WEBVTT 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:07.839 Turn to the book of Isaiah. 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:13.599 I started to say the gospel of Isaiah. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:21.519 Is how it brings us to the Savior and prepares us for his coming. 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:23.600 Isaiah chapter 50. 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:47.200 Isaiah 50, and our passage for this morning covers verse 10 from Isaiah 50 down through verse number 8 of Isaiah chapter 51. 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:51.439 So don't let that chapter break throw you off. 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:56.560 I'm going to read this section for us this morning before we get into God's word. 00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:01.520 Isaiah 50, verse 10 through 51, verse 8. 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:03.200 This is what Holy Scripture says. 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:09.519 Who among you fears the Lord and listens to his servant? 00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:13.200 Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:17.920 Let him trust in the name of the Lord, let him lean on his God. 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:19.280 Look. 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:29.120 All you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with torches, walk in the light of your fire, and of the torches you have lit, this is what you'll get from my hand. 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:31.680 You will lie down in a place of torment. 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:33.920 Listen to me. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:43.599 You who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord, look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were dug. 00:01:43.599 --> 00:01:48.159 Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah who gave birth to you. 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:51.359 When I called him, he was only one. 00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:53.599 I blessed him and made him many. 00:01:53.599 --> 00:02:03.519 For the Lord will comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places, and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:06.239 Joy and gladness will be found in her. 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:08.080 Thanksgiving and melodious song. 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:12.719 Pay attention to me, my people, and listen to me, my nation. 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:18.159 For instruction will come from me, and my justice for a light to the nations. 00:02:18.159 --> 00:02:19.840 I will bring it about quickly. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:22.800 My righteousness is near. 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:27.520 My salvation appears, and my arms will bring justice to the nations. 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:31.759 The coasts and islands will put their hope in me, and they will look to my strength. 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:35.120 Look up to the heavens and look at the earth beneath. 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:42.159 For the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and its inhabitants will die like gnats. 00:02:42.159 --> 00:02:45.199 But my salvation will last forever. 00:02:45.199 --> 00:02:47.919 And my righteousness will never be shattered. 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:50.400 Listen to me. 00:02:50.400 --> 00:03:01.840 You who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my instruction, do not fear disgrace by men, and do not be shattered by their taunts. 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:08.159 For moths will devour them like a garment, and worms will eat them like wool. 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:11.919 But my righteousness will last forever. 00:03:11.919 --> 00:03:16.560 My salvation for all generations. 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:18.639 Let's go to God again. 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:31.439 We always need your help all the time, but we especially need your help as we consider your word, the beauty of it, the warnings of it. 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:34.240 And we know that it's your word that gives life. 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:43.120 So it's not words that are merely said in human power, but we want these words to come as we look in your word through the power of the Spirit this morning. 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:44.479 In Jesus' name. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:45.199 Amen. 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:51.280 Have you ever been in a conversation where someone says, Are you listening? 00:03:51.280 --> 00:03:57.840 That comes up often in the home, often from parents to children. 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:08.800 I did have occasion many times, perhaps when my head was buried in a book or I was watching TV for my mother to say, Micah, are you listening? 00:04:08.800 --> 00:04:16.000 I'm not sure what you just said, Mom, but these Hardy boys, they know how to solve a mystery, let me tell you. 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:22.800 Children, you who are here today, you need to listen to your parents. 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:29.279 But how much more should all of us listen to the Lord? 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:39.439 Notice in our passage today how often the Lord asks his people and those who are in the sound of his word to listen. 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:42.319 Chapter 50, verse 10. 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:48.959 To use an a Pew Bible, it says, Who among you fears the Lord and listens to his servants? 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:51.360 Chapter 51, verse 1. 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:53.360 Listen to me. 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:59.759 Verse number 4 of chapter 51, pay attention to me, my people, and listen to me. 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:02.800 51 verse 7. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:05.360 Listen to me four different times. 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:08.079 Listen, listen, listen, listen. 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:15.600 Sometimes people don't listen to God because they intentionally want to reject what he's going to say. 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:22.399 Sometimes people get distracted with other things, but whatever the reason, when we don't listen to God, it's disastrous. 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:25.680 We all struggle with listening to the Lord. 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:33.279 And the place where we most clearly and directly hear from him is right here, right in this book. 00:05:33.279 --> 00:05:36.959 So open it and listen to the Lord. 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:40.000 And this is very important. 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:47.040 When God calls us to listen, he wants us to take to heart what he has to say. 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.560 It's not enough just to know the words. 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:59.040 So the title of the message this morning is Heed What You Hear. 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:02.480 Heed What You Hear. 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:09.759 I know heed's a little bit of an old-fashioned word, but it just means to give very careful attention to something. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:15.279 And it really encapsulates what the Lord is saying all throughout this passage. 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:23.439 I mentioned right away in verse number 10, who among you fears the Lord and listens to his servants? 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:33.439 Your Bible, depending on what your translation is, you might see in chapter 50, verse 10, it might say, Who fears the Lord and obeys his servant? 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:42.160 This is the same word that's used in chapter 51, verse 1, and chapter 51, verse 7 is translated as listen. 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:47.600 Okay, but all throughout this passage, the Lord has a certain kind of listening in mind. 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:55.759 Listening that takes to heart what is said, that leans in and follows. 00:06:55.759 --> 00:07:07.839 Isaiah is writing this, he's prophesying under the Lord's inspiration to a people in his own day that weren't listening well to the Lord. 00:07:07.839 --> 00:07:11.199 There's threats all throughout this book. 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:23.279 There's talk of judgment happening right as Isaiah is prophesying in some ways and judgment still to come, all because those people weren't listening. 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:28.639 So, friends here today, are we ready to listen to the Lord? 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:32.480 Are we ready to heed what we hear? 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:38.560 Micah, were you listening to me? 00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:40.000 I sure was. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:43.439 Uh you said to put the book down and go finish doing the dishes. 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:46.639 That was an improvement from not knowing what mom said. 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:50.800 What do you think her response was after I said, Yeah, definitely I'm listening. 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:54.480 Then why is the book still in your hand and why are there still dirty dishes in the sink? 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:56.959 Um, I don't know. 00:07:56.959 --> 00:07:58.959 Because I need to finish this chapter? 00:07:58.959 --> 00:07:59.439 No. 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:02.079 Heed what you hear. 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:06.319 What kind of listening does God call us to? 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:14.639 Well, I'm going to summarize the passage in four headings, and these four headings reflect these four calls to listen. 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:19.839 First, listen to the Lord's alternatives. 00:08:19.839 --> 00:08:22.480 We find that in chapter 50, verses 10 and 11. 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:27.600 Then next, listen to the Lord's comfort. 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:30.399 That's chapter 51, the first three verses. 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:34.639 Third, listen to the Lord's salvation. 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:38.000 Verses 4 to 6 of chapter 51. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:41.360 And finally, verses 7 to 8 of chapter 51. 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:43.840 Listen to the Lord's triumph. 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:47.600 So we'll start with this first heading. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:51.600 Heed what you hear and listen to the Lord's alternatives. 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:58.000 Our passage begins in chapter 50, verses 10 and 11, and there's two basic options that God sets before the people. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:05.200 You can either listen and trust, or you can ignore and suffer. 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:08.080 Those are the two basic alternatives. 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:09.919 Those are the only two options. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:12.240 Listen and trust. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:14.080 There's a warm invitation from God. 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:15.919 Verse number 10. 00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:17.279 Who fears the Lord? 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:18.960 Who listens to his servant? 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:21.200 Who walks in darkness and has no light? 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:26.159 Let him trust in the name of the Lord. 00:09:26.159 --> 00:09:29.120 Now, yes, this is a command. 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:36.799 It's not a dinner invitation, but I say it's a warm invitation because of how kind God is to even offer it. 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:44.320 These are people that don't deserve yet another invitation to listen. 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:47.120 They've failed time and time again. 00:09:47.120 --> 00:09:49.120 God brought them out of Egypt. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:58.080 God set his presence and glory among them in the cloud and the fire, and yet year after year, generation after generation, they struggled to listen. 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:02.320 And yet God comes warmly and says, not to Israel. 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:04.240 Good riddance. 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:07.440 He says, There's still hope for you. 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:13.200 Listen, receive, turn, trust. 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:16.799 Friends, there's still hope for you. 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:21.840 We all come into the world loving darkness rather than light. 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:23.919 It's true of every single one of us. 00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:27.279 But Christ, the light of the world, has come. 00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:28.639 Turn. 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:29.519 Listen. 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:30.240 Trust. 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:32.480 We walk in darkness. 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:34.320 Yes, that's how we come into the world. 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:40.240 Christ on that cross, darkness fell for three hours. 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:44.480 He suffered the weight of judgment that we deserved. 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:48.080 To say, come and receive my free bounty. 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:51.759 We'll talk more about that free bounty later in the message. 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:54.320 But listen in trust. 00:10:54.320 --> 00:10:56.639 That's one option. 00:10:56.639 --> 00:11:02.159 The other alternative is to ignore and suffer. 00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:04.000 And we see that in verse 11. 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:11.919 Look at how verse 11 ends in this very sobering way. 00:11:11.919 --> 00:11:13.759 The end of the verse. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:16.960 This is what you'll get from my hand. 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:21.840 You will lie down in a place of torment. 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:25.200 That's the Lord speaking. 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:28.559 You can see how personal it is. 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:32.000 This is what you'll get from my hand. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:36.000 God is the one threatening to bring this judgment. 00:11:36.000 --> 00:11:49.840 Sometimes people think that the warnings in the Bible are merely about the temporary consequences we bring on ourselves because of our bad decisions. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:51.840 Now that's true. 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:56.639 We make wrong decisions and we do bring consequences on ourselves. 00:11:56.639 --> 00:12:03.679 And sometimes people acknowledge that with things like, I've made a mess of my life, and now I've got to have to suffer. 00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:13.840 Sometimes you even have have speakers well-intentioned trying to motivate people, saying things like, you know, the Bible talks about hell. 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:21.759 If you're not living a productive life as a member of society, you know what a hell that can be. 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:26.080 God is saying much, much more than that here. 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:32.080 The Bible says there's a personal God who stands against people. 00:12:32.080 --> 00:12:43.679 God is not saying here in this passage, when you lie down in a place of torment, he's not saying if you don't reach your full career potential, you might be more likely to struggle with depression. 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:45.919 That could be very hard. 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:49.840 But the danger here is much, much greater. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:52.639 It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of living God. 00:12:52.639 --> 00:13:01.840 So this last part of verse 11, this very sober warning about when you ignore, you're going to suffer. 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:05.039 What does that have to do with the first part of the verse? 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:08.720 Look again at the first part of verse 11, chapter 50. 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:20.240 Look, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with torches, walk in the light of the fire, your fire, and the torches you have lit. 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:29.600 Those are the people that are threatened with this lying down in a place of torment at God's hand. 00:13:29.600 --> 00:13:34.399 So why are they getting torches and circling up and walking around? 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:37.440 And why is that so bad that it brings God's judgment? 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:44.080 Well, it could be that this is some kind of false religious ceremony worshiping false gods. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:50.480 It could be that they've got plans to go and kill someone else, and the Lord is saying that's going to come back on your own head. 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:54.240 But I don't think that's Isaiah's main point here. 00:13:54.240 --> 00:14:04.879 Look at the context, and it helps us, even the structure of this passage, these four calls to listen, help us keep together verses 10 and 11. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:09.440 So look at what just came before that in verse number 10. 00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:14.960 Who among you fears the Lord and listens to his servant? 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:16.000 There's that invitation. 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:24.000 Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.799 Let him trust the name of the Lord. 00:14:26.799 --> 00:14:31.600 Isaiah's presenting these two alternatives. 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:33.840 You're walking in darkness. 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:38.000 You could rely wholly on the Lord and trust in him. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:43.360 Or you could get some torches and try to figure it out yourself. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:53.440 The judgment is coming for those who think they can make life work on their own apart from trust in God. 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:56.720 That's, I think, what's really going on here. 00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:05.200 There's no third way between listening and trusting and ignoring and suffering. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:11.759 There's no, I'll mainly figure it out myself, but once in a while, God can jump in and help me. 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:15.200 There's these are two stark, stark options. 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:19.120 Let me speak to you for a moment. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:25.840 If you're here today, maybe as an agnostic, I think that's more common in our world than militant atheists. 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:31.120 It is more polite to be able to say, I'm not shaking my fist at God. 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:32.000 I just don't know. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:33.759 I'm not really quite ready to trust Him. 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:37.200 If you're here today and that's you, we're glad you're here. 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:38.080 Thank you for being here. 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:41.440 If you're a militant atheist, we're glad you're here. 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:42.320 Thank you for being here. 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:50.080 But you need to know that your lack of decision won't be an excuse for you on the final day. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:53.600 Because there's just these two alternatives. 00:15:53.600 --> 00:16:02.559 And wouldn't you admit that really in everyday life you're living by trusting yourself? 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:09.120 God has revealed Himself in nature, in your conscience, in His Word. 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:13.679 And yet, I don't know, so I'm going to just do what I think is best. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:16.000 That's probably practically how you're living. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.799 This is so common today. 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:21.759 This we'll call it the walk by the light of your own torch mentality. 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:24.799 It's very common among young people. 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:29.120 If you're young today and you're here, again, happy to have you here. 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:39.200 But young people, no matter what their worldview is, no matter what they would say about God or religion, it's very common to hear them say things like, Well, if I haven't experienced it, it's not my reality. 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:48.000 The most important reality you could care about is God and what he says and listening to him and trusting in him. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:53.440 So this is God's first call. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:55.279 Listen to the Lord's alternatives. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:17:03.039 And this is a real, a real turning point because if you listen and trust, the rest of this listening is going to be easy today. 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:05.920 It's words of joy by and large and comfort. 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:15.440 But if you if you don't want to listen, if you're going to ignore and and just trust yourself, you're going to suffer and the rest of the message won't be as helpful to you. 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:21.200 So I appeal to you, listen to the Lord's alternatives and choose trusting in Him. 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:27.599 But moving on, number two, listen to the Lord's comfort. 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:37.599 The Lord is so kind to bring us comfort, and that comfort comes when we consider the past, and comfort comes when we consider the future. 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:41.200 God calls them first to think about the past. 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:42.880 Chapter 51, verse 1. 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:56.960 These who are pursuing righteousness, seeking the Lord, he says, look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were dug, pointing to the past. 00:17:56.960 --> 00:18:03.440 Verse number two, they're told more specifically, look to Abraham and Sarah. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:05.599 Who is that? 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:11.359 That's the father and mother of the Israelite people, of the Jewish nation. 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:18.160 So Isaiah is going back hundreds of years and saying, go back to your beginning, go back to your roots, don't forget your roots. 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:27.279 And then we might think God would say, Look at Abraham and Sarah's faith. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:31.039 Don't you want to follow in their footsteps and have that faith? 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:32.960 And he he could have said that. 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:36.240 But that's not actually what the verse goes on to say. 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:39.359 Verse number two takes a turn, it takes a sharp turn. 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:47.839 It goes on to say, the Lord speaking, when I called him, he was only one. 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:53.599 I blessed him and made him many. 00:18:53.599 --> 00:19:42.400 But how wrong it is for us to think of any person from the past, even a great person, as our ultimate hero. 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:44.000 It's only the Lord. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:50.960 Think about what Hebrews says in chapter 11, all these people from the past as examples. 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:55.519 And yet, what does Hebrews 12 hurry on to say? 00:19:55.519 --> 00:20:11.920 Therefore, since we have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, lay aside every hindrance and the sin that ensnares, running with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:15.759 That's the very best place to find comfort. 00:20:15.759 --> 00:20:20.640 He's comforted saints throughout the Bible's history, thousands of years. 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:22.720 He'll comfort us today. 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:25.759 Listen to the Lord's comfort from the past. 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:31.519 But then also listen to the Lord's comfort for the future. 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:34.160 That's what verse 3 does. 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:35.839 Look at verse 3 in your Bibles. 00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:41.119 The Lord will comfort Zion. 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.880 He will comfort all her waste places. 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:50.640 He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the Lord. 00:20:50.640 --> 00:20:53.440 Joy and gladness will be found in her. 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:55.359 Thanksgiving and melodious song. 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:59.519 Israel, Isaiah says, He's done it before, he'll do it again. 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:03.519 People of God today, he's comforted you before, he'll do it again. 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:12.640 And the promise here, it expands beyond anything God's done for them before in the past. 00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:20.960 It's even despite all their failure, it's not, I'll do it like before, but not as much because of your failure. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:25.279 It's I'll do it not the same as before, I'll do it even greater than I've done it before. 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:34.160 In the past, God brought Abraham and Sarah safely out of Egypt. 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:35.920 Then they multiply. 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:40.240 And the whole nation, years later, is enslaved in Egypt. 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:48.000 God brings them out of Egypt, through the wilderness, into the promised land of Canaan, and the Lord says, I'm gonna, I will do it again. 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:55.839 But what he says here is not, I'll do it again, I'll make your wilderness like Canaan. 00:21:55.839 --> 00:22:02.000 He says, I'll take your wilderness, I'll make it like Eden. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:05.519 That's the place of perfection. 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:11.599 That's that's the garden of God that he made in the beginning where there was no sin whatsoever. 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:19.839 Canaan, as you read the Bible, was always meant to be a picture, an imperfect picture of Eden. 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:30.160 What God was doing for Israel is always meant to be a picture of what he's gonna do for all kinds of people everywhere to bring about a whole new Jerusalem. 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:33.039 And this is a promise, friends. 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:36.799 It's not a might or a maybe, it's God saying, I will do it. 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:37.759 You can count on me. 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:48.079 In the Lord's providence, we just prayed for baby Eden earlier in the service today, right? 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:51.440 What a delightful child. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:23:01.039 And for all of the pleasure that Ethan and Shanik have from their child from Eden, he's not a perfect child. 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:12.240 You know, children are they're kind of like Canaan, they're beautiful and awe-inspiring, and they have some thorns and thistles and giants in the land. 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:16.559 You know, there's there's some battles coming. 00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:20.720 Um we we sang that song earlier. 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:27.680 If you were listening to the words of that song about a Christian home, those were very prayerful, aspirational words. 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:30.559 There was a lot of new creation glory in that song. 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:37.599 There's a lot of that song, you know, may our hearts be unperturbed, naria, whispering word, and you know, always patient. 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:38.720 That's a great prayer. 00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:41.279 Probably not going to be finally fulfilled till glory. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:55.920 But but but but for all of us, when we pray for Eden or interact with that young child, we can remind ourselves that perfection is coming. 00:23:55.920 --> 00:23:58.799 A new creation is coming. 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:01.119 Uh just around the corner. 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:12.079 Freedom from sin, no, no more no more violence and death, no more war, no more children talking back to their parents. 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:13.359 It's coming. 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:14.000 It's coming. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:21.039 Heed what you hear, listen to the Lord's comfort. 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:27.920 And then we find our third listen in verse number four of Isaiah 51. 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:33.680 Pay attention to me, my people, and listen to me, my nation. 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:38.480 So, what what's the call going to be here for this listening? 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:40.319 Well, let's remind ourselves of where we've been. 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:43.440 Listen to the Lord's alternatives. 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:48.400 Listen and trust him, or ignore and suffer. 00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:50.079 We know we need to trust in him. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:54.240 If we're ready to do that, listen to the Lord's comfort. 00:24:54.240 --> 00:24:57.279 There's comfort in the past, comfort in the future, comfort's coming. 00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:02.799 How does the Lord bring about that glorious comfort? 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:13.200 You know, does he just snap his fingers one day and say, old creation is gone, new creation is here, and and in a moment, that's it. 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:16.559 No, he doesn't, he doesn't do that. 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:18.880 He can't do that. 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:24.000 Micah, you're putting limitation on God? 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:30.079 No, of course, he has the creative power to make a whole new world with the breath of his mouth. 00:25:30.079 --> 00:25:35.200 But but when I say that he can't, God is a moral being. 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:38.240 He's a God of perfect righteousness. 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:40.640 That's not a hindrance or limitation. 00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:43.920 That's that's a beautiful quality of who he is. 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:45.200 He can't not be God. 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:47.680 He can't sin or overlook sin. 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:57.759 So for him to just snap his fingers and say, old creation out, new creation in, what about his righteous demands? 00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:05.440 A little bit of our faith and trust can't make up for all of our unrighteousness. 00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:10.559 But listen here thirdly for the Lord's salvation. 00:26:10.559 --> 00:26:16.960 Verse 4 Pay attention to my people, listen. 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:20.079 And then let's keep reading on. 00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:22.799 Verse number five and following. 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:29.119 My instruction will come, my justice for a light to the nations, I will bring it about quickly. 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:43.519 My righteousness is near, my salvation appears, my arms will bring justice to the nations, the coasts and islands will put their hope in me, they will look to my strength, look up to the heavens and look at the earth beneath, for the heavens will vanish like smoke. 00:26:43.519 --> 00:26:48.319 The earth will wear out like a garment, and its inhabitants will die like gnats. 00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:51.759 But my salvation will last forever. 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:54.400 My righteousness will never be shattered. 00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:58.799 The Lord is bringing in righteousness. 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:07.759 He's going to accomplish whatever is necessary to secure salvation so that those who trust can receive the final comfort. 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:16.880 In both verse 5 and in verse 6, righteousness is parallel to salvation. 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:22.400 Without full righteousness, you can't have full salvation. 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:28.160 But with full salvation comes full righteousness, and vice versa. 00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:33.759 And verse 6 says this is a righteousness that lasts forever. 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:41.200 Adam and Eve were created with original righteousness, but it wasn't everlasting righteousness. 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:43.039 They could lose it, and they did. 00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:50.079 The Lord is bringing a righteousness that can never be lost. 00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:52.960 It's his gift. 00:27:52.960 --> 00:28:03.359 These verses don't spell out the Lord's righteous salvation with as much detail as the whole New Testament gives us. 00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:12.319 But there is a clue here in verse 4, my justice for a light to the nations. 00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:22.160 Israel was called to be God's light of righteousness to the nations, and they failed. 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:37.440 The Lord's true servant, King Jesus, came and he's described as the light of the world, as the one who was filled and fulfilled all righteousness. 00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:44.559 That's where this salvation comes from in the ultimate plan of God. 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:51.440 Man of sorrows, what a name for the Son of God who came. 00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:55.359 Ruined sinners to reclaim. 00:28:55.359 --> 00:28:57.039 Hallelujah. 00:28:57.039 --> 00:28:58.799 What a savior. 00:28:58.799 --> 00:29:02.400 Heed what you hear. 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:05.519 Listen to the Lord's alternatives. 00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:07.519 Listen to the Lord's comfort. 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:09.599 Listen to the Lord's salvation. 00:29:09.599 --> 00:29:15.839 And then finally, today, listen to the Lord's triumph. 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:18.640 Verse number seven. 00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:25.599 Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my instruction. 00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:36.240 So he's speaking now in his own day to a believing remnant who had the law in some sense filling their hearts. 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:47.839 So for those that have received and trusted in God's righteous gift of salvation through Jesus, his death, his suffering in our place, that's our foundation for hope. 00:29:47.839 --> 00:29:52.480 Those people have also received God's work in their hearts to start to change them. 00:29:52.480 --> 00:29:57.119 One step at a time and to have the law written in our hearts. 00:29:57.119 --> 00:30:13.039 He speaks to us and he says, Don't fear disgrace by men, and don't be shattered by their taunts, is what is what my Bible says. 00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:19.359 Your Bible might say their revilings or their insults. 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:26.000 It happened to the Lord Himself, the righteous servant of all. 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:32.319 You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself. 00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:36.079 If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. 00:30:36.079 --> 00:30:41.039 He saved others, but he can't save himself. 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:42.400 He's the king of Israel. 00:30:42.400 --> 00:30:44.000 Let him come down now from the cross. 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:44.960 We'll believe in him. 00:30:44.960 --> 00:30:46.079 He trusts in God. 00:30:46.079 --> 00:30:47.599 Let God rescue him now. 00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:50.160 For he said, I'm the Son of God. 00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:58.400 The Bible tells us even the criminals taunted the crucified Lord. 00:30:58.400 --> 00:31:09.039 But brothers and sisters, if they've insulted our Lord, they will insult us. 00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:13.599 Let the world despise and leave me. 00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:16.079 They have left my Savior too. 00:31:16.079 --> 00:31:25.039 Your neighbors may laugh when they see you going to church on Sunday morning with a Bible tucked under your arm. 00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:32.240 You may lose friends in the community when you don't affirm everything they think you should affirm. 00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:37.359 Or when you don't give in to the same gossip that they love to give into. 00:31:37.359 --> 00:31:40.240 You might even lose your job. 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:55.279 And you know, you know that your coworkers, rather than having sympathy for you, they'll be behind your back making fun of you because you you wouldn't tell a little white lie, and you're going to cost them your job. 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:59.599 Don't be afraid. 00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:01.680 Don't be broken. 00:32:01.680 --> 00:32:06.000 Here's what God says about his triumph in verse number eight. 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:13.279 Moths will devour them like a garment, and worms will eat them like wool. 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:18.319 But my righteousness will last forever. 00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:22.079 My salvation for all generations. 00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:23.839 The Lord will triumph. 00:32:23.839 --> 00:32:25.839 There's not even a question about that. 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:28.880 We're playing the long game as Christians. 00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:31.920 It's not even about our righteousness at the end of the day. 00:32:31.920 --> 00:32:36.079 We want to showcase what God has done in us, but it's not about our righteousness. 00:32:36.079 --> 00:32:38.880 It's the Lord bringing his final triumph. 00:32:38.880 --> 00:33:02.240 The people that are strolling down those red carpets right now, for many of them, in the final day, the closet door of eternity is going to swing open, and they're going to be looking like ragged, tattered clothes that you wouldn't even have the heart to give to Goodwill. 00:33:02.240 --> 00:33:22.000 The people that can pursue all the best doctors for all their health needs now, if they don't turn and repent and trust and listen, then they might extend their life a little bit in this age, but they're headed for the worm farm. 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:25.920 Not trying to be mean, that's just what the Bible says right here. 00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:40.880 If you struggle with fearing the opinion of others, and if they think that way, they might even say something, and I just can't bear that. 00:33:40.880 --> 00:33:47.200 Struggle with the fear of man, the the antidote is listening even more to God. 00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:51.119 He tells us taunts are coming. 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:55.039 But what's that compared to Eden? 00:33:55.039 --> 00:33:58.000 To an eternal new creation. 00:33:58.000 --> 00:34:06.000 We can look forward to the destruction of the wicked. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:10.000 But we have to be very careful how we do that. 00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:19.519 We don't want to look forward to that destruction with any self-righteousness or bitterness. 00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:27.360 But the destruction of the wicked means the triumph of the Lord's righteousness. 00:34:27.360 --> 00:34:33.119 And to see our king lifted up and exalted above all of his enemies, we we do want that. 00:34:33.119 --> 00:34:35.760 The lamb is all the glory of Emmanuel's Lamb. 00:34:35.760 --> 00:34:42.880 And this means, friends, that we don't have to pull the wicked down. 00:34:42.880 --> 00:34:44.960 The Lord's going to do it. 00:34:44.960 --> 00:34:49.039 Yeah, we want to speak the truth about what God says. 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:51.679 We want to witness and work and serve. 00:34:51.679 --> 00:34:54.480 And we just can stand back and see what God does. 00:34:54.480 --> 00:34:57.119 Isn't that a joyful thing? 00:34:57.119 --> 00:35:02.000 We want to pray that God would save many in this age. 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:08.159 And we can also pray, Lord, soon bring in that everlasting righteousness once for all. 00:35:08.159 --> 00:35:13.199 May those who taunt you be put away once for all that you might shine all the more. 00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:17.519