WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:01.199 Good morning, beloved. 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:04.480 I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:08.400 And I see that you survived Black Friday, so that's a good thing. 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:11.679 Let's take our Bibles and go over to the book of Isaiah. 00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:16.719 We're going to continue our Thanksgiving theme even as we move through the book of Isaiah. 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:22.079 We'll be in chapter 56, the last part of 56, and all of 57. 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:27.199 And if you need a Bible, there's one in front of you in the pew. 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:32.960 And you can find our text on page 653, 653. 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:43.600 In 1830, a man by the name of George Wilson was convicted of robbing the U.S. 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:45.359 mail in Pennsylvania. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:47.840 And it wasn't just a petty theft. 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:54.719 It wasn't something like the porch pirates that uh take our boxes off of our uh off of our porches. 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:58.960 It was a violent crime that endangered uh the mail carriers. 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:02.399 And in 1830, to rob the U.S. 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:05.680 mail was seen as an attack against the U.S. 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:07.280 government itself. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:16.239 And so the trial uh came, the jury brought in the verdict, and justice was served. 00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:18.640 Wilson was pronounced guilty. 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:25.920 And the punishment for that crime was to be sentenced to death by hanging. 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:30.159 But something remarkable happened. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:40.879 Some friends of George Wilson petitioned President Andrew Jackson for a pardon and pleaded for mercy. 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:48.640 And against all expectation, President Andrew Jackson granted a pardon to George Wilson. 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:55.920 Imagine in a moment, on a piece of paper was the freedom of this man. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:03.200 But instead of receiving the pardon, George Wilson refused it. 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:12.719 And to his friends' astonishment and shock, uh, they tried to find a way for this pardon to actually be enforced. 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:14.639 And so they brought it to court. 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:21.199 And it went from one court to another until it went all the way up to the Supreme Court. 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:35.680 And the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, John Marshall, said this: a pardon is a deed, to the validity of which delivery is essential. 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:39.039 And delivery is not complete without acceptance. 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:42.879 It may then be rejected by a person to whom it is tendered. 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:49.759 And if it be rejected, we have discovered no power in this court to force it upon him. 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:52.159 Think about that. 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:58.080 Here is a man who was sentenced to death, was offered freedom, and he rejected it. 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.680 Grace was extended to him, but he refused it. 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:11.680 And so George Wilson remained under the sentence of justice that the jury handed down, and he was hung for his crime. 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:22.639 The story of George Wilson reminds us that a pardon offered is not a pardon unless it's received. 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:28.159 Well, this week we've celebrated Thanksgiving together. 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:30.080 We've paused to count our blessings. 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:43.360 We've stopped to remember God's goodness and to remember all of the things that God has provided for us with family and friends and church and salvation and food and plenty and all the many things. 00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:45.919 God's mercies to us, seen and unseen. 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:52.560 And at first glance, when we look at the passage that we're going to look at this morning, thanksgiving doesn't come immediately to mind. 00:03:52.879 --> 00:04:02.240 The passage that we're about to look at is filled with corruption, it's filled with idolatry, and it's filled with the sobering reality of God's wrath. 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:13.520 And yet, woven in the midst of this is a golden thread that God extends to people who deserve wrath, mercy. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:15.919 He doesn't give them what they deserve. 00:04:16.240 --> 00:04:21.439 In fact, he gives them what they don't deserve, and that is grace. 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:24.800 And so this morning we're going to discover that. 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:40.000 And we'll discover that God's mercy and grace are seen in its highest fulfillment in Jesus Christ, as the one who bore the judgment on our behalf, to grant us not only a pardon, but a welcome into God's eternal presence without condemnation. 00:04:40.560 --> 00:04:46.560 And like George Wilson, we will face a question: Here is this pardon. 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:49.839 Will it be ours or not? 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:54.560 And so as we walk through this passage, I want to see it in three movements. 00:04:54.879 --> 00:05:03.920 I want to see, first of all, that leaders deserve judgment, but God offers mercy, that idols deserve collapse, but God gives refuge. 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:08.480 And that sinners deserve wrath, but God gives peace. 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:11.120 And each one of these will speak to us. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:17.519 It'll honestly expose sin, but it will also lift our hearts to gratitude to God for his mercy and for his grace. 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:25.360 And so let's take a look, first of all, at this first movement: leaders deserving judgment, but God giving mercy. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:34.079 And in chapter 56 and verse 9, we discover the start of this with this horrible indictment, this sobering picture. 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:39.920 It says here in verse 9, all you animals of the field and forests, come and eat. 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:48.480 Well, speaking to the nations in this sort of form, talking to them to come and devour Israel because our leaders have failed. 00:05:48.639 --> 00:05:51.839 And the description follows of what those leaders are like. 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:56.800 All of them. 00:05:57.279 --> 00:05:58.720 They know nothing. 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:01.759 All of them are mute dogs. 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:03.839 They cannot bark. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:07.120 They dream, they lie down, and love to sleep. 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:09.839 These dogs have fierce appetites. 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:11.680 They never have enough. 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:14.399 They're shepherds who have no discernment. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:19.279 All of them turn to their own way, every last one of them for his own profit. 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:22.160 Come, let me get wine. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:23.360 Let's guzzle beer. 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:26.720 Tomorrow will be like today, only far better. 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:33.199 What a devastating indictment this is to the leaders of the nation of Israel. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:39.040 These ones who had the responsibility to be discerning are here described as blind. 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:44.959 Those who have been sh should have been feeding the flock are instead indulging themselves. 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:53.279 And instead of protecting the people, they are actually consuming the resources of the people for their own appetites. 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:57.680 And instead of sounding the alarm, they're silent. 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:03.439 And instead of leading with wisdom, they are chasing pleasure and profit. 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:12.800 Israel is under that kind of leadership and deserves judgment. 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:15.839 They have abandoned their calling. 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:20.639 And they are causing the people to suffer for it. 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:27.120 This lays out for us this maxim that leadership matters a lot. 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:30.160 That when shepherds fail, sheep scatter. 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:34.399 When watchmen sleep, danger goes forward unchecked. 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:38.079 And when leadership without holiness leads to ruin. 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:55.600 And the failure of leadership is talked about all over in Scripture. 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:58.240 Ezekiel chapter 34, for instance. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:02.480 Woe to the shepherds of Israel who've been feeding themselves. 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:05.279 Shouldn't the shepherds feed the flock? 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:11.680 Jeremiah 23, woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture. 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:25.199 And the failure of leadership is not only found in the Old Testament, it's found in the New Testament, where Jesus in John chapter 10 contrasts himself with the hired, the hired ones who abandon the sheep when danger comes. 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:32.320 And in Matthew 23, condemning the blind guides who are leading Israel astray. 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:40.240 And so reverberating all through Scripture is this idea that the leaders deserve judgment because of their sin. 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:52.720 And the failed shepherds of Israel are pointing us, and certainly to them, to the need of a perfect shepherd, the one who would alone preserve the people. 00:08:53.039 --> 00:09:01.039 And that's why we get these prophetic statements in Ezekiel and other places that talk about a leader, a shepherd who's going to come. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:08.080 Ezekiel 34, God says this, I will save my flock. 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:21.200 And I will judge between one sheep and another, and I will establish over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will shepherd them. 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:25.919 He will tend them himself and will be their shepherd. 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:39.919 Bethlehem Ephraim. 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:46.720 For me. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:50.559 His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times. 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:53.519 That's verse two, but verse four says this. 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:13.600 Where Israel's leaders failed. 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:17.840 The scriptures tell us that God was going to send forth one shepherd. 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:25.279 And so Jesus himself spoke and said that he is the good shepherd who gives his life for the sheep. 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:28.320 He's not blind like these men were. 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:49.120 But notice the mercy that's found here. 00:11:49.279 --> 00:12:08.399 In the midst of this indictment of these false leaders, these failed leaders, God steps in and says, even though they are falling under this utter, utterly horrible leadership, God will preserve them and bring them to peace. 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:10.639 This is mercy. 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:13.440 Mercy in the midst of corruption. 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:16.080 And God is preserving his faithful ones. 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:22.879 And though the righteous ones might be overlooked by the world, God doesn't overlook them, he takes care of them. 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:27.679 I sent this verse over to Kevin Cooney just a few days ago. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:36.240 In the middle of the corruption that he's dealing with, he and Matt, as they're trying to find a way forward, they needed some encouragement and hope. 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:44.240 And this passage tells that even though wicked people may not count them at all of any significance, God does. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:46.080 God cares for them. 00:12:57.519 --> 00:12:59.440 And I will not abandon them. 00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:08.399 The righteous might be swept away from in the eyes of men, but they're not ever separated from the eyes of God. 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.200 In fact, he's going to sweep them into peace. 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:18.159 God will not expose his own to the wrath that he's going to give these failed leaders. 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:24.720 He's going to give them peace, he's going to give them rest, and he already has given them his presence. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:34.559 The night before Christ was crucified, he spoke to his disciples, and he told them some words very similar to this. 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:40.080 He said, I've told you these things before, so that you might have peace. 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:43.200 You will have suffering in this world. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:48.559 But be courageous, for I have conquered the world. 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:57.679 And in John chapter 17, he prays for his people to be preserved and protected and full of peace. 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:02.639 This passage reminds us that leadership matters deeply. 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:06.559 That when leaders fail, consequences ripple outward. 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:10.080 But it also reminds us in God's mercy. 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:14.720 Reminds us that God's mercy is greater than human failure. 00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:17.679 Even when shepherds sleep, God doesn't. 00:14:17.840 --> 00:14:20.559 Even when watchmen are blind, God sees. 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:24.960 Even when they run away, God preserves. 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:27.759 So we can be thankful people. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:37.840 Even in the midst of this declaration of judgment, that God has sent that one shepherd who would rule his people and he would be their peace. 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:50.399 That we have over us a faithful Lord who never fails, who's always watching, always caring, always giving, always preserving, and who will bring us into peace. 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:57.679 And we can be thankful that our Lord will not allow us to receive the wrath that lay upon those who rightly deserve it. 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:02.799 And so as you give thanks this week, let's remember this. 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:13.279 Now this brings us to our second point, verses three to thirteen. 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:22.159 And in this second point, the Lord speaks about the idols that deserve collapsing, but offers himself as a refuge. 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:29.679 Verses 3 through 13 shift the lens from these corrupt leaders to the people themselves. 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:34.000 And the indictment is sobering. 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:39.759 Because the problem isn't just failed leadership, the problem is the failed heart of all the people. 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:44.320 Listen to the prophet's words in verses three to five. 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:53.759 But come here, you sons of a sorceress, offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute. 00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:55.840 Who are you mocking? 00:15:56.639 --> 00:16:00.559 Who are you opening your mouth and sticking your tongue out at? 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:14.720 Isn't it you, you rebellious children, you offspring of liars who burn with lust among the oaks, under every green tree, who slaughter children in the wadies under the clefts of the rocks? 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:23.120 Isaiah doesn't soften his language, and I haven't even given the most the most salacious of the words that are in this passage. 00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:29.279 He calls idolatry for what it is, spiritual adultery. 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:36.879 And the people here have abandoned their covenant faithfulness to Yahweh and have lusted after the false gods. 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:47.360 They've bowed under the trees, they've sacrificed in hidden places, and they've even offered their own children and sacrifice to these idols. 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:50.879 Their sin is shocking. 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:58.960 And God's exposure of their sin is uses language that is equally shocking. 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:02.480 It's a horror. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:11.200 We live in a horror our day where convenience slaughters millions of children. 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:16.160 Jeremiah 7, verse 31. 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:22.640 They've built the high places of Tophith to burn their sons and daughters in the fire. 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:31.039 We don't burn them with fire, we burn them with chemicals or cut them with sharp knives. 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:33.119 But kill them we do. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:38.640 And here comes the verdict. 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:41.440 Verse 13. 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:51.119 The wind will carry them all off. 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:54.480 A breath will take them away. 00:17:56.079 --> 00:17:57.599 There's no hope. 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:15.839 Whatever you give them, you give away just to empty yourselves and to find nothing in return. 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:23.599 And Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians that idolatry is not just an ancient action, it's a present history. 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:29.039 Anything that we trust more than God is an idol. 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:34.079 Paul claims it covetousness, which is idolatry. 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:45.839 Think of it this way: imagine yourself looking at a wall, look secure, and you go to lean against it, and as soon as you put any weight on it, it collapses. 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:47.680 That's idolatry. 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:49.279 That's covetousness. 00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:56.000 But here, God is promising to be a fortress that is immovable. 00:18:56.079 --> 00:19:01.519 And the entrance into that fortress is security from all things seen and unseen. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:10.559 Take a look at verse 13 again, because in the same breath he speaks of the vanity of idolatry, he speaks about the refuge of himself. 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:27.039 When you cry out, let your collection of idols rescue you, the wind will carry them all off, a breath will take them away, but whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain. 00:19:27.680 --> 00:19:30.880 You can't get to stronger contrast than that. 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:46.079 The idols are blown away like the dust in the wind, but God Himself is a refuge, a stronghold, and he places you in the most holy of places where his presence is seen and felt. 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:51.200 These false idols indeed collapse. 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:53.759 But God never does. 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:59.680 And this is why the psalmist could say the Lord is my refuge, my fortune. 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:02.000 My stronghold. 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:08.319 So the significance of this passage is clear. 00:20:08.799 --> 00:20:16.160 Idolatry is not just an ancient problem, it's a people problem of all ages. 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:18.000 It's a human issue. 00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:23.039 And we may not bow down to physical idols, though some in our world still do. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:39.759 But here we can bow down to our careers, we can bow down to our wealth, we can bow down to our reputation, we can bow down to our relationships, thinking that somehow in them we're going to find meaning and security and identity. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:45.359 But when the wind blows, they will fly away. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:51.759 And we'll find ourselves more empty than we were before we started to worship them. 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:55.119 But God remains. 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:58.720 And he offers himself as a refuge. 00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:03.680 And so the application here can go two different ways. 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:07.599 And I think one is not as we might expect it. 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:13.119 We can be thankful that God exposes idols for what they are. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:15.200 I mean, think about that. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:21.759 Would you rather have a friend who just pampers and pleases your every thought and word and says, oh, that's just wonderful. 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:25.759 Oh, you, and doesn't say anything true to you at all? 00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:31.680 Or would you rather have a friend who says, hey, buddy, that's going to ruin you? 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:35.920 Well, our Lord is taking up that role here. 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:40.960 You're not going to find any help or hope in those things whatsoever. 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:47.200 And so we can be thankful that the Lord is exposing our idolatry because that's mercy. 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:56.400 He's doing it to show us the things that cannot deliver and cannot save and cannot fulfill and cannot give us hope. 00:21:57.359 --> 00:22:02.240 He tears them down so that we might find the place where true hope is found. 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:05.359 And that's the second thing to be thankful for. 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:08.720 And God offers himself as a refuge. 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:17.680 And he promises us to give us his holy mountain, to give us his inheritance, to give us his presence. 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:30.480 So this passage where leaders deserve judgment, God gives mercy, where idols deserve collapse, and God presents himself as a refuge. 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:37.920 We're going to move to the third movement where sinners deserve wrath, but God gives peace. 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:40.400 In verses 14 to 21. 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:53.440 And after exposing these corrupt leaders, and after exposing these collapsing idols, Isaiah now points to the deepest reality of all: the condition of the human heart. 00:22:55.039 --> 00:23:00.720 The problem is not just failed leadership, and the problem is just not false worship. 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:03.039 The problem is sin itself. 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:07.039 Take a look at verse 17. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:12.559 Because of his sinful greed, I was angry. 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:14.400 So I struck him. 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:21.119 I was angry and hid, but he went on turning back to the desires of his heart. 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:27.519 In verse 21, there is no peace, says my God, to the wicked. 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:33.680 This is the human condition before a holy God. 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:40.160 Restless, guilty, and under judgment. 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:56.400 And despite being restless and despite being guilty and despite being under judgment, we run back to the thing that ruins us: Sin. 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:10.480 But in the midst of this indictment against leaders and idols and people are some of the most remarkable words you could ever, ever imagine. 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:14.720 Let's look at verse 14 together. 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:26.000 He said, Build it up, build it up, prepare the way, remove every obstacle from my people's ways. 00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:33.599 For the high and the exalted one who lives forever, whose name is holy, says this. 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:48.559 I live in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and the lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the oppressed. 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:50.720 This is breathtaking. 00:24:51.839 --> 00:25:12.480 Just giving us an imagine of trying to cast our minds with the with the best telescope ever to all of the places, not only of our galaxy, but of all galaxies, to the very edges of the universe, if there is such a thing, into the realm of the heavenlies, and to find God, the maker of all, there, high and exalted. 00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:19.279 And yet paying attention to the brokenhearted. 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:27.839 To stoop down to the humble and the contrite ones. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:33.920 We don't have words for this, do we? 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:39.279 It's so beyond our comprehension. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:42.400 We're like those who've been hit with a shock. 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:45.759 We we don't even know how to absorb the truth of it. 00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:50.240 But there it is. 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:57.119 Psalm thirty-four, the Lord is near the brokenhearted. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:25:59.839 Psalm fifty-one. 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:06.640 A broken and contrite heart the Lord will not despise. 00:26:10.960 --> 00:26:13.599 How faithful is God to these words? 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:20.319 In less than a month, we'll cry out the words Emmanuel. 00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:22.079 Emmanuel. 00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:38.880 And it continues. 00:26:39.039 --> 00:26:40.319 It doesn't stop there. 00:26:40.559 --> 00:26:42.640 Those are just, that's just the beginning. 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:45.680 Verse, verse 18 and 19. 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:50.640 Now I'm skipping over verse 17. 00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:53.759 Maybe we should put it there just to give us a better backdrop. 00:26:54.400 --> 00:26:57.359 Because of his sinful greed, I was angry, so I struck him. 00:26:57.440 --> 00:27:01.920 I was angry and hid, but he went on turning back to the desires of his heart. 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:06.559 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him. 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:15.519 I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating words of praise. 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:24.400 The Lord says, peace, peace to the one who is far or near, and I will heal him. 00:27:27.440 --> 00:27:51.839 In the midst of these indictments, against leaders and idols and people, against those who are so greedy for sin that despite the exposure of it, they keep running back to it, or so full of indifference to their duties that they indulge themselves with wine and get drunk and intoxicated upon their own pleasures. 00:27:53.119 --> 00:27:58.079 To those who are sacrificing their children, to dead idols. 00:27:58.799 --> 00:28:05.119 The Lord says, I have seen them, but I'm going to heal them. 00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:11.200 I have seen them, but I've determined to heal. 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:12.960 I've determined to lead. 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:24.400 What do we deserve? 00:28:25.359 --> 00:28:32.799 For wrath to be poured out against us, to be brought under the realm of destruction. 00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:36.960 To be offered nothing but the silence of a holy God. 00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:43.680 And have our lives full of constant and enduring turmoil. 00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:46.400 But instead of wrath, he pours out healing. 00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:50.160 Instead of destruction, he talks with words of restoration. 00:28:50.480 --> 00:28:54.079 Instead of silence, he said he's going to create praise. 00:28:55.759 --> 00:28:59.359 And instead of turmoil, he said, peace, peace. 00:29:01.920 --> 00:29:04.640 Now take a note of verse 19. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:07.279 But just lock it in, okay? 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:08.799 Just lock it in. 00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:10.960 The Lord. 00:29:11.119 --> 00:29:14.480 Now notice Yahweh, L-O-R-D, right? 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:15.680 All caps there. 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:22.559 That's a signal to us who speak English that underlying that is a Hebrew word Yahweh. 00:29:22.880 --> 00:29:23.200 Okay. 00:29:24.160 --> 00:29:33.359 The Lord says, or the Lord proclaims, peace, peace to the one who is far or near, and I will heal him. 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:37.200 This is a vision of peace. 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:39.119 Where do we find that peace? 00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:40.720 That's the question. 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:50.799 We deserve everything that this passage has talked about, but we don't deserve all the other things that the passage talks about. 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:55.119 And the question must drive in our heart: where do I find that? 00:29:55.680 --> 00:29:57.359 Where can I find that peace? 00:29:57.519 --> 00:29:59.119 Where can I find that refuge? 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:00.880 Where can I find that embrace? 00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:03.200 Where can I find that healing? 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:06.960 Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2. 00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:11.440 Ephesians chapter 2. 00:30:22.079 --> 00:30:24.799 This is a great chapter, Ephesians 2. 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:33.119 Brings us into the truth that we're saved only by the grace of God, which comes to us through Christ alone, by faith alone. 00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:37.599 Well, we won't read it all, but we'll start at the beginning of it. 00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:50.160 And you who were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the rulers of the powers of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 00:30:50.480 --> 00:31:03.519 And we too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath, as the others were also. 00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:08.559 Boy, that doesn't sound like Isaiah 56 and 57 a little bit, doesn't it? 00:31:09.119 --> 00:31:11.839 Well, you'll find out just how much in just a moment. 00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:27.279 Go back to their sinful desires. 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:41.359 But God, who is rich in mercy, verse 4, because of his great love that he has for us, made us alive with Christ, even though we were dead in trespasses. 00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:44.720 You have been saved by grace. 00:31:47.599 --> 00:31:58.319 And it goes on to talk about how we are brought into that life, not because of any works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy and grace found in Christ. 00:31:58.480 --> 00:32:03.440 And even the faith that we have to cling to Christ is not our own, that too is a gift from God. 00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:11.039 Now, moving forward, because I want to bring Isaiah 56 and 57 into this even more deeply. 00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:18.240 In verses 11 and 12, people are divided into two categories, Jew and Gentile. 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:29.359 And in verse 11 and 12, Paul dives into a vivid and still dreadful description of the status of Gentiles before coming to Christ. 00:32:31.200 --> 00:32:43.200 So remember, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcised, by those who are called the circumcised, by which is done the flesh by human hands. 00:32:43.599 --> 00:32:56.079 At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope, and without God in this world. 00:32:57.519 --> 00:32:58.960 That's dreadful. 00:33:02.160 --> 00:33:07.519 No God, no hope, no promise, no belonging. 00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:13.759 But now, verse 13. 00:33:14.640 --> 00:33:24.319 But now in Christ Jesus, you who are far away, you remember Isaiah 57? 00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:27.599 You're going to hear it in just a second. 00:33:27.759 --> 00:33:34.240 You who are far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for he is our peace. 00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:40.000 Who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. 00:33:40.240 --> 00:33:54.319 In his flesh he made of no effect the law, consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that he might create in himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. 00:33:54.799 --> 00:34:04.960 He did this so that he might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross, by which he has put the host to he put the hostility to death. 00:34:09.280 --> 00:34:11.599 And that brings us to verse 17. 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:15.920 Now catch this. 00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:28.480 The whole time Paul's been working through this argument, Ephesians chapter 2, he has been writing the awful plight of sinful humanity with Isaiah 56 and 57 in his mind. 00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:42.880 Those are echoes of those chapters that talk about the plight of the failed leaders of the collapsing idolatry and of the never satisfied human heart that keeps running back to its sin. 00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:49.280 But his heart is filled with Isaiah 57. 00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:55.519 Because people, all people, Jew and Gentile, deserve wrath. 00:34:55.760 --> 00:34:57.760 This is what we deserve. 00:34:58.880 --> 00:35:05.519 But Isaiah 57 now comes to the front when he considers the effect of the gospel of Christ on humanity. 00:35:05.679 --> 00:35:08.400 And we see that because look at verse 17. 00:35:09.519 --> 00:35:16.800 In verse 17, he quotes Isaiah 57, verse 19. 00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:27.760 He came and proclaimed the good news of peace to you who are far away, and peace to those who were near. 00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:32.159 That is Isaiah 57, 19. 00:35:33.039 --> 00:35:34.639 Now I want to say two things about it. 00:35:34.800 --> 00:35:37.360 One we'll only touch on, but boy, is it meaningful. 00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:48.320 In Isaiah 57, verse 19, Yahweh will proclaim peace, peace to the one who is far and near, and I will heal him. 00:35:48.559 --> 00:35:56.079 Here, Jesus proclaims peace to the one who is far and the one who is near. 00:35:58.320 --> 00:36:08.239 But also, note this peace to the one who's far and peace to the one who is near. 00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:14.079 To the people of Israel who are near to God by way of the covenants of promise. 00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:26.960 To the people of God who were of the fleshly descent of Abraham, to the ones who had been given the promises, these he offers peace. 00:36:27.840 --> 00:36:40.880 But also to those who are without God and without hope in the world, who are separated from the covenants of promise, who are called the uncircumcised by those who are circumcised by human hands, to those who are far off. 00:36:43.920 --> 00:36:44.880 Peace. 00:36:48.000 --> 00:36:54.000 More than not getting what you deserve, you get what you absolutely don't deserve. 00:36:55.280 --> 00:37:11.039 The embrace of a holy God who offers with you eternal peace with him and punctuates your troubled life, not only peace with him, but peace from him. 00:37:12.400 --> 00:37:15.599 A double gift of peace. 00:37:16.480 --> 00:37:22.559 And so here we see that the promises of God are that he doesn't give up on his people. 00:37:35.760 --> 00:37:46.719 But to those that he's never spoken to, with words of promise, he also says, Come, I want to give you peace as well. 00:37:48.960 --> 00:37:57.760 And so to the believing Jew, they find in Jesus Christ all the fulfillment of God's mercies and grace. 00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:02.239 The promises of God are yes and amen in Christ. 00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:10.639 But to those who had never received the promises, now, now you are partakers. 00:38:10.880 --> 00:38:13.199 You are welcomed in. 00:38:13.360 --> 00:38:17.440 You are fellow members of all of these things. 00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:26.320 All of God's promises are given to you as if you were actually born of the family line of Abraham. 00:38:30.400 --> 00:38:44.000 From the very beginning, near the very first pages of the Bible, God promised to Abraham that through him all the nations would be blessed. 00:38:48.719 --> 00:38:55.599 Paul writes in Galatians that that promise was made to one seed, that is Christ. 00:38:56.480 --> 00:39:00.960 And that all who are in Christ will receive those glorious promises. 00:39:03.039 --> 00:39:18.559 The verdict in Isaiah 57, where it says, There's no peace, says my God for the wicked, is reversed in Christ, who says, peace to those who are near and those who are far away. 00:39:20.800 --> 00:39:25.840 In Christ, it doesn't matter if you're a Jew or a Gentile. 00:39:26.079 --> 00:39:30.559 In Christ, it doesn't matter if you're a slave or free. 00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:42.639 In Christ, it doesn't matter if you're male or female or rich or poor or educated or not or outgoing or an introvert or whatever you want to do. 00:39:42.880 --> 00:39:45.599 In Christ, you have peace. 00:39:46.079 --> 00:39:47.119 You have peace. 00:39:47.920 --> 00:39:51.599 And his mercy is not tribal and it's not temporary. 00:39:52.159 --> 00:39:57.679 It's found in his everlasting and global welcome. 00:39:58.400 --> 00:40:03.519 And it's no wonder in the book of Revelation, we get an insight into heaven. 00:40:04.159 --> 00:40:23.360 And in Revelation 7, verse 9, a vast and multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb, crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever. 00:40:25.280 --> 00:40:29.920 Yes, Isaiah 57, I will create praise. 00:40:31.760 --> 00:40:45.119 What God is intending to do through Christ is to create a people of praise, to create a people who know his peace, a people who can claim every one of his promises. 00:40:45.679 --> 00:40:50.079 And they are all, yes, and they are all amen in Christ. 00:40:51.039 --> 00:40:54.960 Yes, in Isaiah 56 and 57, the indictment is true. 00:40:55.119 --> 00:40:56.559 We deserve death. 00:40:57.039 --> 00:40:58.559 We deserve punishment. 00:40:58.719 --> 00:41:00.639 We deserve the condemnation. 00:41:00.800 --> 00:41:08.800 Those things aren't just the failed leaders then and the idolatrous people then and the and the lustful people then. 00:41:08.960 --> 00:41:10.719 They're every one of us. 00:41:11.519 --> 00:41:13.519 That's what we deserve. 00:41:14.639 --> 00:41:19.840 But God doesn't give those who come to Christ what they deserve. 00:41:20.639 --> 00:41:29.199 He gives them what they don't deserve: His welcome, his peace, his pardon, his salvation. 00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:32.320 And so we can be thankful. 00:41:32.880 --> 00:41:38.559 Yes, God fully sees us, but he's also determined to heal us. 00:41:39.840 --> 00:41:49.440 That he condescends to dwell with the contrite and to revive the hearts of those that the world discards. 00:41:50.320 --> 00:41:54.000 And that mercy can be our story and not destruction. 00:41:55.039 --> 00:42:01.039 And that peace is offered to all, not just to the near, but to those who are far away as well. 00:42:02.639 --> 00:42:07.119 We began this story with this sermon with a story about George Wilson. 00:42:08.639 --> 00:42:10.719 A man sentenced to death. 00:42:11.119 --> 00:42:17.679 A man who had been granted a pardon, but a man who refused it and died. 00:42:20.079 --> 00:42:24.639 Mercy was extended to him, but he didn't receive it. 00:42:26.400 --> 00:42:30.960 It was placed in his hands, but he turned it away. 00:42:33.679 --> 00:42:37.440 And Isaiah 56 and 57 shows us that same reality. 00:42:38.800 --> 00:42:44.639 That judgment is deserved, that all that we trust in other than God will collapse. 00:42:45.760 --> 00:42:49.119 And that wrath really does belong to us. 00:42:51.360 --> 00:42:57.519 But God is extending here a wonderful offer of mercy in Christ. 00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:01.199 And he's offering it to everyone. 00:43:02.239 --> 00:43:05.199 To all, whether you're near or far. 00:43:07.519 --> 00:43:12.960 Like George Wilson, we must receive that pardon. 00:43:13.920 --> 00:43:16.239 Or we will face our punishment. 00:43:17.519 --> 00:43:22.159 We must accept Christ. 00:43:22.480 --> 00:43:31.920 To as many as received him, he gave the right, the authority to be called the children of God. 00:43:35.679 --> 00:43:42.000 In Christ, our pardon is signed by the highest authority in heaven and on earth. 00:43:42.559 --> 00:43:51.840 And if he has granted you pardon from your sins, there is no one can take it away if you're trusting in him. 00:43:53.440 --> 00:43:59.920 And this is why Thanksgiving's not just a holiday for Christians, it's a posture of our heart. 00:44:00.639 --> 00:44:05.519 It's because we know that we don't deserve any of this. 00:44:13.519 --> 00:44:19.360 We know that all the things that we trusted apart from God really are collapsing into nothing. 00:44:21.360 --> 00:44:24.880 But language of our heart is thanksgiving. 00:44:25.760 --> 00:44:27.280 We're grateful people. 00:44:28.239 --> 00:44:31.920 We sing because God has created praise in our hearts. 00:44:32.239 --> 00:44:45.599 And every time we gather, and every time we sing, and every time we read the word, and every time we're among God's people, every time we stop alone in our in our places and remember, our hearts move to gratitude. 00:44:46.480 --> 00:44:58.880 And if you're here this morning and you don't know Christ as your Savior, God is calling out to the near and to the far and to people just like you. 00:45:01.039 --> 00:45:17.840 Hear the petition, hear the proclamation of forgiveness, of freedom from sin and judgment. 00:45:20.800 --> 00:45:26.320 May George Wilson never be another name for you. 00:45:27.360 --> 00:45:28.719 Let's pray. 00:45:34.079 --> 00:45:46.559 Father, thank you for this glorious passage that speaks honestly to us, but also speaks most welcomingly to us. 00:45:48.239 --> 00:46:04.000