.”

It is an all out confession of sin and plea for mercy.
WHAT A REVIVAL PRAYER!

That is how revival begins.
• There is no substitute for You, please come!
• There is no merit in us, please forgive!

3) THERE IS NO HOPE FOR US, PLEASE SAVE! (8-12)

The beatitude mindset here continues
As you see their meekness and their desire for mercy.

That famous statement of submission:
(8) “But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.”

We sing, “Have Thine Own Way”
And so will they.

Jeremiah 18:1-6 “The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying, “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.” Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.”

The obvious answer to the LORD’S question is: YES!

It is the submissive heart
That comes before the LORD begging mercy and yielding everything.

• We don’t come giving God ultimatums…
• We don’t come trying to strike some sort of bargain…

• We come through the narrow gate, we come traveling the narrow way.
• We leave father and mother, brother and sister, wife and children, houses and farms…
• We part with possessions and give to the poor…
• We follow Christ even though He has no where to lay His head…
• We are content not to collect our inheritance…
• We don’t care if no one at home approves…

We seek Christ, no matter the cost,
And submit total authority over our lives to Him!

THAT IS REVIVAL.

And then here comes the LONG-AWAITED APPEAL.

Everything thus far has been confession.

(9-12) “Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD, Nor remember iniquity forever; Behold, look now, all of us are Your people. Your holy cities have become a wilderness, Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and beautiful house, Where our fathers praised You, Has been burned by fire; And all our precious things have become a ruin. Will You restrain Yourself at these things, O LORD? Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?”

You see it twice in there:
“Do not be angry beyond measure…”
“Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?”

What is that an appeal to?
MERCY
• It is an appeal for God to not pour out just wrath.
• It is an appeal for God to not judge without restraint.

They acknowledge that they have already been under God’s wrath.
• They see that “Your holy cities have become a wilderness”
• They see that “Zion has become a wilderness”
• They see that “Jerusalem [has become] a desolation”
• They see that the temple “has been burned by fire”
• They see that “all our precious things have become a ruin”

They see that they are under wrath, and justly so.

The question is whether God will now restrain His judgment and forgive and save them?

We could make an easy parallel there, couldn’t we?

WE COULD SAY, “O God, our nation has been turned over to immorality, the unborn are murdered at an alarming rate, sexual immorality fills our streets, and men are more concerned with entertainment, sports, and laziness than they are worshiping You. The church is way down on the priority list, and righteousness is of no concern to the people.”

And we could just as easily pray:
“Will You restrain Yourself at these things, O LORD? Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?”

WE UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY ARE COMING FROM.

Well this prayer for revival ENDS WITH A QUESTION.
And that is where we leave it.

We come to God with a confession of sin and an appeal for mercy,
And we lay that at His feet.

See, salvation and revival are the prerogative of God,
Not the right of man.

We are approaching God and asking for that which we do not deserve.

But we ask for it because God’s CHECED endures forever.
• We believe His word that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

• We believe His word that all who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

AND SO WE CALL OUT.

I’m mindful of the prayer of Jehoshaphat in Judah
When he had been attacked by 3 neighboring nations.

He appealed to the LORD and this is how he ended his prayer:
2 Chronicles 20:10-12 “Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), see how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance. “O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

“we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You”

That is revival in itself!

ONE DAY, this will be Israel’s prayer to God.

ONE DAY, the fountain of grace will be open to them and they will see their lostness, confess their sinfulness, and pray for salvation.

THAT DAY IS COMING FOR THEM.

But today is the time of the Gentiles.
And today, this opportunity for revival falls directly in our laps.

But it all stems from how badly we want God.
• It all stems from whether we are willing to part with our sin to be able to enjoy His presence.
• It all stems from whether we will submit to His will that we might enjoy Him.

Until that becomes our desire revival will continue to elude us.

It is the heart that longs for God that receives revival.
Let that be your heart!

And let this promise ring in your ear.
Paul actually quoted Isaiah 64:4 in his letter to the Corinthians

1 Corinthians 2:9 “but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

You do not have to fear requesting the nearness of God in your life.
If you only knew what God has in store for those who love Him,
You would kick yourself for not asking yesterday.

Seek the presence of God and experience the revival He has in store.

download here

God’s Answer – part 1
Isaiah 65:1-25 (1-16)
December 8, 2024

This morning we concluded chapter 64
With a series of questions from the nation of Israel.

We noticed that
• God awakened them to their sinfulness and ultimately their lostness.
• Then in humility we heard them cry out to God.

• Their request was for mercy.
• Their request was for salvation.
• Their request was for God to return to them.

Isaiah 64:9 “Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD, Nor remember iniquity forever; Behold, look now, all of us are Your people.”

Isaiah 64:12 “Will You restrain Yourself at these things, O LORD? Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?”

The simple request was
• Whether God would be willing to restrain His anger and to stop afflicting them.
• Whether God would be willing to save them.

They ask this because they have become aware of what they are.

Isaiah 64:6-7 “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.”

Since God is a God who meets “him who rejoices in doing righteousness” (64:5) they realized that they might be in danger.
• They had offended God.
• They had wronged God.
• They had stubbornly persisted in their sin.
• They had substituted genuine faith for filthy religious works.

And now they wonder whether God would be willing
To save such disloyal and stubborn and evil people?

IT IS A FAIR QUESTION AND A GOOD ONE.

Tonight we receive God’s answer.

And it will not surprise you, as those who know the gospel,
To find out that God’s answer is “Yes!”

We know that God saves sinners, even vile sinners,
Even unworthy sinners, even treacherous sinners,
Even persistent sinners, even hypocritical sinners.

GOD SAVES SINNERS.
And here we have sinners asking if God will save them.

Let’s examine God’s answer.
4 points
#1 PROOF OF SALVATION
Isaiah 65:1-7

Here we find an emphatic revelation from God.
It reads almost like one of those shocking type responses.

For example, like if you come up to me and say, “Can Carrie cook?”
And I pooch out my belly and say, “Look at me! What do you think?”

We have here God recounting His own saving nature.

Look at what He says in order to reassure those humbled sinners
Who are begging for salvation.

He says:
“I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ to a nation which did not call on My name.”

It is an emphatic answer by God.
Do I save sinners?

That’s exactly what I do!
I don’t just save sinners, I plead with sinners!
I jump up and down and waive My arms in order to call sinners!

In the person of Jesus,
• He took up human flesh and dwelled among sinners.
• He became the friend of sinners.
• He ate with tax collectors and sinners.
• He walked from village to village to preach the gospel to sinners.
• Ultimately He died on the cross to pay the sin debt of sinners.

Do I save sinners?
Yes!

Calling sinners to salvation is who I am!

And look at how He categorizes sinners there:
• I call sinners who don’t ask for Me.
• I call sinners who don’t seek for Me.
• I call sinners who aren’t calling for Me.

Paul quoted this verse in Romans 10
And noted that the people referenced in this verse is actually Gentiles.

Paul had made that famous statement in:
Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Then he referenced Isaiah 65:1
As that which is referring even to Gentiles
Who had no knowledge of God and no desire to seek Him.

But God still permitted Himself to be found by them.

Do we suppose that we really had any chance of finding God if He wanted to hide Himself?
1 Timothy 6:16 “[God] alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see.”

But in Romans 10
Paul spoke of how accessible God had made Himself.

Romans 10:6-11 “But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 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; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

Could you imagine if salvation required
• You ascending into heaven into the presence of God and bargaining for Him to come down to earth to save you?
• You descending into hell to rescue Jesus from the grave?

The point being,
• If God didn’t want you to be saved you wouldn’t be.
• If God didn’t want to be found He wouldn’t be.
• If God didn’t want to be seen or known or sought, He wouldn’t be.

So you ask if God will save sinners
And God says, “Look at Me! What do you think I’ve been doing this entire time?”

AND IT’S NOT JUST GENTILES.
God even speaks to His great desire to save Israel,
And that in spite of their complete resistance to salvation.

Look at verses 2-7,
He adds to the list of the type of people He saves.

HE EVEN SAVES THE TYPE OF PEOPLE WHO ANGER HIM.

The type of people in verse 5 He calls “smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.”

Like what?

He saves people that provoke Him with idols.
(2-3) “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts, A people who continually provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks;”

Remember those people in chapter 44?
• The ones who chopped down a tree
• And burned part of it in the fire
• And made another part into an idol and worshipped it,
• Not even realizing they were falling down before a block of wood?

Isaiah 44:18-19 “They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. No one recalls, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!”

• Those people who gave His glory to an image carved by man.
• Those people who likened Him to a carving of cow or a bird or something else.
• Those people who ascribed wisdom to that which is false and demonic.

And yet God continued to call them to salvation.
He didn’t stop evangelizing.
God continued to hold out His hand to them.

He saves people who disgust Him with their uncleanness.
(4) “Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places; Who eat swine’s flesh, And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.”

These are those people who defiantly resisted the commands of God
And willingly participated in that which God called unclean.

They are those who would go and participate in the pagan worship of their neighbors and celebrate in pagan temples.
They think God doesn’t see what they do in the dark.

Remember them in Isaiah 29?
Isaiah 29:15-16 “Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD, And whose deeds are done in a dark place, And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?” You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?”

And yet God says, I continue to hold out My hands to them.
He didn’t stop warning them.
He sent Isaiah to them to confront their sin and call them to salvation.

He saves people who infuriate Him with their self-righteousness.
(5) “Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day.”

We remember these guys too:
Isaiah 30:9-11 “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. “Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

Those people who wanted to know who Isaiah thought he was talking to?
Isaiah 28:9 “To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?”

These people who rejected the truth
And balked at any notion of repentance.

And yet for 65 chapters God has been calling these people.
He has been holding out His hand to them.

He saves people He has promised to destroy.
(6-7) “Behold, it is written before Me, I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will even repay into their bosom, Both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the LORD. “Because they have burned incense on the mountains And scorned Me on the hills, Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

That is an interesting verse.
You actually have God there referencing His own word.

God references that He had said
That He would repay these sinners with judgment.

Exodus 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

God had promised judgment on people who commit such sin
And yet He still holds out His hand
And cries “Here am I” to these wicked people.

He has promised to judge such people.
And He will certainly judge such people.

But He also patiently endures them for years upon years
Giving them every opportunity to repent and be saved instead.

The long-suffering nature of God is remarkable!

Does God save sinners?
ABSOLUTELY, that’s precisely what He does.

I even love the way God states His eagerness in verse 1.

“I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’”

It reminds us of the commissioning of Isaiah back in chapter 6 when God had asked, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And Isaiah responded, “Here am I”

So many read that verse and seek to imitate the great faith and obedience and willingness of Isaiah,

But what you realize here is that Isaiah was only imitating the great grace and eagerness of God.
• It wasn’t Isaiah who entered that temple concerned about sinners.
• It was God who saved Isaiah and changed his heart and commissioned him to
go to sinners.

If you want proof that God saves sinners, HISTORY IS FULL OF IT.
• We see it in His patience
• We see it in His endurance

We see it most readily in His incarnation to come and dwell among us,
Fulfill the Law on our behalf and pay the debt we owe.

We have a God who runs to prodigals.
We have a God who is jumping up and down
As He calls sinners to salvation!

SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION:
• Yes, God relents concerning calamity.
• Yes, God shows mercy to those who deserve judgment.
• Yes, God saves the indifferent, the stubborn, the infuriating, the nauseating, and the self-righteous.

HE SAVES WHOSEVER WILL CALL ON HIS NAME.

There is a second point God makes here.
#2 THE PROMISE OF SALVATION
Isaiah 65:8-10

It is true that Israel deserves wrath and judgment.
Verses 2-7 are enough evidence to condemn that nation for all eternity.

But God, even in Isaiah’s day,
Had promised that He would never judge all of them.

Not only has God always demonstrated a willingness to save,
But God has also always given a promise to save.

God has always promised to save a remnant.

Even in Romans when Paul quoted verse 2 about God spreading out His hands to a stubborn nation, Paul went on to say:

Romans 11:1-5 “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? “Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.” But what is the divine response to him? “I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.” In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice.”

Not only is God willing to save, God is determined to save.
He has always promised to save a remnant.

Look at the announcement here.

(8) “Thus says the LORD, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it,’ So I will act on behalf of My servants In order not to destroy all of them.”

The imagery is clear.
• If you cut a cluster of grapes off of the vine, but part of the cluster is bad,
• You don’t throw away all of the grapes just because of the bad ones.

You separate the bad from the good and then use the good ones.

How often did Jesus preach that very thing?
Matthew 13:28-30 “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Matthew 13:47-48 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.”

We remember the parable that spoke to the patience of Christ
For the remnant to reveal themselves…

Luke 13:6-9 “And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. “And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ “And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”

That is the patience of God.
He will save His remnant.

(9-10) “I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, And an heir of My mountains from Judah; Even My chosen ones shall inherit it, And My servants will dwell there. “Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks, And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds, For My people who seek Me.”

And so again God answers the question.

O God, will you save us in spite of our sin?
ABSOLUTELY!
• I am the God who is willing and eager to save sinners.
• I am the God who has determined to save sinners.

But we do at the same time see that first and very important distinction.

The sinners He will save are revealed in the last line of verse 10
As, “My people who seek Me.”

If you are those, He has promised to save.

When Jesus gave that Sermon on the Mount,
Which was all about God’s righteousness and our need of it.

Jesus preached how a sinful
Man can obtain the righteousness which God requires.

Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

He states that same thing another way in Luke’s gospel.
Luke 11:9-13 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

When Jesus says that God will give “what is good to those who ask Him”
• He is not talking about things this world calls good,
• He is talking about His goodness.

God gives righteousness to sinners who ask.
God gives His Holy Spirit to sinners who seek.

• No one who asks is rejected.
• No one who seeks is disappointed.
• No one who knocks is turned away.

He has promised to save and He will save.

AND THERE IS A REASON.

The Proof of Salvation
The Promise of Salvation
#3 THE PURPOSE OF SALVATION
Isaiah 65:11-16

Here the message takes a bit of a somber tone.
We read the word, “But…”

You asked if God was willing to save His people,
And His answer is a resounding, “Yes!”
He is eager and determined to do so.

BUT…
But don’t let His eagerness and determination make you think
That He’s just going to indiscriminately save everyone.

That is the heretical misconception
That so easily floats around our world today.
• They read of God’s eagerness to save.
• They read of God’s determination to save.

And they translate that to mean that a loving God
Must of necessity save everyone.

BUT THAT IS CERTAINLY NOT TRUE.
God saves those who seek Him and call upon His name.

The New Testament gives even more clarity
When it reveals that God saves those who place their faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 2:3-6 “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”

You see the balance there.
• God does desire salvation.
• God does not rejoice in judging the wicked.

But there is still only One way of salvation and that is Christ.

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.”

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

And we see God making that same point here.

He is eager to save and He is determined to save
But His salvation is not indiscriminate.

That is to say, He will not just save everybody.

(11-12) “But you who forsake the LORD, Who forget My holy mountain, Who set a table for Fortune, And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you for the sword, And all of you will bow down to the slaughter. Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. And you did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.”

We say, WAIT A MINUTE!
Didn’t God just say up in verses 1-7 that He saves people who provoke Him and infuriate Him and who He has promised to judge?

Yes, but He saves them
Upon the condition of their repentance and faith in Him.

And here we find that the people
• Who “forsake the LORD”
• And “who forget [His] holy mountain”
• And “who set a table for Fortune, and who fill cups with mixed win for Destiny” (idols)

Those people… “I will destine for the sword, and all of you will bow down to the slaughter”

Why?
“Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. And you did evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight.”

IT IS SIMPLE.
God judges sinners unless they repent and seek Him.
And in that case God saves them.

But the unrepentant can expect no salvation:

(13-15a) “Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry. Behold, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame. “Behold, My servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart, But you will cry out with a heavy heart, And you will wail with a broken spirit. “You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones, And the Lord GOD will slay you.”

IN SHORT,
They will never share the blessings of salvation with the people of God.

We remember Jesus saying this:
Luke 13:22-28 “And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out.”

Don’t adopt that universalist message.
Those people who assert that a loving God would never send anyone to hell.

Oh He will send people to hell, scores of people,
Even Jews who reject Christ will spend eternity in judgment.

While those in the kingdom are celebrating and feasting
Those who refused to seek Christ will know only torment.

THEIR NAME WILL ONLY BE A CURSE.

“By My servants will be called by another name.”

That name was revealed to us back in chapter 62
Isaiah 62:4 “It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; But you will be called, “My delight is in her,” And your land, “Married”; For the LORD delights in you, And to Him your land will be married.”

They will be called “My delight is in her”. (Hephseba)

But why is God so adamant about this?
Why, if He is so willing to save sinners,
Would He be so determined
To throw sinners who do not seek Him into hell?

And here is the answer:
(16) “Because he who is blessed in the earth Will be blessed by the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Will swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My sight!”

Because when the great congregation of people enters the kingdom,
God will not have a single person there
Who will give credit to that to some pagan idol.

Those who are blessed will know that it is God who blessed them.
Those who swear will swear only by the One true God.

Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”

Those who refuse to give God glory and seek Him,
But persist in their idolatrous ways, God will not let them in.
They will be shut outside where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

See, salvation has a purpose
And that purpose is the glory of God.

If your life is not devoted to the glory of God
There is no reason to allow you into Heaven.

Those who seek this world and love their sin and refuse to seek God,
Well, God will give them what exactly what they asked for…His absence.
• You cannot love this world and be headed to Heaven.
• You cannot love this world and God.
• If that is what you want, do not deceive yourself that Heaven is your destination.

Those people will never set foot in the glorious city.

The proof of salvation
The promise of salvation
The purpose of salvation

#4 THE PLACE OF SALVATION
Isaiah 65:17-25

Those who do not seek God will get exactly what they asked for…nothing.
But those who do seek God will get more than they can imagine.

Isaiah here is shown a glimpse of
The “new heavens and a new earth.”

And let me just say Christian…this is your destination.
This is where you are headed.

I recently heard a prayer request for a young girl
Who had been diagnosed with cancer and wasn’t expected to live.

When I heard it I tried to put myself in that parent’s shoes
And I wondered what I would do in that situation.

And I thought to myself, “I’d spend every opportunity I had telling my child how great heaven is.”

And by the time I’m finished it would be my hope that they’d more excited for heaven than when a kid learns their going to Disney Land.

I remember I couldn’t sleep the night before going to go to Six Flags, Certainly a believer has cause to be more excited to go to heaven.

Someone asks, but it’s not that heaven isn’t great,
It’s that I’m going to miss my family once I go there.

No you won’t!
“the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.”

You mean, I’m going to forget everyone?
No, you just won’t feel the need to remember.

But what if it’s another 50 years before my loved ones follow, that will be a long time?
Except in heaven 1 day is like a 1,000 years and 1,000 years like one day.
• The long absence is felt on earth, not in heaven.
• Death for the believer is like falling asleep, awaking in glory, and all your redeemed family and friends awakening there with you.

Your grief is over.
Your pain is one.

That child facing death would leave this earth
And immediately be in glory with Jesus,
And the rest of her believing family will be there
Before she even thinks to miss them.

And because we’re already getting late in this sermon,
I want to stop right here.

I don’t want to blow through such a glorious picture.

We’ll come back next time and talk about
This wonderful place which God has prepared for those who seek Him.

WHAT I WANT TO LEAVE YOU WITH TONIGHT
IS THE ABSOLUTE PROMISE THAT:

No matter how sinful and rebellious and provoking
And self-righteous you have been,
IF YOU WILL SEEK GOD, HE WILL SAVE YOU.

And at the same time, I don’t care how religious and morally good you have been, if you don’t seek God you will not be saved.

There is a place that God will prepare for those who seek Him
And in that place He will give them more of Himself
Than they could ever imagine.

But if all you sought here on earth was this world,
YOU WILL NEVER ENTER THAT PLACE.

That place is for the redeemed.

Tonight we celebrate because we have a God of redemption.

And even at this very moment,
For those who have yet to trust Him.
• He is, even now, continuing to hold out His hand.
• He is, even now, screaming, “Here am I! Here am I!”
• He is, even now permitting Himself to be found by those who have yet to seek.

• Even people who have done nothing but infuriate Him up to this point.
• Even people who have been smoke in His nostrils.
HE IS WILLING TO SAVE.

Seek Him tonight.

AND NEXT TIME we’ll talk about the place He will prepare for those who do.