download here

Desiring Heaven – Part 1
Isaiah 26:7 – 27:13 (26:7-11)
September 17, 2023

For the last few services
• We have been in the segment where Isaiah looks past the regional judgments of his day
• We’ve looked on to the global judgment which will one day come upon the whole world.

He introduced it in chapter 24 saying:
Isaiah 24:1 “Behold, the LORD lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants.”

He went on to speak of God’s global judgment on the earth
Because of the sin which humanity has “polluted” it.

In chapter 25 He began to introduce us to the heaven that awaits the saints.
• We learned some wonderful truths about this place,
• In particular things like no death or veil or tears or reproach.

But what was clear to us from Isaiah’s perspective is that
The thing that intrigued Isaiah the most about heaven
Is that there will be NO SINNERS OR SIN there.

Isaiah would talk to us a little about the glorious of heaven
And then on cue he would return to remind us that
The proud or the wicked won’t enter.

Heaven is only for the righteous.
• It is for those who have been justified by the saving work of Jesus.
• It is for those who are by faith clothed in the righteous works of Jesus.
• It is for those who have been by faith atoned for through Jesus death.
• It is for those who are being sanctified by God’s Spirit.

HEAVEN IS FOR THE RIGHTEOUS.

THAT IS THE THEME THAT SEEMS TO PUSH ISAIAH
As he brings this segment to a close.

Chapter 26:7 – 27:13 is the FINAL THOUGHT OF ISAIAH on this segment regarding heaven and we might explain it like this.

We have here a prophet to a sinful nation
Contemplating how to get from here to heaven.

That is to consider, What it will take to get these sinful people
To leave their sin and seek God for forgiveness and salvation?

Only Isaiah is not confused as to how this will happen. – He knows.

First of all he knows the value of righteousness.
(7) “The way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.”

That first line is somewhat difficult to handle.
“The way of the righteous is smooth;”

Many have read that and pointed out that
• Jesus and the apostles both suffered for their righteousness
• They were clear that all who lived righteously would be persecuted.

No one is under the delusion that righteous living will lead you to smooth sailing. Not even Isaiah thought that.

SO WHAT DOES HE MEAN?
Isaiah is speaking of the coming judgment and the heaven that follows.

On the day of judgment
• The wicked will suffer under the punishing hand of God,
• But the way of the righteous will be smooth.

Isaiah knows that God will judge men justly.

Speaking of the RIGHTEOUS MAN, David wrote:
Psalms 1:3 “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”

Isaiah has even referenced this.
• You may remember as he spoke of the coming glory way back in chapter 11 he said this:

Isaiah 11:15-16 “And the LORD will utterly destroy The tongue of the Sea of Egypt; And He will wave His hand over the River With His scorching wind; And He will strike it into seven streams And make men walk over dry-shod. And there will be a highway from Assyria For the remnant of His people who will be left, Just as there was for Israel In the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.”

• Isaiah spoke of a highway that the redeemed would walk in that day.
• But that’s not the last time he will reference that highway.

Isaiah 35:8 “A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it.”

HOPEFULLY YOU GET THE IDEA.

Isaiah understands that in the end, on the day of judgment,
It will be far better to be on that narrow road of righteousness
Than on that wide road of sin.

“The way of the righteous is smooth”

Isaiah knows that.
SECONDLY, he also knows who makes it smooth.

He says, “O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.”

He knows that it is God who does the saving and the restoring and the rewarding.
• It is God who makes righteous.
• It is God who justified.
• It is God who rewards.

So very simply in verse 7 you have Isaiah stating that
It is far better to be on the path of righteousness than wickedness
And that God is the One who can put you on that path.

But that is NOT ALL Isaiah knows.
He also knows how God often puts men on that path of righteousness.

And the answer is: DISCIPLINE

Just look at verse 9, “At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.”

Isaiah is clear what it is that teaches people the value of righteousness
And it is the judgment of God.

It is God’s judgment…
It is God’s discipline…
That so often causes us to seek Him
And thus obtain the righteousness which only He can grant.

That is the UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE
That Isaiah is working off of for this final segment.

1. He has seen heaven.
2. He has seen that the wicked don’t enter.
3. He has looked around at his people and seen that they are wicked.
4. He has pondered what it will take to cause them to seek righteousness.

And he has determined that the answer is the discipline of the LORD.

And that is THE POINT HE’S GOING TO MAKE
For the rest of chapter 26 and throughout chapter 27.

And just to make sure you see the big picture,
Skip to the end and see the end that Isaiah is working toward.

Look at 27:12-13, “In that day the LORD will start His threshing from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt, and you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel. It will come about also in that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.”

This what Isaiah is working toward.
(Furthermore it is what he desires for his people: aka – “Desiring Heaven”)

He is laying out what it will take to move this currently sinful nation
Into the type of nation that will turn and flock to the LORD
And thus dwell and forever worship Him in His heavenly kingdom.

So the DISCUSSION we’re going to be having over the next few sermons
Is the role of discipline or judgment in the life of God’s people
And the end result that it is meant to have.

AND THIS MORNING I really just want to set the stage for that discussion.

In studying these verses
I am convinced of two things Isaiah whole-heartedly believed.

I am going to give you these two statements
And I want you just to ponder them and see if you believe them too.

1) SIN IS WORSE THAN SUFFERING

That is to say,
That if given the choice I’d rather have suffering in my life than sin.

Or we might say, “If suffering is what is required to eradicate sin then I’ll gladly take suffering.”

Now think on that for a second.

I know we can go theological here and talk about basic realities.
• I know we can point out that sin will send you to hell but suffering won’t.
• I know we can point out that sin will keep you out of heaven, but suffering won’t.

But it is when we move from the theological to the applicable
That we begin to cringe and shutter a little.

That if you or I were to be presented with A PROPOSAL this morning on a piece of paper.
• That on the paper there were two boxes.
• One box represented our favorite sin.
• The other box represented some form of suffering.

And you were told to pick one this morning,
Which one would you pick?

You’re going to see that Isaiah would pick suffering.
• In fact, he’s going to ask God to bring suffering to that it might eradicate the sin of the nation.

I wonder if we would agree with him?

Now, the second statement is very much linked to the first.
This is also something Isaiah clearly believes.

2) DISCIPLINE IS BETTER THAN APATHY

That is to say, we are better off with a God who disciplines our sin than we would be if God just turned a blind eye and let it go.

And again we are up against that same dilemma.

The reality is that most of us (I’m included in the “us” there)
Would prefer comfort and no punishment,
Even if it meant that sin remained in our life.

• Most of us would AGREE that sin is bad…
• Most of us would AGREE that sin brings judgment…
• Most of us would AGREE that sin should be eradicated…

But if the means of eradicating that sin is suffering
Most of us would likely say, “No thinks, I’ll just keep my sin.”

I wonder if we really agree with Isaiah:
1. Sin is worse than suffering
2. Discipline is better than apathy

But I do want to remind you this morning that
SCRIPTURE WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREES WITH ISAIAH.

I want us to look at a couple of passages that you are likely familiar with,
At least I hope you are because we have studied them here together.

First I want you to
TURN TO: ECCLESIASTES 7:1-14

I’m not going to give you the whole sermon here again,
But I want you to recognize the perception of Solomon here.

Every statement seems backward and wrong to people of the world,
But they perfectly walk in line with what Isaiah will be talking about.

(1-4) – There Solomon says that Mourning is better than pleasure.

In fact he says
• In verse 1 that it’s better to go to a funeral than a birthday party
• In verse 2 that a funeral is also better than a feast.

And if you were to go out and survey 100 people in the world,
Perhaps even in the church;

Which is better a funeral or a birthday party?
I’m pretty sure you’d get 100% saying the birthday party.

Why would Solomon say such a thing?
(2b) “Because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart.”

Solomon says it’s better to go to a funeral because
• That is where every man is headed
• And while you won’t get much perspective at a birthday party or a feast,
• You can get all kinds of perspective at a funeral.

So much so that Solomon concludes in verse 4 that “The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.”

But Solomon isn’t done.

(5-6) – There Solomon says that a rebuke is better than a tribute.

In other words,
• If you have the opportunity to go somewhere were they will sing your praises
• Or to go somewhere were they will rebuke your mistakes
You are better off to go to the rebuke.

Why?
Well no one ever got better listening to people sing their praises.
No one ever repented listening to how good they were.

You get his point don’t you.

And Solomon still continues.

(8) – Solomon says there that patience is better than instant gratification.

It is better for you to have to wait for the fulfillment of something
Than it is for you to just get what you want immediately.

Solomon will compare two men.
• One man would use bribes or manipulation to force what he wants through,
• The other man who would patiently wait on God to accomplish His purposes.

And again that doesn’t seem to fit our agenda.

And Solomon still isn’t finished.

(13-14) – Solomon says that faith is better than sight.

He says that sometimes we have the day of prosperity and sometimes the day of adversity and we must learn that God made them both.

Sometimes we go through times of MOURNING
Sometimes we go through times of REBUKE
Sometimes we go through periods of FRUSTRATION

And we just want through it as fast as we can.

Solomon says instead of trying to force your way to the end of it,
It is better that you walk by faith and see that God is working in it.

And if we’ll stop and ponder what he says you know that he’s right.
• It does man far more good to consider death than life.
• It does man far more good to get rebuked than praised.
• It does man far more good to develop patience than always get what he wants.
• It does man far more good to have trusted God instead of fast forwarding to the
end.

We know that’s true, but our human nature doesn’t like to hear it.

Now go back to those two statements I told you that Isaiah is going to teach you.
1. Sin is worse than suffering.
2. Discipline is better than apathy.

You see the same point there don’t you.

Let’s listen to another author on the subject.
TURN TO: HEBREWS 12:4-11

• And there is another passage that begins to hit really close to home.
• The writer of Hebrews wants us to consider our perspective on receiving God’s discipline.

He actually quotes Solomon in verse 5 and recounts that typically when we face God’s discipline we are hit with two great temptations.

1) We tend to “regard lightly the discipline of the LORD”

• That means we are prone not to seek out what God is doing in our life.
• We just want it gone, we just want it fixed,
• We don’t spend time pondering what God might be doing in our life.

2) We tend to “faint when you are reproved”

• Meaning, we want to just give up and quit.
• We get mad at God and we check out of the journey.

And Solomon told us not to do either.

Rather we are to consider God’s discipline as an expression of His love.
(6) “For those whom the LORD loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.”

That was from Solomon again.
You can almost hear that same Ecclesiastes sermon coming through can’t you?

Well the writer of Hebrews expounds on it to remind you that
Discipline is better than a father who is apathetic toward your sin.

(5-11) – You’re familiar with it.

• God disciplines us “for our good”.
• God disciplines us “so that we might share in His holiness”.
• Discipline “yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

So again, which is better?
Is it better for a boy to never receive discipline from his father or for his father to bring punishment for his sin?

You know the answer to that.
If you don’t, just go volunteer to substitute up at the school and you’ll learn in about 5 minutes how important it is for fathers to discipline their kids.

But again you see the point don’t you?
1. Sin is worse than suffering.
2. Discipline is better than apathy.

And if it requires suffering or discipline
To remove our sin and to produce righteousness in us,
Then that is certainly what we should choose.

Does that make sense?

Listen to PETER discuss this.
1 Peter 4:1-2 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”

Suffering has a powerful way of causing you to let go of sin.

Listen to PAUL
Philippians 3:10-11 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul actually sought after the same suffering as Jesus endured that he might share in his righteousness.

SO YOU SEE IT.
1. Sin is worse than suffering.
2. Discipline is better than apathy.

Now listen to what JESUS said on the subject.
Matthew 18:7-9 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. “If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.”

Obviously Jesus is speaking in hyperbole there.
• For one, just because you pluck out your eye, that doesn’t mean you won’t sin anymore, since sin comes from the heart.

But Jesus is making a very real point.
• If gouging out your eye could remove your sin, then you should do it.
• If cutting off your hand could remove your sin, then you should do it.

You say, “But that would be painful!”
• Yes it would.
You say, “But that would leave me crippled or handicapped”
• That’s also true.

And we tend to see pain or being handicapped
as a worse consequence than what sin will do to us.

So we often think the statement of Jesus to be absurd.

WELL LET ME ASK YOU; Do you think Jesus really believed that?

• Do you think Jesus really believed that if you could remove your sin by gouging out your eye then you should do it?
• Do you think Jesus really believed that if you could remove your sin by cutting off your hand then you should do it?

I can give you an emphatic answer on that statement.
HE ABSOLUTELY DID.

How do I know?
Because of what He put Himself through on the cross in order to free you from your sin.

He absolutely believed that sin was worse than suffering.
And I know that because He chose suffering in order to save you from the effects of your sin.

He absolutely believed that discipline was better than apathy.
And I know that because He chose to receive the punishment of God in order to make you a child of God.

SCRIPTURE IS CLEAR THAT
Sin is worse than suffering and discipline is better than apathy.

I know that’s sort of a LONG INTRODUCTION to this point of Isaiah,

I just want to make sure that before we head into this passage
That you understand where Isaiah is coming from.

1. He is a prophet who lives among sinful people.
2. He is absolutely committed to seeing those people enter the kingdom of heaven.
3. He is grieved at the thought that they might not.
4. He knows that God will forgive and justify sinners if they humble themselves and seek Him.
5. And He knows that God often uses suffering to cause them to do that.

That is a prophet that is demonstrating THE HEART OF GOD.
THAT WAS THE VERY HEART OF CHRIST.

Years ago when I was very young and my sister was just a baby,
My mom got saved.
(She had thought she was as a child, but she really got saved as a young mom).

The problem was that my dad was not yet saved (he also baptized as a child).
• It became apparent to here as she watched his fruit.
• He had no love for the word
• He had no love for the church
• He loved the world and wanted more of it

My mom could see that my dad needed to be saved
But he was a strong personality
And she wasn’t sure how that was going to happen.

So she began to pray that if God needed to make her sick or even one of us kids sick in order to bring my dad to repentance that He would do it.

That’s serious isn’t it?
That’s really believing in the necessity of salvation isn’t it?
That’s really believing that sin is worse than suffering isn’t it?

No, God did not make my mom sick or either of us kids,
• But He did cause my dad to get laid off from his job
• And put them in a financial crisis
• Until my dad would let go of his sin and seek Christ.
• And it’s the best thing that ever happened to my family.

Suffering was absolutely better than sin.
Discipline was absolutely better than an apathetic heavenly Father.

WELL, WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING,

Let’s go to work on Isaiah’s final point here in this segment
• As he contemplates what it will take to get these sinful Israelites into God’s kingdom.

In short Isaiah wants heaven for them so badly
That he will actually pray for suffering
If that is what it takes to produce it.

And as we start,
• I wonder how badly we want revival in our church?
• I wonder how badly we want revival in our nation?
• I wonder how badly we desire heaven for those we know and love?

There are 4 major points to this segment, we’ll start looking at them this morning.

#1 ISAIAH’S PETITION
Isaiah 26:7-11

We already discussed verse 7 a moment ago,
• How Isaiah recognized that it will all end better for the righteous
• So he asked God to begin the work to make His people righteous.

That is actually the request.
• God make us righteous.
• God put us on that narrow path that leads to life.
• God put us on a course that ends in heaven.

And then Isaiah begins to discuss how that happens.
He discusses what that path looks like.

And the first thing you see is that
Isaiah recognizes that throughout Israel’s history it has been judgment (not prosperity) that has caused Israel to seek God.

I know we often pray for prosperity,
But prosperity doesn’t do much for leading men to Christ.

And Isaiah admits that.
(8-9) “Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O LORD, We have waited for You eagerly; Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls. At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.”

Do you see what a seeker Isaiah had become?
Do you see how focused he was on God?

What he describes is what we would love to see in everyone we know.
What he describes is what we would love to see in our nation.

Wouldn’t we love to see:
• People who “have waited for God eagerly”?
• People who can say, “Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls.”?
• A nation that says, “my soul longs for You”?
• A church were every member honestly says, “my spirit within me seeks You diligently;”?

WE WOULD LOVE THAT.
Well that’s where Isaiah is.

So how did he get there?

(9b) “For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.”

What was Isaiah’s secret to his desire to seek God?
• He had walked through the discipline of God.

As a child, when your parents put you in a position of pain to correct your attitude or behavior, can you now see the benefit of it?

Can you see the benefit it had on your own children when you disciplined them?

It’s not pleasant, but it is good.

THINK ABOUT OUR NATION.
I didn’t do it very well, but my goal throughout August was to thank God for the heat. (No one hates heat more than me)
• I have tried to thank God for the drought.
• I’m thinking that perhaps it is time to thank God for inflation.

For one thing I know for sure, that even though our nation is suffering a little right now, it is apparently not suffering enough.

Would I be willing to endure more hardship if that is what it took to bring our nation to repentance?

THAT IS WHAT ISAIAH IS DEALING WITH.

And notice what he says next.
He sees that being apathetic toward sin never helps anyone.

(10) “Though the wicked is shown favor, He does not learn righteousness; He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, And does not perceive the majesty of the LORD.”

I know,
• We all want to receive mercy.
• None of us want to be treated as we deserve.
• I get it.

But Isaiah says there is a problem that occurs
When sinners never receive the punishment that is due their sin.

The problem is that they never learn to correct their behavior.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.”

You know that’s true.
So does Isaiah.

God has thus far just let the wicked enjoy prosperity
And it hasn’t helped anyone.

(11) “O LORD, Your hand is lifted up yet they do not see it. They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame; Indeed, fire will devour Your enemies.”

Isaiah speaks here of how God has disciplined His own people.
• That is what “Your hand is lifted up” refers to.

It refers to the times God disciplined His own children for their good.

The wicked have seen that, but they learn nothing from it.
It is to their shame that they cannot see that
By not being disciplined they are actually being fitted for judgment.

Isaiah says, “Indeed, fire will devour Your enemies.”

AND THERE THE CONTRAST COULDN’T BE MORE REAL.

WHICH IS BETTER?

• To receive the discipline of the LORD; His outstretched hand; His punishment and thus have our behavior corrected so that we begin to seek Him…

• Or, is it better for God to just let us get away with our sin so that one day, covered in our iniquity that we never repented of, God devoured us in the fury of His wrath…

WHICH IS BETTER?
You know the answer.

Now, we are going to stop here
And we’ll go forward with more of the message tonight.

The 50 cent seminary word is HAMARTIOLOGY
It is THE DOCTRINE OF SIN.

See, what we’re doing here is working on your doctrine of sin;
Your hamartiology.
We’re making sure we all view sin correctly.

Isaiah already knows we hate suffering.
What he’s trying to do is teach us to hate sin even more.

It is so easy in our day to day life
To view things like suffering as really bad and sin as only a little bad.

Think about it.
• Are you more grieved when you find out someone got cancer or when you find out they are living in sin?
• Are you more prone to pray that God would heal a person’s sickness or their greed or immorality or bitterness or whatever?

See, even in the church we form a distorted doctrine of sin.
We have conditioned ourselves to think it’s not really that bad.

But that is not the doctrine of the Bible.
The Bible, and the faithful prophets throughout
Invited suffering if it would remove sin.

Sin is the problem, and we have got to hate it.

I’m not telling you that you should love pain or suffering or hardship.
We weep and grieve over such conditions.

What I am saying is that you shouldn’t avoid or hate anything
As much as you avoid and hate sin.

• We have got to strive against it.
• We have got to pray against it.
• We have got to call men from it.

FOR SIN SENDS MEN TO HELL.

Solomon, Isaiah, the writer of Hebrews, Peter, Paul,
They all invited suffering if it would cleanse from sin.
THEY DESIRED HEAVEN.

This morning
• We simply ask God to help us get our mind right regarding sin and to see it correctly.
• We ask God to cleanse us and make us committed to seeing it eradicated in our lives, in our church, and in our land.

Isaiah believes that suffering will eradicate sin
Since he believes that sin is worse than suffering
He is petitioning God to bring suffering and eradicate it.

That is a gospel perspective.
That is a heart that desires heaven.

Matthew 18:8-9 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. “If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.”

For years our church has hosted Disciple-Now, which is a weekend conference for youth to remind them that it is never too early to start following Christ and serving His kingdom.  They can be disciples now.  With that in mind we would like to invite all adults age 55 and up to our first ever Disciple-Still weekend where we seek not only to honor the senior adults of our congregation but also to encourage them that they are disciples still and such a valuable part of the ministry of the church and the kingdom of heaven.  We hope you’ll be a part!

Our theme this year is “UNFINISHED” as we seek to encourage you that until the Lord returns or takes us home, our task as His servants is not yet finished!

Follow the link below for the online signup.
Deadline to signup is: November 29

SIGNUP HERE

(or by one of our signup cards turned in to the FBC office.)

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

FRIDAY – December 1

• 5:30pm – Registration
• 6:00pm – Friday Night Banquet
• 7:00pm – Worship Service

SATURDAY – December 2

• 9:30am – Saturday morning coffee and donuts
• 10:30am – Worship Service
• 12:00pm – Lunch
• 1:00pm – Afternoon of fellowship and games
• 5:30pm – Supper
• 6:30pm – Master’s Voice in concert

SUNDAY – December 3

• 8:45am – Coffee available in the fellowship hall
• 9:15am – Worship service #1
• 10:30am – Corporate Worship with the entire church
• Dismiss at noon

Leading the Weekend

PREACHER BOBBY TOWELL

Bobby graduated from Sweetwater High School in the eventful and tumultuous year of 1968. Like many of his generation, he foolishly followed the trends of the time. Sin took him further than he intended to go and kept him longer than he intended to stay. But the “Hound of Heaven” persistently pursued him from coast to coast and around every dark corner. The Lord would not let him escape his irresistible grace. The Father brought the prodigal son back home and to himself in December of 1971. He has been a disciple of Jesus Christ for over 52 years now. He graduated from Warner Pacific University with a B.A. in Religion and Fuller Theological Seminary with M.A. in Theology. Bobby has served churches in the Northwest, Colorado, and Texas. He now serves as a hospice chaplain.

Bobby and his wife, Joyce, are active members of Southside Baptist Church of Abilene, Texas. They have led a home group and participated in D-groups. Bobby teaches in different groups and classes of Southside. He and Joyce are presently assisting in the college class and discipling a group of college students. Bobby and Joyce have been married for 50 years. They have 2 married daughters and 6 grandchildren. Bobby and Joyce’s prayer and goal is to leave a godly legacy for their children and grandchildren, and to finish their course with joy.

WORSHIP LEADER COLIN LUNDSTROM

SPECIAL CONCERT WITH MASTER’S VOICE SOUTHERN GOSPEL QUARTET

download here

Isaiah’s Hope – Part 2
Isaiah 25:1 – 26:6 (26:1-6)
September 10, 2023

Tonight we want to come back one more time to Isaiah’s vision of heaven.

I don’t mind telling you that the chapter break here is unfortunate,
And indeed it caused me considerable grief trying to figure out the point.

But when you see that the first 6 verses of chapter 26 belong with chapter 25
And that chapter 26:7 starts a new thought, things become much clearer.

This morning we began Isaiah’s vision of heaven
And tonight we conclude it.

We saw 4 points.
#1 GOD’S FORMED PLAN
Isaiah 25:1-3

Namely that Isaiah is rejoicing
Because God has finished the plan He formed long ago.

The wicked have been judged and heaven has come.

#2 GOD’S FAITHFUL PROTECTION
Isaiah 25:4-5

Isaiah not only praises God for heaven,
But praises Him for bringing Isaiah safely there.

IT IS GOD who navigated the righteous through all of life’s pitfalls and snares and BROUGHT THEM SAFELY into His heavenly kingdom.

#3 GOD’S FULFILLED PROMISE
Isaiah 25:6-9

It is the same promise John saw.
• Namely that God would reverse the curse and death would flee.
• No more crying, no more sorrow, no more pain.

Heaven is described as a lavish banquet of eternal joy.
Isaiah praises God for fulfilling that promise.

#4 GOD’S FINAL PUNISHMENT
Isaiah 25:10-12

Isaiah mentioned Moab.
• They are a symbol of all people’s,
• But Moab was chosen because they were notorious for pride.

Isaiah rejoices because God has finally crushed the pride of the wicked.

• There have been plenty of times on earth where it did not appear that the day of justice would ever come.
• There have been plenty of times where it has appeared that the wicked have triumphed.

Isaiah saw otherwise.
He saw,
(12) “The unassailable fortifications of your walls He will bring down, Lay low and cast to the ground, even to the dust.”

What looked absolutely impenetrable has now fallen.

And we learned very definitively that not everyone goes to heaven.
Some are cast into eternal judgment and everything they trusted in comes crashing down.

Well that was this morning’s message.
Tonight we come to the final point as Isaiah speaks of his vision of heaven.

This final point is in some ways
A response to the judgment of the wicked city.

IT IS A REACTION as it begins to sink in
That what God has done for us is infinitely and eternally better
Than what He has done for the world.

AND IT COMES IN THE FORM OF A SONG.

Let’s look at this final point tonight.
#5 GOD’S FINISHED PLACE
Isaiah 26:1-6

You are certainly aware of what Jesus said:
John 14:2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”

Well here Isaiah wants to sing about that place.

Isaiah just saw the city of the wicked destroyed
And now he sees the righteous entering their heavenly city.

• IMAGINE the parade of saints entering this perfect dwelling of God.
• IMAGINE, “When the Saints Go Marching In”

It is alluded to in the Psalms:
Psalms 118:19-20 “Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD; The righteous will enter through it.”

This is what Isaiah is seeing too.
I think it will be easier to grasp if we break it down a little further.

So we saw the wicked city destroyed,
Now let’s look at this heavenly city.

Let’s break it down into 4 points.

1) THE CONFIDENCE OF OUR CITY (1)

(1) “In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security.”

You see the contrast now clearly.

Isaiah has spoken clearly of the fall of the worldly wicked city.

Isaiah 24:10-13 “The city of chaos is broken down; Every house is shut up so that none may enter. There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine; All joy turns to gloom. The gaiety of the earth is banished. Desolation is left in the city And the gate is battered to ruins. For thus it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples, As the shaking of an olive tree, As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.”

Isaiah 25:2 “For You have made a city into a heap, A fortified city into a ruin; A palace of strangers is a city no more, It will never be rebuilt.”

Isaiah 25:12 “The unassailable fortifications of your walls He will bring down, Lay low and cast to the ground, even to the dust.”

Even later here in chapter 26:5-6, “For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust. “The foot will trample it, The feet of the afflicted, the steps of the helpless.”

He has made the point quite clearly.
• The wicked city didn’t make it.
• The wicked city doesn’t last.
• God has battered that evil city to ruins.
• God has made it into a heap.
• God has cast it down to the ground.

But in a startling contrast Isaiah now breaks out in singing!
“In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:”

WHAT SONG?
“We have a strong city”

Their city fell, ours did not.

Isaiah watched everything that looked permanent get totally wiped away.
(cities, mountains, kingdoms, etc.)

And the question must have been: WILL ANYTHING LAST?

YES!!! OUR CITY!!!
“We have a strong city”

The writer of Hebrews emphasized this:
Hebrews 11:13-16 “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”

Hebrews 13:14 “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.”

• We don’t want a temporary city.
• We don’t want a doomed dwelling place.

• We want one that lasts.
• We want an eternal one.

And Isaiah has found it.
Ours is strong!

WHY?
“He sets up walls and ramparts for security.”

The simple understanding there is that
The city is strong because God protects it.

But perhaps the NIV grasps the idea more clearly saying, “God makes salvation its walls and ramparts.”

This city lasts because it is a city of salvation.

In the Old Testament you read about “cities of refuge”,
Where a manslayer can flee and be safe so long as he remains in the city.

Heaven is such a refuge.
• It is a city made for those who are saved.
• It is protected by the sovereign mercy of God.

It is NOT built by human hands.
It does not last because of the power of its people.

This city survives because it was built on a better foundation.

You know the story:
Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

Foundations matter
• The heavenly city is not built on a foundation of human goodness,
• But on a foundation of God’s salvation.

The city survives because God has saved it.
It rests on the foundation of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Paul taught us:
1 Corinthians 3:10-11 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

And we know this city will stand.
It is strong because the saving work of Christ is strong.

This is of course the basis for all security.
Which of us has not rejoiced in the end of Romans 8?

Romans 8:31-34 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

It is that glorious reminder that our security
Does not rest on our worth or merit.

What if it is determined that we don’t deserve heaven?
That is true. Might God decide to not let us in?
• Well, He already paid the price of His only begotten Son, do you think
He’s going to get cheap now?

What if it is discovered that we are sinful and unworthy?
That is true,
• But God saved us in Christ when He knew what we were. He justified
sinners, that was part of the deal.

But what if someone, even the Devil, was to lay out before God our guilt and demand that we go to hell as we deserve?
That is true,
• But there Jesus intercedes and reminds the Father that He paid for all our
sin.

Salvation is secure because of the perfect work of God,
Not because of our work.

And the heavenly city lasts because it is built on salvation.
It is built on the foundation that Jesus Christ justified sinners
Through His righteous life and atoning death.

WE ARE CONFIDENT IN THAT.

Often times at funerals
• I have pointed out that the deceased was a sinner.
• I point out that the deceased was not good enough to go to heaven.

For what good would it do to try and convince a family who knew the person better than I did that their loved one was perfect and holy?
They would all know better.

I have no problem pointing out that a man is not good enough to go to heaven, for there is no security or peace there.

But then I remind them that they get to go to heaven
Because Jesus is righteous and good
And has justified their loved one with His own blood.

That is real peace!
That is real hope!
That is real confidence!

Our eternity rests on the strength of the work of Jesus
And so we don’t fear it failing at all.

That is the confidence of our city.

THE HEAVENLY CITY IS FOUNDED ON THE WORK OF JESUS.

2) THE CITIZENS OF OUR CITY (2)

(2) “Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, The one that remains faithful.”

Here we are answering the question: WHO GETS IN?
(That’s a good question)

Luke 13:23-27 “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.’”

Jesus told us that not everyone was getting in.

We saw all those warnings this morning.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Galatians 5:19-21 “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.”

Coupled with that we read:
Psalms 15:1-5 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

Psalms 24:3-6 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face—even Jacob. Selah.”

WELL THEN WHO CAN GET IN?
It looks bleak.

We definitively learn that only the righteous get in.
Psalms 118:19-20 “Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD; The righteous will enter through it.”

So what do we do with that?
For who among us could claim that kind of righteousness?

We are reminded that our city is founded on the work of Jesus
And we know that access into that city comes through Him as well.

What did Jesus teach us about Himself?
John 10:7-9 “So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

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.”

How is Jesus the door?
In what sense is Jesus the way?

It is because Jesus lived a perfect life
And now clothes us in His perfect righteousness.

Through Him, we are justified before God and declared righteous.

That scary passage in 1 Corinthians doesn’t end there.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

That scary passage in Galatians doesn’t end there.
Galatians 5:19-23 “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.”

See we are sinful people but we are justified
And declared righteous by God through the work of Jesus.
And through Him we get access.

BUT ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS ENTER.

Isaiah states that and then some.
“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter, The one that remains faithful.”

Isaiah adds a definition of who the righteous are.
He calls them, “The one that remains faithful.”

See faithfulness is the fruit of righteousness.

That is why Jesus said:
Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

Matthew 24:13 “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

You don’t save yourself through faithfulness,
But faithfulness reveals that you have been saved.

It reveals faith in Christ
And with faith in Christ comes imputed righteousness
That grants you access into this city.

But only the righteous enter.
• There are no sinful citizens in this city.
• And what a joy that is!

A city full of the redeemed!

THE HEAVENLY CITY IS FOUNDED ON THE WORK OF JESUS.
THE HEAVENLY CITY IS ENTERED THROUGH THE WORK OF JESUS.

3) THE CONTENTMENT OF OUR CITY (3)

(3) “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.”

Again we find the element of faith. “Because he trusts in You”
• These are the redeemed.
• They are “steadfast of mind”
• They trust God.

And the result is that in trusting God they find “perfect peace”

Peace and faith are eternally linked.

In one sense we talk about POSITIONAL PEACE.
We are in a state of peace with God because of the work of Jesus.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Such an important theological verse there.
• When we trust in Christ we are justified.
• We are gifted Christ’s righteousness.
• And when we obtain righteousness we then are at peace with God.

There is a link there between faith and peace.
Faith brings righteousness, righteousness brings peace.

Psalms 85:10 “Lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”

Sometimes you hear people in ignorance say things like, “I’ve made my peace with God.”

Most of the time what they mean is, “I’ve decided not to judge God any longer. I’m not mad at Him anymore.”

THAT IS POINTLESS.

There is only one way to positional peace and that is Christ.

But there is also PRACTICAL PEACE,
And that is the peace that you seek to enjoy.

The battle can be over (positional peace),
But if the soldier doesn’t know it
Then he still has no practical peace.

THAT’S THE PEACE WE WANT.
We want the peace that is acquainted with assurance.

We want the peace that knows we are secure.

This was the highest Old Testament longing and their chief blessing.
Numbers 6:23-26 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: The LORD bless you, and keep you; The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’”

That is what they all wanted.

But this peace only comes from being saved
And knowing that you are.

That peace is invaluable to life.

Psalms 4:8 “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.”

Psalms 29:11 “The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.”

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

And in heaven, that kind of peace flows down the streets.
• Doubt is gone…
• Anxiety is toast…

We know we are His and thus we know we are secure.
• There will never be a fear that heaven might fall.
• There will never be a fear that I might get kicked out.

It is “perfect peace”.

We are those perfectly contented sheep that David sang about.
Psalms 23:1-3, 6 “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake…Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

That is the defining characteristic of the heavenly city.
It is a city of the redeemed, walking in righteousness,
Enjoying perfect peace with God
And no fear whatsoever of that ever changing.

What a city that will be to dwell in!

The Heavenly city is founded on the work of Jesus.
The Heavenly city is entered through the work of Jesus.
The Heavenly city is secured by the work of Jesus.

4) THE CONDUCT OF OUR CITY (4-6)

(4-6) “Trust in the LORD forever, For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock. “For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust. “The foot will trample it, The feet of the afflicted, the steps of the helpless.”

This almost reads like an admonishment from Isaiah.

He cries out to all those who listen to his vision.
“Trust in the LORD forever”

And that makes sense
If faith is what brings justification and access and peace.

Certainly that is a timely admonition.
If you do not trust God then you must!

And here we are reminded yet again
That the chief attribute of all of heaven’s citizens is faith.

It is the one thing they all have in common.
No one enters without it and no one lives there without it.

Remember as Jesus talked about heaven and that one guy tried to enter without faith?
TURN TO: MATTHEW 22:1-14

• That foolish fellow sought to enter heaven based on his own goodness.
• He didn’t want to wear Jesus’ robe, he brought his own.
• He didn’t need faith in Christ’s work, his works were good enough.

• Except they weren’t
• He was not righteous!
• He was not clean enough!

And the enraged king couldn’t toss him fast enough.

And the point of course is that you don’t enter on your own goodness.
No one without faith enters that city.

And so the chief and one unifying attribute
Of every citizen of heaven is that they all trust God.

WHAT A CITY TO DWELL IN!

WHAT DO THEY TRUST?
“For in GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.”

Literally there, we have an “Rock of Ages”

• We have One to hide in.
• We have One to rest in.
• We have One whose works and goodness are more than enough.

You see the humility of Heaven.
They plan to hide in Jesus forever.

The Heavenly city is founded on the work of Jesus.
The Heavenly city is entered through the work of Jesus.
The Heavenly city is secured by the work of Jesus.
The Heavenly city is forever focused on the work of Jesus.

We will sing about the Lamb that was Slain for all eternity.
We will be clothed in His righteousness for all eternity.
We will never stop trusting in what He has done for us.

Everyone in heaven trusts in that.
There is no room in heaven for those who walk in their own pride.

We see their fate yet again:
(5-6) “For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust. “The foot will trample it, The feet of the afflicted, the steps of the helpless.”

The city of pride doesn’t last,
It is the city of faith that endures
Because it is founded on and entered through and secured by
And forever focused on the perfect work of Jesus.

The vision of Isaiah is so clear!

We have so many in our world
Who have sought to redefine heaven by their own sinful terms.

Carnal men seek to make a carnal place out of it.

• They hate fellowship with God
• They hate fellowship with God’s people
• So why would they want a heaven like that?
• They don’t want to worship Jesus or trust in Him for all eternity.

Well they needn’t worry about entering a heaven like that
because you only enter through faith.

The Heavenly City is strong and holy and content and humble.
And it’s entire identity is bound up in faith for Christ has done for us.

This is the song we sing for all eternity.
TURN TO: REVELATION 5

The song of heaven never changes.
It is all for the glory of Christ.
AND IT IS A LASTING CITY.

The city where we currently dwell will one day burn to nothing.
The prideful cities of this earth will not last.

But we have a city.
• We have a strong city that will not fall.
• We have a righteous city that is not corrupt.
• We have a peaceful city that is at total peace with God.
• We have a faithful city that trusts God forever.

That is our city.

And the writer of Hebrews told us how to respond to the news.
Hebrews 12:28 “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;”

Since we’re getting a city like that.
“let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.”

The simple answer is “show gratitude”

Our gratitude should be shown through our faithfulness.
If the chief characteristic of heaven’s citizens is faith & faithfulness
Then that should begin to show itself while they are on earth.

It is time to cultivate faith and faithfulness to God.
• To His word
• To prayer
• To His service
• To His church

Let this broken failing world go.
Leave all of its carnal corruptions behind.
Fix your eyes on things above and live like a citizen of that city.

Philippians 3:17-21 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”

That was Paul’s admonition.
Live on this earth like you are a citizen of heaven.

Don’t live like those who love this world.
That is how we show gratitude to God for the city He has promised us.

download here

Isaiah’s Hope – Part 1
Isaiah 25:1 – 26:6 (25:1-12)
September 10, 2023

As you know, we finished the oracles last Sunday morning
With the oracle concerning Tyre.

• Those were regional judgments
• Meant to teach the nation of Judah to trust God and not themselves
• And to approach God in repentance and faith.

We learned a lot from them about trusting God’s sovereign plan
In a world that is unstable and out of control.

However, last Sunday night Isaiah lifted his eyes up from the scroll
And made eye contact with us.

The prophecy we discussed in Isaiah 24
Was NOT about a regional judgment that occurred in Isaiah’s day.

The prophecy of Isaiah 24 was about
The coming judgment that will come over all the earth.

Isaiah 24:1 “Behold, the LORD lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants.”

We called it “Isaiah’s Apocalypse”.
Isaiah saw the end.

We learned that it is sin which has polluted the earth.
Isaiah 24:5 “The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant.”

And we learned that because of this sin, this earth will not last.
Isaiah 24:20 “The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again.”

We called it “Biblical Global Warming”.
We learn from the Bible that humanity has polluted the earth
And because of that pollution God will destroy it.

But the pollution of humanity is not CO2 or methane, it is sin.
It is prideful rebellion against the God who created this world.

And because of that rebellion, the earth will be burned
And sinners who have not trusted in Christ will burn with it.

We also noticed as we studied this apocalyptic day were some of the responses to it.

1. We saw the response of the wicked who were so distraught that they didn’t even have drinking parties anymore.

In short, any and all cause for celebration was gone.
Isaiah 24:11 “There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine; All joy turns to gloom. The gaiety of the earth is banished.”

2. And we saw the response of the righteous who rejoiced that God finally intervened and judged sinners.

Isaiah 24:14 “They raise their voices, they shout for joy; They cry out from the west concerning the majesty of the LORD.”

We’ve read enough of those imprecatory Psalms over the years
To understand the celebrating of the righteous here.

3. But then we saw Isaiah’s response.
And Isaiah rightly brought our perception into focus.

For while there is coming a day
When Isaiah will join the celebration of the righteous,
It is not this day.

Today is not the day of judgment, today is the day of salvation.
And the prophet of God was grieved and broken
Over the fate of those who are lost and who would not repent.

His response was convicting to us and indeed should motivate us
To “prophesy again” and to go tell the world again
Of the coming judgment and the way to be saved from it.

And that is what we looked at last Sunday night.

But THIS MORNING we move forward.

And here, Isaiah is now looking past the day of judgment
To the day when he will join the chorus of the righteous.

Isaiah now fixes his gaze upon the heaven which follows the judgment
And he cannot contain himself.

He sees what God has in store for those who trust Him
And Isaiah immediately breaks out in doxology.

(1) “O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;”

This morning we get to witness Isaiah’s gaze upon heaven.
We get to see why the righteous will rejoice there.

If you did your prayer journal this morning before church you know that we read Ephesians 1:18-19 and our prayer was that God will show our church just how glorious our eternal inheritance is.

Well that fits perfectly with what we will study here.

Let’s look this morning at Isaiah’s view of heaven.

We can break it down into 5 points, we’ll look at the first 4 this morning.
#1 GOD’S FORMED PLAN
Isaiah 25:1-3

We see Isaiah praising God in verse 1 and then we immediately see why.

“For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.”

The worship of Isaiah begins with the sovereignty of God.
It begins basically with Isaiah saying,
“You did it! You said You’d do it and You did it!”

God formed a plan and God executed the plan.
And He did it “with perfect faithfulness.”

That is simply a testimony to the power and steadfastness of God.
• Some make a plan but cannot carry it out.
• Some make a plan but grow lazy and do not carry it out.
• Some make a plan but it is flawed so they change it.

But not God.
His plan is perfect, and He will carry it out exactly as He intended.

And this plan, as we saw, begins with the judgment of the wicked.

(2) “For You have made a city into a heap, A fortified city into a ruin; A palace of strangers is a city no more, It will never be rebuilt.”

• Isaiah speaks there, not of any particular city, but of all the cities of the earth.
• He is referencing the judgment which God will have upon the entire world.

In Revelation 18 the judgment of the earth
Is also referred to as the judgment of a city. There it is called Babylon.

And God calls for rejoicing over her destruction.

Revelation 18:20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.”

And we see heaven rejoicing over her fall.
Revelation 19:1-4 “After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.” And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER.” And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”

And here we see the first thing Isaiah rejoices in regarding heaven.
He is rejoicing because the city of sin is no more.

That is without a doubt the greatest glory of heaven…SIN IS NOT THERE.

Revelation 21:27 “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

• God has a plan to put an end to sin.
• God has a plan to put an end to the curse.
• God has a plan to redeem His people from this sin-stained earth
• And then to destroy it so that it never afflicts us again.

Heaven is rejoicing because God has done what He said.
Heaven is rejoicing because God has totally eradicated sin.

• No more corrupt worldly governments to oppress…
• No more prideful humanity…
• No more celebrations of immorality…
• No more bombardment with temptation…
• No more cringing at the world’s sinful expressions…

GOD ENDS IT ALL.
He said He would, and Isaiah is now rejoicing at the day
When God fulfills that promise.

All the world has been subdued and brought into subjection to Him.

(3) “Therefore strong people will glorify You; Cities of ruthless nations will revere You.”

It is the equivalent of the New Testament promise:
Philippians 2:10-11 “so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Everything God said He would do; He did.

What a joy it will be to all the inhabitants of heaven to examine all the promises God ever made to His people and to see that not one of them was broken.

What a joy it will be to examine all the prophecies that God revealed and see that He fulfilled every singe one exactly as He intended.

“For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.”

Isaiah already anticipates it!

His Formed Plan
#2 GOD’S FAITHFUL PROTECTION
Isaiah 25:4-5

It is certainly understandable that the first cry of rejoicing
Would be in the sovereign faithfulness of God.

But it also makes perfect sense
That such praise immediately would break into gratitude
FOR BRINGING ME safely to heaven.

How many people have attended a funeral where John 14 was read?

John 14:1-3 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

• Many a believer has held to that verse in times of darkest peril.
• Many a believer has held out hope that one day we will go and be with Him.

EVEN SO:
• We know that we live in a world that lies in the power of the evil one.
• We know that there are temptations and trials around every corner.
• We know that we are very much living in enemy territory.
• We know the devil will stop at nothing to have us not make it.

But we live with this promise
• That He has promised us eternal life and “no one is able to snatch us out of His hand.” (John 10:28)
• We are told in Jude that He is “able to keep us from stumbling.” (Jude 1:24)
• Peter told us that we are “protected by the power of God for a salvation ready to be revealed in us.” (1 Peter 1:5)
• Paul reminded us that “nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:39)

And we hold to those promises in faith.
(That He will bring us safely home)

And on the day that we enter its gates…
On the day that we arrive…
We will praise our Heavenly Father for never letting go of us.

(4a) “For You have been a defense for the helpless, A defense for the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;”

We love all of those analogies of God.
• “A defense”
• “A refuge”
• “a shade”

WE WON’T walk into the gates of heaven
And expect to be patted on the back for our sheer strength
And determination to have made it that far.

WE WILL immediately look for the One who cared for us along the way.
• We will seek the One who defended us from Satan’s fiery darts.
• We will seek the One who was a refuge to us from His deceptive lies.
• We will seek the One who was a shade to us from His blistery persecution.

For we know that by ourselves we were no match for the enemy.

(4b-5a) “For the breath of the ruthless Is like a rain storm against a wall. Like heat in drought,”

Isaiah describes the attack of the evil one like “a rain storm against a wall”

• It may not mean much to you in our culture,
• But many of you have donated several times to pay to rebuild houses in Malawi
• Where all they have at their disposal are clay bricks they form out the mud in the ground.
• Too much rain and those houses collapse.

Isaiah describes the attack of the evil one like “heat in a drought”

• That one you have a pretty good handle on.
• It is overbearing, it is too much to handle.
• Stuff dies under such circumstances.

THE POINT BEING – Satan would have defeated us.

But on the day we step into heaven we will see that
God has carried safely through every storm.

(5b) “You subdue the uproar of aliens; Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is silenced.”

When the enemy rained down his heat upon our heads;
(Such heat as would cause us to deny and run away from God.)
God intervened with a cloud to shadow us from his lies and his attacks.

We make it safely home because He causes us to make it.

And on the day we enter His gates
We will join the chorus of praising Him for it.

Paul faced martyrdom has he wrote his final letter, and in it he wrote:
2 Timothy 3:10-11 “Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”

At the end of the letter he wrote:
2 Timothy 4:16-18 “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Paul counted on the fact that God, who had protected his soul thus far,
Would continue to do it.

What a joy for the righteous to look back on their afflictions
And see that God did deliver us from them all.

We will praise Him for His formed plan.
We will praise Him for His faithful protection.

#3 GOD’S FULFILLED PROMISE
Isaiah 25:6-9

Here is the part that we all love.
Isaiah describes for us the realities of heaven.

How comforting to know that nearly 800 years later when God showed a picture of heaven to John, he saw the exact same thing.

Revelation 21:1-4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

Interesting to us that when Isaiah saw God’s heaven,
He saw the very same thing.

He saw “a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged win.”

• John saw it as a wedding.
• Jesus described it as a wedding banquet.

Matthew 22:2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son.”

And the point of it is EXTRAVAGANCE.

We’ve all heard people make comments like: “I want to go to heaven, but I don’t want to go tonight.”

Or you hear today of people’s “bucket lists”.
• You know things you want to do before you die.

And I get the idea behind such statements.
I understand God has given us reasons to enjoy our present life.

But at least somewhere in those statements is the sentiment
That when you die you’ll be missing out.

Can I read you a very important verse about heaven?
Isaiah 65:17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.”

When you get there, you aren’t going to miss anything that was here.
No one is grieving in heaven
That they didn’t get to spend a little longer on earth first.

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.”

The picture is EXTRAVAGANCE.
It is pictured by a luxurious banquet.

And no one is sitting around that table saying, “Remember those steaks we ate at Outback that time?”

Everything is better.
Nothing here will be missed.

Listen to Peter describe it:
1 Peter 1:4 “to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,”

“imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away”
Name one thing on earth that fits that category.
Heaven is better.

BUT THAT’S NOT THE ONLY PROMISE THEY ARE REJOICING IN.

(7) “And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.”

Most commentaries throw this verse in with verse 8
And say that Isaiah is talking about death.
But he talks about death in verse 8.

What if this is a different veil that is removed?
LIKE WHAT?

Well Paul speaks several times about a veil
That covers the eyes of the unbelieving.

2 Corinthians 3:15 “But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart;”

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

But even we,
• Though that veil has been removed, still do not yet fully know.
• Even we, who are His children don’t see fully yet.

But…
1 Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.”

What if the veil Isaiah sees removed is that which has caused us to only see Christ dimly through a mirror?

On this day that veil will be removed.
• We won’t see Christ through His veil of human flesh.
• We won’t see Christ through the veil of our unbelief or ignorance.
• We will see Him as He is.

1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”

“What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see; when I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace; when He takes me by the hand and leads me through the promised land; what a day, glorious day that will be!”

Today we walk through this world of trials and snares
And we do so with a blurry picture.

We walk by faith and not by sight.
“Eye has not seen” the truth of it all.

But on the day when the scales fall off our eyes and we see Him as He is,
THAT WILL BE CAUSE FOR REJOICING.

AND THAT’S NOT ALL.
(8) “He will swallow up death for all time…”

Sin is gone, the curse is removed, and death is not needed.

1 Corinthians 15:26 “The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 “But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

By coming and dying as human He saved us from the fear of death.
On the day we enter His heavenly kingdom
We shall be saved from the total reality of it.

• We will never again attend a funeral.
• We will never again say our final goodbyes to a loved one.
• We will never miss anyone ever again.

Which also explains:
“And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces,”
• No more weeping over our own failures or the failures of those we love.
• No more weeping with those who weep.
• No more grief or sorrow or pain or despair.
• No more tragedies.
• No more suffering or disaster or scorn.

Isaiah says:
“And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;”

On earth we are strangers and aliens.
• We are the pebble in the world’s shoe.
• We are the progress stoppers.
• We are the kill-joys.

The Psalmist said (and Paul agreed) that
We are “considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

The world hates that we oppose their plans
And God’s people throughout the ages have suffered for it.

But holiness won’t be hated in heaven.
• Righteousness won’t be looked down upon in heaven.
• Obedience won’t be rejected in heaven.

And so God’s people will never be hated or reproached again.

“For the LORD has spoken.”

On that day we will see the promise fulfilled.
It will be a glorious day.

It’s no wonder heaven is rejoicing.

(9) “And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

Psalms 6:3 “And my soul is greatly dismayed; But You, O LORD—how long?”

Psalms 13:1-2 “How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?”

Psalms 35:17 “Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, My only life from the lions.”

Psalms 74:10 “How long, O God, will the adversary revile, And the enemy spurn Your name forever?”

Psalms 90:13 “Do return, O LORD; how long will it be? And be sorry for Your servants.”

Psalms 94:3 “How long shall the wicked, O LORD, How long shall the wicked exult?”

Even to the very end:
Revelation 6:9-10 “When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

My guess is that YOU HAVE FACED similar circumstances in your life
At one time or another where that was your cry as well.

But what a great day of fulfillment.
• When the journey is complete.
• When the trial is over.
• When the victory is won.

And all of heaven joins in:
“Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

HE DID IT!
He saved us!
We are home!

Many times we have talked about that day when Moses spoke to the burning bush and he wanted a sign that God might prove that He would really deliver the children of Israel from under Pharaoh’s hand.

And God consented to give Moses a sign.
Exodus 3:12 “And He said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

That wasn’t much of a sign for going forward,
But what a worship service that must have been
When Moses got back to that mountain with all those people.

THAT DAY IS COMING.
• Full extravagance…
• No more separation…
• No more death…
• No more sorrow…
• No more struggle…
• No more waiting…

This is why Isaiah is worshiping.

This is why Isaiah is declaring (1) “You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;”

His Formed Plan, His Faithful Protection, His Fulfilled Promise
#4 GOD’S FINAL PUNISHMENT
Isaiah 25:10-12

Isaiah just spoke of all the glories of dwelling in heaven with God
We hear the saints declaring praise to the God who saved them.

But it doesn’t end there.
The vision continues.
And it continues with a VISION OF JUDGMENT.

“Moab will be trodden down in his place as straw is trodden down in the water of a manure pile.”

Wow that is pleasant.

It gets better.
(11) “And he will spread out his hands in the middle of it as a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim, But the Lord will lay low his pride together with the trickery of his hands.”

First of all: Why Moab?
• Well, Moab here is just a picture of all unredeemed peoples.
• God does this sometimes.
• Later in Isaiah’s letter He’ll use Edom in the same way.

Here Moab is just a representative of all unredeemed peoples and they are used because they are notorious for their pride.

In Moab’s oracle Isaiah outlined Moab’s sin:
Isaiah 16:6 “We have heard of the pride of Moab, an excessive pride; Even of his arrogance, pride, and fury; His idle boasts are false.”

One could easily make the argument that
• Pride is in fact the root of all sin and rejection of the gospel.
• We certainly know that God is opposed to the proud.

Here Moab represents the proud world who would not trust God
And heaven is rejoicing as God judges them.

• They are pictured as having been tossed in a septic tank.
• And when they try to start swimming to escape,
• God puts his foot on their head and pushes them back down in it.

If such a picture makes you squeamish then you read it correctly.
There is nothing desirable about judgment.

And the point is that Moab’s pride and boasts can’t save him.

(12) “The unassailable fortifications of your walls He will bring down, Lay low and cast to the ground, even to the dust.”

So Isaiah just finishes a beautiful section of all the glories of heaven
And then turns right around
And gives us a terrible picture of God’s judgment.

WHAT IS THE REASONING FOR SUCH A SHIFT?
TO REMIND YOU THAT NOT EVERYONE GOES TO HEAVEN.

Mankind loves to gravitate towards universalism.
• It is one of the ways we know the gospel was not invented by man,
• Because if man wrote the gospel everyone would go to heaven.
• But universalism is a lie.
• So is annihilationism (sinners just cease to be).

What we learn from Isaiah is the same thing we learn throughout scripture
Some men go to heaven and others go to hell.

• Some men dwell in the presence of God in eternal glory and extravagance,
enjoying the presence of God with no tears or reproach or suffering or pain.

• Some men dwell in the presence of God in eternal torment and agony suffering
endlessly in reproach and humiliation.

And Isaiah makes a clear distinction as to the determining difference.
AND THAT IS PRIDE.

• It is men who refuse to acknowledge their sin.
• It is men who refuse to repent of their sin.
• It is men who refuse to see they need someone else to save them.
• It is men who refuse to humble themselves and cry out for that salvation.

And again, it was NOT JUST ISAIAH who saw this.

A moment ago we read John’s account of heaven
• Where he spoke of seeing that bride coming down for her husband.
• John talked about how there would no more tears or death or mourning or crying or pain.

But John continued…
Revelation 21:6-8 “Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

• Not everyone goes to heaven.

Revelation 22:14-15 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”

• Not everyone goes to heaven.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”

• Not everyone goes to heaven.

Galatians 5:19-21 “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.”

• Not everyone goes to heaven.

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.’”

• Not everyone goes to heaven.

Heaven is a glorious place, but it is not for everyone.
SO WHO GETS TO GO?

Well look at who is there in Isaiah’s vision.
Do you see what they have in common?

Look at Isaiah in verse 1
“O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;”

Look down at verse 9 at the other inhabitants.
“And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us, This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

It is those who have submitted to God.
• It is those who have trusted God.
• It is those who have been saved by God.
• It is those who as a result worship and adore God.

It is not good people who go to heaven.
It is saved people who go to heaven.
It is people who have humbled themselves
And cried out to Jesus for the forgiveness of their sin.

Their name is recorded in the Lamb’s book of life.
That is who is there, and it is glorious!

This morning church, if you have trusted in Jesus then spend the day rejoicing in the heaven which God has promised to you.
• A place where every promise of God is fulfilled.
• A place of sinless extravagance.
• A place where neither death nor any of its colleagues will be seen.
• A place where God’s people never suffer again.

If you have not trusted in Jesus, then do it. Right now, confess your sin to Him and ask Him to forgive you and to save you.

download here

Isaiah’s Apocalypse
Isaiah 24:1-23
September 3, 3023

For the last 3 months we have sat and analyzed and thought upon
Judgments that occurred 2700 years ago.

From the safety of our air-conditioned sanctuary
• We have examined the dilemma of God’s people as the Assyrian threat circled around their nation.
• We have heard God emphatically warn them not to trust in anyone but Him.
• We have heard God call them to sincere repentance.
• We have heard God warn them not to make the mistake of trusting in their own glory or strength.
• We have heard God declare judgment on them for loving the world.
• And we have heard God speak of an economic judgment on their region.

And all of that happened 2,700 years ago.
It is historical
It was real

And we sat here studying it, hopefully learning from it,
But honestly without any real skin in the game.

• IT’S NOT LIKE Assyria was advancing on us.
• IT’S NOT LIKE we were facing death and hoping some ally nation would come to our aid.
• IT’S NOT LIKE we had to make any pertinent decision regarding our own survival.

Sure we see the lessons in it, but there’s no real urgency for us.
This story came and went.
These judgments already occurred.

Tiglath-Pilesar is dead.
Shalmaneser is dead.
Sennacherib is dead.
Nebuchadnezzar is too.

They were interesting stories like a documentary on the history channel,
But there’s no reason to get all worked up.

And then we come to Isaiah 24.

And all of a sudden, Isaiah looks up from his parchment
And makes eye contact with you and me.

He’s no longer speaking only to the people of his day.
He’s no longer giving counsel just to Hezekiah.

He is now speaking to the FUTURE.
He is now a voice crying in the wilderness to ALL MEN.
He is now a light shining in the darkness to EVERYONE.

The Assyrian conquest…
The Babylonian conquest…
THOSE WERE NOTHING.

Those threats were but a mere precursor to what was coming.

And now Isaiah writes words that were meant for you and me.

TONIGHT we learn that figuratively speaking
• Assyria is at our gates.
• Babylon has come.

There is a threat and the world has yet to feel it.

The things Isaiah will speak about in the next few chapters
Have never been fulfilled.

They have not yet happened.
They are still coming.

I suppose the delay in their fulfillment
• Could cause you to doubt the accuracy of the prophet,
• But we heard Isaiah predict with accuracy the fate of 9 other nations.
• So far he’s batting 1.000 and there is no reason to doubt him yet.

Beyond that, other prophets from other ages will come and report that they have seen the exact same thing Isaiah saw.
• One of them is John who receives a vision we call “Revelation” on the island of Patmos.

What Isaiah says here is true.
And it is for you and for me.

And the message is simple.
JUDGMENT IS COMING

Don’t pass this off as some historical sermon preached to a people who have long sense died.

Read this chapter like a warning from God to you who live today, for any moment this prophecy could break forth.

So let’s read about it and learn what the church should do with it.

4 main points tonight.
#1 THE REVELATION
Isaiah 24:1-3

Isaiah closes verse 3 like this: “for the LORD has spoken this word.”

You DON’T HAVE the CREATIVE POWER of Isaiah at work here.
You HAVE the PROPHETIC POWER at work.
God spoke to Isaiah.
God enlightened Isaiah to His plan.

And Isaiah does not ease into it.
“Behold”
• It is a loud interjection.
• It is meant to shake you from your preoccupation.
• It is meant to close your mouth and open your ear.

“Behold, the LORD lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants.”

Isaiah has moved beyond the regional.
We are no longer talking about Philistia or Moab, Edom or Arabia,
This is “the earth.”

And the SOURCE of the judgment isn’t even cryptic anymore.
• God isn’t judging through His Assyrian puppet.
• God isn’t using Babylon anymore.

There is no mistaking where this is coming from.
God, by His own hand, “lays the earth waste”

And you know this.
We’ve all read about the opening of the seals of God’s judgment.

Revelation 6:12-17 “I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

In that day men don’t blame some earthly power for their judgment,
They know where it’s coming from.
This wrath is God’s wrath and He has made it known.

The judgment that is described is GLOBAL and THOROUGH.
• “lays the earth waste”
• “devastates it”
• “distorts its surface”
• “scatters its in habitants”

Jeremiah once walked into a potters shop and watched him form a pot by the skill of his hands and then all at once crush and destroy the pot he was making.

God asked Jeremiah that day
Jeremiah 18:6 “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.”

Of course the answer is yes.

But here it is NOT JUST the nation of Israel.
Here it is every nation.

In fact here it is the very physical landscape of the earth.
• God is rearranging continents.
• God is wiping away mountain ranges.
• God is uprooting islands.
• God is erasing cities and structures.

He is shaking the earth like an etch-a-sketch.
He is taking the clay and re-flattening it.

He is going to destroy this earth.
That’s the message God has for Isaiah.

And on that day it won’t matter who you are.

(2) “And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor.”

What sort of things make you more important today?
What sort of things ascribe worldly value you to you in our culture?
• If you have money?
• If you have an education?
• If you can throw a baseball 100 mph?

Well on the day when God reaches down with His hand
And starts realigning continents it won’t matter much.

It won’t matter if you are clergy or not.
It won’t matter if you are a slave or a land owner
It won’t matter if you are rich or poor.

That’s what John saw wasn’t it.
“the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains”

It won’t matter.

(3) “The earth will be completely laid waste and completely despoiled, for the LORD has spoken this word.”

God is going to destroy it all.
THIS IS STILL YET TO COME.

That is the Revelation
#2 THE REASON
Isaiah 24:4-6

We’ve heard a thing or two in our lifetimes about ENVIRONMENTALISM.

When I was in junior high
• We were constantly told that we were eating a hole in the ozone layer of the earth.
• We were told that things like hair spray, fire extinguishers, and freon were detrimental to this ozone layer around the earth
• And if we kept using it we were going to burn a hole in it and the sun would kill us.

In the last decade the message has shifted to global warming.
The main enemy I hear about is carbon emissions. (CO2)

If you’re not up to speed on the global warming theory…

“Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface. Normally this radiation would escape into space, but these pollutants, which can last for years to centuries in the atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the planet to get hotter. These heat-trapping pollutants—specifically carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and synthetic fluorinated gases—are known as greenhouse gases, and their impact is called the greenhouse effect.”
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-warming-101?gclid=Cj0KCQjwusunBhCYARIsAFBsUP88y0OYVUIGqEPYxG_lLoaVD13kzNlu9taqdWjQLLRqvuBpD3pkDfIaAvNnEALw_wcB#causes

So basically it’s this.
• We get sunlight and radiation from the sun.
• It is supposed to bounce off the earth and travel back into space.
• But we have polluted our atmosphere with what they call greenhouse gasses
like CO2 and methane and such.
• And these gasses keep the radiation from getting into space.
• So it heats up the earth more and more.

So now, radiation gets in because we have depleted our ozone layer,
But it can’t get out because we have polluted the atmosphere with carbon.
The result is that the earth is heating up and this causes natural disasters.

That is crammed down our throats today.

I’ve told you before that I am a fan of environmental conservation.
• For instance, I can dump my trash in my living room floor.
• It won’t cause my house to fall down, but it will make it a pretty miserable place to live.

We do understand that how we handle pollution
Can make the place in which we live more or less desirable.

But our world has made a religion out of environmentalism
And make no mistake our governments have capitalized on it
To seize power and make a lot of money.

What is the message of the Bible?

THE MESSAGE OF THE BIBLE
• Is that POLLUTION IS IN FACT THE CAUSE of the destruction of this earth.
• The Bible is also clear that the SOURCE of this earth destroying pollution is HUMANITY.

We see it in verse 5, “The earth is polluted by its inhabitants…”

We see that the earth grieves under this pollution.
(4) “The earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers…”

Paul told us:
Romans 8:22 “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”

So the global warming message is right?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Human pollution is the problem
But it’s not hairspray or freon or methane
That will cause this earth to be destroyed.

IT IS SIN!

(5-6) “The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant. Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.”

It’s everything we learned in the first 3 chapters of the book of Genesis.
• Mankind transgressed the laws of God.
• Mankind violated the things God told him not to do.
• Mankind broke the everlasting covenant.
• And the result is “a curse devours the earth”
• With the eventual effect that “the inhabitants of the earth are burned”

There is biblical global warming.

Isaiah says “they transgressed laws”
• This is just the natural law of God that is written upon the human heart.
• This is the basic good and evil which God has woven into the fabric of humanity.

And man continually sear their conscience
So that they no longer feel guilty about the things
They were designed to be ashamed of.

“the everlasting covenant” is a bit of a mystery.

It could be the general understanding that God is God and we are man
And we are called to walk in subjection to Him.

It could be the Noahic covenant where God forbid the shedding of man’s blood.

That certainly matches the pollution analogy.
Numbers 35:33 “‘So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it.”

• We remember God telling Cain that his brother’s blood cried out to him from the ground.
• Certainly the shedding of innocent blood is a cause of the judgment of God.
• So I’m ok with the Noahic covenant being the reference.

And yet it is most likely the Abrahamic Covenant
Which is referred to as “the everlasting covenant” several times in Scripture.

The Commentary in the MacArthur Study Bible defines it as:
This covenant contains devotion to God’s moral law
And salvation by faith in Him.

It was the call of man to put away sin
And to trust in God for salvation from his sin.

And man has violated that as well.

You can also add in what Isaiah reveals in verse 4, “the exalted of the people of the earth fade away.”

(Which is a reference to judgment on human pride.)

And you then you can take your pick as to which sin is causing God’s judgment.
• Pride?
• Disobedience?
• Shedding innocent blood?
• Defiling the conscience?
• Refusing to honor or trust God?

These are the pollutants that hasten the judgment of earth not hairspray.

And incidentally electric cars or wind turbines
Will have zero effect on delaying this judgment.
God is going to judge the world because of the sin that has polluted it.

So you have the Revelation and you have the Reason
#3 THE RESPONSE
Isaiah 24:7-20

This is the longest segment of the chapter
And I want to break it down a little further.

We actually see the response here of 3 different groups.
1) THE WICKED (7-13)

You see there basically an announcement that drinking parties are over.

In our world pick a gathering and 9 times out of 10 drinking will be the chief source of entertainment.

MEN LOVE IT.

And it’s hard to imagine a scenario so grim
That men would actually skip out on an opportunity to participate.

But when God turns to judge this world they will.

ALL THE PARTYING WILL STOP.

Remember how angry God was at Israel for their response to the coming judgment, “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we may die”?

Well not next time.

(11) “There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine; all joy turns to gloom. The gaiety of the earth is banished.”

God won’t allow men to even enjoy that.
• God is going to bring such a desolation on the earth
• That sinful men won’t even find it appropriate to have a drinking party.
• There will be so few men left that the party won’t occur.

(13) “For thus it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples, as the shaking of an olive tree, as the gleanings when the grape harvest is over.”

It is yet another harvest analogy for judgment.
• The earth will look like a striped cotton field.
• There may be a few gleanings hanging on here and there,
• But it’s more desolation than anything.

And the world will see no reason to rejoice.

That is how the wicked will respond to God’s judgment.
NO JOY

But it’s not just the wicked.
We also see the response of the righteous.

2) THE RIGHTEOUS (14-16a)

Here we have a righteous remnant
That breaks out into continuous praise at God’s judgment.

(14b) “They cry out from the west concerning the majesty of the LORD.”

They have waited and waited and waited for this day.

We’ve read so many of those imprecatory Psalms over the years.
Psalms 58:10 “The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.”

Or we even look at the end of the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 66:24 “Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”

We’ve certainly read that infamous Hallelujah Chorus found in Rev. 19
• Where the saints of heaven cry out “Hallelujah!” as they see the smoke rising from the burning of the harlot.

There will be a great celebration on behalf of the righteous
Who have labored and groaned under the corruption of the wicked.

• Those who have continually been told to turn the other cheek.
• Those who have continually been told to go the extra mile.
• Those who have continually been warned not to take their own revenge.
• Those who have been promised that the vengeance is God’s.

And as they have labored to obey amidst such suffering and frustration
They have continually cried, “How long O Lord?”

Well on this day that cry will be over.
GOD WILL JUDGE SINNERS.

And on that day not only will they REJOICE but they will PREACH.

(15) “Therefore glorify the LORD in the east, The name of the LORD, the God of Israel, in the coastlands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we hear songs, “Glory to the Righteous One,”

That is a reassuring couple of verses for the redeemed
• To remind them that in Christ we are not under God’s condemnation.
• To remind that this world will not forever be consigned to evil.
• To remind that we win in the end.

While the coming judgment of God on this earth is real we do not fear it.
In that day we will rejoice at its coming.

But there is one more response listed here.
3) ISAIAH (16b-20)

Certainly there is coming a day when the righteous will rejoice at God’s judgment on the earth…BUT NOT TODAY.

Today is NOT a day of celebrating the destruction of the wicked.
Today is the day of salvation.
• Today is the day of warning.
• Today is the day of evangelism and missions.
• Today is the day of pleading with sinners.

Isaiah is filled with groaning and weeping
Because he sees this judgment coming
And his desire is to rescue as many as he can
And yet no one will listen to him.

“But I say, “Woe to me! Woe to me! Alas for me!”

Now have you ever heard anything like that from Isaiah before?
(Yes, when he was confronted with the holiness of God)
• In Isaiah 6 Isaiah cried out for the peril of his own soul.
• In Isaiah 24 he cries out for the peril of his neighbor’s soul.

And he is burdened because they won’t listen.

“The treacherous deal treacherously, And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”

• Men who violate their promises to God continue to do it.
• Men who violate their covenant with God do it to a great extent.
• And no one seems to care.

Isaiah sees what is coming.
(17-18) “Terror and pit and snare Confront you, O inhabitant of the earth. Then it will be that he who flees the report of disaster will fall into the pit, And he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare; For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth shake.”

Isaiah has made the point over and over and over
THROUGH THE ORACLES
That no man is able to escape by his own glory or his own strength
The coming wrath of God.

He has continually warned that you won’t be able to endure that day
And yet men won’t listen.

They think they can flee from disaster.
Isaiah says, You’ll “fall into a pit.”

They think they’ll climb out of the pit.
Isaiah says, You’ll “get caught in the snare;”

POINT: You won’t escape.
(19-20) “The earth is broken asunder, The earth is split through, The earth is shaken violently. The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again.”

Do you see why the world is going down?
• It’s like a table supporting too much weight…
• It’s like a ship with too much cargo…

The earth cannot bear up under so much sin and it will fall.
THAT IS CLEAR.

But please pay attention to ISAIAH’S RESPONSE.

It reminds us so much of John in Revelation 10 who is shown the coming judgment on the earth and then told to “prophesy again”.

Isaiah’s heart mirrors the heart of God.
• If judgment was the chief desire of God we would have already had it.
• If judgment was what He wanted most it would have happened years ago.

But God sent His Son into the world
Not to judge the world but to save it.

And it is clear to me that if we can weep over our own predicament,
But we cannot weep over the coming predicament of sinners
Then somewhere our heart does not align with God’s heart.

Go back to this idea of global warming for a second.

I realize that to those at the top this is a power grabbing money making scheme.
It is a way for them to gain control over people and get rich in the process.

But NOT everyone is lying about global warming, some are DECEIVED.
There are some who genuinely believe it is true.
There are some who genuinely believe that CO2 is going to kill us all.

And what sort of behavior do you see from such people?
They have become loud and dominating activists haven’t they?
(In fact they probably irritate you)

WHY ARE THEY SO LOUD?
WHY ARE THEY SO VOCAL?
• Because they really believe the message of global warming.
• They really believe they have seen the end.

And anyone who has truly seen the end
Is certainly responsible to tell others what is causing it.

And then we come to the church.

We have seen the end and it doesn’t seem to matter much to us
If the world knows it or not.

You say, “No, I care preacher, it’s just that they won’t listen.”
• Ok, so do you grieve?
• Do you share Isaiah’s burden?
• Do you cry “Woe”?

Back in 2020 we took our kids to our own personal youth camp
Because all the main ones were closed do to COVID lockdowns.

You may remember that the buzz word of the day was “Essential”
• Only essential businesses could be open.
• Only essential jobs could be done.

So we took that word as our theme for camp.

I started working on what my opening sermon for that camp would be.
• I wanted to talk about why salvation was essential.
• And as I worked it out in my mind how I would prove to a teenager that salvation was essential
• It all funneled down to one reason.

And this was our text:
Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

The reason salvation is essential is because sinful men
Abide under the wrath of God and there is coming a day
When God’s wrath will break forth and destroy those wicked men forever.

Salvation is essential because every man needs to be saved.

Every single human has offended God by means of their sin
And therefore abides under God’s wrath and thus must be saved.

And the question I would ask you as the church tonight is:
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT?

Do you believe that your coworkers, who haven’t repented or trusted in Christ, do you believe that God will one day throw them in the lake of fire?

Do you believe that your neighbors, who haven’t repented or trusted in Christ, do you believe that God will one day throw them in the lake of fire?

Do you believe that your friends, your family members, who haven’t repented or trusted in Christ, do you believe that God will one day throw them in the lake of fire?

I ask that because the total lack of evangelism
That goes on in the American Church today
Would cast serious doubt as to whether or not we really believe that.

We either don’t believe our sinful friends are going to hell
Or we are the most cold-hearted people on the planet.

Either way our own Christianity is in serious question.

When we don’t care about warning the world of the coming judgment it can only mean one of two things:
1. We either don’t really believe God will do what He says.
2. We believe He will we just don’t care about people.

Global warming isn’t real but people who believe it
Will try to turn our world upside down to save us all from it.

How can a deceived global warming activist
Seem to have more conviction than a redeemed child of God?

Just like an environmental activist will turn this world on its head to stop CO2 emissions, we must do the same to warn this world of sin.

YOU GET THE POINT.

There’s not a doubt in our mind that Isaiah believed what he saw.
• He warned and warned and warned.
• He was rejected and rejected and rejected.
• He wept and wept and wept.

This world is going to be judged and it is not a secret.
God has made it clear.

It seems as though the ones who know about it
Should be leading the charge to get the message out,
Even to those who won’t listen.

I love the Spurgeon quote:
“If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”
–Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon At His Best, compiled by Tom Carter, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1991 reprinted edition, first published 1988), 67.

The Revelation, The Reason, The Response
#4 THE REASSURANCE
Isaiah 24:21-23

Just in case Isaiah has been anything but totally clear.
(21) “So it will happen in that day…”

IT IS COMING.

And it is not just a day of judgment on wicked men,
But also on that devil usurper who showed up in the garden
And got the ball rolling.

(21-22) “So it will happen in that day, That the LORD will punish the host of heaven on high, And the kings of the earth on earth. They will be gathered together Like prisoners in the dungeon, And will be confined in prison; And after many days they will be punished.”

We know all about this timeline.
Revelation 20 lays it all out for us.
• God will bring 7 years of horrible tribulation and judgment upon this earth
• Then Christ will return to reign upon it.
• While Christ reigns Satan and his cronies will spend 1,000 years locked up in the prison
• And then will be set free for the Great White Throne judgment.
• Christ will destroy this universe
• Then make a new heaven and new earth where righteousness will reign for all eternity.

(23) “Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, And His glory will be before His elders.”

It will happen.
It is coming.

The sin of this world will cause God to destroy this world
And sinners will not escape.

The only hope of salvation is repentance and faith in Christ
And like Isaiah we are the messengers of all of it.

2 Corinthians 5:18-21 “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. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

• We are the tornado sirens…
• We are the fire alarms…
• We are the watchmen on the walls…

God has made known to us both His judgment and His salvation
And we must tell men.