WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.040 Take your Bible and turn over to Isaiah chapter 54. 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:18.960 It's my desired end by the end of this morning that Isaiah chapter 54 will be one of your most treasured chapters in the Bible. 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:35.840 In 1792, a young village shoe repairman by the name of William Carey stood up before a small gathering of Baptist pastors in Nottingham, England. 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:48.799 He was not a man of pedigree, he was not a man of prominence, he was a pastor of a small church, but he was a man gripped by the promise of God. 00:00:48.799 --> 00:01:00.799 And his text as he spoke to that small gathering of twelve to thirty men was Isaiah 54, verses 2 and 3. 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:10.159 Enlarge the sight of your tent, for you will spread out to the right and to the left. 00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:15.040 And so he preached from this passage that we're going to be looking at this morning. 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:19.040 And there's a refrain that he said several times in that sermon. 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:22.480 Expect great things from God. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:26.640 Attempt great things for God. 00:01:26.640 --> 00:01:35.760 Well, Kerry's sermon, as passionate as it was, was not very well received by many in that room. 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:43.280 In fact, one older pastor told him to sit down and to quit speaking the way he had. 00:01:43.280 --> 00:02:36.560 This morning sparked the formation of the particular Baptist Society for the propagation of the gospel among the heathen. 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:38.800 That's a mouthful. 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:44.560 What it meant was it was the beginning of the modern missionary movement. 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:49.919 It began with a man who took Isaiah chapter 54 at face value. 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:58.479 As a man who believed that there would be fruit coming from the suffering servants, obedience to the plan of God. 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:02.719 And that God was going to fulfill the promises of worldwide grace. 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:06.800 And so this morning we come to Isaiah chapter 54. 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:16.560 We come to a passage that is not disconnected from what we just finished in the previous four weeks by looking at Isaiah chapter 53. 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:22.400 This is the necessary sequel to chapter 53. 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:30.000 This is the first word after the finish of the fourth servant song. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:43.439 We've stood in awe as we've watched and listened and read about this suffering substitute, this servant who was pierced for our transgressions and who was crushed because of our iniquities. 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:56.400 Isaiah chapter 53 ends with some statements of hope that this servant, obedient, would find prosperity even after death. 00:03:56.400 --> 00:04:00.479 And so Isaiah chapter 54 begins with rejoicing. 00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:02.319 Take a look at the first word. 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:03.919 Rejoice. 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:06.000 Why? 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:10.159 Because redemption has been accomplished. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:15.120 And so in Isaiah chapter 54, we have the echo of Isaiah 53. 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:17.680 And John Calvin put it this way. 00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:31.360 After having spoken of the death of Christ, the prophet passes now with good reason to the Lord's people that we may feel more deeply in ourselves what is the value and the efficacy of his death. 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:38.319 And so this morning we're going to walk through the whole of chapter 54, and we're going to see it in three different headings. 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:42.399 As simply as I could put it, in verses 1 to 3, we're going to see gladness. 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:47.600 In chapters 2 and 3, we're going to see growth, and they're overlapping, yes. 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:50.560 And then in verses 4 to 17, we're going to see glory. 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:53.279 So gladness, growth, and glory. 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:56.879 And in those three words, we're going to learn to sing. 00:04:56.879 --> 00:05:01.680 We're going to be challenged to stretch, and we're going to have confidence to stand. 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:03.920 It's a glorious chapter. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:08.639 Well, let's begin where Isaiah begins with the song. 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:13.839 And so here, first of all, we have gladness, where we learn to sing. 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:20.800 And this chapter opens with a command that is so unexpected, it startles us. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:26.319 Rejoice, childless one who did not give birth. 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:33.439 One of the last things that we heard was the sound of the silence of the land. 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:38.319 Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before our shears. 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:43.439 But now that silence is broken with song. 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:46.399 Suddenly we hear singing. 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:51.040 Rejoice, childless one, who did not give birth. 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:56.560 Burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labor. 00:05:56.560 --> 00:06:03.199 For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of the married one, says the Lord. 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:10.079 And Isaiah 54 begins not only with a startling command, but also with a paradox. 00:06:10.079 --> 00:06:14.879 A barren woman is told to sing. 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:18.800 Now we need to understand what barreness is. 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:27.040 And as a pastor, I've sat with ladies and also with families that have had to go through the difficulty of not being able to have children. 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:29.920 It's a painful experience. 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:36.079 But in this context, it's more than just a personal and family sorrow. 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:38.160 There's something more here. 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:43.360 Beyond that is a statement to the whole people of Israel. 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:49.279 And this is something that strikes against them in a covenantal worldview that they had. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:07:01.600 Because children were seen as divine blessing, as covenant continuity, as well as social security and laughter and joy and hope that we have in our children. 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:15.040 You see, for them particularly was to live under the shadow of shame, which was not just social shame, but some indication, perhaps, a divine judgment. 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:17.040 That's how they would look at it. 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:24.480 Because Israel's identity was wrapped up in a word given to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. 00:07:24.480 --> 00:07:26.639 I will make you a great nation. 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:34.720 And if you couldn't perpetuate that as a family, you felt isolated from the promises of your people. 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:47.519 And so here in Isaiah chapter 54, Zion, the people of Judah are described as this barren woman. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:49.759 Where are they? 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:51.920 They're in exile. 00:07:51.920 --> 00:07:54.399 They're in Babylon. 00:07:54.399 --> 00:08:05.360 They are a people who have been defeated, disgraced, and desolate because of their willful defiance against God. 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:12.639 They have no children, they have no labor pains, and they have no husband. 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:18.160 But they're called to rejoice. 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:20.319 Why? 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:23.120 Because the servant has come. 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:25.439 Isaiah 53. 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:35.200 The judgment, the judgment that the sinful people had brought upon themselves through their covenant apostasy has now been borne by another. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:09:07.600 A life that would be produced in fruitfulness. 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:21.679 You see, the Lord is offering for them a hope of a glorious future, a joy of a people who could be restored, not by their efforts, but by his grace. 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:34.879 This was a God who had already chosen in their history barren people, Sarah and Rebecca and Rachel and Hannah, to showcase his power to bring life out of nothing. 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:44.000 And now he's calling them to say, believe on the servant who's come, so that you might see life out of nothing. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:48.000 That's something to rejoice over. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:56.480 The fact that God would even speak so tenderly, so kindly, so welcomely, so hopefully to them, what a wonderful mercy that is. 00:09:56.480 --> 00:09:58.000 But there's more. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:12.240 Because this barren woman in exile, desolate and disgraced and forsaken, is not only called to be received, but is told she's going to have children. 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:19.360 Take a look back at verse 10 of Isaiah 53 for a second. 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:26.720 The Lord was pleased to crush him severely, the servant. 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:32.879 When you made him a guilt offering, he will see his seed. 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:41.120 Take a look at verse 12. 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:48.960 I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as a spoil. 00:10:48.960 --> 00:11:03.200 The servant of Isaiah chapter 53 is told that because of his obedience to suffering and death and fulfilling the plan of God, that from him was going to be a number of people. 00:11:03.200 --> 00:11:08.240 That a family would begin because of what he did. 00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:17.360 And the place where that family would be begin is among that barren woman who is desolate and disgraced. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:31.600 And Isaiah 54 is showing us that these people would be born, not out of their will, not out of their power, not out of their works, not out of their effort, but out of the servants. 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:58.480 And this is why in John chapter 1, John said that Jesus came to his own, in his own, received him not, but to as many as received him, to them he gave the authority to become the children of God who were born, not of natural descent or the will of the flesh, or the will of man, but of God. 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:04.080 That servant is bringing forth children. 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:13.440 And so the promises of the servant's reward in chapter 53 are now being told that they will be actualized in chapter 54. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:23.840 By grace, this once barren woman is now going to be the mother of a new people, those who trust in the servant. 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:29.600 I'd like you to turn over with me to Galatians chapter 4 for just a moment. 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:32.720 Galatians chapter 4. 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:51.440 Apostle Paul is setting up a statement to the churches at Galatia not to trust in the law for their righteousness, but to rely upon faith in Christ. 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:59.200 And he sets up this contrast between Sarah and Hagar. 00:12:59.200 --> 00:13:09.279 That Ishmael was born of the servant woman, and Isaac born of the woman of promise. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:15.039 And in verse 25, he begins. 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:23.679 Now Hagar represents Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:27.200 For she is in slavery with her children. 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:31.200 But the Jerusalem above is free. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.519 And she is our mother. 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:53.039 So what we have here is that the heavenly Jerusalem, the place where the Lord has inaugurated the new covenant, the place where he has brought his blood that satisfies the justice of God and covers the sins of all who believe. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:14:08.559 Where he is now sat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, that place of the fulfillment of the redemption of humanity, the new Jerusalem, the heavenly one, is now our mother. 00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:13.440 And that mother is giving birth to children. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:17.600 And look what Paul does in the next verse. 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:24.960 For it is written rejoice, childless woman, unable to give birth. 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:28.879 Burst into song and shout, you who are not in labor. 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:56.799 Because take a look at the next verse that he says in verse 28. 00:14:56.799 --> 00:15:09.120 Now, you too, Gentiles, you too, brothers and sisters in Christ, like Isaac, are children of promise. 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:25.840 Paul saw Isaiah 54 coming to fulfillment through the new covenant, through the unfolding of believers into the new creation of a new humanity, Jew and Gentile, reconciled and reborn through the gospel. 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:32.639 Paul writes these words. 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:57.120 And this is the reason why William Carey chose this passage to preach, to inquire, just to put out there for discussion the possibility, maybe among these twelve to thirty men, could we not have a conversation that perhaps God is going to do something with these words in our day. 00:15:57.120 --> 00:16:07.279 And why he gave that unforgettable exhortation, expect great things from God. 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:12.240 Attempt great things for God. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:33.919 This passage, let's go back to Isaiah, is why this barren woman should sing, why she should rejoice, because what is promised her is something far beyond her ability to even comprehend. 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:51.360 This woman under Babylon's rule left without a home or country, without a temple to worship in, shackled to the most powerful nation of the day. 00:16:51.360 --> 00:17:06.240 This woman is going to live and flourish and marry and bear an innumerable number of people. 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:14.880 We sing because that suffering servant triumphs. 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:17.440 We just sang about it, didn't we? 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:18.640 Our God reigns. 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:22.079 And we pulled in Isaiah 53 into that song, didn't we? 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:24.319 Our God reigns. 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:27.680 And so we sang and we're called to sing. 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:38.319 And our doxology is this blessed be the God and our father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:42.400 For he's chosen us before the foundation of the world. 00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:44.319 What are we singing about? 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:58.960 This glorious truth that God has made children, forgiven people, justified because of the servant's death, who are now returning and renewed and rejoicing people. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:01.839 The gospel does this. 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:14.799 Listen to the sounds of singing that the gospel brings as the Apostle Paul lays out in melodic tune the message of the gospel in his missionary efforts. 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:16.319 Romans 15. 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:28.480 Christ has become a servant to the circumcised on behalf of God's truth to confirm the promises to the fathers, and so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written. 00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:32.000 And this is Romans 15, verse 8 and 9. 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:36.720 Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles. 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:39.519 I will sing praise to your name. 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:44.319 And again it says, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with my people. 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:48.480 And again, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:50.799 Let all the peoples praise him. 00:18:50.799 --> 00:18:55.680 Isaiah 54 is a song. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:19:00.880 A song of happy people, a song of the redeemed. 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:02.880 It is the logic of grace. 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:06.559 This is God's grace to undeserving people. 00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:08.079 You are forgiven. 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:08.880 Sing. 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:10.160 Sing. 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:15.599 Gladness is the fruit of salvation, and joy is the sound of redemption. 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:18.559 I love what Calvin said. 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:24.160 The church is a place where the gospel is preached. 00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:29.680 The gospel is good news. 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:34.799 Good news makes people happy. 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:37.920 Happy people sing. 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:42.079 It's the logic of grace. 00:19:42.079 --> 00:20:08.880 If we've truly grasped that Christ has covered every one of our sins, past, present, and future, if our life is eternally secure within the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, if hell is no longer our forwarding address, then we sing. 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:16.799 We stand to inherit every blessing in the heavenlies, in Christ Jesus. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:23.839 So joy should erupt out of our hearts. 00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:26.079 We are the children of the desolate one. 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:28.079 We're the fruit of the servant's suffering. 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:31.440 We are the gathered sons and daughters of grace. 00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:38.880 And so let joy shape your week and let it reframe your hardships. 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:40.079 Right? 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:41.839 Let it reframe that. 00:20:41.839 --> 00:21:03.839 Like this barren woman, if God could speak words of life and flourishing to her, he can certainly speak words of life and flourishing to you. 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:04.720 He can. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:08.720 And there's many of us who could attest to the fact that he does. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:12.559 And if you're here this morning, you don't know Christ as your Savior. 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:22.720 And if you're watching this sometime down the road on YouTube, and you're pondering whether or not God can bring life out of the tragedy of your soul. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:27.519 He can cause you to sing. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:32.079 Now let's move on. 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:43.279 We see here, first of all, this wondrous, wondrous statement of gladness, where we're told and taught how to sing. 00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:47.759 But in verses two and three, we're also called to grow. 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:53.519 To grow, to stretch, to stretch. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:55.039 Look at verse 2. 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:59.039 Enlarge the sight of your tent. 00:21:59.039 --> 00:22:03.200 Let your tent curtains be stretched out. 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:04.799 Do not hold back. 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:17.599 Lengthen your ropes and drive your pegs deep, for you will spread to the right and to the left, and your descendants will dispossess nations and inhabit the desolate cities. 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:40.960 And because she's going to be the mother of a multitude, she needs to think about becoming the mother of a multitude. 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:44.880 And that means making accommodation for that multitude to come in. 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:48.400 That means enlarging her tent. 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:51.119 That means stretching out those curtains. 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:57.440 That means pulling and lengthening those stakes and ropes and driving them deep in an enlarged way. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:23:00.799 This is not cautious expansion. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:05.119 This is exuberant confidence. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:08.799 Do not hold back, God says to her. 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:17.680 Because she's about to face a population explosion in her family. 00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:24.480 The imagery draws from the wilderness when the people truly were dwelling in tents. 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:28.880 But now the dwelling place of God among the people is going to expand. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:32.640 This tent is not shrinking, it's stretching. 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:36.240 The family is not dying, it's multiplying. 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:40.480 The cities that were once desolate are now going to be repopulated. 00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:42.000 It's going to happen. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:46.480 This is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise. 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:56.319 When Abraham was pulled out into the sky to see the sky, and he was told without New York City light pollution to look up. 00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:59.119 And he said, Can you count the stars? 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:02.880 That's how many descendants you're going to have, Abraham. 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:07.279 This is the outworking of the servant's mission. 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:15.119 When we read in the second servant's song in Isaiah 49 and verse 6, listen to what the Lord says to the servant. 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:17.279 It is not enough. 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:22.880 It is not enough for you to be my servant, raising up the tribes of Israel. 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:26.559 I will give you to be a light for the nations. 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:35.680 And that prophetic anticipation reaches into the glorious places of Revelation 21. 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:41.440 The nations walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:50.480 The tent is expanded to include all of the children of the servant. 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:56.559 And you, brothers and sisters, are children of the promise. 00:24:56.559 --> 00:24:59.920 It's all of us. 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:04.400 This growth is the reward of the servant's obedience. 00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:06.559 Isaiah 53, 11. 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:14.640 By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many. 00:25:14.640 --> 00:25:16.319 Many. 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:19.759 And here are the many being gathered. 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:22.079 This is the missionary vision. 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:26.559 This is the tent being stretched because the servant had succeeded. 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:29.680 This is the expansion of God's people. 00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:36.079 And it's not just a hopeful wish, it's a guaranteed outcome of the servant's obedience. 00:25:36.079 --> 00:25:38.960 And I want to give you just a couple examples. 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:57.519 In the middle of deep persecution and trouble, John Calvin wrote the first edition of his Institutes to the King of France in the hope that it would modify that strong and desperate opposition against the people of God. 00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:02.240 Why did Calvin write those words in that time? 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:11.599 Because the Academy of Geneva was sending out missionaries into France. 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:25.440 And in the documents found in the registrar of the Company of Pastors, there were 88 missionaries sent to France between 1555 and 1562. 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:28.000 But there's more. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:37.279 Historian Robert Kingdon found evidence of 151 missionaries in 1856 alone being sent into France. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:49.200 And by 1562, it's estimated that there were 2,160 Reformed congregations in France. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:27:02.640 And Calvin wrote to Bullinger about what was happening in Normandy, and he said that there were gatherings of three to four thousand people who were gathering to hear the preached word. 00:27:02.640 --> 00:27:09.519 And there were so many of them, they had to do it outside because there was no building in that area that could hold them. 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:22.000 Spiritual fruit, despite the suffering, because many of those missionaries were killed when they went into France. 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:28.640 And that's why Calvin wrote his Institutes and appealed to the king. 00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:31.599 Don't kill these men. 00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:34.079 They're bringing truth to the country. 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:44.720 And the missionary movement from Geneva helped establish a vibrant reformed presence in France and laid the groundwork for the Huguenot tradition. 00:27:44.720 --> 00:27:47.519 And we have a Huguenot in our midst right now. 00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:48.799 Hani. 00:27:48.799 --> 00:27:50.960 We love you, Honey. 00:27:50.960 --> 00:27:54.079 All the way to our day still. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:57.359 Carrie. 00:27:57.359 --> 00:28:05.279 After preaching this sermon to 12 to 30 men and one old guy saying, sit down and shut up. 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:11.119 A few other guys got around him and said, Let's have some more conversations about this. 00:28:11.119 --> 00:28:21.440 And they started a small little band of that rather lone word or phrase for starting a missionary society. 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:27.200 And Kerry and his colleague in 1793, John Thomas, arrived in India. 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:36.880 Translating the Bible into over 30 languages, founding a college in 1818. 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:53.759 And from Kerry's model and the growth of the gospel in India came the London Missionary Society in 1795, and the Church Missionary Society in 1799, and the American Board for the Commission of Foreign Missions in 1810. 00:28:53.759 --> 00:29:06.240 And out of that one sermon preached in a small Baptist chapel in 1792 came the work of the gospel throughout Asia and Africa. 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:13.279 From one sermon on Isaiah 54. 00:29:13.279 --> 00:29:16.720 Expect great things for God. 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:20.720 Attempt great things for God. 00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:36.880 And so from Kerry's small society in Nottingham, North came an explosion of mission agencies all across Europe and America and Asia and Africa. 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:43.200 And today believers live in what was once considered a barren mission field. 00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:47.200 So what must we do? 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:50.079 What must we do today? 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:54.480 Was this just a promise for 1792? 00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:57.519 Or is this a promise for 2025 as well? 00:29:57.519 --> 00:30:02.799 Well, We must live with gospel expectancy. 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:03.920 That's what we must do. 00:30:03.920 --> 00:30:08.880 We must not be a bunker hunkering down. 00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:12.079 Oh, it's getting so much worse out here. 00:30:12.079 --> 00:30:14.720 We need to progress. 00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:18.720 I read this morning. 00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:24.799 And uh I'm I'm not quite altogether fully righteous in my anger here. 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:31.759 There's a there's a bit of dug anger mingled in here, but I hope you can appreciate it. 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:40.960 Where a guy was moaning and groaning from Texas, mind you, about the election of the New York City mayor. 00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:47.759 Now, I'm not going to speak about whatever good or ill he may bring to the city of New York. 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:48.960 That is not my position. 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:51.519 But this guy was a Christian. 00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:54.400 And he he once lived in New York City. 00:30:54.400 --> 00:30:59.519 And he said this morning, I'm so glad I left New York City. 00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:01.359 I got out of there just in time. 00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:04.559 Serious? 00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:07.279 C.T. 00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:13.119 Studd said, There are people who would love to dwell under the sound of chapel bells. 00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:19.599 But I want to start a mission, a yard from the gates of hell. 00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:22.880 We're New Hyde Park. 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:27.279 We are a stones throw from the gates of hell, if you want to use that as a metaphor. 00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:33.119 Why wouldn't we set a mission up? 00:31:33.119 --> 00:31:46.559 A mission based upon the work of the servant, a mission based upon the expansive promises that God is going to bring a multitude to Himself. 00:31:46.559 --> 00:31:52.400 And so we live in view of this gospel promise. 00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:55.680 Yes, it's going to be difficult. 00:31:55.680 --> 00:32:01.759 And yes, it might just be like those French missionaries who lost their lives for the sake of the gospel. 00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:07.839 But the work of that gospel fruit bears its witness even in our midst today. 00:32:07.839 --> 00:32:21.519 So let us make room in our hearts, in our lives, for others to come in, to share the gospel with our family and our friends and our neighbors. 00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:26.240 By us collectively continuing to pray for the nations. 00:32:26.240 --> 00:32:42.720 For us to be discipling leaders for the next generation, by giving into our Timothy fund and inviting people into internships and equipping them for gospel ministry and taking our best and sending them out. 00:32:42.720 --> 00:32:44.799 Let us continue. 00:32:44.799 --> 00:32:50.720 This passage calls for bold faith. 00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:54.160 Do not hold back. 00:32:54.160 --> 00:33:01.519 And it's not because we're strong, it's because the Savior is risen. 00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:02.720 That's why. 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:12.559 The servant has secured a harvest, and he means to bless even the childless ones with the fullness of that blessing. 00:33:12.559 --> 00:33:16.240 So let's not shrink back. 00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:18.880 Let us stretch our ropes. 00:33:18.880 --> 00:33:26.160 Get in the tent. 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:27.920 Just get in the tent. 00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:33.599 Why would you be outside the stretch of the mercy of God? 00:33:33.599 --> 00:33:41.440 Outside the wondrous promise of forgiveness and eternal hope and life everlasting. 00:33:41.440 --> 00:33:45.200 Really is hanging on to your sin better than that? 00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:47.279 Is it really? 00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:50.799 Does it offer you more fullness? 00:33:50.799 --> 00:33:54.960 Does it offer you anything after your last breath? 00:33:54.960 --> 00:34:02.480 Can it grant in your greed and your lasciviousness any profitable thing? 00:34:02.480 --> 00:34:09.119 This tent is a glorious tent, and it can reach into your life. 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:14.000 This brings us one last point. 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:18.639 We have been told to be glad. 00:34:18.639 --> 00:34:23.760 We have been exhorted to grow. 00:34:23.760 --> 00:34:28.559 We can sing and we can stretch. 00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:35.679 But now we're told about something of glory here. 00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:38.639 A confidence in which we can stand. 00:34:38.639 --> 00:34:40.000 Take a look at verse 4. 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:46.000 Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame. 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:59.519 Don't be humiliated, for you will not be disgraced, for you will forget the shame of your youth, and you will no longer remember the disgrace of your widowhood. 00:34:59.519 --> 00:35:02.239 What tender words these are. 00:35:02.239 --> 00:35:16.400 Deep reassurance that this community of exiled, disobedient people in Babylon are going to be secure. 00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:19.920 That they're going to be loved. 00:35:19.920 --> 00:35:22.719 That they're going to be protected. 00:35:22.719 --> 00:35:28.000 And they're going to be enveloped in such a way that they won't even remember the shame before. 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:32.400 Look at verse 5. 00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:35.199 Indeed, your husband is your maker. 00:35:35.199 --> 00:35:42.239 His name is the Lord of armies, and the Holy One of Israel is your redeemer. 00:35:42.239 --> 00:35:46.400 He is called the God of the whole earth. 00:35:46.400 --> 00:35:51.119 For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit. 00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:54.719 A wife of one's youth when she's rejected, says your God. 00:35:54.719 --> 00:36:00.320 I will take you back with abundant compassion. 00:36:00.320 --> 00:36:09.199 This is the reversal of that covenantal judgment that they faced by way of their exile. 00:36:09.199 --> 00:36:20.800 This is Judah once disgraced, once cast off as a forsaken wife, once storm-tossed and not comforted, as it says in a verse just below this. 00:36:20.800 --> 00:36:26.960 But now, because the servant has borne her iniquity, the Lord is reclaiming her. 00:36:26.960 --> 00:36:29.840 The Lord has called you. 00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:39.199 I hid my face from you for a moment, but I'll have compassion on you with everlasting love. 00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:46.000 And so he now speaks to these people that didn't want to hear him. 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:52.719 Words of restoration and beauty and permanence. 00:36:52.719 --> 00:36:54.800 Take a look at verse 10. 00:36:54.800 --> 00:37:08.079 Though the mountains move and the hills shake, my love will not be removed from you, and my covenant of peace will not be shaken, says your compassionate Lord. 00:37:08.079 --> 00:37:14.639 He envelops all of these words in beautiful terms. 00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:26.320 He's not just a guy who's on a Coast Guard boat that throws you a rope. 00:37:26.320 --> 00:37:28.480 He's a husband. 00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:34.000 He's not merely a protector, he's a redeemer. 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:40.639 He's not merely the God of Israel, he is their compassionate Lord. 00:37:40.639 --> 00:37:49.920 And then Isaiah shifts into a stunning image of glory and restoration in verses 11 and 12. 00:37:49.920 --> 00:37:56.559 Poor Jerusalem, storm-tossed and not comforted. 00:37:56.559 --> 00:38:04.079 I will set your stones in black mortar and lay your foundations in lapis lazuli. 00:38:04.079 --> 00:38:13.599 I will make your fortifications out of rubies and your gates out of sparkling stones and all your walls out of precious stones. 00:38:13.599 --> 00:38:24.079 And then all your children will be taught by the Lord, then their prosperity will be great, and you will be established on a foundation of righteousness. 00:38:24.079 --> 00:38:27.599 You'll be far from oppression, you'll certainly not be afraid. 00:38:27.599 --> 00:38:30.079 You will not be far from terror. 00:38:30.079 --> 00:38:31.760 On it goes. 00:38:31.760 --> 00:38:57.119 Into a glorious future, in which all of the most precious of items on earth are simply the foundations upon which they'll walk. 00:38:57.119 --> 00:39:09.519 These people, cut off from the land of the living, disgraced, are now adorned and walking in a city of jewels. 00:39:09.519 --> 00:39:14.239 And their foundation is one of righteousness. 00:39:14.239 --> 00:39:23.519 This is not just a gloriously prophetic vision, it is a statement of reality. 00:39:23.519 --> 00:39:29.119 This is about a bride adorned by her husband. 00:39:29.119 --> 00:39:39.199 And it's no wonder why the Apostle John in Revelation chapter 21 picks this up. 00:39:39.199 --> 00:39:43.519 And he says, Come with me. 00:39:43.519 --> 00:39:47.599 I'll show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. 00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:56.320 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven. 00:39:56.320 --> 00:39:59.519 Remember the heavenly Jerusalem, Galatians 4? 00:39:59.519 --> 00:40:00.000 Our mother? 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:01.360 You remember that? 00:40:01.360 --> 00:40:03.840 The fulfillment of the new covenant? 00:40:03.840 --> 00:40:09.840 Coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed with God's glory. 00:40:09.840 --> 00:40:15.199 Her radiance, like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 00:40:15.199 --> 00:40:22.000 A city had massive high walls and twelve gates, twelve angels at the gates. 00:40:22.000 --> 00:40:27.920 Now listen, the names of the twelve tribes of Israel's sons were inscribed on those gates. 00:40:27.920 --> 00:40:31.920 There is out of that barren woman. 00:40:31.920 --> 00:40:39.920 People out of their midst that are bejeweled just like Isaiah promised. 00:40:39.920 --> 00:40:42.239 But there's more. 00:40:42.239 --> 00:40:49.440 Yes, there were three gates on the east, and three on the north, and three on the south, and three on the west. 00:40:49.440 --> 00:41:00.079 And the city wall had twelve foundations, and the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb were on the foundations. 00:41:00.079 --> 00:41:06.719 Because the children of the childless one include Jew and Gentile. 00:41:06.719 --> 00:41:22.239 That glorious heavenly Jerusalem, bejeweled when it was once forgotten, is now gloriously filled and populated with Jew and Gentile believers in the Lamb who was slain. 00:41:22.239 --> 00:41:28.800 Isaiah saw this centuries before. 00:41:28.800 --> 00:41:42.880 He saw the fruit of the servant's work, a people, Jew and Gentile together, beautified by grace and secured by Christ bringing them into the promises of the new covenant. 00:41:42.880 --> 00:41:46.320 Now let's take a look at verse 13. 00:41:46.320 --> 00:41:54.000 Then all your children will be taught by the Lord. 00:41:54.000 --> 00:41:58.159 Their prosperity will be great. 00:41:58.159 --> 00:42:02.960 Who are these people inhabiting this bejeweled city? 00:42:02.960 --> 00:42:05.679 The ones who are taught by the Lord. 00:42:05.679 --> 00:42:10.320 John chapter 6. 00:42:10.320 --> 00:42:13.440 Strange place, right? 00:42:13.440 --> 00:42:16.480 Let's go over there for just a second. 00:42:16.480 --> 00:42:17.920 John chapter 6. 00:42:17.920 --> 00:42:35.199 People are watching Jesus perform miracles, feed people, and they're thinking, we've got our king, we've got the next ruler, we're going to take down these dirty, rotten Gentiles. 00:42:35.199 --> 00:42:37.760 We are going to be unshackled from Rome. 00:42:37.760 --> 00:42:39.119 We are going to conquer. 00:42:39.119 --> 00:42:42.159 We are going to have glory, glory, glory. 00:42:42.159 --> 00:42:45.199 And Jesus walks away from them. 00:42:45.199 --> 00:42:49.599 Because he's building a different kind of people. 00:42:49.599 --> 00:43:04.559 Not people who are filled with indignation and selfish ambition, but a people humbled and a people broader than the people of that day would even understand. 00:43:04.559 --> 00:43:19.280 And as he's speaking to them in John chapter 6, and he says in verse 43, stop grumbling among yourselves. 00:43:19.280 --> 00:43:26.480 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. 00:43:26.480 --> 00:43:32.400 It is written in the prophets, and they will all be taught by God. 00:43:32.400 --> 00:43:36.320 Isaiah 54, verse 13. 00:43:36.320 --> 00:43:38.880 Now, who are these people? 00:43:38.880 --> 00:43:52.079 Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father, everyone who understood Isaiah 54 comes to me. 00:43:52.079 --> 00:43:57.840 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God. 00:43:57.840 --> 00:43:59.519 He has seen the Father. 00:43:59.519 --> 00:44:06.079 Truly I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. 00:44:06.079 --> 00:44:10.159 I am the bread of life. 00:44:10.159 --> 00:44:13.840 Here he's speaking. 00:44:13.840 --> 00:44:40.320